Support NeoGAF

[dispensergoinup]

^^^^
So much goodness in that photo.

Here is my Age of Enlightment Trilogy, Atari ST versions, which are the only games in the series I've played. I need to get off my ass and play Ultima 1-3 and then 7-9. I bought the whole collection on GOG many moons ago for dirt cheap.

Awesome collection! I am still trying to get a retro PC together with some QoL improvements.

That ST looks clean!

 

[SScorpio]

Of course, the GoG version of Ultima7 is not setup for MT-32.

Edit U7.cfg and replace what's there with

r
220 7 1

I have a huge GOG library, but I still keep up to date on EXODOS since it includes the setup/config programs GOG strips. And it's normally easy to see what you need to change.

 

[lefty1117]

I loved how U9 started. Shame about that game.

 

[Hustler]

Ultima VII is my childhood. I used to watch my Dad and older brother it all the time. My Dad used to have journals full of notes on previous games. VII will always hold a special place in my heart, such an amazing game with the level of detail.

I don’t want to revisit it and possibly tarnish my memories.

 

[Krathoon]

This is a good multipurpose patcher for all of the Uliima games on GoG.

Ultima Patcher – Pix's Origin Adventures

www.pixsoriginadventures.co.uk

 

[Krathoon]

You definitely want to use the music upgrade patches for Ultima 4 and 5. Use the MT-32 sound card. You may have to install the emulator.

I would keep the original graphics.

 

[Krathoon]

Edit U7.cfg and replace what's there with

r
220 7 1

I have a huge GOG library, but I still keep up to date on EXODOS since it includes the setup/config programs GOG strips. And it's normally easy to see what you need to change.

You can also get at the sound setup program through GOG Galaxy too. I don't know if they added back to Ultima 7 or something.

 

[Krathoon]

Oh, I didn't know that was a problem.

It makes sense that you would use the same timer setting in Serpent Isle.
That was probably an upgrade that they forgot to put back into the original.
Companies were a little flaky back then.
I notice there is a little pause when they walk in my version, but I guess that is normal.
Exult smooths it out more, but I am not totally certain that it fully plays the game the same.

 

[anthraticus]

5 and Underworld were the best. 7 gets alot praise and it did have a great world, but combat was shit.

 

[Bragr]

It's clearly one of the franchise lifebloods of PC gaming, but I found them heavily aged. I don't have nostalgia for them, it was just too rough to go back.

But considering the importance of these games, it's worth it to try.

 

[Krathoon]

Yeah. You really have to make an investment to play 4 and 5. You have to read the little booklets and keep a journal as you play the game.
There is a cluebook for 4 that looks like it has the maps for the dungeons.

Really, you have to keep a journal of the quests for the later games too. It does not keep track of the quests like Elder Scrolls.

I think Ultima 9 does. Ultima 9 is kind of like a Zeldafied Ultima.

 

[Krathoon]

Elden Ring does not keep track of quests either. It plays off that old school style.

 

[Krathoon]

I have not checked the GameFaqs on the Ultimas.
It probably would not hurt to use them. They tend to help with old obtuse games.

 

[Krathoon]

It's clearly one of the franchise lifebloods of PC gaming, but I found them heavily aged. I don't have nostalgia for them, it was just too rough to go back.

But considering the importance of these games, it's worth it to try.

I would argue that the Underworld games and Ultima 7 and 8 are probably the more accessible ones. So is Ultima 9, but it really messes up the lore.
Ultima 7 is the one that fully realized what an Ultima game should be. Ultima 9 was more like a prototype of what the next generation should have been.

They really need to try to remake Ultima 9 with modern hardware, but that ship has sailed.

 

[Krathoon]

Also, the two spinoff Ultima games are also more accessible.

 

[Krathoon]

It's clearly one of the franchise lifebloods of PC gaming, but I found them heavily aged. I don't have nostalgia for them, it was just too rough to go back.

