Ultima Online

[Greybeard]

For a long time Ultima Online could only be played on Microsoft computers. More advanced Mac computers (OS X) used to require a special facility called Boot Camp to create a partition in their hard disk and then download or buy a windows programme to place it in that partition.

This was far from ideal as Microsoft Windows has always been prone to attacks by hackers, and so it exposed Mac computers to the same sort of problems that Microsoft was exposed to. Since then Mac computers have become increasingly popular and with that - and especially the use of pocket phones - has come increasing vulnerability to attackers. I use a Mac today but don't notice any deterioration.

Now there are many types of computers, including Linux, on a General Public License (GNU). Linux also has the equivelent of the Mac partition. There are also special programmes for such crossover uses, like Parallels and CrossOver for a reasonable fee. The increasing use of mobile phones and other devices complicates things even more. But it also means that UO is now played much more widely than before.

Ultima Online was the first of the new MMORPGs to reach a wide popularity. It was first released in 1997. The Wikipedia website above gives a history of the game.

Parallel with this change has come the development of private shards. Some of these are able to be played on most computers and with servers that can take up to a thousand players. There is even a Wikipedia item on Ultima Online shard emulation. These are run by players who dedicate much time and effort to developing and maintaining their favourite MMORPG. 

One of these is Ultima Online Forever, another is Shroud of the Avatar, another is UO Second Age. They are often crowd funded to get them going.

Ultima Online Forever is available for mac as well as Microsoft. And it also has a server on which up to 650 players are online. Ultima Online Forever also has a forum: http://uorforum.com. American players are in the majority, but role-players are also well-represented. Several role-player guilds exist. UO Forever, sometimes called UO Renaissance is playable with a Mac computer. 

[Greybeard]

Ultima Online Forever is free access, but I chose to donate as my contribution to the game. It is just great to be able to play UO again without the rigmarole of setting up a partition for Microsoft windows on my mac. Hopefully the new owners of  UO will consider opening access to mac users soon.

The main difference is that there is no Trammel, it is all Felucca except at starting when all players may start at Occlo, a town with most basic facilities, and where new characters start with a "Young" status. You do not have to start there, and if you do start there there is a moongate for your character to go elsewhere, upon which you lose your "Young" status. You can return to Occlo at any time the way you came, but without the "Young" status. 

Since I have always played crafters in later years this takes some getting used to, but it works OK for me at the moment, with a rather inexperienced fighter. I hope to be able to develop him as soon as possible.

[Starkadder]

This is really interesting.  Hopefully, I can get my play computer working again, or wait until WIN10 is on all new laptops and get a new one.

[Greybeard]

This is really interesting.  Hopefully, I can get my play computer working again, or wait until WIN10 is on all new laptops and get a new one.

Sadly I can't recommend anyone with a mac to bother, unless they are competent with macs. I'm not, I just enjoy the smooth operation of a macbook pro retina, and the quality of images is impressive.

[Greybeard]

Ultima Online Forever has a fine forum, with several sub-forums The forums auto-save posts that are not published, so the posts can be updated later at leisure. The era is one I was not familiar with: pre-2003 when I joined Age of Shadows, which, among other changes, introduced the elven race and so made bows a more useful weapon. It also introduced a new level of skill called Grand Master, a change I didn't particular want to see happen. I eventually abandoned my opposition to help my online friends.

Something I discovered quite by chance was a large collection - many hours - of You Tube music for RPG, called RPG Chillout Music, the imagery of which is very appealing. Some of the sequences are from existing RPGs such as Neverwinter Nights, Gothic 2, Drakensang Online, Planescape Torment, Witcher 2, and Dark Age of Camelot. At some point I may try some of these out.

[GrimFinger]

Listening to the music, now, from that YouTube link.

[Greybeard]

I listen to it often, with 21 tracks each between 20 and 25 minutes long, makes it very different from other pbm chillout music. Some of them follow a character who is only seen from behind. The countryside is also of interest, as are the prehistoric animals, some small dinosaurs, giant elk, domestic scenes of pigs rooting about, villagers sawing a log, stirring a large cauldron, some show dead captives hanging. The titles of pbm games like Never winter nights, Planeshift and Baldur's Gate tempt me to follow the link to kern more about them.

[Greybeard]

A new version of Ultima Online,  called Wild Terra is almost ready to launch. It is in colour, can be played on a Mac as well as on Microsoft, but it comes with a subscription or perhaps a purchase price. See this thread for information:
http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/wild...d.1932811/