Obligatory: Majuular’s Ultima Retrospective series. Very long documentaries about each game in the series - including the spinoffs - all the way up to Ultima VII so far (and Ultima Underworld II)....
Obligatory: Majuular’s Ultima Retrospective series. Very long documentaries about each game in the series - including the spinoffs - all the way up to Ultima VII so far (and Ultima Underworld II). I really love getting lost in these whenever they drop.
Ultima VII and VII part 2 Serpent Isle were the last Ultima games I enjoyed. Ultima Online felt like an MMO version of VII to me, which is also why it was both a chaotic disaster and wonderful.
Ultima VII and VII part 2 Serpent Isle were the last Ultima games I enjoyed. Ultima Online felt like an MMO version of VII to me, which is also why it was both a chaotic disaster and wonderful.
...the ultima series (and origin systems) effectively culminated with VII and its related ecosystem of titles; it's difficult to overstate the influence the series had on CRPG industry, nor to...
...the ultima series (and origin systems) effectively culminated with VII and its related ecosystem of titles; it's difficult to overstate the influence the series had on CRPG industry, nor to understate how irrelevant it became after EA took over...
Yeah, my friend was a notorious troublemaker and was constantly finding ways to break the game. His antics would then get picked up by others and used everywhere. Hilarious. He worked in a call...
Yeah, my friend was a notorious troublemaker and was constantly finding ways to break the game. His antics would then get picked up by others and used everywhere. Hilarious. He worked in a call center and used his "rebuttal" skills to convince people to their demise as well. I always joined a new MMO with him because it was guaranteed fun, but UO was especially good because no one knew what to expect of such a system yet.
Having the sandbox plus the threat of violence outside of towns was a great mix. I used to escort people and go on patrols to fight PKs. Once the realms split that entire category of job just went...
Having the sandbox plus the threat of violence outside of towns was a great mix. I used to escort people and go on patrols to fight PKs. Once the realms split that entire category of job just went away.
Yeah, i bet you hunted my buddy sometimes lol. His bard thief was his most annoying/amusing toon. He'd calm people that tried to kill him and then steal their gear. It was ludicrous that they...
Yeah, i bet you hunted my buddy sometimes lol. His bard thief was his most annoying/amusing toon. He'd calm people that tried to kill him and then steal their gear. It was ludicrous that they allowed that initially. He also has a low level skill that let him befriend animals and he'd name all the animals with his own name. So people would chase him into the woods and see his name everywhere lmao.
I remember playing Ultima IV on NES. It had a this fun glitch where right at the start of the game, you created your party, then when the game started, you would make 3 of your party member give...
I remember playing Ultima IV on NES. It had a this fun glitch where right at the start of the game, you created your party, then when the game started, you would make 3 of your party member give all their starting money and equipment to the 4th. Then you restart the game and when it takes to you the party creation screen, you could delete the 3 party members, and make 3 new party members, and keep the 4th. When you entered the game, the 3 new party members would have all their starting equipment/money again, and the 4th would still have everything the previous member gave them. Then you could just repeat that like 100 times until you maxed your money. As I recall, leveling up/increasing skills/stats was just a matter of visiting a temple and paying for the upgrades, so before you even left the starting castle, you could basically max out your whole party because you had unlimited money. Made the game really easy after that. :)
I found my father's extensive ultima notes when cleaning out or basement and scanned them in out of nostalgia. It's the reason I never really played them too much being a bit young and intimated...
I found my father's extensive ultima notes when cleaning out or basement and scanned them in out of nostalgia. It's the reason I never really played them too much being a bit young and intimated by the volume of maps and notes in my dad's folder. I do recall staring heavily at the cover art for ultima 5, and I did start to play longer around ultima 6 and of course in 7 is when I played in earnest. I agree with people here that 7 was the culmination of it. 8 was graphically amazing at the time, but those jump puzzles were pure garbage. 9 was an crashing disaster and I only went over my friend's house to watch it crash on him again and again.
I don't know if the video covers it but I had great fun in savage empires and the martian one as well, which were ultima spin offs. I actually have 'stones' as my alarm sound in the morning and also have framed the cloth maps from 5 and 6 which I rescued from the basement.
