Ultima Online

The Stygian Abyss Expansion Site Goes Live

2008-09-11T23:57:37Z

Ultima Online will get expanded in 2009 with a brand new expansion called "The Stygian Abyss". Today Mythic announced that the website for the upcoming expansion has launched.

The Stygian Abyss

An entrance to the Stygian Abyss has been discovered upon the world of Sosaria, hidden in the seething caldera of a newly-risen volcano. At first glance nothing more than a colossal web of dank caverns and oppressive dungeons, it houses an ancient city that acts as a barrier between the worlds of Sosaria and Tel Mur, home to the Gargoyles. Masters of Imbuing and Mysticism, these clawed and winged creatures find themselves facing certain destruction at the hands of the Abyss, forced to delve into the secrets of the lost city and the rift to their sister world...

Check out The Stygian Abyss Website!

Developer Journal

2008-02-06T23:36:35Z

The producer of Ultima Online, Calwin Crowner, has posted a developer journal entry (producer's letter) over at the official UO site. It's amazing how long UO have existed now.

I'll introduce myself by stating what the heck my job title means. I am the Development Manager for Ultima Online. Hold on a minute, that kind of just caught up to me. No pressure. This means that server crashes, staffing the team, schedule decisions, prioritizing bug fixes, squelching rumors, and emanating a general sense of well-being are well within my responsibilities for delegation. Restated: when it’s “broke” I try to figure out who is going to fix it. If it’s not broken I do my best to make sure it remains that way.

Full story can be read here.

UO team moving to Warhammer?

2007-10-25T22:43:53Z

Apparently this is the case. According to a forum post on Stratics, which is also backed up by an article on Destructoid, a goodly portion of the Ultima Online team - including all of QA - was laid off yesterday afternoon.

This is just the beginning of layoffs at EA, from the sounds of it. Destructoid received an email that looked to be from Mythic VP Rob Denton, detailing plans for the coming months, which included cutting overhead costs for several of EA's studios - most notably Redwood Shores and the EA Mythic studio in Fairfax, Virginia.

Given this, John Riccitiello, our CEO, has tasked the company to get its costs in line with revenues ... Every studio, group and division of the company has been tasked to review its overall headcount and adjust its organization to meet the needs of the business moving forward.

Another thing of note that came out of this news is that the Ultima Online team will be moving to the EA Mythic studio in Fairfax, which makes sense, as EA Mythic is now (and has been for a while) maintaining the game.

Head over to the Destructoid article to read more.

All Shards to be Published

2007-10-18T05:47:47Z

Heads up UO players - all shards are going to receive a new publish during their next regular maintenance. There are a number of fixes and changes going in; you can check out all of them below.

Gareth, the quest giver for the Cloak of Humility quest, was relocated to Trinsic
Players that are logged in Magencia will be teleported safely to the Trinsic docks of their facet
Players will be unable to gate, recall, or Sacred Journey to Magincia
Fixed issue that caused the virtue set helm to reset its resists to the base values when the full suit was being worn.
Fixed the bug where certain stealable items could not be locked down causing players to lose these items (Doom Artifacts)
Fixed an issue where players were getting IGR timer errors and getting disconnected
Players with bushido skill should now be able to bond with lesser hiryus.
Added double dragon scale resources in Felucca. Siege ruleset shards do not benefit from this change.
Oil cloth should now properly remove poison from weapons
Newly spawned quest mobs can no longer be charmed with the dryad allure spell.
Made the event-related firefields do more damage 5-7 instead of 3 damage
Trick or Treating is back!
Pumpkins are once again spawning in patches all over Britannia
Boats abandoned in Magincia will randomly catch fire and sink if no one is around

Happy Birthday UO

2007-09-27T22:45:29Z

Ultima Online turned ten years old this week. It's amazing to think about the fact that even in its old age, the game is still going strong - continually provide updates with new content for players to enjoy.

The graphical overhaul by Kingdom Reborn certainly helped to breath new life into the game; not only did it introduce a 3D environment for players to explore - a stark contrast to the original game's 2D world - but it also introduced a new User Interface that allows interface modifications to be created.

Now with the 10th anniversary celebration, EA Mythic is offering a chance to return to Sosaria - all you need to do is re-install the game, start it up and log-in with your username and password. As long as your UO account is in good standing, you'll be able to play for free until October 9, 2 a.m. PST.

That's not all though; the new producer of Ultima Online - Chris Rabideau - took the opportunity to introduce himself to the community.

