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Games Entertainment

Myst Comes to the Net in 2003 138

Posted by CmdrTaco from the click-on-everything dept.
erichj writes "Reuters is reporting that Cyan Worlds announced that they will be releasing an online version of the popular adventure game Myst for internet play in 2003. Users will pay a fee for the privilege of unraveling the mystery online." The article mentions some multiplayer functionality, but I can't really tell if the online version will be new puzzles or not.
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Myst Comes to the Net in 2003 More

Myst Comes to the Net in 2003

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  • I can see it now (Score:3, Funny)

    by svallarian ( 43156 ) <svallarianNO@SPAMhotmail.com> on Thursday May 23, 2002 @04:49PM (#3575422)
    You and 100 of your closest friends...boring each other to death.

  • It'd be dumb itf the puzzles were the same and if someone solves the mystery, does the game just end?
  • Myst still used to be the most sold game. It was revolutionary back then, maybe it will now. I'm sure Cyan won't screw this up, this is one of the best series of games ever, even if they can get a bit boring. (ok, REALLY boring)

    It kind of sucks that the Sims, possibly one of the most useless games ever, surpased Myst as most selling game.
    • It kind of sucks that the Sims, possibly one of the most useless games ever, surpased Myst as most selling game.

      Useless? It's entertainment. Exactly like Myst. But, it's fun, and is funner (yes, it's a word, so shut up) to a broader market. The number of people who are willing to sit and do silly puzzles and wander around is much smaller than the number of people who like playing dolls, making them kiss, making them die in door-less rooms, etc.
      • I wouldn't normally point this out as I don't give two hoots which word's someone decides to use as long as the meaning is clear _and_ I like the fact that language is constantly evolving, but you went to such great pains to allege 'funner' is a word so....

        Inventing new words when it's NOT necessary (as opposed to when it is) just makes life difficult for non native English speakers, historians and translators (and is an annoying and largely American habit to boot). Also the grammar of the sentence in which the word 'funner' was deployed was so bizarre a small part of my brain melted (I'm not a grammar natzi by ANY means, but it was really weird, aka bad, which is worth mentioning bearing in mind the context).

        I dispute your claim that 'funner' is a word in the English language.

        The Oxford English Dictionary does not list it.
        (From which we can gather it's not British English)
        The Cambridge Dictionary of American English does not list it.
        (From which we can gather it's not American English)
        The Cambridge International Dictionary of English does not list it.
        (From which we can gather it's not some *other* form of English)

        Additionally, Dictionary.com (http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=funner) doesn't think it's a work either.

        MW (Websters) may allow for it, but MW has lots of badly spelled words that don't existing in *any* other dictionary so no kudos to them (and it's hardly in the same class as the OED, or Cambridge Dictionaries, or arguably even Dictionary.com).

        So (in future) instead of:

        But, it's fun, and is funner (yes, it's a word, so shut up) to a broader market

        How about:
        "The Sims is fun and appeals to a wider market"

        Note that it has all the same meaning, is shorter and doesn't required the use of new and superfluous words!

        NB: I'm all for new words (!) when they are warranted (i.e. not when someone is too lazy to learn how to communicate properly!)
  • Can't see this really being 'Myst' themed. I mean the point there was to advance through a landscape by solving puzzles.

    Now, the designers of Myst and Riven have done a lot to create a very cohesive story and universe, but I'm going to be very sorely dissapointed if this is another 'kill the monster/go on quest' game, merely set in that universe.

    How unoriginal!

    • Alternatively, it could be cool (Score:5, Interesting)

      by sam_handelman ( 519767 ) <samuel.handelmanNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Thursday May 23, 2002 @05:17PM (#3575556) Journal
      Well, the puzzles could require some kind of cooperation. That wouldn't be too hard. You could even introduce some kind of variable elements, to keep it interesting. If the puzzle doesn't change from game to game, either randomly or depending on what other people do, this would get really annoying, of course, since some jerk who already knew the whole puzzle would just race through it.

      Most likely, you'll just have to coordinate lever pulling with someone in another room, which would be just like Myst only with the added frustration, I mean fun, of online social interaction.

      If they did this right they would've looked to good, simple/innovative, mutiplayer boardgames for inspiration.

      Clue - where there was some information (needed to solve the mystery) that only certain players could get, and you have to pool the info, that could be cool.

      Settlers of Katan - there could be items (not just information) that you need from other players, but you have to trade other stuff you actually need (or may need) to get it. An economy of items (where you need X of each item over the course of the game, maybe) could be interesting.

      Slasher - one of the other players IS the villain; the identity of the evil one is actually determined during the course of play.

