Plot Cuts in Ultima VIII

Due to the deadline issued by Electronic Arts, Origin had to rush Ultima VIII to make it. In the process, they had to cut the plot in numerous way to keep the time table. It created plot holes and unsatisfying sections of the game. This of course is really sad, because the fragments found indicate that they had big plans. Numerous things slumber in the usecode of the game while others have to be reconstructed from the remnants. And some things never even had time to get into the game at all.

Undead invasion
In the plot of the game, the Titans start to punish Pagan should the Avatar take their Blackrock object. Pyros lets the volcano erupt after freeing him, Hydros starts heavy rainstorms after being freed and Stratos denies any further healing after the Breath of Air is taken away. But strangely enough, Lithos does nothing.

However, the usecode reveals that actually he was supposed to do something. Taking the Heart of Earth was supposed to piss him off, so he starts earthquakes and sends his undead army against Tenebrae. Also, Vividos openly accused the Avatar of treachery.

All this, apart from the quakes, is in the usecode. Strangely enough, it can't be activated the normal way. To activate, enable cheats. Press F9, click on View/Edit and then on Usecode Flags and type ‘hasHeart’ (it’s CASE SENSITIVE). Change its value to 1. Note that you must have enabled change Usecode Flags earlier. Everyone in tenbrae, but especially Vividos and Mythran, will react to it.

Underwater city
Numerous times throughout the game, an underwater city of Hydros is mentioned, and the book about the blackrock fragments even explicitly states that Hydros has stored her fragment, the Tear of Seas in said underwater city. Obviously, the fragment is to be found there.

However, all of this is suddenly totally ignored and Devon "just by chance" had once fished the Tear out of the sea one day. This is without doubt a very constructed explanation, and only there to hide the fact that the team had been unable to finish the underwater city in which the search for the Tear of Seas could be implemented properly.

Lost school of magic
Avatar learns all the schools of magic in Pagan except Tempestry. In-game Hydross double-crosses Avatar and won't bestow the powers of Tempestry. This cuts many places/areas from the game, like finding the Blackrock fragment from underwater city. It is obvious that Hydros would have acted originally in different manner.

Sorcerers help with Hydros
After Hydros is freed, Devon tasks the Avatar with the mission to find the Sorcerers and ask them for assistance to find ways to stop Hydros from attempting to drown the land in her rainstorms. However, the Avatar never mentions any of this to the Sorcerers, nor does Devon ever again ask if the Sorcerers were able to help.

This is most likely another cut, and in the complete plot the Sorcerers either somehow could have gotten involved in trying to stop Hydros (their arch-enemy) or at least would have denied the Avatar their help. Also, becoming a Sorcerer to then be allowed to ask for help is also a possible plot development.

The Lost Vale
The Lost Vale. The never-to-be released add-on. It was finished, when Electronic Arts decided to pull the plug.

More about that here: The Lost Vale

Birthplace of Moriens
The Birthplace of Moriens is a well known plot hole. In the unpatched version, it didn't exist at all and in the patched version, the programmers simply changed a sign and the place is totally unspectacular. The whole thing makes no sense. However, there is a line in the unpatched version, that is interesting:


 * Avatar: "Where is this place?" (about the Pilgrimage)


 * Vividos: "You must return to the catacombs. First go into the Upper Catacombs. Once there, seek out the signs that mark the way. I would think that you have already seen them. There are signs which guide you to many places. The Pit of Death is one of those places."

That implies that in the original plans, the Birthplace would have been in the Pit of Death. And indeed, there is a caved-in passage that strongly hints that it was supposed to have a use.

Becoming the Necromancer
When looking through the program files, there is one interesting object in the GFX-files: the Key of the Necromancer. This object does not appear in the regular game but can be created with the cheat program. However, it's properties are broken and it only has the same use of the Key of the Caretaker.

The existence of such a key that the Avatar was supposed to have strongly hints that Vividos was supposed to somehow die, with the Avatar becoming the last Necromancer. Then Lithos' parting words that the Avatar should't meet him again until being the Necromancer himself make sense.

Elerion
There is some dialogue with Mythran in the usecode that can't be activated the normal way.


 * Avatar: "Is there a haunted grove?"


 * Mythran: "A haunted grove of trees? Well, I have heard such rumors applied to a circle of dead trees here on the plateau, though I will not confirm the existence of undead there."

This is probably related to the forest master Morghrim in Ultima VII/2 and the tree of balance, Elerion. It would have probably involved a quest to restore the tree and help to build a defense against the Titans.

Hydros wanting to kill Devon
After being freed, Hydros tells the Avatar her open intend to kill Devon and wonders, who of them would reach him first. However, after that, nothing happens and Devon is perfectly safe. This section of the plot most likely fell away because of the deadline and would have involved the Avatar protecting Devon from Hydros' might.

The Skull of Quakes
During the game, the Avatar finds two letters, one right at the start by the docks, in which Mordea and Lieutenant Vittek hold correspondence about the missing Skull of Quakes. They make it sound as if the whole thing is really important. However, then the whole thing is ignored until you find the skull suddenly in a chest in the Shrine of the Ancient Ones. After that, no hint is given to its use and just pure trail and error can reveal its use after a long time.

All of this points to that originally the Skull would have played a bigger role, but after cutting out plot threads, it was reduced to its obscure use to free a Recall Pad.