Ultima VI: The False Prophet

[Christophero Sly]

I just finished a replay of Ultima VI last night. I really didn't set out to replay the game. Out of curiosity, I threw it into DosBox last week to see how well it would run. It ran great, and before I knew it, I'd gotten sucked in and was well on my way. My in-game time to completion was 2 months 22 days. I spent about a week and a half of real world time. I would have spent considerably less time, but I got two-thirds of the way through the game before I realized that I didn't have to stand in the stone circles to use the Moonstone; I could use it anywhere.

 

I ended up enjoying the game quite a bit, much more than I would have thought possible. The scale of the game world, the number of NPC characters (all with individual portraits), the quality of the dialogue and it's extensiveness, the quality of the major and minor quests--it's an extremely well-realized world. I'm surprised by how little tedium I experienced.

 

Nevertheless, I didn't find the overall storyline particularly engrossing--though the issues it addresses are intriguing and continue to be relevant today. I also found leveling-up to be an extremely uneven task. You go from slaughtering simple enemies, like giant rats and the occasional headless for trivial experience in the early dungeons, to getting clobbered by dragons and daemons once it comes time to retrieve items that are crucial to the plot. There's really no mid-level combat to gradually increase your experience over the natural course of the game. Mid-game, I had to spend a considerable period of time cheesing my way through re-spawned enemies in order to level-up enough to acquire the high-level spells necessary to deal with dragons and daemons (I must have sold a thousand spears to the weaponsmith in Britannia ), and once I had those spells, I found it was much easier to just slip by any high-level foes by casting the spell that made my entire party invisible. Actually, I'm surprised by the extant to which combat is de-emphasized overall in the game. I recall the scope of combat in the previous titles to be just shy of Armageddon.

 

It's hard to believe that it's been twenty years since I first played the game. I'd forgotten nearly everything, save the general plot. I had to cheat, though, and make use of maps I found online. I can't imagine mapping the game out by hand like I did twenty years ago. I would never have the patience to endure that now, and I have a hard time believing that twenty years ago I did. I have a notebook stashed somewhere that is full of maps and notes from back then. I'm interested to find it and see how thorough I was when I first played the game.

[Albert]

Ultima VI was the first Ultima I played after buying my first PC-compatible machine, a Gateway 386-33DX that cost $3,000 with a monitor. That was a fairly spiffy machine at the time with a good video card and the game chugged along slowly at times (depending on what was going on in the game). I really had a blast playing Ultima VI, which was the first Ultima I actually completed. Later I would go through and play most of the others, the exception being Ultima V, which is the only Ultima I haven't played.

 

I need to start the entire series from scratch and play them all, start to finish. Ultima I and II can be completed very quickly. From then on the games became more involved and take significantly longer to finish. I loved Ultima VII and Serpent Isle, but those required top-end machines to run smoothly when they came out (remember that Voodoo Memory Manager?)

 

I started Ultima VIII but got so frustrated with random death and jumping puzzles that I gave up on it. This was before it was patched, and I never did go back and play it again. The same is true with Ascension. It ran so horribly the first time I started playing it that I gave up even more quickly on it than I did with Pagan. I actually have the original design document for Ascension with the the more involved plot than what made it into the final game. I wonder if that's made it onto the net anywhere..

 

..Al

[Christophero Sly]

Ultima VI was the first Ultima I played after buying my first PC-compatible machine, a Gateway 386-33DX that cost $3,000 with a monitor. That was a fairly spiffy machine at the time with a good video card and the game chugged along slowly at times (depending on what was going on in the game). I really had a blast playing Ultima VI, which was the first Ultima I actually completed. Later I would go through and play most of the others, the exception being Ultima V, which is the only Ultima I haven't played.

 

I need to start the entire series from scratch and play them all, start to finish. Ultima I and II can be completed very quickly. From then on the games became more involved and take significantly longer to finish. I loved Ultima VII and Serpent Isle, but those required top-end machines to run smoothly when they came out (remember that Voodoo Memory Manager?)

 

I started Ultima VIII but got so frustrated with random death and jumping puzzles that I gave up on it. This was before it was patched, and I never did go back and play it again. The same is true with Ascension. It ran so horribly the first time I started playing it that I gave up even more quickly on it than I did with Pagan. I actually have the original design document for Ascension with the the more involved plot than what made it into the final game. I wonder if that's made it onto the net anywhere..

 

..Al

I'd also like to play through the Ultimas again, start-to-finish. I haven't had time to read much of it, but here's the blog of someone who has recently done so.

 

I've never played any of the Ultimas past VI, so in the near term, I'd like to play VII as it seems to be the consensus "best Ultima". However, from the screenshots I've seen of it, I can't say that I'm crazy about the look of the game. Anyway, I'm currently looking to score a copy of the Ultima collection CD to further that end.

 

Jumping puzzles!?! If jumping puzzles became a part of the later Ultimas, then VII is the last Ultima I'll play. Really? Jumping puzzles?