      Features introduced by other players could be worked into the puzzles, somehow. This would be incredibly difficult to do in an interesting way; it would also require a level of interaction with the environment well beyond what was present in the The Manhole (anyone else remember The Manhole?)

      Myst has beautiful artwork, but I've always had this problem where you don't inject anything into the game; you might as well be watching a movie, to my mind (not intended as a Troll.) This would be a good opportunity for them to remedy that with a vengeance - not only would you alter the storyline in a real way, but so would a bunch of other people.
  • Why? WHY? This game nearly destroyed me. I am but a mere shell of the man I was before I played it. All the puzzles, all the insanity... now, it becomes universal! Universal insanity! Our world will implode! Implode, I say!!
    • Our world will implode! Implode, I say!!

      Quite possible. I think we should begin using improved safety mechanisms on our telescopes to prevent this from happening.
    • You're KILLING INDEPENDANT GEORGE!!!!

      stupid lameness filter.... cmon, I need to yell sometimes. I Relationship George NEEDS TO EXPRESS HIMSELF JUST AS MUCH AS INDEPENDANT GEORGE!
  • what, like people don't have enough to try to figure out about life that they have to spend all their extra time trying to solve MORE problems? i don't get it..and now you get to do it online. how fun..

  • Finally (Score:2, Troll)

    by Deosyne ( 92713 )
    An online game where the lag isn't noticable. Well, maybe something like:

    "Dude, I got my ping down to 45 and now those scene changes just fly!"

    Honest question, no sarcasm. What was the friggin appeal? I tried "playing" Myst and damn near threw the CD out of my house after 20 minutes it was so damned boring. I kept kicking the cd-rom drive thinking that the disc was just sticking before I finally realized that they had intended for the game to be that bloody slow.
    • You're not a Troll, you're right! I agree totally. I got Myst for Xmas(tm), played it for about 10 minutes, then went back to playing Doom. If I want pseudo-intellectual stimulation, I'll watch Maury Povich. If I want to have a relaxing, fun, care-free time playing a computer game, it'll be something with weapons, explosions, and screaming things.
    • Myst was cool for two reasons:

      1) The story was new, the ideas were something that had rarely been seen in games before and the challenges were capable of stimulating even the most arrogantly intelligent people. Also, you couldn't cheat you're way through it. Even if you had a walkthrough, you still had to do the puzzles.

      2) The game was originaly written with HyperCard

  • Multiplayer deserted island? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by mobydobius ( 237311 ) on Thursday May 23, 2002 @04:57PM (#3575463) Homepage
    While the original Myst was a single-player game, Miller said people tended to congregate in groups and play, and so the online version will be one of a class of "massively multiplayer" games that permit group exploration and complex interaction.

    I don't know if I am alone on this, but I really don't like the idea of a multi-player Myst. Part ot the mystique (no pun intended) of the game was the isolation, walking around alone on an island trying to piece a story together that might have taken place decades ago. I used to get spooked playing that game, sitting alone at night with the speaker volume up, wondering if at the next turn something would poke its head out.

    If while playing the game I see a bunch of other netizens playing with me, the experience will feel less like being on a deserted island and more like being at a cheap amusement park.

    But I could have it all wrong.

    • I don't know if I am alone on this, but I really don't like the idea of a multi-player Myst. Part ot the mystique (no pun intended) of the game was the isolation, walking around alone on an island trying to piece a story together that might have taken place decades ago. I used to get spooked playing that game,
      sitting alone at night with the speaker volume up, wondering if at the next turn something would poke its head out.

      That was you! Bastard! I was trying to sleep!
    • I remember once that Cyan ran a survey. Some of the questions dealth with whether or not you would like a Myst theme park.....

      Worst idea ever....

      Tim
    • wondering if at the next turn something would poke its head out
      like being at a cheap amusement park
      Is it just me or do these two statements contradict each other? I cannot guess how many times I've actually paid money to enter an amusement park, and before I know it some stupid character pokes its head out at the next turn. That is when I realize that it is a cheap amusement park.
      • > Is it just me or do these two statements contradict each other?

        Not really, by virtue of the fact that nothing actually did pop its head out. I understand how he felt completely; I had the same feeling. I referred to it as the "haunted house" syndrome. I felt like I was completely alone, but there was an undercurrent of presence caused by the story that I was trying to suss out. The puzzles were an interesting distraction, but the real "Myst"ery was trying to figure out what happened and who (and what) to trust for information. Just as he thought, having other people involved would have taken away the isolation feel of it; the whole "there's no time pressure, but you're on your own and you're not going anywhere until you figure out X" made the game for me.

