UDIC FAQ
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Archive-name: games/ultima
Posting-Frequency: biweekly
Last-modified: 27 December, 2005
Version: 3.19
URL: http://www.daisho.plus.com/rgcu-faq/faq.html
Copyright: (C) 2001-2005 Paul Gilham, portions (C) 1998-2000 Edward
Franks, portions (C) 1996, 1997 Andrew Charlton
Maintainer: Paul Gilham, rgcu.faq@gmail.com
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rec.games.computer.ultima.* Frequently Asked Questions List
---------------------------------------------------------------------
* 0) Contents/acknowledgements/disclaimer
* 1) About this FAQ
o 1.1) Purpose of this FAQ
o 1.2) Revision history
o 1.3) Latest version
o 1.4) Abbreviations
* 2) The Dragons
o 2.1) What are the Dragons?
o 2.2) Why are you named the Ultima Dragons?
o 2.3) What does UDIC stand for?
o 2.4) Can I join the Dragons?
o 2.5) How do I change my roster data?
o 2.6) What does Dragon membership qualify me for?
* 3) The Newsgroups
o 3.1) History of the newsgroups
+ 3.1.1) What about these old newsgroups?
+ 3.1.2) I can't get the current newsgroups
o 3.2) Ultima celebrities
o 3.3) What can I discuss? (The Charters)
+ 3.3.1) rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons Charter
+ 3.3.2) rec.games.computer.ultima.online Charter
+ 3.3.3) rec.games.computer.ultima.series Charter
o 3.4) Should I post binaries?
o 3.5) Can I ask for hints?
o 3.6) How do I avoid getting flamed?
o 3.7) Why don't you all stop fighting?
o 3.8) What are those strange terms you're using?
* 4) Technical and non-gameplay Issues
o 4.1) Availability of Ultimas and Ultima-related Merchandise
o + 4.1.1) Are Ultimas considered abandonware?
o 4.2) Ultima compilations
+ 4.2.1) The Encore Ultima 1-6 CD
+ 4.2.2) The Ultima Collection
+ 4.2.3) What other compilations are available?
o 4.3) Missing documentation
o 4.4) DOS issues and freeing up conventional memory
+ 4.4.1) How do I free up more memory?
+ 4.4.2) I still can't get enough!
o 4.5) Can I run the PC versions of the Ultimas in Windows 9x/ME?
o 4.6) Do the Ultimas run in modern OSes (Linux/Win2000/XP etc.)?
o 4.7) Can I slow the Ultima gameplay down on modern PCs?
o 4.8) How do I get Ultimas to work with my AWE32/AWE64/SB32 card?
o 4.9) Can I play Ultimas not released for PC?
* 5) The Ultima Series
o 5.1) What is Ultima?
o 5.2) Where can I find hints and walkthroughs?
o 5.3) Continuity
+ 5.3.1) Can you explain any plot inconsistencies?
+ 5.3.2) How should I pronounce Ultima names?
+ 5.3.3) In what order do the Ultimas run?
o 5.4) Akalabeth and Escape From Mount Drash
+ 5.4.1) Where can I find a copy of Akalabeth?
+ 5.4.2) Is Escape From Mount Drash really so rare?
o 5.5) Ultima/Ultima 1
+ 5.5.1) Availability
+ 5.5.2) Patches
o 5.6) Ultima 2: The Revenge of the Enchantress
+ 5.6.1) Patches
+ 5.6.2) Ultima 2 gives a Divide By Zero error! How do I fix it?
+ 5.6.3) Ultima 2 maps are wrong! How do I fix it?
+ 5.6.4) The Ultima 2 colours are hideous. How do I fix them?
o 5.7) Ultima 3: Exodus
+ 5.7.1) The Ultima 3 colours are hideous. How do I fix them?
o 5.8) Ultima 4: The Quest of the Avatar
+ 5.8.1) Patches
o 5.9) Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny
+ 5.9.1) Patches
+ 5.9.2) Cheats
o 5.10) Ultima 6: The False Prophet
+ 5.10.1) Patches
+ 5.10.2) Cheats
+ 5.10.3) Who killed Quenton?
+ 5.10.4) Is it true a full-speech version of U6 was made?
o 5.11) Worlds of Ultima: Savage Empire
o 5.12) Ultima, Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams
o 5.13) Ultima Underworld 1: The Stygian Abyss
+ 5.13.1) Patches
+ 5.13.2) Utilities
+ 5.13.3) UW1 on Pocket PC
o 5.14) Ultima 7: The Black Gate
+ 5.14.1) Patches
+ 5.14.2) Cheats
+ 5.14.3) How do I pass the Test of Truth in the Forge of Virtue?
+ 5.14.4) How do I get past the Hydra on Ambrosia?
+ 5.14.5) Ultima 7 won't work with my Nvidia graphics card. How
do I fix it?
+ 5.14.6) Weapon and Armour Ratings
+ 5.14.7) U7-Wizard
o 5.15) Ultima Underworld 2: Labyrinth of Worlds
+ 5.15.1) Patches
+ 5.15.2) Cheats
o 5.16) Ultima 7, part 2: Serpent Isle
+ 5.16.1) Patches
+ 5.16.2) Cheats
+ 5.16.3) Weapon and Armour Ratings
+ 5.16.4) Where is the Comb of Beauty?
+ 5.16.5) Director's Cut of Serpent Isle Introduction
+ 5.16.6) How do I save Cantra?
o 5.17) Ultima 8: Pagan
+ 5.17.1) Patches
+ 5.17.2) Cheats
+ 5.17.3) Where is the Birthplace of Moriens?
+ 5.17.4) The Lost Vale
o 5.18) Console Ultimas
+ 5.18.1) Nintendo (NES) Ultimas
+ 5.18.2) Super Nintendo (SNES) Ultimas
+ 5.18.3) Nintendo Gameboy Ultimas
+ 5.18.4) Sega Master System Ultima
+ 5.18.5) Sony Playstation Ultima
o 5.19) Ultima Online
+ 5.19.1) What is Ultima Online?
+ 5.19.2) System requirements
+ 5.19.3) Where can I find out more about Ultima Online?
+ 5.19.4) Are there any non-subscription UO servers?
+ 5.19.5) Will there be an Ultima Online 2?
o 5.20) Ultima 9: Ascension
+ 5.20.1) Patches
+ 5.20.2) Why doesn't Ultima 9: Ascension work with my system?
+ 5.20.3) Where can I find out more about Ultima 9: Ascension?
+ 5.20.4) Tools for Ultima IX: Ascension
o 5.21) Ultima Underworld 3
+ 5.21.1) Is an Ultima Underworld 3 planned?
o 5.22) Ultima 10
+ 5.22.1) Is an Ultima 10 planned?
* 6) Ultima, the Dragons and The World Wide Web
o 6.1) The Ring of Dragons
o 6.2) Works in Progress
+ 6.2.1) "New Moongates"
+ 6.2.2) The Exodus Project
+ 6.2.3) Ultima IV: The Dawn of Virtue
+ 6.2.4) Ultima V: Lazarus
+ 6.2.5) The Ultima 6 Project
+ 6.2.6) Nuvie
+ 6.2.7: Ultima 6 Online
+ 6.2.8: The System Shock Hack Project
+ 6.2.9: Underworld Adventures
+ 6.2.10: Exult
+ 6.2.11: Labyrinth of Worlds
+ 6.2.12: Ultima VIII: Exile
+ 6.2.13: Pentagram
o 6.3) Ultima Fan Fiction
o 6.4) How can I put Ultima runes on my web pages?
o 6.5) Is there an Ultima Windows desktop theme?
o 6.6) Ultima Levels/Maps for Other Games
+ 6.6.1) Civilization 2
+ 6.6.2) CivNet
+ 6.6.3) Warcraft 2
+ 6.6.4) Warlords 2
+ 6.6.5) Unreal
+ 6.6.6) Doom 2
o 6.7) Ultima Maps
o 6.8) Are there any Ultima pen-and-paper RPGs?
* 7) Real-time Interactions
o 7.1) The Weyrmount
+ 7.1.1) What is the Weyrmount?
+ 7.1.2) How do I get there?
+ 7.1.3) What do I do once I'm there?
o 7.2) IRC
+ 7.2.1) What is IRC?
+ 7.2.2) How do I get there?
+ 7.2.3) What do I do once I'm there?
+ 7.2.4) What does "re" mean?
o 7.3) ICQ
+ 7.3.1) What is ICQ?
+ 7.3.2) Where can I find an ICQ client?
+ 7.3.3) Is there a list of ICQ numbers for the Dragons?
o 7.4) Ultima Ressurection (sic) Live
* 8) Summary
o 8.1) Consolidated list of URLs and links
o 8.2) Why isn't my page in here?
* 9) Acknowledgements and copyright notice
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This FAQ was originally conceived, and written by Andrew Charlton,
aka Erratic Dragon, aka Erraticus. It is currently maintained by
Paul Gilham, aka Samurai Dragon (contact rgcu.faq@gmail.com).
E-mails to this address must have the word "FAQ" in the subject.
Thanks to the previous maintainer, Edward Franks, aka Fortran Dragon,
for the hard work he put into the FAQ.
The maintainer disclaims all responsibility for inaccurate or
misleading information in this FAQ. This article is provided as-is,
without any express or implied warranties. Neither the author nor
any of the contributors assumes any responsibility for errors or
omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information
contained herein.
NOTE: Unless otherwise stated, the use of 'I' and 'me' outside
quotation marks refers to the FAQ maintainer. The exception to this
is the questions written by the archetypal newbie.
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1) About This FAQ
1.1) Purpose of this FAQ
This FAQ is not intended to replace the many other sources of Ultima-
and Ultima Dragons-related information available. Rather, it is
intended to summarise, supplement, and list them, for the purpose of
regularly posting to rec.games.computer.ultima.*, to cut down on some
unnecessary posts.
Most of the questions in this FAQ are real queries that have appeared
in the rec.games.computer.ultima.* groups (and their predecessors,
rec.games.computer.ultima-dragons and alt.games.ultima.dragons)
reasonably frequently.
1.2) Revision History
Only the most recent changes to the FAQ are listed here. The
complete history is available from this URL:
http://www.daisho.plus.com/rgcu-faq/faq-revisions.html.
[27 December 2005]
Just one change, but it's a biggie -- Ultima V: Lazarus has gone
gold and is available for download. This is reflected in the new
version of Section 6.2.4 and a slight tweak to Section 6.2.
[16 November 2005]
Section 5.4.2 amended to reflect the eBay auction of another copy
of Escape from Mount Drash. URLs of Underworld Dragon's websites
amended. Ultima V: Lazarus is now nearing completion -- appropriate
changes made to Section 6.2.4. Consolidated links in Section 8.1
updated.
[17 July 2005]
Further slight amendment to Section 5.16.6. Formatting changes.
[3 July 2005]
The possibility of saving Cantra in SI is now available under
Exult -- Section 5.16.6 amended. Minor formatting changes.
1.3) Latest Version
The most up-to-date version of the FAQ is available at:
http://www.daisho.plus.com/rgcu-faq/faq.html. It is also
posted biweekly to rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons,
rec.games.computer.ultima.series, comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,
rec.answers, comp.answers, and news.answers.
As a result of crossposting to news.answers, a text version of the
FAQ is available at
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/games/ultima and its many
mirrors (such as http://www.faqs.org).
1.4) Abbreviations
The following abbreviations may be found in this FAQ and also in the
newsgroup, IRC etc.
* U1-U9: Main sequence Ultimas, Ultima 1, Ultima 2 etc.
* U:A or UA: Ultima: Ascension (Ultima 9)
* U7 or BG: Ultima 7: The Black Gate
* U7.5, U7.2, or SI: Ultima 7, part 2: Serpent Isle
* UC: Ultima Collection
* UW1 or UUW1: Ultima Underworld 1
* UW2 or UUW2: Ultima Underworld 2
* SE: Worlds of Ultima 1: Savage Empire
* MD: Ultima, Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams
* AK or U0 (zero): Akalabeth
* UO: Ultima Online
* MMORPG: Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game (like UO)
* UOL: Ultima Online Live, aka Ultima Online (NOTE: the designers
themselves prefer UO, which has also become most common among
players.)
* UX or U10: Ultima X Odyssey
* FoV: Forge of Virtue
* SS: Silver Seed
* RoV: Runes of Virtue
* RoV2: Runes of Virtue 2
* rgcud: rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons and/or -dragons
* rgcu.d: rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons
* rgcu-d: rec.games.computer.ultima-dragons
* rgcus: rec.games.computer.ultima.series
* rgcuo: rec.games.computer.ultima.online
* agud: alt.games.ultima.dragons
* aguo: alt.games.ultima.online
* csipgr: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg
* LB: Lord British
* RG: Richard Garriott
* CPC: California Pacific Computers, the original publisher of Ultima
(no number)
* EA: Electronic Arts
* OSI: Origin Systems, Incorporated (NOTE: The older fans tend to use
Origin over OSI)
NOTE: It's probably best not to use U0 (zero) for Akalabeth, because
it can look the same as UO -- Ultima Online.