So even for not having played them in depth ultima is really an amazing reminder of that time in gaming, it really brings together all the great parts of gaming back then in memory to think of it. Truly an important series of games in history, and, if you listen to some of the older game devs back them, many were hugely inspired by richard garriott and ultima which set them on the path to becoming game devs and go on to make some of the amazing classics of the time.
The one problem I have with Ultima games is that I see the main series as games that get progressively more complex without getting considerably more user friendly. Akalabeth is simple enough and...
The one problem I have with Ultima games is that I see the main series as games that get progressively more complex without getting considerably more user friendly. Akalabeth is simple enough and surprisingly can be fun for playing on the go. I played Ultima III through a Gameboy Color port on my phone many years ago, because that way at least the UI had to be simplified down to just a few buttons.
Surely part of the problem was that I never read the manuals, I just downloaded the games from abandonware sites 10+ years after they came out, but I doubt that just a manual would help with a game as complex as Ultima VII. I always felt a lack of direction when I tried it a couple times. Yet when I look at the screenshots I am still tempted to just get a source port and finally give it a proper try.
Now Ultima Underworld was a different beast. Amazing game, though with some obscure bullshit as well, like needing to write down a rune at the very beginning of the game in order to be able to finish it iirc. But I never got that far, so whatever. Still a fun game today, shame it wasn't mentioned as it's my favorite from the franchise.
Sadly I missed Ultima Online, I only started playing MMOs when Runescape 2 came out and since I was a kid with no money that's all I had - in my opinion a considerably inferior game. Ultima Online walked so that Runescape could hobble around awkwardly.
I actually thought that Ultima VII was very simple and easy to play compared to earlier games in the series. Everything is controlled by the mouse; it’s universal design. The only thing...
I actually thought that Ultima VII was very simple and easy to play compared to earlier games in the series. Everything is controlled by the mouse; it’s universal design. The only thing complicated about it was inventory management and the magic system. The former was a limitation of the graphical/mouse driven style and the latter was a leftover from previous Ultima games, from my memory. Though if I’m being completely honest, i hated the reagent concept so much I skipped playing them altogether!
But yes, your problem is absolutely that you didn’t read the manuals. They are required to enjoy the games. Not only do they explain how to play the games, they have a good chunk of the lore and tell you where to go and what to do in some of them. This is why the GOG releases are so great!
By the way, for anyone who enjoys the old Ultima games, let me highly recommend Moonring! It's a completely free-to-play* love letter to the old Ultima-type games from a solo dev, retro in style...
By the way, for anyone who enjoys the old Ultima games, let me highly recommend Moonring!
It's a completely free-to-play* love letter to the old Ultima-type games from a solo dev, retro in style but with some modern touches. The dev's stated goal was for it to basically feel like those games but as you think you remember them moreso than the way they actually were.
* There's now a $5 DLC, a 100 floor mega-dungeon, that was added mainly to serve as a tip jar.
Obligatory: Majuular’s Ultima Retrospective series. Very long documentaries about each game in the series - including the spinoffs - all the way up to Ultima VII so far (and Ultima Underworld II). I really love getting lost in these whenever they drop.
Im here just to say i’m glad Ultima was noted as an answer for the clickbaity title. Thank you
Ultima VII and VII part 2 Serpent Isle were the last Ultima games I enjoyed. Ultima Online felt like an MMO version of VII to me, which is also why it was both a chaotic disaster and wonderful.
...the ultima series (and origin systems) effectively culminated with VII and its related ecosystem of titles; it's difficult to overstate the influence the series had on CRPG industry, nor to understate how irrelevant it became after EA took over...
Ultima Online was magical until they split the world into two. Tram/Fel was a mistake. It’s probably in my top 3 MMOs I’ve ever played.
Yeah, my friend was a notorious troublemaker and was constantly finding ways to break the game. His antics would then get picked up by others and used everywhere. Hilarious. He worked in a call center and used his "rebuttal" skills to convince people to their demise as well. I always joined a new MMO with him because it was guaranteed fun, but UO was especially good because no one knew what to expect of such a system yet.
Having the sandbox plus the threat of violence outside of towns was a great mix. I used to escort people and go on patrols to fight PKs. Once the realms split that entire category of job just went away.
Yeah, i bet you hunted my buddy sometimes lol. His bard thief was his most annoying/amusing toon. He'd calm people that tried to kill him and then steal their gear. It was ludicrous that they allowed that initially. He also has a low level skill that let him befriend animals and he'd name all the animals with his own name. So people would chase him into the woods and see his name everywhere lmao.
