Dragon Mail: Ultima-Based Ultima Online Shard
Todd writes:
If you had to pick an Ultima freeshard as being the most faithful to Ultima lore and the most friendly to Ultima roleplaying , which would it be? I’ve had it up to my plate helm with shards that have nothing to do with canonical Ultima lore/background.
It’s a good question, but it’s one that I sadly don’t have much of an answer for. I’ve reported on a handful of freeshards in the past, including one that purports to be faithful to Ultima Online in its earliest state. But apart from that limited reportage, I know very little about the freeshard scene, certainly not enough to be able to point to which shard(s) are the best for Ultima fans looking for some lore fidelity and single player series flavour.
However, some of dabble in the freeshards, so the question is put to you: anyone know a good freeshard for a guy who wants the most authentic Ultima experience possible?
There used to be a great one named Ultima Legacy. It was set in a timeline following the the Avatar leaving for the Serpent Isles/Pagan. It followed the Ultima history and recreated every NPC from Ultima 7 in Britannia. It was easily one of the best experiences I’ve had in gaming. The players had fleshed out characters and most of the game masters would work with you if you had ideas for quests/character plots. One I distinctly remember is my character running for a tribunal seat in New Magincia. I fought to secede from Lord British and found a Magincia army. Having an actual impact on the world was pretty awesome.
Unfortunately, Ultima Legacy closed down years ago due to hosting issues. I’ve done a lot of looking in finding a replacement, but most of the servers I’ve come across have had goofy histories and odd players. I know Warder Dragon (who was a game master for Legacy) is creating a server set during Ultima 5. This server is a long way from completion, though.
I’d love to hear if anyone has found a server matching these requirements, but I doubt it’s out there.
Yeah…I’d have recommended Legacy in a heartbeat if it was still running. One of the downsides to the server was the small playerbase, which limited roleplaying if no one was online, but when there was RP it was really fun. 🙂
(PS. Hi, Sting ;))
Hail! If a world of true Britannia thou dost seek,
Thy search may nary be meek.
Many would believe in a land of gold,
Emulating the Ultimas of old.
If modern UO makes thee rage,
I invite thee to UO: Second Age.
http://www.uosecondage.com/
UO Second Age is probably the best choice for a normal UO shard, but it’s not roleplay friendly at all.
Oh, and Hi SoL 😡
Since my comp is D.O.A, and Mrs. Pendragon has forbid me to play any U.O. on hers. I cannot recommend a true to form U.O. (freeshard) with any kind of population on it… But I did really enjoy my time on I.P.Y 2.
http://inporylem.com/
It isn’t true to form, but it is a unique twist on the game. The community (as I remember, been about 4 months) is top notch. The shard creator is probably one of the best since Origin.
T2A is also a very good shard, top notch creators, but IMO the community is sub par at best. I realize this may anger those who play that shard so i reiterate it is just my opinion.
After the new year I will be back up and running a muck in Sosaria/
Well there is always working with the dreams.
Check out http://www.yeoldeworlde.com for some concept work.