 

To say nothing of random death. Ugh...

 

Ultima V happens to be my favorite. And you know, every true Ultima fan (I saw that picture of your office), really ought to play through it.

[+remowilliams]

I can't imagine mapping the game out by hand like I did twenty years ago. I would never have the patience to endure that now, and I have a hard time believing that twenty years ago I did. I have a notebook stashed somewhere that is full of maps and notes from back then. I'm interested to find it and see how thorough I was when I first played the game.

I actually found all my notes and maps from my Ultima IV playthrough back in the day and have quite the same feeling of disbelief that I did all that. I really enjoyed the game, but I also could never see myself doing that sort of thing in this day.

 

 

The same is true with Ascension. It ran so horribly the first time I started playing it that I gave up even more quickly on it than I did with Pagan. I actually have the original design document for Ascension with the the more involved plot than what made it into the final game. I wonder if that's made it onto the net anywhere..

I'm one of the six people on earth I think who really enjoyed Ascension. It ran really well on my machine at the time, but I had the dough to purchase higher end hardware by the time it came out. I also didn't start playing it until it received a patch that fixed *lots* of bugs iirc.

[Albert]

I'd also like to play through the Ultimas again, start-to-finish. I haven't had time to read much of it, but here's the blog of someone who has recently done so.

Thanks for the link, I'll have to read through those. Looking at the links on that site, I"m reminded that I never played "Savage Empire", either, so that's another one I need to go through.

 

I've never played any of the Ultimas past VI, so in the near term, I'd like to play VII as it seems to be the consensus "best Ultima". However, from the screenshots I've seen of it, I can't say that I'm crazy about the look of the game. Anyway, I'm currently looking to score a copy of the Ultima collection CD to further that end.

I really like the "full-screen" interface of Ultima VII. It was a brave move on Origin's part and I think it worked out very well. Instead of just having a small window into the game world, you're more immersed in it without all the baggage of user-interface element on screen 100% of the time. It did require a powerful computer to run well, though.

 

Jumping puzzles!?! If jumping puzzles became a part of the later Ultimas, then VII is the last Ultima I'll play. Really? Jumping puzzles?

Yeah, you could die if you didn't properly jump across some water or lava, for instance. There were also dungeons where the ground would give way under you randomly, plummeting you to a lava-induced death. Not fun at all and that's when I gave up on the game. I also seem to remember loading and saving taking a long time, making the dying aspect of the game even worse. I believe a patch was released to make the jumping easier, but not sure about the random lava death.

 

Ultima V happens to be my favorite. And you know, every true Ultima fan (I saw that picture of your office), really ought to play through it.

Yeah, there's pretty much universal acclaim for Ultima V. I'm not sure what distracted me from playing it back when I played all the others. I have no excuse, especially these days when it's much easier to run all these games in something like Dosbox, so I don't even need to worry about trying to get them running in Windows.

 

..Al

[gdement]

I had Ultima 6 as part of the "second trilogy" set. At first I played Ultima 4, planning to go through the games in order. But I couldn't resist the better graphics and sound of 6, and by the time I got a Sound Blaster I started playing 6 instead.

 

I think I got pretty far into 6 and really enjoyed the realism. It was the first game I saw with NPC schedules, day night cycles, such detailed dialogue, and realistic world details in general. It's a very cool game.

My only complaint was the tedious interface. It was the first Ultima to support a mouse and it wasn't done very well.

 

After receiving Ultima 7 as a birthday gift, I really didn't want to play 6 anymore and never beat it.

U7 is still the only Ultima I've actually beaten. Others have always defeated me with some combination of boredom, difficulty, or bugs. Even U7 was on hold for a couple years while I had a glitchy computer that couldn't run it without crashing.

Edited February 14, 2010 by gdement

[Albert]

I actually found all my notes and maps from my Ultima IV playthrough back in the day and have quite the same feeling of disbelief that I did all that. I really enjoyed the game, but I also could never see myself doing that sort of thing in this day.

I made maps and took many notes while playing old RPGs--I remember having extensive notes and maps for the two Alternate Reality games when I played through them on the 8-bit. I'm sure I'd do the same again today if I played through them again. I'm not sure you could play Alternate Reality without mapping the game out!

 

I'm one of the six people on earth I think who really enjoyed Ascension. It ran really well on my machine at the time, but I had the dough to purchase higher end hardware by the time it came out. I also didn't start playing it until it received a patch that fixed *lots* of bugs iirc.

I'd be surprised if there were even six people.. I wonder how easy it is to get running on modern hardware. I'll have to dig out my Ascension disc (discs?) and see what happens. I'll also have to track down the patch(es).

 

..Al

[Tempest]

I've only played (and beaten) I-V because that's what they made for the Apple II (I made a post about my playthrough of the Ultima's sometime early last year). I have the rest, but I never got around to playing them although they're on my todo list (along with the Wizardry's). I didn't like the quasi-3D look they gave the later Ultima's since I was so used to the tile based ones, although I hear they're quite good.

