…there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people;

for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”

For those readers who are traveling during this Christmastime, please travel in safety and under the watchful care of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. And do mind the roads, especially if it has been snowing.

And for all my readers, may this be for you a holy and blessed Christmas season, full of the love of God and the joy of family and friends.

Aiera will resume its coverage of Ultima news in 2009, so Happy New Year as well!

You totally didn’t read it here first, but there it is: Ultima series creator Richard Garriott has parted ways with Tabula Rasa (also his creation) publisher NCSoft in order to pursue new interests.

Apparently, his recent trip into space (a “lifelong dream” of his) has prompted him to look for a change:

“Well, that unforgettable experience has sparked some new interests that I would like to devote my time and resources to. As such, I am leaving NCsoft to pursue those interests.”

Well, here at Aiera, we wish Lord — now General — British all the best in whatever new venture he strikes out toward, whether those interests exist within, or outside of, the gaming industry.

Interesting factoid I did not know previously: Lord British is apparently the son of an astronaut.

(thanks to Reader mageguru for the link to this article)

I missed this update, which is already almost two weeks old, to the Redemption website. Direhaggis posted an advertisment, announcing the project’s need for writers:

Do you like Ultima dungeons? Does the thought of creating NPC’s and plots based around or involving an anti-virtue sound interesting? Do you want to check out all of the behind-the-scenes action?

We’re looking for a new writer or two to help sparsely (or maybe not so sparsely) populate several remaining dungeons in U9R. You have 100% free artistic license over your area and will obviously get credit for your work.

So if you find that you are interested in climbing aboard one of the most exciting projects currently under development in the Ultima community, Direhaggis has provided his email address and the submission guidelines at the Redemption website. Go and check thou it out!

Produced by: Team Iris
Website: Ultima - Iris
Releases:
Iris
* [drain file 335 url Iris 0.8.7 (Windows)] ([drain file 335 size])
* [drain file 343 url Iris 0.8.6 (Linux 64-bit)] ([drain file 343 size])
* [drain file 338 url Developer Framework 0.4] ([drain file 338 size])
* [drain file 339 url Documentation] ([drain file 339 size])

Iris2 (Iris-Ogre)
* [drain file 336 url Iris2 Build 2520 Setup (Windows)] ([drain file 336 size])
* [drain file 345 url Iris 2 Build 2520 (Windows Source)] ([drain file 345 size])
* [drain file 340 url Iris 2 Source (Linux)] ([drain file 340 size])
* [drain file 342 url Emergency Updater] ([drain file 342 size])

Also required (for Windows):
* Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 SP1
* DirectX End-User Runtimes

Ultima: Iris is a 3D game client for Ultima Online, which gives the game a more modern feel in keeping with the evolution of 3D MMORPGs while still retaining the Ultima “feel” of UO (such as it is). Iris is only compatible with a number of different “freeshard” server types. See the project website (actually a wiki) for full details.

Iris requires a legal copy of Ultima Online, preferably one of the later-edition versions of the game, but it serves to note that trial versions of UO can be used for play on freeshards without suffering limitations. Trial versions of the game can be obtained from the UO: Mondain’s Legacy website.

The Realms of Ultima project — the Neverwinter Nights 2-based version of Project Britannia, a project which aims to create a pre-fabricated Ultima world for others to use as a basis for their own projects — has been updated twice since last I checked in with it.

For starters, project lead MokahTGS has posted an article in which he discusses a few of his inspirations, as well as some of the new features of an upcoming NWN2 expansion pack that he is looking forward to making use of.

But additionally, he and fellow developer Jaesun have been working on a contribution to Bouncy Rock Entertainment’s “Community Halloween Project.” Their contribution will evidently be the Grumpy Strumpet tavern, which will in due time become the tavern in .

EUO — the free, online multiplayer RPG that draws heavy inspiration from earlier Ultima games — has seen a large update just recently:

Some big changes: Added a huge mapset expansion based around a new mini-continent called Maeondir, mostly aimed at the lvl 40+ set. Also converted the client to 800×600 and added custom skins support.

Screenshots of the new continent can be viewed here.

Since the update in part pertains to a modification to the game client, I have uploaded the latest version of the game’s installer here on the site, and it can be downloaded at the project entry. Note that this updated seems only to pertain to the game’s 2D client, and not its 3D client.