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Purchasing/Upgrade/Release Questions
Malas and Housing Questions
Necromancer/Paladin Questions
Misc Questions
Custom House Design Tool Questions

Purchasing/Upgrade/Release Questions

When is Ultima Online™: Age of Shadows™ scheduled for release?
Age of Shadows is scheduled to hit the shelves in February of 2003.

What exactly is new in AoS?
Lots – as a matter of fact, too much to list here! For a complete run-down of all the features included in Age of Shadows check out our features page. Each week we will be adding more information about specific features, so be sure to check back often.

If I buy AoS, will I need to buy any of the past expansions to get the content offered in those expansions?
Nope! Just as with our previous expansions, Age of Shadows has everything you need to be completely current. No other purchase necessary!

What extras will be in the box?
This hasn’t been determined at this time. Stay tuned!

What will be the cost?
Once again, this isn’t set in stone yet. We could give you an estimate, but then we’d have to kill you. Okay, just kidding. We’ll let you know once we have more information!

Will AoS come with both an upgrade code for existing accounts as well as a registration code for new accounts?
Yes indeed! Just like Lord Blackthorn’s Revenge, Age of Shadows will come with an upgrade code to upgrade your current account to the new version, as well as a code to create a brand new Age of Shadows account, complete with 30 free days of gameplay.

Will I get any free game time?
If you start a new account with Age of Shadows, your first 30 days are free!

Malas and Housing Questions

What will be the ruleset of the new lands?
The land of Malas will use the same ruleset used by both the Trammel and Ilshenar facets.

Will Malas be accessible in both the 2D & 3D clients?
It sure will! Players who purchase Ultima Online: Age of Shadows will be able to adventure within Malas using either the 2D or 3D game client.

Can anyone place houses in the new lands?
You’ll have to own the new expansion to gain access to the new housing land, but yes, anyone with access to the new lands will be allowed to place a house there. Of course, it will be subject to the same new house ownership rules as everywhere else in the game, meaning that if you place a house in the new land, any other houses you own on that same account will become condemned.

Will there be specific areas already zoned for housing, or will housing be allowed anywhere in Malas?
There will be some specific areas set aside for housing, but much of the map will be habitable as well. Be a hermit out by yourself, or grab a space early in a crowded hotspot – it’s up to you!

Necromancer/Paladin Questions

Will I need to buy the new expansion to be able to become a Paladin or Necromancer? What will non-AoS users see?
Yes, it will be necessary to buy Age of Shadows to use the new skills. Players who do not upgrade to Age of Shadows will still see the spells and items, but won’t see the new skills in their skill list or be able to gain in them.

Will the new skills only be usable in the new land mass?
Not at all! Your character will have access to the powers of good or evil wherever you go.

Misc Questions

Will we need to buy AoS to get the new 3D avatar art and wearables?
No, these will be available to all 3D client users. Currently, we are planning to include the files on the AoS CD to prevent players from having to download a large patch, but regardless, we do plan to make it available through patching as well.

Will there be a scenario to introduce Age of Shadows?
Can you hear the voices now, far off in the distance? Something is coming…

Custom House Design Tool Questions

More information about the Custom House Design Tool can be found here.

What is this new House Placement Tool?
No more will you have to search for a particular house deed or use Land Survey Tools when placing houses. The House Placement Tool will actually replace the need for those by allowing players to place any type of house or customizable lot, using only one tool! Just stand at the place where you want to place your house, use the House Placement Tool (which you’ll be able to buy for a small price from NPC architects) and use the gump to select the house type or dirt lot size you want to place.

The various house types will still have different prices, so the cost will be determined after you’ve selected the type of house you wish to place. If you already have a house deed when you purchase Age of Shadows, don’t worry – the value of the house deed will be refunded to you, and you’ll get a free House Placement Tool to replace it!

What do you mean by “customizable housing?”
It means that players will be able to design their own homes! You’ll have the choice between placing a new plot for your home and building it from scratch, or if you prefer, you can transform your current house into a dirt lot and re-design it from the ground up. With over 1000 house design tiles to choose from, each and every house in the game will have the option of being completely unique and tailored to your particular style.

Can any type of home be customized?
Almost every house type can be changed into a floor plan of your own design, with the exception of castles, keeps and L-shaped houses.

Will we be able to customize homes on any land or facet, and will we be limited to designs that fit the landscape of a given location?
If a house can be placed there, and it’s a house type that is customizable, then you can re-design it in any way you choose, regardless of the facet or continent.

What exactly is involved in customizing a house?
First, you’ll use a House Placement Tool to place either a pre-designed house or a dirt lot (which is basically an empty area for you to build on). If you place a pre-designed house, you can turn that into a customizable house at a later date. If you choose to place a dirt lot, you’ll use the House Design Tool to build the walls and floors to your liking and add things like teleporters, stairs, doors, archways, and more. Once you’re finished, and you’re completely satisfied with your work, you can “commit” the changes for the world to see!

What options will we have when we build our new houses?
There will a huge number of options for wildly varying styles, including wall materials found in Orc towns and the Lost Lands cities, such as wooden palisades, rattan and hide walls, and rounded bamboo walls, as well as your standard bricks, marbles, sandstones, wood, and more. Players will also be able to add extra stories, complete with stairs and teleporters. As for your floors, you won’t be able to turn the inside of your house into a rocky terrain (the floor will still have to be flat), but with extensive flooring options including grass, dirt, cave floor, snow, cobblestones, pavers, wooden floors, stone floors, and more, you’ll find it easy to come up with something unique!

Will customizing a house count as a housing upgrade? In other words, can I use it and still keep any grandfathered houses?
Just changing the look of your home will not opt you into the one-house-per-account system as long as your house stays in the same location and retains the same footprint it had before (that’s how many actual squares of land your house — and the yard, if you build one — covers).

Will it be possible to upgrade a current house to a bigger dirt lot, if room permits and follows the current house placement guideline?
Yes – but it will count as a housing upgrade under the Primary House system! This means that if you only own one house, you’re free to pick it up and replace it with a larger dirt lot (provided, of course, that you have the room and the cash). Owners of multiple houses, however, should be warned that if you re-deed a house to place a dirt lot with a different footprint (see the above answer), that will mark that house as a Primary house, and any other houses will decay.
Is there a limit to how many stories you can have on your customized house?
That limit will depend on the size of the plot you buy. The tallest possible will be three stories plus a roof that you can add walls to, so I guess you could call it a four story house with no roof!

Will people be able to design their houses before they actually place them, so they can see how it will look first?
You’ll actually be able to design to your heart’s content, but it won’t actually be visible to players around you until you commit your changes. This means that you’ll be able to experiment with plenty of different looks before actually choosing the design you want. You can even start re-designing your house one day, and finish it another day without losing your changes – and none of your work will be visible to others until you actually “commit” your design to the land.

Will there be underground additions (basements if you will) allowed?
Nope, it will be necessary to keep all buildings above ground.

Will we have to purchase AoS to have the ability to customize our homes? How will non AoS buyers see the custom houses?
Yes, in order to customize your house, you will need to upgrade to Age of Shadows. Other players will be able to see your house as you do, but they will not be able to customize their own homes.

Can we decorate the area outside of the house?
Sure – the entire dirt plot is yours to do with as you please! If you want to make your house small with a large surrounding yard, you can do that. You’ll also be able to lock down decorations outside your house as well, provided you’re still on your own dirt plot.

What will happen to the visitor count, friends, co-owner, ban list if we convert a current house into a customizable one? Will they be wiped clean?
The current plan is that these will remain unaffected.