4.6) Do the Ultimas run in modern OSes (Linux/Win2000/XP etc.)?
Many modern operating systems have some way of running DOS programs
like the PC versions of the Ultimas. Unfortunately, Origin's desire
to push the technical envelope during its heyday has left issues with
playing Ultimas through DOS emulators. Most work to some degree, but
you'll have varying degrees of success, depending on what platform
and emulator you decide to use.
Windows NT, 2000 and XP users will probably want to download
VDMSound, a SoundBlaster/MPU-401 emulator that gives you decent audio
for NT DOS emulation. Its website is
http://www.ece.mcgill.ca/~vromas/vdmsound/.
Bochs is perhaps the best cross-platform utility for playing the
Ultimas, since it's both fairly effective and free. It supports MIDI
and SB16 sound, unlike most of the competition, but runs very slowly
without powerful hardware behind it. You can download both the
source code and compiled versions of bochs at
http://bochs.sourceforge.net/.
DOSBox is also a good choice, once again free and available on many
different OSes. It's still in a pre-release state, but runs all the
cardinal Ultimas and the underworlds. DOSBox offers support for FM
synthesis, Soundblaster sound and the Gameblaster synth, though not
MIDI. Choppy sound can be tweaked by fine-tuning speed settings.
The program is available here:
http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/.
DOSEMU (http://www.dosemu.org/) is also free, but available only for
Linux and has poor sound support. It runs Ultimas up to U6 without
music, but I understand U7 and U8 are not yet supported.
Then there's Vmware Workstation. This is a commercial product, and an
alarmingly expensive one, at that. To my knowledge, it doesn't
support VESA graphics or sound -- though U7 does work if you're
willing to play it with sound muted. It's available for Windows
NT/2000/XP and x86 Linux -- you can find out more and buy a copy at
the VMware site,
https://www.vmware.com/.
I've heard that U9 sort of runs under Linux using Cedega (a project
to offer that OS Direct X compatibility, and formerly called WineX).
The developers accept feedback for specific games including U9 and
the Ultima Collection, so if you want to give it a try, have a look
at their website,
http://www.transgaming.com/products_linux.php.
Finally, Microsoft has its own Virtual PC system, which it acquired
through a buy-out of the creator, Connectix. Other than the fact
it's available for Windows XP and Mac OS X, I have very little
information on the current MS implementation of the software, but you
can find out more at
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/virtualpc/.
Be warned, most of these utilities will require a modicum of
technical knowhow to get working properly. For the less
technically-minded who want to run U7, I would suggest using Exult
(see Section 6.2.
.
4.7) Can I slow the Ultima gameplay down on modern PCs?
Lost Dragon has set up the New PC Slowdown site, which contains many
utilities that can help slow down faster computers. It can be found
at
http://www.geocities.com/kulhain/.
The Ultima Collection (see Section 4.2.2) also contain a slowdown
utility, Mo'Slo, that works for many people.
4.
How do I get Ultimas to work with my AWE32/AWE64/SB32 sound
card?
Contrapuntal Dragon has a page dealing with the common problems of
getting the AWE32 to work with various Ultima games. It can be found
at
http://www.enlartenment.com/ultima/ult-awe32.html.
4.9) Can I play Ultimas not released for PC?
Some Ultimas for different platforms can still be played on a PC, via
emulators of other machines.
Emulation can be a legal grey area. In an effort to clear up some of
the confusion surrounding emulators, Fortran Dragon, the previous
maintainer of this FAQ, offers his own thoughts on the situation:
"I have to insert the standard disclaimer here: I am not a lawyer;
these comments only apply to the US; contact an intellectual property
rights lawyers in your jurisdiction; contents may settle during
shipment; you get what you pay for; void where prohibited; no
refunds.
"Let's start with the basics. To play a game on an emulator, you
need a functional emulator and a copy of the game you want to play,
in a format that your emulator of choice supports. At first glance,
this all seems blindingly obvious, but each part has its legal
pitfalls.
"First, is your emulator completely legal? Many emulators aren't
legal when they are fully functional because they use the copyrighted
ROMs from the computer being emulated. As far as the law is
concerned, unless you made a copy of the ROMs yourself, from an
original machine you own, you are violating the copyright law.
"It doesn't even matter if you own the original machine and download
a set of ROMs off of the Internet. In the eyes of the law, that is
still copyright infringement. And without the ROMs, your emulator is
useless.
"Other emulators reverse-engineer the original machine in a
completely legal manner. This how we have all of these IBM PC clones
-- the clone makers and support companies reverse-engineered the
original IBM PC, without reference to the original design.
