Skip to main content

Server

The Dark Paradise server is a private hobby of several enthusiasts. It has no connection or connection to OSI, Origin, Mythic, Broadsword, EA or any other Ultima Online official provider. It is absolutely free, non-commercial and non-profit. We make the Dark Paradise server in our free time and its condition may not be fully professional at all times. The Dark Paradise server and its operation are fully and exclusively financed by the GM's private resources. The GM or Advisors are not obliged to be constantly present in the game or respond to player requests. We do not take any legal or other responsibility for the functionality and condition of the server.

The Dark Paradise server aims to offer players a quality gaming environment. However, even with this provision, it is possible that, for example, the internet may become inaccessible on the way to you. Therefore, in some cases, you may encounter so-called lags, jerky movements during the game.

The Dark Paradise server has an extensive know-how background from both fantasy game players and professionals in the fields of IT, system administration and programming. We managed to create a large team of people who set themselves the goal not only of creating and running a real functioning server, but above all of taking care of its further running. Here I mean mainly the frequent presence of the GM in the game, regular organization of player competitions, tournaments and creation of Quests. At no point should the game flow by itself.

The characters on Dark Paradise are 90% balanced according to the AD&D rules, as Ultima Online could allow. In this case, the game Baldur's Gate was used as a model. They are also created so that each of them is unique in both skills, spells and attributes.

Dark Paradise is open to players, trying to take into account their comments, suggestions and observations. For this purpose, we moderate Discord and further modify the game so that it is always interesting and can bring new things even for long-playing players. On Dark Paradise, we perform backups of the game world every 2 hours and try to avoid world returns as much as possible.

The Dark Paradise server is built on the Sphere emulator (www.sphereserver.eu). In April 2026, we switched to the latest version of SphereServer X. We have our own public fork on GitHub. The code would be partially modified to match the logic that was used on Sphere .51a, which we have been using since the server was launched.

General questions about server administration

Why was the Dark Paradise server created, who founded it and what is its status?

The Dark Paradise server was created as a private hobby of several online game enthusiasts. Its status is an unofficial, non-commercial private hobby server.

Who finances the Dark Paradise server, who pays for the hardware, landline rental, etc.?

Dark Paradise is financed exclusively from private GM funds, from sponsorship donations and with the participation of some individuals and companies. Dark Paradise does not generate any financial or other credit profit for its operators or stakeholders.

Some Ultima Online servers use a multiprocessor basis. Dark Paradise does not?

No. Although the emulator can use multiple threads, this configuration is in the experimental phase and is not used to ensure stability. The emulator used does not support multiprocessing.

I am interested in supporting Dark Paradise. What are the options?

The Dark Paradise server and its administrators are currently not accepting any donations.

I want to become a GM, or possibly a chancellor. What are the requirements?

Mezi zThe basic requirements include perfect knowledge of the sphereserver, scripts and the game. You must also be communicative, master elements of standard Czech and be demonstrably independent. Each GM must also be unanimously accepted by all members of the RT Dark Paradise, a personal meeting is necessary. GMs are also expected to make some kind of financial contribution to the operation of the server. Before you apply for this position, consider the fact that this is daily intensive and long-term work.

If you have read this far and the first paragraph has not completely discouraged you, here are a few recommendations. If you think you meet most of the above conditions, contact one of the server administrators via Discord to apply for admission to the implementation team. When contacting one of the GMs (preferably via the forum), it is appropriate to attach a gaming CV (what you have achieved, mistakes, characters, etc.) and a motivation letter describing why you would be a good fit for this position.

Is the software covered by the license agreement legal on the Dark Paradise server?

Yes. All the software we use is used legally.

Special thanks from the server administrators

Aira GROUP s.r.o. - virtual server rental

Zdeněk Hornych ml. alias Joe - worked as GM DP, tournament and quest organizer
Honza Kuneš alias Šmoula - worked as GM DP, tournament organizer
Josef Šíma alias Trinity - worked as GM DP, first scripter DP
Puppeteer - worked as GM DP, Roleplaying
Artur Filipiak alias Aro - creator of the first Bulletin Board, Court Gossip and PK Killboard
RadstaR - first map creator and game file editor (later one of the administrators on the Manawydan server)

Technical information

Hardware

  • Motherboard: Intel DQ45CB
  • Processor: AMD EPYC 7543P (4x vCPU)
  • RAM: 10 240 DDR4 3200MHz
  • Storage: ZFS RAID10 over HPE NVMe Gen. 4 drives (96GB)

Software

Connectivity

  • Domain: uo.darkparadise.eu,2593
  • IPv4: 178.238.38.119,2593
  • IPv6: 2a01:430:45::119,2593