The Sky At Night
Time to break out your telescopes, as Ultima Worlds Online takes multiplayer astronomy to the next level...
Stunning photo-realistic skies are nothing new in computer games, and recent hits from Unreal Tournament to Sacrifice have all sported impressive skylines. Even day and night cycles are old hat, with online games like Asheron's Call sporting some spectacular sunsets, and even spawning an amateur astronomy website from a fan who took it all a little too seriously. But now Ultima Worlds Online is set to take this .. um .. important aspect of massively multiplayer role-playing games to a whole new level.
"We have a fully functioning celestial system", boasts the appropriately named producer Starr Long. "The sun sheds the light on the ground, it sheds the light on the moons, and the moons reflect it so they have phases…There are two moons, and we can adjust it so they can occlude each other so we can get eclipses."
All they need now is Patrick Moore to host late night stargazing sessions in Britannia...