"To further muddy the waters, some companies, such as Apple, are very
tenacious in the defence of their intellectual property rights on one
hand, while on the other they mention emulators for their older
computers on their websites. Apple have a link to Catakig, an
Apple II emulator for the Macintosh. And in the case of Catakig, the
issue gets even muddier because Catakig doesn't provide the Apple II
ROMs needed for the emulator -- but does provide a program for you to
make a copy of your particular Apple II's ROMs yourself.
"The next step, no surprise, is to make a legal copy of your original
game that is usable by your completely legal, fully functional
emulator. (Unless you're lucky and your emulator runs the original
media in one of your PC's drives.) This is an area where I /cannot/
give any clear guidance, except in the situations where you can't
make a copy.
"Nintendo games, for example, come with a bit of verbiage in the
licence agreements that specifically prohibits you from making any
sort of copy of the game cartridge, even for the legally-acceptable
purpose of making a single backup. Whether Nintendo's licence
agreement is legally valid is unknown since no-one has ever tested
that part of the licence in court, vis-a-vis copyright law.
"And that leads into the question of 'Is an emulator image I created
from my originals the single legitimate backup copy I am allowed by
the copyright laws?.' If it is a legitimate backup, then you should
be okay for this part. If not, then you are out of luck if you want
to legally use an emulator.
"I hear you saying, 'But what about the game collections that run
under emulators, such as /The Roberta Williams Anthology/ by
Sierra?' While the Anthology does use the AppleWin emulator, we
don't know if Sierra licensed the Apple II ROMs from Apple and this
is a special circumstance, or if Apple now lets anyone use the old
Apple II ROMs since Apple no longer makes any significant money from
the Apple II.
"So, as you can see, the closest thing you can get to a completely
legal emulator/game situation is a reverse-engineered emulator with
original media. After that, things get very nebulous, very quickly."
If you are prepared to go ahead with emulating an Ultima, a good
place to start is the Ultima C64 and Apple II Emulator FAQ, by Archon
Dragon and Caliaber Dragon, at
http://strobel.secure.at/ultima/FAQ.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
5) The Ultima Series
5.1) What is Ultima?
Ultima is a long-running series of computer role playing games
(CRPGs). The settings have varied, but many of the games take place
in the land of Britannia, ruled benevolently by Lord British (who is
the alter-ego of Richard Garriott, the series creator).
The hero (at least from Ultima 4 onwards) is the Avatar, champion of
virtue, who comes originally from Earth, but tends to get transported
to Britannia whenever trouble arises.
5.2) Where can I find hints and walkthroughs?
There is a good selection of Ultima walkthroughs available at
http://uo.com/archive/, and also at
http://www.cyberenet.net/~redjr/.
Kender Dragon wrote an Ultima Dragons Newbie FAQ, which
included a number of frequently requested hints. It can be found at
http://home.hiwaay.net/~rgregg/ultima/FAQ/udicfaq.html.
Paulon Dragon has written an excellent Ultima Gameplay FAQ. This FAQ
is at
http://www.ultimainfo.net/FAQ/ultimafaqs.htm. I would make
this FAQ your first stop if you are having a problem with a
particular Ultima.
5.3) Continuity
5.3.1) Can you explain any plot inconsistencies?
There are many points of constant speculation on the newsgroups, most
of which are never agreed on, and so cannot be put into a FAQ.
Ophidian Dragon has written a timeline for the Ultima games,
available as an MS Word document. You can e-mail him at
zwb2.TakeThisOut@cwru.edu.
There is an Ultima storyline FAQ,
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~anarchy/Ultima/Ultima_storyline_FAQ.html,
which does attempt to explain some of these (written by Chris Billows
and not currently being maintained). It would be good to see
someone take over the Storyline FAQ -- more information on that is
available at the site.
Many other plot holes remain unaddressed, however -- feel free to
post your own theories, but be prepared for some pretty heavy
scrutiny.
5.3.2) How should I pronounce Ultima names?
Several of the Companions' names are discussed in U6 and U9.
* Iolo: YO-low
* Dupre: Dew-PRAY
* Shamino: SHA-mee-no
* Jaana: JAH-nuh
* Sentri: SAHN-tray
5.3.3) In what order do the Ultimas run?
Underworld Dragon has written a timeline, putting all events which
have happened in the Ultima world in perspective. It is available at
http://home.hiwaay.net/~rgregg/ultima/history/.
Specifically, the Ultimas come in the order they are listed in this
FAQ. Ultima Online occurs in several parallel worlds, so is outside
the normal Ultima timeline.
5.4) Akalabeth and Escape from Mount Drash
5.4.1) Where can I find a copy of Akalabeth?
