Ultima The Ultima Underworld I & II Thread

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Also
http://www.pixsoriginadventures.co.uk/category/ultima-patcher/

Better sound.

The installation is pretty straightforward: open the program, select "Ultima Uderworld", select "install general MIDI patch".
You need a CM32L rom or a MT32 rom for the "sound option" too. You can download one via torrent or other not-very-legal site (just type CM32L/MT32 on Google, and you will find one).

Terrible idea. If you're getting a CM-32L ROM (get that one, not the MT-32 one) then you should use that for both music and sound. UW1 uses some of the CM-32L-specific tones (such as when swimming) and you won't hear them with either the MT-32 ROM or with the GM patch. Munt is at a point where it emulates the MT-32 line pretty well and there are versions of DOSBox that have it built-in (and they're the DOSBox versions you should be using, really). You could get away with the GM patch for UW2 since it uses digitized sound effects but you might as well just keep using the CM-32L ROM and emulation.

My bad.
I played the game last year for the first time and I'm not a DOS "expert", thus I didn't remember very well.

 

[Junmarko]

http://ultimacodex.com/2018/03/underworld-exporter-version-1-03-released/
Underworld Exporter: Version 1.07d Released
BY WTF DRAGON · MARCH 16, 2018

If you haven’t yet heard about Underworld Exporter, well…my apologies for my part in that, because I have not kept up with news about the project. And that’s a shame, because it’s an exciting project indeed; it allows you to export information from the original Ultima Underworld game data files into the Unity game engine, resulting in a fully playable version of Ultima Underworld using said engine.

The current version, 1.07d, was released at the end of February; change notes for it are as follows:

• • AI has been overhauled in this release.
  • Vanilla save-game compatibility has been improved.
  • Game load times have improved.
  • NPC poisoning has been restored. Narvey Night-eyes will shove your s*** in if you have low defence.

Let’s highlight that point: this project will give you a fully playable, from start to finish, port of Ultima Underworld that uses the (modern, cross-platform) Unity engine. And in addition to that, Underworld Exporter also supports several other Looking Glass Studios games to varying degrees:

The following Looking Glass Studios games are supported to various levels. Original game files are absolutley required to play however in the interests of full disclosure some UI assets and sound effects are bundled with this download.

1.1 Ultima Underworld 1 (UW1).
UW1 is fully supported and can be completed from start to finish. Save games are both forward and backwardly compatable with the original dos version.

1.2 Ultima Undeworld 1 Demo Version (UW0)
UW0 is a freely available demo of the first level of UW1. It is fully supported with the following exceptions:
-The rolling demo is not supported.
-Weapon animations are not currently working (combat still works)

1.3 Ultima Underworld 2 (UW2)
UW2 is partially supported with full support to come in time.
-Game saves (loading of vanilla saves is possible)
-Some traps and triggers are not implemented.
-Many new conversation functions are not implemented
-UW2 specific HUD is not implemented.

1.4 System Shock 1 (SHOCK)
SHOCK is currently enabled in a map viewer mode. Developement of any SS1 focused releases has been postponed pending completion of Underworld 1&2.

1.4 Terra Nove Strike Force Centrauri (TNOVA)
TNOVA is implemented as a side project map-viewer. There are no plans to develop this game any further.

The project author, Hank Morgan, hasn’t gotten into the habit of updating a project changelog on its Github repository, but he did include a full set of instructions on how to actually install and configure Underworld Exporter as part of the latest release announcement, as well as some notes on the default controls used once Ultima Underworld is up and running in Unity.

You can grab the latest release of Underworld Exporter — along with its source code — over on Github. Links thereto are also available at the project download entry here at the Codex.

 

[Junmarko]

OK playing the Unity version now. Some interesting developments I will share.

First, an opinion: If you have not played Ultima Underworld, play the original. While the Unity port is largely functional and I am encouraged by what I see, the original is still the best experience.

