Lord British's Lost Lunar Rover Found, After 37 Years

Lanxon writes "The guy behind Ultima Online once bought an old Russian rover, despite it being lost on the moon somewhere. And now, using images released by NASA, it has been located on the moon's surface after nearly four decades of being MIA, reports Wired. Richard Garriott, who created the Ultima Online multiplayer game, bought the Lunokhod 2 in a Sotheby's auction in New York in 1998. And so new was the discovery of his lost possession, he hadn't even heard that the craft had been discovered when Wired spoke to him." (Richard Garriott is also well known as Lord British.)

Comments

Proof he owns the moon.

[Qwell]

At one point, Richard Garriott declared himself to be ruler of the moon, based on him being the only non-government entity to own anything physically on the moon.

It's a shame he doesn't make that claim more public.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[shogun]

Wouldn't that then make him a government hence annulling his claim?

Which would then mean he isn't a government and then can validly make such a claim? /rinse and repeat /divide by zero

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[KingOfTheMoon]

I will suffer no claims to my throne.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[PakProtector]

Dude, he's Lord British.

Lord British.

I think he can do whatever he wants.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[earlymon]

At one point, Richard Garriott declared himself to be ruler of the moon, based on him being the only non-government entity to own anything physically on the moon.

Oooooook.

http://www.lunarembassy.com/

http://www.lunarregistry.com/

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/11/20/lunar.land/

One thing's clear: he's about to owe someone, somewhere, for parking.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[sconeu]

Norman Coordinate!

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[maxume]

Can he stop bullets with his skin?

(Governments tend to use bullets when they start feeling vehement about something or other)

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[game kid]

Yes, but he is still vulnerable to falling gold plaques, enraged catgirl goddesses of luck, and Chuck Norris.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[radtea]

As of 10/06/03, I hate COBOL developers

As of the 10th of June 1903 you hate COBOL developers?

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[Vellmont]

I see you're interested in property. Well have I got a deal for you! I've got the Brooklyn Bridge, recently being sold by NYC in the wake of the recession. Mind you, the WHOLE bridge isn't for sale (who could afford that!), but what I'm selling is a percentage of ownership of the bridge! Act fast! They aren't building another one!

Bridges not your style? How about some excellent prime real-estate in Florida?

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[DerekLyons]

At one point, Richard Garriott declared himself to be ruler of the moon, based on him being the only non-government entity to own anything physically on the moon.

Well, a Grumman employee snuck a picture if his daughter onto Eagle's descent stage, and one of the astronauts lefts a bible on a rover seat, and another left a memorial [to fallen astronauts] statute... And that's just the ones we know about.
 
So Garriot's claim is tenuous at best.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[DigiShaman]

It's all bullshit anyways. Until you actually have military presents (boots on the ground), the Moon doesn't belong to anyone regardless of what fuckall a contract has to say.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[earlymon]

What are you - a sponsored link on Google?

If this bridge or that Florida of which you speak is not listed on eBay, then I'm not taken in by your scam!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Acre-of-land-on-the-Moon-the-perfect-gift-say-the-BBC_W0QQitemZ230443051912QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Collectables_WeirdStuff_RL?hash=item35a779eb88#ht_4253wt_1080

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[earlymon]

You've missed some memos....

http://www.thesixtyone.com/bootstothemoon/

http://www.moon-boots.com/

With all the bluster, I say it's mine until you get boots on the ground to displace my claim - kinda like Iraq or Afghanistan.

I, for one, speaking for many, certainly hope you're not advocating a surge to La Luna Grande!

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[siloko]

your comment is so full of awesome i just burnt my dictionary.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[earlymon]

Bravo! Bravo! :-D

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[Divide By Zero]

You rang? I think you have to have citizens to govern before you can be a government. But that's just my two cents, which you clearly asked for.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

As of the 10th of June 1903 you hate COBOL developers?

It is a bit late for a Y2k joke, iddn't it.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[Chris Mattern]

And Rainz.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[Idiomatick]

If the government ever gets mad about it though they can just glitch out the universe and kill him.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[spydabyte]

Good. You couldn't use that on the moon anyways.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[K. S. Kyosuke]

I am sure his house is haunted by Bertrand Russell's ghost by now. My goodness, he must have terrible sleep problems.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[jamesh]

When I was a kid, I threw a rock so high it didn't come down. I'm pretty sure it landed on the moon.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[Hurricane78]

No, he actually meant the year 00000000003, right after the big bang.
It’s never too early to hate an universe that comes up with COBOL... ;)

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[Nyder]

As of 10/06/03, I hate COBOL developers

As of the 10th of June 1903 you hate COBOL developers?