Akalabeth has, as far as I know, been released as freeware. You can
find the original Apple II game here:
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/games/rpg/akalabeth/
and the AppleSoft Basic source code at:
http://uo.com/archive/ftp/graphics/aklabeth.zip. See also Section
4.9 for details of running Akalabeth under emulation.
There are several PC ports of the game available. One, with the
QBASIC sourcecode, is now hosted by the Ultima Emulator FAQ site (see
Section 4.9) at
http://strobel.secure.at/ultima/FAQ.html.
MinerJr and Dung Dragon have created two PC versions of the game, the
older of which is available at:
http://www.geocities.com/minerjr/akalabeth/Akalabetho1.htm and the
newer (with DirectX7 support and real 3D dungeons) at:
http://www.geocities.com/AkalabethRemake/.
The Ultima Collection contains a PC version of Akalabeth, too.
5.4.2) Is Escape From Mount Drash really so rare?
Yes. The game, similar to Akalabeth, was published by Sierra Online
in 1982, and released only in small numbers on the Commodore VIC-20.
Since I became interested in the Ultima series, I've heard of only
three complete copies of Mount Drash coming to light. One of those
sold for more than $2,000 on eBay.com in spring 2004.
Basically, you'll be very lucky indeed to find a real version.
5.5) Ultima/Ultima 1
5.5.1) Availability
The first release of Ultima -- before there was a need for Roman
numerals -- was by California Pacific, though the game was later
reissued as Ultima I. The first version can now fetch high
prices; an eBay auction of Ultima (with Akalabeth in the same lot)
reached more than $1,200 on eBay in December 2004.
5.5.2) Patches
Arthur DiBianca, a.k.a. Arthuris Dragon, has written a patch for
Ultima 1, to fix a problem where the graphics go black-and-white and
eventually get garbled on some video cards. It is available at
http://www.ece.concordia.ca/~ac_march/Ultima1-6FAQ.html.
Paulon Dragon mirrors the U1 patch at:
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Downloads/U1patch.zip.
5.6) Ultima 2: The Revenge of the Enchantress
5.6.1) Patches
Arthuris Dragon has a patch for Ultima 2 as well. His patch slows
the game down and adds 'Save and Exit' and 'Load Saved Game'
commands. You can find the patch at
http://home-1.worldonline.nl/~palenstn/. Helpfully, this patch will
work with the other Ultima 2 patches, as well as the speed patch
included with Ultima 2 in the Ultima Collection.
Voyager Dragon is also responsible for the Exodus Project. This
incorporates both Micro Dragon's speed fix and Moonstone Dragon's
planet fix, as well as updated graphics. See Section 6.2.3 for more
details.
5.6.2) Ultima 2 gives a Divide By Zero error! How do I fix it?
This is caused by fast computers (don't ask me how). The solution is
to use a slowdown program, as detailed in Section 4.6, or to apply
the U2 divide-by-zero fix, available from
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Downloads/U2SpeedFix.zip.
The Windows Native Ultima 2 program (written by John Alderson and
hosted by Michael C. Maggio, aka Voyager Dragon, at
http://ultima2.voyd.net/) removes the need for a slowdown program.
5.6.3) Ultima 2 maps are wrong! How do I fix it?
[The Moonstone Dragon writes:]
"When Ultima II was first released, it came on three floppy sides:
the Boot Disk, the Player Disk, and the Galactic Disk. The last two
of these disks held the city and world maps, as well as monster lists
and conversation information for Earth and the other planets.
"The names used for many of the files on these two disks were
identical. When the Ultima I-VI CD was released, all of the files
were merely dumped together into a single directory which caused some
of the files to be overwritten. Hence, cities, dungeons, and worlds
on the Galactic disk with the same name as a location on Earth are
not available and the Earth Map is used instead."
You can download Moonstone's patch from
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Downloads/U2PlanetMapFix.zip. It is also
included in Voyager Dragon's Ultima 2 Upgrade (see Section 5.6.1).
5.6.4) The Ultima 2 colours are hideous. How do I fix them?
[Paulon Dragon writes:]
"Finire Dragon has written a program that resets the colours used by
a VGA graphics card to emulate the older CGA graphics card to
something more pleasing. CGA graphics adapters only used four
colours (usually cyan, magenta, black and white), but now we can have
blue water, green vegetation and red lava."
You can download the patch from Paulon Dragon's website at
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Codex/Downloads.htm. Voyager Dragon's
Ultima 2 Upgrade (see Section 5.6.1) also addresses the colours
issue.
