What is RunUO?
RunUO is unlike any alternative out there for a multitude of reasons. Most of the alternatives to RunUO refer to themselves as emulators but we consider RunUO to be a server software package. To us we do not emulate anything, we create a feature rich game server with an Ultima Online gaming layer applied to it. It is theoretically possible to do nearly anything you want with our server package because of its customization features. You will find a few different terms used when discussing our software.
Many of our members refer to RunUO as having a core and scripts. The core is a open source application which reads in the scripts that tell us how to handle certain aspects of the game, such as the rules and game play. While our game instructions are called “scripts” they really are not scripts, they are composed of an actual programming language called C# (pronounced “see sharp”). Using a full blown programming language for our “scripts” gives us nearly limitless possibilities for RunUO.
Many people ask why we chose to use the Microsoft .NET platform to create RunUO and the answer to this question is really simple. The .NET platform provides for rapid development while not sacrificing any speed/power. The only drawback was the inability to port the software over to other operating systems. However projects like MONO are working extremely hard to provide a very capable .NET framework for the alternative operating systems. The RunUO team knows that for a small minority of our users this is important but did not feel that it warranted the utilization of another language for our software.
Where you go with RunUO really is up to you, we provide you all the tools you need to get started as well as a massive community in which you can quickly get nearly any and every question answered as quickly as possible. Please feel free to give RunUO a shot in your environment be it with just your friends or family or the next server out there with 1500 users online, we look forward to hearing about your success and or fun you’ve had with our software.