That's October 6, 1903.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[Teancum]

One ity bitty tiny detail about owning real estate:

You have to take possession of it and physically use it at some point in order to "prove" that you own it. Or on a more practical matter you must have a bigger gun to scare away those that might try to challenge your claim.

Of the so-called lunar real-estate companies, not a single one of them can maintain that claim through such action. Yes, you can have governments that can take such kind of possession and then in turn grant title to that land under the sovereignty of that same government, but it takes some government to do that. Since the USA and most major space-faring nations have renounced any claim on the Moon, any such title can't even be recognized since the granting authority isn't legitimate.

For the hunk of real-estate on North America that I happen to own, I have received title from a sovereign entity and have cleared claims to my land from previous title holders, including surprisingly the Spanish Crown (aka the Spanish king) at one point. If somebody decides to challenge my right to this land, I have the ability to defend this hunk of land with increasingly more sophisticated weapons including the potential to call upon the U.S. Marine Corps and to defend this land with nuclear weaponry if necessary. That sort of gives some legitimacy to my legal claim that is hard to pass up. No, I'm not saying that I personally have a nuke, but that collectively I and my fellow citizens have them as a shared collective, and it is through these land claims that we all defend each other.

Richard Garriott is now the only person who can legitimately claim a part of the Moon by physically taking possession of that parcel and occupying it. Somebody with a bigger gun might challenge his claim, but he now has something that is his that is there to occupy that land. Since nobody else has made any sort of move in that direction and the Earth governments have renounced any such claim, it can thus be proven that simply put, Richard Garriott is the only legitimate claimant for ownership of the Moon.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[dotancohen]

When I was a kid, I threw a rock so high it didn't come down. I'm pretty sure it landed on the moon.

You owe me a window since 1977.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[Domini]

He should be careful not being deported then...

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[earlymon]

I, too, live on land once owned by the Spanish - my children trace then themselves back to one of the Conquistadors (name listed at a national monument, yadda yadda).

Actually, it's land that was once either owned by no one or more accurately, was the sovereign territory of one of what we call a pueblo tribe until raiding expeditions in search of The Seven Cities of Gold raped, murdered and pillaged these native peoples. Naturally, upon defeat, these people were converted to Christianity.

And that's when the Spanish Crown started handing out land grants - to the Conquistadors and to the monks, priests and friars taking such good care of the ignorant heathens - under threat of their immortal souls and under threat of losing their hands and feet (literally), leading to Popé's Rebellion, and that was suppressed, putting the land under the control of the Spanish governor in Santa Fe, answerable to his superior in Mexico city.

Then there's the whole matter of how we got the land away from the Spanish.

You can call on all of the Marines you want, but you're living on stolen land.

In fact, it's specifically because you can call on the Marines, with superior warrior spirit, fighting skills and warmaking technology - up to and including nukes - that you're able to continue to live on stolen land.

And by the way - vast stretches of this land (beyond the imagination of people who've never really been to the Southwest) were included in Spanish land grants where no monk, friar, prist or Spanish soldier ever set foot.

Unless you've done your homework, you're not only living on stolen land, you could very well be living on land granted with no more original authority of occupancy by the Spanish than I have on the moon. (I didn't buy any real estate shares on the moon - I simply followed your legal precedents established by the Spanish - I looked up at it and land-granted it to myself because it was as far as my eye could see.)

That sort of gives some legitimacy to my legal claim that is hard to pass up.

The legitimacy of thieves backed up by ability to wage war, the latter being your own words.

From what I've read, pretty much the whole world's land possession is the story of tribes killing and enslaving tribes until nations are established and nations killing and enslaving nations until we have the map we have today.

Whose boundaries are still being redraw as I write this.

So don't hand me the law and ask me to supplicate to any government as if there's something sacred in any of it where land ownership is concerned. You and I are just schmoes born into a scheme where we pay mortgages to bandits, given legitimacy by other bandits and we're making out like the bandits we descended from.

I hereby declare myself: EarlyMon - El Primer Bandido de la Luna Grande!

Join me hermano - the Conquista de la Luna Grande is on!

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[earlymon]

PS -

Somebody with a bigger gun might challenge his claim, but he now has something that is his that is there to occupy that land.

As an American taxpayer, there's NASA hardware on the moon that I helped to foot the bill for - so part of it is mine, just as any part of any federal property is mine.

Therefore - my claim to the moon - just as valid as Garriott's. I've got property there, I've paid real money for that property, my government has denounced all claim to land ownership there, and it's as far as my eye can see.

Sounds like legal precedent is completely on my side to me.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[Tetsujin]

I will suffer no claims to my throne.

Don't worry. Since he's not actually on the Moon, the Larkin decision nullifies his claim...

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[EdIII]

Your Highness, I have to ask, and please forgive my impertinence, but is the Moon really made of cheese? If so what kind?

