Ultima II - tedium? (SPOILERS)
2 views
Skip to first unread message
DalTXColtsFan
Mar 31, 2008, 5:03:48 PM3/31/08
to Dino's Ultima Page
Hello all,
As a serious Ultima fan from way back, I'm glad to find this place to
chat about Ultima.
I've finished I, IV, VI, VII (the Black Gate - haven't started Serpent
Isle yet) and IX. I've come close to completing V. Didn't get very
far in III.
I am currently playing II and just about done. I don't know why I
even bothered putting the word SPOILERS in the subject line, it's not
like anyone else here hasn't already played all the way through the
game 10 times :).
I was thinking about how you look back at some games 10, 20, 30 years
later and they still seem fresh and interesting whereas others just
seem dated. The first Ultima I ever played was III, and when I was 11
back in 1983 I thought it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen,
and when IV came out, it was just mindblowing that a little 64K
computer could produce such a realistic, living, breathing world.
Anyway, getting to the point, I believe that from IV on, the Ultimas
truly stand the test of time (especially The Black Gate), and I (one)
to a smaller extent stands the test of time because of how colorful
the game is and how easy it is to advance your character, but I gotta
say I really think II and III are just junk. They're both just pure
tedium! They require either massive amounts of luck, a walkthrough,
or months of tedious play to explore, find the 2 or 3 clues out of
10000 that actually matter, and all that making sure you don't run out
of food! It takes a lot of food to thoroughly explore towns!
Ultima II is especially painful - I'm able to play through it now
because of the multitude of thorough walkthroughs and maps available
on the net, but my god, if I didn't have maps and shortcuts available
to me I'd have spent MONTHS doing nothing but try to keep my character
alive while hunting for a ship, more hitpoints, where all of those
*((*@#98 time doors go, amassing enough information to pay the
100+200+300+400+500+600+700+800+900=4500 gold pieces to get the Oracle/
Sage's clues, the hundreds perhaps thousands of gold pieces necessary
for the Hotel California clerk, and heck I'd probably have flown to
every single planet without even realizing they're waste-of-time red
herrings. And was there ANY warning at all that the dungeons and
towers are worthless wastes of time?????
I gotta say, Mr. Garriott is, in my opinion, lucky he came up with
such a great idea from Ultima IV on, because I gotta figger his legacy
would have been forgotten if it'd been built on II and III.
Thoughts?
As a serious Ultima fan from way back, I'm glad to find this place to
chat about Ultima.
I've finished I, IV, VI, VII (the Black Gate - haven't started Serpent
Isle yet) and IX. I've come close to completing V. Didn't get very
far in III.
I am currently playing II and just about done. I don't know why I
even bothered putting the word SPOILERS in the subject line, it's not
like anyone else here hasn't already played all the way through the
game 10 times :).
I was thinking about how you look back at some games 10, 20, 30 years
later and they still seem fresh and interesting whereas others just
seem dated. The first Ultima I ever played was III, and when I was 11
back in 1983 I thought it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen,
and when IV came out, it was just mindblowing that a little 64K
computer could produce such a realistic, living, breathing world.
Anyway, getting to the point, I believe that from IV on, the Ultimas
truly stand the test of time (especially The Black Gate), and I (one)
to a smaller extent stands the test of time because of how colorful
the game is and how easy it is to advance your character, but I gotta
say I really think II and III are just junk. They're both just pure
tedium! They require either massive amounts of luck, a walkthrough,
or months of tedious play to explore, find the 2 or 3 clues out of
10000 that actually matter, and all that making sure you don't run out
of food! It takes a lot of food to thoroughly explore towns!
Ultima II is especially painful - I'm able to play through it now
because of the multitude of thorough walkthroughs and maps available
on the net, but my god, if I didn't have maps and shortcuts available
to me I'd have spent MONTHS doing nothing but try to keep my character
alive while hunting for a ship, more hitpoints, where all of those
*((*@#98 time doors go, amassing enough information to pay the
100+200+300+400+500+600+700+800+900=4500 gold pieces to get the Oracle/
Sage's clues, the hundreds perhaps thousands of gold pieces necessary
for the Hotel California clerk, and heck I'd probably have flown to
every single planet without even realizing they're waste-of-time red
herrings. And was there ANY warning at all that the dungeons and
towers are worthless wastes of time?????