Thinking of creating a UI Mod for Ultima Online? Head over to the Ultima Online Downloads section here on Curse and share it with the world!

KR Client vers. 2.47.0.8

2007-09-21T22:57:26Z

There's a new Kingdom Reborn patch available for you UO fans; you can read the patch notes for it below. Don't forget - the Kingdom Reborn UI allows XML modification, so be sure to upload your interface mods to Curse and share them with the world!

KR Client vers. 2.47.0.8

Fixed bug that caused the mouse cursor to disappear
updated clilocs
Added art for new items
Changed the default hairstyle to bald for all races and genders
Fixed weird green pixel on map

Ultima Online Weekly Recap

2007-09-05T00:17:49Z

Last week's UO news consisted of client patches for both the 2D Client and the Kingdom Reborn Client, an update about the ability to order a DVD version of the Kingdom Reborn Installer if you don't want to wait for the download, as well as the typical Five on Friday you see every week on the UOHerald.

A couple pieces from Friday's FoF(which was actually Six on Friday!):

"I have Bushido, and I'm having trouble controlling and/or bonding with my Lesser Hiryu. What's up with that?"

First of all, the bonding issue. Wilki looked into it, and turns out it was actually bugged before - you could bond with the lesser hiryu even if you didn't have the skill to control it. That's not good. However, by fixing that issue, we actually changed it so you can't bond with it unless you meet the taming requirements - Bushido isn't taken into account. That's not good, either, and we're considering that a bug at the moment.

As for control chance, we aren't seeing issues with it so far. If you have 90 Bushido, you have a 60% chance to control the lesser hiryu, and it scales up to a 90% chance at 120 adjusted skill, or 95% at 120 real skill (no jewelry.) Even at 120 real skill, you'll probably want to keep some food on hand in case your lesser hiryu refuses an order - you don't want its loyalty to drop too far!

"Is mining skill gain affected by the resource changes?"

Yes and no. No, because skill gain by actual mining is not difficulty-based - it doesn't matter what ore type you're digging up, you have the same chance for gain, so changing the ore types won't affect the rate of gain there. Yes, because smelting IS difficulty-based, and if you're getting less of the higher-level ores, you'll have fewer chances to gain skill by smelting.

"How is damage determined for Chain Lightning and Meteor Swarm?"

Wilki says:

"Ok, so magery spells do damage based on their spell level. Circle seven spells do between 52-56 damage. (Plus any other damage modifiers like your intelligence, skills, etc).

For Chain Lightning and Meteor Swarm, if you only hit one target, the target takes that much damage. If you hit more than one target, the damage amount is doubled, and then divided amongst each target evenly.

(If the damage numbers seem high, it's because eval int is actually a negative modifier below 90 skill.)"

To read more, head over to the FoF.

UO Patch Notes

2007-08-07T05:12:23Z

The Ultima Online clients(both 2D and KR) received patches today - the notes for each can be found below.

KR Client Version 2.46.0.3

At 2:30PM PDT (9:30PM GMT) on Monday, August 6, the KR client will be updated to version 2.46.0.3. Notes after the jump:

Many optimizations
Redesigned Crafting menus (some features will only work on TC 1 until that server version goes WW)
Added “Target by Resource” macro
Fix for disappearing stacked/high z axis items in houses
Fixed more wearable layering issues
Added the new female paperdoll art
Added a “Repeat” option to the macro tool (can repeat a macro up to 10 times)
Fixed a couple of crashes
Stack quantities should appear in grid view
Plant gumps should no longer be blank
The character sheet has been redesigned and shows a number of new stats (will show properly on TC1 only)
Redesigned and fixed some crash bugs with the party window
Fixed bug with graphic distortion on some video cards

2D Client Version 6.0.1.10

At 2:30PM PDT (9:30PM GMT) on Monday, August 6, the 2D client will be updated to version 6.0.1.10. Notes after the jump:

Map file changes for compatibility

TC1 Update

TC1 was also updated today, you can check out the notes for its update below.

