Modern transportation

The odd selection of transportation in Ultima I

Modern transportation refers to various anachronistic, high-technology vehicles found in the first two Ultima installments. Due either to the presence of a time machine first and of time gates later, a number of exotic devices reached the feudalistic lands of Sosaria and the most ancient millennia of archaic Earth.

After the disappearance of the means for time travel, the lands that would become Britannia lost use of these futuristic artifacts. The world of Earth, in the meantime, was restored to temporal normalcy, and the civilizations of the past were left without access to the legacy of their future.

Ultima I

Vehicles

Aircar

For a cost of 500 to 950 gold an aircar can be acquired for overland as well as over water travels. However, it appears that it requires a flat surface, making areas of heavy vegetation and uneven land impassable. In addition to providing highly versatile transport, the aircar is furnished with potent laser weaponry, making it possible to attack marauding enemies (at a distance of 3, causing 32 to 80 damage).

Shuttle

In the world of Sosaria after the arrival of the time machine from the future, the technological wonder of space flight intertwined with the seemingly medieval socio-political mores of the age. Alien and strange to most of the inhabitants of the era, knowledge of space flight was only gained through means of a space pilot instructional manual found discarded among the foothills of Mount Drash. The comparatively primitive people of the day, having heard prophecies that the hero who defeated Mondain would eventually need to fight creatures dwelling beyond the heavens, they preserved and widely distributed this document. Their hope was that one day, a champion would arise who understood its meaning.

In spite of this dissonance with the age, space-faring shuttles were available through a number of retailers in the kingdom, perhaps being sold as scrap or as simple curiosities. Eventually, the Stranger was able to procure such a vessel, and was able to accelerate past the atmosphere of the planet into the orbit in which the wizard's star-faring allies lay in wait.

While other space vehicles were available to the hero, the Sosarian shuttle was the only one equipped with heat shields capable of leaving and re-entering the planet's atmosphere, although its fuel capacity and combat shielding proved lacking in the eventual interstellar dog-fights in which the Stranger engaged. Appropriate gear was also necessary to pilot it successfully, lest rapid change in pressure prove fatal to the shuttle's occupant.

Starship (small)

Once successfully in the realm of the "star-walkers", other ships became available to the Stranger through an orbital docking station. The small starship, while lacking the shuttles capacity for atmospheric re-entry, was outfitted with heavy shielding (rating: 5000 units) and a modest fuel supply (max capacity: 2500 units), making it an ideal option for short bursts of intense fighting.

Starship (large)

The large starship, like its smaller cousin, proved a superior combat vehicle to the simple shuttle while pursuing the vaunted title of "Space Ace". While its size allowed for an immense fuel supply (max capacity: 5000 units), its shields were comparatively weak (rating: 1000 units) when contrasted with the more compact model. This bulkier vessel, also a fighting ship, had no heat shields for exiting orbit.

Support Facilities

Docking Station

(shown with shuttle and small starship docked)

The docking station was nonetheless a vital waypoint for the Stranger's journey to master the ways of interstellar combat. Once out of Sosaria's atmosphere, shuttles could be docked here for a five-hundred gold-piece fee and a new, more battle-ready vessel could be procured.

Ultima II

Plane

A fixed-wing aircraft, the plane of the late twentieth and early twenty-second centuries provided quick passage over land and sea. When not in flight, the airplane was capable of landing on grassland. The only planes available to the Stranger in the hero's exploits throughout the altered time stream of Earth were in the possession of New San Antonio Airport and the Soviet-controlled defense hanger of the post-apocalyptic settlement of Pirates Harbour, although some could also be located on the outer planets of the Terran Solar System, notably Pluto.

For reasons never made clear, all available planes lacked a crucial mechanical component: a brass button required to accelerate the airplane to flying speed. Once replaced, however, this button would break after flight was achieved. The cockpit of planes further required a skull key to open. Once in the air, planes were only able to land upon flat stretches of grassland, and would crash disastrously if steered into mountains.

Rocket

Rocket ships were only available within the post-apocalyptic Soviet settlement of Pirates Harbour, and within the city, they were only available to those who could wrest them from the USSR's locked and guarded launch site; a feat which would likely require the death of several of the twenty-second century KGB agents. Like the shuttle of earlier adventures, the rocket required that its pilot wear specialized armour to avoid falling victim to the physical trauma of interstellar flight.

It was necessary to have an ankh to operate the launch controls, although the exact mechanism for how the item interacted with the ship's machinery is unknown. The rocket of this strange era was fueled by a compound known as “tri-lithium”, a resource which could be found in the deepest reaches of dungeons and greatest heights of towers, as well as dropped by some enemies.

Once the rocket achieved orbit around the planet it had launched from, a set of three coordinates (Xeno, Yako and Zabo) had to be entered into the ship's computer to engage a hyperwarp toward the next destination, a task that utilized a single unit of tri-lithium for each warp jump. Once engaged to land, the ship could only approach the surface of a planet on flat grassland; attempts to disembark elsewhere would lead to the vessel's fiery destruction.

Lore

“	Planes: No jets, but these little single-prop jobbies are just the ticket for hotfooting it around the world and through time—if you're prepared. Rockets: By the time you find one and figure out how to procure it, you won't need a manual to deal with the situation. It takes proper armor to launch one and survive. – from The Second Age of Darkness (Ultima II)

Trivia

• The creative logic behind such bizarre intertwining of medieval high fantasy and science fiction was that, at the time of these games’ production, Richard Garriott had not yet decided in which direction he should take the series. After Ultima II, he came to favor the fantasy aspect of the games and decided to largely abandon the inclusion of future technology.
• Anachronisms are possible thanks to time travel (time machine and time doors).
• The appearance of the aircar seems to be inspired by the landspeeder in Star Wars.