        Virg
  • with this [themes.org] or this [screensavers.com]?
  • Although Myst, had been tagged as "Game Of The Year" from 1995 - 1997, the concept of a multiplayer game had been put off according to spokesman Terry Rutger because there could be "no justifable reason" to allow for multiplayer gaming. This was notably due to the fact that Myst was generally a non-violent game.

    Also, the Myst team had come under minor attacks from various Civil Rights unions stating that if they were to come up with a multiplayer game, the players would have needed to be available in different races and cultures, so as not to promote "racial supremacy" among any certain player.

    The software dev team "Y.H.B.T Software USA" had actually begun portinf Myst to multiplayer, but as expected they came under fire from Myst themselves under the guise of what was then early DMCA laws.
    • If I am not mistaken, Y.H.B.T Software USA was also responsible for aiding in some of Loki's early game development strategies for Linux.
    • Also, the Myst team had come under minor attacks from various Civil Rights unions stating that if they were to come up with a multiplayer game, the players would have needed to be available in different races and cultures, so as not to promote "racial supremacy" among any certain player.

      Really, if anyone's worried about racial issues coming into gaming and Myst is what occurs them, they certainly haven't taken a look at Dark Age of Camelot. I like Dark Age of Camelot a great deal. But let's face it. Dark Age of Camelot's 'realm vs. realm' theme is all about genocide, race-hatred and racial supremacy. Hoorah. And the emotions attached to that slip into people's real-life feelings relating to the game. There are players who will honestly say they 'hate mids' (hate members of the 'Midgard' realm) and there are players who will honestly say they 'hate albs' (hate members of the 'Albion' realm). Occasionally, on the Roleplay servers, someone will bother to yell something like 'death to all normemen!' in the heat of battle. That helps add to the charm of the game.

      I don't know if that should be worrisome, but I know I get a kick out of DAoC and I'll continue to get a kick out of killing every member of a nation that is not mine, in the context of that game. Hmm...
  • hrmm. multiplayer prerendered screens.... how does this work..
    • LOL. Actually I don't think that /could/ work. CyanWorlds has always been on the cutting edge with technology, I don't think they would still be using slideshow format ;) Their last game, realMyst [realmyst.com], was a remake of Myst in RealTime 3D with absolutely GORGEOUS graphics. This game will be in realtime 3D also, and from the looks of the screenshots I'm saying, Cyan is once again on the cutting edge :)
  • Please set up so all account creations are done through website. Takes Credit Card, bills it $19.95 a month. Make sure not to implement an account cancellation program or hire any customer service, or we're dead after the first week.

    I gave away my Myst CD after watching it collect dust since the week after I bought it. It took that long to solve the thing. I skipped 2 and bought 3, and I am on the last world only a week after buying that too. Sheesh.
    (No, I didn't download the cheats...heh)

    • That said, why did you buy the third one if the first was so poor? don't you check the reviews before purchasing? and lets be honest, the game series had a bad name long before the third game came out..
    • I got M thru in 24h. That was when I got my first CDROM drive (4x mitsumi, woo-fuckin'-hoo). I played it all night long. I remember having played it through at least one more time, but.. It was way too easy on second run.
      The Riven.. was a bit of an disappointment. Maybe because I have somewhat old computer.. It just didn't play well, and riddles were a tad frustrating and illogical at times.

      Actually, in M, there was hat feeling all the time that someone was at about to jump out.. Maybe it was too much Doom at the time.

  • What's Next? (Score:2, Funny)

    by Hut-Moll ( 579880 )
    Jesus, what are they going to stuff into the MMORPG model next?

    This just announced Coleco has unveiled plans to turn the popular 'Donkey Kong' video game into the next big massive-multiplayer-online-roleplaying-game! Players will be able to climb ladders and jump barrels within an online community.

    Yuck.. wonder who approved this bomb of a game?

    • not owned by Nintendo? I think that DK would have to throw a barrel at you.

      But seriously, online games have gotten a little out of hand, but do you really expect them to use a whole new universe for every game instead of just recycling an older one?
      • If I remember right the original maker of Donkey Kong was a company called Coleco.. or something like that. Then Nintendo bought the guys out. But I could be wrong.
        It wouldnt be the first time EITHER!
        • Auch, that's so wrong it hurts me to read that. Donkey Kong was Shigeru Miyamoto's first game at Nintendo - and quite an heroic feat.
          Read this rather nice history of Donkey Kong [gamespot.com].