The Windows Native Ultima 2 program also allows you to use more
pleasing colours (see Section 5.6.2).
5.7) Ultima 3: Exodus
5.7.1) The Ultima 3 colours are hideous. How do I fix them?
[Paulon Dragon writes:]
"Finire Dragon has written a program that resets the colours used by
a VGA graphics card to emulate the older CGA graphics card to
something more pleasing. CGA graphics adapters only used four
colours (usually cyan, magenta, black and white), but now we can have
blue water, green vegetation and red lava."
You can download the patch from Paulon Dragon's web site at
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Codex/Downloads.htm. Voyager Dragon's
Exodus Project -- a significant revamp of U3 -- (see Section 6.2.6)
also addresses this issue.
5.
Ultima 4: The Quest of the Avatar
You may freely download Ultima 4 (PC version) from:
*
http://home.kc.rr.com/hidalgo/
*
http://www.enlartenment.com/ultima/u4download.html
* /Any/ member of UDIC may make the Computer Gaming World edition of
Ultima 4 available. (This means that you can't add or delete
anything from the archive.)
NOTE: This does /not/ mean U4 is now freeware -- EA retains the
copyright to the game. The company has simply allowed the Dragons
(and only the Dragons) the chance to make it available to people
interested in trying a classic Ultima. Other cover-disks featuring
U4 have cropped up, but their legal status is questionable.
5.8.1) Patches
Aradindae Dragon and Wiltshire Dragon have combined efforts to make a
patch that adds "MIDI support, new hotkeys, and 256 colour graphics"
to Ultima 4 (PC version). This replaces the older (separate)
graphics patch and music patch. This patch can be found at
http://www.moongates.com/u4/.
5.9) Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny
5.9.1) Patches
The U5 Upgrade is available at
http://exodus.voyd.net/, the Exodus
Project website (see Section 6.2.3). It adds MIDI to the game.
5.9.2) Cheats
There are two known cheats, of sorts, for the C64 version of U5.
Neither works on the PC version of the game, as far as I know.
[Thirith Dragon writes:]
"There *is* a kind of a cheat for U5, at least on the C64. It goes
something like this: if you've got between 11 and 15 portions of some
reagents, mix a spell containing only such reagents. Mix 16 portions
of this spell. If the spell existed, you now have 16 spells, plus
96-99 of the reagents."
[Enzo Dragon writes:]
"When anywhere other than in dungeons, press and hold the Commodore
key (looks like C=, on bottom left of the keyboard) and then press 1.
The computer will display an 8 digit number. The first set of 4
digits represents your co-ordinates in hex. The next set of 2 digits
are the level. The number goes higher if you go up higher in towns
and castles.
"Also in the Underworld, you get the equivalent of a negative number
in hex (signed bit, reads FF). The final 2 digits are for the virtue
points. The closer to 99 you are, the more Avatar-worthy you are."
5.10) Ultima 6: The False Prophet
5.10.1) Patches
Historically, the PC speaker sound effects of U6 did not work
properly on any PC faster than a 12MHz 286. Now, Finire Dragon has
written a patch to correct the problem. It is available here:
http://www.coli.uni-sb.de/~ticmanis/PATCHU6.ZIP.
Jason Ely wrote a patch to fix the music in Ultima 6 for modern
computers. Unfortunately, it appears to have been taken down from
http://www.pcgameworld.com/, where it was being hosted.
Jim Ursetto designed a world editor for Ultima 6, u6edit, which also
works with SE and MD. Its website is
http://3e8.org/hacks/ultima6.
5.10.2) Cheats
Here is the cheat for the IBM PC and Amiga versions. Speak to Iolo,
and type the following:
spam<Enter>
spam<Enter>
spam<Enter>
humbug<Enter>
where <Enter> is pressing the Enter or Return key. This will bring
up a cheat menu.
Here is the cheat for the Commodore 64 version.
Speak to *yourself* (yes, this is possible in the C64 version) and
type the following:
i<Enter>
want to<Enter>
cheat<Enter>
where <Enter> is pressing the Enter or Return key.
[Source: Tristan Miller -- C64, Dracos Dragon -- Amiga]
5.10.3) Who killed Quenton?
This is another red herring/plot hole. Using standard methods (i.e.
not cheating) there is no way to find out who killed Quenton.
Discovering the murderer's identity is not necessary to win the game.
If you would still like to know, there is a man with a house on the
road from Britain to Skara Brae who refuses to give his name -- this
is Michael, the man who killed Quenton. The U6 cluebook and Quenton
himself in U7 verify the fact.
5.10.4) Is it true a full-speech version of U6 was made?