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[Teancum]

I'm sorry you have such a huge chip on your shoulder and are annoyed at however the land that I live on got into the hands of my countrymen.

Big whoop. If you want it, come get it. Just carry a big gun and be willing to die in the attempt. And don't be surprised if you do die. I'd prefer that you not kill anybody, my family in particular, but if you are that big of an ass I can't stop you anyway.

All land is "stolen land" after a fashion if you really get down to it. The question is really over who can enforce a "civilizing" force upon that land and keep people from having to kill each other ever other year to maintain possession of that land. Even the so-called native peoples of America or elsewhere have often moved or had land change hands even before they got there in the first place. This is all a moot argument.

My point about the Moon or any extra-terrestrial real-estate is that the same principles apply, and some silly group like the Lunar Embassy is a joke that won't really be recognized in the future except as perhaps an "initial claimant" on the property.

I'm not sure how it is going to happen, but at some point in the future blood will be spilled to defend some piece of real estate off of the Earth. In addition, there will be some folks who will be willing to offer "protection" from those who would be bullies. These may be private corporations, sovereign entities like some of the larger governments on the Earth, or perhaps something else dreamed up by those living in space.

As for my personal claim to the Moon, I'll claim the eastern rim of the Tycho crater. Still, there is no way for me to enforce that claim until I get there and try to kick off any squatters. So tell me, what is the difference between a squatter and the person who holds the title? I still say it is whoever has the bigger gun.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[Teancum]

The difference between you being an American and claiming property on the Moon by virtue of American hardware sitting on the Moon is that the primary policy making body of America, the United State Senate, ratified a treaty that renounced any such claim upon the Moon by the American people.

So no, your claim isn't as valid as Richard Garriott's. That claim has been undone by your elected representatives. If you don't like it, get the Senate to invoke the "escape clause" that gets the USA out of that treaty, but until that happens any such claim can't be legitimately considered. My suggestion is that you run for the U.S. Senate and try to get in there yourself to get that to happen, as the current clowns still don't have a clue about what they gave up nearly 40 years ago.

"Lord British", on the other hand, owns personal property on the Moon... something neither you nor I have at the moment. As for the personal items left behind by the astronauts who went up there, that could be in dispute other than the fact that they were government officers on official business when they went there. With their diplomatic status, they couldn't make claims to the Moon either.

The guys sending stuff up with the Google Lunar X-Prize are going to be private citizens... if they ever get up there. Those guys might be able to make a legitimate claim too.... presuming that they get there with a private spaceflight and don't use government services except for traffic control and regulations. If you join one of those teams, you too might be able to make a similar claim to the Moon, or at least a part of it.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[earlymon]

I'm sorry you have such a huge chip on your shoulder and are annoyed at however the land that I live on got into the hands of my countrymen.

I'm sorry you lack reading comprehension. I was dispassionate and factual. I live on the same land, gotten the same way. Did I say I was giving mine back?

Big whoop. If you want it, come get it. Just carry a big gun and be willing to die in the attempt. And don't be surprised if you do die. I'd prefer that you not kill anybody, my family in particular, but if you are that big of an ass I can't stop you anyway.

On one hand, I started out talking about back-pay for parking on the moon. Instead of the punchline, you went for the setup. So - I gave you another setup, this time much bigger, just so I could float the idea that we should conquer the moon, bandido style.

Instead of even coming close to getting that, your idea is that I have no clue about real estate law, I have a chip on my shoulder, and I'm the ass that should take your land by force and I'm going to die in the attempt?

Ha.

Your the big ass if you think I need your land to rake and mow, too, bub. Yeah. I really need that. I'll be sure to use a gun. I'll even come for you in my flying car.

All land is "stolen land" after a fashion if you really get down to it.

No kidding. Exactly what I said in my setup. What? Did I strike some nerve somewhere? Get over it.

...and some silly group like the Lunar Embassy is a joke ...

[clap][clap][clap] Well, no shit, Sherlock. What do you think would go with a joke like that? Gee - I dunno - how about using that as the basis for unpaid parking tickets on the moon.

I'm not sure how it is going to happen, but at some point in the future blood will be spilled to defend some piece of real estate off of the Earth.

Yes. I implied that by virtue of our history. You're very evidently not familiar with the concept that a lot of comedy involves something very painful to us - and then twists it. The highest form of it is called slapstick.

As for my personal claim to the Moon, I'll claim the eastern rim of the Tycho crater.

OK! You're finally getting it! A straight line to go along with the gag! AB-BOTT!

Still, there is no way for me to enforce that claim until I get there and try to kick off any squatters. So tell me, what is the difference between a squatter and the person who holds the title? I still say it is whoever has the bigger gun.

Hell - I spoke too fast.