Lots of differences for now:

• The controls are obviously not the same. There is an odd (at first) hybrid interaction/mouselook mode that I got used to pretty quickly. Well done IMO but the ever-useful context sensitive cursor mode is not present. You have to switch to look mode, action mode while switching back and forth to mouselook and interactive mode. It is a good compromise as the different interaction modes are selectable via remappable hotkey so thumbs up on controls.
• There is no bartering in the game as of now.
• Nobody owns anything. There is no "Bedroll belonging to an Outcast" for example.
• Because there are no possessions, there is no stealing and no repercussions for being spotted stealing.
• Dialog is in but selection of dialog options by mouse is missing as of now. You must press the number corresponding to the option you want to select.
• Dialog text colours are off.
• Combat needs tweaking. Your characters is too strong at the start. Rats and worms die in one shot and I was able to clobber 3 human outcasts before dying at level 1.
• Movement in general is very fluid but too fast by half. Creature combat was paced for someone who had to use the less nimble control mode and moved much slower in general. I suspect there will need to be some changes made there or it will just be piss easy.
• Adjust the default light level darker in the ini file. It is set at 12 by default which is much brighter than the original. I suggest 4-5.
• Your runebag comes full
• The automap is fully realized but cursor position is offset from the quill
• Some inventory bugs exist. I am carrying 259 lbs of stuff (but I am not really) and I can't pick up anything else.
• Swimming is not there. You can spring-swim the whole level 1 waterway without drowning as level 0. There is no visual bobbing, you swim way too fast and there is zero risk of drowning

This all combines to make the Unity port cool for nostalgics but definitely NOT recommended for first time players. I consider it promising but badly broken compared to the original. But mouselook...

Oh, it comes with an editor, but fuck if I can figure it out.

That's probably the most feedback he's got in one go - should DM him on gitHub otherwise he'll never see it.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Submitted an issue @ Github and invited the guy to participate here. It would be awesome for this to get to faithful representation.

 

[Junmarko]

Submitted an issue @ Github and invited the guy to participate here. It would be awesome for this to get to faithful representation.

Awesome, gitHub feedback can stunt a project if you're solo.

(Daggerfall Unity hitting 1.0 and this turning to vaporware would also turn me insane )

 

[Cael]

I usually picked the Paladin. 30/18/12 S/D/I. Dex helps in how fast you move and how quickly you turned, IIRC, whereas Int is just good for mana, which you shouldn't need much of. The spellcasting in UW is... fairly pointless. I only ever used it for Water Walk, IIRC. There is more than enough potions for everything else.

UW2, you want a bit of magic for the Enchant spell. It helps to not blow up the item (of course, so does save/load, but meh).

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

What? Spells were awesome un UW. Yes you could melee your way as well but preferring one viable playstyle does not invalidate others.

 

[Cael]

What? Spells were awesome un UW. Yes you could melee your way as well but preferring one viable playstyle does not invalidate others.

Never found that to be the case. You can fire two dozen magic missiles into the gazer on L2, for example, and it would still be fighting fit.

Ranged combat in UW tend to be bad because the enemy would just charge you before you can get your second round off.

 

[Junmarko]

Ranged combat in UW tend to be bad because the enemy would just charge you before you can get your second round off.

What combination/specialisation are you using though?

 

[Cael]

Ranged combat in UW tend to be bad because the enemy would just charge you before you can get your second round off.

What combination/specialisation are you using though?

What do you mean? It doesn't really matter which one. You fire once and blam! Enemy in your face. It is generally a lot safer to go with a melee weapon skill to help prevent getting your face clawed off and eaten.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

IMO, the problem with ranged weapons has more to do with the game's limited range of vision. It's usually dark as crap on top of that.

While close combat is also the most fun method of dealing damage, spells are not to be overlooked. Magic Missile is a puny puny spell, but Lightning Bolt and Fireball not only hit hard, but they also have an Area of Effect that damages (and destroys) stuff in the vicinity, so be careful with those.

The Gazer example doesn't prove that magic sucks, it just shows that Gazers are tough. They tend to shrug off even melee attacks, especially at such an early point in the game.

 

[Cael]

IMO, the problem with ranged weapons has more to do with the game's limited range of vision. It's usually dark as crap on top of that.

