wholmes@bbnccv.UUCP (William P. Holmes) (12/11/85)
Hi everyone, I've been playing Ultima IV for a month or so, and it is a lot of fun. I wish I had more time to spend on it but... The beginning of this graphic adventure game starts off by asking you a few questions about what you would do in certain situations. Then the program makes a character based on your answers. Since thoughout the game you must do things true to character, you can't easily fool into making a certain type(ie. fighter, wizard, etc.). The map is MUCH larger(256x256) than Ultima III(64x64). There are villiages, towns, cities, castles, and caves. Terrain slows you down depending on what you walk on. There is even swamplands, which will poison you if you stay long. Talking to people is a big deal in this, as there are hundreds of people and each has some clue. You can have a conversation with them and try to get any info they might have, or get them to join your party. This game is another major step above its predicessor. The only thing I don't like is that only one can play, whereas in Ultima III four people could each have a character. That is only a minor point though as this is a lot of fun... [raig Macfarlane cmacfarlane@bbnccj or just reply to this address for now...
hr@uicsl.UUCP (12/12/85)
RE:
The Ultima series.
Is it necessary or desireable to play the games in order?
Could I start with IV or should I start with the first?
----
harold ravlin {ihnp4,pur-ee}!uiucdcs!uicsl!hrjm630@uiucuxa.CSO.UIUC.EDU (12/15/85)
The games are not really related in any special way that will prohibit
you from enjoying them out of order. (i.e. you don't have to really
know what happened earlier to play the later ones - Ultima is not
like the Tolkien (lord of the rings) series for example.
HOWEVER
It's better to start from the beginning because the games have progressed
through time and you'll appreciate them a lot more if you do start
at one.
I haven't played UlTIMA IV yet but I'm dyin' to ....
"I never met an ULTIMA I didn't like"
Joe Matthews
University of Illinoisoyster@uwmacc.UUCP (Vicious Oyster) (12/16/85)
In article <18903950@uiucuxa> jm630@uiucuxa.CSO.UIUC.EDU writes: > > It's better to start from the beginning because the games have progressed > through time and you'll appreciate them a lot more if you do start > at one. > > I haven't played UlTIMA IV yet but I'm dyin' to .... > > "I never met an ULTIMA I didn't like" > I sent an E-mail response to the author of the original request, but thought I'd take this opportunity to give my opinion about Sierra Online's version of Ultima I. The game is unplayable. Bugs (may be features, but the result is the same) do things like take away your money and weapons when you die (making it next to impossible to get more without dying several more times); resurrect you in places where you can't do anything but wait until you starve to death (e.g. small islands, middle of oceans); etc. In order to get the full effect of the strength of my opinion of the implementation, you'd have to sit down at my computer and try to play with (or, more appropriately, against) it for several hours. The only reason the diskette is still in one piece is that I was able to control my rage at being suckered into buying the trash. As a result of this, I have not and will not buy anything else by Sierra Online. Of course, if they see this and send me Ultima II free of charge, and it's a good piece of software, I'll revise my opinion. Until then, I'd rather use the $20 as kindling for my fireplace. THIS IS IMPORTANT===> According to reports, Ultima I is available on some machines (I own an Atari) from some company other than Sierra Online. If this is the case, ignore the comments above; the problems with the game seem to be implementation specific. - Joel ({allegra,ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!oyster) Disclaimer: I have no connection with Sierra Online or any competing software house, except as a concerned consumer. Sierra Online and Ultima are most probably trademarks.