It's time somebody told you the truth - when it comes to being a fun guy, you're about as sharp as a marble. Don't get me wrong - up until now, I've really admired your posts - very, very lucid and cogent. You don't make lots of them and you but the ones you make are generally pretty good.

But you simply lack or have lost all sense of humor.

Stop yelling at me, do those in your real life a favor, take a vacation, talk to the dog, and get one or get it back.

Because without it, you've become a drone calling people asses, and suggesting they get guns to take over your land (again - for what reason? to cut your grass?), and now you're handing lectures on the theory of real estate law -

all because the absurdity of parking tickets on La Luna Grande is lost on you.

I wish you every good luck and success, compadre. I really do. In the meantime, don't use others, as you have me, to fight with yourself. I can kinda promise you that if you don't follow my advice, you're going to end up quite lonely. And for your sake, I hope I've given this advice in time.

No joke.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[earlymon]

You're really serious, aren't you? I don't mean about that post, above - I mean in general.

If you join one of those teams, you too might be able to make a similar claim to the Moon, or at least a part of it.

Yeah. One of my dreams as a young man was to go to the moon. Not to claim any of it - just because it's there, forever in the sky tempting me. Probably how my karma led me to working on flight systems and at one point in life, NASA projects. Kinda doubt my arthritis is ever going to let it happen now though.

So no, your claim isn't as valid as Richard Garriott's. That claim has been undone by your elected representatives. If you don't like it, get the Senate to invoke the "escape clause" that gets the USA out of that treaty, but until that happens any such claim can't be legitimately considered. My suggestion is that you run for the U.S. Senate and try to get in there yourself to get that to happen, as the current clowns still don't have a clue about what they gave up nearly 40 years ago.

You don't get accused of being a lot of fun at parties, do you?

My original post was at about 5 PM on St. Patrick's Day and my wife is Irish. Try if you will to imagine my mood when I posted about parking tickets on the moon.

Your original reply was at oh-bright-thirty the morning after St. Paddy's - for me - mine was too, and I still had a sense of humor. Oh, well.

What do you want to lecture me on next? Kumquats? (Hint: traditional comedy insists that funny words are those with K sounds.) Securities and exchange? DNA? The manual of arms for the M16?

Try not to get too mad for me laughing at you. Maybe when you're healthy enough to learn to laugh at yourself, my posts will make a lot more sense to you.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[earlymon]

PS - think I'm backpedaling? Too bad - read my responses to others under my original post. I've been completely consistent.

Then again, so have you - most seriously so.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[geekoid]

Or if you have enough power to tell everyone els eon Earth the moon is yours. In which case you don't need boots on the ground.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[malakai]

Laugh, I'm in that pic. Rainz, Helios and I, I think maybe a few others RoF are in that shot. I remember that day pretty well. What's odd thinking back is how we didn't have Vent/Team-speak, so instead of ear shattering shouts after LB crumbled, we instead had 10 pages of IRC/text spam.

This was end of the beta, so baning him had no real effect, they did however, relay to us that he was banned from UO Release. It was pretty funny. One of the dev's who was responsible for setting the imortal flag on LB char after server reset (and failed too) pretty much said "Rainz will never be allowed to purchase and play Ultima Online" or along those lines. Talk about rage. I wonder where Grimli is these days...

I think Starr was the one who eventually laughed it all up and said no hard feelings.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[countach]

As far as I see, Richard Garriott is the only legitimate illegally parked vehicle on the moon. When the real owners turn up, I wouldn't want to be in his shoes.

Re:Proof he owns the moon.

[Island Admin]

Go figure .... I had my ID checked on my way into a bar in Texas .... the lady asked me what month the 16th was :-) In my world that is 10th of June.

Re:Ebay Oportunity Awaits

[rubycodez]

he probably could sell it on eBay anyway without physically getting it. wouldn't be first such sale

Re:And the photos of the moon landing site are...

[Chris Burke]

Here.

I once

[Master Moose]

went out drank too much and took a taxi home. I left my rover and intended to pick it up the next day. One day turned into three days before I finally went after and got it. But this guy wins.

Just goes to show...

[qsliver]

...you really need to read the fine print when buying a used car!

Re:Just goes to show...

[magus_melchior]

FOR SALE. Off-road rover, all-electric.
RUSSIAN QUALITY! Works in low gravity or
no atmosphere. $2000 OBO.
ONLY ONE UNIT AVAILABLE. First come first serve.

Re:Just goes to show...

[Arancaytar]

I have a rover to sell you; year 2003, very good condition though it could probably use a good wipe to get rid of all the sand. Solar powered and very environment-friendly. :-D

...what?

[Tubal-Cain]

"Lord British"? Seriously?
I thought Yahtzee was joking.