I gotta say, Mr. Garriott is, in my opinion, lucky he came up with
such a great idea from Ultima IV on, because I gotta figger his legacy
would have been forgotten if it'd been built on II and III.
Thoughts?
Claus Dragon
Apr 4, 2008, 11:02:08 AM4/4/08
to Dino's Ultima Page
On 31 Mrz., 23:03, DalTXColtsFan <joe2...@swbell.net> wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> As a serious Ultima fan from way back, I'm glad to find this place to
> chat about Ultima.
> I've finished I, IV, VI, VII (the Black Gate - haven't started Serpent
> Isle yet) and IX. I've come close to completing V. Didn't get very
> far in III.
parts there together, but this is *hard*
> I am currently playing II and just about done. I don't know why I
> even bothered putting the word SPOILERS in the subject line, it's not
> like anyone else here hasn't already played all the way through the
> game 10 times :).
good source for gold, as monsters can be scarce.
Has anyone ever beaten Ultima II with a cleric or a mage, or anything
but a fighter? I figured that thieves are the only relevant class due
to the village where food could be stolen easily (meaning saving a lot
of money, how unvirtuously).
> I gotta say, Mr. Garriott is, in my opinion, lucky he came up with
> such a great idea from Ultima IV on, because I gotta figger his legacy
> would have been forgotten if it'd been built on II and III.
> Thoughts?
DalTXColtsFan
Apr 11, 2008, 3:04:41 PM4/11/08
to Dino's Ultima Page
On Apr 4, 10:02 am, Claus Dragon <clausk...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On 31 Mrz., 23:03, DalTXColtsFan <joe2...@swbell.net> wrote:
>
> > Hello all,
>
> > As a serious Ultima fan from way back, I'm glad to find this place to
> > chat about Ultima.
>
> Yes, it is. All places to talk about Ultima are good places!
>
> > I've finished I, IV, VI, VII (the Black Gate - haven't started Serpent
> > Isle yet) and IX. I've come close to completing V. Didn't get very
> > far in III.
>
> V: I have a savegame where I am in the underworld, trying to get all
> parts there together, but this is *hard*
>
through it in college and I think finals week snuck up on me and I
just never got back into it!
> > I am currently playing II and just about done. I don't know why I
> > even bothered putting the word SPOILERS in the subject line, it's not
> > like anyone else here hasn't already played all the way through the
> > game 10 times :).
>
> I only beat it twice, it was getting on my nerves, I think.
available on the internet today, I don't think I'd have ever beaten
it.
>
> > herrings. And was there ANY warning at all that the dungeons and
> > towers are worthless wastes of time?????
>
> No, there isnt, but I think that early in the game, they could be a
> good source for gold, as monsters can be scarce.
> Has anyone ever beaten Ultima II with a cleric or a mage, or anything
> but a fighter? I figured that thieves are the only relevant class due
> to the village where food could be stolen easily (meaning saving a lot
> of money, how unvirtuously).
>
landmass basically so monsters don't get stuck on other continents so
badly to where you can't kill them, which increases your probability
of finding a ship. Once you have a ship, amassing piles of gold is
much easier.
As far as "unvirtously" stealing food, isn't it unvrituous of the
shopkeeper to CHARGE you for the frickin gold knowing that you're just
trying to save the universe and he's going to get spanked by Minax if
he doesn't help you?!?!?!?! :).
> > I gotta say, Mr. Garriott is, in my opinion, lucky he came up with
> > such a great idea from Ultima IV on, because I gotta figger his legacy
> > would have been forgotten if it'd been built on II and III.
>
> Everyone has to start somewhere, wouldnt you agree?
>
a building block upon which to create Ultima IV, and once Ultima IV
came out, the rest was history.
My main point of my post was to embellish how much better AND LESS
TEDIOUS the Ultima series became after III, not necessarily to "bash"
I, II, and III, which all have their good points as well as bad points.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages