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Luvian · 02-15-2006, 11:29 PM

EQ1 wasn't the greatest MMORPG, just the most popular. It had mass apppeal with it's elves, drows and the other typical D&D races, as well as that sexy elf girl on their adds.

They had lots of shelve life and publicity thanks to their tons of xp pack.

I'd say that Untima Online was the greatest influence in mmorpgs. Without it, there probably would never have been a mmorpg market.

Asheron's Call by Turbine did do interesting things too. I may be wrong, but I think it was the first 3d seamless mmorpg. Everquest had zones, AC didn't. They also pretty much created the monthly update scheme. Every month they added new content and were not relying on xp pack, every 5-6 months, they had a free big update that could be considered an expension pack.

This is the reason the game didn't get known. Beside the first release, they never got put on shelves, since they never did xp packs, they also got no publicity. The only way you could learn of it was trough friends. That and the fact they created their own races and setting is the reason it didn't get as much players.

Eventually, after a couple of years they gave away an expension pack (10$ to buy it, come with a free month) just so they could get back on the shelves again a while.

The game is still going, and last I heard, the devs were dedicated to making the game the players want. They got their money out of it, now it's just fan service.

The game might not have been known by much players, but the important people noticed them, they did get the liscence for D&D online and Middle Earth Online.

[ 02-15-2006, 11:31 PM: Message edited by: Luvian ]

02-15-2006, 11:29 PM	#3
Luvian Ironworks Moderator Join Date: June 27, 2001 Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada Age: 44 Posts: 6,766	EQ1 wasn't the greatest MMORPG, just the most popular. It had mass apppeal with it's elves, drows and the other typical D&D races, as well as that sexy elf girl on their adds. They had lots of shelve life and publicity thanks to their tons of xp pack. I'd say that Untima Online was the greatest influence in mmorpgs. Without it, there probably would never have been a mmorpg market. Asheron's Call by Turbine did do interesting things too. I may be wrong, but I think it was the first 3d seamless mmorpg. Everquest had zones, AC didn't. They also pretty much created the monthly update scheme. Every month they added new content and were not relying on xp pack, every 5-6 months, they had a free big update that could be considered an expension pack. This is the reason the game didn't get known. Beside the first release, they never got put on shelves, since they never did xp packs, they also got no publicity. The only way you could learn of it was trough friends. That and the fact they created their own races and setting is the reason it didn't get as much players. Eventually, after a couple of years they gave away an expension pack (10$ to buy it, come with a free month) just so they could get back on the shelves again a while. The game is still going, and last I heard, the devs were dedicated to making the game the players want. They got their money out of it, now it's just fan service. The game might not have been known by much players, but the important people noticed them, they did get the liscence for D&D online and Middle Earth Online. [ 02-15-2006, 11:31 PM: Message edited by: Luvian ] __________________ Once upon a time in Canada...