My apologies for the lack of updates this month; in addition to getting away for an Easter vacation, my wife and I just found out that we are now expecting our first child. Very exciting! It does keep one busy, however.

Oh, yeah: far less awesomely, let me just apologize if the site is wonky tomorrow. I’m upgrading Wordpress again, as well as the image-handler.

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 Easter 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

There have been a few updates made in the Ultima remake community over the Easter weekend, including a few snapshot releases and some news announcements.

Ultima IX: Infinity Eternal

Thepal dropped a bit of news just to keep his project’s site fresh, and assures us that things are moving along. He has been working on dialogue for the demo — which will apparently feature 90 to 100 NPCs(!!) — and has been continuing with world-building. More music is also being created by other team members.

Seven Towers Exult Mods

The Avatar Pack was updated over the weekend with a minor revision that split the optional resources of the pack into The Black Gate- and Serpent Isle-specific versions; installation instructions have been updated accordingly. I have updated the copy of this mod that is hosted at Aiera.

Exult

New snapshots of Exult 1.4 and Exult Studio were released in the last few days. I have uploaded these to the site, and they can be downloaded from the Exult entry.

Project Britannia

The Project Britannia development team have released new snapshot versions of some of the game’s core files — britannia_logic.dsres and the Lazarus compatibility mod, to be specific. I have updated the Project Britannia and Lazarus downloads accordingly.

Ultima: Iris

Iris’ snapshot version has been updated to build 933, and I will add this to Iris’ entry on the site by this evening (remember: GMT -7 timezone).

Additionally, there is an AVI-format trailer available from the Iris site demonstrating the new engine in action. It can also be viewed on YouTube.

Worlds of Ultima: Lost Sosaria

One of the tilesets that is used on the project has been updated, and will be tested in short order.

WtFD

There are sixteen new screenshots at Lost Sosaria.

I posted the following well-wishings at Lost Sosaria as well, but I will re-post them here because it is fitting and in keeping with who the administrator of this website is, O Reader.

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 Easter Sunday and find time in the hectic pace of visiting family and preparing large dinners to partake of the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

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.

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.

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.

WtFD

Lost Sosaria has posted a “Pre-Easter update” regarding project progress and development details. Embedded in the article is a preliminary development map of the continent featured in the game, once known as the Lands of the Dark Unknown (modified a bit to reflect damage that the continent sustained in the aftermath of Mondain’s death).

The call for additional team members to join Lost Sosaria has also been re-iterated.

Finally, they have released some preliminary requirements for running Lost Sosaria.