Ultima X
Ultima X: Odyssey is an MMORPG in development by Electronic Arts' Origin Systems. Its release date is still unknown but expected to be around May 2004. Despite being a multiplayer game, UXO is being marketed as a continuation of the Ultima series that was last visited with Ultima IX rather than as a sequel or replacement to the still commercially succesful Ultima Online. Yet note that the 'X' in the title is said to be pronounced "eks", not "ten". It is also the first Ultima game produced since series creator Richard Garriott left Origin.Ultima X will use the lauded Unreal engine. As with most MMORPGs, players will have to pay a monthly fee to play it. UXO hopes to revitalize the MMORPG genre, which many have critized as being full of EverQuest clones. For example, it promises exciting combat as opposed to the "press 'A' to auto-attack" found in many MMORPGs. The fiction states that after Ultima IX, the Avatar created the new world called Alucinor in which UXO is set. Moongates throughout Alucinor will allow players to traverse the game world quickly and all players will have the ability to teleport their friends to their current location.
Drawing from the single-player Ultima games, Ultima X uses a system of "Virtues" in addition to skills, experience points and levels. Players can practice in eight Virtues (Compassion, Honesty, Honor, Humility, Justice, Sacrifice, Spirituality, and Valor) and eventually reach the maximum level with it. If a player maxes out each Virtue, they become very powerful, attaining the power of the Avatar. This example could help in understanding the Virtue system:
- A hooded guy asks you to get his gold medallion back that has been in his family for centuries. He tells you who stole it and where that person could be found. Once you find the thief, he tells you that he only stole the medallion so he could sell it and buy bread to eat. From here you can either be Compassionate by giving him some bread, letting him live, but taking the medallion back; or practice Justice and kill him, taking the medallion to its rightful owner. When you return to the hooded guy who gave you the job, you find out the medallion isn't his, but another person's who got robbed by the foodless guy, and now you can either Honor the agreement and leave with your payment, or be Honest and take the medallion to its real owner, killing the person who gave you the job.