That kind of nonsense (even if some of it should've been adjusted) was what made the experience so unique. Closest I've come to it is EVE Online.
I never played these games. I think the first RPG I played was Dink Smallwood.
I remember playing Ultima IV on NES. It had a this fun glitch where right at the start of the game, you created your party, then when the game started, you would make 3 of your party member give all their starting money and equipment to the 4th. Then you restart the game and when it takes to you the party creation screen, you could delete the 3 party members, and make 3 new party members, and keep the 4th. When you entered the game, the 3 new party members would have all their starting equipment/money again, and the 4th would still have everything the previous member gave them. Then you could just repeat that like 100 times until you maxed your money. As I recall, leveling up/increasing skills/stats was just a matter of visiting a temple and paying for the upgrades, so before you even left the starting castle, you could basically max out your whole party because you had unlimited money. Made the game really easy after that. :)
I found my father's extensive ultima notes when cleaning out or basement and scanned them in out of nostalgia. It's the reason I never really played them too much being a bit young and intimated by the volume of maps and notes in my dad's folder. I do recall staring heavily at the cover art for ultima 5, and I did start to play longer around ultima 6 and of course in 7 is when I played in earnest. I agree with people here that 7 was the culmination of it. 8 was graphically amazing at the time, but those jump puzzles were pure garbage. 9 was an crashing disaster and I only went over my friend's house to watch it crash on him again and again.
I don't know if the video covers it but I had great fun in savage empires and the martian one as well, which were ultima spin offs. I actually have 'stones' as my alarm sound in the morning and also have framed the cloth maps from 5 and 6 which I rescued from the basement.
So even for not having played them in depth ultima is really an amazing reminder of that time in gaming, it really brings together all the great parts of gaming back then in memory to think of it. Truly an important series of games in history, and, if you listen to some of the older game devs back them, many were hugely inspired by richard garriott and ultima which set them on the path to becoming game devs and go on to make some of the amazing classics of the time.
(martian dreams; steampunk before steampunk was cool!)
The one problem I have with Ultima games is that I see the main series as games that get progressively more complex without getting considerably more user friendly. Akalabeth is simple enough and surprisingly can be fun for playing on the go. I played Ultima III through a Gameboy Color port on my phone many years ago, because that way at least the UI had to be simplified down to just a few buttons.
Surely part of the problem was that I never read the manuals, I just downloaded the games from abandonware sites 10+ years after they came out, but I doubt that just a manual would help with a game as complex as Ultima VII. I always felt a lack of direction when I tried it a couple times. Yet when I look at the screenshots I am still tempted to just get a source port and finally give it a proper try.
Now Ultima Underworld was a different beast. Amazing game, though with some obscure bullshit as well, like needing to write down a rune at the very beginning of the game in order to be able to finish it iirc. But I never got that far, so whatever. Still a fun game today, shame it wasn't mentioned as it's my favorite from the franchise.
Sadly I missed Ultima Online, I only started playing MMOs when Runescape 2 came out and since I was a kid with no money that's all I had - in my opinion a considerably inferior game. Ultima Online walked so that Runescape could hobble around awkwardly.
I actually thought that Ultima VII was very simple and easy to play compared to earlier games in the series. Everything is controlled by the mouse; it’s universal design. The only thing complicated about it was inventory management and the magic system. The former was a limitation of the graphical/mouse driven style and the latter was a leftover from previous Ultima games, from my memory. Though if I’m being completely honest, i hated the reagent concept so much I skipped playing them altogether!
But yes, your problem is absolutely that you didn’t read the manuals. They are required to enjoy the games. Not only do they explain how to play the games, they have a good chunk of the lore and tell you where to go and what to do in some of them. This is why the GOG releases are so great!
By the way, for anyone who enjoys the old Ultima games, let me highly recommend Moonring!
It's a completely free-to-play* love letter to the old Ultima-type games from a solo dev, retro in style but with some modern touches. The dev's stated goal was for it to basically feel like those games but as you think you remember them moreso than the way they actually were.
* There's now a $5 DLC, a 100 floor mega-dungeon, that was added mainly to serve as a tip jar.
Sheeee-it, clicked on the link, all pumped, and then realized it is already in my library. Nice. Long weekend plans just got filled up!