ArsTechnica has a very interesting video (with transcript) that features Richard Garriot, co-creator of Ultima Online, discussing the virtual ecology of the game and how it went pear shaped as soon as the game was released.
When creating Ultima Online, Richard Garriott had grand dreams. He and Starr Long planned on implementing a virtual ecology into their massively multiplayer online role-playing game. It was an ambitious system, one that would have cows that graze and predators that eat herbivores. However, once the game went live a small problem had arisen...
Source: http://video.arstechnica.com/watch/war-stories-ultima-online-the-virtual-ecology [Ed-Requires ecmascript]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Thursday December 28 2017, @02:29AM
I, too, think they could have rebalanced with a few tweaks - like maybe an evolutionary thing: animals are afraid of players to varying degrees, initially a random distribution, but later generations would inherit that (and other) characteristics from their parents. Another trait for stealth/camouflage, and of course size/strength.
If players run around slaying the little friendly bears, sooner or later all that will remain are the big badass bears.
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