Ultima Underworld special items

Technical Details Warning

While the encyclopedic nature of the codex means that many articles will have information that could spoil some minor aspects of the game for newer players, this article is known to contain technical information about the game, game engine, data files, logic, etc. This information is not generally useful to the typical game players. Continue reading at your own discretion.

This page lists all the inventory items in Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss with special properties.

Description

The Ultima Underworld game engine has 512 slots for in-game objects. Less than 461 of those slots are used for are actual in-game objects. Every base object has 11 bytes of data stored in FILEcomobj.dat, this is considered the common object data and can be found in Ultima Underworld common items. Certain objects have additional data stored in tables in FILEobjects.dat, this is considered the special objects data. This page is a repository of most of those tables. The notable exception is for the critters (all creatures are called critters in the engine, they may be called monsters or NPCs by the players), which get their own page.

Notes

• Data on this page was retrieved from the game engine's data files. Data has not officially been published and has been deciphered by observation. Information may have been read or interpreted incorrectly.
• The object id numbers in the left column are the game's object number, ie the entry indicies in comobjs.dat, not the entry indicies in object.dat.
• Some objects have 2 id numbers. For containers these are the opened and closed states, for light items these are the lit and unlit states.
• The value parameter is not understood. This is not the value at which Shak appraises items. It may be an internal value used for NPCs bartering items.
• An object with a durability of 255 is indestructible. (But only in combat? Need to test this and verify)

TODO	test objects with durability of 255

Melee Weapons

The melee weapons table contains 16 entries and each entry is 8 bytes long

#	Icon	Name	Mass	Value	Damage				Charge			Skill	Durability
					Slash	Bash	Stab	Best	Min	Speed	Max
0		hand axe	2.4	20	6	4	2	6	90	25	160	axe	10
1		battle axe	4.0	60	14	7	2	14	70	5	220	axe	34
2		axe	3.2	100	10	6	8	10	80	13	190	axe	25
3		dagger	0.8	20	4	2	5	5	100	30	145	sword	5
4		shortsword	1.6	50	6	3	6	6	90	20	170	sword	18
5		longsword	2.4	80	10	4	8	10	80	15	190	sword	28
6		broadsword	3.2	100	13	6	10	13	70	9	205	sword	34
7		cudgel	1.6	15	3	6	2	6	95	20	145	mace	2
8		light mace	2.4	55	6	10	4	10	85	15	175	mace	15
9		mace	3.2	90	8	16	5	16	75	9	190	mace	25
10		shiny sword	3.4	0	14	7	11	14	70	11	190	sword	255
11		jeweled axe	3.2	250	13	8	5	13	75	8	200	axe	255
12		black sword	3.6	200	15	7	12	15	60	5	200	sword	255
13		jeweled sword	2.8	250	14	7	11	14	70	11	190	sword	255
14		jeweled mace	2.8	250	9	17	5	17	65	6	220	mace	255
15		fist	0.0	0	2	4	3	4	90	15	140	unarmed	255

Notes

• The fist has a graphic that is used internally but never shown in-game
• The Best Damage column isn't in the game, it is here to show the best of the three damage types for easy comparison of weapons
• The exact calculation for weapon charge speed isn't known, but generally the higher the value the faster the charge. Notice the battle axe at 5 and dagger at 30

Takeaways

• The dagger's strongest attack is stab, the shortsword's slash and stab are its equally strongest attacks. No other weapon has stab as its strongest attack.
• The fist does indeed have all three attack types, although the POV animations are the same for all three.
• Slash is the strongest attack for all axes and all swords except the dagger.
• Bash is the strongest attack for all the maces and the fist.
• The artifact sword is the same as the jeweled sword, just heavier.
• The jeweled mace is the top tier of the maces and the highest damaging weapon of the game, but the jeweled sword and axe are not the the highest of their categories.
• If starting the game with a character without a weapon skill, which weapon to pick? The tier one weapons (cudgel, hand axe, shortsword) all can do 6 points of damage, but the hand axe is the fastest. The tier two weapons (axe, light mace, longsword) can all do 10 points of damage, but the axe is the slowest.
• The jeweled sword is arguably the best weapon in the game. It does just slightly less damage than the black sword, but it's slightly lighter and more than twice as fast. The mace does slightly more damage at almost the same speed, but the jeweled sword is both lighter and indestructible. The jeweled mace does the most damage but it's nearly twice as slow.
• The jeweled sword has a durability of 255, but it is damageable when used against doors. Perhaps 255 just means indestructible in normal combat? Some more testing is required to make some conclusions.

