Ultima The Ultima Underworld I & II Thread

[Zakhal]

Ultima underworld series was ported to two different consoles - heres playstation:
http://www.mobygames.com/game/playstati ... Id,153691/

Not sure how good they are - japanese like to keep their games to themselves:

One of the hardest to find US to Japanese PC ports is Electronic Arts Japan’s port of Origin’s Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss. The 3D dungeon game which would predate both Doom and Wolfenstein 3D and later inspire From Software’s King’s Field series and later Arkane Studios’ wonderful homage, Arx Fatalis, was ported to the Sony PlayStation in 1997.

The PS One version is somewhat of a rare bird with good quality copies sometimes fetching upwards of 70 to100 dollars last time I checked. If you’ve got a few hundred bucks or more to spare, track down a FM Towns Marty console and the various Ultima games released in Japan for it. Marty owners got Ultima Underworld in 1993 in a boxed set with a metal ankh and penknife, which was probably good for killing off goblins, but lousy against spellcasters, flying enemies, and ranged weapons. Ultima Underworld II also appeared on the Marty

Kings field 1-4 was inspired by uw. I actually own them all. The last kf was made for ps2:
http://www.gameratio.com/screenshots/1134-2.jpg
http://i.neoseeker.com/p/Games/Playstat ... ethumb.jpg

That's true. Still think the controls are awkward - if only there was a way to make "S" move backward instead of it being "walk forwards" I'd be happy.

Yeah that takes som time to get used to. The same controls are used in the "scifi version" of uw - system shock that came out later.

But if its a big problem you might wanna try remapping the controls S<>X with som remapper: http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/misc/Remap.htm

That program seems to work only with windows 9x so you would need to d/l virtual pc too (free from ms) and install windows 9x for it.

 

[Anthony Davis]

I don't honestly remember "dropping quest items by accident" being an issue in the UW series.

I agree you shouldn't kill NPCs though - unless they attack you first. IMHO worst design decision on UW2 is the fact that any castle NPC will attack you for moving their stuff around (just raid the castle in the beginning before talking to Lord British)

Early in the game you find something that seems rather silly and innocent.


Later on, much later on, you need that silly and innocent item to pay someone for their services so that you can continue on.

That is as vague as I can be and not spoil anything. People who have beaten the game and remember the issue of footwear will know of what I speak.

 

[Saxon1974]

Just started playing this again. Got poisoned by a bat. Found leeches. Thought "Hah, you know? In any decent old-school RPG you'd be able to use them on yourself to remove the poison, but I bet they didn't think of that.".

Then my head exploded.

There are quite a few moments like this in the game. It's a game that thinking and using things around you tends to pay off, amazing concept

 

[Jasede]

Why the roll-eyes? It -is- an amazing concept when you consider that modern games rarely have any item-interaction like this at all. The last I can think off is Arx Fatalis.

 

[Saxon1974]

Ultima underworld series was ported to two different consoles - heres playstation:
http://www.mobygames.com/game/playstati ... Id,153691/

Not sure how good they are - japanese like to keep their games to themselves:

One of the hardest to find US to Japanese PC ports is Electronic Arts Japan’s port of Origin’s Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss. The 3D dungeon game which would predate both Doom and Wolfenstein 3D and later inspire From Software’s King’s Field series and later Arkane Studios’ wonderful homage, Arx Fatalis, was ported to the Sony PlayStation in 1997.

The PS One version is somewhat of a rare bird with good quality copies sometimes fetching upwards of 70 to100 dollars last time I checked. If you’ve got a few hundred bucks or more to spare, track down a FM Towns Marty console and the various Ultima games released in Japan for it. Marty owners got Ultima Underworld in 1993 in a boxed set with a metal ankh and penknife, which was probably good for killing off goblins, but lousy against spellcasters, flying enemies, and ranged weapons. Ultima Underworld II also appeared on the Marty

Kings field 1-4 was inspired by uw. I actually own them all. The last kf was made for ps2:
http://www.gameratio.com/screenshots/1134-2.jpg
http://i.neoseeker.com/p/Games/Playstat ... ethumb.jpg

That's true. Still think the controls are awkward - if only there was a way to make "S" move backward instead of it being "walk forwards" I'd be happy.

Yeah that takes som time to get used to. The same controls are used in the "scifi version" of uw - system shock that came out later.

But if its a big problem you might wanna try remapping the controls S<>X with som remapper: http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/misc/Remap.htm

That program seems to work only with windows 9x so you would need to d/l virtual pc too (free from ms) and install windows 9x for it.

And I just threw away my play station figuring I would never play it again! Oh well, the screeny looks alot like the pc version anyway.

 

[Binary]

I don't honestly remember "dropping quest items by accident" being an issue in the UW series.