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2) The Dragons
2.1) What are the Dragons?
The Ultima Dragons are a group of people who love Ultima (see Section
5.1), a long-running series of computer role playing games (CRPGs).
You can find more information about the Dragons, as well as their
long and sordid history, in the Official UDIC FAQ at
http://www.udic.org/faq.html, maintained by Monomolecular Dragon.
The Dragons' home page and membership roster is at
http://www.udic.org/ maintained by the UDIC greeting team. The
Dragons' FTP site is at ftp://ftp.udic.org/pub/ud/.
2.2) Why are you named the Ultima Dragons?
When the club was first formed on Prodigy, there was already a group
dedicated to Ultima called the Evil Avatars -- and rival that, the
new club was called "Players of Ultima for Fun", or PUFF. This
resulted in inevitable references to Puff the Magic Dragon, and the
club was soon renamed the Ultima Dragons.
2.3) What does UDIC stand for?
The original club was on the Prodigy online service, but the club
later moved to the Internet in late 1994 with the creation of the
newsgroup alt.games.ultima.dragons (agud), forming the Ultima Dragons
Internet Chapter, or UDIC.
2.4) Can I join the Dragons?
You certainly can, provided you meet the entrance requirement -- to
have played at least one Ultima. There are several ways to join:
* The easiest, and preferred way is to use your web browser and go
to http://www.udic.org/join.html. It is recommended that you at
least read the UDIC FAQ before joining (see Section 2.1).
* If you do not have access to the World Wide Web, you can e-mail
join@udic.org include the following information in the message:
o Your real name
o Your e-mail address
o Your proposed Dragon Name, (subject to checking to see if it
has already been taken)
o Ultimas you may have played and/or completed
o A little about yourself, so the greeters know who they are
talking to. This information is mainly used to help you select
an alternative Dragon name in case your first choice is taken.
Whichever method you use, one of the dedicated team of greeters will
process your application and get back to you. This may take a while,
as they are usually very busy.
2.5) How do I change my roster data?
If you remember the password you entered when you joined, then you
can go to http://www.udic.org/members/ and sign on. If you don't
remember your password, or you want to change your Dragon name or
e-mail address, then e-mail join@udic.org and one of the greeting
team will handle your request.
2.6) What does Dragon membership qualify me for?
Like most things in life, you will get out of the Dragons what you
put in. If you make the effort to participate, the club can be very
rewarding, but don't expect to sit back and watch the benefits
accrue.
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3) The Newsgroups
3.1) History of the Newsgroups
While the basic historical facts are undisputed, there are several
different views on just how messy the various changes in the
newsgroups have been.
[Erratic Dragon, the original FAQ maintainer, writes:]
"The newsgroups rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons (rgcu.d),
rec.games.computer.ultima.online (rgcuo), and
rec.games.computer.ultima.series (rgcus) supersede the old newsgroups
alt.games.ultima.dragons (agud), alt.games.ultima-online (aguo), and
rec.games.computer.ultima-dragons (rgcu-d). The new groups were
created on July 7, 1997 as a reorganisation of
rec.games.computer.ultima-dragons. rec.games.computer.ultima-dragons
was created on 19 March 1996, five days after the vote for its
creation was passed 421:130. It was deleted on 8 September 1997.
"Prior to the creation of rgcu-d, the Ultima Dragons' newsgroup was
alt.games.ultima.dragons, this was deleted 60 days after the new
group was created (May 19th 1996). alt.games.ultima-online was a
short-lived group, the creation of which prompted the 1997 reorg. It
has been deleted in favour of the rec group. The details of the
creation (and deletion) of these newsgroups are available at
ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/rec/rec.games.compute
r.ultima-dragons
and
ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/rec/rec.games.compute
r.ultima-reorg."
[The previous FAQ maintainer, Fortran Dragon, adds:]
"NOTE: Usenet doesn't work as smoothly as the above two paragraphs by
Erratic Dragon might lead you to believe. Even though only one
person (Tale) can send out a create-group or remove-group message, it
is in the power of each newsadmin to accept or ignore the messages
sent by Tale. This is why alt.games.ultima.dragons,
alt.games.ultima-online and rec.games.computer.ultima-dragons still
continue to exist and be viable newsgroups on a number of news
servers.
"Many Dragons read agud and rgcu-d (as they do with csipgr) and will
answer questions there for those folks that can't get any of the
other newsgroups. (This is also why some Dragons, myself included,
crosspost between rgcu.d and rgcu-d.)"
3.1.1) What about these old newsgroups?
Some of the old newsgroups still exist on many servers, which can be
confusing when people find them empty or full of ancient posts. If
your local news server is one of these, you can drop a line to your
news administrator (usually newsmaster@<yourdomain>), explaining the
problem, and directing them to the URLs defining the current rgcu*
structre.
As the note in Section 3.1 states, newsadmins may choose to ignore
the above URLs (and are within their rights to do so). If this is a
problem for you, see Section 3.1.2, below.
3.1.2) I can't get the current newsgroups
If your news administrator is not willing to add the new groups you
might want to try out a public server. While it has recently started
charging for use, my personal preference would still be for Berlin
University’s server. Its fee is low (ten euros a year), and I know
several people who rely on it for their Usenet access. You can apply
for an account at its website, http://news.individual.net/.
You could also try the following links (original information provided
by F-15 Dragon), which might turn up a fee-free server near you:
* http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/Chats_and_Foru
m/Usenet/Public_Access_Usenet_Sites/
* http://www.findolin.com/
* Google Groups, http://groups.google.com
If none of the above works, you can e-mail Fortran Dragon at
fortrandragon@hotmail.com and ask to be put on his digest mailing
list. He kindly makes a daily e-mailing of all the posts made to
rgcu.d since the last digest.
3.2) Ultima Celebrities
A handful of former Origin staff have participated in the rgcud from
time to time, including:
* Bill Armintrout,
Worked on Serpent Isle -- he sometimes posted to fess up about
bugs in the game :)
* Dr. Cat,
Worked on several Ultimas, including Ultima 6 and the Runes of
Virtue games. Dr. Cat now runs an online game called Furcadia,
at http://www.furcadia.com/
* Jason Ely,
A developer on U8 and the author of the U6 Adlib patch
* Mike McCoy aka Boomer,
Origin's online PR person, though he specialises in Ultima Online
and the Janes product group
* Chris McCubbin,
The writer of a number of hints books for Origin/Prima
* Mike McShaffry, aka Mr. Mike,
Director and part of the programming team for Ultima 8
* Brian Martin,
Design co-ordinator for Ultima 9, who also worked on UO
* Richard Steinberg,
The former online PR guy for Origin. He goes by the name "Mr
Smarty Pants" (or simply "mrpants") because he writes the Mr
Smarty Pants Knows column for The Austin Chronicle. He left
Origin some time before its dissolution, but he's bound to have
an opinion here and there
* Carly Staehlin-Taylor aka Lady MOI,
Origin's Answer Lady for U9
* Bill Jensen, aka Arbuthnot Dragon
[Rainbow Dragon writes:] "After Ultima 4, Bill struck a coin for
LB which had the codex symbol on one side and the bell, book and
candle on the other. This coin was the inspiration for U5's
trinket, the codex coin. As a reward, LB put Bill and his family
into the game -- you can find them in one of the lighthouses (I
forget which one exactly). And Origin minted a magical coin that
brought the Avatar to Britannia.
"Several Dragons, including me, have copies of the original coin
-- they were passed out at MADCAP 96, hosted by Monomolecular. I
also have a copy of the letter which LB originally sent to Bill
back in 1986, wherein he calls the coin "the best Ultima-related
present I have ever received" and promises to put Bill and his
family in U5."
* Several people have posted to tell us they had their portrait used
in Serpent Isle.
3.3) What can I discuss? (The Charters)
The topic of a newsgroup is defined by its charter. Each of the
Ultima newsgroups has its own charter, plus the common charter which
applies to all of them.
CHARTER: all groups
Cross-posting or multiple posting among Ultima groups is not
recommended. However, it is likely that cross-posting of certain
articles may become necessary. Authors should select the most
appropriate group, whenever possible, when posting their articles.
Posting or cross-posting articles which do not consist mainly of text
easily readable by humans (i.e. binary files or encrypted text) is
prohibited. If it is necessary to transfer binaries, posters should
include a pointer to an appropriate FTP/WWW site, or use an
appropriate binaries newsgroup. Posting commercial solicitations or
inquiries which are not directly related to Ultima is prohibited.
Frequent posting of the same advertisement, even Ultima-specific, is
also prohibited.
END CHARTER.
3.3.1) rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons Charter
CHARTER: rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons
rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons an unmoderated forum for discussion
of issues of interest to members of the Ultima Dragons Internet
Chapter and all fans of the Ultima games. Topics will include
discussion of current games, news and rumours, tips and advice from
members of the Ultima Dragons, talk about organisational matters of
the UDIC, discussions about the UDIC's facilities like the Weyrmount
MOO as well as the WWW and FTP sites, story authoring, and other club
related issues of interest to members of the Ultima Dragons Internet
Chapter and other participants in the newsgroup.
END CHARTER.
NOTE: This group can be considered a meeting hall for members of the
Ultima Dragons club, and all other interested parties. Ultima talk
is welcomed, but is not mandatory. The subject matter in the group
has ranged between serious topics like history, religion and
cinnabons, to plot ("in character") threads, to outright silliness.
Those looking for a more concentrated dose of Ultima, without all the
extra "chat" are advised to read rec.games.computer.ultima.series.
3.3.2) rec.games.computer.ultima.online Charter
CHARTER: rec.games.computer.ultima.online
rec.games.computer.ultima.online is an unmoderated forum for
discussion of all aspects of the online multi-player game Ultima
Online, as well as its sequels and other multi-player versions of
Ultima. Topics specific to the online version of the game are
welcome here, including but not limited to features, events within
the game world, guilds within the game, and real-world issues with
the game (e.g. pricing, latency, etc.).
END CHARTER.
3.3.3) rec.games.computer.ultima.series Charter
CHARTER: rec.games.computer.ultima.series
rec.games.computer.ultima.series is an unmoderated forum for
discussion of any topic related to the Ultima series of games which
would not be more appropriate in another group. These topics
include, but are not limited to, questions and answers about the
games, hints and tips, comparisons of the various versions of Ultima
or similar games, news and rumours, etc.
NOTE: this group is intended to provide a place in which people can
easily find information about the Ultima games without having to go
through unrelated traffic. As such, if a discussion drifts away from
the original topic, it is recommended to direct it to a more
appropriate group, although some tolerance is required.
END CHARTER.
3.4) Should I post binaries?
No. Binaries should only be posted in binaries groups
(alt.binaries.* plus a few others). There are a few reasons for
this. Probably the most important is so people can avoid downloading
large binaries that they may not want.
If you want to post some Ultima related binaries, post them to an
appropriate alt.binaries.* group, or put it on a web or FTP site,
then post a note in the appropriate newsgroup telling the readers
there where they can find it.
3.5) Can I ask for hints?
Yes, it is one of the groups' primary functions. We ask only that
you follow a few guidelines:
* Choose the appropriate newsgroup for your query, i.e. don't ask
about Ultima 4 in rgcuo.
* A good, descriptive subject line, including the name of the Ultima
you are having problems with (see also, Section 1.4 for some
abbreviations; it might be nice to use square brackets around
these), and a brief description of the problem. e.g. "[U1] How do I
kill Lord British?". This allows people to zero in on questions to
which they know the answer.
* If you are asking a technical question, try to include some info
about your system. In particular, what you are loading in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS (or equivalents in later versions of
Windows). Drivespace, for example, can take up lots of memory, and
would be significant.
3.6) How do I avoid getting flamed?
You're reading this FAQ, which is a good start. Before asking a
question, see if the answer is in this FAQ, or the other resources
mentioned here. When you first point your newsreader at the
newsgroups, there will probably be a few days' worth of messages
(around 1,000 on most news-servers) waiting for you. Just read
through some of them to get an idea of the way the groups operate.
For an overview of Usenet etiquette, please read the newsgroup
news.announce.newusers, which contains a number of documents which
offer useful information.
3.7) Why don't you all stop fighting?
Most of the time, posters in the rgcu* groups aren't fighting at all,
simply debating. We manage to discuss some pretty touchy issues
without degenerating into a flamewar.
Occasionally, these will spring up, but usually, there are only a few
participating. Please don't avoid posting for fear of being flamed.
Follow the guidelines in Section 3.6 and you'll be fine.
Participating can be a lot of fun.
The previous FAQ maintainer stated that, in his experience, flamewars
have to run their course. He felt calling on people to stop doesn't
work -- it just adds fuel to the fire, and spreads the flamewar to
new threads. Having tried and failed to intercede in flamewars on
occasion myself, I can vouch for this approach. <:)
The best way to deal with flamewars is to ignore them, as I now
largely do. Many newsreaders have functions to ignore ("kill")
either people or threads. If you see a flamewar spring up, you may
want to ignore it, simply by putting the threads or participants in
your "killfile". You can do the same for topics you aren't
personally interested in. Consult the documentation for your
newsreader for details.