 

I actually still have the letter I got from Origin in response to my complaint about Ultima VI not being made for the Apple. Man I was pissed. By the time I got my first IBM Ultima VI was old and forgotten about so I never went back to it.

 

Tempest

[Christophero Sly]

I really like the "full-screen" interface of Ultima VII. It was a brave move on Origin's part and I think it worked out very well. Instead of just having a small window into the game world, you're more immersed in it without all the baggage of user-interface element on screen 100% of the time. It did require a powerful computer to run well, though.

Good point. The limited view of your immediate surroundings in Ultima VI did feel a bit claustrophobic. I guess being so used to the clean, tile-based look of the early Ultimas I'm just prejudiced against the high-angle isometric look of VII. I'll probably grow to love it though.

 

Jumping puzzles!?! If jumping puzzles became a part of the later Ultimas, then VII is the last Ultima I'll play. Really? Jumping puzzles?

Yeah, you could die if you didn't properly jump across some water or lava, for instance. There were also dungeons where the ground would give way under you randomly, plummeting you to a lava-induced death. Not fun at all and that's when I gave up on the game. I also seem to remember loading and saving taking a long time, making the dying aspect of the game even worse. I believe a patch was released to make the jumping easier, but not sure about the random lava death.

I checked out some Youtube videos of VIII this morning. It's certainly an intriguing game, but after watching some of the jumping puzzles, I can see why you gave up on it. I'm sure I'll end up trying it out, but it doesn't look like the kind of game I could play through either. What a curious direction for Origin to take the series. At times it looks like some sort of isometric Castlevania.

 

I had Ultima 6 as part of the "second trilogy" set. At first I played Ultima 4, planning to go through the games in order. But I couldn't resist the better graphics and sound of 6, and by the time I got a Sound Blaster I started playing 6 instead.

 

I think I got pretty far into 6 and really enjoyed the realism. It was the first game I saw with NPC schedules, day night cycles, such detailed dialogue, and realistic world details in general. It's a very cool game.

My only complaint was the tedious interface. It was the first Ultima to support a mouse and it wasn't done very well.

 

After receiving Ultima 7 as a birthday gift, I really didn't want to play 6 anymore and never beat it.

U7 is still the only Ultima I've actually beaten. Others have always defeated me with some combination of boredom, difficulty, or bugs. Even U7 was on hold for a couple years while I had a glitchy computer that couldn't run it without crashing.

I agree about the interface. I fought with that the whole way through. Another complaint I have is that it would have been nice if bags, packs, and baskets were identified individually with letters, like the keys were. I kept misplacing important items in bags that I couldn't tell apart.

 

I've read that people (that blogger in particular) experienced a lot of bugs with VI. I only experienced one. I ran into a Silver Serpent in the Tomb of Kings that every time I hit it, the game would say "Silver Serpent killed", but it actually wasn't. I think I could have really cheesed that one for XP, but fearing that something else might be amiss in the game, I went ahead and reloaded from my last save.

 

I wonder if a lot of the inventory bugs people experienced in Ultima VI were on account of them not noticing when a gremlin had picked their pocket.

 

I've only played (and beaten) I-V because that's what they made for the Apple II (I made a post about my playthrough of the Ultima's sometime early last year). I have the rest, but I never got around to playing them although they're on my todo list (along with the Wizardry's). I didn't like the quasi-3D look they gave the later Ultima's since I was so used to the tile based ones, although I hear they're quite good.

 

I actually still have the letter I got from Origin in response to my complaint about Ultima VI not being made for the Apple. Man I was pissed. By the time I got my first IBM Ultima VI was old and forgotten about so I never went back to it.

I cut my Ultima teeth on the Apple II as well. I was extremely disappointed when I realized VI wouldn't be coming out for the Apple II. Assuming that it would, I had actually pre-ordered (and paid!) for the game at a local Apple dealership.

 

I'd love to see that letter. Any chance you'd be willing to scan it and post it somewhere?

 

This return to Ultima VI has triggered in me a wave of unexpected classic-RPG nostalgia. If I can figure out how to get it running in a IIc emulator, I'd also like to replay at least the first Wizardry. Wasteland is another A2 RPG that I own, but have never played.

[Tempest]

I'll have to find it. IIRC they basically said that the Apple II wasn't capable of displaying the new graphics. I also have one from EA where I wrote for some hints and asked about Bards Tale IV.

 

Tempest

[S1500]

I remember trying to play either 3,4, or 5(I forgot) and quickly dying in the first few minutes of the game. Reason: I got near some diseased person and couldn't shake the sickness off.

[Goochman]

Ive played and finished them all - VIII was a real turd. My machine wasnt quite good enough so jumping was hit or miss..........

