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.

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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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Part of the Following Groups

Merchant	Title
	Ultima Online
	Ultima Online
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User Reviews

Revolutionary	Patrick Dawson (5)
Coaster of the century!	Rick Jones (108)

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The Press Says

PC Player (Germany)	Nov, 1997		100
PC Gameplay (Benelux)	Jan, 1998	93 out of 100	93
Game Revolution	Feb 05, 1998	B+	83
JeuxVideoPC.com	May 17, 2002	15 out of 20	75
Gamezilla	Oct 21, 2000	73 out of 100	73
GameSpot	Dec 17, 1997	4.9 out of 10	49
Computer Games Magazine	1997		40

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Trivia

Alpha testings begin in April, 1996 with a few thousand players participating. The event closes on May 20, '96 with a true apocalypse scenario when a supposed speech by Lord British and Lord Blackthorn turns out to be a "setup" with the two Lords summoning hoards of monsters to slay the unsuspecting crowd.

In July 1997 the second phase of Ultima Online beta test begins. Prior to this, more than 50,000 people has signed up to participate in the test (additionally paying $2 to receive the beta CD). Graphically, the beta has vastly improved from the alpha version, with many new and innovative gameplay features for its time. Despite the fact that the beta is full of bugs, exploits and a fair share of server downtime, it nevertheless proves once and for all that the market and technology is substantial enough for the game to prosper. The beta ends on September 23, '97. Once again in true doomsday fashion, thousands of daemons are summoned and set to run amok in the last few hours that the servers are up.

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This entry to the MobyGames database was contributed by John Morales (18) on Jun 23, 2000.