But considering the importance of these games, it's worth it to try.

Ultima 7 does not have a great timer in it. I notice that it runs faster on Pentium settings in DosBox than a 486.

I think the settings on the gog version are ok. They seem to be fast, but it looks like they reduced the cycles.

I notice that Ultima 4 seems to be running really fast.

 

[pramod]

I played Ultima I through V and could never get any further.

I think I just never liked any of the newer interfaces after the classic simplistic ones from 3 to 5. So many times I tried to start Ultima 6 or 7 just to give up because the UI felt so overwhelmingly complex. Also I felt the graphics although technically better, was quite ugly artistically and didn't have the charm of the earlier games. But I guess it's all personal taste. Ultima 4 is probably still the greatest RPG experience ever for me.

 

[Krathoon]

Might and Magic is also an interesting series. It started out as a 3D dungeon crawler and grew into a full 3D game.
The interesting part is that you have a party and it is in first person.

 

[Krathoon]

I played Ultima I through V and could never get any further.

I think I just never liked any of the newer interfaces after the classic simplistic ones from 3 to 5. So many times I tried to start Ultima 6 or 7 just to give up because the UI felt so overwhelmingly complex. Also I felt the graphics although technically better, was quite ugly artistically and didn't have the charm of the earlier games. But I guess it's all personal taste. Ultima 4 is probably still the greatest RPG experience ever for me.

So, you actually liked the more abstract, simpler design. Really, the early Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games are similar to Ultima.
Except Ultima used a text parser to interact with the NPCs.

 

[Alter_Fridge]

What's the best game of all time and why is it The Black Gate

 

[Krathoon]

I am digging into Ultima 7. I will finally get out of Trinsic.

 

[Havoc2049]

I just finished Phantasy Star and I'm about to dig into Ultima I for some more retro RPG goodness.

 

[Vyse]

Might and Magic is also an interesting series. It started out as a 3D dungeon crawler and grew into a full 3D game.
The interesting part is that you have a party and it is in first person.

Played Might and Magic on the Genesis as I recall. Amazing game. Also enjoyed the Ultima Underworld games.

 

[nowhat]

Also enjoyed the Ultima Underworld games.

The first Underworld game absolutely blew me away, it was incredible for me at the time. It came bundled with our "multimedia" PC (read: 486/33, 4MB of RAM, single-speed CD-ROM, SB-compatible sound card) - playing it for a while in the shop I convinced my dad that "we really need to get into this 'multimedia' thing" (needless to say, not much "multimedia" was ever done with that computer).

Sadly though the controls feel really awkward nowadays. WASD wasn't yet a thing so the mouse-driven UI is understandable, but that doesn't help trying to play the game on a modern system. There was a project to modernize the UI/graphics (like Exult with Ultima VII), but it was abandoned years ago and I don't think similar efforts have been made since, which is a shame.

 

[ClanOfNone]

The Black Gate was my 1st Ultima, and I was amazed. The interactivity of the open world was something I hadn't really seen back then. The npcs followed their own day/night schedules. Mix some flour and water to make dough, bake the dough to get bread. Holy Shit. You could fly a freakin kite, it was all amazing. Blowing up the Mint dude with a powder keg, looting the Mint, dragging dead dude to Lord British for resurrection, reselling all your stolen shit to him for tons of gold. Fuckin brilliant.

Worst combat system of any rpg I've ever played, it really was total shit. Still an amazing experience, Serpent Isle as well.
Bummer that Pagan was so bad, and IX, well we won't talk about that.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[Krathoon]

Do they explain how all your friends are not dead in Ultima 7? It has been 200 years.

 

[nowhat]

You mean the Unity-based project?

No (haven't heard of that one), I mean this: https://vividos.github.io/UnderworldAdventures/index.html

...lo and behold, there was a 0.10 release last December (first one in 17 years). So the project is not completely dead, but currently has only a single developer, so it may take "some" time for anything playable to come out of it.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.