 

One thing to remember about leveling up - you know what to do in order to finish so leveling up seems a pain, however when it first came out you spent alot more time wandering around gaining experience such that the leveling up process didnt seem so unatural. Playing U2 today from scratch can be a pain as oyu need to get gold/levels to win (Hotel California anyone ).

 

I really enjoyed U9 though there were some serious bugs. I was excited to possibly see what was next in a FP 3D Ultima - alas no luck. I miss this series, though once LB got locked on Sosaria and the basic map layout it started to wear thin - half the fun was finding new towns/villages in 1-6.

[Christophero Sly]

One thing to remember about leveling up - you know what to do in order to finish so leveling up seems a pain, however when it first came out you spent alot more time wandering around gaining experience such that the leveling up process didnt seem so unatural.

I can see that being the case if you were using a walkthrough or something. However, the only "cheating" I did in my replay of VI was to make use of pre-drawn maps. Beyond that, I let the game come to me, so I still think that leveling up is a bit uneven in VI due to the de-emphasis on combat in the game. In fact, I've subsequently had time to read that blogger I linked to, and he speculates that you can win the game without killing anything.

 

half the fun was finding new towns/villages in 1-6.

That was always the magic and the hook for me too.

[+remowilliams]

Also of note for those wanting to play through the Ultimas - the FM Towns has Ultima I-VI and has enhanced sound and graphics over the PC ports. Sometimes drastically enhanced.

 

Ultima I PC:

 

 

Ultima I FM Towns:

 

[Albert]

Wow, such a difference! What do I need to do to run the FM Towns version?

 

..Al

[+remowilliams]

Wow, such a difference! What do I need to do to run the FM Towns version?

 

..Al

The FM Towns emulator Unz, some BIOS ROMs, and a cd image of the I-III trilogy and you should be set to go.

 

It even has a special voice over introduction by Lord British himself.

 

[Shannon]

Interesting on the FM towns there..

 

I had a friend that was really into Ultima VI. The game really did have some serious inventory bugs. In fact the entire serious from then on (including Ultima Underworlds) had inventory issues. Anywho.. due to a bug he managed to "bag" Lord British. So anytime his team needed healing he would just talk to Lord British who happened to be in his "bag". The only thing I didn't like about VI was the de-emphasis on combat and control of your party. It was really annoying to have your characters act independantly, doing such things like walking thru lava, etc. One time (I think this was in VII, though) a character in my party passed out fighting some rats somewhere that I had choose to run away from. It wasn't till about 20-30 minutes later when I was in a town I realized he was gone. Took me another 20-30 minutes to find him laying conked out in the woods somewhere.

 

I finished thru Ultima VII as well, although I personally felt it was time wasted. Especially since I put off playing Ultima Underworlds to play it. I enjoyed UU far more. Although I was unable to finish it due to the bugs.

 

On a side note. Don't know how nice the FM towns versions are but there are nice little Ultima series updates out there that really update the graphics and music for several of the ultima titles (from III thru V I believe). They are well worth taking the time to set-up. I got them running real nice in DosXbox. So they oughta be pretty easy to get going on Dosbox as well.

[82-T/A]

OMG! This is like the best thread to be posted in here since I can ever remember. I don't know if I've done it on here too... but I have "the Avatar" as my avatar... (lame joke, I know). I think it's from Ultima IV (or maybe it's 6?).

 

Anyway, yeah... the Ultima games are pretty awesome. I first played Ultima 6... (although never really got too far). I nearly completed 7, and 7 part II, and the add-ons too... but to be honest, I don't think I ever completed a single Ultima game?

 

Have you guys ever played Ultima Underworld I and II? Those games are also equally as good. Never beat those either... damn I suck...

 

 

I've beaten the other Origin games... Wing Commander 1-4, and then the System Shock 1 and 2 from the same company that made Ultima Underworld 1 and 2.

 

 

Great games....

 

EDIT: I just remembered that there were some OTHER Ultima games that never really hit it big. I think one was called Ultima Origins 1 and 2 or something? It was like the Avatar was stuck in some kind of tropical jungle?!?! It seemed to use the Ultima 6 engine...

 

 

I have the Ultimate Ultima CD which comes with 1-8, and then also the Ultima Compilation which comes with 1-6, and then also the Ultima Underworld Deluxe collection (1 and 2 with add-on. And then the "Complete Ultima 7" which came with 7 and 7p2 with the add-ons... but until now, I completely forgot about Ultima Origins... anyone remember those?

 

By the way... in System Shock II... you can actually find "games" for your neuro system and actually play Wing Commander and Ultima in a tiny screen while playing System Shock II... yeah... I know, totally nerdy, but how cool!

Edited February 19, 2010 by 82-T/A

[Albert]

Anyway, yeah... the Ultima games are pretty awesome. I first played Ultima 6... (although never really got too far). I nearly completed 7, and 7 part II, and the add-ons too... but to be honest, I don't think I ever completed a single Ultima game?

