Description
The first game to publicize the Persistent Online World.
Ultima Online is a online RPG world that borrows its story from the
Ultima series of games. Gamers create their virtual citizens of Britannia to follow a multitude of paths. The game is open-ended to provide all flavors of an RPG, whether it be a warrior, mage, or merchant. The game is presented top-down, and the game world is broken up of a huge mainland, and a number of islands. Just like in most RPGs, characters are advanced through skill, gained by fighting monsters in dungeons, or practicing a craft (or both).
Magic is done by collecting "reagents". The mage's skill determines what level of spell he/she can cast. A huge variety of spells and potions are available.
Items and weapons of almost every kind populate the land. The game uses gold currency to carry out transactions. Trades can also be conducted between players.
The game cost $10 a month to play. There are a variety of servers to play on, each allowing you to have 5 characters. Constant updates are made available to further enhance the product.
Alternate Titles
- "网络创世纪" -- Chinese title (simplified)
- "UO" -- Informal abbreviation
- "Ultima: Shattered Legacy" -- Working title
- "MUltima" -- Working title
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Trivia
The Ultima Online Lawsuit:
March 3 1998 is a notable date for the gaming industry: it was the first time that gamers sued a software company because of evident problems with a computer game. Five plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against
Origin Systems /
Electronic Arts in San Diego County Superior Court concerning the massively multiplayer game Ultima Online. The registered UO user’s main accusation was that Origin had knowingly made promises on the game box that the company wasn’t able to keep. The plaintiffs thus sued for negligence, breach of contract, and intentional misrepresentation. An extract of the bill of indictment states that
“[Origin] falsely and fraudulently represented that the game Ultima Online would be playable '24 hours a day, everyday.' The true facts are that Ultima Online servers break down daily for hours at a time on a daily basis and Ultima Online cannot be played 24 hours a day everyday.”“[Origin] falsely and fraudulently represented that the game could be played in real time. The true facts are that 'lag' time exists, and it can take minutes for a command on the keyboard or mouse to be implemented on the screen.”Further charges included Origin’s failure to explain on the game box that Ultima Online required a monthly subscription fee of $10 and a credit card, and that the minimum hardware requirements written on the box were inaccurate and too low. The complaint sought money and punitive damages for those offences.
With the lawsuit filed, attorney George Schultz went on to search for other enraged Ultima Online customers to join the cause. The more plaintiffs, the more likely that the court’s first decision would be favourable: whether the case was considered a “class action” or not. Class action means that the plaintiffs are not treated as individual cases, but acknowledged to be representatives for a whole class of possibly wronged users – giving the charges greatly increased weight. In the following months, the number of participants rose to a peak of 16, then gradually fell to the final amount of 6; too much paperwork had caused drop-outs. On September 30, Judge Judith McConnel denied the motion of class certification due to lack of evidence.
With this major setback even before the begin of the main trial, the prospects for the plaintiffs looked grim. Grim enough indeed to avoid the trial altogether – the two parties agreed to a mutual settlement. In January 5 1999, the case was closed with each group paying their own legal fees and no implication of guilt. Electronic Arts agreed to donate $15,000 to the San Diago Tech Museum of Innovation.
Did the first lawsuit filed by gamers do any good? According to Electronic Arts’ official comment on the outcome of the case, it was quite futile:
“This lawsuit, which was filed by avid players of the game who continued to play extensively despite their complaints, was in our view without merit from the beginning, and served no purpose other than to harass and distract Electronic Arts and Origin from their business of making entertainment software. Such frivolous lawsuits stifle innovation and threaten the creative community's efforts to bring new technologies to the consumer."On the other hand, Attorney George Schultz pointed out that Origin had promptly changed all of the criticised issues for the box of the UO add-on
The Second Age, and fixed most of the technical problems. And as he told
GameSpot:
“I’ve had occasion to talk to developers from various game companies […] who have all indicated to me that our lawsuit made it easier for them to argue with the “suits” to keep working on a game before they put it out and release it.”This entry to the MobyGames database was contributed by
John Morales (18) on Jun 23, 2000.
