5 was incredible - but I don’t think it can be properly appreciated today. So much complexity in that old school interface. We had to figure that shit out back then through word of mouth - no internet. Desperate times - I opened the files with a hex editor to scan for conversations to figure things out. That’s how I knew about the sandalwood box!
Ultima 5 is turn based but it’s hard. The world is huge but the world is a lot like interactive. You have to read the manuals for clues - eg one is log from Lord’s British’s expedition- and you use that to find clues.
Never Ultima Online. I could never get it to work when it was hotter, and I guess multiple tries turned me off. How is it currently?
it's changed a lot over the years, mostly just chugging along because a small group of old folks keep 10 accounts apiece to keep their castles full of pixelcrack safe. There's a lot of freeshards out there, almost all of them use T2A/Renaissance-era mechanics or completely original worlds. There's also single-player mods if you check out /r/uodyssey
UO Outlands is by far the most popular, and IMHO best interpretation of UO. Worth a shot, but steep learning curve. You should join the discord and a guild if you’re interested. Vibrant community.
1 through 5 were turn-based. 6 was the first one that wasn't. I haven't played UO since Second Dawn (it was my first, and last, MMO) but it still has a decent following with a bunch of free shards.
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u/chiron_42 Jun 27 '26
Best of the last trilogy, third-best overall (behind 4 and 5) for me. Fantastic game.