You should go back and play some of them--great games overall.

 

Have you guys ever played Ultima Underworld I and II? Those games are also equally as good. Never beat those either... damn I suck...

Indeed, Ultima Underworld I and II are fantastic! Ultima Underworld was really the first real-time, fully texture-mapped 3D dungeon game, and ahead of its time back then. The first game takes place after Ultima VI, and the second game takes place between the two Ultima VII games and ties into that storyline. I think when I go through and play all the Ultima games again, I'll actually play them in that order (Ultima VI, Underworld I, Ultima VII (and the add-on Forge of Virtue), Underworld II and then Ultima VII: Serpent Isle (and Silver Seed).

 

I've beaten the other Origin games... Wing Commander 1-4, and then the System Shock 1 and 2 from the same company that made Ultima Underworld 1 and 2.

Yes, the System Shock and Underworld games were done by Looking Glass Technologies. I actually worked for them as a game developer for a time. Great group of people and they really "grocked" games. The Ultima Underworld and System Shock games were a big inspiration for me.

 

EDIT: I just remembered that there were some OTHER Ultima games that never really hit it big. I think one was called Ultima Origins 1 and 2 or something? It was like the Avatar was stuck in some kind of tropical jungle?!?! It seemed to use the Ultima 6 engine...

You're thinking of the "Worlds of Ultima" games, which were based on the Ultima VI engine. The first game was The Savage Empire and the second was Martian Dreams. I did play Martian Dreams but for some reason never played Savage Empire (even though I do own both). When I do my long play through of all the Ultimas, I guess I should play those after Ultima VI since that's when they came out, and I believe they do try to tie Savage Empire into the Avatar's timeline after Ultima VI. A third Worlds of Ultima game, Arthurian Legends (using the Ultima VII engine) was started, but never made it very far.

 

By the way... in System Shock II... you can actually find "games" for your neuro system and actually play Wing Commander and Ultima in a tiny screen while playing System Shock II... yeah... I know, totally nerdy, but how cool!

I think after going through all the Ultima games, I'd have to go back and play System Shock I and II again. Those are truly kick ass games. I nearly shat my pants the first time I walked into a room and saw a Cortex Reaver. Bioshock was the "spiritual successor" to System Shock, and includes several of the same development team members. I can only hope that a System Shock III is developed some day. With today's engine technologies, it could truly be an amazing game..

 

..Al

[Christophero Sly]

I managed to track down a copy of the Ulitma collection. It should be here next week. I'm pretty excited to finally get to play Ultima VII.

 

After that, I plan to go back and play the first three games. I've forgotten most everything about them. In fact, I never actually finished Ultima I. I've only finished II, III, V, and VI.

 

Unfortunately, I've learned that the Ultima collection CD contains a corrupted image of II. I guess the galaxy disk is missing. Apparently, an official patch was released, but I can't seem to find it online. I found a fan-made patch that evidently fixes the problem, but it also adds embellishments to the graphics, which I'm not interested in. The fan-made patch doesn't work in dosbox regardless, so I can't use it even if I wanted to.

 

Does anyone know where I can find the official patch? I'm going to be really bummed out if I can't play II. It's the Ultima that I want to replay the most.

 

I think it's from Ultima IV (or maybe it's 6?).

It's from the cover art on the Ultima VI box.

[82-T/A]

You should go back and play some of them--great games overall.

 

 

I've thought about it... one of the things that I've noticed though is that when you try to go back and play OLD OLD games... if they are SO FAR behind the times, and you never really played them to begin with, it's really tough to get into them. I've thought about playing them straight to finish... but the graphics and game-play are so not what I'm used to. The plot in 3 and 4 are apparently pretty good. Growing up, I also played Dragon Warrior 1 and 2 on the Nintendo, and as I later learned, Ultima 3, 4 and 5 are all on the NES as well. I don't know what kind of "engine" they use, but 4 and 5 look almost identical to Dragon Warrior... either that, or Dragon Warrior looks almost identical to that of the Ultima games. But, the way they look on the NES is more "80s Dragon Warrior / Final Fantasy cartoony" looking. I'd really like to play them, so I think I'll probably start with 3 and play them on the Nintendo, and then when I get to 6, I'll play that on the computer since it's what I'm used to. For what it's worth though, I also have Ultima 6 and 7 on Super Nintendo! haha...

 

 

Indeed, Ultima Underworld I and II are fantastic! Ultima Underworld was really the first real-time, fully texture-mapped 3D dungeon game, and ahead of its time back then. The first game takes place after Ultima VI, and the second game takes place between the two Ultima VII games and ties into that storyline. I think when I go through and play all the Ultima games again, I'll actually play them in that order (Ultima VI, Underworld I, Ultima VII (and the add-on Forge of Virtue), Underworld II and then Ultima VII: Serpent Isle (and Silver Seed).

