UO-The Expanse: the (edu) Repack-

UO-The Expanse: the (edu) Repack with Blue Magic Expansion by PeoharenUO-The Expanse: the (edu) RepackUO-The Expanse: the (edu) Repack
(Thumbnail caption: UO-The Expanse: the (edu) Repack. Available now!)

Since going offline in 2017, work continued on the 'shard, in spite of forward progress being a lot slower than before. However, without an audience to deliver content to, more time was spent on eliminating hiccups and giving the 'shard a better look, instead of creating custom content. This will be the most comprehensive and educational, free shard repack ever released to date. The UO-The Expanse custom client with the Foresty Spaced desktop installed, and some special tools for UO*, are available to download as a whole package from UO-The Expanse's Mediafire account, and the freeshard software is available to update through Github.

There are over 4,600 custom scripts installed, plus hundreds more script edits to give the 'shard a significantly expanded, "traditional UO-look". See the images and short video below that detail more on the Forestry Spaced desktop. Itemized documentation is available inside the download, but another page of information is also linked to this page. The website does contain a mountain of knowledge about the 'shard and all of that content is also in the edu Repack. You can also view several videos via the YouTube channel, as well: http://www.youtube.com/user/UOTheExpanse (Note: Some content has changed since the videos were published, but has not been removed, like color schemes or graphical updates.)

*Many tools are custom-wrtten to work with just UO files.



Join the Discord server for UO-The Expanse to read more about the edu Repack contents, plus get current news about repack updates. UO-The Expanse Discord: https://discord.gg/d6xUazt3t4


Launch screen for the custom client.
(Thumbnail caption: Launch screen for the custom client.)



back to the top

Q:

What is a Paladin, err, Repack?

A:

A repack, in this case, is a customized UO free shard that has been archived (stored in a ZIP or RAR file) for easy distribution, so others may run a "local" version of the repack contents. That is what the UO-The Expanse the (edu) Repack is; UO-The Expanse free shard added to a ZIP file for anyone to download and run their own "local" version of the 'shard. By "local" we are talking about running the 'shard from a home-based computer and not a publicly hosted web-server. It is called the (edu) Repack because the entire focus is on education, and training. How to do this, and that, working with scripts and graphics, plus more.


Q:

How much does it cost?

A:

The repack is free and comes with the custom client, plus the free shard software, which also includes a copy of the custom client. (It is recommended to use a duplicate installation of a local client to use for the free shard access for editing or building placement.)


Q:

How do I get the repack?

A:

There are a few things to download: client files (for running a local instance) and the scripts under 4GB, art files (PSDs and TIFFs) under 2GB, tutorial package under 100MB. Exact sizes will be posted once the packages are complete.The total download sise for the (edu) Repack is 2.76GB. Fully installed is just under 4GB of drive space.


Q:

When will the repack be available?

A:

A Beta release is scheduled for the first week of December 2022, with a specific date being announced in a few weeks.
The edu Repack is currently available for download through MediaFire. (see the bottom of the page for the link)


Q:

How large is the entire edu Repack?

A:

Current contents put the archive total at 2.76GB. This is a single download, but split into smaller archive sections for installing, and contains two sets of client files (one for running the local freeshards, and the other for PLAY as the local client). The two versions of the freeshard files are identical, except one set contains the Blue Magic Expansion, created by Peoharen, a.k.a. BKnight. One of the features of this repack is teaching. There is a lot of documentation that covers a variety of topics from working with UO graphics, to establishing and maintaining a 'shard economy, to creating storyarcs and custom content, althought not all of the teaching material has been installed yet*. In-game tutorials for XmlSpawner** have also been made available in Green Acres, which is generally treated as a "Staff Member only" location. Overall, not much hardware is needed to run a 'shard, and any graphics program capable of Opening, Editing, and Saving BMPs, and TIFFs, can be used to work with UO graphics, but one that can handle layers is more helpful.


*A second document package was released in 2023, which filled out the rest of the custom content information.

**The Xmlspawner Training System, or XTS, is a unique creation, but built to be installed on any other free shard that is running Xmlspawner, with or without all the XmlAddons installed. The files create Gumps that display information, as well as sample code for learning Xmlspawner on-the-fly. The XmlQuestNPCs cover different levels of the training so any one player can repeat any level at any time.

Custom redesigned client interface for UO-The Expanse.

(Thumbnail caption: Screenshot from Green Acres in the Xmlspawner Training Area.)



back to the top


Custom redesigned client interface for UO-The Expanse.
(Thumbnail caption: Custom redesigned client interface for UO-The Expanse.)




Introducing the Forestry Spaced desktop as part of UU-The Expanse custom client.
(Thumbnail caption: Introducing the Forestry Spaced desktop.)


Older UO desktops

These older UO desktops have been updated to work with UO-The Expanse. There are a total of 12 sets. Each is hosted on MediaFire and contains 4 files: Author text/Installation instructions, 2 MULs, desktop JPG. Backup Gumpart.mul, and Gumpidx.mul inside PLAY client. Copy/Paste the 2 MULs from the desktop archive into the PLAY client folder. Launch custom client as usual.