Yes, it is, though no-one I've yet spoken to has actually seen it in
action. As well as more common platforms like the PC and the Super
Nintendo/Famicom, U6 also saw a release on a machine called the FM
Towns. This was a Japanese computer that offered an outstanding
level of hardware for the time -- and so, predictably, Origin wanted
to take full advantage of it.
Several Ultima personalities lent their names -- and voices -- to the
project, which I'm told eventually featured full-speech in both
English and Japanese. You can read more about at Underworld Dragon's
Collectible Ultima site (see Section 4.1). Some sound-clips are
available at the unofficial Origin Museum site,
http://originmuseum.solsector.net/beuche/
5.11) Worlds of Ultima: Savage Empire
[Paulon Dragon writes:]
"Talk to Triolo and say Cheat to get a cheat menu. Peace Dragon told
me about it."
F-15 Dragon's program MDhack, available from:
http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/programs/mdhack.zip adds extra
functions to Savage Empire. Universal Hint System help-files are
available for SE, also from the Ultima FTP site:
http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/programs/ultuhs.zip.
5.12) Ultima, Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams
F-15 Dragon's program MDhack, available from:
http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/programs/mdhack.zip adds extra
functions to Martian Dreams. Universal Hint System help-files are
available for MD, also from the Ultima FTP site:
http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/programs/ultuhs.zip.
5.13) Ultima Underworld 1: The Stygian Abyss
5.13.1) Patches
Panzer Dragon has a patch to upgrade Ultima Underworld 1 to
support General MIDI, available on Paulon Dragon's download page at
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Codex/Downloads.htm.
There is a patch available from EA to deal with the "infamous"
inventory bug in UW1, which causes floating and duplicating items,
and the screen turning red. The patch can be downloaded from
http://www.uo.com/archive/uw1/demoftp.html.
Sir Cabirus Dragon and Moscow Dragon have written a patch that allows
both Ultima Underworld games to run under Windows NT, 2000 and XP.
Download it here:
http://www.sircabirus.com/ultimaunderworld/pages/
5.13.2) Utilities
Telemachos Dragon has created an viewer that allows you to explore
the various levels of Ultima Underworld 1. The program converts the
2D maps into 3D maps suitable for modern 3D hardware-accelerated
video cards.
It also converts the 8-bit textures of the original game to 24-bit
textures and creates mip-map to reduce flicker. You can even export
a level to a VRML file and then import it into the 3D drawing package
of your choice.
The viewer is available at
http://www.peroxide.dk/underworld/.
5.13.3) UW1 on Pocket PC
The Ultima community got a pleasant surprise when ZIOSoft announced
it was releasing UW1 for Pocket PC. The game is still available at
Amazon UK (http://www.amazon.co.uk, though it's mis-labelled as
PalmOS software) and a web-search will reveal several North American
stockists. You can find a review here:
http://www.cewindows.net/reviews/games/ultimaunderworld.htm
5.14) Ultima 7: The Black Gate
5.14.1) Patches
Newton Dragon has a patch to upgrade Ultima 7 to support General
MIDI, available at
http://uo.com/archive/ftp/patches/ult7gm.zip.
If you're playing the floppy disk version of Ultima 7 and items are
disappearing from inventory, with the screen turning red, you can
solve the problem with a patch from
http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/patches/u7patch.exe.
One of the most significant additions to the Ultimas in recent times
is Dragon Baroque's patch to make U7 and SI run within Windows 9x.
Gaseous Dragon is hosting this patch at
http://members.iinet.net.au/~rsd/U7inWindows.html. You will need to
have a copy of one of the various CD-ROM versions of Ultima 7 (The
Complete Ultima 7, any of the EA Classics versions, or any of the
Ultima Collection versions).
You may want to do a fresh install and, if you want sound and music,
make sure your sound card is set up properly for The Black Gate to
find it. Also, you will need to make sure you have enough
conventional DOS memory for The Black Gate. While this patch allows
you to run The Black Gate under Windows 9x, it does not make the game
a Windows program.
5.14.2) Cheats
The cheat mode for Ultima 7 part one can be activated by typing the
following on the command line:
Ultima7 abcd[Alt 255]<Enter>
where <Enter> is pressing the Enter key. [Alt 255] is a single,
invisible character typed by holding the Alt key, and typing 255 on
the numeric keypad, then releasing the Alt key. There is no space
between abcd, and [Alt 255].
Once the cheat mode is activated, the F-keys have special functions
within the game.
There is also an in-game cheat known as the "Trinsic Cheat Room". It
is possible to climb onto the roof Christopher's workshop in Trinsic,
using crates to build a staircase. Once on the roof, walk behind the
chimney, and you will be transported to a room which contains many of
the items needed to win the game, and some other goodies.