Changes to support new crafting menu
Changes to support new “Target by Resource Type” macro - this macro will mine/chop the selected resource type from any node within range.
Added TC4 PvP changes with the following tweaks:
- Enchanted Apples and Grapes of Wrath no longer affect hunger
- Grapes of Wrath now last 20 seconds and have a 2 minute cooldown
- Fractional values of meditation will now count towards mana regen
- Nervestrike para chance now scales with bushido skill from a 50% chance at 50 skill to a 90% chance at 120 skill. Damage is also randomized from the current damage amount down to damage - 10.
Added “eating” animation
Snow leopards should be properly white
Jewelry vendors will now buy silver bracelets from players
The Dark Knight Challenge is now active! Cast "recall" on the rune the Dark Knight gave you to be teleported to his lair, where he will challenge all comers one at a time. You will be teleported into the arena within 30 seconds or when your turn arrives, whichever is soonest. Be sure to prepare, because you can only answer his challenge once every three days!
Wood and ore nodes now have a chance to randomly respawn with different resource types.
Players can no longer remain hidden while mining or lumberjacking
The “Follow” macro will now bring up a targeting cursor
Community Collection gumps should no longer be blank
Fixed issue with movement being choppy/laggy

To find out more, head over to the UO Herald.

All Servers to be Published

2007-06-28T05:37:47Z

There's a new patch going live tonight for Ultima Online starting at 6PM PDT. You can check out the patch notes below.

Beginning between 6:00PM and 8:00PM PDT on June 27 (June 28 1:00AM-3:00AM GMT) all shards will be brought down to publish the following changes:
(NOTE: The following changes only affect the KR client unless otherwise marked)

Fixed bug preventing certain gates from being passable in customized houses

Fixed several miscellaneous crash bugs

Added capability to edit multiple books at the same time

Players will no longer get the "Your pet was unable to join you" message if they have no pets

Fixed several bugs that could cause the Basics Tutorial to stall

Fixed bugs with elf skin color in character creation

Newly-created ninjas should now have the correct skills

Tillermen should be able to correctly respond to commands

The object name "Ossian Grimoire" should display correctly

Players should be able to change their custom house foundation styles

Players can now add to their friends list via unique ID even when the friend is offline

Fixed bug where spectral spellbinders would continue to attack dead or invisible players

Tutorial will not break if you right-click loot instead of drag-and-drop loot

Books should look better when equipped

Right-clicking on the titlebar of any windown with a blue "x" will close the window

Fixed bug with chivalry spells repeating on the first and second pages

Fixed bug with community collection reward button

Partial fix for scrollbars not working

Sending a bug report now generates a confirmation message

Numeric stat values should display correctly

The aquarium gump and text should appear (note: the art is not yet implemented)

Fixed an issue where a certain type of metal gate in customized housing was not opening

Added a gump for the thief’s disguise kit

Fixed a bug where adding or removing an item from your inventory would cause the inventory window to scroll to the top

Added shop waypoints to the map

Fixed display issues with the buff/debuff icons

Added gumps for banner deeds that will allow you to pick and place banners

Large forges should display properly

(Both) Fixed issue with bridges in the hedge maze being impassable

Quest givers now have waypoints associated with them on the map

Quest waypoints should disappear when a quest is quit

Fixed bug with using items from equipment slots on the paperdoll

Fixed issue with Tokuno not showing up in the moongate list for new characters

Players can now read and edit in-game books (Known Issue: editing is still somewhat buggy) KR should now load in Windows 98

The katana in the basics tutorial will now spawn on the table instead of the ground

Added a sound effect when Gwen pops up

Added Bulletin Board gump

Added support for weather effects

(Both) Custom characters can now be created with 120 skill points, to match templated characters

(Both) The Candle of Love event has been disabled

(Both) Enhance potions should affect Cure potions correctly even against high poison levels

Must be participating in Basics Tutorial in order to receive the quest from Hogarth

Both) Running into a Troll on the bridge in the Hedge Maze should not get you stuck

(Both) Fixed bug preventing factions stone gumps from updating properly

All new characters should be started at the Basics Tutorial

The War Mode button will highlight correctly in the Basics Tutorial

Ninja character templates created using the KR client were being created with 0 skills. They will now have skill points allocated. (Known Issue: The Ninja template is supposed to have 30 Stealth - currently it has 0 Stealth. This will be fixed in an upcoming publish)

Server-side update to facilitate changes in an upcoming client patch. These will not be visible until the client patch is released.

KR Client Patch 2.45.1.5

2007-06-09T05:18:52Z

Today at 5:30 PM PST, there's going to be a Kingdom Reborn client patch to make some changes and fix various bugs.

