So, today I learned about something that's sort of a dream come true
for me...
Ultima VI, released way back in 1990, was something of a
groundbreaking game. But despite it having lush graphics, it hasn't
aged all that well, largely because of its very clunky interface and >extremely limited view-distance. I've often tried to go back and
replay the game, but these downsides have been such a thorn that I've
given up before I'm more than an hour or two into the game.
Often I've wondered why nobody ever created some sort of mod or patch
to this game to make it more palatable to gamers spoiled by modern
amenities. Well, it turns out they did.*
Ultima VI NuVIe not only allows the ancient DOS game to run on modern >hardware (not that was so difficult with DOSBox, but still) and fixes
its two most egregious issues. First, it greatly expands the scale of
the view window**, allowing you to see more than five tiles in any
direction (I find double that satisfactory). Secondly, it improves the >drag-n-drop mouse control. Given how much of the game revolves around >inventory management, this is an incredibly useful feature.
The mod actually isn't new; it was in development over a decade ago.
For some reason though, it never came to my attention, even though it
is _exactly_ the sort of thing I'd been looking for.
Anyway, I discovered it today, and couldn't be happier.
Get it here:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/nuvie/
Thank you Internet! You made my day!
Oh, and if you happen to have the FM Towns version of Ultima VI, it'll
even use the full-speech voice-acting! Although given the lackluster >performances, that may not be as much a bonus as it first sounds ;-)
Thank you! It has been added to my vintage game folder. Might even pull
this one out. Ultima VI was one of the last great narrative games for the >series, and put a great twist on the second trilogy.
Ultima VI NuVIe not only allows the ancient DOS game to run on modern >hardware (not that was so difficult with DOSBox, but still) and fixes
its two most egregious issues. First, it greatly expands the scale of
the view window**, allowing you to see more than five tiles in any
direction (I find double that satisfactory).
Since many of its features are controlled by directly editing its
CONFIG file, here are some tips for newbies.
So, today I learned about something that's sort of a dream come true for me...
Ultima VI, released way back in 1990, was something of a groundbreaking
game. But despite it having lush graphics, it hasn't aged all that well, largely because of its very clunky interface and extremely limited view-distance. I've often tried to go back and replay the game, but
these downsides have been such a thorn that I've given up before I'm
more than an hour or two into the game.
Often I've wondered why nobody ever created some sort of mod or patch to
this game to make it more palatable to gamers spoiled by modern
amenities. Well, it turns out they did.*
Ultima VI NuVIe not only allows the ancient DOS game to run on modern hardware (not that was so difficult with DOSBox, but still) and fixes
its two most egregious issues. First, it greatly expands the scale of
the view window**, allowing you to see more than five tiles in any
direction (I find double that satisfactory). Secondly, it improves the drag-n-drop mouse control. Given how much of the game revolves around inventory management, this is an incredibly useful feature.
The mod actually isn't new; it was in development over a decade ago. For
some reason though, it never came to my attention, even though it is _exactly_ the sort of thing I'd been looking for.
Anyway, I discovered it today, and couldn't be happier.
Get it here:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/nuvie/
Thank you Internet! You made my day!
Oh, and if you happen to have the FM Towns version of Ultima VI, it'll
even use the full-speech voice-acting! Although given the lackluster performances, that may not be as much a bonus as it first sounds ;-)
----------------
* actually, there are multiple such efforts, but they all transformed
the game into something too distant from its original form. One uses the Ultima VII engine, the other Dungeon Siege engine. They're both
interesting projects, but don't really feel like "Ultima VI" as I
remember it.
** albeit not by default. You need to tweak the config files to get the improved result
Get it here:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/nuvie/
Thank you Internet! You made my day!
I replayed Ultima 7 a few years back. I was disappointed to learn that
the experience wasn't as great as I remembered. Without argument,
"Ultima 7" was a groundbreaking game, taking many of the ideas of
"Ultima 6" and giving them some necessary polish.
