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Reverse-engineering the 1998 Ultima Online demo server

draxinar.github.io

11–20 of 75 posts

Re: Reverse-engineering the 1998 Ultima Online demo server

#11
I've been looking for a localized (Spanish or French), mobile version of Ultima 4 (NES). Others too. Something similar to what was done with FF series by Pixel Remaster.

The game is currently only available via emulator.

Localized, text-heavy RPGs are a very easy way to "learn-while-playing" a foreign language, and reading as well.

Would love to see this built !

Re: Reverse-engineering the 1998 Ultima Online demo server

#12
For anyone wanting to try UO out, it's still a game with an active player base. There are 3rd party servers like UO Outlands, which gets closer to the original gameplay. Meaning very harsh in comparison to what most people are used to in today's MMOs. Players can just come to gank you and you'll lose your stuff, etc.

The server has 2500+ players logged in right now, so still very much active.

Re: Reverse-engineering the 1998 Ultima Online demo server

#13
Great memories. The human engagement was more genuine to everyday in-person interactions than the current state of MMORPGs and even most Social platforms. The game was also great in how extensible it was. Too great in some aspects that allowed botting, but accessible enough that general public, coding novices experienced an "intro to scripting" to create sophisticated macros.

Re: Reverse-engineering the 1998 Ultima Online demo server

#14
post #3

The UO emulator scene got me into network programming. I've never seen an online game capture so many ancillary/emergent/accidental gameplay mechanics as well as this, somehow all the 3d MMOs seemed to downgrade a lot of the interesting economics, building, exploring that UO delivered. PvP and quest type stuff is probably a lot better in other games but it was still compelling and you could realistically play solo or…

Maybe there is some opportunity there? Very little going on in the mmo world now tbh. Wow, old school runescape, final fantasy online, not much else worth it.

This game was created before virtual currency and pay to win was a thing. The potential money is probably too corrupting.

Re: Reverse-engineering the 1998 Ultima Online demo server

#15
My first real programming achievement was building a website for an Ultima Online shard. I wrote some really terrible PHP and HTML, but it worked for 20+ years afterwards. Great memories!

I was surprised that there is still an active community around UO!

In any case, this is very cool. Thanks for sharing!

Re: Reverse-engineering the 1998 Ultima Online demo server

#17
post #3

The UO emulator scene got me into network programming. I've never seen an online game capture so many ancillary/emergent/accidental gameplay mechanics as well as this, somehow all the 3d MMOs seemed to downgrade a lot of the interesting economics, building, exploring that UO delivered. PvP and quest type stuff is probably a lot better in other games but it was still compelling and you could realistically play solo or…

Maybe there is some opportunity there? Very little going on in the mmo world now tbh. Wow, old school runescape, final fantasy online, not much else worth it.

> Wow, old school runescape, final fantasy online, not much else worth it.

What about

- Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR),

- The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO),

- Guild Wars 2 (GW2),

- EVE Online,

- Black Desert?

Re: Reverse-engineering the 1998 Ultima Online demo server

#18

My first real programming achievement was building a website for an Ultima Online shard. I wrote some really terrible PHP and HTML, but it worked for 20+ years afterwards. Great memories! I was surprised that there is still an active community around UO! In any case, this is very cool. Thanks for sharing!

I had a similar experience. Back then gamers were an outsized part of the online community, so if you wanted to build a site that got some actual use and engagement, building to that audience was a good strategy. And of course, it helps when you are part of that audience.

Re: Reverse-engineering the 1998 Ultima Online demo server

#19
post #3

The UO emulator scene got me into network programming. I've never seen an online game capture so many ancillary/emergent/accidental gameplay mechanics as well as this, somehow all the 3d MMOs seemed to downgrade a lot of the interesting economics, building, exploring that UO delivered. PvP and quest type stuff is probably a lot better in other games but it was still compelling and you could realistically play solo or…

A few of the older 3d MMORPGS did try to instill some of those mechanics. Examples include:

1) Asheron's Call (which had a very active mod scene and now an emulator scene). I don' think the servers are nearly as popular as UO though.

2) Shadowbane (this one was heavily guild based but it was fun being a bit of an outlaw and PvPing random people and guilds).

Re: Reverse-engineering the 1998 Ultima Online demo server

#20
post #4

> I worked on this project intermittently for 10 years, until recent developments in LLMs finally made it possible to complete this seemingly never-ending task. I've been working on my own MFC C++ decompilation project. It's insane how useful LLMs are for this.

Are you using LLM in an automated way for this? Also, local or cloud?
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