5.14.3) How do I pass the Test of Truth in the Forge of Virtue?
Very near the beginning of the test is a hood next to a wall -- this
is an illusory wall, you can walk through it to a corridor, and
eventually to the /true/ amulet of truth.
5.14.4) How do I get past the Hydra on Ambrosia?
The centre of the north wall in the hyrdra's room is actually a
secret door -- double-click on that, and it will open. You can then
run past the hydra.
5.14.5) Ultima 7 won't work with my Nvidia graphics card. How do I
fix it?
[Xe Dragon writes:] "The Riva 128 [and subsequent Nvidia video
boards] have a problem showing the earthquake sequence at the start
of U7 with the Forge of Virtue add-on installed, or in SI whenever
the screen shakes up and down. Basically, the Riva 128 video boards
don't support all of the original VGA modes thus causing the game
screen to slide off the bottom of the computer monitor.
"Download qfix.zip from Dr. David's Super Crispy DOS Utilities at
http://www.hpaa.com/moslo/utils.html as a temporary fix until a new
(corrected) version of the board's BIOS is released. You can install
this DOS TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) program to convert the
up-and-down earthquake motion to a side-by-side motion."
5.14.6) Weapon and Armour Ratings
[Xe Dragon writes:]
"Mitch Aigner has provided a supplement to Ultima 7: Black Gate which
provides weapon and armour ratings (among other things) at
http://members.aol.com/UltimaFile/files/u7_sup.txt."
5.14.7) U7-Wizard
This is a powerful editor for both parts of Ultima VII, released
under a GNU general public licence.
U7-Wizard allows you to change the map and scenery of Britannia and
Serpent Isle a great deal. You can download it from:
http://wiz0u.free.fr/u7wizard/.
5.15) Ultima Underworld 2: Labyrinth of Worlds
5.15.1) Patches
[Paulon Dragon writes:]
"Panzer Dragon has a patch to upgrade Ultima Underworld 2 to support
General MIDI, available at
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Codex/Downloads.htm."
As with UW1 (see Section 5.13.1), there were problems with the
original release of UW2, such as the screen turning red, palette
shifting, servant strike, melting moongate in the yellow Ethereal
Void, or sleeping with a moonstone as a cursor. There is a patch
available to correct the problem, from EA's Origin archive:
http://www.uo.com/archive/uw2/uw2soft.html.
Sir Cabirus Dragon's UW patch to run the game in Windows NT, 2000
and XP (see Section 5.13.1) also works with UW2.
5.15.2) Cheats
[Thirith Dragon writes:]
"If you blast any kind of potion, for example when you attack it
repeatedly, it will turn into debris -- but the debris, when used,
has exactly the same function as the potion, with infinite charges."
5.16) Ultima 7, part 2: Serpent Isle
5.16.1) Patches
Newton Dragon has a patch available to upgrade Serpent Isle to
support General MIDI, it is available at
http://uo.com/archive/ftp/patches/ult7p2gm.zip
Dragon Baroque's U7 patch also allows SI to run in Windows 9x/ME (see
Section 5.14.1). You will need to have a copy of one of the various
CD-ROM versions of Ultima 7 (The Complete Ultima 7, any of the EA
Classics versions, or any of the Ultima Collection versions).
While not really a patch, U7-Wizard allows extensive editing of
landscape and scenery in SI, as it does U7 (see Section 5.14.7).
5.16.2) Cheats
The cheat mode for Serpent Isle is activated by typing the following
on the command line:
serpent pass<Enter>
where <Enter> is pressing the Enter or Return key.
If you have installed the Silver Seed add-on type the following on
the command line:
serpent manimal<Enter>
where <Enter> is pressing the Enter or Return key. In either case,
the F-keys now have special functions within the game.
5.16.3) Weapon and Armour Ratings
Paulon Dragon has provided a supplement to SI, which offers weapon
and armour ratings (among other things), at
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Downloads/SINotes.txt.
5.16.4) Where is the Comb of Beauty?
In the north wall of Columna's house (Moonshade) there is a secret
door which leads into the garden. The comb is in a chest partially
hidden behind some foliage. The chest can be opened with a key from
the basement of the house.
5.16.5) Director's Cut of Serpent Isle Introduction
The original SI introduction was cut due to space limitations on the
5.25-inch diskettes which saw the first release of Serpent Isle.
Denis Loubet has made the original SI available for download at his
website:
http://www.io.com/~dloubet/gallery/animate/serpisle.htm.
5.16.6) How do I save Cantra?
