The rec.games.computer.ultima.* Frequently Asked Questions List (FAQ)
rgcu...@daisho.plus.com
Archive-name: games/ultima
Posting-Frequency: biweekly
Last-modified: 12 April, 2004
Version: 3.0
URL: http://www.daisho.plus.com/rgcu-faq/faq.html
Copyright: (C) 2001 Paul Gilham, portions (C) 1998-2000 Edward Franks,
portions (C) 1996, 1997 Andrew Charlton
Maintainer: Paul Gilham, rgcu...@daisho.plus.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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) 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?
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) What do you know about Ultima 10?
+ 5.22.2) Will there be an Ultima Online 2, as well?
* 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) The former Ultima 1 remake
+ 6.2.2) "New Moongates"
+ 6.2.3) The Exodus Project
+ 6.2.4) Ultima IV: The Dawn of Virtue
+ 6.2.5) Ultima V: Lazarus
+ 6.2.6) The Ultima 6 Project
+ 6.2.7) The System Shock Hack Project
+ 6.2.8) Underworld Adventures
+ 6.2.9) Exult
+ 6.2.10) Labyrinth of Worlds
+ 6.2.11) Ultima VIII: Exile
+ 6.2.12) Eriadain
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) Ultima pen-and-paper RPG
* 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?
* 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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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...@daisho.plus.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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
[12 April 2004]
Another long-overdue FAQ overhaul, including formatting changes and
broken links fixed (where possible -- thanks for Fallen Angel Dragon
for considerable help with that). Alterations by section are:
* 1.4: Ultima 10 abbreviation added
* 3.1.2: URL for Berlin University's news-server account sign-up updated
* 3.1.2: Fortran Dragon's e-mail address updated
* 3.7: Gravity 2.5 download URL amended
* 4.1.1: Abandonware section added
* 4.2: Sub-sections rationalised
* 4.2.3: Section added to reflect other Ultima compilations
* 4.6: Section dealing with Linux/Windows 2000/XP issues added
* 4.8: Contrapuntal Dragon's AWE FAQ URL updated
* 4.9: "Ultimas under emulation" section moved from section 6.2 and
references to Bleem! removed
* 5.3.1: Ultima timeline URL replaced by author's e-mail address
* 5.4.2: Section discussing Escape From Mount Drash added
* 5.6.2: Reference to Windows-native U2 moved from section 5.6.1
* 5.10.4: Comments on FM Towns U6 added
* 5.13.3: Section added to reflect UW1's release on Pocket PC
* 5.14.7: U7-Wizard URL amended
* 5.16.6: Note about Exult team's plan to plug SI Cantra plot hole added
* 5.19.1: URL for UO: Age of Shadows site added
* 5.19.2: System specs for UO and UO: The Second Age removed
* 5.20.1: URL for U9 patch 1.18f amended
* 5.20.3: The old OWO boards have been taken down -- URL removed
* 5.20.4: Download URL for U9 Power Tools amended
* 5.22: Section on U10 updated and promise of further details for
Richard Garriott's (apparently vapourware) project X removed
* 5.23: UO2 comments rolled into section 5.22
* 6.2: Works in progress section moved from section 5.24 and reshuffled
to accommodate removal of Peroxide's former U1 remake
* 6.6.1: Ophidian and Darkling Dragons' e-mail addresses updated
* 6.6.5: Swapped with section 6.6.6
* 7.2.2: Undernet FTP site address amended
* 7.3.3: New list of Ultima Dragon ICQ UINs added
* 8.1: Combined with section 8.2 to consolidated list of links
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
* UOL: Ultima Online Live, aka Ultima Online (NOTE: the designers
themselves prefer UO, which has also become most common among
players.)
* UO:T2A: Ultima Online: The Second Age
* UO:R: Ultima Online: Renaissance
* UO2: Ultima Online 2 (now defunct)
* UWO:O: Ultima Worlds Online: Origin, aka Ultima Online 2
* 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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
jo...@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 jo...@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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.computer.ultima-dragons
and
ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/rec/rec.games.computer.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.)"
