Information Sources

What’s the game actually called?

What’s it called?

Two character classes will be available at launch: the Fighter (male only) and the Mage (both male and female)
Two additional classes have been revealed: the Druid (apparently female only) and the Paladin (possibly female only)
For more information, see the Ultima Forever Classes page).

Apple iOS (iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch) at launch, with PC and Android versions coming later; you will be able to login through any of these.
You will be able to play with people playing on other platforms.
It is not a Facebook or browser-based game as was previously suspected.
Internet connectivity is required.
See the Ultima Forever Technical Information page for full details

You will be able to complete the entire game without paying anything.
You can purchase keys to obtain higher-quality loot from chests.
Gear becomes damaged during gameplay; keys will be required to repair gear. Gear can also be discarded.
Keys may be required to perform certain other in-game functions.

Ultima Forever is not meant to be a remake of Ultima IV. Rather it’s a re-imagining of the series.
It is set 21 years after Ultima IV
It’s also a reboot of the Ultima franchise.
If it is successful, Mythic Entertainment plan to bring other Ultima games into the Ultima Forever series.

It doesn’t directly relate to Ultima Online, at least for now. Mythic has stated that if Ultima Forever successful, it may pull in elements from other Ultima games, including UO. Ultima Forever is a completely different game, with a limit of 4 players in a group, and is also a much more casual game.
While both teams have the same Franchise Producer, Jeff Skalski, UO and U4E have separate development teams according to Kai Schober, per this UO Stratics post.

Gameplay is driven by your character/avatar, what he or she is carrying, what you do both alone in the game and as part of a group.
There are a lot of dungeons
Ultima Forever is an accessible, action driven RPG
It does take into account player positions, complete with collision detection.
According to a Paul Barnett in this tweet, you can explore anywhere in Britannia
That said, dungeons and some other areas in the game are locked based on player level, and may not be immediately accessible. The entirety of the overland can be explored, however, as well as all the towns and cities.

At its core, Ultima Forever is meant to be a multiplayer game.
Focused on small groups, up to four players.
It is a persistent multiplayer game thanks to its online elements.
It takes into account the Eight Virtues. If a more powerful player teams up with a player who is just starting, the stronger player will gain in Sacrifice, for example.
There will be a “friend finder” and Facebook integration.