theSavant
We only just one week ago got an environment artist on board. The art you see in the video is just a placeholder to get the game rolling. The much better art you see will be released as a big update to the game in about 1.5 weeks (and we'll be updating our videos and such).
Data4
I appreciate the honesty, really. Even if we are unsuccessful in our funding, this is something that I will continue to develop in my spare time because I love doing it so much. I know it has a long way to go, but honestly there are far too few open-world RPGs out there for me, so my making this game is selfish in a way as well (I want it to be the game I want to play, and wont be happy until it is genuinely very fun).
Pots Talos
I honestly haven't ever played UO, but heard good things about it (I played Ultima 8 and 9). I'll have to download it today and check it out, as I had no idea that their servers were still running.
ghostdog
Honestly, I absolutely love the TES games (to varying degrees). Morrowind was by far my favorite, though the combat system was incredibly weak. For me, Skyrim was a damn fun game, but it took very little time to acquire the best gear in the game, and combat is very very easy. I love the loot system in Borderlands, and want to do something like that with randomized weapons, armor, and legendaries with unique effects. Combat in our current demo is still far too easy (but getting harder with each update), and is something I really want to make sure I get right. I particularly like the combat of Dark Souls, and would like to do something similar (with regards to the brutality of the combat). And the level scaling effect from Oblivion on was terrible IMO (we will have different areas of varying difficulty that you are free to visit, but may be entirely too difficult for you).
As far as infinite respawns, we are still figuring out the direction we want to go there. On one hand, it's fun to farm loot similar to Diablo, but on the other hand, you also want the feeling of permanently changing the world by defeating creature <x>. Storyline-central bosses will not respawn, but mini bosses around the world likely will (that's sort of the compromise I have in mind, may change later). Another idea I have is with regards to NPCs. In Morrowind, if you were to kill the captain of the guard of a small town, the captain of the guard for that town is permanently dead, never to be replaced. We want there to be a random element to non-essential NPCs, and a dynamic town system. If the captain of the guard dies, sometime afterwards his position will obviously be filled by another individual in the town. Also, if you do quests, jobs, and trade with a town regularly, it will actually grow. New buildings will slowly pop up, and travelers passing through may decide to stay (and the population of the town will grow).