While close combat is also the most fun method of dealing damage, spells are not to be overlooked. Magic Missile is a puny puny spell, but Lightning Bolt and Fireball not only hit hard, but they also have an Area of Effect that damages (and destroys) stuff in the vicinity, so be careful with those.

The Gazer example doesn't prove that magic sucks, it just shows that Gazers are tough. They tend to shrug off even melee attacks, especially at such an early point in the game.

I tried using MM on a Lurker also. It... didn't do much... I gave up after that.

It is just far faster to charge the enemy as he charges you and stab him to death using the old move forward, stab, retreat (to dodge the return strike), repeat.

The area of effect is another reason why I don't like damage spells. There are very few, if any, occasions where you will have enemies bunched up enough for the area of effect to be useful. In many cases, the area of effect would include YOU as the enemy charges into your face.

 

[Invictus]

Playing this for the first time and even though I am enjoying it so much I might have some mixed feelings about it

First off I always wanted to play UU but the time it was released I had a rather shitty 286 so since the game needed at least a 386 (and a rather powerful one too) I was out of luck
So I still played Might and Magic 3, Wizardry 7, Ultima 6, The Summoning and kind of dreamt of having a more powerful machine for playing games like UU, Elder Scrolls Arena and mostly Darklands

By the time I got a Pentium (!) and managed to get one of those Soundblaster upgrade kits that came with a CD Rom (working on my very first job programing the scoreboard for the local baseball team) I had my sights on Daggerfall, Half Life and of course Baldur’s Gate

I managed to get Darklands through a used games add in a magazine and that became my favorite game of all time

As for Ultima Underworld... playing Daggerfall sort of made think this was kind of the dungeon crawl I had always dreamt of so I never went back to look for UU

I always heard such positive things about it but just never got around it
But after playing Arx Fatalis and enjoying it tremendously I decided to go for “the real thing” and try UU

I have just finished the second level but this has been such a fantastic experience I feel almost cheated by never having played it before, is it possible to feel nostalgia like this for sonething you have recently experienced?

It is almost perfect so far and I am enjoying it so much especially using Munt for emulation, the MIDI sound really makes the game come alive and it has helped my enjoyment not only of UU but other games like Might and Magic 3 and Darklands especially... other than switching the midiconfig=1 I did nothing else; water sounds great as well as the footsteps so I dont know if I need to tweak anything else

This game is like a brief glimpse at a parallel reality, where games could have been so well designed and immersive, without compromises for consoles or mindless tutorials

Playing this now makes the hot mess of the “new” Underworld even more painful, with their retarded box puzzles, neon lights and Warcraft inspired art

At first I was kind of looking forward to a mouselook similar to System Shock but now I look at even the “flaws” of the game as charming

Would really love of somehow Looking Glass could release the code, maybe porting the original game to the engine of the sequel or something but to be honest I am kind of happy just the way the game is right now

 

[Sceptic]

Strange post, you start by stressing out the mixed feelings but then you have nothing but good things to say about the game (as should be).

Also, it's not nostalgia if it's your first time, the very definition of the word implies previous knowledge. The game is simply that good.

I can understand the desire for some control/UI improvements (and the criticisms of the controls were even harsher on release, since they were so completely new and nobody was used to them) but keep in mind this was the first free-moving first person game to be developed. Nobody could even imagine mouselook back then, and nobody did for years after.

 

[Invictus]

Strange post, you start by stressing out the mixed feelings but then you have nothing but good things to say about the game (as should be).

Also, it's not nostalgia if it's your first time, the very definition of the word implies previous knowledge. The game is simply that good.

I can understand the desire for some control/UI improvements (and the criticisms of the controls were even harsher on release, since they were so completely knew and nobody was used to them) but keep in mind this was the first free-moving first person game to be developed. Nobody could even imagine mouselook back then, and nobody did for years after.

