Ultima U5: Lazarus and Mass Effect: Andromeda lead designer Ian Frazier asking about remaking Ultima

[Infinitron]

At the Ultima Dragons Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/UltimaDragons/permalink/10154640863738797/


https://www.facebook.com/groups/UltimaDragons/permalink/10154640492168797/


https://www.facebook.com/groups/UltimaDragons/permalink/10154647173823797/


Kenneth Kully says:

Point is, he's been making a lot of noise lately about Ultima remakes/new takes.

And it just so happens that EA is looking, apparently, to revisit some old IPs in their 2018 lineup.

Coincidence? Good chance of it. But I'm privately hoping Ian is readying an Ultima pitch, and is using the Dragons to test out some of his different ideas about the series and bringing it back.

 

[Infinitron]

Tons of people in the responses to the first question saying Dragon Age: Origins

Hey tibermoon, come here and ask us too.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

Wait, Bioware Ultima? Uh.. kay..?

 

[Sinatar]

Wait, Bioware Ultima? Uh.. kay..?

The answer is very clearly no. No you don't want. Bioware or no, there is no way EA will publish anything that isn't festering dogshit.

 

[Morkar Left]

He should start with Ultima 4 instead of 7. Makes much more sense.

And regarding his questions which rpg comes cloeset to Ultima in the last 5 years; W2 and probably Serpents in the Staglands and to an extent Lords of Xulima. And if you go further I would say G3. The Avernum remakes I consider only a formal choice because they are in fact remakes of remakes.

 

[BBMorti]

Significant overhauling of combat = Combat comfortable to play with an xbox controller.

 

[felipepepe]

Combat in Ultima was always crap anyway.

And in all honestly, the modern games closest to Ultima are JRPGs - especially Dragon's Dogma.

 

[Jaesun]

They CAN'T use Lord British™ so not sure what this hard re-boot would be.

Guess they could start with IV as the first game with Lady British™

 

[felipepepe]

Lord AMERICAN

:kwafuckyeah:

 

[V_K]

They CAN'T use Lord British™

And good riddance to that.
Garriot's self-aggrandising has always been retarded anyway.

 

[Sacred82]

Ultima's appeal was its quaintness (in world building) and quirkiness (like the Runic alphabet). Any big modern company would literally rape the first and do away with the latter.

 

[Tytus]

They CAN'T use Lord British™ so not sure what this hard re-boot would be.

Guess they could start with IV as the first game with Lady British™

Lord Briton confirmed

 

[:Flash:]

They CAN'T use Lord British™ so not sure what this hard re-boot would be.

Guess they could start with IV as the first game with Lady British™

You mean the second. That Free to Play Ultima had Lady British.

 

[Neanderthal]

Leave the poor fuckin corpse o Ultima buried for christs sake, you dig it up an you know they'll start fuckin it up. Eight virtues'll become upper, middle or lower right on controller dialogue wheel, thematic brilliance o early titles will become usual stupid Bioware squeeing shit, an folk learnin Futhark, yeah that won't happen.

AS for living world, environmental interaction an npc routines, modern declined games can't handle that so theres no point tryin. An you just know they'd use cartoony WOW graphics.

 

[Siveon]

Lazarus was good, some might say great, but I think this industry needs less recycling. Make an Ultima inspired game if you like, but do you really need the name? Do you really need the characters? What good will it do?

Ah, right, marketing. "We're so old school, just remember to preorder for the Dragon Age armor pack!"

 

[SniperHF]

The answer is very clearly no. No you don't want. Bioware or no, there is no way EA will publish anything that isn't festering dogshit.

Even in a happy scenario where it's a smaller project that isn't pushed on the level of EA's major games, the best case scenario is an under-funded non-marketed game filled with compromises due to budget and time. EA's Might and Magic X. Maybe you get a one-off decent game but it has no future.

 

[Ninjerk]

Lord AMERICAN

:kwafuckyeah:

Lord Trump
:mrpresident:

What essential part of the experience would they part out for DLC?

 

[Jaesun]

Even in a happy scenario where it's a smaller project that isn't pushed on the level of EA's major games, the best case scenario is an under-funded non-marketed game filled with compromises due to budget and time. EA's Might and Magic X. Maybe you get a one-off decent game but it has no future.

EA isn't going to waste time on such projects, they have Investors to appease and answer to.

 

[Infinitron]

They've shown an interest in skunkworks projects recently, like that Dragon Age: Tactics idea that's been floating.

 

[Excidium II]

More remakes by hacks who can't come up with anything new.

 

[Junmarko]

We look at this map and see Ultima VII .

EA looks at this map and sees The Deep Forest DLC, Minoc DLC, The Bloody Marsh DLC, Dagger Isle DLC, Isle of the Avatar DLC, Skara Brae DLC, The Isle of Deeds DLC...

Yeah, no thanks Ian.

 

[Junmarko]

And if you go further I would say G3 Gothic II.

Fixed

 

[Night Goat]

EA isn't going to waste time on such projects, they have Investors to appease and answer to.

I don't see why not. Just make a banalshitboring, no-risks-taken RPG with the Bioware logo, call it Ultima for scheizengiggles, pay off the "journalists" and watch the money flow in.

 

[Durandal]

I think an Ultima reboot is what will finally send Spoony flying over the railing

 

[Theldaran]

Can the modern audience recognize the name "Ultima" anymore?