For that reason, this FAQ is crossposted to rgcu-d as well as more
current groups, though its traffic is negligible today.
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/free news server. My personal preference
would be for Berlin University’s server -- 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):
*
http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/Chats_and_Forums/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
fortra...@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, and also working on Ultima Online
* 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
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://home.hiwaay.net/~rgregg/ultima/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. While many of the early and/or
very collectible Ultimas can go for high prices, it is still possible 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, but his
site has unfortunately disappeared. Fortunately, Paulon Dragon has
mirrored the files here: http://www.ultimainfo.net/Documents/index.htm.
Trigon Dragon is undertaking a similar project, with the documents and
some pictures available as Adobe PDF files from
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/.
An Adobe Acrobat Reader (required to view Adobe PDF files) may be freely
downloaded at Adobe's website at http://www.adobe.com/. There are many
versions of the Reader available for 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.
Bochs is perhaps the best utility for playing the Ultimas, since it's
cross-platform, fairly effective and free. It supports both 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/.
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 6.2.9).
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.michaelfleming.webcentral.com.au/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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 has written an Ultima Dragons Newbie FAQ, which includes a
number of frequently requested hints, at
http://home.hiwaay.net/~rgregg/ultima/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 zw...@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://home.hiwaay.net/~rgregg/ultima/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 only in small numbers on the Commodore VIC-20. Since
I became interested in the Ultima series, I've heard of only two
complete copies of Mount Drash coming to light. One of those sold for
around $1,000 on eBay.com in early 2004.
Basically, you'll be very lucky indeed to find a real version.
5.5) Ultima/Ultima 1
5.5.1) Patches
Arthur DiBianca, aka 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.michaelfleming.webcentral.com.au/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.
Ram Dragon is hosting the Ultima 4 World Map Editor and Combat Viewer on
his website, http://psych.utoronto.ca/~duncan/ultima/.
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.
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.
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 Black Gate 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.
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,
here: http://www.io.com/~dloubet/gallery/animate/serpisle.htm.
5.16.6) How do I save Cantra?
The long and short of it is, you can't -- the Serpent Isle programmers
forgot to enable that option in the game.
However, the Exult team (see Section 6.2.9) is planning to close the
plot-hole through their engine's runtime, leaving the SI usecode intact.
Further details have yet to be released.
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...@daisho.plus.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. A Quicktime movie made of the gameplay is
available at http://www.scei.co.jp/soft/movie/slps00742.mov.
5.19) Ultima Online
5.19.1) What is Ultima Online?
Ultima Online is a virtual, graphical environment, based in the world of
Britannia (and other continents). There was a successful (and by all
accounts extremely fun) pre-alpha test for two weeks beginning on 1
April 1997, and another starting on 13 May 1997. There was a beta test
between June and September of 1997.
The game has now been released in several incarnations -- information on
the latest is available from
http://www.eagames.com/premium/uo_aos/home.jsp. UO enjoys
continuing popularity and 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 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 similar to those of UO:
Renaissance (see below), with the exception of hard-disk space. At
least 925MB is required.
The minimum system requirements for Ultima Online: Third Dawn are a
Pentium II 266, 64MB RAM, Windows 9x/ME, 8MB Direct3D video card, 16-bit
sound card supporting DirectX7, 715MB hard drive space, 4x CD-ROM drive,
Microsoft-compatible mouse.
The recommended system specs for Ultima Online: Third Dawn are: a
Pentium II 350 MHz CPU, 128MB RAM, Windows 9x/ME, 16MB Direct3D video
card, 16-bit sound card supporting DirectX7, 750MB hard drive space,
4x CD-ROM drive, Microsoft-compatible mouse.
The minimum system requirements for Ultima Online: Renaissance 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),
383MB 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.
The recommended system specs for Ultima Online: Renaissance are: a
Pentium II 233 MHz CPU, 32MB RAM, Windows 9x, 4MB PCI video card
(DirectX supported, set to 16-bit colour), 16-bit sound card (DirectX
supported), 650MB uncompressed hard drive space, 8x CD-ROM drive,
Microsoft-compatible mouse, 100% Windows 9x compatible, SLIP/PPP or
direct connect at 28.8K bps or better with 32-bit TCP/IP stack.
