July 5, 1998. I remember that day very well indeed. I had just come home from a date that went very badly indeed, and simply wanted an escape for a bit. I suspected that the game would take my attention for a couple of weeks, as most games did at the time, before I got bored and moved on with my life, despite the warnings of my friend who did play. I couldn't have been more wrong!
I spent my first day just wandering the lands and not getting killed. I was amazed at the attention to detail (and still am) and how closely the map matched the Ultimas of old. The funniest thing I saw on that first day was the remnants of a guild war. In the middle of this pile of bodies, a single mongbat spawned. Having thought the mongbat was the source of the damage, I was afraid of them for weeks. Then I accidently killed one in one shot and felt horribly embarrassed.
I did take a several year break from 2001-2007 when my wife asked to try out the game in order to play with a mutual friend of ours (we met at her wedding). And so it began again...
I spent my first day just wandering the lands and not getting killed. I was amazed at the attention to detail (and still am) and how closely the map matched the Ultimas of old. The funniest thing I saw on that first day was the remnants of a guild war. In the middle of this pile of bodies, a single mongbat spawned. Having thought the mongbat was the source of the damage, I was afraid of them for weeks. Then I accidently killed one in one shot and felt horribly embarrassed.
I did take a several year break from 2001-2007 when my wife asked to try out the game in order to play with a mutual friend of ours (we met at her wedding). And so it began again...