brian@ut-sally.UUCP (Brian H. Powell) (12/17/85)
In article <1810@uwmacc.UUCP>, oyster@uwmacc.UUCP (Vicious Oyster) writes: > > ... > ..., but thought > I'd take this opportunity to give my opinion about Sierra Online's version of > Ultima I. > The game is unplayable. Bugs (may be features, but the result is the same) > do things like take away your money and weapons when you die (making it next > to impossible to get more without dying several more times); resurrect you > ... etc... > As a result of this, I have not and will not buy anything > else by Sierra Online. > ... (I own an Atari) ... > > - Joel ({allegra,ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!oyster) > > Disclaimer: I have no connection with Sierra Online or any competing software > house, except as a concerned consumer. Sierra Online and Ultima are most > probably trademarks. First, I am afraid I have a small connection to Origin systems (one-time REAL-small contract work for the Mac version of Ultima ]I[), and I have some friends working there, so I'm kind of biased. Second, Ultima is indeed a trademark belonging to the original author (formerly of Sierra, now with Origin.) I shall be grossly negligent and omit the (tm) that should follow every occurrence of Ultima (tm) that occurs in this message. Thirdly, I too have heard of bugs with Sierra's versions of the Ultima series (they do versions of Ultima I and Ultima ][, as I recall). Usually they are similar to those mentioned in the parent letter paraphrased above. Origin does versions of Ultima ]I[ and Ultima IV (forthcoming for the Mac and PC (et al?)). The guy who does the translations from the Apple ][ version to the Mac/PC versions does as close to a literal translation as possible. This means you don't introduce any new bugs. From what's been said, (and from comments from people inside Origin have said), Sierra doesn't do this. Thus, the new bugs. I also know that Origin playtests the dickens out of their games. (While working on the mac version, they found a bug in an Apple-supplied Segment loader that caused the game to routinely crash after about 50,000 moves. They had this happen dozens of times. That's a lot of moves.) I could go on about Sierra's serious financial troubles, but just let it suffice that I don't like Sierra. They don't do a very good job at what they do. Brian H. Powell UUCP: {ihnp4,seismo,ctvax}!ut-sally!brian ARPA: brian@sally.UTEXAS.EDU U.S. Mail: Southwestern Bell P.O. Box 5899 345-0932 Austin, TX 78763-5899 AT&T (512) 345-0932
ryan@ucla-cs.UUCP (12/17/85)
In article <4500001@uicsl> hr@uicsl.UUCP writes: > >RE: > The Ultima series. > >Is it necessary or desireable to play the games in order? >Could I start with IV or should I start with the first? >---- > > harold ravlin {ihnp4,pur-ee}!uiucdcs!uicsl!hr You dont need to play the other games. Ultima IV will make characters for you. -- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | _R_y_a_n_ _R_a_m_s_e_y _H_o_m_e_ _P_h_o_n_e- (213) 391-2888 | | | | _A_R_P_A- ryan@ucla-locus.arpa | | _U_U_C_P- ..!{sdcrdcf,ihnp4,trwspp,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!ryan | -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
ccs020@ucdavis.UUCP (Kevin Chu) (12/18/85)
> RE: > The Ultima series. > > Is it necessary or desireable to play the games in order? > Could I start with IV or should I start with the first? > > harold ravlin {ihnp4,pur-ee}!uiucdcs!uicsl!hr I would start at the beginning just for the enjoyment of the game. Also, the problems do get progressively harder as the series goes on. You do not NEED to play them in any order, however. I have Ultima IV and am pretty far along. (I think) If anyone out there has played it or solved it could you write to me? I have some "advanced" questions I would like to ask that shouldn't posted to the net. -- Kevin Chu !{ucbvax,lll-crg,dual}!ucdavis!vega!ccs020 ucdavis!vega!ccs020@ucb-vax.arpa
stassen@spp2.UUCP (Chris Stassen) (12/18/85)
In article <18903950@uiucuxa> jm630@uiucuxa.CSO.UIUC.EDU writes: > HOWEVER > It's better to start from the beginning because the games have progressed > through time and you'll appreciate them a lot more if you do start > at one. Unless, of course, you own an IBM PC. Ultima I (as far as I was able to find out) was only available for the Apple II. If you own an IBM PC, you'll have to settle for II and III. Speaking of which, for what machines is Ultima IV released? (And when are they going to get around to moving Wizardry scenarios II, III, and IV to the PC?). -- Chris
wholmes@bbnccv.UUCP (William P. Holmes) (03/05/86)
Is there anybody out there that is playing U4 with the speach chips in the moking board? Just curious on if they use speach or whatever. Also what happens if a npc joins your party before giving you all of the clues they might have? Sometimes I have regretted(sp?) asking a npc to join in case I forgot to ask them about something. TiA, [raig cmacfarlane@bbnv.arpa
ma3166ay@unmc.UUCP (L.A. Electronics) (03/06/86)
In article <> wholmes@bbnccv.UUCP (William P. Holmes) writes: > > Is there anybody out there that is playing U4 with the speach chips > in the moking board? Just curious on if they use speach or whatever. > >TiA, >[raig >cmacfarlane@bbnv.arpa I have seen it played on a system with a single Mockingboard "C" (which has the speech chips) and it doesn't do speech, just the soundtrack. I have NOT seen it played with the "Two Mockingboard" option active. What does the second Mockingboard provide? Speech (if equipped), sound effects (instead of thru the Apple speaker), or more voices of soundtrack music? I've been thinking about buying this, and if a second Mockingboard is well-used I probably would. (I already have a MB"C" and can get another pretty cheap.) .rne. ----- Ernie Longmire {{ purdue cmcl2 ihnp4 } !lanl ucbvax } !unmvax!unmc!ma3166ay ----- "I'm looking for my pipe bomb...I left it here a while ago and now it's gone."