Again in your (website-set) time zone: Saturday, Feb 13 4:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00)
Here's a bit from the front page summarizing what you should expect from Rel Por.
New World and Small Map
Rel Por features a brand new landmass for players to inhabit and explore. The world size has been dramatically decreased and travel by roads accentuated to help facilitate constant player interaction. You never know what or whom you may run into next.
Towns and Elections
Players may campaign for positions as ministers and militia commanders of cities in Rel Por. Become a minister and choose from a list of bonuses to bestow onto your city, making each town unique. Elected militia commanders have access to their own set of bonuses and tools to help organize their armies.
Balanced and Diverse Combat
A system painstakingly balanced over the span of years with the input from hundreds of players that melds the world of two beloved eras of Ultima Online allowing players a rich diversity of play-styles and templates.
Rotating Dungeon System
There are over a dozen dungeons to conquer, but only a small number open at a time. Players may clear out and close down a dungeon by killing the creatures within and vanquishing the boss. The players responsible for dungeon closure get the benefit of choosing which dungeons shall open next.
Bounty Boards and Murderers
A unique system created by Rel Por, imitated by others, to establish a balance of genuine risk for player killers. The bounty boards and a player reputation system tracks the penalties and honor of all players.
Player Owned Housing
Ultima Online's unparalleled house and land ownership continues on Rel Por. Improving things further with new, additional houses to purchase and own.
Player Crafting
Ultima Online's crafting system provides a unique gameplay experience unlike none other. Players can obtain great wealth and notoriety simply by playing as a merchant. Rel Por accentuates this further with new craftable items and the artifact system to craft magical weapons rather than find them.
Rares and Collecting
Planned from the very start, a systematic approach to distribution for every current and future item from wearables to decorations to one of a kind homes. With varying degrees of rarity, difficulty and methods to obtain. A rich and rewarding collecting economy in Rel Por.
Rel Por features a brand new landmass for players to inhabit and explore. The world size has been dramatically decreased and travel by roads accentuated to help facilitate constant player interaction. You never know what or whom you may run into next.
Towns and Elections
Players may campaign for positions as ministers and militia commanders of cities in Rel Por. Become a minister and choose from a list of bonuses to bestow onto your city, making each town unique. Elected militia commanders have access to their own set of bonuses and tools to help organize their armies.
Balanced and Diverse Combat
A system painstakingly balanced over the span of years with the input from hundreds of players that melds the world of two beloved eras of Ultima Online allowing players a rich diversity of play-styles and templates.
Rotating Dungeon System
There are over a dozen dungeons to conquer, but only a small number open at a time. Players may clear out and close down a dungeon by killing the creatures within and vanquishing the boss. The players responsible for dungeon closure get the benefit of choosing which dungeons shall open next.
Bounty Boards and Murderers
A unique system created by Rel Por, imitated by others, to establish a balance of genuine risk for player killers. The bounty boards and a player reputation system tracks the penalties and honor of all players.
Player Owned Housing
Ultima Online's unparalleled house and land ownership continues on Rel Por. Improving things further with new, additional houses to purchase and own.
Player Crafting
Ultima Online's crafting system provides a unique gameplay experience unlike none other. Players can obtain great wealth and notoriety simply by playing as a merchant. Rel Por accentuates this further with new craftable items and the artifact system to craft magical weapons rather than find them.
Rares and Collecting
Planned from the very start, a systematic approach to distribution for every current and future item from wearables to decorations to one of a kind homes. With varying degrees of rarity, difficulty and methods to obtain. A rich and rewarding collecting economy in Rel Por.
I could go on about how awesome the election, rotating dungeons, and bounty board systems in particular are (for my certain playstyles), but I'll just stick to perhaps the best part of Rel Por: its unique map.
Notice how Galven, the largest city and the one you start in, is in the center of everything. All roads lead to Galven. It is usually difficult if not impossible to travel from one end of the continent to the other without passing through Galven. This along with incentives to move about makes Galven a thriving hub of trade and player interaction.
Of course, not everything happens in Galven. Take a look of this next image of Atria (the map above) superimposed on the default UO map, to scale.
You see, one of the largest problems with most UO shards (who almost invariably use the default map) is that the map area is too large for the player base to fill out. This makes player interaction rare and/or focused on select few areas, which is boring and ultimately the killer of many MMORPGs. On Rel Por, player interaction (read: excitement) is rarely much more than a screen away.
Anyway, people still play this 17 year old sandbox MMORPG for damn good reasons. For starters, UO is a badass game to begin with. Perhaps more importantly, though, is that UO is one of the last games not protected by DMCA and thus has been continually developed by the community.
Rel Por is easily the best overall UO free shard so far, and I invite everyone to come play on launch day to at least check it out. If you've ever played UO before and are looking for some nostalgia: you will find it here. Click the link below to get started.
Hope to see you there!