          So, when 1980 rolled around, Nintendo had one crappy game and a staff artist with a bit of free time on his hands. Yamauchi called Shigeru into his office, told him that he was going to be responsible for saving Radarscope, and then sent him on his way. At that point, 27-year-old Shigeru had never created a video game and didn't know how to program.
          In perhaps the boldest move in early game development, Shigeru scrapped the Radarscope game entirely. He didn't try to modify or fix it; he just threw the whole thing out. But he couldn't just make any kind of game that he wanted to, because he was limited by the capabilities of the hardware that Radarscope was running on. So Shigeru had mostly free reign, only with no programming skills, a small budget, an even smaller team of Nintendo developers, and a blank screen.


          The Colecovision console came packaged with Donkey Kong, which ensured its success. But that was the year after the arcade version. How Coleco got the license is a whole story in itself...
    • Well, the more MMORPGs there are, the odds of one you like increase, and the maybe the loads on servers will be distributed between games. Also, the more successful it is for other companies, the more likely it is that a niche game that appeals to you will be released, so instead of a handful of generic MMORPGs with everyone playing them, there'd be a wide variety with fewer people playing on each one. I mean, it would still be bad-assed to have an epic battle with 100 people on each side. Just think of them like politcal parties.

    • Donkey Kong 64 has multiplayer mode - sort of like Quake. That wasn't that much fun with 4 players only, but it'd rock in net play =)

      The game levels itself might be interesting in net play, too...

  • Addicts? (Score:2, Funny)

    by bjschrock ( 557973 )
    "We don't want to create addicts," he said.

    If they do it well they just might, but if it can get really boring like the other games I don't think they have to worry about it.
  • Only $39.95 Shipping and Handling!

  • It probably won't be the same thing (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Sheetrock ( 152993 ) on Thursday May 23, 2002 @05:00PM (#3575482) Homepage Journal
    I'd imagine that they'll at least add enough multiplayer puzzles to it to make it worthwhile. Most people I know who had a computer with a CD-ROM played Myst, and this would be an excellent opportunity to hook the ones who really got into it.

    It would be interesting to see what this kind of technology [butterfly.net] could do for Myst as well. Perhaps they could combine randomly-generated Myst-like puzzles with MMORPG gameplay to liven up MMORPG a bit as well?

  • No! Wait! Give those books to 31337A0LeR and do the world a favor...

  • Amazing... (Score:4, Funny)

    by seanadams.com ( 463190 ) on Thursday May 23, 2002 @05:04PM (#3575497) Homepage
    Amazing what you can do with Hypercard nowadays!
    • Wow, i wonder how many people actually got that joke... In case you're wondering, Hypercard [apple.com] was a program (it really defied classification) that started shipping with the Macintosh Plus. Think VB + HTML + a simple database.
      • Wow, i wonder how many people actually got that joke... In case you're wondering, Hypercard was a program (it really defied classification) that started shipping with the Macintosh Plus. Think VB + HTML + a simple database.

        Actually, the first edition of Myst was written in Hypercard [apple.com]. I don't know what kind of newfangled language they're using nowadays, but that was the shit back when all I had was a Mac II and a caddy-loading SCSI CDROM. :)
        • I recall. It was a really hacked-up version of hypercard. If i recall, Cyan was using some sort of custom Hypercard function for the color support, which did not exist at that time. Back then it was HC 1.x, with a fixed 512x342 display an monochrome.
        • I miss hyper card, we should petition for it to come back.
          • I miss hyper card, we should petition for it to come back.

            technically, it never left. You can still get HyperCard for $99, if you have a mac.

            I miss it too, although there are alternatives (Visual Basic [shudder], Macromedia Director/Shockwave/Flash, MS Access). I remember using it to make a 160x120 animation... I clocked it at 13fps on my 8mhz MacSE... man that was hot stuff back then. ;)
    • Ever wonder what the HyperTalk code in the original Myst looked like? Here's a brief excerpt:

      on DropPage
      global All_page
      if ALL_page is not empty then
      play "PutPage"
      if item 2 of ALL_Page is "A" then Drop BluePage
      else if item 2 of ALL_Page is "S" then Drop RedPage
      else Drop AtrusPage
      put empty into All_page
      htlock true
      opencard
      hide menubar
      end if
      end DropPage

  • Okay... but why? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by ArthurKing ( 577487 ) <CardinalXiminez@comcast.net> on Thursday May 23, 2002 @05:07PM (#3575510)
    Myst was always a lot of fun, as a single-player game (boring my eye. interesting, complex, and full of wonderful intricate goodness, I say), but why make it multiplayer? I keep reading the article, but I still entirely fail to understand why anyone would want to make an Internet version of Myst. It seems kinda like a combination of the sweetness of the series with the aggrivation of AIM.