 

They're both awesome. Underworld II of course has slightly better graphics, and the engine is improved, but it's still playable. The adventure seems to be easier too since every level is basically one step closer to the end. I suppose you could say it's like UU2 with the stone and the gems going from plane to plane... but I don't remember ever having to "return" to previous levels. But then again, I never beat it. Nor did I beat UU2... but I definitely plan on it.

I'm actually really glad you told me the sequence because I'm definitely going to play them in that order.

 

 

 

Yes, the System Shock and Underworld games were done by Looking Glass Technologies. I actually worked for them as a game developer for a time. Great group of people and they really "grocked" games. The Ultima Underworld and System Shock games were a big inspiration for me.

 

Wow, I'm so envious... there was a time where I wanted nothing more than to write game software. I was in the medical indstry writing medical software for 10+ years, and now I'm in the entertainment industry (NFL). I'd still love to write games, but that seems to have passed me by... I remember they had a website "Through the looking glass". I wonder if they still have it...

 

 

 

 

I think after going through all the Ultima games, I'd have to go back and play System Shock I and II again. Those are truly kick ass games. I nearly shat my pants the first time I walked into a room and saw a Cortex Reaver. Bioshock was the "spiritual successor" to System Shock, and includes several of the same development team members. I can only hope that a System Shock III is developed some day. With today's engine technologies, it could truly be an amazing game..

 

..Al

 

Let me just say, if they ever came out with a System Shock III and it was AS good as 1 and 2, I would happily pay $500 for it. Seriously. Those two games were so significant when I was younger. System Shock 1 was always awesome... but you could essentially "sneak up" on a monster or baddie, in most cases. The cortex reaver was the guy at the end, right? You had to kill him before you could essentially kill shodan? I seem to recall it was a monster with crazy spider legs that was like 30 times bigger than you, but it basically had a lifeless body hanging from it (since it was using it's brain or something???). In System Shock II though... I remember at the time... I think I had a pretty decent system. I had a Sound Blaster 16-ASP, it was running on a Pentium III 733Mhz, a fancy graphics card that could do everything it needed to (shading, smoke, all that stuff), and then I had a full stereo hooked up to it with dual subwoofers on the bottom. I'd play it in my apartment with a 19" monitor (which at the time was huge) and distinctly remember going around a corner at some point early in the game, and something SHRIEKED at me andstarted pummeling me... I nearly had a heart attack at the age of 23 or something... my girlfriend didn't see me for an entire month except at work. Damn that game was awesome... I literally walked around (in the game) scared to crap... and then on some deck of teh ship there was a ghost or something which scared the crap out of me again... I can't even IMAGINE that game with a full 3D VR goggles and full motion... I'd honestly probably die of a heart attack, it was that scary...

 

Damn... such an awesome game.

 

I knew about BioShock... but I've just been reluctant to buy it. I'm worried that it's going to suck and since it's not inline of the other System Shocks... it's kind of like the Last Indiana Jones movie... I just don't want it to ruin all the others for me...

 

If it sucked... it would be like me finding out that Mr. Rogers was the anti-Christ... (which I know he's totally not).

 

 

 

I managed to track down a copy of the Ulitma collection. It should be here next week. I'm pretty excited to finally get to play Ultima VII.

 

After that, I plan to go back and play the first three games. I've forgotten most everything about them. In fact, I never actually finished Ultima I. I've only finished II, III, V, and VI.

 

Unfortunately, I've learned that the Ultima collection CD contains a corrupted image of II. I guess the galaxy disk is missing. Apparently, an official patch was released, but I can't seem to find it online. I found a fan-made patch that evidently fixes the problem, but it also adds embellishments to the graphics, which I'm not interested in. The fan-made patch doesn't work in dosbox regardless, so I can't use it even if I wanted to.

 

Does anyone know where I can find the official patch? I'm going to be really bummed out if I can't play II. It's the Ultima that I want to replay the most.

 

 

 

Hey Christopher, there are a couple of "Ultima collection CDs".

 

I have the following (and as I understand are basically all of them):

 

Ultima Underworld 1 / Ultima Underworld II - Collection CD

Ultima I-VI Series CD - Came out by Origin in 1996

Ultima Collection CD - Contains 1 through 8, was released in 2007

Ultima 8 CD Edition

The Complete Ultima 7 - Has 7 and 7p2 with the addon for 7 and 7p2.

 

 

If you bought the CD and it came with U2 on it, I don't mind at all copying it off my CD, zipping it, and sending it to you. Out of the two CDs that I have which include it, one of them has to work. The Ultima Collection CD as Aklabeth on it too... (sucked... hahah)

 

EDIT: Ok, I just popped in the Ultima 1-6 Collection CD which came out in 1996. The ENTIRE CD was less than 9megs, and I compressed the ENTIRE CD into a single ZIP file of 4.5 megs. Let me know if you need it. This CD is older than the one you have which probably has it all on there. It's not illegal for me to give it to you since you ALREADY have it.

