That’s right…it’s been nearly a decade in the making, and it comes out today!

On this, the 20th anniversary year of the release of Origin Systems Ultima 6, it is with much pleasure that we announce the 1.0 release of Team Archon’s Ultima 6 Project, for Dungeon Siege 1 (PC and Mac). Players will find a huge and exciting world waiting to be discovered:

• Travel throughout the lands of Britannia, exploring dark forests with bandits lying in wait, deserts and swamps teeming with monsters, and peaceful towns and villages filled with shops, old friends, and interesting people just waiting to give the player numerous and exciting quests to solve.
• Explore deep and dangerous caves and caverns full of treasure and hidden surprises. Bring your breadcrumbs to mark your trail, or be prepared to be thoroughly and completely lost, with your remains left to be found by future explorers.
• Sail the savage seas to explore remote islands, but be vigilant for there are sea monsters lying in wait for the careless traveler.
• Discover a hidden new world, far from Britannia.
• Encounter strange and exotic races, including the mysterious Gargoyles.
• Fight fearsome monsters, find pirate loot, solve a murder, and discover the truth behind the numerous attacks on Britannia’s towns.
• Learn the commerce of the land for fun and profit.
• Learn magical spells, search for magic reagents, and join guilds to gain special benefits.
• Those players with proclivities to the dark side can follow an “evil path”.
• And, last, but not least, ferret out the hidden Easter eggs.

Click on through to continue reading the press release. If you just can’t wait and have to start downloading the project package, click here for the project entry at Aiera, or visit the project website for additional download links.

Some screen shots to whet your interest are provided below:

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The Bloody Plains, as shown in the Compendium

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The town of Skara Brae, as shown in the Compendium

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The Avatar and Companions fighting dragons and other nasty monsters!

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The Avatar talking with a favorite character of many Ultima 6 players, a two-headed llama.

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Magical islands waiting to be discovered.

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Gargoyles attacking the party at one of the shrines in Britannia.

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Gargoyles at market.

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Gargoyles farming.

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Treacherous jungles to be navigated.

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Avatar under fire from a hideous Hydra!

And much, much more!

The player is provided with several important in-game aids to enhance the game play (see screenshots below):

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A Journal, which records important quest information and which allows the player to add his own notes.

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An in-game manual, the Compendium, which provides detailed information on the world of Britannia, and useful how-to instructions for playing the game. Like the Journal, this is not a static document, but is added to as the player progresses and explores new areas.

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An interactive map system, in which players can add their own notes. The player starts with the world map, and as new maps are discovered or purchased, they are added to the map catalogue. Once the player has acquired the necessary equipment, the map will also show the current location of the party.

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An Event Console, showing important game events as they occur, and a Status Console, which provides status of important supplies (reagents, food, lockpicks, ammunition), and information such as time and current karma. Both these can be toggled on or off by the player.

It should be noted that anyone using a previous version will have to uninstall it prior to installing the 1.0 Release, and start a new game.

If you find problems with the release, want to exchange play hints with other players, want to give us kudos, or (heaven forbid) want to tell us what you really think, join us at our forums. We have set up a special forum for the 1.0 Release on the Project Britannia forums (http://www.projectbritannia.com/index.php).

To download the 1.0 Release, go to the Ultima 6 Project web site at: http://www.u6project.com/ where you can also check out profiles of the Project team members.

It should be noted that we were not able to complete all the NPC portraits, but we will be setting up a method for players to add their own portraits to replace the generic silhouette portraits used on the remaining NPC’s.

About The U6 Project

The Ultima 6 Project was formed in 2001 by Sliding Dragon to develop a remake of Origin’s Ultima VI: The False Prophet with newer graphics and a more immersive engine. Soon assembled under the banner Archon, the team members, who hail from all over the globe, have set about recreating the world of Britannia, adding an enhanced storyline to bolster intraseries continuity and building on the Ultima legacy in a way that will please fans new and old.

You’re still here, good reader? Get thee to the project entry and download this remake!