    Sure, MMO games are lots of fun, but how could Cyan turn this series into one? My fondest memories of the Myst trilogy involve sitting at my computer in the wee hours of the morn, exploring amazingly fantastic worlds full of vengance, insanity, and puzzles, puzzles, puzzles! The last thing I want is to be standing at a particularly complicated device, scratching my head, only to have someone walk up behind me and say, "Oh, I got that one! The answer is..." The joys of Myst, at least for me, have always been found in solitary thought (along with breathtaking scenery), not in group efforts. Exile would not have been the same if played with other people, I can say that much. With Riven it might have been good to occasionally get a hand, but not a spoiler. With the original, the idea of a group constitutes sacrilige in my mind.

    I doubt very much that I'll buy this, unless it rivals the previous three in graphics quality and playability (and the chat can be turned off!).

    Oh, and a tip for Mr. Rand Miller: Myst is all about addiction.
    • The best reason I can think of would be to continue the story as a group of D'NI sent to a group of ages to repair/search them. Probably played as a Guild member. Maybe each with a skill that can only be applied to certain puzzles. Other puzzles (as already mentioned several times) could require working together. Imagine having to hold a button down while someone else cranks a generator.

      I couldn't see this played in the same area as the other games. Also the engine that was used for the three Mysts wouldn't work here. They are based on prescripted movies and images. For this to work it would be required to use a 3D engine like Quake, etc. Which will loose a lot of graphics quality on lesser graphics cards. The game could also be set as a D&D style game, like NeverWinter Nights [bioware.com].

      It could work, I would put more money on it working then on people being willing to pay for it working.

      Just my $0.02
      • Probably played as a Guild member. Maybe each with a skill that can only be applied to certain puzzles.

        The Cyan folks have said explicitly, I think, that we won't actually be playing any roles other than ourselves. I mean, no, we won't be in D'ni in real life, but in the game we won't have some kind of arbitrary character class. We'll just be... ...folks. Doing exactly *what,* we don't know yet. But we'll all have the same abilities as others; just different possessions, perhaps, and levels of knowledge.

  • The announcement's been around for a while... (Score:4, Informative)

    by The Great Wakka ( 319389 ) on Thursday May 23, 2002 @05:08PM (#3575514) Homepage Journal
    It's been codenamed "Mudpie". It's going to focus less on traditional Myst-style puzzles and more on Dn'i culture, traditions, etc. This may be a rumor, but I've heard that you can write your own ages (!) I actually can't wait, the screenshots look incredible.
    • *grumble* The whole "Make-Your-Own-Ages" rumor has been perpetuated even among the community of AVID Myst fans. I say it can't happen, and shouldn't. I shudder at the thought of a quarter-million amateur 3D artists with the ability to incorporate their worlds into the game.

      I can see it now: "Come to julieluvsbrian03 Age! One wrong step, and you fall through the world! See the strikingly beautiful terrain, written specially to resemble parts of the human anatomy! Wanna get back? Good luck! The only linking book is at the center of a 40-square-mile maze!"

      Bah, bah, and more bah. Can't happen, won't happen. Not for a long time, anyway. As long as it's taking to finish the ages that they're creating, there's no way they can have us all learning to Write.

      Now, maybe for people who do VERY VERY ULTRA-RARE SPECIAL THINGS within the game, they could offer them their own Age. But for them to create it themselves? No, no no, methinks that will always be Cyan's job.

      Now that being said, I can hardly wait for it. I don't know what they're planning on as far as gameplay, I don't think anyone does. But given all the references to "unraveling a mystery" I'm seeing in Officialspeak these days, methinks this will be more than a really pretty 3D realtime chatroom (the flipside of the coin, that has also been postulated).

      SFT
    • SLUGGY RULES!

      for the rest of you, go to Sluggy.com
  • Doesnt seem like there'd be much replay value in an online version of Myst (or in any version at all, IMHO) But, what does the multiplayer part add to it? Besides being able to watch the vets do the puzzles so you dont have to figure it out on your own
  • I just keep thinking of the Simpsons trying to solve the rubix cube as a family, I don't think puzzle games lend themselves well to team effort.

    Of course perhaps online Myst might just be like any other MMORPG where you have to solve some riddle to get some prize to move on, would that lead to new forms of gaming-lamers? Instead of campers waiting for weapons, would you have stump'ders (people waiting around for someone to solve the riddle to get the prize?)

  • A couple of potential problems (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 23, 2002 @05:13PM (#3575542)
    I'm not so sure this is a good thing:
    1. Part of the appeal of Myst for people who really, really like Myst games (like me) is the solitude. In the original game, it was the fun of visiting a lot of worlds where something unknown but obviously terrible had happened, months or years earlier, and it was up to you and you alone to put things right. It's also the fun of solving mysteries - what happened here in the past? Who is that guy, and why does he hate Atrus so much? What was the purpose of this machine for the people who used to live here? I enjoyed solving the puzzles on my own - I don't want to enter a world where a couple hundred amateur detectives are exploring the world with me, looking for clues.
    2. If this is indeed an adventure/puzzle-based game like the other Myst titles, what's going to prevent spoilers? How can I be sure I won't walk by some jerk who tells me "Hey, check out the secret passage behind the fake wall in the inn up ahead! And don't trust the innkeeper - he's lying!"

