The EA Louse blog, since deleted as a breach of the WordPress terms of service, caused something of an uproar when it was first uploaded to the internet. The often very angry posts revealed more than perhaps EA management would have liked to have gotten out; about the working conditions, the poor handling of Warhammer Online and the ridiculous amount of storage dedicated to voice work in The Old Republic. It was a fascinating read, even though it was best to take it with a pinch of salt. With the announcement of Ultima Forever though, it seems that at least part of the blog could be believed.
Talking about Ultima Forever lead Paul Barnett, Louse spoke a little bit about his efforts in reviving the series, and that the quality perhaps wasn't what it should have been.
“You know him as the crazy British dude that appears in random videos at EA to promote his latest bullshittery,” Louse wrote. “We know him as the crazy British dude who we have no idea of how he still has a job. This man was supposed to be the saviour of Warhammer's vision and design. Now all he can do is promote his strange ideas about his little secret project web Ultima game that's been almost universally criticized by all of us and focus groups. What's that? You didn't know Paul loves one of those old Ultima games so much he's making a literal copy of it for Facebook? Well, the cat’s outta the bag. Too bad it sucks ass."
Two years is a long time, and it's easy to believe that things could have been turned around on the project since then. If the rest of the blog is to be believed however, it seems that it's unlikely.