Re:...what?

[Anonymous Coward]

"Lord British"? Seriously? I thought Yahtzee was joking.

And now we have people who just know Lord British as "a guy that Yahtzee has once mentioned". *sigh* Where is this world going to?

Re:...what?

[arcade]

Youngling.

Seriously.

Re:...what?

[spleen_blender]

Yeah, he should rightfully be remembered as that guy who got killed while in god mode in the game he created.

http://www.gamestooge.com/2009/01/02/feature-the-day-lord-british-died/

Re:...what?

[amicusNYCL]

I don't know who "Yahtzee" is, other than a Hasbro trademark, but Richard Garriot has been making video games since the late 70s as Lord British. If you haven't heard of him before 2010, it's not because he's been quiet.

Re:...what?

[Narcocide]

*sigh* you're killing us kid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_garriot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_British#Lord_British

Re:...what?

[Lunix Nutcase]

You do realize you were most likely being trolled, right?

Re:...what?

[spire3661]

I dont care what he did in the long past, his most recent work was Hellgate London, which was beyond terrible.

Re:...what?

[ximenes]

He also hasn't made a noteable game since 1997 (or 1999 if you consider Ultima IX noteable), at best 11 years ago. While I instantly know who Lord British is, he is far from a household name to someone who was 3 when Ultima Online launched.

That's right, it's happened to you: you got old.

Re:...what?

[Genesys1]

I believe you're mistaken, he had nothing to do with Hellgate: London.

Re:...what?

[dave420]

Oh snap.

Re:...what?

[spire3661]

Yep, you are right. It was Tabula Rasa that was his steaming pile of shit.

Re:...what?

[amicusNYCL]

In all fairness, NCSoft was responsible for the failure of Tabula Rasa, not Garriott. The same could be said about EA's involvement in Ultima 9.

Re:...what?

[Tubal-Cain]

He wasn't.

Re:...what?

[Khyber]

"I thought Yahtzee was joking."

Dude you need to turn in your geek card and walk right out the door. You're too ignorant of our world to be here. And if you don't know of Lord British, you're likely too young to boot!

Re:...what?

[Chris Mattern]

To be precise, he got killed after forgetting to turn god-mode on in the game he created.

Re:...what?

[oloron]

totally offtopic but wow,. UID 10, one of the old ones has returned on st pattys day :D

Re:...what?

[dangitman]

you're likely too young to boot!

That never stopped Lord British.

Re:...what?

[TheLink]

I wonder how much loot and how many skill points the guy got for killing Lord British :).

Re:...what?

[Inda]

I must appologise too. I'm old, have been gaming for over 25 years and never heard of Lord British.

Maybe some of us played different sorts of games?

Re:...what?

[Peter Bortas]

And we travel in packs.

Re:...what?

[Hatta]

When was the last time Paul McCartney made a notable album? It was before I was alive at least. Yet every music enthusiast knows who he is. Similarly, every video game enthusiast should know who Lord British is.

Re:...what?

[Hatta]

Yahtzee is a video game reviewer who needs to calm down and take a breath once in a while. Punctuation exists for a reason. I'm much more of a CGRHD guy myself. Visit YouTube to watch Classic Game Room HD in HD on YouTube.

Re:...what?

[Hatta]

I did not know that. His work is much more pleasant when you don't hear him speaking.

Re:...what?

[ximenes]

Video games aren't like other forms of entertainment. Paul McCartney's old albums are regularly updated for new mediums (tapes, CDs, etc.) and are fundamentally comparable to new albums made today minus some audible differences in production.

A video game made in 1988 may still be great, but there are much higher barriers to it finding a modern audience:

1. It may be difficult to run on modern systems (or at least require a level of knowledge -- e.g. what is ScummVM -- that makes it harder to access than a modern game for the uninitiated).

2. It may be so dated from a graphics, interface, or gameplay mechanics perspective that someone coming to it fresh will not enjoy it.

3. It may not even be possible to legally acquire; unlike movies and music, where old releases are often available alongside new releases, old games disappear from shelves.

Sure, there are exceptions. GOG.com, ScummVM, buying something on Ebay. But you have to already have an interest in exploring or revisiting older games.

Game designers are celebrities within their field, not within society. Paul McCartney is a celebrity because of his musical contributions, but he also is immediately recognizable to millions of people who may have never heard his music. Richard Garriott is a celebrity only to people who know his work -- which, as mentioned, has not continued to be relevant in recent gaming history.

And that in a nutshell is why someone as important to early gaming history as Richard Garriott was may not roll off the tip of someone's tongue today.

Re:...what?

[geekoid]

uh. Ultimate online wasn't the first MMORPG. Stupid article.

