Electronic Farts

 EA disbands OSI, and WHAM, membership drops almost in half over a year.

And the people that took over clearly had NO clue about what Ultima was about.
In fact, I have a very strong example of that--- Now, I am sure that people do not like to speak of free shards around here, and I completely understand why. However, to illustrate this I must use this example, and you will see why.

There was a free shard, which I will not identify- but it also does not exist anymore- that was created to recreate a more authentic Ultima experience than what EA was doing-- it stuck to the lore of Britannia as established by the games, and then players also elaborated some details and added their own bits and bobs.

There was one particular time-traveling plot that happened, where people traveled to Old Sosaria. Well, one of the things I contributed was that where the town of Trinsic stood today, it had once been a small feudal territory of the Ondarivas, the family from which my character descended and who had a long story associated with the city. Now, at this time period the family was divided into two bands- one of them was a ruthless warlord, Belo Ondarivas. Ultimately, the players helped the other band take precedent and Belo and his clansmen were slain. And many of the cobblestones that adorn Trinsic today came from his castle.

Does the name sound familiar? It probably is, if you were a player during the Samurai expansion.

See, I had to absent myself for a long time from the shard, but once I came back, I got the following message:

Friend1: Did you ever hear about Ultima Online stealing a part of your character history for their whole samurai expansion?"

I went... what? I immediately asked for an explanation, of course, they reply:

Friend2: "What I recall is that someone found the Ultima Timeline (ours) and assumed it was canon. They lifted the part about Ondarivas "

Friend1: "The people in charge of plotline at UO must've googled for "Ultima + Timeline" and used OURS when they decided the plot of Samurai Empire. They used Belo Ondariva as a warlord in one of their plotlines, but according to the people I talked to about it, they let the plot finish really really quickly after I made the Stratics community aware it was not an original story."


This is the original entry in the shard's timeline webpage:

[235 P.B.]
In the Lands of the Feudal Lords, a bloodthirsty warlord known as 'Belo Ondariva' rises his house to power and threatens to conquer all the lands. Through several battles the Ondarivas are defeated by a brief alliance of Rondorin and Barataria. Belo and the other bloodthirsty Ondarivan's are slain by a good hearted faction from their own family. Some survivors of the good Ondarivan faction flee to the Lands of Lord British.

Of course, the original UO updates have vanished, since they're about seven years old now, but UO wiki preserved it:

BNN: A Disturbing Report

A Disturbing Report
Emmith, Royal Aide Jan 7 2005 10:19PM
The Guard battle in the ruined houseHonoured Lords and Ladies, Members of the Council...
It is with a heavy heart that I bring this report to your attention, but I fear I must. A new presence threatens the very peace of Britannia! Even now, I see the confusion crossing your faces, so I shall start at the beginning.
The Commander summoned the Royal Guard to the Castle to witness the meeting with Odric. I understand he approached this Council offering to help locate Dupre. We have had dealings with this fellow before; he would be one to watch. But, we have not heard from Lord Dupre in some time now...
Odric appeared after several minutes, quashing the doubts of the Commander and the Guard as to his intentions. He assured them that his resources and contacts were trustworthy. He asked if the Commander would accompany him to a meeting, where he had arranged for Dupre's confidant to be. Grudgingly, she agreed and she and the guard followed Odric through a gate and to a ruined sandstone house.
It was here that they waited... and waited...
At length, the Commander ordered the Royal Guard to spread out and comb the area for anything unusual. Odric seemed at a loss as to where his contact might be. Suddenly, the Guard encountered a creature - a Relentless Tracker. Several of these creatures then appeared and attacked the Guard fiercely, causing several to be injured quite severely.
As ever, the Guard showed the strength of their training and defeated the murderous beasts. As they regathered, Odric expressed concern for his contact, and after some pressing from the Commander, revealed the name - Malabelle. The Commander showed some surprise at this news, as she was previously acquainted with Malabelle. Fearing for her safety, the Commander ordered the Guard to gather the wounded, and took them to Malabelle's home in Yew.
Seeing all was quiet, the Commander broke into a run as they drew near. Rushing inside, they found the home completely ransacked. Out of nowhere, more Trackers appeared and attacked the Guard. Yet again, the Guard worked together and quickly dispatched the foul beasts.
Fearing the worst, the Commander gathered the weary Guard and they traveled to the location of a known safe house near Vesper. It was here she hoped to find either Malabelle or Dupre, perhaps both. However, it was not to be...
As the Guard entered one of the small huts, they were greeted by the sight of Malabelle's lifeless body splayed on the ground and a strangely armoured figure looming over her. He carried a bloodied spear that bore the name Black Dragon. This fearsome figure, dressed in blood-red armour of a strange origin, identified himself as one Belo Ondariva... a Warlord!
The Commander's face went white at the sight. The Guard expressed their horror, to which Belo laughed and stated, "I will trample on the backs of your fleeing comrades as I pillage this bloated land."
"Your families will be enslaved, and I will build my strongholds out of their bones", he said, raising his spear menacingly.
To which the Commander bravely told him, "I think not!".
The Warlord laughed, "Screeching monkeys, your loose tongues will wash my boots when I return."
The Commander quickly decreed that he should pay for this act of violence.
And again the Warlord laughed cruelly, "You are already my servants, as you now go forth to herald my coming. Tell them all!"
And then he simply disappeared.
Chaos then broke forth, with more of the Relentless Trackers appearing, ripping through the ranks of the Guard as easily as through cloth. Shaking herself, the Commander gathered the Guard to her and they gallantly fought the creatures until none were left standing. After the battle, the Commander gathered the wounded and took all the survivors back to Britain, whereupon she ordered them into the care of the healer’s guild.
So my Lords and Ladies, it would appear there is a new threat upon us in the form of this Warlord, Belo Ondariva. I fear for the safety of Dupre if he was able to get to Malabelle so easily. We must be on our guard and strengthen our defence points. Who knows what course of action this Warlord will take? Only time shall tell...



Well, I laughed at the whole thing, finding it both sad and mildly amusing. Then I realized something:

The people in charge of Ultima Online must really not know anything about Ultima if they're googling for Ultima's history. And they obviously did not have series bibles, or they must have been the most incomplete things ever. There's a difference between a franchise taking fan fiction and knowingly using it as canon out of appreciation for the fans... and using it as canon because they have no clue whatsoever about the franchise itself... and Electronic Arts has squarely been in the second category with every franchise they have acquired and subsequently mangled.


With that kind of Derp Patrol at the wheel, is it any surprise that it killed Ultima Online's membership as well?