After a 10 year hiatus, Darkmoon the land barron returns, and it feels great to be back!!
For me, it all started way back in 1996 when I saw an ad in "Computer Gaming World" magazine about a new type of game that was being developed Origin Systems. The studio's name instantly caught my eye as I'm a fan of the Ultima series, so using AOL 3.0 dial-up(28.8kbps- i was poor at the time) I managed to find the website of this mysterious "new game" and started reading. At the time, there wasn't too much info about it on the website, but I did find the "sign up for beta" section and thought "Doubt I'll get selected, but I'll give it a shot". To my surprise, after months and months of waiting, the beta CD arrives in the mail!! I
IMMEDIATELY ripped that puppy out of the envelope, slammed it into my PC for installation, and off I went.
Fast-Forward a year or so... I had quit the game for a while due to the horrendus lag I was getting, and I guess I wasn't used to the whole new "persistant world" thing yet. Anyhow, a friend called me one day and during our conversation, he asked if I had ever heard of the game "Ultima Online". Being proud that I was selected as one of the beta testers, I replied nonchalantly "Yeah, I beta tested that game but I don't play anymore". Then my friend replied "I BETA TESTED IT TOO!!!" and I was crushed..
here I was, being naive, thinking that I was the ONLY beta-tester for UO in Hawaii.. boy was I WRONG!
He then suggested that I come back, and offered to help me get started all over again. That was "the straw that broke the camel's back" so to speak, and I was hooked. I played on Baja, and started the long grind to 7x as everyone else did. After countless dying, getting my body looted, etc (learning the ropes), everything changed when He suggested I get into real estate. Being the curious type, I needed to know more, and after explaining to me how it all worked, I quickly found myself with quite a few small properties just begging to be sold.
Fast Forward to 1998-2001
4 accounts with all character slots filled, homes on ALL characters on each account, all characters 7x.. I had my hands full, and UO became quite literally, a "JOB". Three names that stand out when it comes to this period in my UO life are: Markee Dragon, Tellamon, and Dungeon King (dk). At the time, they were the 3 guys I was competing with on Baja, and I know you've heard of a few of those names, if not all. Toward the end, I guess I had burnt myself out BIGTIME, so I threw in the towel and got rid of all of my accounts.. then World of Warcraft arrived, but that's an entirely different story
So I'm back, and just started playing on a free server with the friend that first got me into MMO's (how's that for ironic!
). A LOT has changed in the UO universe, and there's TONS I need to re-learn and, or figure out! New people to meet, new friends to make, new lands to dominate!!
In closing,
I won't let myself get as hardcore as I used to be, as UO isn't one of my primary sources of RL income anymore(if you know what i mean
). Now,it'll all be for the fun and for the sport of it, and I'm looking forward to getting every bit of enjoyment from UO that I once did... or should I say- "I'm
HOPING to get every bit of enjoyment from UO that I once did"? lol!
Aloha from Hawaii
