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Ultima: Aiera

an Ultima Project archive site

Easter

Last updated: March 23rd, 2008

Filed under Site News

I posted a series of well-wishings last year that seemed to go over really well, and I think I will post the set again with a few additional thoughts. It is fitting and in keeping with who the administrator of this website is, O Reader, to do so.

If you are Catholic: Christ is Risen! He is truly Risen! Hopefully this is a season of renewal and grace for you and your family, and if you are not able to attend Vigil Mass this evening may you have a holy and blessed Sunday and find time in the hectic pace of visiting family and preparing large dinners to partake of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Be thankful that God does not see the world as we — being merely human — do, and praise Him for His love.

If you are Christian, but not Catholic: Christ is Risen! He is truly Risen! May this weekend be a time of spiritual growth and a season of renewal and grace for you and your family. Be thankful that God does not see the world as we — being merely human — do, and praise Him for His love.

If you are religious but not Christian: May this weekend be a time of rest and of spiritual growth for you, and may you continue securely in your journey of faith. If you are spending the long weekend with family, may you have an enjoyable time with them, and grow closer to all your loved ones.

If you are agnostic/atheist/secular: Have a safe and happy long weekend, and may your heart and mind remain unclosed to the meaning that so many people around the world attach to this blessed week. If you are spending the long weekend with family, may you have an enjoyable time with them, and grow closer to all your loved ones.

:) WtFD

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Ultima V for TI nearing completion; Ultima 6 project updates; Ultima Legacy starts a new chapter

Last updated: March 14th, 2008

Filed under Site News

There’s been a fair bit of news in the Ultima community these last few days, and Petrell over at Dino’s Ultima Page has gotten the scoop on much of it.

Ultima V for TI Calculators

Ranman has announced that his remake of has reached its last major milestone, with only the end message and the addition of some weapons and special abilities left to be implemented. Beta testing of the project will begin on Palm Sunday — March 16th, 2008.

Update: Beta testing has begun. If you were one of the people that signed up to test this project, the relevant forum topic is here.

Ultima IX: Redemption

Although no new updates have been made to the main website of this remake, one of the developers — Sage — has posted new entries to his development diary, while project leader Corv has leaked some screenshots of Paws and New Magincia to a members-only area of the project’s discussion forums.

Ultima 6 Project

There has been lots of news from this exciting project ( was always my favourite ). Firstly, project leader Zephyr gave an outline of the next milestone release over at the website:

The U6 team is very much hard at work putting together their next release, which in terms of content will likely dwarf anything you have yet seen. No promises, but the intention is to get the entire overworld more or less completed, with most of it playable and accessible.

They are also looking for world-builders with experience crafting dungeons in .

Additionally, world-builder Nicodemus has posted a development diary in which he discusses the work he’s been doing. And just for fun, he’s thrown in five screenshots of Paws and Skara Brae.

Finally, over at the main project website, it has been announced that Alex Gonzales has joined the team as a portrait/concept artist, and he’s released a new wallpaper for your desktop enjoyment.

* * *

Now, what other news is out there?

Lost Sosaria

I have overhauled the appearance of the Lost Sosaria website. That’s the beauty of Wordpress — it’s very easy to switch site templates and configure them to meet your needs.

Project Britannia

The britannia_art.dsres file has been updated to include thread as an item, in four different colours for variety, and to include a special “connector” node useful for connecting basements to the main world map without the use of a doorway. The britannia_logic.dsres file has been updated as well to allow for these changes, along with a host of other modifications.

The files can be downloaded either via the Project Britannia development wiki or through the project entry here at Aiera.

Ultima Legacy

This -based project was, at least in part, the inspiration behind , at least initially. Darkheart Dragon founded the project in 2000 and set it up as a private Ultima Online freeshard with an eye towards telling a story that simultaneously remained faithful to the Ultima tradition and yet advanced the world of Britannia in a different direction from where Ultima 9 took it.

And now, is getting a massive update, as developer Alexandra informed me this morning:

Ultima Legacy has recently decided to switch engines from Sphere to RunUO,
and as such is undergoing a lot of revision, including a new map dedicated
to Serpent Isle.