Re:Ebay Oportunity Awaits

[Fractal Dice]

As he is someone who has made his fortune from people paying for virtual possessions, I doubt that physical possession of the item is really that important for the sale :)

He should create an inventory of the parts of the rover and rent out custody of individual pieces on monthly subscription to those who want bragging rights to "having" something on the moon.

Re:Ebay Oportunity Awaits

[Master Moose]

I would love to be able to say/do that. ..

Re:I was there, I saw the whole thing.

[linzeal]

Sounds like Wisconsin on St Pat's day are you sure you aren't just drunk in the Midwest again?

Look Closer

[Sponge Bath]

Further observation reveals a parking ticket and booted wheel. With time elapsed, the fine comes to 100 million quatloos.

Re:Look Closer

[c6gunner]

Further observation reveals a parking ticket and booted wheel. With time elapsed, the fine comes to 100 million quatloos.

Here are your messages:

'You have thirty minutes to move your lunar rover.'
'You have ten minutes to move your rover.'
'Your rover has been impounded.'
'Your rover has been crushed into a cube.'
'You have thirty minutes to move your cube.'

Dude, where's my car?

[sconeu]

When he tries to pick it up, he'll be bugged by two gay Scandinavian dudes.

Re:Dude, where's my car?

[tchdab1]

I believe it's a Big Lebowski reference.

Re:Dude, where's my car?

[sconeu]

Actually, no. It's a Dude, Where's My Car? reference.

Super Saver Shipping

[lowy]

Silly man, if he had added just one moon rock to his shopping cart he would have qualified for free shipping.

creator of Ultima Online?

[Anonymous Coward]

amusing that that's his byline these days. didn't anyone play Ultima or Ultima ][, three or four on their ][+?

Re:creator of Ultima Online?

[Spy Handler]

not everyone here is an old fogey -_-

Re:creator of Ultima Online?

[spiderbitendeath]

Nope, it was on my C64.

Re:creator of Ultima Online?

[Reason58]

not everyone here is an old fogey -_-

It is important to maintain a healthy balance, otherwise whose lawns will you stand on?

Re:creator of Ultima Online?

[ZosX]

Get off my lawn!

Re:Ebay Oportunity Awaits

[lilmunkysguy]

You are insightful.

Re:And the photos of the moon landing site are...

[Chris Burke]

Okay, we get it, you love GIMP.

Re:Ebay Oportunity Awaits

[interkin3tic]

He should create an inventory of the parts of the rover and rent out custody of individual pieces on monthly subscription to those who want bragging rights to "having" something on the moon.

I'd buy THAT for a dollar!

Parking ticket

[Anonymous Coward]

One can only hope the Russians didnt park the thing next to a hydrant.

Re:Ebay Oportunity Awaits

[Anonymous Coward]

Huh? We do that on a daily basis. What do you think our whole capital system based on credit is?

Capital and money for that matter, regardless of it being fiat or backed by precious metals), are fairly arbitrary metrics and behave as a virtual good.

Russians are smart people

[Opportunist]

Not only do they get rid of their junk by sending it off world, they also find someone dumb enough to pay for it.

Re:Russians are smart people

[Hurricane78]

Now if only they could repeat it with Putin...

Re:Ebay Oportunity Awaits

[owlnation]

I think this is probably one instance where checking the fine print on the shipping fees might be a really good idea.

Wait. Who am I kidding...? eBay... you always need to check the fine print on the shipping...

A little off-topic...

[Enderandrew]

But this guy is largely famous for creating the Ultima franchise, which is basically all but dead, because EA sank their fangs into Origin Systems and killed the company.

EA owns the Ultima IP. They also own Bioware, perhaps the number 1 Computer RPG shop on the planet.

Richard Garriott isn't doing anything these days, and I imagine most gamers have never played a single player Ultima these days.

The original Ultima games are barely playable today. The original trilogy is a little too straight forward, full of continuity holes, etc. He wasn't planning a lengthy franchise at that point.

They need to remake the Ultima franchise from the beginning. Arguably they could just use the Dragon Age engine and toolset that Bioware just developed, though I would hope a proper Ultima game would have one seamless world as opposed to maps like Dragon Age. Someone needs to make this happen, like yesterday.

Re:A little off-topic...

[ZosX]

Have you tried the U5 remake based on dungeon siege? It was a ton of fun....

Re:A little off-topic...

[Enderandrew]

Yes, and it is very much worth linking to.

http://www.u5lazarus.com/

Many of the same people have been working on an Ultima VI remake, and a generic platform for Ultima remakes continuing the U5-Lazarus code.

http://u6project.com/

Re:A little off-topic...

[DerekLyons]

They need to remake the Ultima franchise from the beginning. Arguably they could just use the Dragon Age engine and toolset that Bioware just developed, though I would hope a proper Ultima game would have one seamless world as opposed to maps like Dragon Age. Someone needs to make this happen, like yesterday.

