Back in September 1997, Origin wrote history when they released Ultima Online. Looking back, I have many fond memories of my time in Britannia. My Ultima Online Public Beta Test CD came a long way via ground mail from Texas to Germany. It was the first true MMORPG ever (not counting Meridian 59), and being an Ultima fan, I was excited when I held that disc in my hands. I had already started playing online via battle.net when Diablo was released in 1996, and before that, I spent some time “mudding” in a German MUD called Morgengrauen, which is still up and running after 15 years. Never underestimate the imaginative power unleashed by a MUD! Visual effects aren’t everything, and yet, even though UO had no spiffy 3D graphics, it was and still is enchanting in its very own way.
Alexander Ipfelkofer 