Ranged Weapons & Projectiles

The ranged weapons table contains 16 entries and each entry is 3 bytes long

#	Icon	Name	Mass	Value	Ammo	Durability
16		sling stone	0.1	1	—	?
17		crossbow bolt	0.2	4	—	?
18		arrow	0.1	2	—	?
19		stone	0.4	0	—	?
24		sling	0.4	10	sling stone	?
25		bow	1.2	50	arrow	?
26		crossbow	2.4	70	crossbow bolt	?
31		jeweled bow	1.6	150	arrow	?

Notes

• As of this writing the file formats document contains missing and incorrect information on how to read data about this item category, thus the data present here is limited
• All projectiles (such as fireballs and acid blobs) are listed in this table but since they aren't obtainable by the player they are not included in this article.

Takeaways

• The stone item is declared in this table but doesn't appear to be used anywhere in the game. Perhaps this was once going to be a tossed projectile of the trolls, as the snowball of the yeti in Ultima Underworld II. Interestingly, the stone is defined in both the object tables and the icon table in each of Ultima Underworld. the PSX-port of Ultima Underworld, and Ultima Underworld II, but the object is not used in any of these games.

Armour & Wearables

The armours table contains 32 entries and each entry is 4 bytes long

#	Icon	Name	Mass	Value	Protection	Durability	Slot
32		leather vest	2.0	20	2	8	chest
33		mail shirt	4.0	45	4	22	chest
34		breastplate	8.0	70	6	34	chest
35		leather leggings	1.6	15	2	4	legs
36		mail leggings	3.2	35	4	12	legs
37		plate leggings	6.4	60	6	20	legs
38		leather gloves	0.8	10	1	2	hands
39		chain gauntlets	1.2	20	3	9	hands
40		plate gauntlets	1.6	30	5	15	hands
41		leather boots	1.2	12	1	3	feet
42		chain boots	1.6	25	3	10	feet
43		plate boots	2.0	40	5	17	feet
44		leather cap	0.8	15	2	6	head
45		chain cowl	1.2	30	4	15	head
46		helmet	1.6	50	6	24	head
47		pair of dragon skin boots	3.2	150	3	255	feet
48		crown	0.4	90	0	255	head
49		crown	1.6	120	0	255	head
50		crown	1.6	120	0	255	head
54		iron ring	0.1	0	0	255	ring
55		shiny shield	4.8	0	3	255	none
56		gold ring	0.1	60	0	255	ring
57		silver ring	0.1	40	0	255	ring
58		red ring	0.1	25	0	255	ring
59		tower shield	4.8	50	3	30	none
60		wooden shield	2.8	35	1	5	none
61		small shield	2.2	20	2	17	none
62		buckler	2.8	15	1	9	none
63		jeweled shield	5.2	150	2	255	none

The following are the aggregate values for each set of materials:

Material	Mass	Protection
Leather	6.4	8
Chain	11.2	18
Plate	19.6	28

TODO	list average or median values for armor set, totalling the values is useless information

Notes

• The value in the Slot column tells where on the paper doll to equip the item. Since shields don't go on the paper doll, they go in an equipment slot alongside the doll, their slot is "none"

Takeaways

• There are 2 points of protection of difference between the leather, chain, and plate armour pieces.
• Unenchanted rings and crowns offer no armor protection.
• Dragonskin boots are much heavier than plate boots but offer only chain boots level of protection.
• The buckler offers the same protection as the wooden shield and the same weight, but almost twice the durability and less than half the value.
• Ths small shield not only offers better protection than the wooden shield and the buckler, but it's also lighter than them.
• The jeweled shield is not the highest tier shield.
• The jeweled shield offers the same protection as the small shield but with more than double the weight.
• The artifact shield is the same as the tower shield, just indestructible.

Critters

The next entry in objects.dat is the critters table. It has 64 entries and each entry is 48 bytes long. It is not currently included in this article nor on any other article. This spot is being saved for future use.

