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Ultima X Odyssey box

Planned box cover art for Ultima X

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Title

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The Avatar

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Ultima X screenshot.

Ultima X: Odyssey was to be the second massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) set in the Ultima universe, developed by Origin Systems (Origin) and would have been published by Electronic Arts (EA). It was scheduled to be released sometime in 2004, EA however canceled the project on June 30, 2004, after the closure of Origin and the layoffs of their several employees. Despite being a multiplayer game, Ultima X was being marketed as a continuation of story that was last visited in Ultima IX rather than a sequel or replacement to the commercially successful Ultima Online. The "X" in the title is the Roman numeral 10 (in keeping with its place in the sequence of numbered Ultima games), but it is usually pronounced as "eks," instead of "ten".

Development[]

Ultima X was the first Ultima game developed after series creator Richard Garriott left Origin and is the second Ultima-based MMORPG to be canceled (Ultima Online 2 was canceled in 2001). The game's demise followed in the wake of other MMORPG cancellations in 2004, including True Fantasy Live Online, Mythica, and Warhammer Online (which was revived in 2005). EA noted that it would focus development efforts on Ultima Online, but the real reason behind the cancellation was the fact that EA decided to move the Ultima X development team from Texas to another facility in California. Most of the developers couldn't cope with the move because it would mean they would have to go away from their families and friends. Since the developers didn't move and EA chose not to give time to the new developer team based in California to figure out the already existent code, it was decided to cancel the last game in the Ultima Series.

EA delivered a letter to fans on June 30, 2004:

Dear Ultima X: Odyssey community members, As of today, development on Ultima X: Odyssey has ended. We feel that Ultima Online is where we need to focus our online efforts and most of my team will be moving to the UO expansion pack, the UO live team, and an unannounced Ultima Online project. Development on UO will be greatly enhanced as we consolidate our resources behind that franchise. This isn't an easy decision but it’s the right move for the future of all things Ultima, including the community and the team. We look forward to sharing our plans for the future of Ultima Online very soon. I would like to thank all of the Ultima X: Odyssey supporters who have been with us from the beginning. I hope you will continue to support the Ultima franchise and the development team as they transition to new projects. Thank you, David "InQWis" Yee Producer, Ultima X: Odyssey

Despite the letter, no plans of the future were ever shared or officially released for Ultima Online. Expansion packs were released at a later date; however, they made no mention of whether they were actually part of the future plans involved in the decision to cancel Ultima X.

Ultima X was to use the lauded Unreal engine (a prototype was developed using the Sims 2 engine which would have replaced the Unreal engine plans). As with most MMORPGs, players would have had to pay a monthly fee to play it. Ultima X hoped to revitalize the MMORPG genre, which many have criticized as being full of EverQuest clones; for example, it promised exciting combat as opposed to the "press 'A' to auto-attack" found in many MMORPGs.

Story[]

The storyline of the game was meant to pick up right where Ultima IX left off, in the story the Avatar and the Guardian are now one Ascended Being, and both halves are fighting to dominate one another and take control of the Ascended Being. The game itself would have taken place in Alucinor, a world inside the Ascended Being's mind (the world's name roughly translates from Latin to "wandering in the mind"), and the people (the player) in the world were tasked to follow the Eight Virtues in the hopes of aiding the ascended being gain the power to defeat the Guardian. Moongates located throughout Alucinor would allow the player to traverse the world quickly and they would also have the ability to teleport their friends to their current location.

If a player maxed out each Virtue, they would become very powerful, attaining the power of the Avatar. This example, provided by EA during development, could help in understanding the Virtue system:

A hooded guy asks you to get his gold medallion back that has been in his family for centuries. He tells you who stole it and where that person could be found. Once you find the thief, he tells you that he only stole the medallion so he could sell it and buy bread to eat. From here you can either be Compassionate by giving him some bread, letting him live, but taking the medallion back; or practice Justice and kill him, taking the medallion to its rightful owner. When you return to the hooded guy who gave you the job, you find out the medallion isn't his, but another person's who got robbed by the foodless guy, and now you can either Honor the agreement and leave with your payment, or be Honest and take the medallion to its real owner, killing the person who gave you the job.

Music[]

The orchestral score for the game was composed by Chris Field. Field also produced a soundtrack album, entitled “Ultima X Odyssey: Music by Chris Field”, with an eighty-one piece orchestra. The orchestra was recorded in Bastyr Chapel in Seattle, Washington. The album included thirty-three pieces of music. A small portion (roughly six pieces of the original thirty three) of the musical pieces were later released as part of the online game for Lord of Ultima.

Continuity[]

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Trivia[]

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See also[]

External links[]


This article includes material originally taken from Wikipedia article Ultima X: Odyssey. Wikipedia material is licensed under GNU Free Documentation License.



Ultima Games
Age of Darkness AkalabethThe First Age of DarknessThe Revenge of the EnchantressExodus
Age of Enlightenment Quest of the AvatarWarriors of DestinyThe False ProphetThe Stygian AbyssThe Savage EmpireMartian Dreams
Age of Armageddon The Black GateLabyrinth of WorldsSerpent IslePaganAscension
Online Ultima OnlineThe Second AgeRenaissanceThird DawnLord Blackthorn's Revenge
Age of ShadowsSamurai EmpireMondain's LegacyKingdom RebornStygian Abyss
Others Escape from Mt. DrashRunes of VirtueRunes of Virtue IILord of UltimaUltima Forever: Quest for the Avatar
Canceled Arthurian LegendsThe Lost ValeUltima Online 2Ultima X
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