Back in September 1997 Origin wrote history when they released Ultima Online. Looking back I have many a fond memory of my time in Britannia. My Ultima Online Public Beta Test CD came a long way via ground mail from Texas all the way to Germany. It was the first true MMORPG ever (not counting Meridian 59) and being an Ultima fan I was quite 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 isn’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 