Ultima The Ultima Underworld I & II Thread

[Doctor Sbaitso]

The atmosphere in UW1 is unmatched and the second game pales in comparison IMO.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I watched speedruns of UW1 and UW2 yesterday, the former being beat in 17 minutes and the latter in 22. The biggest timesavers by far was the "debris retains enchantment" exploit, which breaks both games so massively. Also the Portal spell in UW2.

The best bit for us "normal" players is to use Reveal to open the backdoor to Tyball's quarters to skip 90% of level 7, an interesting option for those whom aren't interested in traversing the maze.

I was also amazed to see that despite only killing the minimum amount of beasties, UW1 was completed with a Lvl 11 Avatar and UW2 not that far behind.

Check out the Speedrun Archives if you're interested.

 

[wildh0rse]

That is some very interesting info. Skipping the Maze of Tyball sounds GREAT. I need to start another new game to try that. That would mean that all you need is Reveal and likely Levitate and boom, you're right by that door. Can it be opened with the Open spell?

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I think it can be opened normally. At least he had no trouble during the video. A running jump should suffice to get from the starting stairs to the bridge that leads to that area.

The biggest problem is this - he needed multiple castings of Reveal to make the wall disappear, while the mana-leeching crystal ball was still in effect. This may end up as a case of "Save - try until successful - reload if fails."

If I would use this, it would be to skip the maze, crossing the chasm and messing with the imps to get the Crown of Maze Navigation. That means getting the crystal fragment then BACKTRACKING back to the back door.

 

[octavius]

Anyone else think it was silly that potcullises could be locked and unlocked with keys?

 

[Sceptic]

The atmosphere in UW1 is unmatched and the second game pales in comparison IMO.

Some of the worlds in UW2 have a great atmosphere. I love the loneliness (and music) in the Ice Caverns, Killorn Keep as a twisted and inverted version of Britannia, Talorus really does feel alien, the sense of loss in the Tombs, and of course the conversations with Loth's 3 lich companions are fantastic. Being able to run around the Void for extended excursions was also great, including in the Academy Vault. The biggest problem with UW2 is what UC pointed out - the linearity of the story makes for some completely illogical triggers, and this really sucls.

I was also amazed to see that despite only killing the minimum amount of beasties, UW1 was completed with a Lvl 11 Avatar and UW2 not that far behind.

Both games give you a LOT of XP for exploration. I'm not surprised they leveled up so much. Besides advancement doesn't stop when you reach max level, in both games you continue getting skill points. You can't see this in UW1, because the games doesn't display how many unspent points you have (they added the counter to UW2 UI) but you can still go spend them at the ankhs.

Anyone else think it was silly that potcullises could be locked and unlocked with keys?

Yes.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Yes, using keys to unlock portculli is silly, but Looking Glass couldn't into locks at the time.

One other thing - in the UW2 speedrun gammadragon doesn't fight any of Preacor Loth's 3 liches, they can all be bypassed. You'll need to spam the Portal spell like no tomorrow, though.

 

[octavius]

potcullises

I seen to have a problem with my Rs.

 

[Zep Zepo]

potcullises

I seen to have a problem with my Rs.

And "m"'s (seen)



Zep--

 

[wildh0rse]

Yes, using keys to unlock portculli is silly, but Looking Glass couldn't into locks at the time.

One other thing - in the UW2 speedrun gammadragon doesn't fight any of Preacor Loth's 3 liches, they can all be bypassed. You'll need to spam the Portal spell like no tomorrow, though.

I never knew you could portal through that door - LOL - that mean you can use the moonstone and get the hell outta there and forget about the Liches. NOW, if Lethe's sword was a Damage instaed of Accuracy weapon, that would be cool. The ring of Poison Resistance, as well as the MAce of Undead Bane are both available long after they are very useful.

Haha I crashed the Keep twice already and forgot to give Ogri the Banner of Killorn. I can't deal with that whole Mors Gotha thing in the keep, I just nail her in the Castle. And I just found out that right before the final gathering in the throne room, there are 4 - not 2 of Gotha's goons in the castle.

 

[Jagged Appliance]

I need some help with UUW1. I'm running it in this dosbox build -> http://ykhwong.x-y.net/ for the built-in mt-32 emulation but when I run the game it is stretched vertically and the bottom half of the game is cut-off and not visible. Is this a problem with the dosbox build or can I fix this?

 

[Darth Roxor]

Try running it in a window instead of fullscreen (I assume you are running it fullscreen?).

If it doesn't work, try the gog version.

 

[Jagged Appliance]

I'm running in a window. Problem with the gog version is getting the mt-32 emulation. I really want those sweet synths.

 

[Infinitron]

I'm running in a window. Problem with the gog version is getting the mt-32 emulation. I really want those sweet synths.

Sceptic Can you help here

 

[Gord]

I need some help with UUW1. I'm running it in this dosbox build -> http://ykhwong.x-y.net/ for the built-in mt-32 emulation but when I run the game it is stretched vertically and the bottom half of the game is cut-off and not visible. Is this a problem with the dosbox build or can I fix this?

