April 2012

The Awakening – Act IV Submitted by UO_Herald on April 30, 2012 at 5:38 PM CDT Originally posted 30 Apr 2012 14:56:14 EST by Kai Schober on the UO Herald: Written by the EM Team The thundering echoes of metal clashing against stone rose up again from the western walls, as yet another of the mechanical beasts managed to clamber its way out of the hole that led to their entombed shrine to do battle with the Gargish defenders. Alone the creatures were not a lethal threat, but any mistake would lead to injuries, and the gargoyles could not replenish their forces as the machines did. Add to that the defecting gargoyles that joined the twisted and insane controllers inside the mechanized temple to a long dormant deity, and Ver Lor Reg sat on a precarious perch. And though the sounds of valorous physical battle carried from the site, a far different but decidedly no less heated battle took place inside their council chambers. To read the full story on the forums, click HERE.

Ultima Online Spotlight Submitted by UO_Herald on April 30, 2012 at 5:34 PM CDT Originally posted 27 Apr 2012 13:41:19 EST by Tim Chappell on the UO Herald: Ashlynn, an avid UO player and reporter for the PaxLair Times, has created a magnificent piece of fan art. Despite her many responsibilities, she dedicated a lot of her time working as an excellent UO Cartographer. She crafted a beautiful map of Britannia that may prove to be as timeless as Ultima Itself. Head on over to PaxLair Times to get a full size 3798×3453 copy of the image and check out the amazing details! While you’re there, read through her great reports and help us to thank her for her time and love for Ultima. [Discuss This Article]

Attention Housebuilder Submitted by UO_Herald on April 26, 2012 at 7:55 PM CDT Originally posted 26 Apr 2012 15:42:15 EST by Kai Schober on the UO Herald: Greetings, If you have recently followed some ill advice on how to achieve an illegal house foundation in Ultima Online, now is your time to undo it. From tomorrow on, agents of the housing office will search for such foundations and sanction the owners. Thank you! [Discuss This Article]

Account Center Maintenance - 04/23 Submitted by UO_Herald on April 22, 2012 at 9:50 PM CDT Originally posted 22 Apr 2012 17:57:06 EST by Kai Schober on the UO Herald: Update 10:45 am EDT: The maintenance is over. All functions of the account center are available again. Greetings, We will bring down the Account Center for maintenance tomorrow, Monday April 23rd, at 8 am EDT (14:00 CEST). During the maintenance you will not be able to change subscription or redeem game codes. At the moment we anticipate the Account Center to be back online at 12 pm EDT (18:00 CEST). Thank you for your understanding. [Discuss This Article]

April’s Treasure Hunt Challenge – Catskills vs. Legends Submitted by UO_Herald on April 20, 2012 at 3:08 PM CDT Originally posted 20 Apr 2012 14:24:26 EST by Kai Schober on the UO Herald: A new (old) Challenger has come forth! Last month the Gold Diggers of Legends Shard defeated a surprisingly fierce team Awesome Sauce of Lake Superior. There will be no surprises this time around, however, as the Gold Diggers face a seasoned team of veterans, the Blue Beetles of Catskills. The following is the Challenge laid forth by Catskills, and the response issued by Legends: My Dearest Helios and Miko, How are things? It has been some time since we have spoken. How has your shard been, and Miko – did you ever get that boil removed? Adris and I have been quite well on Catskills – busy as always, of course. There always seems to be something, you know? Anyway, I am writing to you to say “congratulations” on your two victories in the Cross Shard Treasure Hunt Challenge. You and your team truly are Legends. Well, in your own minds, perhaps. But don’t get me wrong – I wouldn’t begrudge you your hard-earned victories. I mean, as the saying goes, I’d rather be lucky than good, eh? To the point – if you fancy a bit of competition, I think Catskills would like its’ trophy back. What do you say? We EAGERLY await your response. Sincerely, Barnaby, Adris, and the Blue Beetles of Catskills Appreciative of the concern for Miko, the Legends EMs responded promptly: It will be interesting to see if such civility will stand when the competition between these two proud teams heats up. The Gold Diggers are looking to become the first team to win three Challenges in a row, but the Blue Beetles (former two-time champions themselves) should prove a difficult opponent. As if this wasn’t enough to provide drama to the match, EM Sangria has promised a surprise for this Challenge – something special to mark the occasion of two veteran teams meeting. Interested in seeing how this all plays out? Come to the Chessboard in Nujel’m and watch Catskills take on Legends in the Cross Shard Treasure Hunt Challenge! Date: Sunday, April 22nd Time: 9pm EST Place: Nujel’m Chessboard, Test Center Shard Spectators are encouraged to come and cheer on their favorite team! Gates will be provided from the New Haven bank prior to and during the event. [Discuss This Article]

Regarding Oceania Submitted by UO_Herald on April 18, 2012 at 5:10 PM CDT Originally posted 18 Apr 2012 16:15:01 EST by Kai Schober on the UO Herald: The extended downtime of Oceania today is supposed to have fixed the issues this shard encountered in the previous weeks. We want to thank you for your patience during that time and will continue to keep a close eye on your shard. [Discuss This Article]

Maintenance of All Shards - 04/18 Submitted by UO_Herald on April 17, 2012 at 3:30 PM CDT Originally posted 17 Apr 2012 14:43:12 EST by Kai Schober on the UO Herald: Update 2:45pm EDT: Oceania is back online, too. Update 1:45pm EDT: All shards except Oceania are back online. Greetings! We will be bringing all shard offline tomorrow, Wednesday April 18, at 11 am EDT (3pm GMT) for maintenance to improve the login process. This maintenance will replace the regular morning maintenance. At this time we anticipate that the shards will be back online no later than 2 pm EDT (6 pm GMT). Please be sure to check the Herald for updates regarding this downtime. [Discuss This Article]