TODO	Create critters table and either place it here or link it here

Containers

The containers table contains 16 entries and each entry is 3 bytes long

#	Icon	Name	Mass	Value	Capacity	Cap/Mass	Restriction
128 129		sack	0.2	4	12.5	62.500	—
130 131		pack	0.4	8	25	62.500	—
132 133		box	0.6	6	12.5	20.833	—
134 135		pouch	0.1	3	2	20.000	—
136 137		map case	0.1	3	3	30.000	scrolls
138 139		gold coffer	1.2	40	12.5	10.417	—
140		urn	1.2	5	20	16.667	—
141		quiver	0.8	10	0	∞	ammo
142		bowl	0.4	3	5	12.500	food
143		rune bag	0.4	0	0	∞	rune stones

Notes

• The capacity/Mass ratio isn't stored in-game, it's provided in this table for the reader's convenience
• The urn is defined in this table although it can't be picked up. The other containers that can't be picked up are the chest, barrel, and cauldron, and they are not defined in this table.

Takeaways

• The pack has the best capacity and also the best ratio of capacity to weight.
• The sack, box, and gold coffer have the same capacity, but different weights.
• If the value field is for bartering, it's strange that these items have values, as containers can't be bartered.

Light Sources

The lights table contains 16 entries and each entry is 2 bytes long

#	Icon	Name	Mass	Value	Duration	Brightness
144 148		lantern	0.6	30	10	4
145 149		torch	0.2	5	3	2
146 150		candle	0.1	2	12	1
147 151		taper	0.4	1	0	3

Light Spells Brightness

Name	Brightness
Light	3
Magic Lantern	4
Night Vision	5
Daylight	7

Notes

• Light spells’ brightnesses are provided here for convenient comparison. For more information see: Light (concept)

Takeaways

• Although documentation says the the Light spell emits lights similar to a torch, it is actually a step brighter, similar to the taper.
• The torch emits light brightness less than the Light spell even thought the spell's icon is a lit torch.

Food Items

The foods table contains 16 entries and each entry is 1 byte long

#		Name	Mass	Value	Nutrition	Nut/Mass
176		piece of meat	0.7	4	64	91
177		loaf of bread	0.5	3	16	32
178		piece of cheese	0.2	2	12	60
179		apple	0.1	2	6	60
180		ear of corn	0.1	2	25	250
181		loaf of bread	0.4	2	12	30
182		fish	1.0	3	48	48
183		bunch of popcorn	0.1	1	2	20
184		mushroom	0.2	1	0	0
185		toadstool	0.2	1	6	30
186		bottle of ale	0.4	5	253	?
187		red potion	0.3	20	129	?
188		green potion	0.3	20	129	?
189		bottle of water	0.4	3	255	?
190		flask of port	0.4	5	248	?
191		bottle of wine	0.4	0	0	?

Notes

• The nutrition/mass ratio isn't stored in game, it's provided in this table for convenience of comparison. Ratios for beverages weren't provided because the numbers don't seem to be correct.
• The beverages all have a high nutrition value, over 128. It's possible that the high bit of this byte is a flag for some special handling.
• There are a few more editable items, such as the plants (with and without red berries), the rotworm corpse, rotworm stew, candles, leeches, etc, that are not in this table. Their nutrition values are unknown at this time.

Takeaways

• The ear of corn has by far the highest nutrition to weight ratio, and loses it significantly when changed to popcorn

Treasure Items

The treasures table contains 16 entries and each entry is 1 byte long

#		Name	Mass	Value	Value
160		coin	0.1	3	0
161		gold coin	0.4	3	2
162		ruby	0.1	25	4
163		red gem	0.1	15	5
164		small blue gem	0.1	20	1
165		large blue gem	0.1	30	7
166		sapphire	0.1	40	6
167		emerald	0.1	35	0
168		amulet	0.4	60	0
169		goblet	0.8	50	0
170		sceptre	1.2	50	0
171		gold chain	0.8	75	0
172		gold plate	1.6	100	0
173		ankh pendant	0.0	25	0
174		shiny cup	0.0	0	0
175		large gold nugget	1.6	50	0

Notes

• It is unclear what this new value category is used for

Takeaways

• It's interesting that the coin and gold coin have the same value, and the gold coin is 4x as heavy

Animations

The animations table contains 16 entries and each entry is 4 bytes long. It is not currently included in this article.

Each object in the game can be assigned an icon (stored in FILEobjects.gr), or a 3d model or texture, but an object cannot have multiple icons. That's why for for example opened and closed containers are separate objects, and lit and unlit lights are separate objects. This table is for linking animation frames (stored in FILEanimo.gr) to objects. This is how animations such as the flowing water fountain or glowing Silver Sapling are handled.

See Also

• Ultima Underworld common items