Slashdot Mirror
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.)
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.
As of 10/06/03, I hate COBOL developers.
Here.
The enemies of Democracy are
...you really need to read the fine print when buying a used car!
The above comments are the ravings of a lunatic and should be ignored completely.
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.
Sounds like Wisconsin on St Pat's day are you sure you aren't just drunk in the Midwest again?
An Education is the Font of All Liberty
"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?
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/
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.
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
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.
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.'
Not only do they get rid of their junk by sending it off world, they also find someone dumb enough to pay for it.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
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.
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
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?
You can't handle the truth.
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.
"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!
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
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
You notice your lunar rover is missing.
GUARDS!!
*whack*
He's been around since at least 2008.
And we travel in packs.