Ultima Online

Ultima Online overview

Type: Role-Playing Game
ESRB Rating: Mature
Release Date: 09/24/1997
Developer: Electronic Arts, Origin Systems
Publisher: Electronic Arts

If you loved the look and feel of Diablo or other Ultima adventures, you are going to love Ultima Online.

In Ultima Online, you are in a virtual world where you play with thousands of different people all around the world. In Ultima online, you are not forced with one character. You can choose your sex, skin color, hair color and style, facial hair, and skills.

While learning traits, your character becomes skilled and stronger. However, if you happen to slay other players, your status will be marked and your character becomes hated by other town citizens.

In Ultima Online, you are not just stuck in one location. You can build ships to sail across the sea, have sea battles, and get to other islands to sell or trade goods without worrying about others stealing. But be cautious in town as other players can steal your items. However, when this occurs, yelling GUARDS causes guards to come and kill the individual; watch out for the wilderness, as guards cannot protect you far from town.

System Requirements: Microsoft Windows - Apple - Linux

Getting started

Unfortunately, because this is an evolving game, things are changing every day; some of the below information may or may not apply to the game when you join. When starting the game, you need to log into your account that you have created. Once logged in you need to create a character, choosing to give or not give it a name. Then the next task being to create the character's skill.

• Warrior - Being a warrior is a very useful profession; by being a warrior you can kill creatures, getting valuables off of them, skinning them and getting hides, etc.
• Tailor - Tailors have the capabilities of making their own leather armor, clothes, and other needed supplies. This progression is profitable with the capability of skinning animals and getting hides and wool. You can make armor for you or make and sell throughout towns.
• Mage - This, too, is another important skill to have because many pk'rs out in Ultima Online. Often, the only way to protect yourself is with magic; however, it won't protect you completely.
• Miner - Very good skill that allows you to make chain, ring, and plate armor and also allows you to make weapons that are very useful throughout the game. Also, this profession can be very profitable during the game.

Also, ensure to choose your strength, dex, and intelligence wisely. Strength allows you to wear better armor, carry better weapons. Dex allows you to carry more items in your bag without getting too heavy and not being able to move. Intelligence is a good item to choose if you are planning to be a mage; intelligence allows you to learn faster.

Once you have set up your character appropriately, you are ready to enter Ultima Online. When starting you start in one of the many towns throughout the game. In these towns, there are usually several shops; to see what the shops are look at the sign. By clicking this store sign, you can see what the name of the shop is.

At the time, you start with 100 GP. Which unfortunately, is not that much. Use this money wisely. Usually, the best thing to buy is necessary supplies. These might include a sewing kit from the tailor, an axe/shovel from the adventure keeper, or a powerful weapon at the weaponry. Make sure you can carry the item before wasting your money.

How do I buy an item? First, you must locate a store NPC and introduce yourself, usually by saying hi, hello, hail, or hey; the NPC responds with a comment then say "buy." If done correctly, you'll see a list of items you can buy, with their prices. You can do the same by saying "hi sell" to sell items, provided you have items that the NPC finds interesting.

After familiarizing yourself with town life, begin practicing your skill, and venturing out into the forests. When out in the forests and you see a dead body or animal, double-click that person or thing to pull up a death box allowing you to see what they are holding. However, if someone dies when trying to kill someone bad or they were killed there by someone else, do not loot them or you may be killed for looting that individual.

When starting, a good thing to do is to join a GOOD guild. A guild consists of several players who help each other and fight for each other; this is good for the fact that, first, usually, they help you out when in need. Also, they help protect you against EVIL.

Things to watch out for when playing Ultima Online:

• Items that you do not plan on using or things that you want to stay safe; deposit those items into your safe deposit box by going into the bank and saying "bank".
• When in town, if you think someone is stealing from you or performing an illegal crime, yell "GUARDS" without the quotations. Yelling guards alerts the guards and that person is killed if doing something bad, which can be good because you can usually loot the criminal.
• Watch out for individuals faking that they are attacking you in town by saying "<name> is attacking you." If you yell "Guards" and nothing happens, they are attempting to get you to attack them, and if you attack them, the guards kill you and they are able to get your items.
• Watch out for Dark Lords and Ladies - These people are player killers, meaning that they can kill you and steal all of your items. To determine if someone is bad, click the individual once; if their name comes up in blue, this represents that the person is good; if their name comes up in gray, this means that they are dishonorable; however, usually this can be a mistake. If their name comes up in red, stay clear from them, especially in the forest to prevent you from getting killed and everything stolen that you have worked hard on getting. Also, watch out for these people in towns, especially if they are not wearing much (or nothing at all). These people often try to pick your pocket. They wear very little, because the guards kill them if they witness the crime. By equipping very little, they risk very little by committing the crime.
• Watch out for people who want you to come into the forest for making a trade or giving you goods. Usually, this is a trap to kill you and steal your goods.

Hints

• Always pick up items that you believe would be sellable in shops and keep them with you to sell to others or sell to the shops.
• Don't kill other player's animals or players or your player status becomes dishonorable; therefore townspeople and other players do not like you or are frightened by you. Or other players want to kill you for it, to increase their performance for killing someone who is bad.
• Killing monsters and animals (that are not someone's pet) increases your performance and sometimes can get you gold, weapons, helmets, and more.
• Fishing poles usually cost around 10 gold pieces and are excellent ways of increasing strength and fishing talents. Also, allow you to catch food while away from town; cook and eat to increase your health.
• Usually, asking other players for help can get you much further in the game.
• Watching other people train or do other skills increases your players skill.
• Use begging skills on NPCs.
• If you find people that are killed, scavenge their body and take goods off of the person.
• When talking with other people, double-click them (left button) to see the player status; watch out for dark lords and dishonorable people.
• Never allow someone to stand too close to you unless you trust them.
• Try to resurrect as a ghost if you know of a close-by healer or of someone that can heal you. If you fear loss of your items or you do not know of a close by healer and you don't mind losing some status, then resurrect and hurry and get items from your body before someone else does.
• Use fish steaks instead of gold to get your notoriety, catch fish to get strength and dex up, cut the fish into fish steaks making 5 steaks a fish, and feed to the NPCs.

Map conversions

As you have probably noticed, you cannot read the text that is on the cloth map that you received with Ultima Online. That is because it is in a different language.

Below is a conversion of the text, allowing you to read the cities that are on your map and to help you find your way around the world.

Key commands

• Alt+O - Display's the option menu.
• Alt+K - Displays the skill screen.
• Alt+S - Displays the status screen.
• Alt+P - Displays the character screen.
• Alt+R - Displays the radar view. Pressing it twice makes it larger.
• Tab - Toggles between war and peace mode.
• Alt+C - Toggles between war and peace mode.
• Alt+Enter - Toggles between full-screen or windowed display.
• Ctrl+Q - Repeats last typed text (speech or action.)
• Esc - Closes all windows.
• Alt+F4 - Exit game.
• Left-click - On an item to get info, click and drag item to move or pick up, drag on self, other player, animal or monster to bring up status bar.
• Double left-click - On an object: use, open, or close it. On another player, animal, or monster: attack (in war mode), view status (in peace mode). On self: view the character information screen.
• Right-click and hold - To move in the direction of the mouse cursor.
• Double right-click - Automatically move the character in that location.
• Type text need then enter - To talk

Screenshots

Below are pictures from the game that give you an idea of what Ultima Online is like: fighting, walking, and the environment.

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