kermie@pro-lep.cts.com (Prince Kermie) (03/22/90)
Here's your chance to have a say on wether or not you want Ultima VI written for the Apple II or not..the following post is being reprinted from Applelink and is for the benifit of those who enjoy the Ultima Saga --------------------------cut here--------------------------------- Actually, speaking as a Producer at Origin, I'd be glad to discuss it with qualified Apple programmers. However, under the following conditions: 1) Play Ultima VI first. Don't speculate about what U6 is, and expect that an Apple port would be a piece of cake. 2) Be willing to do it for 0 advance funding. I'm dubious enough about its feasibility that I'm not willing to risk ANY of OSI's money on it. (On the other hand, we CAN offer decent royalties once it's done...) 3) Have some decent credentials. A solid track record. A good Apple demo. The ability to produce code on time, without bugs. So, we're asking for the impossible, and promising nothing up front. However, if you're confident you can do it (again, once you've seriously analyzed U6), drop me a line. The address is: Jeff Johannigman Origin Systems 110 Wild Basin Rd. #330 Austin, TX 78727 PS: before you do this, ask me about the sales projections on U6, and you can figure out whether the royalties would be worth a year of your life. --- Here is ORIGIN's OFFICIAL current position, from Greg Malone, Marketing and Communications Manager for Origin: In response to the many inquiries being made by Apple users regarding whether or not ULTIMA VI:The False Prophet is going to be made available on the Apple platform, I'd like to fill you in on ORIGIN's current tt view. Unlike all previous ULTIMA's, number 6 is the first one which was completely designed and implemented on the IBM PC (& compatibles) first. When Richard "Lord British" Garriott learned that he could make use of the hugely growing IBM compatible market which has machines featuring 640K RAM, a hard drive, and 256-color graphics, he couldn't resist the opportunity to as he put it, "...create the ultimate ULTIMA! " Couple that with the ever disturbing fact that the Apple market is continuing to disintegrate at an alarming rate (beginning with base support from Apple Computer, Inc., and trickling down to the Apple-specific magazines and even to disaffected Apple users), it is li ttle wonder that the question about developing ULTIMA on the Apple has arisen. As of this date, a technical evaluation of such an endeavour is being conducted by ORIGIN. When one considers the daunting task of converting a 640K game to 128K and doing so in a timely and cost-efficient manner, the air of pessimism is unavoidable. Also, it is a widely recognized trend among entertainment software publishers today to focus title development on the remaining strong markets, namely IBM & compatibles, Amiga (especially for Europe) and the Commodore 64. (This mix is certain to evolve and change as time passes!) However, the subject regarding an Apple ULTIMA VI will not be entirely dedcided until all of the facts are in, including whatever comment or enthusiasm YOU (the Apple users) can muster. If you wish to express your support for an Apple version of ULTIMA VI, you should send by U.S. Mail a letter to the address below. Please refrain from sending such a comm communication via this electronic network. Also, while sending us your comments, send a copy of your letter to your local software retailer and to favorite Apple magazine publisher. If you don't, you could be fighting a lost cause. Send comments to: Apple ULTIMA Comments ORIGIN P.O. Box 161750 Austin, TX 78716 The rest is up to yall :) Tremain:if you read this, contact me about the Austin Yacht Club _____ UUCP: crash!pro-lep!kermie ARPA: crash!pro-lep!kermie@nosc.mil INET: kermie@pro-lep.cts.com
cs4w+@andrew.cmu.edu (Charles William Swiger) (03/24/90)
Greg Malone writes:
Unlike all previous ULTIMA's, number 6 is the first one which was
completely designed and implemented on the IBM PC (& compatibles) first.
When Richard "Lord British" Garriott learned that he could make use of
the hugely growing IBM compatible market which has machines featuring
640K RAM, a hard drive, and 256-color graphics, he couldn't resist the
opportunity to as he put it, "...create the ultimate ULTIMA! "
-end-
Origin seems to have never heard about the Apple //gs, which has 4096
colors, 800K fast disk drives standard (hard drives are becoming fairly
common, as well), 1.25MB memory on the average, plus a minor programming
aid known simply as the Toolbox. This compares pretty well to the IBM
PC you mentioned. I would HATE (strong emphasis here) to see Origin
stop developing programs for the 8-bit Apples, but porting Ultima VI
over to the //gs should have no problems with limitations of the
hardware.
Just my opinion here, but I feel that >any< of your games, if re-written
specificly for the //gs, would be simply amazing. For an example,
consider "The Bard's Tale" series from Interplay. Their //gs versions
are out-and-out hellacious. Take their kind of graphics & playability,
and add to that the much greater depth of Origins' games, and you just
might end up with one >damn good< game. I was, and still am,
disappointed that Origin has never tried to take advantage of the //gs.
Along these lines, why did Origin decide to write code for almost every
kind of sound system ever made except the //gs' native sound abilities
in Ultima V? It certainly would have been easy to do, and the Ensoniq
chip is better than all of the other alternatives that actually were
supported. This seems to be a major oversight.
If it seems that I'm too much in favor of the //gs, stop and imagine
just how good the //gs versions of Origins' games could be. No flames,
please: any criticisms were meant to be taken constructively.
-- Charles William Swigerhuang@husc4.HARVARD.EDU (Howard Huang) (03/24/90)
Charles William Swiger writes: >Origin seems to have never heard about the Apple //gs... [other stuff] >Along these lines, why did Origin decide to write code for almost every >kind of sound system ever made except the //gs' native sound abilities I have an old issue of COMPUTE!s Apple Applications magazine, in which they talk about the IIgs and interview various game developers. Well, the guy who represented Origin said that the first game they would produce for the IIgs was Ultima V. Didn't Lord British write his first games on the Apple? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Howard C. Huang Internet: huang@husc4.harvard.edu Sophomore Computer Science Major Bitnet: huang@husc4.BITNET Mather House 426, Harvard College UUCP: huang@husc4.UUCP (I think) Cambridge, MA 02138 Apple II: ftp husc6.harvard.edu
fadden@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Andy McFadden) (03/25/90)
In article <2335@husc6.harvard.edu> huang@husc4.UUCP (Howard Huang) writes: >I have an old issue of COMPUTE!s Apple Applications magazine, in which >they talk about the IIgs and interview various game developers. Well, >the guy who represented Origin said that the first game they would produce >for the IIgs was Ultima V. Yeah, but it never appeared. >Didn't Lord British write his first games on the Apple? Anybody out there remember "Akalabeth"? Picture Ultima I dungeons, with some (very) crude shape table terrain for the outside. Actually, the only action outside was trying to find the dungeon... His next game, written when (if I recall correctly) he was 17, was Ultima. Considering the number of sequels and rip-offs, I'd say the name is appropriate. Trivia question: who remembers what you were supposed to do after winning the original Ultima? (you have to be specific... e-mail only if you want to answer). >Howard C. Huang Internet: huang@husc4.harvard.edu -- fadden@cory.berkeley.edu (Andy McFadden) ...!ucbvax!cory!fadden