Two recommended Windows-based newsreaders that support killfiles
are Forte Agent (http://www.forteinc.com/) or Microplanet Gravity
(http://cws.internet.com/news-gravity.html). Other quality
newsreaders may be found at the home of the Good Net-Keeping Seal of
Approval (http://www.xs4all.nl/~js/gnksa/).
3.8) What are those strange terms you're using?
During their history, the newsgroups, particularly agud and rgcud,
have produced some fairly unusual names and terms of reference. A
good number of them are explained by Paulon Dragon at the UDICtionary
site, http://www.ultimainfo.net/Misc/UDICtionary.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
4) Technical and Non-gameplay Issues
4.1) Availability of Ultimas and Ultima-related merchandise
Underworld Dragon has written The Collectible Ultima, available at
http://www.notableultima.com/collectibles/. Televar Dragon has
created a similar Ultima Collectors' Guide at:
http://www.surfing.net/ultima/ucg. Both these contain information on
what Ultima memorabilia exists and where you might find it.
Some of the online auction sites, such as eBay
(http://www.ebay.com/), Yahoo! Auctions (http://auctions.yahoo.com/),
and Amazon Auctions (which you can find on the 'auctions' tab at
http://www.amazon.com/) are good places to locate the various
Ultimas. Many of the early and/or very collectible Ultimas can go
for high prices, but it is still possible -- with a couple of
exceptions -- to get a decent buy on various Ultimas if you are
willing to be patient.
4.1.1) Are Ultimas considered abandonware?
There are many arguments about the ethics of abandonware, but they're
irrelevant to its actual standing in law -- it is illegal, plain and
simple. (See Section 4.9 for further discussion of related copyright
issues.)
With only one exception (see Section 5.8 for details), the Ultimas
are not legitimately downloadable from the Internet. If you request
links to warez sites or other help with making unlawful copies of the
games, expect short shrift from the newsgroup regulars. Software
piracy is not popular with most RGCU* readers.
4.2) Ultima compilations
4.2.1) The Encore Ultima 1-6 CD
The Encore Ultima 1-6 CD (see Section 4.1) isn't seen very much these
days -- the Ultima Collection is more common and has decent
documentation, to boot. There are several problems relating to the
CD which are discussed in a FAQ by Ultra-Mind Dragon at
http://www.ece.concordia.ca/~ac_march/Ultima1-6FAQ.html.
Section 4.3 of this FAQ also examines the problem.
4.2.2) The Ultima Collection
Electronic Arts released a budget version of the Ultima Collection in
stores a while back, but it's no longer commercially available,
unless you're very lucky. Again, auction sites are the best place to
look (see Section 4.1) though I understand branches of Babbages, in
the USA, might still have copies of the UC on their shelves.
You will probably encounter problems playing some of the games from
the UC on modern computers -- see Sections 4.4 to 4.8 and 5.6.3 for
details. The games do at least come with the U2 speed fix already
applied and a registered version of the PC slowdown program, Mo'Slo.
The UC will automatically install shortcuts for Windows 9x, but you
must install the Ultima Collection to its default location (c:\uc\)
in order for the shortcuts to work properly.
4.2.3) What other compilations are available?
The first three cardinal Ultimas were released by Origin as the
Ultima Trilogy in 1989, and U4, U5 and U6 as Ultima, The Second
Trilogy, in 1992 (see Section 4.1 for more details). There is also a
CD-ROM containing both Ultima Underworlds. In all cases, online
auction sites probably offer the best chance of finding them.
4.3) Missing Documentation
The Encore CD was mistakenly released with no documentation. Origin
has made the docs available at http://uo.com/archive/ listed under
their respective Ultimas. (See also, Section 4.2)
NOTE: As of March 14, 1999, Origin has stated that the Ultima Archive
site will no longer be updated. In 2001, OSI as an entity ceased to
exist. Its owner, EA, is now directly responsible for all Ultima
products, inasmuch as OSI was before.
Since the downloadable documents from the EA Ultima Archive are
mainly technical, they don't capture the feel of the original
manuals. Micro Dragon made versions of the original documentation
available on his old site -- Polychromic Dragon mirrors the contents
at http://home.comcast.net/~micro.dragon/index2.html.
Paulon Dragon has also mirrored the files, here:
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Documents/index.htm, and Trigon Dragon is
undertaking a similar project, with the documents and some pictures
available as Adobe PDF files, here:
http://members.aol.com/trigonman3/intro.html.
There might be certain versions of the Complete Ultima 7 that came
without docs. Most had them on the CD in Adobe PDF format. The full
docs are not available online, but the Trinsic questions are
available at Origin's Ultima Archive http://uo.com/archive/.
Adobe Acrobat Reader (required to view Adobe PDF files) may be freely
downloaded at Adobe's website at http://www.adobe.com/. Versions of
the Reader are available for a variety of different operating
systems.
4.4) DOS issues and freeing up conventional memory
Many Ultima players find rebooting in DOS to be the best way of
running the games -- but several, particularly U7, need a very large
slice of the 640KB conventional memory that DOS earmarked for running
programs. This section offers some methods of dealing with the
issue.
4.4.1) How do I free up more memory?
For Windows 95/98/ME, see Section 4.4. For DOS users, you'll
probably want to make a boot disk containing just the bare minimum
device drivers.
First, format a floppy like so:
* FORMAT A: /s
Then with a text editor, create the following files on the disk:
* CONFIG.SYS:
o DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
o FILES=25
o DOS=HIGH,UMB
(If you use Drivespace include)
o DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\DRVSPACE.SYS /MOVE
* AUTOEXEC.BAT:
o LH C:\MOUSE\MOUSE
Whenever you want to play, boot from this floppy.
NOTE: Some of your directories may be different, substitute them as
appropriate. Even with this minimal configuration, Serpent Isle can
be tricky to get working -- see Section 4.4.2 for further
suggestions.
4.4.2) I still can't get enough!
Some device drivers will cause U7/SI to misreport the memory, and
refuse to start. If you have followed the instructions in
Section 4.4.1, the only device driver you should have loaded is your
mouse driver. Try replacing it with one that takes up less space,
like the current version of CTMouse (available at
http://cutemouse.sourceforge.net/ -- but do ensure you avoid
version 1.4, which has bug that uses lots of DOS memory).
Among the drivers which cause problems is the Maxtor (OnTrack) Hard
Drive Overlay (identifiable by a blue banner when you start up) which
allows older computers to have larger hard drives. If you press the
<S> key as soon as the blue banner appears, you will get a DOS
message about turning off Dynamic Memory Protection. Answer Yes, and
you may find enough memory is freed to play the game.
Older PCs may also have Drivespace running, to compress hard-disk
space. The driver uses up a lot of memory, so try using a DOS 5 boot
disk, preventing it from loading. If you do this, you will only be
able to access the uncompressed portion of the drive -- the rest is
still there, and will return when you load with DOS 6 again. Do not
include the drivespace line if you use this method.
4.5) Can I run the PC versions of the Ultimas in Windows 9x/ME?
Ultimas 1-6 require no special considerations for Windows 95/98/ME
when running in a full-screen MS-DOS window (that is, a Windows 9x
DOS-box). (See Section 4.2.2 and Section 4.7 for other problems
relating to these games.)
The IBM PC versions of Ultima 2 and Ultima 3 will run fine (other
than speed issues) in a Windows 9x DOS box, or under Windows 95 and
Windows 95a if you boot to DOS. But they will not run under
Windows 9x on a FAT-32 drive that has been booted directly to DOS.
Apparently these two Ultimas, being the oldest IBM PC versions, get a
return value that causes them to crash or lock up when they access
either a FAT-32 drive or the files on such a drive.
Perhaps the best solution is to use the Exodus Project U2/U3 upgrades
(see Section 6.2.2), which address the problem. The Windows Native
Ultima 2 (see Section 5.6.2) works, too. Another practical
workaround, for either game, is to copy them to a non-FAT-32 disk
(such as a floppy -- these games are old enough to fit on a single
3.5" disk) and run them from that disk.
Both parts of Ultima 7 and Ultima 8 are much more problematic under
Win98. To help new players get the game running in these OSes,
Gaseous Dragon has also provided an Ultima 7 For Beginners page at
http://members.iinet.net.au/~rsd/ultima7.html and an Ultima 8 For
Beginners page at http://members.iinet.net.au/~rsd/ultima8.html.
You can now run Ultima 7 (both parts) and Ultima 8 under Windows 9x,
without shutting down to DOS, thanks to patches written by Dragon
Baroque. Gaseous Dragon is hosting these patches at his site,
http://members.iinet.net.au/~rsd/. You will need to have a copy of
one of the various CD-ROM versions of Ultima 7 (The Complete Ultima
7, any of the EA Classics versions, or any of the Ultima Collection
versions) and Ultima 8 for the patches to work.
You may want to do a fresh install and, if you want sound and music,
make sure your sound-card is set up properly for Ultima 7 or Ultima 8
to find it. Also, you will need to make sure you have enough
conventional DOS memory (under 640KB) for Ultima 7. While this patch
allows you to run U7 and U8 under Windows 9x, it does not make them
Windows programs.
4.6) Do the Ultimas run in modern OSes (Linux/Win2000/XP etc.)?
Many modern operating systems have some way of running DOS programs
like the PC versions of the Ultimas. Unfortunately, Origin's desire
to push the technical envelope during its heyday has left issues with
playing Ultimas through DOS emulators. Most work to some degree, but
you'll have varying degrees of success, depending on what platform
and emulator you decide to use.
Windows NT, 2000 and XP users will probably want to download
VDMSound, a SoundBlaster/MPU-401 emulator that gives you decent audio
for NT DOS emulation. Its website is
http://www.ece.mcgill.ca/~vromas/vdmsound/.
Bochs is perhaps the best cross-platform utility for playing the
Ultimas, since it's both fairly effective and free. It supports MIDI
and SB16 sound, unlike most of the competition, but runs very slowly
without powerful hardware behind it. You can download both the
source code and compiled versions of bochs at
http://bochs.sourceforge.net/.
DOSBox is also a good choice, once again free and available on many
different OSes. It's still in a pre-release state, but runs all the
cardinal Ultimas and the underworlds. DOSBox offers support for FM
synthesis, Soundblaster sound and the Gameblaster synth, though not
MIDI. Choppy sound can be tweaked by fine-tuning speed settings.
The program is available here: http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/.
DOSEMU (http://www.dosemu.org/) is also free, but available only for
Linux and has poor sound support. It runs Ultimas up to U6 without
music, but I understand U7 and U8 are not yet supported.
Then there's Vmware Workstation. This is a commercial product, and an
alarmingly expensive one, at that. To my knowledge, it doesn't
support VESA graphics or sound -- though U7 does work if you're
willing to play it with sound muted. It's available for Windows
NT/2000/XP and x86 Linux -- you can find out more and buy a copy at
the VMware site, https://www.vmware.com/.
I've heard that U9 sort of runs under Linux using Cedega (a project
to offer that OS Direct X compatibility, and formerly called WineX).
The developers accept feedback for specific games including U9 and
the Ultima Collection, so if you want to give it a try, have a look
at their website, http://www.transgaming.com/products_linux.php.
Finally, Microsoft has its own Virtual PC system, which it acquired
through a buy-out of the creator, Connectix. Other than the fact
it's available for Windows XP and Mac OS X, I have very little
information on the current MS implementation of the software, but you
can find out more at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/virtualpc/.
Be warned, most of these utilities will require a modicum of
technical knowhow to get working properly. For the less
technically-minded who want to run U7, I would suggest using Exult
(see Section 6.2.8).
4.7) Can I slow the Ultima gameplay down on modern PCs?
Lost Dragon has set up the New PC Slowdown site, which contains many
utilities that can help slow down faster computers. It can be found
at http://www.geocities.com/kulhain/.
The Ultima Collection (see Section 4.2.2) also contain a slowdown
utility, Mo'Slo, that works for many people.
4.8) How do I get Ultimas to work with my AWE32/AWE64/SB32 sound
card?
Contrapuntal Dragon has a page dealing with the common problems of
getting the AWE32 to work with various Ultima games. It can be found
at http://www.enlartenment.com/ultima/ult-awe32.html.
4.9) Can I play Ultimas not released for PC?
Some Ultimas for different platforms can still be played on a PC, via
emulators of other machines.
Emulation can be a legal grey area. In an effort to clear up some of
the confusion surrounding emulators, Fortran Dragon, the previous
maintainer of this FAQ, offers his own thoughts on the situation:
"I have to insert the standard disclaimer here: I am not a lawyer;
these comments only apply to the US; contact an intellectual property
rights lawyers in your jurisdiction; contents may settle during
shipment; you get what you pay for; void where prohibited; no
refunds.
"Let's start with the basics. To play a game on an emulator, you
need a functional emulator and a copy of the game you want to play,
in a format that your emulator of choice supports. At first glance,
this all seems blindingly obvious, but each part has its legal
pitfalls.
