Well well well, look what we have here: Somebody’s turning 24. It’s Ultima Online, broadly considered the grandfather of the genre and the coiner of the MMORPG genre, though of course if you follow our Game Archaeologist column, you know we can trace the lineage of “massive” multiplayer titles back further than that. But today is Ultima Online’s day, and so we drink a toast to the MMO that did so many things “first” and is still alive under the Broadsword banner all these years later, having survived hundreds of competitors.
Just in time for the festivities, the game saw its 111th patch this week, which as we’ve previously noted includes anniversary gifts, tweaks for bonded pets, and the new cu sidhe pet styles. The Halloween event is ready to go beginning October 1st as well, and the studio is teasing the Treasures of Demons event and new champ spawn too.
Last year this time, Broadsword took its anniversary to announce Ultima Online: New Legacy, a new seasonal ruleset shard meant to simplify the game for new players. Work on New Legacy continues; our last glimpse into development back in June described family legacies, reducing the “bloat” in the game, gear stat changes, flag PvP, improved skills, treasure maps, and a focus on crafting. What we don’t have is a date. “As soon as we’re confident when it’s ready,” the team said at the time. Today’s newsletter touches on progress as well.
“Now that Publish 111 is complete we are full steam back on New Legacy. As we mentioned when we announced the project, New Legacy is the biggest project the team has embarked on in over a decade. We’ve just finished our first pass on the gear progression loop (Katana of Vanquishing anyone?) and are now working on the next major gameplay loop – crafting and resource acquisition. We know you have lot of questions and the interest in New Legacy has only built since last year. We are targeting November for our next UO: NL Dev Hangout so keep an eye on UO.com for a link to the live stream!”
Happy birthday, Ultima Online.