Edited February 20, 2010 by 82-T/A

[Albert]

I've thought about it... one of the things that I've noticed though is that when you try to go back and play OLD OLD games... if they are SO FAR behind the times, and you never really played them to begin with, it's really tough to get into them. I've thought about playing them straight to finish... but the graphics and game-play are so not what I'm used to.

You're right, the older Ultimas really show their age in terms of graphics and audio, but they are still fun to play. Keep in mind that you're posting this on AtariAge, and most of us routinely play Atari 2600 games that are even older than any of the Ultimas and much simpler overall! Your argument here isn't going to garner support from most here, including me.

 

The plot in 3 and 4 are apparently pretty good.

Yes, Ultima III is the first relatively complex Ultima plot, and Ultima IV is even more so. Ultima I and II can be completed quickly, after that, well, you need to spend some quality time with all the remaining Ultimas.

 

Growing up, I also played Dragon Warrior 1 and 2 on the Nintendo, and as I later learned, Ultima 3, 4 and 5 are all on the NES as well. I don't know what kind of "engine" they use, but 4 and 5 look almost identical to Dragon Warrior... either that, or Dragon Warrior looks almost identical to that of the Ultima games. But, the way they look on the NES is more "80s Dragon Warrior / Final Fantasy cartoony" looking. I'd really like to play them, so I think I'll probably start with 3 and play them on the Nintendo, and then when I get to 6, I'll play that on the computer since it's what I'm used to. For what it's worth though, I also have Ultima 6 and 7 on Super Nintendo! haha...

I've never played any of the Dragon Warrior games, nor have I played any of the Ultimas on the NES. I would like to get all of them, though (the Ultimas, that is) since I have all of the original Ultimas (and expansions, and collections) in their original boxed form, complete with the cloth maps. Would be fun to play the games on the NES to see how they differ. I should hunt those down.

 

Wow, I'm so envious... there was a time where I wanted nothing more than to write game software. I was in the medical indstry writing medical software for 10+ years, and now I'm in the entertainment industry (NFL). I'd still love to write games, but that seems to have passed me by... I remember they had a website "Through the looking glass". I wonder if they still have it...

I've done my fair share of writing boring software, including for the medical and insurance industries (even had the pleasure of learning a horrid language by the name of MUMPS, later renamed to "M"). You're never too old to start writing games.

 

Yes, the "Through the Looking Glass" site is still around, and they have a very active forum:

 

http://www.ttlg.com/

 

 

 

Let me just say, if they ever came out with a System Shock III and it was AS good as 1 and 2, I would happily pay $500 for it. Seriously. Those two games were so significant when I was younger. System Shock 1 was always awesome... but you could essentially "sneak up" on a monster or baddie, in most cases. The cortex reaver was the guy at the end, right? You had to kill him before you could essentially kill shodan? I seem to recall it was a monster with crazy spider legs that was like 30 times bigger than you, but it basically had a lifeless body hanging from it (since it was using it's brain or something???). In System Shock II though... I remember at the time... I think I had a pretty decent system. I had a Sound Blaster 16-ASP, it was running on a Pentium III 733Mhz, a fancy graphics card that could do everything it needed to (shading, smoke, all that stuff), and then I had a full stereo hooked up to it with dual subwoofers on the bottom. I'd play it in my apartment with a 19" monitor (which at the time was huge) and distinctly remember going around a corner at some point early in the game, and something SHRIEKED at me andstarted pummeling me... I nearly had a heart attack at the age of 23 or something... my girlfriend didn't see me for an entire month except at work. Damn that game was awesome... I literally walked around (in the game) scared to crap... and then on some deck of teh ship there was a ghost or something which scared the crap out of me again... I can't even IMAGINE that game with a full 3D VR goggles and full motion... I'd honestly probably die of a heart attack, it was that scary...

 

Damn... such an awesome game.

Yep, both games, but especially SS2, were great to play late at night with nothing but the glow of your monitor illuminating the room. And the audio in SS2 was fantastic and really added to the ambiance. Yes, the Cortex Reaver is the "monster" you described..

 

I knew about BioShock... but I've just been reluctant to buy it. I'm worried that it's going to suck and since it's not inline of the other System Shocks... it's kind of like the Last Indiana Jones movie... I just don't want it to ruin all the others for me...

 

If it sucked... it would be like me finding out that Mr. Rogers was the anti-Christ... (which I know he's totally not).

Well, the reviews for BioShock are pretty damn good overall, so it's a pretty safe bet to buy. The reviews for BioShock 2 aren't as stellar, but still pretty good overall. I have BioShock (for the 360), started playing it and put it down due to other distractions. Need to start it over. Perhaps after Mass Effect 2.

 

..Al

[Christophero Sly]

Hey Christopher, there are a couple of "Ultima collection CDs".

