Ultima Online: Third Dawn

Ultima Online Third DAwn

Announced:
Shipped: March 22 (?) 2001
Previous Expansion: UO: Renaissance
Next Expansion: UO: Lord Blackthorn’s Revenge

Official Description:
Introducing Ultima Online: Third Dawn, a fresh new look for one of the most popular fantasy worlds of all time! With a vast and dangerous new land, new beasts and monsters, and the opportunity to view Britannia from an entirely new perspective, we think you’ll find plenty of excitement in this newest incarnation of Ultima Online. You can order your own copy of UO: Third Dawn from the EA store here.

“…and when the sun rose following morning, it was on a vivid new world. Light danced across the verdant treetops, the calls of bird and beast rang crisp and clear through the forests, and the entire village seemed brighter and more… alive. Rumors whispered of an aged traveler settled over a pint of ale at the inn, trading tales of mysterious creatures and exotic lands.

Overnight it seemed the world as I’d known it had forever changed.”

From the journals of Telwyn Harn, Apprentice Mage

Ultima Online: Third Dawn brings an entirely new dimension to the vast world of Britannia!

Official Description (Continued):
Combining over 700 motion captured animations and nearly 200 different character models, Ultima Online: Third Dawn will bring an entirely new look and feel to the familiar world of Britannia.

Explore a vast and dangerous new land,
Battle new beasts and monsters,
Enjoy enhanced and improved music and sound effects,
Show off dazzling light displays with a new particle system for spell and magic effects,
Travel the entire world of Britannia, enjoying the depth of an enhanced lighting and shading system, and
Experience 3D-enhanced characters and monsters throughout all of Britannia.
Ultima Online: Third Dawn will bring the 3D experience to Ultima Online’s Britannia, providing a fresh new look for one of the most popular fantasy gaming worlds of all time.

Are you with us?

>> Ultima Online: Third Dawn Developers

Notes:
- First of the “small box” retail packaging of UO - boxes not much bigger than a CD.
- Introduced the “3D” client and 3D characters/models. The 3D client is still maintained (along with the 2D client) up through 2006. This is slated to change in 2007 with UO: Kingdom Reborn, which will feature a complete revamp of artwork and a brand-new client capable of taking true advantage of 3D acceleration.
- It seemed like the 3D client beta-test was used by a large portion of players who were not doing so in an official capacity - we all knew many players that were passing around the beta-test, that weren’t official beta testers.
- “Zoom” option in 3D client. 2D artwork still used for many things, even in 3D client.
- “Improvements” in 2D artwork.
- Introduced the land of Ilshenar (available only to people using the 3D client).
- Introduced the character Dawn.
- New monsters.
- New armor, new weapons.

Comments from Designer Jonathan “Oaks” Lecraft:

who’s seen the cool magic effects in Third Dawn? I designed almost all of them, as well as worked on the Ilshenar map, dungeon Khaldun, and many bug fixes, including the change to cutting bandages.