The Finish Line
Greetings friends!
I write to you here in the final hours before we send Ultima IX: Ascension off to white glove testing at EA before manufacture. It is incredible how far we've come since we sent out the demo. I know I am biased, but WOW, what a fun game! I know most all of you will be very pleased. Ultima IX is complete, well debugged, and, I hope you agree, worthy of its position as the finale of the Ultima Trilogy of Trilogies. By the way, this game is neither small nor easy.
Here are some notable aspects of the game. I had previously estimated the demo as about 1/10 of the total game. After playing the game from beginning to end numerous times myself, I now know that the demo is a tiny fraction of the total, I'd guess about 3 - 5% at most. Most importantly, this game is an Ultima! It has a beautiful, huge, hand crafted, in-depth world to explore and adventure in, and hundreds of NPC's and items with which to interact which will provide you literally hundreds of hours of entertainment.
If I had any concerns it would be that the game could be too big and too hard in places. Then again, I'm kind of a lightweight, the QA staff blows through areas where I really struggle. It will be interesting to see how quickly some of you figure out some of the more fiendish puzzles. I suggest you post clues to each other as there are a ton of "Easter egg" surprises for people to find on rare occasions. There are many, many sub-plots to explore - many of which I have yet to personally experience in game.
This team has stayed the course and completed a most difficult game, under the most difficult of internal circumstances, and prevailed gloriously due to their skill and determination. I owe them, each and every individual, a personal debt of gratitude for standing by me and the project for this long and difficult journey. I know they take as much pride in this work as I do. We have all poured huge amounts of our spirits into this game. Our time of rest is coming, none too soon.
It is with a large amount of excitement that we prepare to deliver this to you. It is also with a measure of sadness. I hope you agree the game has a touching ending. It is enhanced by the fact that this is the end of an age. The end of a story that is as old as our industry. The end of a story about you, the one true Avatar. This is the final chapter of your adventures as the Avatar in Britannia. Prepare yourself.
Enjoy,
Richard Garriott / Lord British
& The Development Team