My mixed feelings were the regret I had about not playing this before and enjoying it so much now that I had; playing for the first time games like New Vegas, Bloodlines, Arx Fatalis and now Ultima Underworld have really hit me hard on this nostalgia trip

I think baring a few modern games like Stalker, Age of Decandence and Witcher 3 most of modern games feel so...lifeless?
You can feel the personality on these older games, they are so daring and refreshing, it shows the passion of its creators and their desire to innovate rather than pleasing everybody and looking to sell as much as possible

That is my nostalgia, for that sort of innovation where developers like Looking Glass kept innovating and developing fantastic games like Ultima Underworld, Thief, System Shock and you literally didn’t know what you were going to get but you knew that it wqs going to be fantastic

 

[Cael]

Strange post, you start by stressing out the mixed feelings but then you have nothing but good things to say about the game (as should be).

Also, it's not nostalgia if it's your first time, the very definition of the word implies previous knowledge. The game is simply that good.

I can understand the desire for some control/UI improvements (and the criticisms of the controls were even harsher on release, since they were so completely knew and nobody was used to them) but keep in mind this was the first free-moving first person game to be developed. Nobody could even imagine mouselook back then, and nobody did for years after.

My mixed feelings were the regret I had about not playing this before and enjoying it so much now that I had; playing for the first time games like New Vegas, Bloodlines, Arx Fatalis and now Ultima Underworld have really hit me hard on this nostalgia trip

I think baring a few modern games like Stalker, Age of Decandence and Witcher 3 most of modern games feel so...lifeless?
You can feel the personality on these older games, they are so daring and refreshing, it shows the passion of its creators and their desire to innovate rather than pleasing everybody and looking to sell as much as possible

That is my nostalgia, for that sort of innovation where developers like Looking Glass kept innovating and developing fantastic games like Ultima Underworld, Thief, System Shock and you literally didn’t know what you were going to get but you knew that it wqs going to be fantastic

Looking Glass got taken over by EA. So, you can kiss any possible sequel good-bye. At best you will get something in name only, so it is better not to petition for another. Just take a look at what happened to the latest Star Control under development by stardick.

 

[Zep Zepo]

Is there any way now to play (UU) without the postage-stamp 3D window? Or even a toggle full screen no UI/postage stamp UI or something similar?

I finished the game once when it was released, I've installed it several times thereafter over the years...but that 3D small window just kills it for me and I never finish a play-through.

When it was new and fresh, I guess I didn't mind it so much...but now...meh...to small.

Zep--

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

Good news Zep, there is a brand new spiritual successor coming next month with glorious full-screen 3d graphics. It's called Underworld Ascendant, you should check it out I think it will be right up your alley.

 

[RoSoDude]

I've been playing Ultima Underworld through GOG recently, and I thought I'd give some technical notes and impressions.

First I had to work around an annoying issue with DOSbox, namely that in fullscreen, the game rendered with U-shaped black borders thanks to how it was trying to scale up the original aspect ratio. I personally prefer some filtering to make the game render as large as possible with the correct aspect ratio (so vertical black bars are acceptable). The only way I could find to do that was to change "fullresolution=original" to "fullresolution=0x0" in the configuration files. For what it's worth, I'm also using these renderer settings. I also had to fix the midi sounds (I have the best luck with "4 -1 -1 -1 sound" and "2 -1 -1 -1 speech") and jerky mouse thanks to a Windows update stealthily re-enabling global mouse acceleration.

One last thing that's causing me concern is I've started to encounter the dreaded "Underworld Internal Error - Problems in Object List" warning whenever I re-enter or reload a save from Level 1. No item losses yet as far as I can tell, but I've heard it can delete key items like Talismans if you're not careful, so I'm a bit worried. Anyone have any advice on how to avoid this bug? I've heard destroying useless objects in water/lava can help, but I've also heard the exact opposite, with the claim that the issue has to do with improper reference deletion when destroying objects.