In the original game, the long and short of it is, you can't -- the
Serpent Isle programmers forgot to enable that option in the game.
However, the Exult team (see Section 6.2.
has closed the
plot-hole to some extent -- you can now actually cure Cantra if
you're playing SI under Exult, through the engine's runtime. The
original usecode remains intact.
5.17) Ultima 8: Pagan
5.17.1) Patches
There was a patch released for Ultima 8 which makes some substantial
changes to the game. Among the alterations changes are an improved
jumping system, and the closure of some plot holes. The patch is
available at the following location:
* English Version,
ftp://ftp.ea.com/pub/origin/patches/u8/u8patche.zip
* German Version,
ftp://ftp.ea.com/pub/origin/patches/u8/u8patchg.zip
* French Version,
ftp://ftp.ea.com/pub/origin/patches/u8/u8patchf.zip
NOTE: please use the patch corresponding to the version of Ultima 8
that you own. I have no idea what applying the wrong one will do,
but it probably won't be good. <
There are also patches at
http://www.uo.com/archive/ultima8/download.html#u8patch that deal
with several soundcard issues in U8, and allow the game to play music
from an Adlib card.
Following the popular acclaim his U7run patch (see Section 5.14.1)
received, Dragon Baroque wrote a patch allowing U8 to run under
Windows 9x/ME. Gaseous Dragon is hosting this patch at
http://members.iinet.net.au/~rsd/U8inWindows.html.
5.17.2) Cheats
AFAIK, the easiest way to cheat in U8 is to use the following
program, which modifies your current savegame. It can be found at
ftp://www.udic.net/pub/ultima/u8/hacks/u8cheat2.zip. I have not
personally tried this so if anyone has some feedback on its
functionality, please e-mail me at rgcu.faq.TakeThisOut@gmail.com.
Paulon Dragon also has some methods on how to cheat on his Ultima 8
page at
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Codex/Ultima8.htm.
5.17.3) Where is the Birthplace of Moriens?
There are two possibilities. If you have applied the Ultima 8 patch
(See Section 5.17.1), then the birthplace is behind a door labelled
"The Birthplace of Moriens" in the upper catacombs.
If you haven't applied the patch, the birthplace does not exist. It
is generally considered that the place to go next is a door labelled
"Towards Fate Do You Travel". This is the same door as mentioned
above -- it was simply renamed by the patch.
5.17.4) The Lost Vale
The Lost Vale was a proposed add-on for Ultima 8: Pagan.
Unfortunately, Ultima 8 sold so poorly that Origin chose to cancel
the project at the early design stage. Instead, Origin decided to
concentrate its resources on Ultima 9, and latterly Ultima Online,
before Ultima IX: Ascension was finally released.
You can find some mocked up screen shots for The Lost Vale at
http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/graphics/ultima8/lostvale.zip.
5.1
Console Ultimas
5.18.1) Nintendo (NES) Ultimas
The Ultimas known to have been released for the Nintendo
Entertainment System (NES)/Famicom are:
* Ultima: Exodus (a.k.a. Ultima 3)
* Ultima: Quest of the Avatar (a.k.a. Ultima 4)
* Ultima: Warriors of Destiny (a.k.a. Ultima 5)
Ultima: Exodus had a separately purchasable hint-book. All of the
NES Ultimas are pretty faithful conversions with only minor
differences from the Apple II versions.
5.18.2) Super Nintendo (SNES) Ultimas
The Ultimas known to have been released for the Super Nintendo
Entertainment System (SNES)/Super Famicom are:
* Ultima: The False Prophet (aka. Ultima 6)
* Ultima: The Black Gate (aka. Ultima 7: The Black Gate)
* Ultima: The Savage Empire
* Ultima: The Runes of Virtue 2
Ultima: The False Prophet started a trend of decreasing quality in
the ports. As the Ultimas got more and more complex on the PC, the
consoles became less and less suitable platforms for conversions.
Ultima: The Black Gate, particularly, is not a very good translation
of the PC game. At the time U7 was being ported to the SNES,
Nintendo was going through a phase where all of their games had be
suitable for children. For example, an important murder was changed
to a kidnapping. Also, I understand that there is no party and an
excess of menus in an attempt to overcome the lack of a mouse.
The Savage Empire was only released in Japan, though an English
version was mostly completed.
The Runes of Virtue 2 is a console-only game that is supposed to be
very 'Legend of Zelda'-esque. Oh, and I'm told it's worth looking
for the 'secret' Origin headquarters under the town of Jhelom. It is
apparently rather strange.