Changes

Quickly clicking in a direction you're not facing should again result in facing the direction, rather than moving
Added dye tub gump – note, this build has the following known issues with this gump:
- No brightness slider
- Does not show hue number like 2D
- No preview or okay button
Skills window keybinding now available in the User Settings menu
Abilities window keybinding removed
Map Window renamed to Toggle Map
Toggle Map default set to M
Toggle Map now toggles between off, radar, and map views
After assigning a keybinding and hitting cancel, when you return to the user settings screen, the keybinding will be unchanged.
The Reset button returns all settings on the user settings screen, including keybindings, to their default values.
The following screen resolutions were added as choices:
- 16:9 "widescreen" (1280x720)
- 16:10 "widescreen" (1152x720)
All waypoints on the radar map will now be turned on by default
Players can no longer change the keybinding for “Cancel Action”
Energy Vortexes should be easier to see in daylight

Bug Fixes

Fixed bug where player would fall through to the first floor when they walked around on anything above the ground floor
You should be able to place interior stair cases again
Fixed issues with the client not walking around objects in your path properly
Replaced ships’ masts
Fixed bug where some monster corpses couldn’t be opened to loot
Fixed issue where a player who dies while running via the keyboard keys or who polymorphs while running using the keyboard will keep running while dead/polymorphed.
Fixed issue with selecting terrain as a target for mining, spellcasting, etc
Fixed bug where spells were not casting from the current hot bar number, they were casting from the 1st hot bar
Paperdoll no longer stretches when equipping certain items.
The following options now save and load correctly:
- Always Run
- Circle of Trans
- Show Names
- Query before criminal
- Always attack
Fixed bug with certain gumps (polymorph, animal form, some promo tokens, etc.) not shutting down properly.
Fixed scroll bars not working in vendor gumps and assorted other vendor problems
The Custom skills tabs should work correctly
Creating a character with an invalid name should correctly give you an error rather than hanging
Fixed a bug where newly created characters with manually-changed stats did not get the correct stats
Fixed a bug with resigning from a guild and kicking a player out of a guild
Animal Form and Polymorph gumps should work correctly
Summoned and regular daemons should no longer have a missing animation frame (pink square)
Polar bear polymorph works correctly
The death effect works on all races/genders and the paperdoll should display correctly when dead
Fixed criminal warning gump appearing incorrectly when attacking a grey creature
Fixed issue with the ninja jacket
Fixed issue where deleting the user folder would remove the chat/system window
Wisps should be targetable
Snooping will open the snooped inventory successfully. NOTE: at this time snooping does not lock the view to freeform; this will be fixed in a future build
Options to set guild title, charter, and website should work
Fixed issue with item info displaying incorrectly after an item in your pack has been clicked on
Sheep, when sheared, should look correctly unfluffy
Meer Eternals and Ethereal Beetles should no longer display as imps.
Corpse inventory should no longer close automatically
“Create” button should be disabled if you have no more free character slots on a shard
Wraith and Horrific Beast forms should display correctly

Crash Bugs

Fixed a crash when a player logged in again after logging out but not closing/reopening the client
Fixed a crash when opening a backpack in wraith form
Fixed client crashes relating to the customized housing tool

KR Client Patch 2.45.1.2

2007-05-31T04:07:26Z

There's a new client patch for the Kingdom Reborn beta client out today, and this also marks the official lifting of the NDA for the Kingdom Reborn beta.

The Kingdom Reborn Client version 2.45.1.2 will be deployed at 4:00PM PDT (11:00PM GMT). Please note that several of the below changes will only be visible on Test Centers 1 and 4.

(Why are we posting the KR Client patch notes on the front page, you wonder? Why, this patch officially lifts the NDA! Stay tuned for more beta information.)

Party commands (accept, decline, etc), are now prefixed with a / instead of a –

The crafting menus stay where you put them

Treasure maps work!

Removed headgear in character creation to prevent the hairstyle choices from being obscured

Made improvements to the World Map

Fixed several clipping issues

Accounts will no longer “time out” during character creation

When an account is disconnected for exceeding the idle timer, a message will pop up alerting the player

Player, pet and mob healthbars will properly turn green when poisoned

Fixed bug with healthbars sometimes not updating

Fixed issues with fires burning through walls and ceilings

Kingdom Reborn BETA Invites have been sent out!

2007-05-24T21:48:17Z

A TON of beta invites went out last night, and there are a few important bits of info you all need to know.

- We are still under NDA. This means you are not allowed to discuss, share pictures of, post reviews of, distribute the installer for, or in any way spread information about Kingdom Reborn (with the exceptions listed in the actual agreement, of course)

- We invited many, many people and the download site is predictably slammed. Please be patient with it.