Anyway, onto the game. It's taken some getting used to, but I'm quite enjoying it! I tried playing the game a few months ago but was put off by the aforementioned technical/config issues, and especially the notion that I would have to constantly click the icons on the left side of the screen to look, grab, use, talk, and fight, as well as wrangle against my WASD muscle memory just to clumsily move around the game world. But after properly reading the manual and putting a few more hours into the game, I've discovered that the mouse-driven controls are pretty intuitive, provided you stay in the icon-less interaction mode. Moving, turning, and jumping purely with the mouse controls actually feels pretty good, and all of the interactions are perfectly accessible with the correct mouse clicks and gestures. Tap right click on objects to look, drag right click on objects in the world to get/use/talk (in that priority), left click objects in inventory to use, and left click on the weapon in your hand to equip/unequip it. Not bad at all, even if inferior to System Shock's frobbing paradigm, which itself is obsoleted by the LGS control standard that followed. I pretty much avoid any keyboard input other than 1/2/3 for adjusting my pitch like the plague, as I have a tendency to fatfinger Alt+X at the same time and close out the game in the heat of things, which has already lost me about half an hour of progress on one occasion (I have the same issue with not-infrequent accidental quitting in the cyberspace sections of System Shock, for what it's worth). Honestly the most annoying feature of the controls to me now is when I accidentally click on one of the interaction icons on the left window pane during combat and have to figure out why I'm not swinging my sword.

Speaking of which, combat. I had a really bad time of it in the beginning, and I've still not totally gotten the hang of it, but I've taken a liking to some aspects of it. I appreciate that the weapon types appear to do better/worse damage in a believable manner -- it looks downright silly to stab with a hand-axe or cudgel or swing overhand with a dagger, and lo and behold, they do much less damage that way! It's really cool how much thought was put into making the game's interactions intuitive and immersive, especially given that there are no tooltips or item descriptions. And why would there be? What magical being is supposed to be beaming information into your brain when you're comparing how much damage two weapons will do? All you know is what your character can see (what is it and what kind of shape is it in) and feel (how much does it weigh), which is a great way to put me in the shoes of my character and make me experiment as I would in reality. I've still not gotten a great handle on where my swings will actually go, though. Does a strike land where I pointed on the screen, or just in a general high/medium/low area in front of me? Are there dicerolls for determining hits? It's kinda hard to tell while moving around in combat, which seems necessary for avoiding damage and timing your own hits.

I've already had a great moment of that "emergent gameplay" people extoll in reference to this game. I was heading east on the bridge south of the Gray Goblin encampment in Level 1, and a hostile Gray Goblin spotted me and gave chase. Still unconfident with my fighting skills, I doubled back and extinguished my torch so he'd lose sight of me (I'm still not sure if there is any sort of light detection system, but I figured I'd try). I crept back up to the bridge, and found him staring in confusion out into the water on the edge of the bridge, with his back turned to me. I warily equipped my hand-axe and prepared for an overhand strike while my opponent was still unaware. As I rushed forward and my blow landed, I managed to push the goblin right off the bridge and into the water below! I'm not sure if it was actually my forward momentum or my strike that did it, but it sure put a triumphant smile on my face and gave me the vigor to push onwards. The game has already set itself apart with rudimentary physics simulation that engenders an organic and intuitive roleplaying experience. I've already had it "click" why you guys love this game, which is awesome. There are other little things too, like figuring out that leeches can suck out poison and just the general intuitiveness of how things work.

I've also enjoyed meeting the denizens of the Stygian Abyss. The conversation system might be basic but... honestly, what major advancement has taken place in the intervening years? The sort of dialogue options on offer are already fairly ideal from my perspective, with some purely cosmetic choices which help you express your character's personality and some which genuinely affect the outcome of NPC interactions, including what information is given to you (not everyone is a walking encyclopedia). It's your job to pay attention to what's being said and figure out which is which, navigating between trying to get what you want and avoiding getting on people's bad side. Some of the writing so far has also been genuinely entertaining. Standouts include:

1. Getting a tip from the Green Goblin king's bodyguard after a bribe to ply Vernix with compliments if I want to get anything out of him, and then bearing witness to the sheer absurdity of the over-the-top flattery on offer
2. Noticing that the Mountainmen on Level 2 are denoted and refer to themselves as such, and thus all of the options to call King Goldthirst a "dwarf" will likely piss him off
3. Everything about the Ironwit conversation, which honestly is a perfect recreation of my interactions with some elderly folk who have a screw or two loose

