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I have never played modern Ultima. I played a very early version on the Mac SE when I was about 6 and I didn’t understand anything that was going on. I just rod

by dools 2y ago

I have never played modern Ultima. I played a very early version on the Mac SE when I was about 6 and I didn’t understand anything that was going on. I just rode around aimlessly. The one thing I remember is that the menu had a “negate time” option and when I selected it a message came up that said “you don’t have two coins to rub together”. So I just rode around not knowing what was going on but hoping to find two coins so I could rub them together and negate time.

tgtweak 2y ago
Ultima Online in the age of dialup and early DSL was a history-altering game for MMO's. I still log on to UO Forever servers every once in a while (a modified game server with accelerated skill learning) to level up a character and scrabble together enough gold to build and furnish a house. It was such a vast game and the sheet depth of it for a game of that time was unprecedented. I still think to this day it is one of the best "just go do what you want to do" MMOs out there, something that New World didn't even get right 20 years after with considerably more resources and advances behind it. Runescape is the only other game from that era (and which shares a lot of gameplay similarities) that has that much staying power.
- lnxg33k1 2y ago
  For me, the best part of UO was the ability to extend it, for me OSI was never pleasant to play on, but I was on an unofficial shard with Dragonlance saga background and it was the best time of my life, I don't think any other MMO could've been so extendible to fully implement that saga at those level of details
- crawfishphase 2y ago
  since Ultima deals with time travel, I accept your "history altering" claim. Long live Lord British! (RG has been to the deepest sea and the space station, so who can say he doesnt also have a time machine. He is a real adventurer who made Ultima- one of the best adventure rpg lines ever)
night862 2y ago
Ultima Online is a very unique social experience compared to today's landscape of multiplayer games, and there are different "Eras" of the game which can impart a particular flavor to the experience, eras like: UO: Renassaince, UO: Lost Lands (aka T2A mechanics), and others. Its a sandbox game just like Arcage, Neverwinter Nights, Albion Online, Everquest, Star Wars Galaxy, Eve Online, Black Desert Online, etc in which the game's goals tacitly produce a local society, typically from players' in-game avatar "Characters" just playing the game. PvP is emphasized on many of the servers. Right now there is a very good UO Freeshard server called "UO Outlands" with hybrid rules that are quite satisfying and with updated maps/dungeons/landscapes designed to encourage the classic vibes you've heard about and aren't really available in other, modern games. If you just want to take a look, there is a Youtuber named "Trammie", he prefers to play a pure-thief character and he semi-regularly records streams of live play. Its a good look at one high-level play style that is nearly unique to UO and still available.
- ratlrrr 2y ago
  Trammie Surprise, as he was formerly known, also runs the SQZD clan, who are often spotted in the wilds and around their homes, PvPing, thieving, and whatnot. They're one portal for easing into the local communities in Outlands. Easing into the mechanics, minutiae, and overall obscurity of the game is a different beast entirely, but a lot of things in there, while worn out over time, have a handworn feel like none other, which itch just the right niche.
  - night862 2y ago
    >Easing into the mechanics, minutiae, and overall obscurity of the game is a different beast entirely, but a lot of things in there [...] have a handworn feel like none other Oh, yes. A greenfield game can just decide on mechanics, but UO is of course a continuous title with evolving technology and capabilities over decades! I never played the classic OSI (Official) server in the 90's or early 2000's and was introduced to freeshards directly nearly 15 years after the original launch. It feels a bit like digital archeology or anthropology from that perspective. I was interesting in the scriptable clients, and endlessly tunable character development, as well as the idea of risk vs reward gameplay. To my great surprise, there seemed to be a vibrant and thriving social community in this thing that I and everyone else would have pointed to as a Dead World. Recommended.
tunnuz 2y ago
I played Renaissance and the following one on unofficial servers for about 6 years between 2003 and 2010. My offline and online friends would easily play 6-8 hours per day, and when we were offline we were talking about it. It was like a second life and an incredible escape, but looking back at it we were all addicted to it pretty badly. I get flashbacks and cravings to this day.
- crawfishphase 2y ago
  sometimes I dream I am in the game, and its pretty awesome to taste the food and smell the air
Al-Khwarizmi 2y ago
You played Ultima II (1982). It had a "negate time" command to stop time for enemies in combat, but it used "strange coins". I think it only used one, the "two coins to rub together" was just a figure of speech. Reading the manual would probably have helped but being 6, I understand how you didn't (or maybe didn't even have access to it). I had similar experiences with other games when I was a similar age :)
- dools 2y ago
  Haha yeah I don't think there was a manual. I'm pretty sure it was pirated on a floppy disk or something with a label written in biro in my step father's desk. It wasn't until much later (maybe mid-teens) that I saw/heard the expression "not having two coins to rub together" as being used as a euphamism for being poor and it clicked into place.

