Magic 8 Ball - AO's 2nd Birthday!

Magic 8 Ball thread on the Bureaucrat forums(origional)

This is just a fun thread for off the wall predictions on what you think AO will be like on its second birthday next year, June 2003. Anything goes, in-game story arc to game mechanics. Might as well have some fun. Who knows, one of our predictions might auctually come true. :eek:

Here I go. In case anyone thinks this is real, its not. Its fiction!

The expansion pack Shadowlands was a flop because they were not able to finish the floating city of Jobe in time despite its delay to early 2003. However, plans are in place for a booster pack when the city is finally finished. Expect to see it ready for the holidays 2003.

In light of Everquest's RTS spinoff success the second expansion pack has been announced. Dubbed, Anarchy Online: Commanders it will be the first MMORPG to integrate an RTS in real time. The press release quotes "We will allow the player to assume command of vast numbers of units to take the war between Omni-Tek and the Clans to a scale never seen before." However, they refuse to comment on what will happen to the regular players that might lag out or crash from the graphical overload on their non-Commander clients.

The story has taken a major twist when the events team finally allowed the players to affect the outcome for the first time in two years. Henry Radimant has been killed pernamently while giving a speech during the reopening ceremony of the Council of Truth's building in Tir by an Omni agent useing an illegal permakill weapon. In the ultimate show of irony, the agent immediately committed suicide to escape and be resurrected back in Omni terrority.

In retaliation, a millitant clan called "Sons of Da Leet" broke into the Omni-Administration building in Omni-HQ and kidnapped Phillip Ross. Currently, there are no plans from any of the player run departments within Omni-Tek to rescue the leader. "Hey, he was never there for me. Why should I bother to rescue him?" The words of an apathetic Omni organization leader summarized the general attitude towards Mr. Ross. This was after his inactivity despite the clans controling over 90% of the terraformed regions on Rubi-Ka, 2 days after the land control "booster pack" was released. They have been ever since.

What do you think the future holds for AO? :D

Massive defections between sides as players realize that they look like an angel/demon when they're Clan/Omni, instead of how their character has been played,

Many Meta-Physicists complain because now players can look more "demonic" than their own demons.

June, 2003

1. SOL Banking Corp, who are attempting to gain control of Notum on Rubi-Ka, unleash a powerful army on the planet in attempt to overthrow both major factions. SOL bank manages to take a major city (Jobe?).

2. Omni-Tek appeals to ICC to intervene, and they do not.

3. Omni-Tek and the Clans accomplish a temporary truce, and join together to battle SOL Banking Corp.

4. After a difficult victory, Omni-Tek declares itself independant from ICC, and begins hoarding all the profits of notum mining in anticipation of a major strike from them, and in a bold step to corner the notum market.

5. The clans argue over whether to join Omni in their efforts (with potentially huge rewards, but a cloudy conscience), or to continue in opposition of them.

Just a guess!

-Colonel RickDeckard
Mercury Dragons

I think Shadowlands will be a disappointment and perhaps disasterous to Funcom. Not because it will be behind schedule, but because it will take AO further away from its SciFi roots.
It may result in a short-term boost in revenue when current players upgrade en-mass. However the game will ultimately lose ground to the competition because it will appeal to neither the fantasy audience nor the scifi audience.

Its a shame too, because AO is an awesome game. I hope my prediction doesnt come true. But I fear it will.

-blix(01)