I don't remember for sure if I used that exact build or a different one with build-in MT32 support, but what you can try is opening the dosbox.conf file and looking for those lines:

fullresolution=original
windowresolution=original
output=surface

and

aspect=false
scaler=normal2x forced

The actual values might be different for you. The first block should tell Dosbox how it treats resolution and the second one if and how it's upscaling your output. Using "forced" will tell him to use that resolution even when he thinks that it might give problems (due to it being too large or such). If you use "forced", try removing it.
Otherwise, try using a different scaler or a different method for output.

Not sure if that helps with your problem, but that's what I would try at first.

 

[Jagged Appliance]

I've been trying a lot of options in the config file without any luck so far. :/ The same problem persists.

 

[octavius]

I'm running in a window. Problem with the gog version is getting the mt-32 emulation. I really want those sweet synths.

It's an involved process, and it depends on which Roland emulator you use, which Windows version you have and which DOSBox version you use.
This method worked for me: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/might-and-magic-7-9.65635/page-2#post-1841646

Oh, and you may have to edit the UW.CFG file too.

 

[Jagged Appliance]

Ok, fixed the graphical issue. I installed an older version of ykhwong's dosbox svn and that runs the game no problem, built in mt32 emulation works a treat as well.

My shepherd is going dungeon diving

 

[Sceptic]

Make sure you got the CM-32L ROMs, not the MT-32 ROMs. UW1 is one of the games that took full advantage of the CM-32L-only sounds. It's easy to test: start swimming and listen to the sound. On a regular MT-32 IIRC you don't hear anything.

For the aspect ratio Gord linked the relevant bits. What I would do is not touch the first block, and only change the 2nd one to:
aspect=true
scaler=normal3x

This will adjust the aspect ratio of all 320x200 game and force them to run as 4:3 (the intended ratio). I find 3x scaling works best on a 22 inch screen, and I don't think I usually force it (no need with most 320x200 games)

 

[Sceptic]

Goddamnit posting this has made me go back and listen to my CM-32L/SC-55 recordings.

Roland

 

[Tigranes]

Alright, I'll bite. I never tried UU, because I started RPGs just after the blobber reign and never had a chance to get into them (to date, I've only played M&MX, some of M&MVI, some of Wiz8). Also probably backing UA, just for Looking Glass honour-fisting and their comments on environmental interaction.

(1) I assume just dosboxing it or GOG'ing it?
(2) Any super basic tips about settings or UI tricks? I'll find out how to be good at the game the hard way, more fun that way, but just super basic stuff.
(3) One reason I was always a bit hesitant is... I never bothered with LoG because it felt like the bread and butter of the combat would just be slash, take a step back, slash, etc, the 'dancing'. I see this happening iin some gameplay videos of UU too. I like RPG first person combat when there's a lot of tricks to use (traps, grenades, etc) and they are quick to use (instead of the crazy Arx Fatalis draw-magic which is cool but I could never do it in heat of battle well), or at least the melee system makes some kind of sense (Gothic). I always felt like, say, Morrowind melee combat is just stepping back and forth and swinging like a maniac. Are my concerns well-founded in any way?

 

[Sceptic]

1. GOG DOSBoxes it, so samey.
2. The game can be played with either mouse only or keyboard only. Don't do either. Everything has equivalents in both. Experiment, find which one works best, and go with it. Even for something as simple as moving, I find I switch between holding LMB and using WASDZXC, depending on what I'm trying to do. You can jump by running and then either pressing RMB or J. Shift+J does a stationary jump. RMB-drag on object in the world will either pick them up or use them to talk to NPCs, depending on what they are, but just because you CAN pick them up doesn't mean you can't also use them without picking them up.
3. Maybe, but if that's the only reason you don't play UW then you're faggot mondblut. Combat is not the game's strong suit unfortunately, but you should still be able to enjoy everything else it has to offer.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

1. Use the gog version.
2. Use the advanced control method. Left mouse to move around based on cursor position within the viewport and right mouse button to 'interact' This is actually context aware mouse controls. Open, jump (while moving), pick up, drag and drop, open, press, invoke, etc.
3. Learn the keyboard shortcuts and remap in dosbox using the remapper if you like. http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/562665-ultima-underworld-the-stygian-abyss/faqs/1812
3. UU is an amazing experience even today. Go in with an open mind.

 

[octavius]

1. Yes.

2. You may want to get the Roland sound for this game, as the sound effects are laughably weak using Soundblaster settings. Entire tomes have been written on this topic.
As for controls I prefer to play with mouse only, as it works very well.

3. Combat is not the reason for playing UU, but it's good enough. You can choose between three different melee attacks, and how much force to put into them. Missile combat does not work very well. Neither does stealth. So a pure melee like a Paladin or a melee/magic combo like a Druid is recommended. A Druid is prefect, since they can start with the max 30 STR, which is the most important of the three attributes, since it governs how much you can carry. Their also have good starting skills.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Woa woa woa. The SBpro sounds music is epic.