"First, is your emulator completely legal? Many emulators aren't
legal when they are fully functional because they use the copyrighted
ROMs from the computer being emulated. As far as the law is
concerned, unless you made a copy of the ROMs yourself, from an
original machine you own, you are violating the copyright law.
"It doesn't even matter if you own the original machine and download
a set of ROMs off of the Internet. In the eyes of the law, that is
still copyright infringement. And without the ROMs, your emulator is
useless.
"Other emulators reverse-engineer the original machine in a
completely legal manner. This how we have all of these IBM PC clones
-- the clone makers and support companies reverse-engineered the
original IBM PC, without reference to the original design.
"To further muddy the waters, some companies, such as Apple, are very
tenacious in the defence of their intellectual property rights on one
hand, while on the other they mention emulators for their older
computers on their websites. Apple have a link to Catakig, an
Apple II emulator for the Macintosh. And in the case of Catakig, the
issue gets even muddier because Catakig doesn't provide the Apple II
ROMs needed for the emulator -- but does provide a program for you to
make a copy of your particular Apple II's ROMs yourself.
"The next step, no surprise, is to make a legal copy of your original
game that is usable by your completely legal, fully functional
emulator. (Unless you're lucky and your emulator runs the original
media in one of your PC's drives.) This is an area where I /cannot/
give any clear guidance, except in the situations where you can't
make a copy.
"Nintendo games, for example, come with a bit of verbiage in the
licence agreements that specifically prohibits you from making any
sort of copy of the game cartridge, even for the legally-acceptable
purpose of making a single backup. Whether Nintendo's licence
agreement is legally valid is unknown since no-one has ever tested
that part of the licence in court, vis-a-vis copyright law.
"And that leads into the question of 'Is an emulator image I created
from my originals the single legitimate backup copy I am allowed by
the copyright laws?.' If it is a legitimate backup, then you should
be okay for this part. If not, then you are out of luck if you want
to legally use an emulator.
"I hear you saying, 'But what about the game collections that run
under emulators, such as /The Roberta Williams Anthology/ by
Sierra?' While the Anthology does use the AppleWin emulator, we
don't know if Sierra licensed the Apple II ROMs from Apple and this
is a special circumstance, or if Apple now lets anyone use the old
Apple II ROMs since Apple no longer makes any significant money from
the Apple II.
"So, as you can see, the closest thing you can get to a completely
legal emulator/game situation is a reverse-engineered emulator with
original media. After that, things get very nebulous, very quickly."
If you are prepared to go ahead with emulating an Ultima, a good
place to start is the Ultima C64 and Apple II Emulator FAQ, by Archon
Dragon and Caliaber Dragon, at
http://strobel.secure.at/ultima/FAQ.html.
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5) The Ultima Series
5.1) What is Ultima?
Ultima is a long-running series of computer role playing games
(CRPGs). The settings have varied, but many of the games take place
in the land of Britannia, ruled benevolently by Lord British (who is
the alter-ego of Richard Garriott, the series creator).
The hero (at least from Ultima 4 onwards) is the Avatar, champion of
virtue, who comes originally from Earth, but tends to get transported
to Britannia whenever trouble arises.
5.2) Where can I find hints and walkthroughs?
There is a good selection of Ultima walkthroughs available at
http://uo.com/archive/, and also at http://www.cyberenet.net/~redjr/.
Kender Dragon wrote an Ultima Dragons Newbie FAQ, which
included a number of frequently requested hints. It can be found at
http://www.notableultima.com/FAQ/udicfaq.html.
Paulon Dragon has written an excellent Ultima Gameplay FAQ. This FAQ
is at http://www.ultimainfo.net/FAQ/ultimafaqs.htm. I would make
this FAQ your first stop if you are having a problem with a
particular Ultima.
5.3) Continuity
5.3.1) Can you explain any plot inconsistencies?
There are many points of constant speculation on the newsgroups, most
of which are never agreed on, and so cannot be put into a FAQ.
Ophidian Dragon has written a timeline for the Ultima games,
available as an MS Word document. You can e-mail him at
zwb2@cwru.edu.
There is an Ultima storyline FAQ,
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~anarchy/Ultima/Ultima_storyline_FAQ.html,
which does attempt to explain some of these (written by Chris Billows
and not currently being maintained). It would be good to see
someone take over the Storyline FAQ -- more information on that is
available at the site.
Many other plot holes remain unaddressed, however -- feel free to
post your own theories, but be prepared for some pretty heavy
scrutiny.
5.3.2) How should I pronounce Ultima names?
Several of the Companions' names are discussed in U6 and U9.
* Iolo: YO-low
* Dupre: Dew-PRAY
* Shamino: SHA-mee-no
* Jaana: JAH-nuh
* Sentri: SAHN-tray
5.3.3) In what order do the Ultimas run?
Underworld Dragon has written a timeline, putting all events which
have happened in the Ultima world in perspective. It is available at
http://www.notableultima.com/history/.
Specifically, the Ultimas come in the order they are listed in this
FAQ. Ultima Online occurs in several parallel worlds, so is outside
the normal Ultima timeline.
5.4) Akalabeth and Escape from Mount Drash
5.4.1) Where can I find a copy of Akalabeth?
Akalabeth has, as far as I know, been released as freeware. You can
find the original Apple II game here:
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/games/rpg/akalabeth/
and the AppleSoft Basic source code at:
http://uo.com/archive/ftp/graphics/aklabeth.zip. See also Section
4.9 for details of running Akalabeth under emulation.
There are several PC ports of the game available. One, with the
QBASIC sourcecode, is now hosted by the Ultima Emulator FAQ site (see
Section 4.9) at http://strobel.secure.at/ultima/FAQ.html.
MinerJr and Dung Dragon have created two PC versions of the game, the
older of which is available at:
http://www.geocities.com/minerjr/akalabeth/Akalabetho1.htm and the
newer (with DirectX7 support and real 3D dungeons) at:
http://www.geocities.com/AkalabethRemake/.
The Ultima Collection contains a PC version of Akalabeth, too.
5.4.2) Is Escape From Mount Drash really so rare?
Yes. The game, similar to Akalabeth, was published by Sierra Online
in 1982, and released in only small numbers on the Commodore VIC-20.
Since I became interested in the Ultima series, I've heard of only
four complete copies of Mount Drash coming to light. The latest sold
for nearly US$2,500 on eBay.com in autumn 2005.
Basically, you'll be very lucky indeed to find a real version.
5.5) Ultima/Ultima 1
5.5.1) Availability
The first release of Ultima -- before there was a need for Roman
numerals -- was by California Pacific, though the game was later
reissued as Ultima I. The first version can now fetch high
prices; an eBay auction of Ultima (with Akalabeth in the same lot)
reached more than US$1,200 on eBay in December 2004.
5.5.2) Patches
Arthur DiBianca, a.k.a. Arthuris Dragon, has written a patch for
Ultima 1, to fix a problem where the graphics go black-and-white and
eventually get garbled on some video cards. It is available at
http://www.ece.concordia.ca/~ac_march/Ultima1-6FAQ.html.
Paulon Dragon mirrors the U1 patch at:
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Downloads/U1patch.zip.
5.6) Ultima 2: The Revenge of the Enchantress
5.6.1) Patches
Arthuris Dragon has a patch for Ultima 2 as well. His patch slows
the game down and adds 'Save and Exit' and 'Load Saved Game'
commands. You can find the patch at
http://home-1.worldonline.nl/~palenstn/. Helpfully, this patch will
work with the other Ultima 2 patches, as well as the speed patch
included with Ultima 2 in the Ultima Collection.
Voyager Dragon is also responsible for the Exodus Project. This
incorporates both Micro Dragon's speed fix and Moonstone Dragon's
planet fix, as well as updated graphics. See Section 6.2.3 for more
details.
5.6.2) Ultima 2 gives a Divide By Zero error! How do I fix it?
This is caused by fast computers (don't ask me how). The solution is
to use a slowdown program, as detailed in Section 4.6, or to apply
the U2 divide-by-zero fix, available from
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Downloads/U2SpeedFix.zip.
The Windows Native Ultima 2 program (written by John Alderson and
hosted by Michael C. Maggio, aka Voyager Dragon, at
http://ultima2.voyd.net/) removes the need for a slowdown program.
5.6.3) Ultima 2 maps are wrong! How do I fix it?
[The Moonstone Dragon writes:]
"When Ultima II was first released, it came on three floppy sides:
the Boot Disk, the Player Disk, and the Galactic Disk. The last two
of these disks held the city and world maps, as well as monster lists
and conversation information for Earth and the other planets.
"The names used for many of the files on these two disks were
identical. When the Ultima I-VI CD was released, all of the files
were merely dumped together into a single directory which caused some
of the files to be overwritten. Hence, cities, dungeons, and worlds
on the Galactic disk with the same name as a location on Earth are
not available and the Earth Map is used instead."
You can download Moonstone's patch from
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Downloads/U2PlanetMapFix.zip. It is also
included in Voyager Dragon's Ultima 2 Upgrade (see Section 5.6.1).
5.6.4) The Ultima 2 colours are hideous. How do I fix them?
[Paulon Dragon writes:]
"Finire Dragon has written a program that resets the colours used by
a VGA graphics card to emulate the older CGA graphics card to
something more pleasing. CGA graphics adapters only used four
colours (usually cyan, magenta, black and white), but now we can have
blue water, green vegetation and red lava."
You can download the patch from Paulon Dragon's website at
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Codex/Downloads.htm. Voyager Dragon's
Ultima 2 Upgrade (see Section 5.6.1) also addresses the colours
issue.
The Windows Native Ultima 2 program also allows you to use more
pleasing colours (see Section 5.6.2).
5.7) Ultima 3: Exodus
5.7.1) The Ultima 3 colours are hideous. How do I fix them?
[Paulon Dragon writes:]
"Finire Dragon has written a program that resets the colours used by
a VGA graphics card to emulate the older CGA graphics card to
something more pleasing. CGA graphics adapters only used four
colours (usually cyan, magenta, black and white), but now we can have
blue water, green vegetation and red lava."
You can download the patch from Paulon Dragon's web site at
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Codex/Downloads.htm. Voyager Dragon's
Exodus Project -- a significant revamp of U3 -- (see Section 6.2.6)
also addresses this issue.
5.8) Ultima 4: The Quest of the Avatar
You may freely download Ultima 4 (PC version) from:
* http://home.kc.rr.com/hidalgo/
* http://www.enlartenment.com/ultima/u4download.html
* /Any/ member of UDIC may make the Computer Gaming World edition of
Ultima 4 available. (This means that you can't add or delete
anything from the archive.)
NOTE: This does /not/ mean U4 is now freeware -- EA retains the
copyright to the game. The company has simply allowed the Dragons
(and only the Dragons) the chance to make it available to people
interested in trying a classic Ultima. Other cover-disks featuring
U4 have cropped up, but their legal status is questionable.
5.8.1) Patches
Aradindae Dragon and Wiltshire Dragon have combined efforts to make a
patch that adds "MIDI support, new hotkeys, and 256 colour graphics"
to Ultima 4 (PC version). This replaces the older (separate)
graphics patch and music patch. This patch can be found at
http://www.moongates.com/u4/.
5.9) Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny
5.9.1) Patches
The U5 Upgrade is available at http://exodus.voyd.net/, the Exodus
Project website (see Section 6.2.3). It adds MIDI to the game.
5.9.2) Cheats
There are two known cheats, of sorts, for the C64 version of U5.
Neither works on the PC version of the game, as far as I know.
[Thirith Dragon writes:]
"There *is* a kind of a cheat for U5, at least on the C64. It goes
something like this: if you've got between 11 and 15 portions of some
reagents, mix a spell containing only such reagents. Mix 16 portions
of this spell. If the spell existed, you now have 16 spells, plus
96-99 of the reagents."
[Enzo Dragon writes:]
"When anywhere other than in dungeons, press and hold the Commodore
key (looks like C=, on bottom left of the keyboard) and then press 1.
The computer will display an 8 digit number. The first set of 4
digits represents your co-ordinates in hex. The next set of 2 digits
are the level. The number goes higher if you go up higher in towns
and castles.
"Also in the Underworld, you get the equivalent of a negative number
in hex (signed bit, reads FF). The final 2 digits are for the virtue
points. The closer to 99 you are, the more Avatar-worthy you are."
5.10) Ultima 6: The False Prophet
5.10.1) Patches
Historically, the PC speaker sound effects of U6 did not work
properly on any PC faster than a 12MHz 286. Now, Finire Dragon has
written a patch to correct the problem. It is available here:
http://www.coli.uni-sb.de/~ticmanis/PATCHU6.ZIP.
Jason Ely wrote a patch to fix the music in Ultima 6 for modern
computers. Unfortunately, it appears to have been taken down from
http://www.pcgameworld.com/, where it was being hosted.
Jim Ursetto designed a world editor for Ultima 6, u6edit, which also
works with SE and MD. Its website is http://3e8.org/hacks/ultima6.
5.10.2) Cheats
Here is the cheat for the IBM PC and Amiga versions. Speak to Iolo,
and type the following:
spam<Enter>
spam<Enter>
spam<Enter>
humbug<Enter>
where <Enter> is pressing the Enter or Return key. This will bring
up a cheat menu.
