About RunUO

The RunUO project was born from innovation and necessity in August 2002, founded by the visionary duo Krrios and Ryan. What began as a simple testing application for Krrios's custom Ultima Online client would soon evolve into the most influential server emulator in UO history.

Initially designed to perform basic packet work and simulate EA Games' server functionality, RunUO's breakthrough moment came with an unexpected discovery: the smoothness of the walking engine. At a time when no other emulator could accurately interpret the fluid movement mechanics of Ultima Online, this achievement became the catalyst for something extraordinary.

"If walking was this seamless to implement," the founders reasoned, "how challenging could the rest of the game be?"

This simple question sparked a development revolution that would reshape the entire UO emulation landscape.

The transformation from a walking simulator to a comprehensive game server was nothing short of remarkable. In just over one year, the RunUO team delivered an astounding 36 Beta releases with nearly 5,000 code changes and bug fixes.

This rapid iteration was powered by an unwavering commitment to quality: every release was battle-tested on the team's own production shard before reaching the community. The philosophy was simple yet revolutionary:

"If we're going to send it out to you, we're going to use it ourselves. We would never release something we weren't comfortable running."

This principle of eating their own dog food established a new standard for emulator development, ensuring that every release met the rigorous demands of real-world usage.

RunUO's meteoric rise wasn't just about technical prowess—it was about revolutionizing the relationship between developers and community. In an era where emulator teams operated in isolation, RunUO broke the mold by providing something unprecedented: attention and rapid development.

The team actively listened to community needs, implementing feedback with remarkable speed and precision. This created a virtuous cycle: a growing community of passionate users, server administrators, and developers who contributed to making RunUO the most comprehensive and stable UO emulator ever created.

The development team's unparalleled expertise in this specialized field ensured that RunUO remained current with EA's official Ultima Online releases, often implementing new features and mechanics faster than some commercial alternatives.

Today, while our primary focus has evolved toward RustUO—a next-generation server implementation—the RunUO founders remain committed to preserving the authentic historical record of this groundbreaking project.

In an age where digital history can be easily manipulated or misrepresented, we believe it's crucial to maintain authoritative sources and prevent the distortion of RunUO's legacy through unauthorized domains or derivative projects that misrepresent our origins.

RunUO's story deserves to be told accurately, honoring the innovation, dedication, and community spirit that made it the foundation upon which an entire ecosystem was built. This commitment to historical integrity ensures that future generations of developers can learn from and build upon our authentic legacy.