Ultima Online: Stygian Abyss
The Stygian Abyss will be UO's eighth expansion. It launches September 8, 2009 at an upgrade cost of $29.99.
The expansion features a new playable race, the Gargoyle Race, a new realm known as Ter Mur, and a new dungeon named Stygian Abyss. The dungeon will be the largest in UO to date, with new monsters, tricks, and treasures. The expansion will also come with three new skills, pets, craftables, items and housing design tiles.
Development History
Originally, it was to have been launched a few months after Kingdom Reborn. The release of the expansion had been delayed with an undetermined date, but at the Town Hall Meeting in Seattle on August 30 2008, it was announced as targeted for sometime in 2009. On April 29, 2009, it was narrowed to a Summer 2009 release window.
The official Stygian Abyss website was unveiled September 9, 2008.
Beta tester applications were open for submission via UOHerald.com on May 7, 2009. The first batch of Beta tester confirmations were sent out to selected UO players on June 4, 2009.
Details
- A new 3D client based off Kingdom Reborn will be released. It has a working title of simply the "Stygian Abyss client". No mention on whether UO:KR client will be discontinued in preference for the new one.
- Both the Kingdom Reborn and traditional 2D client will be allowed to access the new areas.
- The new dungeon Stygian Abyss will be the largest and most complex UO has ever seen.
- The only way to have a Gargoyle character is to make a new one, at this time a quest to transform a character to the Gargoyle Race is not planned.
- Gargoyles will have the ability of Flight from their wings which will have the movement speed of being mounted. It will be required to access certain areas of the new map. Gargoyles will also have larger stature than humans and elves.
- New areas for Housing have been stated as a possibility in the new land area, but has yet to be decided definitively.
- There will be some pvp areas in the new land area, including access for murderers. It has also been indicated that there will be things to contest for, similar to a Champion Spawn, although it will not be powerscrolls.
- The new lands will be the lored homeland of the Gargoyles, Ter Mur, and include a Gargoyle capital city.
- Crafting Gargoyle items will extensively employ the use of Granite as gargoyles are fond of stone.
- Several of the monsters in the expansion will be based off those seen in the old, single-player Ultima game Ultima: Underworld including Rot Worms, Medusas and Goblins.
- Gargoyles will have their own distinctive belief system that is apart from the traditional Virtues.
Announcement Message
The expansion was announced a week early with an accidental posting, which is no longer available, on the Japanese Ultima Online Stygian Abyss website. The following message has been translated by athos_uo on the Stratics forums and may not be exact:
"Ultima Online Stygian Abyss" is the first expansion that will be released a few months later after the launch of "Ultima Online Kingdom Reborn". You can buy it in a package on the shelf or downloading it.
New features and contents
- Gargoyle race comes back to Sosaria, having escaped from the subordination that lasted hundreds years in the harsh land, unfortunately through which a part of the harsh land was brought to Sosaria. The Stygian Abyss opens its mouth and unfamiliar and bizarre creatures stalk on the ground. But you can find adventures only there, where there are risks. Abyss would offer the treasures beyond imagination to the braves who made their way into it.
The new playable race that players can select to play: The Gargoyle race
- They appear already in a part of the story since Ultima III and are mystic and thoughtful race which is known for their ability to control, infuse or transform energy.
The largest dungeon in the history of UO: Stygian Abyss
- It was through Abyss that Gargoyle race came back from the underworld. This dungeon is several times as large as any other current dungeons in UO and offers various dangers, new monsters, new tricks and new treasures.
New Skills
- Imbuing - A new crafting skill that allows players to manage the properties added on a crafted weapon or armor piece. This will also include the ability to harvest magical properties from existing items.
- Mysticism - A Gargoyle form of spellcasting complete with it's own set of spells.
- Throwing - A new ranged weapons skill utilizing throwing weapons and consumes no ammunition.
The Throwing skill is restricted to Gargoyles only(conversely, they may not learn Archery).
Concept Art
The following was distributed to the press for the announcement message. It should be noted that works of concept art are not actual images from the game, but an artist's rendering of possible game elements. Click for full view.