I agree you shouldn't kill NPCs though - unless they attack you first. IMHO worst design decision on UW2 is the fact that any castle NPC will attack you for moving their stuff around (just raid the castle in the beginning before talking to Lord British)

Early in the game you find something that seems rather silly and innocent.


Later on, much later on, you need that silly and innocent item to pay someone for their services so that you can continue on.

That is as vague as I can be and not spoil anything. People who have beaten the game and remember the issue of footwear will know of what I speak.

I honestly don't remember such item on either of the Underworlds. Care to PM me which item you're talking about?

 

[Saxon1974]

Why the roll-eyes? It -is- an amazing concept when you consider that modern games rarely have any item-interaction like this at all. The last I can think off is Arx Fatalis.

I was just being sarcastic. While graphics have greatly improved, I think as far as world interactivity and size we have went backwards since sometime around 1995 or so.

I seem to have alot more fun in the game world created in the 1986 to 1995 timeframe. Thank god for my collection of old games that I get to play.

 

[WalterKinde]

I don't honestly remember "dropping quest items by accident" being an issue in the UW series.

I agree you shouldn't kill NPCs though - unless they attack you first. IMHO worst design decision on UW2 is the fact that any castle NPC will attack you for moving their stuff around (just raid the castle in the beginning before talking to Lord British)

Early in the game you find something that seems rather silly and innocent.


Later on, much later on, you need that silly and innocent item to pay someone for their services so that you can continue on.

That is as vague as I can be and not spoil anything. People who have beaten the game and remember the issue of footwear will know of what I speak.

I honestly don't remember such item on either of the Underworlds. Care to PM me which item you're talking about?

Maybe its time to replay it again.
I went with the storyline in the game so i played it as a packrat never throwing anything away., The Stygian Abyss is short on supplies so everything you find is of worth.
Either keeping stuff or trading away excess stuff.
Everything you find is useful esp the remains of the dead enemy monsters.

 

[Saxon1974]

About the only things I trade away are redundant weapons, I had 2 cudgels i didnt need and so traded them for a blue gem.

Im assuming trading away excess weapons is safe??

 

[Ammar]

About the only things I trade away are redundant weapons, I had 2 cudgels i didnt need and so traded them for a blue gem.

Im assuming trading away excess weapons is safe??

Yes, it is. There's one plot relevant weapon but you'll notice it. Personally, I don't really can think of easily losable quest items in UW anyway. Serpent Isle and Black Gate really win the prize there.

 

[yellowcake]

Make sure to patch the game (both UWs) with official patch, or that your install is patched already, as there are bugs in release versions that result in mission critical items disappearing from inventory.

And yeah UWs are great. My first RPGs in fact. I own boxed copies of both (UW1 on 5,25' floppies), and they were really a rare find in Poland back then. It amazes me that every thing you click on in the game has it's own description; including different kinds of tiles on the floor. You can see great deal of scrupulousness in design. They don't make it like that anymore. Cool thing is that both games actually required that you learned this runic alphabet. I remembrer being conmpletely fluid in uing it.

Stygian Abyss is more linear and has tighter story than UW2. I think they are like KOTORS in that respect.

As for advice on character build, lore and repair are essential. Paladin is a good pick in UW2. Also, going with sword is convenient because guess what, POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD, there are good swords to pick later in both games.

Anyway, I'd like to share the unique joy that I had with both of UWs with anyone that plays it now and reads this thread.

 

[Ammar]

As for advice on character build, lore and repair are essential

I disagree with the exception of Search is very helpful, especially in UW 2. For someone who hasn't played the game before you should probably invest some points there.

Lore is certainly useful, but no must-have. If you don't use it you have to get your items identified for gold, but that's almost the only real use of gold in the game anyway. There's also a wand in UW 2 that does that job for you.

Repair is somewhat useful, but that's all. In UW 1 there's an NPC that repairs your stuff for a small amount (see comment on gold above) and one repair is probably enough for the whole game. In UW 2 you learn a spell that does fix your equipment (combination not in handbook, but available very early).

 

[MountainWest]

Can you respec in UU? I won't play it if I can't.

 

[Saxon1974]

Make sure to patch the game (both UWs) with official patch, or that your install is patched already, as there are bugs in release versions that result in mission critical items disappearing from inventory.

And yeah UWs are great. My first RPGs in fact. I own boxed copies of both (UW1 on 5,25' floppies), and they were really a rare find in Poland back then. It amazes me that every thing you click on in the game has it's own description; including different kinds of tiles on the floor. You can see great deal of scrupulousness in design. They don't make it like that anymore. Cool thing is that both games actually required that you learned this runic alphabet. I remembrer being conmpletely fluid in uing it.

Stygian Abyss is more linear and has tighter story than UW2. I think they are like KOTORS in that respect.