    On the other hand, maybe it's just going to be a chance to walk around a Myst-like universe with a bunch of people. But doing what? Going on quests? Fighting monsters? Come on, Ubi, stick with your strengths! Give us fun puzzles, intricate, well-designed worlds, and engrossing plotlines, and leave the MMORPGs (or even Small ORPGs) to the other guys. Please? I promise I'll buy Myst 4 if you do.
    • The first Myst game annoyed the piss out of me, mainly because my computer was too slow and I was too impatient to figure out some of the puzzles. (Really, would all those puzzles be there? Why not some sort of forensic crime fighting theme... peg the bad guy by wandering around crime scenes and labs)

      Anyway, on your point two, an online game could be as large as they chose to make it and be continually changed. You just keep going, they keep building.... or have many many variations so that the game has different paths, outcomes and problems from month-to-month. What your buddy played just yesterday wont be what you play today.

      The concept is interesting... I just hope they dont build it in 100% flash or something..

  • The MMORPG Documentary film project:

    These guys [mmorpg-film.org] are making a documentary film on MMORPGs, their players, virtual worlds and virtual communities.

  • Mud Pie (Score:3, Informative)

    by Midnight Thunder ( 17205 ) on Thursday May 23, 2002 @05:22PM (#3575570) Homepage Journal
    This is probably the result of the project code named Mud Pie [cjb.net]. This is not rehash of any of the current games, it is definetly a Myst IV. From what I can tell it is based on the same technology as RealMyst, though hopefully they will have improved on the engine.
    • NIce, the site has a pop up add to get rid of pop up adds.

      f12 - rufes popup windows.
      Thats right Opera is my pop up killer.
    • maybe its this little technological universe I live in, but the RealMyst game pretty went unnanounced, even less so for the Mac.

      You can get it for pretty cheap off of Amazon.com or elsewhere and its great for those of us who never played the old one-frame-per-scene game.

      This site [mysterium.ch] has lots of info on it. the graphics and environment are lush and it's a fun game for those of us who have tired of shooting everything (I havent totally tired of them of course ;) )
      • Maybe I missed an announcement, but if I didn't, RealMYST isn't available for the Mac, which seems weird, since the original game started there, but the RealMYST 3D engine was developed for Windows and although they promise to port it to Mac I don't think they've done it yet.

        Still, I'm with you. I played the original (on Windows) and it was a great experience, but there were a number of concessions made to port it from the Mac (including shortened music tracks and other sound effects and reengineered graphics) that I didn't know I was missing until I played RealMYST and got to see and hear it the way the Millers intended. It made a HUGE difference, especially in the places where one ended up standing still to think or absorb. When I first linked to Channelwood, and I stood in Achenar's temple trying to figure out what to make of it, the music was so good at establishing the atmosphere that I just stayed until it started repeating. When I went back there in RealMYST, just the changes in the soundtrack made a big difference in the feel, even considering that I knew the backstory. It gave me the creeps in a very visceral way.

        Of course, there's also the age of Rime. Even though it's just for exploring (there's no "plot" to Rime, it's just exploring and puzzling) it was worth what I paid for the CD.

        Virg
        • Yeah, realMYST for Mac was only released in the last couple of months or so. Big-time publishing delays because of the game of musical chairs that got played with Exile's publisher. Then there were marketing decisions that kept it held back for a while... but now it's available.

          Strangely enough, the *demo* hasn't been released, and they're saying that it's in its final testing phase before they release it. The *demo.*

          I don't know if it's MacPlay or UbiSoft holding it back, but... ...testing a demo after the game has been published seems awful fishy to me.

          SFT
    • "...it is definetly a Myst IV."

      Actually, it's not. UbiSoft is developing the next single-player Myst sequel as we speak. (I think the development is taking place somewhere in Canada.) We've not seen the end of single player Myst titles yet, although we've certainly seen the end of Cyan's direct involvement in their creation. That's okay with them, though; they'd much rather get the royalties to pour back into Mudpie. ;-)

      SFT
  • I thought the game was slow enough already, but now they want to introduce the concept of lag to it...