Here is the cheat for the Commodore 64 version.
Speak to *yourself* (yes, this is possible in the C64 version) and
type the following:
i<Enter>
want to<Enter>
cheat<Enter>
where <Enter> is pressing the Enter or Return key.
[Source: Tristan Miller -- C64, Dracos Dragon -- Amiga]
5.10.3) Who killed Quenton?
This is another red herring/plot hole. Using standard methods (i.e.
not cheating) there is no way to find out who killed Quenton.
Discovering the murderer's identity is not necessary to win the game.
If you would still like to know, there is a man with a house on the
road from Britain to Skara Brae who refuses to give his name -- this
is Michael, the man who killed Quenton. The U6 cluebook and Quenton
himself in U7 verify the fact.
5.10.4) Is it true a full-speech version of U6 was made?
Yes, it is, though no-one I've yet spoken to has actually seen it in
action. As well as more common platforms like the PC and the Super
Nintendo/Famicom, U6 also saw a release on a machine called the FM
Towns. This was a Japanese computer that offered an outstanding
level of hardware for the time -- and so, predictably, Origin wanted
to take full advantage of it.
Several Ultima personalities lent their names -- and voices -- to the
project, which I'm told eventually featured full-speech in both
English and Japanese. You can read more about at Underworld Dragon's
Collectible Ultima site (see Section 4.1). Some sound-clips are
available at the unofficial Origin Museum site,
http://originmuseum.solsector.net/beuche/
5.11) Worlds of Ultima: Savage Empire
[Paulon Dragon writes:]
"Talk to Triolo and say Cheat to get a cheat menu. Peace Dragon told
me about it."
F-15 Dragon's program MDhack, available from:
http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/programs/mdhack.zip adds extra
functions to Savage Empire. Universal Hint System help-files are
available for SE, also from the Ultima FTP site:
http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/programs/ultuhs.zip.
5.12) Ultima, Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams
F-15 Dragon's program MDhack, available from:
http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/programs/mdhack.zip adds extra
functions to Martian Dreams. Universal Hint System help-files are
available for MD, also from the Ultima FTP site:
http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/programs/ultuhs.zip.
5.13) Ultima Underworld 1: The Stygian Abyss
5.13.1) Patches
Panzer Dragon has a patch to upgrade Ultima Underworld 1 to
support General MIDI, available on Paulon Dragon's download page at
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Codex/Downloads.htm.
There is a patch available from EA to deal with the "infamous"
inventory bug in UW1, which causes floating and duplicating items,
and the screen turning red. The patch can be downloaded from
http://www.uo.com/archive/uw1/demoftp.html.
Sir Cabirus Dragon and Moscow Dragon have written a patch that allows
both Ultima Underworld games to run under Windows NT, 2000 and XP.
Download it here: http://www.sircabirus.com/ultimaunderworld/pages/
5.13.2) Utilities
Telemachos Dragon has created an viewer that allows you to explore
the various levels of Ultima Underworld 1. The program converts the
2D maps into 3D maps suitable for modern 3D hardware-accelerated
video cards.
It also converts the 8-bit textures of the original game to 24-bit
textures and creates mip-map to reduce flicker. You can even export
a level to a VRML file and then import it into the 3D drawing package
of your choice.
The viewer is available at http://www.peroxide.dk/underworld/.
5.13.3) UW1 on Pocket PC
The Ultima community got a pleasant surprise when ZIOSoft announced
it was releasing UW1 for Pocket PC. The game is still available at
Amazon UK (http://www.amazon.co.uk, though it's mis-labelled as
PalmOS software) and a web-search will reveal several North American
stockists. You can find a review here:
http://www.cewindows.net/reviews/games/ultimaunderworld.htm
5.14) Ultima 7: The Black Gate
5.14.1) Patches
Newton Dragon has a patch to upgrade Ultima 7 to support General
MIDI, available at http://uo.com/archive/ftp/patches/ult7gm.zip.
If you're playing the floppy disk version of Ultima 7 and items are
disappearing from inventory, with the screen turning red, you can
solve the problem with a patch from
http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/patches/u7patch.exe.
One of the most significant additions to the Ultimas in recent times
is Dragon Baroque's patch to make U7 and SI run within Windows 9x.
Gaseous Dragon is hosting this patch at
http://members.iinet.net.au/~rsd/U7inWindows.html. You will need to
have a copy of one of the various CD-ROM versions of Ultima 7 (The
Complete Ultima 7, any of the EA Classics versions, or any of the
Ultima Collection versions).
You may want to do a fresh install and, if you want sound and music,
make sure your sound card is set up properly for The Black Gate to
find it. Also, you will need to make sure you have enough
conventional DOS memory for The Black Gate. While this patch allows
you to run The Black Gate under Windows 9x, it does not make the game
a Windows program.
5.14.2) Cheats
The cheat mode for Ultima 7 part one can be activated by typing the
following on the command line:
Ultima7 abcd[Alt 255]<Enter>
where <Enter> is pressing the Enter key. [Alt 255] is a single,
invisible character typed by holding the Alt key, and typing 255 on
the numeric keypad, then releasing the Alt key. There is no space
between abcd, and [Alt 255].
Once the cheat mode is activated, the F-keys have special functions
within the game.
There is also an in-game cheat known as the "Trinsic Cheat Room". It
is possible to climb onto the roof Christopher's workshop in Trinsic,
using crates to build a staircase. Once on the roof, walk behind the
chimney, and you will be transported to a room which contains many of
the items needed to win the game, and some other goodies.
5.14.3) How do I pass the Test of Truth in the Forge of Virtue?
Very near the beginning of the test is a hood next to a wall -- this
is an illusory wall, you can walk through it to a corridor, and
eventually to the /true/ amulet of truth.
5.14.4) How do I get past the Hydra on Ambrosia?
The centre of the north wall in the hyrdra's room is actually a
secret door -- double-click on that, and it will open. You can then
run past the hydra.
5.14.5) Ultima 7 won't work with my Nvidia graphics card. How do I
fix it?
[Xe Dragon writes:] "The Riva 128 [and subsequent Nvidia video
boards] have a problem showing the earthquake sequence at the start
of U7 with the Forge of Virtue add-on installed, or in SI whenever
the screen shakes up and down. Basically, the Riva 128 video boards
don't support all of the original VGA modes thus causing the game
screen to slide off the bottom of the computer monitor.
"Download qfix.zip from Dr. David's Super Crispy DOS Utilities at
http://www.hpaa.com/moslo/utils.html as a temporary fix until a new
(corrected) version of the board's BIOS is released. You can install
this DOS TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) program to convert the
up-and-down earthquake motion to a side-by-side motion."
5.14.6) Weapon and Armour Ratings
[Xe Dragon writes:]
"Mitch Aigner has provided a supplement to Ultima 7: Black Gate which
provides weapon and armour ratings (among other things) at
http://members.aol.com/UltimaFile/files/u7_sup.txt."
5.14.7) U7-Wizard
This is a powerful editor for both parts of Ultima VII, released
under a GNU general public licence.
U7-Wizard allows you to change the map and scenery of Britannia and
Serpent Isle a great deal. You can download it from:
http://wiz0u.free.fr/u7wizard/.
5.15) Ultima Underworld 2: Labyrinth of Worlds
5.15.1) Patches
[Paulon Dragon writes:]
"Panzer Dragon has a patch to upgrade Ultima Underworld 2 to support
General MIDI, available at
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Codex/Downloads.htm."
As with UW1 (see Section 5.13.1), there were problems with the
original release of UW2, such as the screen turning red, palette
shifting, servant strike, melting moongate in the yellow Ethereal
Void, or sleeping with a moonstone as a cursor. There is a patch
available to correct the problem, from EA's Origin archive:
http://www.uo.com/archive/uw2/uw2soft.html.
Sir Cabirus Dragon's UW patch to run the game in Windows NT, 2000
and XP (see Section 5.13.1) also works with UW2.
5.15.2) Cheats
[Thirith Dragon writes:]
"If you blast any kind of potion, for example when you attack it
repeatedly, it will turn into debris -- but the debris, when used,
has exactly the same function as the potion, with infinite charges."
5.16) Ultima 7, part 2: Serpent Isle
5.16.1) Patches
Newton Dragon has a patch available to upgrade Serpent Isle to
support General MIDI, it is available at
http://uo.com/archive/ftp/patches/ult7p2gm.zip
Dragon Baroque's U7 patch also allows SI to run in Windows 9x/ME (see
Section 5.14.1). You will need to have a copy of one of the various
CD-ROM versions of Ultima 7 (The Complete Ultima 7, any of the EA
Classics versions, or any of the Ultima Collection versions).
While not really a patch, U7-Wizard allows extensive editing of
landscape and scenery in SI, as it does U7 (see Section 5.14.7).
5.16.2) Cheats
The cheat mode for Serpent Isle is activated by typing the following
on the command line:
serpent pass<Enter>
where <Enter> is pressing the Enter or Return key.
If you have installed the Silver Seed add-on type the following on
the command line:
serpent manimal<Enter>
where <Enter> is pressing the Enter or Return key. In either case,
the F-keys now have special functions within the game.
5.16.3) Weapon and Armour Ratings
Paulon Dragon has provided a supplement to SI, which offers weapon
and armour ratings (among other things), at
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Downloads/SINotes.txt.
5.16.4) Where is the Comb of Beauty?
In the north wall of Columna's house (Moonshade) there is a secret
door which leads into the garden. The comb is in a chest partially
hidden behind some foliage. The chest can be opened with a key from
the basement of the house.
5.16.5) Director's Cut of Serpent Isle Introduction
The original SI introduction was cut due to space limitations on the
5.25-inch diskettes which saw the first release of Serpent Isle.
Denis Loubet has made the original SI available for download at his
website: http://www.io.com/~dloubet/gallery/animate/serpisle.htm.
5.16.6) How do I save Cantra?
In the original game, the long and short of it is, you can't -- the
Serpent Isle programmers forgot to enable that option.
However, the Exult team (see Section 6.2.8) has closed the
plot-hole to some extent, if you choose to play a patched version
of the game rather than the original plot. Changes to the engine's
runtime (which leave the usecode intact) allow Cantra to be brought
back to life.
5.17) Ultima 8: Pagan
5.17.1) Patches
There was a patch released for Ultima 8 which makes some substantial
changes to the game. Among the alterations changes are an improved
jumping system, and the closure of some plot holes. The patch is
available at the following location:
* English Version,
ftp://ftp.ea.com/pub/origin/patches/u8/u8patche.zip
* German Version, ftp://ftp.ea.com/pub/origin/patches/u8/u8patchg.zip
* French Version, ftp://ftp.ea.com/pub/origin/patches/u8/u8patchf.zip
NOTE: please use the patch corresponding to the version of Ultima 8
that you own. I have no idea what applying the wrong one will do,
but it probably won't be good. <:)
There are also patches at
http://www.uo.com/archive/ultima8/download.html#u8patch that deal
with several soundcard issues in U8, and allow the game to play music
from an Adlib card.
Following the popular acclaim his U7run patch (see Section 5.14.1)
received, Dragon Baroque wrote a patch allowing U8 to run under
Windows 9x/ME. Gaseous Dragon is hosting this patch at
http://members.iinet.net.au/~rsd/U8inWindows.html.
5.17.2) Cheats
AFAIK, the easiest way to cheat in U8 is to use the following
program, which modifies your current savegame. It can be found at
ftp://www.udic.net/pub/ultima/u8/hacks/u8cheat2.zip. I have not
personally tried this so if anyone has some feedback on its
functionality, please e-mail me at rgcu.faq@gmail.com.
Paulon Dragon also has some methods on how to cheat on his Ultima 8
page at http://www.ultimainfo.net/Codex/Ultima8.htm.
5.17.3) Where is the Birthplace of Moriens?
There are two possibilities. If you have applied the Ultima 8 patch
(See Section 5.17.1), then the birthplace is behind a door labelled
"The Birthplace of Moriens" in the upper catacombs.
If you haven't applied the patch, the birthplace does not exist. It
is generally considered that the place to go next is a door labelled
"Towards Fate Do You Travel". This is the same door as mentioned
above -- it was simply renamed by the patch.
5.17.4) The Lost Vale
The Lost Vale was a proposed add-on for Ultima 8: Pagan.
Unfortunately, Ultima 8 sold so poorly that Origin chose to cancel
the project at the early design stage. Instead, Origin decided to
concentrate its resources on Ultima 9, and latterly Ultima Online,
before Ultima IX: Ascension was finally released.
You can find some mocked up screen shots for The Lost Vale at
http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/graphics/ultima8/lostvale.zip.
5.18) Console Ultimas
5.18.1) Nintendo (NES) Ultimas
The Ultimas known to have been released for the Nintendo
Entertainment System (NES)/Famicom are:
* Ultima: Exodus (a.k.a. Ultima 3)
* Ultima: Quest of the Avatar (a.k.a. Ultima 4)
* Ultima: Warriors of Destiny (a.k.a. Ultima 5)
Ultima: Exodus had a separately purchasable hint-book. All of the
NES Ultimas are pretty faithful conversions with only minor
differences from the Apple II versions.