I'm not terribly impressed with the RPG systems so far. A lot of character creation relies on having faith that the developers have attained some semblance of balance and parity in representation of the systems to which each skill applies, but that's clearly not the case here. I chose a Paladin and pumped Attack and Acrobat (since taking damage from the most minor of falls is lame), but I feel pity for anyone who selected seemingly worthless skills like Trap or Appraise. I don't hold it against the game too much given how much it has going on, but it is a disappointment. I was also quite excited to find my first shrine, but the "roll for skills" mantra system is just begging to be save scummed -- I did it just to see what skills were in each category, and rolled a few times just out of necessity. Speaking of which, I wonder how the game will fare in terms of challenge with the ease of savescumming and respawning with the Silver Sapling. I haven't noticed any penalty like enemies healing or respawning, so it seems like the Silver Sapling is a free pass to run roughshod over the level as long as you have the weapon durability to pull it off. Kinda makes eating/sleeping nothing more than a management task, no?

All in all, very cool game, will have more to say about it as I go on. And if anyone has answers to my above questions (wat do about object list errors and how do combat swings work?), that'd be helpful.

 

[Cael]

1. Actually, the game's manual tells you about the weapon swing/thrust thing...

2. Pushing things off ledges is a thing in UW. Unfortunately, it also means vital NPCs can be accidentally pushed off and you end up in a very bad scenario.

3. Skills need not be random. Play the game more

 

[RoSoDude]

1. Actually, the game's manual tells you about the weapon swing/thrust thing...

Well, I didn't read it that closely, as you can see Thanks for the tip, I'll take a closer look.

2. Pushing things off ledges is a thing in UW. Unfortunately, it also means vital NPCs can be accidentally pushed off and you end up in a very bad scenario.

Frequent saving to the rescue, eh? Except this object list bug has me worried about doing it so frequently I don't have anything to go back to if an item gets borked.

3. Skills need not be random. Play the game more

Oh, I know the mantras get more specific eventually. Don't know why I do, but I heard it somewhere long ago. Still, I don't think rolling for stats even the first time adds much in the context of abusable saves, especially given the apparent lack of balance. Cool enough if you want to roll with the punches I guess.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Roll with the punches, just about any character can finish the game. By the way appraise gives you better descriptive text for items, you can better assess the condition of your and others' items, and you are better at appraising what is on offer and haggling during bartering. I believe it also helps with a quest or two...

Be sure to reveal every corner of each level, there are plenty of surprises and that is part of the joy. Also, if you get off on mapping you can scratch that itch by meticulously annotating your maps. Don't forget you can use map sheets beyond level 8 for game notes.

Man you have a lot to look forward to. I still marvel how much better realized this was than TES Arena, which was a real downer in comparison two years later.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

The only other keyboard commands you (may) need besides 1-3 for viewing angles is CTRL+J for jumping from a stationary position, and F9 to use the Tracking skill.

As for the object list error - the only reliable manner I've found to avoid it is not to stack too many items in one place. That means you don't set up a storage space somewhere and start hoarding stuff in several containers... or at least you distribute such a storage space across several floors (haven't tried that myself). The last time I got the error was on Level 2 because I had a stack of gold in Shak's smithy ready to pay for all his work, while Goldthirst's personal quarters became my storage room for lots of stuff (I picked that spot due to how frequently I traveled through the area.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

RoSoDude bonus points for discovering my avatar's name in game.

 

[soulburner]

So... after the Underworld Ascendant fiasco, it's time to finally play the original Underworld - I have both games on GoG, which I didn't even realize I did I remember my last attempts at it failed due to clunky controls (including the mouse cursor behaving erratically), game being too dark and running very slowly for whatever reason. No mouse look was also a big factor in letting it go.

Questions:
- is Underworld Exporter fully playable now, with everything working or should I go with the original?
- if the latter, any way to implement proper mouselook? Any other tweaks or mods?
- any info on the source code being released (are there even plans for such?) or at least releasing an enhanced version with a few Quality of Life improvements?

And last but not least: any good tutorials, walkthroughs, tips & tricks and stuff to get me started, beside studying the manual? I don't know why, but I'm kind of scared I will not like it without some hand holding at first.