by dools 2y ago

tgtweak 2y ago

Ultima Online in the age of dialup and early DSL was a history-altering game for MMO's. I still log on to UO Forever servers every once in a while (a modified game server with accelerated skill learning) to level up a character and scrabble together enough gold to build and furnish a house. It was such a vast game and the sheet depth of it for a game of that time was unprecedented. I still think to this day it is one of the best "just go do what you want to do" MMOs out there, something that New World didn't even get right 20 years after with considerably more resources and advances behind it. Runescape is the only other game from that era (and which shares a lot of gameplay similarities) that has that much staying power.

lnxg33k1 2y ago
For me, the best part of UO was the ability to extend it, for me OSI was never pleasant to play on, but I was on an unofficial shard with Dragonlance saga background and it was the best time of my life, I don't think any other MMO could've been so extendible to fully implement that saga at those level of details
crawfishphase 2y ago
since Ultima deals with time travel, I accept your "history altering" claim. Long live Lord British! (RG has been to the deepest sea and the space station, so who can say he doesnt also have a time machine. He is a real adventurer who made Ultima- one of the best adventure rpg lines ever)

night862 2y ago

Ultima Online is a very unique social experience compared to today's landscape of multiplayer games, and there are different "Eras" of the game which can impart a particular flavor to the experience, eras like: UO: Renassaince, UO: Lost Lands (aka T2A mechanics), and others. Its a sandbox game just like Arcage, Neverwinter Nights, Albion Online, Everquest, Star Wars Galaxy, Eve Online, Black Desert Online, etc in which the game's goals tacitly produce a local society, typically from players' in-game avatar "Characters" just playing the game. PvP is emphasized on many of the servers. Right now there is a very good UO Freeshard server called "UO Outlands" with hybrid rules that are quite satisfying and with updated maps/dungeons/landscapes designed to encourage the classic vibes you've heard about and aren't really available in other, modern games. If you just want to take a look, there is a Youtuber named "Trammie", he prefers to play a pure-thief character and he semi-regularly records streams of live play. Its a good look at one high-level play style that is nearly unique to UO and still available.

ratlrrr 2y ago
Trammie Surprise, as he was formerly known, also runs the SQZD clan, who are often spotted in the wilds and around their homes, PvPing, thieving, and whatnot. They're one portal for easing into the local communities in Outlands. Easing into the mechanics, minutiae, and overall obscurity of the game is a different beast entirely, but a lot of things in there, while worn out over time, have a handworn feel like none other, which itch just the right niche.
- night862 2y ago
  >Easing into the mechanics, minutiae, and overall obscurity of the game is a different beast entirely, but a lot of things in there [...] have a handworn feel like none other Oh, yes. A greenfield game can just decide on mechanics, but UO is of course a continuous title with evolving technology and capabilities over decades! I never played the classic OSI (Official) server in the 90's or early 2000's and was introduced to freeshards directly nearly 15 years after the original launch. It feels a bit like digital archeology or anthropology from that perspective. I was interesting in the scriptable clients, and endlessly tunable character development, as well as the idea of risk vs reward gameplay. To my great surprise, there seemed to be a vibrant and thriving social community in this thing that I and everyone else would have pointed to as a Dead World. Recommended.

tunnuz 2y ago

I played Renaissance and the following one on unofficial servers for about 6 years between 2003 and 2010. My offline and online friends would easily play 6-8 hours per day, and when we were offline we were talking about it. It was like a second life and an incredible escape, but looking back at it we were all addicted to it pretty badly. I get flashbacks and cravings to this day.

crawfishphase 2y ago
sometimes I dream I am in the game, and its pretty awesome to taste the food and smell the air

Al-Khwarizmi 2y ago

You played Ultima II (1982). It had a "negate time" command to stop time for enemies in combat, but it used "strange coins". I think it only used one, the "two coins to rub together" was just a figure of speech. Reading the manual would probably have helped but being 6, I understand how you didn't (or maybe didn't even have access to it). I had similar experiences with other games when I was a similar age :)

dools 2y ago
Haha yeah I don't think there was a manual. I'm pretty sure it was pirated on a floppy disk or something with a label written in biro in my step father's desk. It wasn't until much later (maybe mid-teens) that I saw/heard the expression "not having two coins to rub together" as being used as a euphamism for being poor and it clicked into place.