Talk:Whirlpool

Various questions on facts
There are a few things I'd like clarification on: The Ultra-Mind 17:10, 7 December 2010 (PST)
 * 1) Why does it say that U3 had only one whirlpool but U4 had several? I only know of one for each.
 * 2) The Avatar had the option of doing the same in Ultima V: this means you have the option of reaching the Underworld via that means, right?
 * 3) Where are they mentioned in U9? The manual? Dialogue? In-game books?
 * BTW, is a cut scene the right way to express where a whirlpool is seen in U9, or should it be an FMV?


 * OK, answer time.
 * Ultima III really only has one whirlpool, and it really travels fast. As far as my observations go, Ultima IV does have several.
 * Yes, it's an option to reach the Underworld beneath Despise.
 * The whirlpools are part of the story in Buccaneer's Den, and Samhaye explicitely wants the Avatar to deactivate to column to stop the whirlpools, which are ruining the island.
 * It's an FMV.
 * Does this answer your questions? --Tribun 17:14, 7 December 2010 (PST)


 * But I don't get how one can say that whirlpools are distinctly multiple or singular. As I understand it, each game uses the same set of tiles for every manifestation of a whirlpool. Furthermore, when a whirlpool disappears from the screen, and then a whirlpool appears, who's to say that they are or aren't the same whirlpool? Unless one can say that two whirlpools have appeared on the screen at the same time. That'd take the guesswork out.
 * Ok
 * It's coming back to me
 * Is that the best expression? (Or is neither?) I've never been able to figure out exactly what a "cut scene" is, but from what I gather, ever period of normal gameplay could be called a cut scene.
 * The Ultra-Mind 19:41, 8 December 2010 (PST)


 * 1. I can say for certain that there is one whirlpool in U3 at all times traveling randomly around the water. If you don't have dosbox set up properly it will travel incredibly fast and wipe out your boats in no time. (ones off screen as well). U4 I'm less certain about. The world in larger so it is more difficult to keep track and I don't recall ever having a boat destroyed without me being nearby... But I also don't remember ever seeing more than one on the screen.
 * 4. I don't think FMV is the proper term as it doesn't refer to 3D animation. Cutscene would be an accurate term. I don't see how every period of the game could be considered a cutscene in Ultima IX. What is your definition of a cutscene? Wikipedia has it as "a sequence in a video game over which the player has no or only limited control, breaking up the gameplay and used to advance the plot, present character development, and provide background information, atmosphere, dialogue and clues. Cutscenes can either be animated or use live action footage" and thus would only refer to the parts of the game where it switches to pre-rendered 3d animation where the player has no control. -- Fenyx4 20:23, 8 December 2010 (PST)


 * Just to be clear some FMVs are cutscenes (Command & Conquer), some FMVs are not cutscenes (Phantasmagoria 2), and some cutscenes are not FMV (Ultima IX). -- Fenyx4 20:34, 8 December 2010 (PST)


 * The perspective you have on whirlpools still escapes me, but that's ok. This might be indicative, however, of the need for some rewrite.
 * I define "cutscene" using mental impulses that cannot be transcribed into text, or any other useful form of communication. (Maybe if I was a performance artist...) At least I used to. It seems Wikipedia has a more tangible one. However, it does spell it as a compound word (even though my browser's dictionary does not). The Ultra-Mind 13:17, 9 December 2010 (PST)