So I just rode around not knowing what was going on but hoping to find two coins so I could rub them together and negate time.
Runescape is the only other game from that era (and which shares a lot of gameplay similarities) that has that much staying power.
Its a sandbox game just like Arcage, Neverwinter Nights, Albion Online, Everquest, Star Wars Galaxy, Eve Online, Black Desert Online, etc in which the game's goals tacitly produce a local society, typically from players' in-game avatar "Characters" just playing the game. PvP is emphasized on many of the servers.
Right now there is a very good UO Freeshard server called "UO Outlands" with hybrid rules that are quite satisfying and with updated maps/dungeons/landscapes designed to encourage the classic vibes you've heard about and aren't really available in other, modern games.
If you just want to take a look, there is a Youtuber named "Trammie", he prefers to play a pure-thief character and he semi-regularly records streams of live play. Its a good look at one high-level play style that is nearly unique to UO and still available.
Easing into the mechanics, minutiae, and overall obscurity of the game is a different beast entirely, but a lot of things in there, while worn out over time, have a handworn feel like none other, which itch just the right niche.
Oh, yes. A greenfield game can just decide on mechanics, but UO is of course a continuous title with evolving technology and capabilities over decades! I never played the classic OSI (Official) server in the 90's or early 2000's and was introduced to freeshards directly nearly 15 years after the original launch. It feels a bit like digital archeology or anthropology from that perspective.
I was interesting in the scriptable clients, and endlessly tunable character development, as well as the idea of risk vs reward gameplay. To my great surprise, there seemed to be a vibrant and thriving social community in this thing that I and everyone else would have pointed to as a Dead World. Recommended.
For sure. Significant strides to be had with Razor, the accompanying script utility.
> as well as the idea of risk vs reward gameplay.
Be wary of the old heads that happen to stick with their solo thieves and PKs. For all intents and purposes, see where the biggest clans are raiding.
> To my great surprise, there seemed to be a vibrant and thriving social community in this thing that I and everyone else would have pointed to as a Dead World. Recommended
Many a legend even poured over from back in the day, with guys like Funeral, a player killer. Though, deco people are less notorious.
Interestingly enough, this new game is NOT going to have any shards or sharding at all - not even instancing - but just many (procedurally generated) planets, that are all part of the same shared universe and economy.
Thus, some of the very unique ambitions behind UO and SWG might actually become part of a new, more modern game:
https://starsreach.com/ (Fair warning: the graphics are still very early...)
Reading the manual would probably have helped but being 6, I understand how you didn't (or maybe didn't even have access to it). I had similar experiences with other games when I was a similar age :)
It wasn't until much later (maybe mid-teens) that I saw/heard the expression "not having two coins to rub together" as being used as a euphamism for being poor and it clicked into place.