5.18.2) Super Nintendo (SNES) Ultimas
The Ultimas known to have been released for the Super Nintendo
Entertainment System (SNES)/Super Famicom are:
* Ultima: The False Prophet (aka. Ultima 6)
* Ultima: The Black Gate (aka. Ultima 7: The Black Gate)
* Ultima: The Savage Empire
* Ultima: The Runes of Virtue 2
Ultima: The False Prophet started a trend of decreasing quality in
the ports. As the Ultimas got more and more complex on the PC, the
consoles became less and less suitable platforms for conversions.
Ultima: The Black Gate, particularly, is not a very good translation
of the PC game. At the time U7 was being ported to the SNES,
Nintendo was going through a phase where all of their games had be
suitable for children. For example, an important murder was changed
to a kidnapping. Also, I understand that there is no party and an
excess of menus in an attempt to overcome the lack of a mouse.
The Savage Empire was only released in Japan, though an English
version was mostly completed.
The Runes of Virtue 2 is a console-only game that is supposed to be
very 'Legend of Zelda'-esque. Oh, and I'm told it's worth looking
for the 'secret' Origin headquarters under the town of Jhelom. It is
apparently rather strange.
5.18.3) Nintendo Gameboy Ultimas
The Ultimas known to have been released for the Nintendo Gameboy are:
* Ultima: The Runes of Virtue
* Ultima: The Runes of Virtue 2
Both Runes of Virtue games are console-only releases that are
reputedly very 'Legend of Zelda'-esque. Aside from Ultima Online,
these are the only multiplayer Ultimas released by Origin.
5.18.4) Sega Master System Ultima
The only Ultima known to have been released for the Sega Master
system is Ultima 4. Many consider this the best port of an Ultima to
a console. The game came with both of the Ultima 4 manuals and a
paper map of Britannia.
Ultima 4 will also run on a Sega GameGear with the Sega Master System
converter in the GameGear cartridge slot.
5.18.5) Sony Playstation Ultima
The only Ultima known to have been released for the Sony Playstation
is Ultima Underworld 1. This seems to be a pretty faithful port, but
it was released only in Japan.
5.19) Ultima Online
5.19.1) What is Ultima Online?
Ultima Online was the first commercially successful MMORPG. Players
interact with one another over the Internet, via a third-person
isometric view of Britannia (and later other areas, too).
The game had what was by all accounts an extremely fun pre-alpha
test for two weeks from 1 April 1997, and another starting on 13 May
1997. The beta test took place between June and September 1997 and
the full game has been on release for several years, now.
UO has seen a number of major upgrades and expansions during its
life, which many Ultima purists would say bear progressively less
resemblance to the cardinal series. Despite that, UO enjoys
continuing popularity. A significant part of the online commmunity
that has formed around it can be found in rgcuo.
5.19.2) System requirements
The minimum system requirements for the current 3D UO client (the
game's default engine) are a Pentium III 500, 256MB RAM, Windows
9x/ME/2000/XP, 32MB Direct3D video card, 16-bit sound card
supporting DirectX 9.0, 1.1GB hard drive space, 4x CD-ROM drive,
Microsoft-compatible mouse and a 56kbps internet connection.
The minimum system requirements for the current 2D UO client are a
Pentium II 300, 128MB RAM, Windows 9x/ME/2000/XP, 4MB Direct3D video
card, 16-bit sound card supporting DirectX 9.0, 1.1GB hard drive
space, 4x CD-ROM drive, Microsoft-compatible mouse and a 56kbps
internet connection.
The minimum system requirements for the 3D client in Ultima Online:
Age of Shadows are a Pentium II 300, 64MB RAM, Windows 9x/ME, 8MB
Direct3D video card, 16-bit sound card supporting DirectX 8.1, 1.1GB
hard drive space, 4x CD-ROM drive, Microsoft-compatible mouse and a
28.8kbps internet connection.
The minimum system requirements for the 3D client in Ultima Online:
Lord Blackthorn's Revenge are a Pentium II 300, 64MB RAM, Windows
9x/ME, 8MB Direct3D video card, 16-bit sound card supporting DirectX
8.0a, 998MB hard drive space, 4x CD-ROM drive, Microsoft-compatible
mouse and a 28.8kbps internet connection.
The minimum system requirements for the 2D clients of both UO: Age of
Shadows and UO: Lord Blackthorn's Revenge are a Pentium 200, 32MB
RAM, Windows 9x, 2MB PCI video card (DirectX supported, set to 16-bit
colour), 16-bit sound card (DirectX supported), 925MB hard drive
space, 4x CD-ROM drive, Microsoft-compatible mouse, 100% Windows 9x
compatible, SLIP/PPP or direct connect at 28.8Kbps or better with
32-bit TCP/IP stack.
5.19.3) Where can I find out more about Ultima Online?
There are many Ultima Online web pages. The official EA website is
at http://www.uo.com/. Origin also wrote several FAQs about the
game, which are available at http://support.uo.com/faq.html.
The FAQ for the newsgroup rec.games.computer.ultima.online is
an excellent place to start when subscribing to the UO newsgroup,
though you should be aware it has been unmaintained for some time.
A copy is available at http://www.area88.demon.co.uk/rgcuofaq.txt.
5.19.4) Are there any non-subscription UO servers?
A number of people run their own versions of UO, which you won't have
to pay a monthly fee to play. One of the most popular with the
Ultima Dragons is Ultima Legacy, for which more information can be
found at http://legacy.ultimainfo.net/.
5.19.5) Will there be an Ultima Online 2?
Probably not -- it currently seems as though Electronic Arts won't be
using the Ultima Online brand again. Work on UO2 (renamed Ultima
Worlds Online: Origin by the development team after Origin was folded
into EA) has been axed and all official reference to it removed from
the Web.
5.20) Ultima 9: Ascension
5.20.1) Patches
The final official patch, version 1.18f, has been released for
Ultima 9. It fixes many Direct3D problems and other game-killing
bugs, and used to be available from ftp://ftp.owo.com/pub/ua/patch/.
However, at the time of writing, the owo.com site seems to be
offline, so the 1.18 patch can't be downloaded.
[Paulon Dragon offers the following warning about the recent patch:]
"The saved games created by the final version (v1.18) don't seem to
be entirely compatible with the unpatched game, unlike for v1.07 and
v1.05. Saved games /will/ load, but the game will start with an
error message (displayed using the same style of dialogue box as the
Quit option), and will crash within a few minutes of play."
There is an unofficial patch for U9 (referred to as v1.19, though it
is /not/ supported by EA), created by Fansforultima and now hosted by
Voyager Dragon at http://reconstruction.voyd.net/zips/u9ver119.zip.
5.20.2) Why doesn't Ultima 9: Ascension work with my system?
Ultima 9: Ascension was released in a buggy state. A good place to
look for help is DarkSharp's and WindForce Dragon's Ultima 9
Technical FAQ at http://www.gulbsoft.de/faq.latest.html (and a good
mirror can be found at Bluesnews:
http://www.bluesnews.com/faqs/u9faq.shtml).
5.20.3) Where can I find out more about Ultima 9: Ascension?
There is an Ultima 9: Ascension FAQ maintained by Terilim Dragon, at
http://www.powerup.com.au/~gjdanger/Terilem/ -- it includes all known
screenshots released by Origin. The official Ultima IX: Ascension
website can still be found at http://www.ultima-ascension.com/.
The original plot for Ultima 9, before it underwent extensive
rewriting, is kept here:
http://www.rpgplanet.com/ultima9/extra_stuff/original_plot.shtml.
You can also see some screenshots from the game's original
engine at Hayn Dragon's website, http://www.hayn.nildram.co.uk/.
5.20.4) Tools for Ultima IX: Ascension
There are two main programs I'm aware of which add functionality (and
stability) to U9.
UIX Power Tools is a suite of programs, released as freeware, which
allows owners of the game to customise a great many aspects of it.
Specifically, UIX Game Options & Cheats replaces the Hardware Options
program, to offer more preference selections. UIX Keymap Editor
allows keyboard bindings to be created more easily, and UIX starter
offers greater performance for players with only 64MB of RAM, by
restarting their system with only U9 and the files it needs running.
Xenerkes Dragon has written Ultima IX:Ascension Extended Setup, which
provides a GUI for fine-tuning U9's rather complex options.ini file.
It offers more flexibility than U9's own setup program, including the
ability to edit all keymap commands.
The UIX Power Tools can be downloaded from Voyager Dragon's pages,
http://reconstruction.voyd.net/zips/UIXTools.zip and the
Ultima IX: Ascension Extended Setup site is here:
http://www.geocities.com/xenerkes/.
5.21) Ultima Underworld 3
5.21.1) Is an Ultima Underworld 3 planned?
Here an excerpt from an interview with Richard Garriott, in the
October 1996 issue of PC Gamer:
"Interesting that you ask, these days Warren Spector, the producer of
the Underworld series, is putting a team together at Origin, which is
intended to work on that project. Underworld III is not officially
planned, but we're collecting people."
However, subsequent to that, Warren Spector left Origin, as did
Richard Garriott and, as mentioned in section 4.3 of this FAQ, OSI
subsequently ceased to exist. Add the fact that Looking Glass (the
folks who actually created the Underworlds) have gone out of
business, and it seems very unlikely there is any prospect of a new
Underworld game.
The spiritual successor to the UW games in many people's eyes is Arx
Fatalis, which has made a favourable impression with many Ultima
fans. You can find out more at http://www.arxfatalis-online.com/.
5.22) Ultima 10
5.22.1) Is an Ultima 10 planned?
Ultima X: Odyssey was billed by EA as a successor to Ultima Online,
after UO2 was cancelled. The game would have been set on a new
world, Alucinor, with only the Virtue system and the prospect of
ascending to Avatarhood linking it to the original series. However,
U10, too, has been cancelled -- the official statement from the
producer can be found here: http://www.uxo.ea.com/
For historical interest, Richard Garriott's initial game concept was
somewhat different, as the author of the interview mentioned in
Section 5.21.1 explains:
"Ultima X [is free to start] from a completely fresh perspective of
what I'll call pseudo-science. [This] will be drawn from the early
era of Victorian science such as Leonardo da Vinci's experiments.
[Garriott is not sure] what exactly that will mean for the Ultima
world, [but] he is sure that the player will no longer control the
Avatar. The Avatar will likely show up as a character."
[Source: interview with Richard Garriott in October 1996's PC Gamer]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
6) Ultima, the Dragons and The World Wide Web
6.1) The Ring of Dragons
This FAQ can barely scratch the surface of resources available, and
can only list one or two sources of information for each topic. The
Ring of Dragons links together many Ultima- and Ultima Dragons-
related websites and information in an easy-to-navigate manner.
The Ring's homepage is http://www2.famvid.com/thor/games/ring/.
6.2) Works in Progress
The following 6.2.x sections describe some of the Ultima-related
works in progress. While only a couple are complete, all could
benefit from your attention and efforts. A full listing of online
Ultima projects can be found at Voyager Dragon's site,
http://reconstruction.voyd.net/
or Withstand the Fury Dragon's site, http://aiera.timeimmortal.net/
6.2.1) 'Moongates'
I can't determine what the actual name for this project is, so I've
given it one based on the announcement in rgcu* made by its creator,
Philippe Goetz. :)
It appears Philippe is attempting to remake the earlier Ultimas in
Java. The project's website is
http://www.chez.com/pgo/Ultima/index.html.
6.2.2) The Exodus Project
The Exodus Project is an effort to bring U2, U3 and U5 up to newer
standards.
Each project has its own development phase, but U2 and U3 now have
full EGA support, and MIDI music is available for both for U3 and U5
(similar to the Ultima 4 upgrade mentioned in Section 5.8.1).
Voyager Dragon, who is responsible for this project, tells me that a
VGA patch for the games is a prospect for the future. More
information can be found at http://exodus.voyd.net/.
6.2.3) Ultima IV: The Dawn of Virtue
This ground-up remake of U4, using pre-rendered isometric graphics
and full music, has now been abandoned because the author could not
secure EA's agreement for the project. Details can be found here:
http://www.hut.fi/~jtpelto2/ultima4/.
6.2.4) Ultima V: Lazarus
The first Ultima remake to reach v.1 since Exult -- and the first
full 3D remake of any kind -- U5: Lazarus is now available for
download, hitting the Christmas release date promised by its
volunteer developers.
A mod for Dungeon Siege 1, it requires that game to run, but not
the PC version of U5 (surprisingly). Initial responses from the
fan community have generally been very positive, though the
Dungeon Siege engine has placed certain limits on the gameplay,
and the Lazarus team has also admitted there are several bugs to be
addressed in upcoming patches.
All in all, though, this is a very exciting new addition to Ultima
resources and team members should be congratulated for their
efforts. To download what they've achieved, or find out more about
the project, visit its home page, http://www.u5lazarus.com.
