Ultima IX : Ascension
After the disappointment of Ultima 8, Richard Garriot took it upon himself to listen to all Ultima fans complaints and vow not to repeat them in the sequel. The product of this is Ultima 9, whereupon you return to the world of Britannia to find the Guardian has taken over. A rotating isometeric view will allow you to see behind those pesky buildings for once! The party will be back, hopefully will familiar faces such as Iolo.
Update: Engine still in testing, animated texturemaps on NPCs for portraits. The game is more or less all polygons and will feature cutscenes where you can see the dreams the Guardian is sending Lord B. to twist his mind. The world view will be scaleable (ie. it will zoom in real close when you talk to someone, zoom out further when you travel).
Update: The Ultima IX team, after helping out Ultima OnLine, are now back to focusing on Ultima 9 which will hopefully be out before mid-1998.
A good report on DragonCon, UOL and Ultima IX here. An excellent transcript posted on Usenet by Brewmeister Dragon can be found here.
An old letter from Richard Garriot concerning Ultima 9 and Ultima 8.
There is a transcript of a chat session with Richard Garriot of Ultima fame on MSN here.
The latest Ultima IX screenshots are available at this page. The screenshots show examples of rotation, zooming, and cutscenes.
Release Date - Sometime 1998
from F**kheads UOL guild
Ultima On-Line
Ultima On-Line is the new Origin Worlds Online multiplayer game. The Alpha testing ended in May and the Beta testing has begun. It requires a 32-bit TCP/IP connection and runs in Windows 95. Just imagine a huge MultiUser Dungeon, except it is in 16-bit color SVGA and is thoroughly Ultima. There you go. Beta testing is closed to new applicants. The test is currently in Phase I which is primarily stability and load testing. Phase II will begin shortly and consist of the bulk of the beta testers who signed on. Phase II will consist of game balancing and enhancement testing.
The storyline: Ultima On-Line takes place shortly after the Avatar defeats the evil sorcerer Mondain. The Gem of Immortality has been shattered and a multitude of different Sosarias have been created, each encased in the remnaints of the shattered gem. This way there will be other worlds when the servers become full and there might also be Moongates to allow you to teleport to the world your friend plays on (or enemy).
A Gamespot Ultima Online interview with producer Starr Long is here.
From Chat Session (see below): There will be the 12 original cities and 5 new cities in Ultima Online. The Ultima Online Beta Test will not be limited to the city of Britain. The two opposing forces are Lord B. and Blackthorn. It will cost $40-60 retail and come with free hours but otherwise there will be a monthly charge. A dead player will become a ghost. There will be ships which multiple people have to operate. Lord B. sez to his would be assassins: "Of course, I intend to be well defended and have the capability to cause instant death." He also says "Beta may last till ship"!
Ultima : Misc
Want new graphics for Ultima IV? Try this link for new graphics replacements. It looks as good as the Sega Master System Ultima IV and there is also a new update out!