Ultima Online is considered a cult game and was one of the pioneers of the MMORPG genre. But for hardcore fans, no other MMO has come close to UO. With Shards Online, that is supposed to change.
Shards Online has a turbulent past. Last summer, a Kickstarter campaign aimed at funding the MMO was unsuccessful. However, the developers at Citadel Studios did not give up and continued working on the game. Finally, another Kickstarter campaign was launched. This was successful, and now the interesting online game is in full production.
Inspired by Ultima Online
But what is Shards Online anyway? The developers want to walk in the footsteps of Ultima Online, but also introduce some new elements into the game. On one hand, it is a sandbox MMORPG. Each player creates a hero that they can specialize using skills. As in Ultima Online, there are no levels. Only through the improvement of the skills can one develop their hero.
These heroes live on what are called shards. These are fragments that float in the ether. Each shard has different properties, and it is possible to travel from shard to shard. In one world, for example, there is open PvP with full loot, and anyone can attack anyone, while in another world, teamwork is paramount, and players explore dungeons and fight dark monsters together. By the way, the game is played from a rotatable and zoomable isometric perspective, which should also appeal to Ultima Online fans.
Each player is also given the opportunity to own their own shard. On this shard, they can, for example, set their own rules. Other players can visit this shard and have adventures there. It is even possible to have multiple shards, which is called a cluster. These are connected, allowing players to create large worlds and even design adventure campaigns. Then quests become possible as well. Individual shards themselves are free; however, one must subscribe for clusters. Shards thus offer great freedoms and give players many options to run their own worlds with their own rules. A shard owner can make many changes, including creating their own spells or altering how combat functions. It is also possible to create monsters.
Housing also plays an important role, as this is supposed to run similarly to Ultima Online. Each player can place a house in the world, expand it, and defend it.
Of course, crafting is also included. What you can create depends on which shards you have visited. Because there you can discover new technologies that you can then use for crafting. It is of course also possible to form guilds, which can choose a shard as their “home.” Since the size of shards varies, the number of maximum players that can be on a shard at one time differs as well. The developers cannot yet provide an exact number.
Shards Online is currently in an alpha phase. A release date has not yet been set. However, the beta is not expected to start until 2016. Further information about the game can be found on the official website shardsonline.com
Andreas says: Ultima Online holds a special place in the hearts of many MMORPG fans. For many, it was their first experience with the genre. Since then, much has changed, and a gaming experience like that offered by UO can hardly be found in modern genre representatives. Therefore, Shards Online could hit the nerve of Ultima Online fans. A large sandbox, a character system based on skills, optional open PvP with full loot, a sophisticated housing and crafting system… Plus the ability to run your own shards and apply your own rules on them – all of that sounds very exciting.