5.18.3) Nintendo Gameboy Ultimas
The Ultimas known to have been released for the Nintendo Gameboy are:
* Ultima: The Runes of Virtue
* Ultima: The Runes of Virtue 2
Both Runes of Virtue games are console-only releases that are
reputedly very 'Legend of Zelda'-esque. Aside from Ultima Online,
these are the only multiplayer Ultimas released by Origin.
5.18.4) Sega Master System Ultima
The only Ultima known to have been released for the Sega Master
system is Ultima 4. Many consider this the best port of an Ultima to
a console. The game came with both of the Ultima 4 manuals and a
paper map of Britannia.
Ultima 4 will also run on a Sega GameGear with the Sega Master System
converter in the GameGear cartridge slot.
5.18.5) Sony Playstation Ultima
The only Ultima known to have been released for the Sony Playstation
is Ultima Underworld 1. This seems to be a pretty faithful port, but
it was released only in Japan.
5.19) Ultima Online
5.19.1) What is Ultima Online?
Ultima Online was the first commercially successful MMORPG. Players
interact with one another over the Internet, via a third-person
isometric view of Britannia (and later other areas, too).
The game had what was by all accounts an extremely fun pre-alpha
test for two weeks from 1 April 1997, and another starting on 13 May
1997. The beta test took place between June and September 1997 and
the full game has been on release for several years, now.
UO has seen a number of major upgrades and expansions during its
life, which many Ultima purists would say bear progressively less
resemblance to the cardinal series. Despite that, UO enjoys
continuing popularity. A significant part of the online commmunity
that has formed around it can be found in rgcuo.
5.19.2) System requirements
The minimum system requirements for the current 3D UO client (the
game's default engine) are a Pentium III 500, 256MB RAM, Windows
9x/ME/2000/XP, 32MB Direct3D video card, 16-bit sound card
supporting DirectX 9.0, 1.1GB hard drive space, 4x CD-ROM drive,
Microsoft-compatible mouse and a 56kbps internet connection.
The minimum system requirements for the current 2D UO client are a
Pentium II 300, 128MB RAM, Windows 9x/ME/2000/XP, 4MB Direct3D video
card, 16-bit sound card supporting DirectX 9.0, 1.1GB hard drive
space, 4x CD-ROM drive, Microsoft-compatible mouse and a 56kbps
internet connection.
The minimum system requirements for the 3D client in Ultima Online:
Age of Shadows are a Pentium II 300, 64MB RAM, Windows 9x/ME, 8MB
Direct3D video card, 16-bit sound card supporting DirectX 8.1, 1.1GB
hard drive space, 4x CD-ROM drive, Microsoft-compatible mouse and a
28.8kbps internet connection.
The minimum system requirements for the 3D client in Ultima Online:
Lord Blackthorn's Revenge are a Pentium II 300, 64MB RAM, Windows
9x/ME, 8MB Direct3D video card, 16-bit sound card supporting DirectX
8.0a, 998MB hard drive space, 4x CD-ROM drive, Microsoft-compatible
mouse and a 28.8kbps internet connection.
The minimum system requirements for the 2D clients of both UO: Age of
Shadows and UO: Lord Blackthorn's Revenge are a Pentium 200, 32MB
RAM, Windows 9x, 2MB PCI video card (DirectX supported, set to 16-bit
colour), 16-bit sound card (DirectX supported), 925MB hard drive
space, 4x CD-ROM drive, Microsoft-compatible mouse, 100% Windows 9x
compatible, SLIP/PPP or direct connect at 28.8Kbps or better with
32-bit TCP/IP stack.
5.19.3) Where can I find out more about Ultima Online?
There are many Ultima Online web pages. The official EA website is
at
http://www.uo.com/. Origin also wrote several FAQs about the
game, which are available at
http://support.uo.com/faq.html.
The FAQ for the newsgroup rec.games.computer.ultima.online is
an excellent place to start when subscribing to the UO newsgroup,
though you should be aware it has been unmaintained for some time.
A copy is available at
http://www.area88.demon.co.uk/rgcuofaq.txt.
5.19.4) Are there any non-subscription UO servers?
A number of people run their own versions of UO, which you won't have
to pay a monthly fee to play. One of the most popular with the
Ultima Dragons is Ultima Legacy, for which more information can be
found at
http://legacy.ultimainfo.net/.
5.19.5) Will there be an Ultima Online 2?
Probably not -- it currently seems as though Electronic Arts won't be
using the Ultima Online brand again. Work on UO2 (renamed Ultima
Worlds Online: Origin by the development team after Origin was folded
into EA) has been axed and all official reference to it removed from
the Web.
CONTINUED...
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