6.2.5) The Ultima 6 Project
This is an update of U6 for modern PCs, using the Dungeon Siege 1
engine. The team also intends to fill what its members perceive as
storyline gaps, to improve continuity. You can view trailers and
other information at http://www.planetdungeonsiege.com/archon/.
6.2.6) Nuvie
This U6 remake aims to get the original game running natively on
modern platforms. It adds some nice bells and whistles, too, such
as support for speech if you have the FM Towns version of U6 (see
Section 5.10.4). Find out more from the project's website,
http://nuvie.sourceforge.net/
6.2.7) Ultima 6 Online
Galleon Dragon is heading a project to create a MMORPG using the
U6 engine. For more details, take a look at the project's
website, http://www.geocities.com/galleondragon/.
6.2.8) The System Shock Hack Project
This is a project to create an engine that will run the old OSI game,
System Shock. This uses the same engine as the two Ultima
Underworlds, so on its completion, it is expected that TSSHP should
run UW1 and UW2, as well.
There have already been steps to integrate the Underworlds into the
engine, but it remains at an early stage of development. You can
check on its progress at its website,
http://tsshp.sourceforge.net/sshock.html.
6.2.9) Underworld Adventures
This is an engine for the original UW game files, allowing them to be
played on modern PCs and operating systems. Tech demos are available
from the project website, http://uwadv.sourceforge.net/.
6.2.10) Exult
After four years' work, the Exult project, to create a multi-platform
U7 engine that runs with data and graphics files from the original
game, went gold in November 2002. You can download the latest
version and its source code here: http://exult.sourceforge.net/.
Work on the project continues, so if you've ever had the urge to
contribute to an Open Source program, I would urge you to add your
skills to this one.
6.2.11) Labyrinth of Worlds
This is a ground-up remake of UW2. Tech demos are now available from
the project's website, http://low.sourceforge.net/.
6.2.12) Ultima VIII: Exile
Exile is a reworking of U8 for modern PCs, with attention also paid
to problems that caused the original game to be less than popular
with longtime Ultima fans. You can find out a bit more at the
project's website, http://u8exile.port5.com/main.shtml.
6.2.13) Pentagram
Pentagram, as its developers take some pains to point out, is not
Exult. However, since it's a project to create a multi-platform
U8 engine that runs with data and graphics files from the original
game, some co-incidental similarities might be apparent. Find out
more at its website, http://pentagram.sourceforge.net/.
6.3) Ultima Fan Fiction
You can find a list of UDIC Ultima fan fiction at Dragon Press,
which is maintained by Shadow of Light Dragon at
http://www.dragonpress.ultima-dragons.org/. The Lair of the
Evil_Freak has additional Ultima fanfic at
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Dome/6423/.
6.4) How can I put Ultima runes on my web pages?
Archon Dragon wrote a webpage on how to use a Java applet to display
Ultima Runes. It is available at
http://strobel.secure.at/runes/runes.html.
6.5) Is there an Ultima Windows desktop theme?
Yes, Micro Dragon constructed a theme with a large collection of
backgrounds, cursors, et al. Micro's popular site has long since
disappeared, but Polychromic and Paulon Dragons both host mirrors
(see Section 4.3 for URLs).
6.6) Ultima Levels/Maps for Other Games
6.6.1) Civilization 2
The Silly Dragon (hundmeister@home.com), Ophidian Dragon
(zwb2@cwru.edu) and Darkling Dragon (p_zibilich@hotmail.com) all have
Ultima maps for Civilization 2, and are willing to pass them on if
you
e-mail them.
6.6.2) CivNet
Ophidian Dragon has a CivNet map available if you e-mail him at
zwb2@cwru.edu.
6.6.3) Warcraft 2
Vulcan Dragon (mcarmack@columbus.rr.com) and Ophidian Dragon
(zwb2@cwru.edu) have both created Ultima-themed Warcraft 2 PUDs,
available to those who e-mail them.
6.6.4) Warlords 2
Ophidian Dragon has a Warlords 2 level available if you e-mail him at
zwb2@cwru.edu.
6.6.5) Unreal
Through the Looking Glass (or TTLG, a site dedicated to the games
created by Looking Glass) created two maps for Unreal and a number
for Unreal Tournament.
The Unreal maps were for Ultima Underworld 1's first level and the
arenas in Ultima Underworld 2's Pits of Carnage. The main TTLG page
for UW was at http://www.stygianabyss.com/, but seems to be down.
However, the Unreal Tournament maps, for the whole UW1 Abyss, can be
downloaded from: http://zerker.ttlg.com/levels.asp?Level=17.
6.6.6) Doom 2
Darkling Dragon also has a Doom 2 map of Ultima IV's city of Britain
available, if you e-mail him at p_zibilich@hotmail.com.
6.7) Ultima Maps
Xe Dragon has created HRUMP (High-Resolution Ultima Map Project) at
http://www.dengler.net/xedragon/hrump/. He has scans of the U1, U2,
U3, U4, U5, Savage Empire, Martian Dreams, U7, SI and U8 maps.
Ynnad Dragon has very large Ultima 4 and Ultima 5 maps at
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Cavern/5706/. The maps are
available as Corel Draw 8 files and as Windows BMPs.
Ram Dragon has wallpaper made up of U7 or SI world maps at his site,
http://psych.utoronto.ca/~duncan/ultima/.
Paulon Dragon has some scans of Ultima Underworld 1 and 2, Ultima 7
and Serpent Isle at http://www.ultimainfo.net/Maps/index.htm. The
maps are available as jpegs.
Fallen Angel Dragon has created screen-grabbed maps of U1, U3 and U5,
with very useful Javascript pop-ups of details. They are available
on his website, here: http://thehawk-udic.home.comcast.net/
6.8) Are there any Ultima pen-and-paper RPGs?
I've heard tell that Richard Garriott exhibited a tabletop Ultima RPG
at a convention in the USA, but it unfortunately never resurfaced.
Undaunted, Ultima fans have made several attempts to create an
unofficial pen-and-paper roleplaying game based on the series.
One such project, Ultima Resurrection, has seen some playtesting,
though its creator, Resurrection Dragon, admits it is currently in a
quiet period. Find out more at the game's website,
http://blackgate.morningstar.info/index.html.
Quill Dragon originally hosted that project, but has now created a
new RPG himself, which he calls Ultima Prophecy -- the Ankh of Stars.
It uses his own role-playing system, and both can be downloaded from
his site at http://www.salikon.dk/index3.html.
Hong Ooi has written a third-edition Dungeons and Dragons conversion
of U4, which sounds interesting, though he admits it strays from
canon a tad. Find out more here:
http://www.zipworld.com.au/~hong/dnd/britannia/index.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------
7) Real Time Interactions
7.1) The Weyrmount
7.1.1) What is the Weyrmount?
It's a MOO, a virtual environment for Dragons to interact with each
other. The original Weyrmount was on a Sensemedia server, but the
new Weyrmount II has its own domain (see Section 7.1.2).
7.1.2) How do I get there?
The 'official' address is telnet://moo.weyrmount.org:8000/. Telnet
to that address and follow the instructions on the screen, which will
allow you to connect as a guest.
If you don't get any instructions, then either you are forgetting the
port number, or your telnet client software is ignoring it. If the
latter, you'll probably have to get a new program. A Google search
for "MOO client" will reveal the most popular choices.
There is also a web page at http://www.weyrmount.org/, which allows
you to connect using a Java applet.
7.1.3) What do I do once I'm there?
[WizTraveller Dragon writes:]
"A MOO is a lot like a text adventure. To walk around, type stuff
like 'Go North'. Actually usually just 'N' will suffice. To talk to
other players, type 'say <your text here>'. There is a shortcut
version -- simply typing a double quote instead of say will work in
exactly the same way.
"The best way to get help is to page someone. You can type @who to
get a list of all the users who are currently logged on. Then type
'page <charactername> <your message>', e.g. 'Please help me, I'm
new...' (page can be replaced by an apostrophe). The people on the
MOO are generally very pleasant, and are almost certain to help you.
"There is a lot to learn, but most of it is very easy to use after a
short while. Typing help, or help <something> can often assist you.
While on the Weyrmount, you can also get help by saying the words
(entering the command} 'KAL LOR'.
"The official Weyrmount FAQ is being maintained by Monomolecular
Dragon at http://www.weyrmount.org/weyrfaq.shtml."
7.2) IRC
7.2.1) What is IRC?
IRC stands for "Internet Relay Chat". It consists of many
"channels", each of which has its own topic. Basically, it's the
precursor of Web-based chat-rooms, and many people still prefer it.
People can join channels and talk (or rather, type). Channels of
interest to Ultima players include #UDIC on Undernet, an Ultima
Dragons channel, #UO on Undernet, and #Ultima on EFNet.
7.2.2) How do I get there?
First, you need an IRC client. A large archive of IRC clients is
available at ftp://ftp.undernet.org/pub/clients/.
Different clients have different ways of accessing the commands. For
example, some of the following commands may be automated, and you
will only need to fill in a dialog box, so please read the
documentation of your client.
You will first need to connect to an IRC server by typing:
/server xxx.xxx.xxx
replacing "xxx.xxx.xxx" with a server near you from the list of
Undernet servers available at http://www.undernet.org/ (for #UDIC and
#UO), or the list of EFNet servers at http://www.efnet.net/ (for
#ultima).
If all goes well, you should get a message-of-the-day flashing up on
your screen. Your client may have asked you for a nickname to use on
IRC, but if not then you can type:
/nick <your nickname>
Choose something unique (9 letters max.) -- there are a lot of people
on IRC, and only one person can use each name at a time -- your
Dragon name is probably a good choice.
Now, to join a channel, type:
/join #channel
(replacing "#channel" with the name of the channel you want to join).
7.2.3) What do I do once I'm there?
Just start typing. Everything you type is sent to everyone on the
channel (when you press <return>), except for lines beginning with
"/". Anything beginning with a "/" is interpreted as a command, one
of the most useful being:
/me does something.
which prints on the screens of everyone else in the channel
"<your nickname> does something".
7.2.4) What does "re" mean?
It essentially means "Hello again". It could come from "re-hi" or
perhaps it's just a short form of "regards" -- no-one really knows.
7.3) ICQ
7.3.1) What is ICQ?
ICQ (I Seek You) is an instant messaging program that allows you to
chat directly and privately with your friends (unlike an IRC channel,
although you can set up a private IRC channel if you want to). You
can see when your friends are online, pass files back and forth,
exchange URLs, play games, chat, or send messages for someone to read
when they log on to the Internet.
7.3.2) Where can I find an ICQ client?
You can download the latest version of the official Windows client at
http://www.icq.com/download/. This page lists several mirror sites
if the main ICQ download site is slow or unavailable.
7.3.3) Is there a list of ICQ numbers for the Dragons?
