Ultima 6 Project Released

Team Archon has been working on updating Ultima 6 since 2001, and this past Monday, they finally released v1.0, being the 20th anniversary of the original game's release. Built on the Dungeon Siege engine, there are some changes, that have changed a few story elements, which they boast "bolster[s] intraseries continuity and building on the Ultima legacy in a way that will please fans new and old." Since it is built on the engine of Dungeon Siege, this does mean you need to own a fully-patched copy of said game; it will work on both PC and Mac.

Other features they've highlighted:

• Travel throughout the lands of Britannia, exploring deep, dark forests with bandits lying in wait, deserts and swamps teaming with monsters, and peaceful towns and villages filled with shops, old friends, and interesting people just waiting to give the player numerous and exciting quests to solve.
• Explore deep and dangerous caves and caverns full of treasure and hidden surprises. Bring your breadcrumbs to mark your trail, or be prepared to be thoroughly and completely lost, with your remains left to be found by future explorers.
• Sail the savage seas to explore remote islands, but be vigilant for there are sea monsters lying in wait for the careless traveler
• Discover a hidden new world, far from Britannia.
• Encounter strange and exotic races, including the mysterious Gargoyles.
• Fight fearsome monsters, find pirate loot, solve a murder, and discover the truth behind the numerous attacks on Britannia's towns.
• Learn the commerce of the land for fun and profit.
• Learn magical spells, search for magic reagents, and join guilds to gain special benefits.
• Those players with proclivities to the dark side can follow an "evil path".
• And, last, but not least, ferret out the hidden Easter eggs.

Having grown up with the series in my household, and playing Ultima Online when it released, I am somewhat confused as to why I never actually played the series itself, so I may just have to pick up a collection of them and see about going about such, with this making its way in that ever-growing backlog.

If you're curious, feel free to go there and download from any of their mirrors.