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Ultima Online™: Kingdom Reborn Frequently Asked Questions
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Updated 8/13/07
Q: What are the minimum system requirements for Ultima Online™: Kingdom Reborn?
A:
Operating System: Windows XP or Windows Vista
CPU: Intel Pentium III 1000 MHz or AMD Athlon 1000 MHz
RAM: 512 MB or more
Video: 64 MB 3D graphics card with Hardware Transform and Lighting, such as NVIDIA® GeForce™ 3 class card or above
(Note: Systems with video cards that only meet the minimum requirements are only supported in 800x600 resolution)
DirectX® 9.0c and latest video drivers
Sound: Card capable of supporting DirectX 9.0
Hard Drive: 6.0 GB available space
Internet Connection: 56k or better
Q: Will we still be able to play with the old 2D or 3D client after
Kingdom Reborn launches?
A: The 2d client will continue to be supported for quite a while after KR's launch, and after Stygian Abyss's launch - although you'll need KR to run SA. However, the 3D client will not be supported with KR. As the servers are upgraded to handle KR, the existing 3d client will no longer work on them.
Q: Are we losing the "Black Area" on the screen with KR?
A: The plan currently is to support the "black area" as an option..
Q: Will the "zoom" feature seen at the Atlanta Town Hall make it
into the live version of KR?
A: Keeping the "zoom" function is still under debate. If we do allow this it will not give players any advantage over others.
Q: What is Kingdom Reborn's planned release date?
A: Spring, 2007. At this point it's too early to announce a more specific date than that.
Q: I didn't get to go to the Atlanta Town Hall meeting - where can I find out more about it?
A: Quite a few attendees took notes, got interviews, or took videos of the presentation. You can find the videos Braelynn Aria of Stratics posted on YouTube here and read her
report here. Hendri, also of Stratics, posted his report as well - Part 1
and Part 2.
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Q: The character's movement doesn't look right - his legs aren't moving
fast enough to match his running speed. Is it supposed to look like that?
A: No. Since the build showed at the press event and the Town Hall was a
pre-alpha build, not all the art is in the game yet - including that of mounts.
Darkscribe's character was actually mounted on an Ethereal Horse, but since the horse art isn't in the game yet, it looks like he just takes really, REALLY long steps.
Q: The videos all show KR being played in full-screen mode. Will we still
be able to play in windowed mode?
A: Yes. Windowed mode will still be available.
Q: What will happen to approved third-party programs, such as UOAssist and
UO Automap?
A: Because Kingdom Reborn is a completely new client, any third-party programs will have to be reengineered to work with it. However, Kingdom Reborn is intended to be a client with a full-featured, intuitive user interface, and as such will greatly reduce the need for third-party programs.
Q: Will Kingdom Reborn affect game play balance/crafting/PvP/etc?
A: Kingdom Reborn is a client upgrade, not a content upgrade. With one exception (see below) Kingdom Reborn is not intended to affect the balance or function of any feature, except in that the user interface will change - and, of course, that means it will have a profound (and positive) effect on the
ease of use of many systems.
Q: I heard about "Bright Paths" in an interview. What're those?
A: "Bright Paths" is what we're calling our improved New User Experience design. While it is too early to go into too much detail, the Bright Paths system will help new players find their way through the vast number of choices they are presented with when they first enter the world and help them feel effective and have fun immediately.
Q: How will Kingdom Reborn affect scripting, duping, and other methods
of cheating?
A: We dislike cheating. In fact, it is a seething, burning, boiling cauldron of dislike. Kingdom Reborn gives us the opportunity to make some changes - which we will not discuss in detail, for obvious reasons - that will make cheating more difficult. These changes will affect the entire UO service, not just users of the new client.
Q: Will Kingdom Reborn affect account security in any way?
A: While not directly related to Kingdom Reborn, we are working on adding several tools to help players protect the security of their accounts. Stay tuned for more details on this.
Q: Producer Aaron Cohen said something about old Seer, IGM, or EM-placed items going
away with KR. Does this mean my favorite hangout will disappear?
A: No. Seer, IGM, or EM-placed items will be not deleted by the introduction of a new client. However, not all of them may look exactly the same, and some may have missing or misaligned art. We will make every effort to find and fix major issues during beta; however, we are talking about close to ten years of hand-placed content, across more than two dozen shards - we may not be able to fix it all by launch, and some of it may not be fixable.
Q: The inventory looks totally different, and I hate it! How could you take
away our backpacks?
A: Remember, the build that has been shown is a pre-alpha build - many features have not been fully implemented, including the inventory system. Rest assured that we will be seeking feedback throughout the beta process, and will do our best to create a UO that feels like home.
Q: A UO Programmer said something about "modal chat" - what is that? Do I have to
use that?
A: "Modal chat" is simply the system where you have two "modes" - chat mode and play mode. In many games you press the "Enter" key to signal the system that you want to use your letter keys to talk, rather than move or trigger macros. While we are including this feature to help players from other universes feel at home, we do not want or intend to alienate our current residents, and will do our best to include a "classic" option for chat.
Q: What is Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn? Just a new client or more?
A: We are re-drawing the graphics and building a new user interface that will be easier-to-use for players new and old. (At the same time, we're working to give long time players UI options that will let them play almost exactly the way they play now.)
We will be polishing and improving some areas of UO game play, but the core sets of rules, systems and content will remain intact.
The idea is to give current, former, and new players a vibrant, thriving world that looks and plays like it's new,
that also takes advantage of Ultima Online's nine years of features, content and culture.
Q: Will there be a beta? If so, when? How long will it be?
A: Yes, we will have a public beta test. Dates will be announced on www.uo.com.
Q: Is the new client 2d or 3d?
A: Yes! In a way, it is both. It's a 3D engine that will look and play like a 2D engine, except for some special effects, lighting and other small details.
Our goal was to preserve the look and feel of Ultima Online, while also providing the benefits of a modern graphics engine.
Q: Will we be able to rotate or otherwise change the camera angle?
A: To preserve the charm and feel of Ultima Online, we're re-building the world with highly detailed 2D tiles. This allows us to have the visual detail we want, but does prevent us from creating a rotating camera.
Q: Will the new special effects be scalable? If I have a fast computer,
can I enable more cool effects to make the game look better?
A: There will be some effects that will be scalable according to what 3D card
you have. However, our goal is to give players with low system spec machine a visually vibrant and inviting game.
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