The year was 1997. I was a senior in high school with a 56k modem and a lot of free time. I was a huge Ultima series fan and heard of Ultima Online from a friend. I HAD to get it. I worked out a deal with my brother to share an account and split the monthly payment. Dialing up to your ISP back then was the worst. If it was late at night, my mom would hear the modem (skreeeeeeeeeetch eeeeeeeerrrrk) and come shut me down.
My first experience playing was surreal. I was the master of my own destiny. I picked up lumberjacking, scribing, archery... my builds were a mess but I had such a fun time building skills with visions of greatness to strive for. Sonoma was my server of choice as it had the most stable connection. I made friends, communicated through ICQ (is that still a thing?) and joined a guild.
College struck for me and I managed to take over my brothers account and keep active (as I could). My main character then was a bank thief build with an eye for silver vanq weapons. So many good times running around brit bank... I ended up graduating college and playing up until 2004. Unfortunately my guild at the time (and I) swapped games to Star Wars Galaxies.
I've always had a special place in my heart for UO, recently coming back to the game last month. I'm currently relearning the ropes and having a great time. I do some scripting in my career and thought it would be really interesting to see the limits of scripting in UO (if there are any, hah) and add to this community.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
-V
