In the latest Ultima Online newsletter (which you can sign up to receive at the game’s website), Broadsword Online Games gives us some details about what Publish 93 will bring to the game. Not surprisingly, the in-game store that Broadsword mentioned was coming will be included in this Publish:

With Publish 92 out the door we are working on Publish 93. I would like to share a few features we are putting into 93 that I am sure everyone will really enjoy.

First we are putting an in game store for in game items. You will be able to go to the Origin store to buy a currency used only in game Sovereign. You will no longer be sent a code to put in game, you will be able to purchase in game only items from a gump on your paperdoll and have it placed into your backpack. You will be able to purchase more than one item at a time now and as many as you want. Woot!

There will also be a new quest line added to the game in Publish 93, which will evidently have more to do with the Myrmidex:

In Publish 92 Britannians were given a bold quest by Lord Blackthorn, King of Britannia, to unite the Tribes of Eodon against a growing Myrmidex threat. As the Myrmidex have grown increasingly brazen in their attacks against those adventuring in the Valley of Eodon, the Time Lord saw fit to call upon his Highness to act. With much courage, many Britannians answered the call and their dedication to earning the trust of the native Eodonian peoples was tested. In the untamed jungles of Eodon A Great Ape and a towering T-Rex were bested in combat. Britannians showed love in protecting the most vulnerable of a species – seeing fit to defend Dragon Turtle hatchlings and Tiger Cubs from trappers and poachers with sinister motives in mind. Never shying from a challenge, Britannians boldly ventured deep inside an active volcano to obtain precious rocks held sacred by a tribe.

With the new found trust of the Eodonians the time to act is now! Acting on orders from King Blackthorn, Sir Geoffrey has begun preparations for an all-out assault against the Myrmidex and their Barrabian zealots. A great battle is upon us…the Myrmidex and the Barrab versus Sir Geoffrey and the other Tribes of Eodon. Where will you side in this fight? Take a stand and find out where this great conflict will lead us in Publish 93!

And one other neat feature in this newsletter is a technical piece that explains the graphics of Ultima Online:

A common misperception is that UO uses Isometric projection. In reality, UO uses Oblique projection. The Grid that all objects are placed on in game is composed of equilateral squares, meaning that all the angles of the squares, or tiles, are 90 degrees – Isometric tiles would have angles at the top and bottom of the tiles that would measure 120 degrees each, and the left and right corners would both measure 60 degrees. Since all tiles have 90 degree angles, this means that there is no vanishing point, therefore UO does not have any perspective…Nearly all of the old UO artwork was done in 2d paint programs. In doing art this way, it was easy for artists to skew perspective for the benefit of aesthetic quality. While this was great for the time, now all assets are created in modern 3D modeling tools. There is often debate how the “new” art doesn’t fit with the “proper” UO perspective. It is important to keep in mind that comparing modern 3D assets (which are natively correct) to the hand drawn assets of old is like comparing apples to oranges since the hand drawn assets are no guide to draw from.

They also note that not every object in Ultima Online necessarily accords with the oblique projection requirements, and there are plans to fix this…sort of:

When we can, our artists will update, through hand drawn alterations to the pixel art, a more aesthetically pleasing perspective that matches some of the older assets. This becomes more difficult as the complexity of the individual asset increases, especially so when animations are involved. We are both committed to the special feel of the original Ultima Online artwork, but also to making sure we continue to provide modern assets that enhance the immersion of the game’s content while pushing the envelope on what has been done before.

It’s not a high-resolution art update, which effort Broadsword has largely put aside given the massive quantity of art that would need to be updated. But any aesthetic edits that they are able to bring to Ultima Online are, nevertheless, welcome.