Easter eggs in Ultima
Tristan Miller
Has anyone gathered a list of Easter eggs in the various Ultima games? In
case anyone has or wants to, here are some I can think of the following
(mostly lesser-known) ones off the top of my head. I post them in the hopes
they'll be useful.
* spoiler alert *
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1) In Ultima VI, try asking the gypsies north of Trinsic about "sex".
You'll be led off for a little fling in their wagon, much to the chagrin of
your companions.
2) In Ultima V, try the old Ultima IV trick to buy a sextant from a thieves'
guild. (Id est, ask for item "D".) You'll be treated to a curt, "Sorry, but
that was a limited-time offer."
3) In the Commodore 64/128 version of Ultima V, try viewing the game disks
with a sector editor and you'll find a hidden message from Dr. Cat. (I
contacted him about this a year or two ago and he told me that I was the
first person to have ever mentioned finding it -- lucky me!) :)
4) In Ultima V, Smith the talking horse can sometimes be found in Iolo's
barn. (I think it depends on the phase of the moons.)
5) In Ultima VII, read the plaque in the Castle of Lord British as he stands
under it at noon. The plaque will fall on his head and kill him, and among
his remains will be found a will proving the identity of a certain baby's
father...
6) In Serpent Isle, in a northern cave can be found a scroll entreating the
reader to seek out and kill a malicious pirate. The pirate can be found in
a remote cottage (forgive me, I don't remember exactly where) with a
computer. (He's a software pirate -- get it?)
7) Reading the tombstones and crosses in Ultima V (and later) will, of
course, reveal a myriad of in-jokes.
8) Trying to directly execute the endgame module for Ultima VI for DOS
(endgame.exe) will display an admonition from Lord British.
And here's another oddity, which doesn't quite qualify as an Easter egg but
is of interest nonetheless: In Ultima V (I use the C64/128 version but it
may work for other versions as well), try changing disks while you're
walking around the main map. If you insert the Underworld disk, you'll
start to encounter pieces of the Underwold map. If you enter any other
disk, you'll most likely get lots of random tiles on the screen (though the
game will still remain functional). What's interesting is that you might
even see a tile or two that was never used in the game! The disk-swapping
trick also works in Ultima IV, though there are no new tiles.
While I'm at it, here are a few interesting bugs I've found in the Ultima
games:
1) In the C64 version of Ultima IV, attacking a chest launches you into
combat with a "phantom" with a very odd appearance. The same can be done
with a few other objects and entities in the game, including the Ankh in
Skara Brae, and the Water in Lord British's castle.
2) In some early versions of Ultima VI for DOS, it is possible to "kill"
Lord British by pushing him into an open chest. If you subsequently pick up
the chest and look inside, you will find a "crystallized" Lord British which
you can then smash on the ground like a glass. (Press CTRL-V while playing
to check your version of Ultima VI -- if it isn't damn close to 1.00, this
probably won't work for you.)
3) Some (all?) versions of Ultima V for DOS allowed one to use a two-handed
hammer in the same manner as a magic axe -- that is, it could be thrown
great distances, and would then return to the wielder. AFAIK the weapon was
never meant to be defined this way, and it is not a ranged weapon in other
ports of Ultima V.
--
Tristan Miller -- http://www.nothingisreal.com
"Close your mouth and not try to make me look fool, you are."
-- Ioannis Vranos
Joseph Morris
>
>
> 2) In some early versions of Ultima VI for DOS, it is possible to "kill"
> Lord British by pushing him into an open chest. If you subsequently pick up
> the chest and look inside, you will find a "crystallized" Lord British which
> you can then smash on the ground like a glass.
Wow!
> (Press CTRL-V while playing to check your version of Ultima VI -- if it isn't
> damn close to 1.00, this probably won't work for you.)
>
I didn't know there were any released versions before 4.xx ...
>
> --
> Tristan Miller -- http://www.nothingisreal.com
>
> "Close your mouth and not try to make me look fool, you are."
> -- Ioannis Vranos
--
JP Morris - aka DOUG the Eagle (Dragon) -=UDIC=- do...@it-he.org
Fun things to do with the Ultima games (http://www.it-he.org)
Developing a U6/U7 clone (http://fly.to/ire)
d+++ e+ N+ T++ Om U1234!56!7'!S'!8!9!KA u++ uC+++ uF+++ uG---- uLB----
uA--- nC+ nR---- nH+++ nP++ nI nPT nS nT wM- wC- y a(YEAR - 1976)
Tristan Miller
"Joseph Morris" <j...@it-he.org> wrote in message
news:39A19573...@it-he.org...
> > 2) In some early versions of Ultima VI for DOS, it is possible to "kill"
> > Lord British by pushing him into an open chest. If you subsequently
pick up
> > the chest and look inside, you will find a "crystallized" Lord British
which
> > you can then smash on the ground like a glass.
>
> Wow!
Indeed -- I wasn't sure whether to include this as a bug or an Easter egg,
since it almost sounds too silly to be an accident. But since it was
removed from later releases of the game, I assume it was a genuine bug.
