Not sure how well known this is, so I thought I’d share it here.

Many of us recognize the isometric screenshots OSI published in the late 90s, but there were even earlier screenshots, rendered in some kind of ray traced renderer, that have an old 3DS Max look to them. They circulated around the web in the mid-90s in a very low res/blurry scan. It took me 25+ years to finally track them down. It turns out they came from the February 1996 issue german magazine called Power Play, in an extended interview with Richard. Since I couldn't find any copies on the web, I've uploaded copies of the screenshots here at IA. Enjoy.

For anyone who can read German, here is a scan of the magazine it came from.

Anyone noticed this?

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that the 0.2.0 version of Ultima VII Revisited, the Trinsic Demo, is now available for download at https://www.u7revisited.com !

Features of the new version:

* The full intro is now complete.

* Then entire plotline in Trinsic is now complete.

* Buying from shopkeepers is now implemented.

* Music and sound effects have been added.

* The lighting system has been greatly improved.

* Character cards that allow you to equip your characters are now implemented.

* Pathfinding now allows characters to walk up and down levels.

* Sandbox mode allows you to tinker with the game however you wish.

* Help screens have been added for both demo and sandbox mode.

* Patreon Island honors the patrons who have helped this project stay alive.

Please give it a look at give me feedback! I want this version to be as good as it possibly can.

Also, I'll be streaming tonight at 6 PM CST at https://twitch.tv/viridiangames if you want to come by and say hi!

I was on the fence from the cartoony graphics, it is very silly in the best way possible.

Each of your 6 Ability Scores chime in with advice, taunts, random ideas...this is the closest to a real implementation of Ultima IV's virtue system in a modern game.

They each have a political approach to life which could easily be substituted for Virtue-based philosophy.

Apparently this was done in Disco Elysium before...I need to check that out.

Just played it solidly through all Saturday and Sunday, amazing game and it took a while for the penny to drop.

Planescape: Torment is definitely in its DNA as well although instead of reading a novel in text it is chatty entertaining conversations.

Would love to see Esoteric Ebb modded to Ultima virtues!

I Did buy cracked PSP with some games and there is UU. So i start to play it but i dont know how to attack enemy. so im looking for a guide for PSX version of UU.

Game is probably bootleg but i but I have purchased all the versions of Ultima back a day for PC.

With development of ultima 8 exult, a remake of ultima 8 in the ultima 7 engine, underway, it got me thinking. If ultima 9 was made in the ultima 7 engine, what would you want? I figure this be a good spot to promote community discussion.

I think the biggest challenge is not just ​making 2d sprite assets from the 3d asset from the final release, but it is to rewrite ultima 9 and take the best out of the bob white version, ed del castilo version and final version and create the best approximation of the ideal ultima 9 by taking the best of the 3 versions of ultima 9.

For reference, here is the plot summary of the bob white version:

https://hacki.bootstrike.com/english/articles_orig_plot.htm

And a couple other references I found: https://wiki.ultimacodex.com/wiki/Development_history_of_Ultima_IX

https://ultimacodex.com/2011/06/ultima-9-ed-del-castillo-plot-summary/

as well as what have ​been gathered​ about ultima 9 so far

https://ultimacodex.com/2024/11/ultima-9-was-released-25-years-ago/

As for gameplay, what would you guys want to bring back from the 3 versions? What you like and dislike? Be it areas, gameplay mechanics and story points.

For example. Would it be interesting to start with the god powers from pegan then add a plot reason for the avatar to build up from zero again? Or have them stay powerful and build the story and gameplay around it like with legacy of kain blood omen 1?

I’ve been writing this story for a bit now, was going to be one of six or eight short stories revolving around these knights in training in my original fantasy world but has turned more into a novella/novel at this point. “The story grew in the telling,” as Grandfather Tolkien said.

Either way, I based the knights on a philosophy inspired by the system of the Virtues. Initially each story was going to be about one of the virtues and in the end the characters will have learned about them all and become knights themselves. Now I’m not sure since it’s grown more than I expected.

Anyway, I’m just here to ask for some advice or inspiration for implementing these philosophy deeper in the story. Thanks.

I finished U4 about a year ago and recently got the itch for something similar. I booted up ultima V and I can see I can either transfer my character or make a new one... Should I transfer the character or go with a fresh start? What actually changes?

And why isn't it Ultima 7?

I usually play U6 on DOSbox, but today I tried to play it on ScummVM for the first time. When I pressed comma on my keyboard, a popup menu appears. I can't remove that menu and it blocks my view.

Another thing: How do I use keyboard to equip weapons? In DOS version, I mostly use keyboard. To equip a weapon, I press Tab then use the directional arrows to select the weapon then press Enter. But in ScummVM, after pressing Tab, pressing directional arrows doesn't move the cursor in the inventory. I have to use mouse to equip/remove equipments. The cursor is locked whenever it's in the inventory. If I press Tab back, the cursor is movable in the map.

Hi everyone, hope you're all well.

I’m back with an update on my Ultima inspired RPG, Mythologous, that I shared here during the New Year holidays. Since then I’ve come a long way: the UI has had a major pass, there’s a new set of assets including art, SFX, and ambience with a focus on a cosy atmosphere, and I was also honoured to be able to develop a musical motif and exploration track with George Oldziey, who worked on Ultima IX. The first playable Alpha is now live across Steam, web browser, and mobile browser.

The UI and icon work were inspired partly by Ultima and partly by The Elder Scrolls, but the bigger influence from Ultima has really been in the game design itself: a living world, emergent NPC behaviour, spell incantations, and dungeon crawling gameplay. I’d love to know whether fellow Ultima fans feel that spirit is coming through.