NOTE: Third Dawn and subsequent UO releases use a 3D engine, but come
with the latest 2D client, in effect a patched version of
UO: Renaissance. A new land, Ilshenar, can be reached with Third Dawn's
3D client, or the 2D client in Lord Blackthorn's Revenge and Age of
Shadows. Details can be found at http://www.uolbr.com/.
5.19.3) Where can I find out more about Ultima Online?
There are many Ultima Online web pages. The official EA website is the
Origin Worlds Online web site at http://www.uo.com/. Origin 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.
As well as being posted in rgcuo every Wednesday, the FAQ 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/.
5.20) 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 can be
downloaded from: ftp://ftp.owo.com/pub/ua/patch/.
[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. (An excellent mirror is 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.
The Eriadain team is also hosting the old trailers for U9 in the
downloads section of its website (see Section 6.2.10).
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 and Ultima Online 2/Ultima Worlds Online: Origin
5.22.1) What do you know about Ultima 10?
This game, slated as a successor to Ultima Online, is now in
development. Richard Garriott's initial idea 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 [instead] likely show up as a character."
[Source: interview with Richard Garriott in October 1996's PC Gamer]
Electronic Arts' current plan for Ultima X: Odyssey will see the game
set on a new world, Alucinor, with only the Virtue system and the
prospect of ascending to Avatarhood linking it to the original series.
The game's official site is here: http://www.uxo.ea.com/
5.22.2) Will there be an Ultima Online 2, as well?
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 various Ultima-related works in
progress. While none are fully complete, all would 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/.
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
A ground-up remake of U4, using pre-rendered isometric graphics and full
music, with both new compositions and familiar Ultima themes. More
information on the project is available at its website,
http://www.hut.fi/~jtpelto2/ultima4/.
6.2.4) Ultima V: Lazarus
An ambitious, ground-up rebuild of U5, using the Dungeon Siege engine.
When complete, the project will require both the PC version of U5 and a
full version of Dungeon Siege to run.
You can find out more about the project at its current 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 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) 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.
6.2.7) 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/.
6.2.8) Exult
After four years of work, the Exult project, to create a multi-platform
U7 engine that runs with data and graphics files from the original game,
has gone gold. You can download version 1.1, as well as the source
code, from http://exult.sourceforge.net/.
Work on the project continues, so if you've ever had the urge to
contribute to an Open Source project, I would urge you to add your
skills to this one.
6.2.9) Labyrinth of Worlds
This is a ground-up remake of UW2. Tech demons are now available from
the project's website, http://low.sourceforge.net/.
6.2.10) 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.
6.2.11) Eriadain
Eriadain (formerly Alter U9) is an effort to create a Neverwinter Nights
module following the original U9 plot conceived by Bob White and his
co-designers (see Section 5.20.3). You can find out more at the
Eriadain website, http://membres.lycos.fr/eriadain/.
6.3) Ultima Fan Fiction
You can find a list of Ultima fan fiction at Dragon Press,
http://www.geocities.com/blackthorn2ie/dragonpress/index.html. The Lair
of the Evil_Freak has additional Ultima fan fiction 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. Unfortunately, Micro's popular site has
long since disappeared, but the theme is still available from Paulon
Dragon's site, at http://www.ultimainfo.net/Documents/index.htm.
6.6) Ultima Levels/Maps for Other Games
6.6.1) Civilization 2
The Silly Dragon (hundm...@home.com), Ophidian Dragon (zw...@cwru.edu)
and Darkling Dragon (p_zib...@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
zw...@cwru.edu.
6.6.3) Warcraft 2
Vulcan Dragon (mcar...@columbus.rr.com) and Ophidian Dragon
(zw...@cwru.edu) have both created Ultima-themed Warcraft 2 PUDs,
available to those who e-mail them.