Reworked, obsolete custom desktops updated to work with UO-The Expanse.
(Thumbnail caption: UO-TE version of Arcadium by Nikosha.) https://www.mediafire.com/file/4sfbtrmlsliwd2j/UO-TE_Arcadium.rar/file
back to the top

Reworked, obsolete custom desktops updated to work with UO-The Expanse.
(Thumbnail caption: UO-TE version of Blue.) https://www.mediafire.com/file/62pxe4cdonfzw2j/UO-TE_Blue.rar/file
back to the top

id="cel"Reworked, obsolete custom desktops updated to work with UO-The Expanse.
(Thumbnail caption: UO-TE version of Celtic by Nikosha.) https://www.mediafire.com/file/qx8c1jce1jtshgk/UO-TE_Celtic.rar/file
back to the top

Reworked, obsolete custom desktops updated to work with UO-The Expanse.
(Thumbnail caption: UO-TE version of Classic.) https://www.mediafire.com/file/zx4snq1iq5c7vzl/UO-TE_Classic.rar/file
back to the top

id="dar"Reworked, obsolete custom desktops updated to work with UO-The Expanse.
(Thumbnail caption: UO-TE version of Dark.) https://www.mediafire.com/file/8h6t6ooofh77b7h/UO-TE_Dark.rar/file
back to the top

Reworked, obsolete custom desktops updated to work with UO-The Expanse.
(Thumbnail caption: UO-TE version of Dwarf by Nikosha.) https://www.mediafire.com/file/81pmhhok0fay0xb/UO-TE_Dwarf.rar/file
back to the top

Reworked, obsolete custom desktops updated to work with UO-The Expanse.
(Thumbnail caption: UO-TE version of Elven by Nikosha.) https://www.mediafire.com/file/4ws89y96ubyzbr0/UO-TE_Elven.rar/file
back to the top

Reworked, obsolete custom desktops updated to work with UO-The Expanse.
(Thumbnail caption: UO-TE version of Forest.) https://www.mediafire.com/file/zlrxuevbjijk6yv/UO-TE_Forest.rar/file
back to the top

Reworked, obsolete custom desktops updated to work with UO-The Expanse.
(Thumbnail caption: UO-TE version of Invio.) https://www.mediafire.com/file/0s27kykup7qhjlb/UO-TE_Invio.rar/file
back to the top

Reworked, obsolete custom desktops updated to work with UO-The Expanse.
(Thumbnail caption: UO-TE version of Nautika Nebula.) https://www.mediafire.com/file/mczv90pcr6att26/UO-TE_Nautika_Nebula.rar/file
back to the top

Reworked, obsolete custom desktops updated to work with UO-The Expanse.
(Thumbnail caption: UO-TE version of Nex666 Blue Nebula Star.) https://www.mediafire.com/file/bjw3fme1nx8u3dn/UO-TE_Nex666_Blue_Nebula_Star.rar/file
back to the top

Reworked, obsolete custom desktops updated to work with UO-The Expanse.
(Thumbnail caption: UO-TE version of Wooden Red.) https://www.mediafire.com/file/zt06cytj2hvph2p/UO-TE_Wooden_Red.rar/file
back to the top

Reworked, obsolete custom desktops updated to work with UO-The Expanse.
(Thumbnail caption: UO-TE version of Dragon Desktop.) https://www.mediafire.com/file/tm3zbvepg083ps4/UO-TE_Dragon_Desktop.rar/file
back to the top


Samples of the equipment art changes. Some are only minor.
(Thumbnail caption: Samples of the equipment art changes. Some are only minor.)

Documentation covers 490 pages of information.

View In Progress Itemized List...




back to the top

Which download do I need?

#1. If you have never downloaded UO-The Expanse edu Repack v2.2, download the Full Installer.
#2. If you have already downloaded the edu Repack, download the latest version of the scripts/shard that are installed in the edu Repack.
#3. To create browser-based, text adventures using Ultima-related material, an optional download is also available for the OQS.



#1   Full Installer

Download UO-The Expanse edu Repack v2.2 from the above link. The installer is 2.47GB, but the installation requires a minimum of 7GB of storage space. View the Itemized List above for more information about the contents.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/v98aum6kf2fa31p/UO-The_Expanse_v2.2_Installer.exe/file (updated Jan-03-2024)



#2   Freeshard

Up-to-date most current version of UO-The Expanse via the repository (repo) on Github.com. This contains the latest scripts and any updates to those scripts.

https://github.com/tass23/UO_TE_v2.2 (updated Jan-03-2024)



#3 (optional)   UO-The Expanse OQS (Offline Quest System)

This is a custom version of open source Quest, from Quest Text Adventure.uk, and Quest Converter, both have been modified to create UO-adjacent quests that can be played in any browser, complete with minor image and music support. Final code courtesy of KVonGit, and Raist. You can see the OQS in action at uoexpanse.com/quests. (updated August-05-2024)

https://www.mediafire.com/file/yfq8nxcglx5bn6u/Quest_5.8.6752_%2528unofficial%2529.exe/file





#3b (optional)   UO-The Expanse OQS repository (repo) on Github.com

We are currently in the process of updating and adding more libraries for Quest, and a Github repo was created to allow us both to update files. Latest addition is the NPC library, which adss 1 party member. Future updates will include more party members, and choices for their class. (updated August-09-2024)

https://github.com/tass23/QuestPackage5.8.6752


back to the top