Got this from my UO guild msg board. Nevertheless I will still proceed to
sell my secondary UO acct. I guess I will keep my primary UO acct
"slightly" longer...hehe. Once the lands open up, I must quickly built 2
castles and sell them off later, wuahahahah ;P

Anyway, can tell that UO is now learning from EQ, when itself already
possess much more role-play element than EQ....
Ziltus (aka Dark Flame in UO Baja shard)
+++
The Next 6 months....possibly another expansion CD coming.

Origin is incredibly excited to be able to announce to you the latest plans
for Ultima Online. Over the next 6 months, we will be expanding and
improving UO. As features become ready, they will be rolled out to the
existing playerbase in regularly scheduled updates.
We've detailed an assortment of our plans below, and will be providing
extensive information on each as they are implemented over the next six
months.

Land Expansion
While the specific details of these lands are still being formalized, they
will undoubtedly bring new opportunities for housing and adventuring.

Options for PvP
The addition of this land will allow us to geographically separate play
styles within UO, meaning we can create areas for engaging, adventuring
experiences without the element of player versus player combat. There will,
of course, still be plenty of room for player versus player combat. In
fact, PvP will be expanded and improved in the future.

Party System
A party system is being designed to allow group adventuring. We plan to
allow you to easily share profits and resources with your party while
hunting.

Improved Monster AI
We will be upgrading monsters with an improved AI to enable them to react
to players in new ways, in addition to making them more challenging to
defeat overall.

Increased Veteran Player Volunteer Programs
We expect to have over 3,000 trained Counselors, Companions and Seers in
place by February 2000 to support and enhance the world of UO. Interesting
in joining us? Visit our Counselor Application area for details.

In addition to these upgrades, we've planned a variety of other smaller
improvements and systems for UO and will release details on these as they
are finalized.

For your information, the following is the official corporate press
release:

ORIGIN Announces Plans for Exciting New Features in Ultima Online
The richest, most compelling virtual world on the Internet is about to get
even better

AUSTIN, Texas, September, 22, 1999-ORIGIN Systems?, the creator of online
worlds, is taking its successful Ultima? Online (UO) franchise to new
heights. New features currently under development will dramatically improve
gameplay and increase service quality for the thousands of people worldwide
who live and play in UO's fantasy world. The ambitious development schedule
over the next six months will deliver constant feature upgrades to current
UO players and provide easier access for those just getting started.

The feature upgrades under development will make Ultima Online a better
place to live. Additional land mass will provide more opportunity for
players to become home owners in UO. The additional land will also allow
for the geographical separation of play styles in UO-areas for improved
player versus player (PvP) combat and areas for compelling adventures
without the element of PvP. This will allow dedicated role-players,
beginners and peace-loving players an environment separate from the
sometime hostile world of the old Ultima Online.

The future upgrades will make UO more fun to explore. A new party system
will provide players with a vehicle that facilitates group adventuring,
including group communication, movement, combat, resource sharing and
profit sharing. Improved monster AI will dramatically increase the
excitement of player vs. monster encounters.

Finally, the new additions will make it easier to get started in UO. New
training areas are being created in Ultima Online where thousands of
experienced UO players will help new players get their feet on the ground
and have fun. More than 3,400 trained volunteers are expected to be on
board by spring 2000, helping people enjoy the world of Ultima Online.

The new features announcement comes as UO, celebrating its second
anniversary this month, enjoys unprecedented growth and popularity.
Currently UO has more than 134,000 active players, each one paying $9.95 a
month to participate. The global network infrastructure now exists on 17
server sets located on three different continents. UO still attracts
thousands of new users each month. People are playing in every one of the
world's time zones and represent more than 50 countries. In recent months
Ultima Online has been featured in Fortune magazine, The New York Times
Magazine, the Boston Globe and on CNBC. And the UO web site,
http://www.uo.com, gets two million unique user sessions each month.

ORIGIN Systems develops and publishes state-of-the-art entertainment
software. To date, the company has released more than 60 titles, including
the award-winning Ultima, Wing Commander?, Privateer? and Crusader series
of games. ORIGIN? is based in Austin, Texas and is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS). More information on ORIGIN
products can be found on the Internet at http://www.origin.ea.com.