And people wonder why Hollywood, the record industry, and the publishing industry keep pumping out sequels, remakes, re-imaginings, and more, more, more of the same.

Re:A little off-topic...

[Hurricane78]

But this guy is largely famous for creating the Ultima franchise, which is basically all but dead, because EA sank their fangs into Origin Systems and killed the company.

Sadly, if you replace “Ultima” with “System Shock”, the whole sentence still is true.

If there is one thing on this world that you can legitimately hate and be prejudiced about... it’s EA. :/

Re:A little off-topic...

[Enderandrew]

John Carpenter's The Thing is a much beloved film. And yet it is a remake. Shakespeare borrowed most if not all of his plots from others. Musicians have covered other musicians throughout the entirety of written history.

Not all remakes/revisions/reboots/etc. are inherently terrible. Hollywood has had a string lately of unnecessary and piss-poor remakes.

But what I'm proposing is that Richard Garriott update his own work, better presenting his own vision with hindsight and better technology at his disposal.

Re:A little off-topic...

[Teancum]

Richard Garriott isn't doing anything these days, and I imagine most gamers have never played a single player Ultima these days.

It is inaccurate to suggest that "Richard Garriott isn't doing anything these days". He has moved on in his life and is doing other things besides playing and making video games.

His latest venture, since he has been to the International Space Station, is to get into the pharmaceutical industry and working with processing of chemicals that are easier to do in a low-gravity environment. What is really cool, he can get that to work at a profit and justify a return trip to the ISS as a legitimate business expense. He is planning a return trip too.

As for if he will make it to the Moon and service his own property when he gets there, that is something to legitimately question. Supposedly he is also sponsoring one of the Google Lunar X-Prize teams and offering some technical advise for them as well.

That doesn't sound like doing nothing.

Re:A little off-topic...

[Hatta]

The original Ultima is quaint, and not what most people expect from an RPG, but still plenty entertaining.

Re:A little off-topic...

[elrous0]

In their defense, the last Tiger Woods game was pretty sweet, before they went back to focusing on the golf.

conspiracy theories

[roman_mir]

you gotta love conspiracy theories surrounding the US moon landings.

For those, still not sure, check out these pics from the Harsh Mistress herself, look for example at Apollo 14 photos, there are footstep trails visible. Ain't it cool?

Re:conspiracy theories

[Hurricane78]

Looks photoshopped.
.
Yeah, the shadows are all wrong. Definitely photoshopped.
.
.
.
You don’t get conspiracy theorists, do you? ;)

Coordinates anyone?

[Derf the]

Haven't seen an references to the geo (!geo) coords of the site to give it a proper home address & let us check out it's neighbourhood. Any hints?

The Man Who Bought The Moon?

[drfreak]

This reminds me of Heinlein's The Man Who Sold The Moon. Maybe if he moves into the probe, he can also claim ownership of the Moon.

Who has salvage rights on the Moon?

[NotQuiteReal]

If I can go get it, can I have it? Some of the Apollo gear would fetch a pretty penny on eBay, but I assume I would have to deliver it, not just "sell it in place".

Re:Ebay Oportunity Awaits

[JSBiff]

"He should create an inventory of the constituent atoms of the rover and rent out custody of individual atoms on monthly subscription to those who want bragging rights to "having" something on the moon."

TFIFY.

Never lost

[mbone]

Lunokhod 2 has been returning Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) pulses since the early 1970's. Not only is it not lost, its position is known to a centimeter or better.

Finding Lunokhod 1, which has been missing since 1971, would be a real coup, especially if LLR returns could be obtained from it.

Re:Never lost

[approachingZero]

That's very interesting. Have you ever seen 'Tank on the Moon?' http://science.discovery.com/tv/tank/tank.html Those were some real engineers.

Re:Never lost

[teslar]

its position is known to a centimeter or better

NASA (via the Register says you're wrong. Well, not anymore, obviously, but the final position wasn't known and certainly not to a centimeter or better because (page 2 of the linked article):

laser ranging can't be used to pin the lost machine down on a Moon map: The uneven distribution of accurate control points causes the accuracy of the network to vary strongly with lunar position.

Re:Ebay Oportunity Awaits

[Divide By Zero]

+1, Goddamn Genius.

Exclusive Club

[Unsub]

As one of a half dozen or so entities that can lay claim to tangible property on the Moon, it does put him in an exclusive club . Not current on my Lunar Law, but I think it's safe to say there's plenty of gray area that will need to be fleshed out as to who can claim exclusive rights to anything. Right now, there's not much more that differentiates Joe Schmoe (contextually) from Russia or India or Lord British other than Joe owns no Moon trash. What if Branson bought the thing? We'd be talking about the U.S., China, India, EU, Japan, Russia, and Virgin Galactic in the Club. Would that warrant a seat on the Lunar Policy Steering Committee table?

