A brief update on the Ultima Online video...

This is an update specifically in regards to the upcoming Ultima Online video for those who are interested.

First of all, I really appreciate everybody who hopped on the server, even those who only fired the game once or twice. I recognize that it's a bit obtuse for modern tastes, but it was incredibly gratifying to see people really getting into it. I've heard so many great stories and seen some legendary screenshots. You guys have made this a very memorable month.

At this point, activity on the server has wound down quite a bit. Understandably so. Lots of people REALLY hit the grind when it first came online. Now the weather is getting nicer, plenty of other games are coming out (games that aren't 30 years old, mind you), and the novelty has worn off for some folks.

It's just as well, as I'm now fully immersed in writing this script. This gives me even less time for playing and community management. This is undoubtedly one of the most complicated videos I've ever made. I've read entire novels worth of post-mortems, essays, diary entries from the developers, patch notes, and Usenet posts from 30 years ago. I've watched somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 hours of interviews with UO developers, and compiled 20,000 words worth of bullet point notes across 3 documents. I have a folder with magazine interviews and previews which alone is more than 3GB (God bless the internet archive) - not to mention my footage folder which has just crested the 200GB mark. That's 1080p... imagine if I did 4K. I conducted an interview with an ex software engineer at Origin, corresponded with dozens of UO vets sharing information and stories, and quite literally THOUSANDS of people who joined our private server. Each step of way I can't help but think "What have I gotten myself into?"

Not that I've ever thought about stopping. In the very beginning, this Ultima series seemed like an impossible task. I remember finishing up the Akalabeth/U1 video and thinking to myself "It took that long to do the simplest game in the series... can I really get through this whole thing?" And here we are. What's one more impossible task?

Intimidating scope aside, the writing is coming easy this time around. I usually get jammed up while writing scripts for these larger videos, but this one seems to write itself. The form it's taking is more segmented and chapter-based than my usual videos, which I chalk up to the game's complete lack of a narrative thread. On top of discussing the game itself, the key to this script seems to increasingly be my own personal anecdotes, as well as the memories shared by others. Storytelling and experiences are at the heart of UO, and they seem to be doing a better job of emphasizing the game's mechanics than a straightforward explanation ever could. I guess we'll see how it all shakes out.

I know, I know. "He'll do anything other than play Ultima IX". Look at my channel man. Do you think I'm scared of bad games??

The truth is that tons of late-stage Origin history is buried within UO's development. More than I was expecting, this game and the context surrounding its creation are really critical in understanding Ultima IX and what follows. I think I've said this for the past 3 or 4 Ultima videos (and it continues to be true), but this'll be the most history-dense video I've made. So bookend enjoyers rejoice, we've got plenty of development horror stories ahead of us.

Knock on wood the writing continues smoothly, I should be editing soon. Once the video releases, there'll be a link in a pinned comment to the server as well as a video tutorial showing how to install the game. I'll probably have a "getting started guide" included in the video too, just to help acclimatize people to the sandbox. At this point, I have NO idea what kind of traffic to expect, but I would imagine the video will be a pretty effective advertisement. I saw a post in the wild recommending my server, saying "This is probably the only chance you'll ever have to play Ultima Online with a bunch of fellow newbies". If that's true, I consider it to be a very special by-product of this thing we're doing. I hope that continues after the video.

Thank you all for your patience and support as I've been putting this together. Some day after the video releases I'll do a little post-mortem of my own, explain what a crazy experience this has been. Until then, I'm back to writing. Hope your summer is off to a great start, and I will touch base soon!