Am 19.09.24 um 18:07 schrieb Spalls Hurgenson:
I replayed Ultima 7 a few years back. I was disappointed to learn that
the experience wasn't as great as I remembered. Without argument,
"Ultima 7" was a groundbreaking game, taking many of the ideas of
"Ultima 6" and giving them some necessary polish.
Ultima 7 did not age well, the combat system was a mess and that drags
the experience down nowadays.
I will stick to my fond memories, had the same experience as you!
Ultima 7 did not age well, the combat system was a mess and that drags
the experience down nowadays.
I will stick to my fond memories, had the same experience as you!
On Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:52:51 +0200, "Werner P." <werpu@gmx.at> wrote:
Ultima 7 did not age well, the combat system was a mess and that drags
the experience down nowadays.
I will stick to my fond memories, had the same experience as you!
I never played any Ultima for the combat. It was boring in the earlier
games and broken in Ultima 7. There are better RPGs for combat.
I enjoyed Ultima 4 and 5 a lot for reasons other then the combat and I
did not have any nostalgia for them as I never played those as a kid.
I think I am going to like Ultima 6 and 7 just fine.
That said, I actually sort of _liked_ the combat system. Not because
the combat was fun (it wasn't) but because it de-emphasised the combat >entirely. Your party generally was incredibly overpowered anyway, and
by mid-game you could easily trounce any enemy. Pressing "c"
essentially turned into a "make the bad guys go away" button; no fuss,
no muss. That let me focus more on the bits that Ultima 7 _was_ good
at; the exploration and world-building.
I'm not sure if that's what Origin intended, but that's the effect it
had on me.
I enjoyed Ultima 4 and 5 a lot for reasons other then the combat and I
did not have any nostalgia for them as I never played those as a kid.
I think I am going to like Ultima 6 and 7 just fine.
On Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:52:51 +0200, "Werner P." <werpu@gmx.at> wrote:
Am 19.09.24 um 18:07 schrieb Spalls Hurgenson:
I replayed Ultima 7 a few years back. I was disappointed to learn that
the experience wasn't as great as I remembered. Without argument,
"Ultima 7" was a groundbreaking game, taking many of the ideas of
"Ultima 6" and giving them some necessary polish.
Ultima 7 did not age well, the combat system was a mess and that drags
the experience down nowadays.
I will stick to my fond memories, had the same experience as you!
A lot of people complain about Ultima 7's combat, and understandably
so. The game stripped out all strategy -and pretty much all control-
from the game. You'd hit the "c" key to switch your party into combat
mode, and the AI would instantly take over, automatically running
about willy-nilly swatting at enemies until all nearby foes were dead.
Technically, you _could_ control the characters manually but -because
the game was real-time- this was functionally useless. The enemy AI
didn't wait for you, and managing the characters was a mess.
Worst was when a party member got seriously wounded; he'd run away
(often dropping his weapon and equipment) and -if the enemy chased
him- might even die offscreen and you'd never find him.
That said, I actually sort of _liked_ the combat system. Not because
the combat was fun (it wasn't) but because it de-emphasised the combat >entirely. Your party generally was incredibly overpowered anyway, and
by mid-game you could easily trounce any enemy. Pressing "c"
essentially turned into a "make the bad guys go away" button; no fuss,
no muss. That let me focus more on the bits that Ultima 7 _was_ good
at; the exploration and world-building.
I'm not sure if that's what Origin intended, but that's the effect it
had on me.
I never got more than halfway through Serpent Isle, though the system was >more polished. I simply got bored.
Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com> wrote:
I never got more than halfway through Serpent Isle, though the system was >>more polished. I simply got bored.
I finished Serpent Isle, but never finished Ultima VII despite two
attempts because of the same bug. If you fly over the mountains where the >final battle happens you can trigger it early, causing you to be permantly >locked out of the room where it happens. The second playthrough I knew
about the bug and tried to avoid it, but still managed to accidentally >trigger it
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