In honor of Zippy and his contribution I have read, as I am sure many have, each and every post in this thread. We all know how important Richard Garriot’s work was to us, and thinking back to my time on the free shard Angel Island circa 2006-2007, I know that Razor Was the way Ultima was meant to be played. Truly, you added another dimension to the game that made it just that much more fun. Ethically, your decision to hold onto the source code is very admirable and speaks keenly to your original intentions. This (Razor) was never a question of cheating, It was a question of Mastery!
It is perhaps the fading of the autumnal light for many of us as Ultima each year is older and older and so are we. To any who read this, if you might catch the spirit of the two quotes I am about to offer I am glad. To all I say:
“Fleet footed lads, fair haired lasses!”
-Karen Blixen, played by Meryl Streep at the end of Out of Africa. It was her way of saluting her compatriots and honoring all they had known, been taught, and learned to love and cherish.
Reading these posts it is recurringly clear that there is so much we have known, been taught, and learned to love and cherish. And so for all, let the words echo:
“Fleet footed lads, fair haired lasses!”
And to Zippy, Sir, there is an eloquence of spirit I read in your apology and farewell. I would offer, speak on this occasion for happiness - no apologies. Though your sentiment is not missed, we owe you, not the other way around. And as to goodbyes? It is only till we meet again; on the far side of the moon though it may be, in this, or in some other life.
I hear of your life unfurling before you like some great billowing sail upon a tall and towering great mast carrying your ship - trim and well rigged - farther and farther from these shores… With joy in my heart for you, I say to you:
“I was just thinking that of all the trails in this life…there is one that matters most. It is the trail of a true human being. I think you are on this trail, and it is good to see.”
-Kicking Bird, played by Graham Greene in Dances with Wolves.
Gently the sun sets and gently it rises.
I ask for many blessings upon you and your family, and forever more when I fire up my copy of Razor, having had the honor of getting to know you just so very little, I will think of your brave and undaunted spirit and the man and his imagination... behind such a magical creation.
-Sierra
). My life has become much more because of the contributions of this whole community, and has led me to learn to script my own stuff. Granted it is unlikely I will go far beyond scripting stuff for RunUO, it still makes a world of difference to me to be able to offer something new and unique to the world.