I've been away for far to long from this site. While there hasn't been much in the way of official Ultima news since five years ago (other than some recent exceptions), I found it surprising that the community landscape has changed quite a bit. The rcgud newsgroups have been largely replaced by a facebook page, the Ultima Codex (formerly Aiera) has become an excellent Ultima news resource, and several new projects have cropped up while older ones have disappeared.

Anyway, I'd still like to keep the project database up-to-date as well as add a few enhancements in order to keep the site relevant and the community active:

1. Forums - To provide a place for Ultima fans to discuss the Ultima series and fan projects
2. Category reorganization - I think it would be a good idea to "tag" projects so they could be returned in the results of multiple categories. The current structure is a bit too hierarchical in my opinion.
3. JSON API - this would allow others to query the project database and incorporate the data into their own websites. It would also serve as a platform to work off of if I ever choose to redesign this site with a javascript-based ui.
4. Community submissions - this would alleviate some of the pressure from moi to keep the project database up-to-date

I've been navigating the projects today and taking note of things that are out-of-date. I've already begin making updates and corrections. Feel free to send me any other comments/suggestions for improvement that you'd like to see. Although I haven't been very active in the Ultima community at all the past five years, I think that has changed in the past seven months.

Well, that Ultima-related project I mentioned nearly 5 years ago on this site is now finished. From The Exodus Project website:

After 10 years of waiting, I'm happy to announce that the next major release of the Ultima III Upgrade - version 3.0 - is now available for download. This release includes many new features and fixes, the foremost being ability to select between four different video modes...

Below are screenshots of the four video modes:

Hello all. Well, I managed to post an update to this site once a day for nearly two weeks straight. I'm still around, but another Ultima-related project has taken my attention as well. I hope to post something at least once a week to ensure the Reconstruction remains active and up-to-date.

XiDragon has made a graphics enhancement mod for Ultima V Lazarus. It provides some updated textures that provide quite a different look and feel to the game. Just take a look for yourself:

Note, that mod has a bit of irony with it: it is a mod of a mod. ;-)

This evening's update concerns the game that started it all: Akalabeth: World of Doom. Dubbed "Ultima 0" by some since Ultima 1 (then just "Ultima") was supposed to be its sequel, it was released by Richard Garriot through California Pacific Computer Company in 1979 - nearly 30 years ago. The rest, as they say, is history...

We have two more projects added to the site today: an Akalabeth remake for SDL made by Paul Robson. It's named Aklabeth, though I cannot tell if the mispelling was intentional. The other project is a port of Akalabeth for Java-enabled mobile phones. Now you can defeat Mondain's minions anywhere! ;-)

Exult has really inspired many modifications to Ultima VII. Not only do we have a plethora of projects to enhance the game's graphics and plot, but there are also projects to translate the game to other languages. So, I've added a new category to the left-nav: Fan Translations.

Also, in case you haven't noticed, I've been trying to publish an update once per day to this site. Unfortunately, I missed yesterday (you really lose track of time in WoW!) so expect two updates today. I'll publish the second one later tonight.

I've added a new project to the Inspired Works section, Ashes. It's inspired by three groundbreaking games, one of which is Ultima VII.

Ashes is strongly inspired by three milestones of the RPG history: Ultima VII, Drakkhen and Demon's Winter: we're trying to replicate the exploration, atmosphere and compelling plots of such classics, adding some brand new ingredients to their winning recipe.

Unfortunately, there are no downloads available yet to give it a spin, but it has been under active development for about three years and appears to be making some considerable headway. The 3D engine (Pancake) is of the homegrown variety. Head on over to their site and check out the screenshots!

Withstand the Fury Dragon has restored the website of his NeverWinter Nights project, Lost Sosaria. Despite the fact that most of the original project work was lost in a hard drive failure, he has swiftly resumed work on the game and has several new screenshots posted - only days after reopening the site. He is currently looking for folks to help him with the project.

The scope of Lost Sosaria has changed somewhat. The game will now take place soley in the Lands of the Dark Unknown. The Land of the Feudal Lords is no longer a part of a game so as not to conflict with Wizardry Dragon's effort, The Feudal Lands. This also makes for a less daunting production (which may mean an earlier release in the long run).

Note, I've also moved The Feudal Lands into the Fan Fiction section since the mod will mostly consist of fan fiction.