    That should rank it right up there with such action-packed pastimes as Watching Erosion or Monitoring Continental Drift.
  • Here's what they do: pose real-world puzzles/problems, along with all (within reason) known variables. Then let the Myst players decide which ones they want to work on to help drive humanity into the future. End world hunger? Cure cancer? Stop homelesness? Use the metric system? No problem... the "Mysties" are on it.

  • Theme of the game (no, it's not original Myst!) (Score:5, Informative)

    by Fwongo ( 570947 ) on Thursday May 23, 2002 @06:12PM (#3575866)
    I submitted some much more detailed info as a stor. I'm a member of the Myst fan community (and to a very limited extent an "insider" <g>) ... here is what I sent, hope it's informative:
    Cyan and UbiSoft just announced Myst Online, a MMORPG based on the Myst universe. It will take place in the present, with you playing a modern-day adventurer (you could even customize your character's model to look like yourself) exploring the ruins of the ancient underground city of D'ni, the inhabitants of which practiced the art of creating portals to parallel universes (called "Ages") by describing them in great detail in special books (the original Myst and Riven games each took place in one of these parallel universes). You will also get the ability to explore some of these Ages, and more and more as Cyan adds them on.

    The game will be focused on cooperative puzzle solving and exploration, and as with all Cyan games, violence will not be a focus (or maybe not present at all - that would be a first for an MMORPG, wouldn't it? <g>). It will feature voice-based communications via your computer microphone, as well as traditional text-based chat.

    Based on advance screenshots (this [cyanworlds.com] being the most impressive one) the game is just gorgeous. This [cyanworlds.com] and this [cyanworlds.com] are some more screenshots. The release date is set at 2003, pricing is as yet undisclosed.

    Finally, here's the official press release at Avault [adrenalinevault.com] (which has a screenshot of its own, click the thumbnail for a larger version :P).

    Incidentally, the original Myst is way too small to fit the typical population of a MMORPG. :)
  • A lot of people here seem to think is that the game is going to be set only on Myst itself. The game is actually in the larger Myst universe. The D'ni(pronounced Dunny) are the race of people who invented the linking books found in the Myst games. There is a lot of very intresting backstory that is described in the, IMHO very well written, Myst novels. The game mentioned in the article is set in the great D'ni city, which is located under some desert on Earth. The city is in a huge cavern with a large glowing lake for light. So, don't just dismiss the game as stupid and boring, the way the folks at Cyan Worlds look like they have set up a really great experience for all who endevour to attend.
  • Back in the old MajorBBS days, there was a multi-user text adventure game called (IIRC) Quest of the Alchemists. Potions were scattered throughout the game, and could be combined to create new potions. These new potions could also be combined, and this led to a world where you needed to share your information in order to reach the highest levels.

    For some reason, the idea of a multiplayer Myst reminded me of this old game. Anyone else remember it? Anyone ever summon Azz? Anyone ever win the game?
    • Though I think I played v2. I also remember that potions could be a mixture of 3 different potions, and I'd actually managed to methodically graph all the combinations of the first 31 potions or so.

      Then some bastard found the wheel that you could spin and it would just tell you valid potion combinations. Suddenly my monopoly on garflunk potions was gone.

  • The site dedicated to this game is Myst Online [mystonline.com]. Please don't start bashing it before you've even seen the screenshots. Take a look at Mudpie Obsession [cjb.net], read some articles, try to see what's going on. No, this is *not* the original Myst with some sort of multiplayer connection thing {I'm rather disappointed by the name, as it's misleading and sounds like yet another version of the old thing}--rather, this is a new kind of multiplayer game that draws on Myst's story and universe but is completely new and different.

    *browses site to heart's content before submitting... just in case the slashdot effect kicks in*

  • Fragging? (Score:2, Funny)

    by craw ( 6958 )
    So how do you frag somebody in this game? Cut the rope when somebody is in a tree elevator? Drown them when they are exploring the ship? Crush them under the tree? Run them over on the tram? Blow up the furnance?

    Or I guess the old tried and true method, "Hey! Check out this book!"
  • ...milking a dead cow.

    cmon guys - myst's days are long gone... give up. why not try to make something NEW - rather than ride the one game that was good 8 years ago forever.

    It reminds me of those guys who would go to highschool parties after they had already graduated - but still wore their letterman football jackets with "county champs, '92" patches. Thinking that all the chicks will think they are cool and hot cuz they graduated, and dont have a 1am curfew... losers.
    • they aren't long gone. myst is a great game and i am sure millions of people still play it all the time. just as there are still people who play old atari games and such. it might be dead to you, but to the millions of people that still play it you are nuts.

  • To D'ni (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Hollinger ( 16202 ) <michaelNO@SPAMhollinger.net> on Thursday May 23, 2002 @09:19PM (#3576627) Homepage Journal
    I would have posted earlier, but I didn't feel like /. the creators of my favorite game series. Anyway, check out http://www.drcsite.org/ [drcsite.org] for information on the new game.