As for advice on character build, lore and repair are essential. Paladin is a good pick in UW2. Also, going with sword is convenient because guess what, POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD, there are good swords to pick later in both games.

Anyway, I'd like to share the unique joy that I had with both of UWs with anyone that plays it now and reads this thread.

I think I got my copy from Abandonia so Im hoping they have the patched version. Any idea what the patched version is?

 

[Saxon1974]

Interesting quote from wikipedia about Ultima Underworld

I wonder why it didn't sell all that well? Maybe because it was too different from people expecting another Ultima? I remember it coming out and buying it but not much more of the details.

"Despite its technical excellence, the game was not a great financial success. Today the game has a cult following among fans of the Ultima series, in some abandonware circles, and by the occasional nostalgic early 1990s gamer. In 1993, Ultima Underworld won the Origins Award for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Computer Game of 1992."

 

[Saxon1974]

Make sure to patch the game (both UWs) with official patch, or that your install is patched already, as there are bugs in release versions that result in mission critical items disappearing from inventory.

And yeah UWs are great. My first RPGs in fact. I own boxed copies of both (UW1 on 5,25' floppies), and they were really a rare find in Poland back then. It amazes me that every thing you click on in the game has it's own description; including different kinds of tiles on the floor. You can see great deal of scrupulousness in design. They don't make it like that anymore. Cool thing is that both games actually required that you learned this runic alphabet. I remembrer being conmpletely fluid in uing it.

Stygian Abyss is more linear and has tighter story than UW2. I think they are like KOTORS in that respect.

As for advice on character build, lore and repair are essential. Paladin is a good pick in UW2. Also, going with sword is convenient because guess what, POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD, there are good swords to pick later in both games.

Anyway, I'd like to share the unique joy that I had with both of UWs with anyone that plays it now and reads this thread.

Dammit, I wasn't playing the patched version and apparently you need to start over to use the patched version. Make sure your uw.exe is the patched version that is dated February 2nd, 1993 at 4:09AM.

 

[Binary]

Everything you find is useful esp the remains of the dead enemy monsters.

OK this one I really have no idea what you're talking about. Maybe it is indeed time for me to replay it.

BTW I agree on everyone's suggestion of Paladin as a class too.

 

[Saxon1974]

Well now Im getting the same error using the patched version. I deleted everything and unzipped and reinstalled and started over.

I wonder if the version of abandonia is problematic?

I get this error when I restore a saved game;

Restoring game.......Underworld Internal Error Problems in objectlistrestore

Where did you all get your copy of the game?

 

[Saxon1974]

Anyone know where I might be able to download the CD versions of the game that were released later that had the patch included?

 

[Maia]

I disagree with the exception of Search is very helpful, especially in UW 2. For someone who hasn't played the game before you should probably invest some points there.

A bit of Search is good, however if you look around carefully you'll notice the secret doors anyway.

Lore is certainly useful, but no must-have. If you don't use it you have to get your items identified for gold, but that's almost the only real use of gold in the game anyway.

I don't remember swimming in gold in the UWs, to be honest. Maybe I bought more stuff? And backtracking is a pain.

Repair is somewhat useful, but that's all. In UW 1 there's an NPC that repairs your stuff for a small amount (see comment on gold above) and one repair is probably enough for the whole game. .

Completely disagree. Backtracking to this one NPC is a major pain, weapons and shields degrade quite quickly and some good items that you'd find also wouldn't be in a mint condition. In UW1, Repair is very, very useful.

In UW 2 you learn a spell that does fix your equipment (combination not in handbook, but available very early).

That is true - in UW2 Repair is negligible. Not only does stuff degrade at a much slower rate, but the spell makes it redundant. They wimped out there - I preferred UW1's approach.

 

[tunguska]

I believe Ultima Underworld is considered to be the first computer game with smooth movement and a first person perspective.It was released before Wolfenstein 3D which is often falsely credited with being first. And the engine used actual polygons instead of ray casting as in Wolfenstein 3D. It was truly ahead of its time. I have always wanted to get my hands on the source code. I would pay a lot of money for it. I wonder if the source even exists anymore.

 

[Saxon1974]

If anyone has a copy of Ultima Underworld in the CD format can you pleae let me know what version number the uw.exe is and what modified date is on it?

 

[Zakhal]

If anyone has a copy of Ultima Underworld in the CD format can you pleae let me know what version number the uw.exe is and what modified date is on it?

Read my pm.

 

[Saxon1974]

How in the heck to I get the door into the shrine room on level 1 open?

I have all 3 keys from the level and non of them work, I have bashed it a hundred times and nothing. I also can't pick it. Is this door supposed to be locked?

 

[WalterKinde]

Maybe post your map or a screenshot of where you are.
I remember on the first level the only way into a secret room was to find the lever.
Or maybe i misremember, i might have to fire up my copy to see.