THE YEW TIMES - A Newspaper for Sosaria Submitted by UO_Herald on April 12, 2012 at 7:36 PM CDT Originally posted 12 Apr 2012 11:18:00 EST by YEW TIMES Editoral Office on the UO Herald: Written by members of the UO community Issue 3 WORLD NEWS Golem Experiment Falls Flat A year's worth of dedication in perfecting the mechanical shepherd has been rife with numerous failures, says controversial tinker and inventor, Harvey Croblink. "Mind you, the mechanical golem though a modern marvel, is pretty much simple-minded in it's tasks. It lacks the gentler touch," says Harvey. Improvements in the golem's intelligence and problem-solving capabilities seem to have made matters worse, despite the machine's ability to understand more complex commands. An order to herd sheep to another corral, might result in the golem hurling the poor creatures in a catapult fashion 100 furlongs through the air. Bystanders were horrified to witness the metal colossus forcefully plowing a new born spring lamb through the narrow fenceposts when a request was made to retrieve any lost strays that had wandered off. Animal trainers have stated that the sheep are so traumatized at this point, that when they see the metal monster, they tend to try to hide under the nearest sheep and it is not uncommon for cowering sheep to inadvertantly be crushed under a massive sheep-pile in the interests of self-preservation. Last but not least are incidents where the golem will attempt to forcefully feed a malnurished sheep until it bursts. So it's back to the drawing board for our famous tinker. Better luck with your next promising invention. To read the full article on the forums, click HERE. [Discuss This Article]

UO Forums Interviews Jeff Skalski Submitted by UO_Herald on April 11, 2012 at 7:24 PM CDT Originally posted 11 Apr 2012 10:20:54 EST by Tim Chappell on the UO Herald: The Ultima Online Forums had the opportunity to interview Jeff Skalski, the Ultima Franchise Producer and published part one of the Q&A on their site. What is a typical day like in the office for you? Starbucks in one hand and iPad in the other. I really avoid spending too much time in Outlook. Instead, I'd rather be engaged with fellow team members. In between that, I'm playing the game, in meetings, looking ahead and communicating in all directions around me about how we're doing. To get a better understanding of your producer and what changes we can look forward to for Ultima Online, head over to the Ultima Online Forums for the complete interview. [Discuss This Article]

The Awakening - Act III Ad Submitted by UO_Herald on April 10, 2012 at 4:53 PM CDT Originally posted 10 Apr 2012 17:15:38 EST by Kai Schober on the UO Herald: [Discuss This Article]

The Awakening - Act III Submitted by UO_Herald on April 10, 2012 at 12:06 PM CDT Originally posted 10 Apr 2012 11:39:43 EST by Kai Schober on the UO Herald: Written by the EM Team There was hardly anything left after they were done. He’d borne witness to the frantic looting of the castle and had found himself only able to escape with his life. It was unthinkable, and as such it had caught him and seemingly everyone else completely unawares. Explosions were set off throughout the capital city…though there wasn’t much point in even calling it the capital city anymore at this point. Britannia was on the brink of collapse into a fully-fledged group of independent city-states, like Nujel’m had always been. All he had been able to salvage were the clothes on his back and the rumpled piece of cloth in his hand. He thought back to the incident in his head, still confused over the choice he’d made… To read the full story on the forums, click HERE.

Jeff 'Gryphon' Skalski Interview on UOForums Submitted by DaKaren on April 7, 2012 at 10:32 AM CDT Originally posted 04/06/12 by Rupert Avery on UOForums: The Ultima franchise Producer kindly took the time to answer some of our burning questions. This is part one with another round of answers to come. Hope you all enjoy Interview with Jeff 'Gryphon' Skalski - UO Producer Part 1 [Discuss This Article]

Noteworthy Persons - Queen Mum Submitted by UO_Herald on April 6, 2012 at 1:40 PM CDT Originally posted 6 Apr 2012 14:02:11 EST by Tim Chappell on the UO Herald: Why did you choose Sonoma for your home? How long have you been here? Fourteen years ago family members were playing UO and kept asking me to join them. It took about a year for me to 'just try playing it' and since they play on Sonoma, because of its friendly community atmosphere, it became my 'home'. How did you come up with the name Queen Mum? The family suggested it because they consider me the Queen of Cookies and they call me Mum. So, we just put the two names together. How did you get started organizing events? Before retiring, my career was in promotions and advertising. I really enjoyed planning and implementing special events for my clients. When I joined UO I discovered that players like to attend community events so I began organizing and running them. I also have had the opportunity to help other community event organizers from other shards and find doing community events always fun and rewarding. To read the full interview on the forums, click HERE.

UO Stratics Editorial Manager Celebrates 3 Year Anniversary Submitted by UO_Herald on April 4, 2012 at 1:02 PM CDT Originally posted 4 Apr 2012 12:22:24 EST by Kai Schober on the UO Herald: One of the most important persons at our partner site UO Stratics celebrates her 3rd anniversary today. Petra shows an incredible dedication and helped to make UO Stratics what it is today. Our whole team congratulates Petra and wishes her all the best for the next years - 3 years might be not as long as the 15 years UO faces this year, but we are sure she is working on it. Why don't you head over to their forum and congratulate her, too? [Discuss This Article]

Beware of April Fools Submitted by UO_Herald on April 1, 2012 at 4:47 PM CDT Originally posted 1 Apr 2012 13:30:44 EST by Kai Schober on the UO Herald: Enjoy your day! [Discuss This Article]