Ultima Online Ships

Tuesday night at approximately 9pm Texas time, Lord British succumbed to a poisonous brew, and the world - as Ultima Online beta testers knew it - came to an end.

Fret not, however. The turf known as Britannia returns bright and shiny in the next few hours.

Origin System's persistent universe known as Ultima Online was officially launched on Wednesday. Gamers who ordered UO Charter Editions through the Origin/EA site will begin receiving their boxed copies on Thursday. And Origin says the UO servers will be up and running by then. Origin also announced a flat monthly fee of US$9.95 for playing UO.

Shipments to retailers nationwide (as well as Japan and Europe) leave production facilities as of Friday and should be on store shelves beginning next week at the earliest.

Questions still remain, however, from beta testers critical of some of the game's content, including over-zealous, over-protective guards, economy loopholes, sparse monster and animal allocation, and discrepancies between the Ultima Online FAQ and the actual game.

The true test should come shortly - when software lands in gamers' hands.

Will Origin's commitment to delivering a fun game be realized? As one savvy gamer said to a reporter recently, "Designing the perfect game is a lifelong endeavor. The game as it sits will be molded over time by the most important facet, which is the human interaction, and to predict where that will take the game is difficult."

The retail version includes one month of unlimited free play, a cloth map of Britannia, collectible pewter lapel pin, game software, and AT&T WorldNet Internet service with a 30-day introductory period and a copy of Netscape Navigator. It will sell for a MSRP of $65.

The Charter Edition comes with 90 days of unlimited free play, a "collectible" print of original art created for Ultima Online by Tim and Greg Hildebrandt, an official Charter Membership Certificate, a cloth map of Britannia, a pewter lapel pin, and the AT&T WorldNet Service and Netscape Navigator freebies as above. The Charter Edition has a suggested retail price of $89 and is available only through EA Direct Sales.