 

I have the following (and as I understand are basically all of them):

 

Ultima Underworld 1 / Ultima Underworld II - Collection CD

Ultima I-VI Series CD - Came out by Origin in 1996

Ultima Collection CD - Contains 1 through 8, was released in 2007

Ultima 8 CD Edition

The Complete Ultima 7 - Has 7 and 7p2 with the addon for 7 and 7p2.

 

 

If you bought the CD and it came with U2 on it, I don't mind at all copying it off my CD, zipping it, and sending it to you. Out of the two CDs that I have which include it, one of them has to work. The Ultima Collection CD as Aklabeth on it too... (sucked... hahah)

 

EDIT: Ok, I just popped in the Ultima 1-6 Collection CD which came out in 1996. The ENTIRE CD was less than 9megs, and I compressed the ENTIRE CD into a single ZIP file of 4.5 megs. Let me know if you need it. This CD is older than the one you have which probably has it all on there. It's not illegal for me to give it to you since you ALREADY have it.

The Ultima Collection CD (I-VIII) is the one I managed to score. I think it came out in 1998 though.

 

As I understand it, every compilation product for the PC that includes Ultima II, includes the broken version that lacks the galaxy maps, so even the Ultima I-VI series CD you have is, unfortunately, compromised.

 

Thanks for offering to help me out though. I appreciate it.

 

This afternoon, however, I managed to locate the patch I was looking for. It's called the galaxy map patch. I thought it was an official patch, but it's a fan patch made by someone named Moonstone Dragon. I hope it works.

[82-T/A]

 

Wow, I'm so envious... there was a time where I wanted nothing more than to write game software. I was in the medical indstry writing medical software for 10+ years, and now I'm in the entertainment industry (NFL). I'd still love to write games, but that seems to have passed me by... I remember they had a website "Through the looking glass". I wonder if they still have it...

I've done my fair share of writing boring software, including for the medical and insurance industries (even had the pleasure of learning a horrid language by the name of MUMPS, later renamed to "M"). You're never too old to start writing games.

 

Yes, the "Through the Looking Glass" site is still around, and they have a very active forum:

 

http://www.ttlg.com/

 

..Al

 

 

HAH! Holy crap... MUMPS. Yeah... I program in mumps. I worked for a few MUMPS "shops". Infomed / Simeone Central / CareCentric, AmeriPath / Quest Diagnostics, Team Health... wow... MUMPS is a pretty awesome interpreted language. Piece and Extract are such awesome simple functions. $P, $E... man... it's been at least 6 years since I've even looked at MUMPS code, but it's one of those languages that's easy to learn, but takes forever to master.

 

Yeah! That's the website...

 

 

As far as the old games go... I have my 2600 and play a LOT of them. That's what I grew up with (I'm 31). I just have a hard time getting into games that are THAT archaic (like, the Adventures of Zork, text adventures). I need to clarify though... if I played them "back in the day" when they were decent, and I got to play them... I liked them. So I don't mind playing them again. Like REDBARON.EXE or BABY3.EXE or PTROOPER.EXE (all of which I'm sure you're familiar with), hahah... but I have a really hard time giving the old old games a chance that I've just never played before. Honestly though, the newest games I actually played were System Shock II and Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed. I think I played Wolf 3D (the new one) when it came out, but I haven't really played anything except maybe my Jag...

[gdement]

I've thought about it... one of the things that I've noticed though is that when you try to go back and play OLD OLD games... if they are SO FAR behind the times, and you never really played them to begin with, it's really tough to get into them. I've thought about playing them straight to finish... but the graphics and game-play are so not what I'm used to. The plot in 3 and 4 are apparently pretty good. Growing up, I also played Dragon Warrior 1 and 2 on the Nintendo, and as I later learned, Ultima 3, 4 and 5 are all on the NES as well. I don't know what kind of "engine" they use, but 4 and 5 look almost identical to Dragon Warrior... either that, or Dragon Warrior looks almost identical to that of the Ultima games. But, the way they look on the NES is more "80s Dragon Warrior / Final Fantasy cartoony" looking. I'd really like to play them, so I think I'll probably start with 3 and play them on the Nintendo, and then when I get to 6, I'll play that on the computer since it's what I'm used to. For what it's worth though, I also have Ultima 6 and 7 on Super Nintendo! haha...

I like Ultima 3 on the NES, but from what I've seen on youtube Ultima 5 NES looks pretty awful. I think you'd have more fun with the PC version. I don't see anything better about the NES version, even graphically.

 

Ultima 4 on the NES is a good game, but quite different from the source material, to the point I'm not sure it really counts as the same game. It's redesigned in the Japanese console style like Final Fantasy/Dragon Warrior, not much like the original computer versions. But if the original computer style turns you off, then U4 NES is an alternative.

 

If you want the authentic U4 experience on a console, I suggest the SMS version. I haven't played through it but from what I've seen it looks very faithful, with good graphics/sound relative to other computer ports. The only problem is that it's programmed for 50Hz PAL, so the music plays fast on NTSC.