Shodan Dragon also has a set of Warcraft 2 PUDs called the Blood of
Britannia -- you can find them at
http://shodan.home.mindspring.com/ultwar2/.
6.6.4) Warlords 2
Ophidian Dragon has a Warlords 2 level available if you e-mail him at
zw...@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_zib...@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 Ultima 1,
Ultima 2, Ultima 3, Ultima 4, Ultima 5, Savage Empire, Martian Dreams,
both Ultima 7s, and Ultima 8 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.
6.8) Ultima pen-and-paper RPG
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 Ressurection (sic -- you'll have to follow the
URL below for an explanation!) has now entered its playtesting phase.
The game was created by Castillo, who has made a variety of files
available for download, in several formats. They can currently be found
at: http://www.salikon.dk/callisto.html.
Quill Dragon, who is currently hosting the files, has also
created a number of resources for Ultima Ressurection. These are
available at the same site.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 very nice,
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 using 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 shortened 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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.computer.ultima-dragons
* 3.1: Official Request For Discussion re the rgcu-d reorg,
ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/rec/rec.games.computer.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://home.hiwaay.net/~rgregg/ultima/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: Paulon Dragon's mirror of Micro Dragon's Ultima documentation
site, 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/
* 4.6.1: Bochs, http://bochs.sourceforge.net/
* 4.6.1: DOSBox, http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/
* 4.6.1: DOSEMU, http://www.dosemu.org/
* 4.6.1: VMware, https://www.vmware.com/
* 4.6.1: 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.michaelfleming.webcentral.com.au/ultima/ult-awe32.html
* 4.9: Ultima C64 and Apple II Emulator FAQ,
http://strobel.secure.at/ultima/FAQ.html
* 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.michaelfleming.webcentral.com.au/ultima/u4download.html
* 5.8: U4 World Map Editor and Combat Viewer,
http://psych.utoronto.ca/~duncan/ultima/
* 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
* 5.10.4: 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
* 5.13.2: 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
* 5.18.5: Footage of UW1 gameplay on Sony Playstation,
http://www.scei.co.jp/soft/movie/slps00742.mov
* 5.19.1: Ultima Online: Age of Shadows website,
http://www.eagames.com/premium/uo_aos/home.jsp
* 5.19.2: Official Ultima Online: Lord Blackthorn's Revenge site,
http://www.uolbr.com/
* 5.19.2: Official
* 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: OSI web-board archive, http://boards.owo.com/
* 5.20.3: Original U9 plot,
http://www.rpgplanet.com/ultima9/extra_stuff/original_plot.shtml.
* 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/
* 6.2.1: '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: The System Shock Hack Project,
http://tsshp.sourceforge.net/sshock.html
* 6.2.7: Underworld Adventures, http://uwadv.sourceforge.net/
* 6.2.8: Exult, http://exult.sourceforge.net/
* 6.2.9: Labyrinth of Worlds, http://low.sourceforge.net/
* 6.2.10: Ultima VIII: Exile, http://u8exile.port5.com/main.shtml
* 6.2.11: Eriadain, http://membres.lycos.fr/eriadain/
* 6.3: Dragon Press,
http://www.geocities.com/blackthorn2ie/dragonpress/index.html
* 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
* 6.5 Ultima Windows desktop theme,
http://www.ultimainfo.net/Documents/index.htm
* 6.6.3 Blood of Britannia Ultima Warcraft 2 PUDs,
http://shodan.home.mindspring.com/ultwar2/
* 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
* 6.8: Ultima Ressurection (sic) P&P RPG,
http://www.salikon.dk/callisto.html
* 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
* Miscellaneous: Arcana Dragon has a number of helpful Ultima links at
his site, http://www.phyton.dk/ultima/
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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...@daisho.plus.com. I can't promise a reply to everything I
receive there, but do read everything (other than spam!) that arrives.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2001-2004 Paul Gilham. All rights reserved.
Portions copyright 1998-2000 Edward Franks. All rights reserved.
Portions copyright 1996, 1997 Andrew Charlton. All rights reserved.
------------------------------------------------------------------------