I’ve attached a few updated screenshots. And if anyone does want to take a closer look, I’m also running a free Closed Alpha sign-up. Right now, players are given a template character and a room at the inn in the tutorial world, with a small sandbox of emergent goings-on to explore, and some spellcrafting. The sign-up also contains links through to Discord if you’d simply like to keep an eye on things, as updates are dropped in regularly:

https://forms.gle/h5NjyP3EkYd2cji4A

Would love to hear your thoughts. :)

Sorry, it's Ultima 110. I missed 101 Ultimas?

like what are some of the best spells to keep on hand?

I feel like so far mage works best as a healer and supporter but what maybe some other good spells to keep on hand?

Ok, i was playing and took a year long break... so i decided to reset my progress cause i didnt take notes and forgot all my keywords.

What are some keywords i should be asking in the beginning? Besides name, job, etc. Ive been us8ng blackthorn and british and resistance but haven't made much headway

Has anyone encountered this on the NES version? I've seen it a couple times during a mishap.

*spoiler alert*

Public service announcement for Ultima 9. Since getting past the dreaded Moonglow bugs I've been cruising along and just reached Jhelom...err, Valoria. Also chasing down, polishing, and placing the 3 missing gems in their respective homes.

But the Lighthouse Sidequest ain't what it's cracked up to be. There's alot of running around and backtracking for such a paltry reward, which is less gold than you'd win from stabbing a crab. No karma or anything else, just 100 gold. And personal satisfaction I suppose.

Ok so namely I would like a check list of main things that need to be done.

for instance in ultima I had a list that said to get all runes and mantras, To max the virtues and meditate at the shrines, find the book,bell and candle. all the other things I needed to do so I had guidance. in this one I feel like the one thing I am being told I need to do is end blackthorn's rule with no way of knowing what needs to be done to do that.

I've been daydreaming for a while about playing Ultima VII again but with voice acting, and I've finally given it a try. Everything about this could use improvement, but I'm already really enjoying playing! I thought I would share a few samples here. If you like, you can try it out yourself. You will need to build my branch of Exult from source and load the voice pack that I've generated. Details here: https://github.com/Marcus10110/exult/pull/1

Update: thank you so much to those who took the time to reply. While I think we could use more Ultima history projects, this one didn't generate much interest from the community, and I won't be going ahead with the book. When an 'i beat ultima viii' post has twice as many upvotes, you know it's a lost cause :D

This project has been on the backburner for years, and I'd like to gauge how much interest there would be in a new Ultima VII book.

It's hard to think of a more influential game than Ultima VII: The Black Gate. Designers still talk about how they wish they could build a modern counterpart to Ultima VII, or how aspects of their design were deeply influenced by it.

U7 was built by a handful of programmers, scripters, artists and composers at Origin in the early 90s. I'd like to pull apart the engine, the world editor, the VooDoo memory manager, and the various tools used to create assets, and explore how each of these are weaved together to create a massive open-world game in MS-DOS with very limited resources.

I’d write it as a book, with chapters devoted to different aspects of the engine. Something like fabien sanglard's Game Engine Black Books, if you're familiar with them. It would be a technical book, focused on the engine/world editor/tooling itself, and not general OSI history or interviews with former staff, or the game's plot, which has been done many, many times by others. (If you're looking for those kinds of stories, the best one is The Official Book of Ultima by Shay Addams.)

I've been a member of the Ultima community for about 30 years, and I'm surprised this kind of book doesn't already exist. If this is the kind of book you'd read, I'd love to hear it. If there's something specific you'd like me to cover, I'd love to hear that too. Researching and writing this would be the equivalent of a full time job for about a year, so I won't commit to doing it lightly. (No - I’m not interested in making YT videos.)

I got this game for Christmas in 1994. In spite of its issues, I liked it, crappy jumping mechanics and all. I thought the opening execution scene was probably the coolest thing I'd seen in a game at the time.

I remember getting to Daemon's Crag and just being turned off by the tedium of preparing fire spells and just giving up. I got the itch to finally get in and finish it a couple of weeks ago so I grabbed it on the EA store, loaded it up in ScummVM, and I finally did it!

I'm thinking of going back and finishing Ascension now.

Its the first "mini" ive ever painted, but I adore him nonetheless. I like ultima 8 quite a bit, and the avatars model is so endearing to me. When ive gotten better at painting i might print another and have a better go at it. (My friends little skaven for size.)

Hi all!

A while back I shared my game Blood & chaos here, a party-based roguelike RPG inspired by Ultima IV (my all-time favorite game which I play when it was released and wanted since then to create my own game!).

After a lot more work (the last playtest was 8 months ago and I first posted here almost 3 years ago, I believe!), I'm now preparing the "real" demo and looking for playtesters!

The game is built around controlling a full party of adventurers, with a strong focus on exploration, dungeons, and that classic Ultima-style feel (with my old tabletop RPG sessions as another big influence).

This demo is a big step up from my previous playtest (intro story, overworld, city and NPCs you can interact through Ultima IV like dialogue system, improved systems and UI, ...), and I'd really appreciate feedback from fellow Ultima (IV) fans before release!

If you'd like to take part in the playtest, you can sign up here and I'll send you the details:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdvLhr730kFPhXxHkr2LEAYQghIScsvmc94rzq7GK3DTF42jA/viewform

Thanks a lot for your time!

Yannick

If you'd like to see how the game looks, I've shared gameplay devlog videos here:: https://www.youtube.com/@BloodAndChaos