Who do I call for my congratulations now that Origin is no more?

[steo]

Long time Looking Glass fan and have beaten Shock1 multiple times, but somehow never picked up Ultima Underworld until this year, and loved it so much that I finished it in a month with more or less only the manual/player's guide for help (I did look up a bit about game mechanics but mostly avoided spoilers for any puzzles). It was honestly so satisfying solving the harder puzzles, one wonderful puzzle in particular had me revisit the same area half a dozen times before I finally figured it out.

And I played as a Mage with default stats - 17 strength! - and got far enough in before realising how much of a pain that would be, though to be honest it wasn't *that* bad, I just wish I'd been carrying food around with me more when talking to people and being able to wear heavier armor would've made the game a bit easier, but I didn't really struggle with combat.

Anyway, after getting the end-game message, I was just wondering who I should call to congratulate me for beating the game now that Origin is defunct? Did anyone have luck with EA support? I think I might try phoning them.

[Pyrian]

Uhhh... Maybe Paul Neurath?

[Shadowcat]

I love the idea of EA actually being prepared for that call. That would be hilarious.

I'm mostly wondering what the chances are of their current support staff even recognising the name of the game, though...

[Bikerdude]

Origin is not defunct, for example you still need to use this bloody useless launcher alongside steam for any EA games you play on the steam platform afaik.

And I wouldnt waste your time contacting EA, they have demonstrated time and again they are not customer focused.

[Pyrian]

I don't think Origin the EA download service has much of anything to do with Origin Systems the Ultima Underworld publisher beyond the fact that they're both owned by EA.

[Briareos H]

I remember people, including me, being angry at the lack of respect when EA announced that the Origin relaunch they had just teased was going to be their launcher and game delivery infrastructure.
Anyway it seems that Origin is now well and truly dead since the service is being phased out and rebranded into EA Play.

[Anarchic Fox]

Long time Looking Glass fan and have beaten Shock1 multiple times, but somehow never picked up Ultima Underworld until this year, and loved it so much that I finished it in a month with more or less only the manual/player's guide for help (I did look up a bit about game mechanics but mostly avoided spoilers for any puzzles). It was honestly so satisfying solving the harder puzzles, one wonderful puzzle in particular had me revisit the same area half a dozen times before I finally figured it out.

And I played as a Mage with default stats - 17 strength! - and got far enough in before realising how much of a pain that would be, though to be honest it wasn't *that* bad, I just wish I'd been carrying food around with me more when talking to people and being able to wear heavier armor would've made the game a bit easier, but I didn't really struggle with combat.

Anyway, after getting the end-game message, I was just wondering who I should call to congratulate me for beating the game now that Origin is defunct? Did anyone have luck with EA support? I think I might try phoning them.

I think Richard Garriott still congratulates people on Twitter.

[Cipheron]

Origin is not defunct, for example you still need to use this bloody useless launcher alongside steam for any EA games you play on the steam platform afaik.

And I wouldnt waste your time contacting EA, they have demonstrated time and again they are not customer focused.

I know this is old, but it's sort of an amusing mix-up.

The OP is talking about Origin Systems, which is the company that made the Ultima Series and was then sold to EA by 'Lord British' in 1992. NOT the "Origin" game service, which started in 2011, and is also from EA. The name is mostly coincidence.

However, 'Origin' the service also ended support for PC/browsers in October 2022, and went app-only, so the "Origin is no more" line clearly explains the timing of that comment.

(and the original point is that around the 1980s, a lot of game companies DID have customer support lines, for example you could call Sierra Online and actually ask for puzzle hints. So the whole joke here is asking whether EA would actually honor a promise to be congratulated by phone for beating a game that came out over 30 years ago, from a company that no longer exists).