- Due to the large number of people invited, we will not be inviting everyone to the internal forums. (We do not have the moderation resources to handle the load.) Please use the "KR Beta" category on the feedback forms for suggestions, and the in-game bug reports tool or the uobeta AT ea DOT com email address to report bugs.

- If you had been invited to the beta before this week, and did not get an internal forum invite, please be patient. We don't have a mass account creation tool, so it takes a while to get them all set up

Client Patch 6.0.1.3

2007-05-18T22:15:56Z

A fairly small patch, but a patch nonetheless. This patch primarily fixes map and world art.

At 4:30PM PDT (11:30PM GMT) on Thursday May 17th we will be deploying client patch 6.0.1.3:

Updated clilocs
Many map and world art fixes

If patched correctly, your current version will display 6.0.1.3.. If you have any difficulty receiving this patch, please check the following:

Check the "Patch" directory within your Ultima Online directory (the default location is C:\Program Files\EA Games\Ultima Online\Patch).

This directory should be empty. Any files in this directory should be deleted.

Run a virus scan on your computer. Undetected viruses may cause conflicts with patching Ultima Online. For information on up-to-date virus detection software, please visit http://www.mcafee.com.

Kingdom Reborn Beta Signups Begin!

2007-05-17T06:06:25Z

Beta applications for the new UO expansion - Kingdom Reborn, a complete graphical overhaul to Ultima Online - are now open.

That's not all though. Along with updated graphics, the pack boasts a new and improved User Interface utilizing drag and drop features with a simple mouse-click, as well as an updated New Player Experience; the rebuilt starter town of Haven, a completely rebuilt tutorial, and a new character advancement system all await new players.

This is your chance to participate in the recreation of a legend in online gaming - a Kingdom Reborn!

All Shards to be Published

2007-05-12T02:56:50Z

Jeremy Dalberg reported today on the UOHerald that all Ultima Online game shards will be published with an update during their next scheduled maintenance.

All shards will be published with the following at their next regular maintenance:

General Updates

Changed skill and mana requirements for the following ninja skills:

Focus Attack: Min Skill now 30. Mana Cost now 10.

Surprise Attack: Min Skill now 60.

Backstab: Min Skill now 40.

Mirror Image: Min Skill now 20.

Changed minimum Hiding requirement for Stealth from 50 to 30

Spells that debuff a target such as Clumsy, Weaken, Curse, Mind Rot, etc. will now have a better chance to raise Resisting Spells skill at lower skill level

The Monks have returned to the Yew Winery to sell Monk Robes

SIEGE PERILOUS SHARDS ONLY: The bonus to resists for exceptional armor creation on Siege Perilous and Mugen is 1% for every 12.5 points of Arm Lore. Maximum of 8% bonus resists (at Grandmaster Arms Lore).

New Haven Updates

Added several new NPE Quests:

- Tracking

- Archery

- Ninjitsu

- Fencing

- Hiding

- Stealth

- Mining

- Tinkering

- Blacksmithy

Rewards from the New Player quests have had their power adjusted. This change will apply to existing items as well as new items.

The mayor of New Haven, Amser, will now appear in New Haven. She will tell the player character about the town

Added animal and mongbat spawns in Haven forests

Hamato, the Bushido instructor, will now buy and sell Bushido spellbooks.

The accelerated gain area spam has been replaced by a sound effect and a buff icon

Undead spawn in Old Haven has been increased and the difficulty adjusted

More Healers wander in Old Haven and the surrounding forests

Brigand camps have been spotted on the isle!

Lyle and Sadrah have survived the disaster and returned to New Haven

Shops in Haven have hung their signs

Escort quests are now available in New Haven

Bug Fixes

Players should no longer be able to complete a quest and get the quest reward if the item cannot be put in their backpack.

Soulstones cannot be used by a player who is currently undergoing one or more New Player skill quests.

Skills cannot be purchased while under the effects of an accelerated skillgain scroll or NPE quest.

Churchill is no longer a Mystic Llamaherder

The “Young Player Teleport” will now drop live players in the center of New Haven and dead players in the New Haven Healer Shop

Broken Haven Level 0 Treasure Map locations have been fixed.

Crafting items with Carpentry and Fletching Runic tools and special wood should give the correct result

New Player Quest reward items will no longer be blessed on Mugen

Spinning wheels and other interactable objects in New Haven will work properly