"Britishing" hehe...

[Guppy]

What the hell are you talking about? The only reason I play UO is for all the "Britishing": paying real world dollars to people for cyber-sex, then player killing them as I climax. That's the only reason anyone plays UO - all the violent sex. Jesus, man, where have you been?

Remember Old Man Murray reviews? Coined the term "Britishing":
http://www.oldmanmurray.com/shortreviews/sr5.html

Re:"Britishing" hehe...

[Chris Burke]

LOL, good to know there's someone else out there that gets my Britishing references. :)

BTW, damn you for linking OMM and making me -- yes making me! -- re-read all those old reviews.

Also just noticed they predicted Stephen Colbert getting his own show!

Regolith Removers Interstellar

[smapdi_42]

I call total lunar franchise rights for plow companies specializing in regolith clearing. Yes!

Loved UO

[caywen]

You notice your lunar rover is missing.

GUARDS!!

*whack*

C'mon NASA....

[freeze128]

Jeez! I can't even make out the rover in those photos. The tiles in Ultima I were more detailed...

Re:And the photos of the moon landing site are...

[sowth]

Pictures or it didn't happen!

Re:Was that worth it?

[iprefermuffins]

He's been around since at least 2008.

Ultima 4

[Haxx]

  Did anyone ever figure out if cheating the blind herb salesman caused you to loose the game in the end?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_IV:_Quest_of_the_Avatar

He bought a buggy on the moon?

[John Saffran]

I have a little used Rushmore monument that he might be interested in ..

Re:Ebay Oportunity Awaits

[genner]

What a deal. All he has to do is go up there and get it and he can sell it for 10X what he paid for it on Ebay!! Oh, wait a minute...

No he doesn't. He could just sell it for $5.00 + shipping.

Re:Ultima Online!?

[genner]

ULTIMA ONLINE!? One of the greatest video game designers to ever live, and the summary only gives him credit for a lame, abandoned MMORPG?

If you're going to mention only one Richard Garriott game, shouldn't it be Ultima VII?

Ultima Online isn't ababdibed it's still going strong and even though it's been corrupted by EA it's still one of the best.

re

[JohnVanVliet]

way to go phill
congrats from Celestia and UMSF

Re:Ultima Online!?

[linzeal]

I wonder if my account from 1998 is still there.

Sheesh...

[Anachragnome]

Sheesh.

He owns a vehicle on the moon, yet STILL hasn't put out a decent successor to Ultima Online!

Talk about fucked up priorities.

Re:Sheesh...

[Hurricane78]

Shut up, you ignorant loud idiot.

EA has eaten Origin Systems, and with it Ultima and System Shock.
So you can than EA, as always, for something in the gaming industry being fucked up.

Or do you really think something as great as those both franchises would rot like that, without EA having anything to do with it?
(But watch out for Ultima in disguise. Just like BioShock is System Shock in disguise.)

Re:Ebay Oportunity Awaits

[Anarki2004]

this got me thinking. What would the shipping be on such an item? According to my calculations UPS can do it for about $60,000 and guarantee it delivered by 8 PM tomorrow.

Those are scams

[aepervius]

They can't sale part of the moon like they can't sale part of any territory on any planet or moon which they don't possess, or have access to. They think they have found a loophole in some old treaty from the cold war to allow to sale parcell for colonisation, but as soon as they will try to enforce it against any governement , I will tell you what will happen : they will be LAUGHED out of court. At best this can only be considered a JOKE gift.

Re:Those are scams

[earlymon]

At best this can only be considered a JOKE gift.

Uh huh. Well, I don't know a lot about getting laughed out of court. I didn't even get any laughs for the whole idea of owing someone for unpaid parking on the moon.

I'm British, I Don't Own A Lunar Rover....

[pandrijeczko]

...I just wanted to get that point across just in case our overseas friends think that we're all loonies with too much money.

Two words Richard: "TABULA RASA".

not sure...

[alobar72]

but isn't saying "the guy behind UO" is like saying "Bill Gates, the guy behind Windows 3.11" (ok,ok not the best parallel, but you get the point) ?
I mean his role is much bigger than just UO. Didn't Ultima start the whole fantasy role playing thing on computers ?

Somehow..

[Veretax]

Somehow I doubt that the Doctor will let him get away with this. Just wait, any day now his TARDIS will appear and he'll walk out to find it accidentally landed on the rover, crushing it to pieces. Woops.

Re:Was that worth it?

[KingOfTheMoon]

He's been around since at least 2008.

I've been around since at least 1973