    "It's an official site, but it's not marketing-oriented. In fact you'll have a hard time finding the word "Cyan" anywhere unless you look at the copyright in the source code. That's because the site cleverly discusses Mudpie as if it's talking about real events rather than an upcoming online game," according to the Unofficial Riven Homepage [aol.com].
  • I remeber reading about this at around the time that Myst: Exile and RealMyst came out. The idea then was to have the user be able to construct their own ages, virtually writing their own linking books. Its a great idea, I'm anxious to see if they pull it off well, it would be a real shame to see them make a complete flop this far into the franchise.

  • Ubisoft? A plea (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Can I just say, on the chance that anyone involved with the project is reading, that I really, really hope the quality control will be better than Ubisoft's effort on Myst III?

    I think I can fairly say that game was a fiasco.* It was released half-baked, and patching efforts, while appreciated, were slow and, well, patchy in their effectiveness.

    If nothing else, please, please don't lowball the system requirements as was the case with Myst III. I bought the game a year ago, and despite having more than the minimum specs, contacting tech support and applying the game patch, I've still not been able to play it.

    * I can't really speak to the game's content, of course, for reasons noted. I look forward to changing that when I scrape together the money for a faster computer.
  • When the original Myst came out, I thought about how it would be a great evil project to make a frag-fest map based on the island once realtime 3D graphics caught up with 1995-era rendered images.

    We're there now.

    I see a great need.

    Just imagine detpacking all those pesky puzzles.

    --Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu

  • DRC (Score:2)

    by barberio ( 42711 )
    The DRC [drcsite.org] may know something about this. After all, when you've been exploring all, you like to play a nice relaxing game.
  • Well, looks like there really is a market for online Solitaire Microsoft.

  • Hi. I think I see the problem here. It seems many of you find a game boring if it doesn't provide instant, quick-reflex, trigger-pulling, see-how-many-ways-you-can-kill-somebody action. While quick-reflex games are good sometimes for fun, constantly playing them can lead to some harmful side effects - one of them being a lack of patience, and lack of appreciation for the "slower things in life." They are also the games most likely to lead to addiction.

    I find Myst appealing because it gives you relaxation from all the stress caused by a hectic lifestyle. It also instills an appreciation for these slower things - for example, nature. In realMyst, I love to just stand on the dock and watch the sunset, or chase the butterflies. In Riven I enjoy just walking around taking it all in. The puzzles in the games teach you to use logic and put everything you have learned together (an essential life-skill I might add ;). Yes, they can be frustrating at times, but the "Aha!" experience when it is solved always makes it worth it. It is a sense of accomplishment you can't get from blowing people up. I hope you all get to experience it sometime :)

    As for the game, there seems to be a misconception going around that Myst Online is going to be almost exactly like the original Myst game. This is not true at all. Myst Online (or as I like to refer to it, MUDPIE (its original working title)) will be in real-time 3D format, and from the screenshots that have been released at mystonline.com [mystonline.com], and the other ones you can view at cyanworlds.com [cyanworlds.com], the graphics will be absolutely AMAZING. This game has nothing to do with Atrus or his family, instead, it is about the intricate and engrossing backstory hinted at in the games and detailed in the 3 Myst novels. It is the story of a great civilization - the D'ni - linked to a cave deep in the Earth thousands of years ago from their former world, which was collapsing. In that cave they rebuilt their culture and a great city. What made this civilization most unique was their knowledge of The Art - the ability to link to other worlds by Writing about them in special books. They existed on Earth for 10,000 years until a biological attack by some rebels wiped out many of them. The survivors fled through the Books, but the rebels made sure many of these escape routes were infected as well. Thus, the city was abandoned for years. Now in the game Myst Online, we will have the chance to inhabit D'ni. We will travel down the tunnels leading to the great city, and learn much more about their history and culture. We will discover Ages and travel to them. There will be puzzles along the way, but a main focus will be exploration and discovery :) (The game is geered not at the testosterone-driven, heavy-gamer, but athe the general public, who tend to enjoy this type of thing more than blowing up people. It is also a lot better for families, a good marketing strategy in my opinion ;) Information indicates you will probably be able to choose who you will travel with, traveling with a group of friends, not seeing the thousands of others playing as well. The world will be growing constantly, according to an article "Every day new content will be added to the game. Every week a "substantial" addition will be made. Every month an entirely new Age will be added." Someday we might even be able to write our own worlds. Doesn't this sound wonderful?

    For more information on Myst Online, check out MUDPIE Obsession [cjb.net] :)

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