We also have a new website up devoted solely to the revisions we’re
undertaking at ultimalegacy.net.

They’ve already released some screenshots and art samples, O Reader, and I encourage you to go and check it out. It’s not every day that a project gets a full-scale revamping like this!

* * *

That last item reminds me: about a week ago, someone by the pseudonym of Bikki contacted me about a / project he (?) was revisiting. I sent a reply to him with a couple of follow-up questions.

Bikki, if you’re reading this, check your email! Or, alternatively, send me a better email address to contact you at. I’m very curious about your project!

* * *

There have been over 8,000 downloads from the site since February 26th, 2008. Just…wow.

Here’s the top 5. I think at least two of these will occupy the top slots for quite a while.

Most Downloaded Files

Man, some people out there love them some Ultima 9 patches, don’t they? Of particular interest is the Ultima 9 Power Tools, a useful configuration utility for optimizing the game’s performance and configuration settings.

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Ultima 9 Redemption

Last updated: March 13th, 2008

Filed under U9 Remakes, Ultima 9

u9-redemption.png

Produced by: Titans of Ether
Website: Titans of Ether

is being developed with the : engine, featuring a totally original plot, and original gameplay. This remake of is planned to live up to the greatness that the original game failed to achieve. It will feature total freedom of doing good or evil (which the original didn’t grant) as well as multiple endings.

NOTE: As of Sept. 18, 2004, this project and have become one unified effort under the direction of Corv. The New King will be the direct sequel to Redemption.

 
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Worlds of Ultima: Lost Sosaria

Last updated: March 13th, 2008

Filed under Epic Ultima Spin-offs, Spin-offs

lostsosaria.jpg

Produced by: Withstand the Fury Dragon
Website: Worlds of Ultima: Lost Sosaria
Downloads:
* Lost Sosaria (module) (581.4 KB)
* Castle Expanded v4 (hak pak) (19.04 MB)
* CEP2 No Tilesets (hak pak) (319.5 MB)
* No Cobble CRF (hak pak) (14.62 MB)
* Rocky Mountains v11.1 (hak pak) (20.48 MB)
* Seasonal Forest v9 (hak pak) (34.76 MB)
* Ultima Music (hak pak, music) (68.11 MB)
* ERF files (erf) (375.56 KB)
* CEP2 TLK file (tlk) (80.34 KB)

: is a module that tells the story of those companions of the Avatar who were missing without explanation after , as well as several other key characters from .

Pursuing agents deep into the bowels of and the ruins of the , the companion leads his party of former friends and companions of the Avatar into an unknown part of the world: Lost Sosaria, one of the continents of Old left missing after the death of the Wizard .

This project suspended development for a goodly while between 2005 and the present, and in fact Withstand the Fury Dragon has had to restart the module from scratch. However, he has revised his development plan, and feels confident that he can still deliver a good game with a large game world, this time using much more elegant tilesets.

 
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Ultima Legacy

Last updated: March 13th, 2008

Filed under Epic Ultima Spin-offs, Online Remakes, Spin-offs, UO Remakes, Ultima Online

Produced by: Darkheart Dragon, Avatus Kingsman (formerly), and many others

legacy_britbank.jpg

Website: Ultima Legacy
Releases:
* Custom Data Files

is a modified version of (which can be played for free) set in a post- . Its premise includes the assumption that : Ascension did not happen, and out of that it has spawned a complex and involved storyline that included the n invasion of Britannia. Legacy doesn’t exactly form the backstory for the project entitled , although there is a relation there as both projects were founded, in part, by Avatus Kingsman (although where he has gone to, none now know).

To join Legacy is a bit of an involved process — the modified data files that are necessary for game play are provided here for download, but there’s more to it than just that. For starters, you need to own a copy of , and if possible it is recommended that you have instead. may also work.

The rest of the joining process is explained at the Legacy website, and so I direct the interested reader to “journey onward” there.

As of 2008, Legacy is being revised to tell a -based tale. They are also switching from the freeshard system to . Follow all the latest developments at the project website.

 
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