Geomorphic Dragon used to maintain the UDICq list at
http://www.inficad.com/~geo/udic/udicq.htm but the site is currently
down. A partial replacement is available here:
http://web.icq.com/groups/members?gid=11060
7.4) Ultima Ressurection (sic) Live
Based on the Ultima Resurrection RPG (see Section 6.8) and still
sporting that game's original -- and deliberate -- spelling (check
the URL below for more details) this online service offers a realtime
RPG experience over the Internet. You can read more at the project's
website, http://www.mornproductions.com/UltimaRessurection/index.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------
8) Summary
8.1) Consolidated list of URLs and links
* 1.2: Full FAQ revision list,
http://www.daisho.plus.com/rgcu-faq/faq-revisions.html
* 1.3: Latest version of the FAQ,
http://www.daisho.plus.com/rgcu-faq/faq.html
* 1.3: Official FAQ sites,
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/games/ultima,
http://www.faqs.org
* 2.1: Ultima Dragons homepage, http://www.udic.org/faq.html
* 2.1: UDIC FTP site, ftp://ftp.udic.org/pub/ud/
* 2.5: Changing your details registered with the UDIC,
http://www.udic.org/members/
* 3.1: Official Request For Discussion re the creation of rgcu-d,
ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/rec/rec.games.compute
r.ultima-dragons
* 3.1: Official Request For Discussion re the rgcu-d reorg,
ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/rec/rec.games.compute
r.ultima-reorg
* 3.1.2: Berlin University news-server home-page,
http://news.individual.net/
* 3.2: Furcadia home-page, http://www.furcadia.com/
* 3.7: Forte and Agent homepage, http://www.forteinc.com/
* 3.7: Gravity 2.5 download site,
http://cws.internet.com/news-gravity.html
* 3.7: Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval newsreader recommendations,
http://www.xs4all.nl/~js/gnksa/
* 3.8: The UDICtionary,
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Misc/UDICtionary.htm
* 4.1: The Collectible Ultima,
http://www.notableultima.com/collectibles/
* 4.1: Ultima Collectors' Guide, http://www.surfing.net/ultima/ucg
* 4.1: eBay, http://www.ebay.com/
* 4.1: Yahoo! auctions, http://auctions.yahoo.com/
* 4.1: Amazon home-page, http://www.amazon.com/
* 4.2.1.2: Encore U1-6 CD problems FAQ,
http://www.ece.concordia.ca/~ac_march/Ultima1-6FAQ.html
* 4.3: EA's Ultima archive, http://uo.com/archive/
* 4.3: Mirror of Micro Dragon's old site, including Encore CD
documentation and Ultima Windows desktop theme,
http://home.comcast.net/~micro.dragon/index2.html
* 4.3: Encore CD documentation and Ultima Windows desktop theme
mirror, http://www.ultimainfo.net/Documents/index.htm
* 4.3: Ultima documents saved as PDFs,
http://members.aol.com/trigonman3/intro.html
* 4.3: Adobe Acrobat Reader download, http://www.adobe.com/
* 4.4.2: CuteMouse homepage, http://cutemouse.sourceforge.net/
* 4.5: Ultima 7 For Beginners,
http://members.iinet.net.au/~rsd/ultima7.html
* 4.5: Ultima 8 For Beginners,
http://members.iinet.net.au/~rsd/ultima8.html
* 4.5: Gaseous Dragon's site, http://members.iinet.net.au/~rsd/
* 4.6: VDMSound, http://www.ece.mcgill.ca/~vromas/vdmsound/
* 4.6: Bochs, http://bochs.sourceforge.net/
* 4.6: DOSBox, http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/
* 4.6: DOSEMU, http://www.dosemu.org/
* 4.6: VMware, https://www.vmware.com/
* 4.6: Cedega, http://www.transgaming.com/products_linux.php
* 4.6: Microsoft Virtual PC,
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/virtualpc/
* 4.7: Lost Dragon's PC slowdown page,
http://www.geocities.com/kulhain/
* 4.8: Contrapuntal Dragon's Ultima & AWE32 page,
http://www.enlartenment.com/ultima/ult-awe32.html
* 4.9: Ultima C64 and Apple II Emulator FAQ,
http://strobel.secure.at/ultima/FAQ.html
* 5.2: Ultima walkthroughs, http://uo.com/archive/ and
http://www.cyberenet.net/~redjr/
* 5.2: UDIC Newbie FAQ,
http://www.notableultima.com/FAQ/udicfaq.html
* 5.2: Ultima Gameplay FAQ,
http://www.ultimainfo.net/FAQ/ultimafaqs.htm
* 5.3.1: Ultima storyline FAQ,
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~anarchy/Ultima/Ultima_storyline_FAQ.html
* 5.3.3: Ultima timeline, http://www.notableultima.com/history/
* 5.4.1: Download for original Apple II Akalabeth,
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/games/rpg/akalabeth/
* 5.4.1: Akalabeth AppleSoft Basic sourcecode,
http://uo.com/archive/ftp/graphics/aklabeth.zip
* 5.4.1: PC ports of Akalabeth,
http://strobel.secure.at/ultima/FAQ.html ,
http://www.geocities.com/minerjr/akalabeth/Akalabetho1.htm and
the updated http://www.geocities.com/AkalabethRemake/
* 5.5.1: U1 graphics patch,
http://www.ece.concordia.ca/~ac_march/Ultima1-6FAQ.html or
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Downloads/U1patch.zip
* 5.6.1: U2 slowdown/save patch,
http://home-1.worldonline.nl/~palenstn/
* 5.6.2: U2 divide-by-zero fix,
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Downloads/U2SpeedFix.zip
* 5.6.2: Windows-native U2, http://ultima2.voyd.net/
* 5.6.3: U2 map fix,
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Downloads/U2PlanetMapFix.zip
* 5.6.4 & 5.7.1: U2 and U3 colour patches,
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Codex/Downloads.htm
* 5.8: U4 download sites, http://home.kc.rr.com/hidalgo/ or
http://www.enlartenment.com/ultima/u4download.html
* 5.8.1: U4 graphics and music patch, http://www.moongates.com/u4/
* 5.9.1: U5 MIDI patch, http://exodus.voyd.net/
* 5.10.1: U6 PC speaker sound-effects patch,
http://www.coli.uni-sb.de/~ticmanis/PATCHU6.ZIP
* 5.10.1: World editor for U6, http://3e8.org/hacks/ultima6
* 5.10.4: Unofficial Origin Museum site's U6 FM Towns samples,
http://originmuseum.solsector.net/beuche/
* 5.11.12: MDhack, program adding extra functions to SE and MD,
http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/programs/mdhack.zip
* 5.11.12: Universal Hint System help-files for SE and MD,
http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/programs/ultuhs.zip.
* 5.13.1: UW1 MIDI patch,
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Codex/Downloads.htm
* 5.13.1: UW1 inventory bug patch,
http://www.uo.com/archive/uw1/demoftp.html
* 5.13.1: Ultima Underworld Windows NT/2000/XP patch,
http://www.sircabirus.com/ultimaunderworld/pages/
* 5.13.2: UW1 3D level-viewer, http://www.peroxide.dk/underworld/
* 5.13.3: Amazon UK, http://www.amazon.co.uk
* Review of UW1 for Pocket PC,
http://www.cewindows.net/reviews/games/ultimaunderworld.htm
* 5.14.1: U7 MIDI patch,
http://uo.com/archive/ftp/patches/ult7gm.zip
* 5.14.1: U7 inventory patch,
http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/patches/u7patch.exe
* 5.14.1: U7 in Windows 9x/ME patch,
http://members.iinet.net.au/~rsd/U7inWindows.html
* 5.14.5: qfix.zip patch for Nvidia graphics problems in U7,
http://www.hpaa.com/moslo/utils.html
* 5.14.6: U7 weapon and armour ratings,
http://members.aol.com/UltimaFile/files/u7_sup.txt
* 5.14.7: U7-Wizard map/scenery editor,
http://wiz0u.free.fr/u7wizard/
* 5.15.1: UW2 MIDI patch,
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Codex/Downloads.htm
* 5.15.1: OSI patch for original UW2 release,
http://www.uo.com/archive/uw2/uw2soft.html
* 5.16.1: SI MIDI patch,
http://uo.com/archive/ftp/patches/ult7p2gm.zip
* 5.16.3: SI weapon and armour ratings,
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Downloads/SINotes.txt
* 5.16.5: Serpent Isle introduction, director's cut,
http://www.io.com/~dloubet/gallery/animate/serpisle.htm
* 5.17.1: OSI patch for original U8 releases,
ftp://ftp.ea.com/pub/origin/patches/u8/u8patche.zip (English
version), ftp://ftp.ea.com/pub/origin/patches/u8/u8patchg.zip
(German version),
ftp://ftp.ea.com/pub/origin/patches/u8/u8patchf.zip (French
version)
* 5.17.1: U8 soundcard patches,
http://www.uo.com/archive/ultima8/download.html#u8patch
* 5.17.1: U8 in Windows 9x/ME,
http://members.iinet.net.au/~rsd/U8inWindows.html
* 5.17.2: U8 savegame editor,
ftp://www.udic.net/pub/ultima/u8/hacks/u8cheat2.zip
* 5.17.2: U8 cheat information,
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Codex/Ultima8.htm
* 5.17.4: U8 The Lost Vale concept screenshots,
http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/graphics/ultima8/lostvale.zip
* 5.19.3: Official UO site, http://www.uo.com/
* 5.19.3: OSI FAQs for UO, http://support.uo.com/faq.html
* 5.19.3: rgcuo FAQ, http://www.area88.demon.co.uk/rgcuofaq.txt
* 5.19.4: Ultima Legacy unofficial UO server,
http://legacy.ultimainfo.net/
* 5.20.1: Final official U9 patch (v1.18),
ftp://ftp.owo.com/pub/ua/patch/u9patch118.exe
* Unofficial U9 v1.19 patch,
http://reconstruction.voyd.net/zips/u9ver119.zip
* 5.20.2: U9 technical FAQ, http://www.gulbsoft.de/faq.latest.html
(mirrored at http://www.bluesnews.com/faqs/u9faq.shtml)
* 5.20.3: U9 FAQ, http://www.powerup.com.au/~gjdanger/Terilem/
* 5.20.3: Official U9 site, http://www.ultima-ascension.com/
* 5.20.3: Original U9 plot,
http://www.rpgplanet.com/ultima9/extra_stuff/original_plot.shtml.
* 5.20.3: Screenshots original U9 engine,
http://www.hayn.nildram.co.uk/
* 5.20.4: U9 Power Tools,
http://reconstruction.voyd.net/zips/UIXTools.zip
* 5.20.4: U9 Extended Setup, http://www.geocities.com/xenerkes/
* 5.21.1: Arx Fatalis, http://www.arxfatalis-online.com/
* 5.22: Official Ultima X: Odyssey site, http://www.uxo.ea.com/
* 6.1: Ring of Dragons homepage,
http://www2.famvid.com/thor/games/ring/
* 6.2: Ultima updates and remakes, http://reconstruction.voyd.net/
* 6.2: A similar service, http://aiera.timeimmortal.net/
* 6.2.1: 'Moongates', http://www.chez.com/pgo/Ultima/index.html
* 6.2.2: The Exodus Project, http://exodus.voyd.net/
* 6.2.3: Ultima IV: The Dawn of Virtue,
http://www.hut.fi/~jtpelto2/ultima4/
* 6.2.4: Ultima V: Lazarus, http://www.u5lazarus.com
* 6.2.5: The Ultima 6 Project,
http://www.planetdungeonsiege.com/archon/
* 6.2.6: Nuvie, http://nuvie.sourceforge.net/
* 6.2.7: Ultima 6 Online, http://www.geocities.com/galleondragon/.
* 6.2.8: The System Shock Hack Project,
http://tsshp.sourceforge.net/sshock.html
* 6.2.9: Underworld Adventures, http://uwadv.sourceforge.net/
* 6.2.10: Exult, http://exult.sourceforge.net/
* 6.2.11: Labyrinth of Worlds, http://low.sourceforge.net/
* 6.2.12: Ultima VIII: Exile, http://u8exile.port5.com/main.shtml
* 6.2.13: Pentagram, http://pentagram.sourceforge.net/
* 6.3: Dragon Press, http://www.dragonpress.ultima-dragons.org/
* 6.3: Fanfic at the Lair of the Evil_Freak,
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Dome/6423/
* 6.4: Ultima runes Java applet,
http://strobel.secure.at/runes/runes.html
* 6.6.5: Unreal Tournament map of the UW1 Abyss,
http://zerker.ttlg.com/levels.asp?Level=17
* 6.7: High-Resolution Ultima Map Project,
http://www.dengler.net/xedragon/hrump/
* 6.7: Very large Ultima 4 and Ultima 5 maps,
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Cavern/5706/
* 6.7: U7 and SI world-map wallpaper,
http://psych.utoronto.ca/~duncan/ultima/
* 6.7: Scans of UW1 and 2, U7 and SI maps,
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Maps/index.htm
* 6.7: U1, U3 and U5 maps with mouse-over pop-ups of details,
http://thehawk-udic.home.comcast.net/
* 6.8: Ultima Resurrection P&P RPG,
http://blackgate.morningstar.info/index.html
* 6.8: Ultima Prophecy -- the Ankh of Stars P&P RPG,
http://www.salikon.dk/index3.html
* 6.8: Third-edition Dungeons and Dragons conversion of U4,
http://www.zipworld.com.au/~hong/dnd/britannia/index.htm
* 7.1.2: Weyrmount homepage and Java client,
http://www.weyrmount.org/
* 7.1.3: Weyrmount FAQ, http://www.weyrmount.org/weyrfaq.shtml
* 7.2.2: IRC client list, ftp://ftp.undernet.org/pub/clients/
* 7.2.2: Undernet server list and home-page, http://www.undernet.org/
* 7.2.2: EFNet server list and home-page, http://www.efnet.net/
* 7.3.2: ICQ Windows client, http://www.icq.com/download/
* 7.3.3: Partial list of Dragons' ICQ UINs,
http://web.icq.com/groups/members?gid=11060
* 7.4: Ultima Ressurection (sic) Live homepage,
http://www.mornproductions.com/UltimaRessurection/index.htm
* Miscellaneous:
Arcana Dragon has a number of helpful Ultima links at his site,
http://www.phyton.dk/ultima/
Handy -- and bizarre -- Ultima resources from DOUG the Eage
Dragon, http://www.it-he.org/
UltimaDot is a useful source of Ultima community news,
http://ultima.rpgdot.com/
8.2) Why isn't my page in here?
I welcome submissions, but please be aware that it is simply not
practical to list every Ultima-related resource out there in this
FAQ.
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9) Acknowledgements and copyright notice
Thanks to the authors of the other pages, software and FAQs referred
to in this document. Thanks also to the Ultima newsgroup
contributors who have answered some of the questions covered in this
document numerous times without complaint.
In addition, I would like to express my personal gratitude to those
who take the time to help me keep the FAQ up to date. Comments and
suggestions (but not spam) are welcome at the FAQ maintenance
address, rgcu.faq@gmail.com. I can't promise a reply to everything I
receive there but do read everything (other than spam!) that arrives.
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Copyright 2001-2005 Paul Gilham. All rights reserved.
Portions copyright 1998-2000 Edward Franks. All rights reserved.
Portions copyright 1996, 1997 Andrew Charlton. All rights reserved.
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