> > (Press CTRL-V while playing to check your version of Ultima VI -- if it
isn't
> > damn close to 1.00, this probably won't work for you.)
>
> I didn't know there were any released versions before 4.xx ...
Well, a friend of mine bought his copy of U6 the week of its release, and
his game exhibits the feature. My U6, purchased several months later, does
not. I'll try to contact him to see if he can provide me with the exact
version number... All I remember is that my copy's version number was a few
increments larger than his.
Joseph Morris
>
> Greetings.
>
> "Joseph Morris" <j...@it-he.org> wrote in message
> news:39A19573...@it-he.org...
> > > 2) In some early versions of Ultima VI for DOS, it is possible to "kill"
> > > Lord British by pushing him into an open chest. If you subsequently
> pick up
> > > the chest and look inside, you will find a "crystallized" Lord British
> which
> > > you can then smash on the ground like a glass.
> >
> > Wow!
>
> Indeed -- I wasn't sure whether to include this as a bug or an Easter egg,
> since it almost sounds too silly to be an accident. But since it was
> removed from later releases of the game, I assume it was a genuine bug.
>
> > > (Press CTRL-V while playing to check your version of Ultima VI -- if it
> isn't
> > > damn close to 1.00, this probably won't work for you.)
> >
> > I didn't know there were any released versions before 4.xx ...
>
> Well, a friend of mine bought his copy of U6 the week of its release, and
> his game exhibits the feature. My U6, purchased several months later, does
> not. I'll try to contact him to see if he can provide me with the exact
> version number... All I remember is that my copy's version number was a few
> increments larger than his.
>
Is there any chance you can send me / put up a screenshot of that?
Before, and after.. I presume the dialog is something like:
Drop Lord British on floor
It broke!
I would love to see that.
> --
> Tristan Miller -- http://www.nothingisreal.com
>
> "Close your mouth and not try to make me look fool, you are."
> -- Ioannis Vranos
--
Background Dragon
<snip>
>
> 5) In Ultima VII, read the plaque in the Castle of Lord British as he stands
> under it at noon. The plaque will fall on his head and kill him, and among
> his remains will be found a will proving the identity of a certain baby's
> father...
>
Virtue installed). Arm yourself with the Black Sword, call up the inventory and
double click on the Black Sword to talk to Arcadion. Select Death and then
target Lord British. Please note that this is a rather unfriendly act and so the
castle guard will descend upon you like flies on a piece of rotten meat.
<snip>
> 3) Some (all?) versions of Ultima V for DOS allowed one to use a two-handed
> hammer in the same manner as a magic axe -- that is, it could be thrown
> great distances, and would then return to the wielder. AFAIK the weapon was
> never meant to be defined this way, and it is not a ranged weapon in other
> ports of Ultima V.
>
This weapon does make a legitimate reappearance in U7. It is called the
Juggernaut Hammer.
--
Background Dragon
aka PyngThyng
ICQ: 12752445
"The way I see it, logic is just a way of being ignorant by numbers."
Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
"I used to be with it. Then they changed what it was. Now I find it weird and
frightening. And one day, It'll happen to YOU!"
Abe "Grampa" Simpson, The Simpsons
Paulon
> Greetings.
>
> Has anyone gathered a list of Easter eggs in the various Ultima games? In
> case anyone has or wants to, here are some I can think of the following
> (mostly lesser-known) ones off the top of my head. I post them in the hopes
> they'll be useful.
The easter egg list is at
http://www.users.fl.net.au/~steven/UltimaEggs.txt
> * spoiler alert *
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> 3) In the Commodore 64/128 version of Ultima V, try viewing the game disks
> with a sector editor and you'll find a hidden message from Dr. Cat. (I
> contacted him about this a year or two ago and he told me that I was the
> first person to have ever mentioned finding it -- lucky me!) :)
What does it say? Not having a C64 or the C64 version, I can't check for
myself.
> 4) In Ultima V, Smith the talking horse can sometimes be found in Iolo's
> barn. (I think it depends on the phase of the moons.)
As far as I can tell, he's there when you _return_ to Iolo's Hut. He
isn't there when you start the game, but is thereafter.
> 6) In Serpent Isle, in a northern cave can be found a scroll entreating the
> reader to seek out and kill a malicious pirate. The pirate can be found in
> a remote cottage (forgive me, I don't remember exactly where) with a
> computer. (He's a software pirate -- get it?)
The House of Wares. Gannt the poet whose books are all over the Serpent
Isle was the victim.
> 8) Trying to directly execute the endgame module for Ultima VI for DOS
> (endgame.exe) will display an admonition from Lord British.
If you type 'END SPAM SPAM SPAM HUMBUG' the end sequence works fine from
the directory.
--
Paulon Dragon d++ e- N T+ Om U1!2!3!4!5!6!7'!S'!8!9!K!A!L!W!M!
-==(UDIC)==- u++ uC+ uF uG uLB+ uA+ nC nH+ nI nPT nS+ nT+ y?
The Other Codex http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~paulryan/Ultima/
Settle for what you can get, but first ask for the World
Ka'a Orto'o, Gnomic Utterances, C IV
Negate the Spell to Wish me Well...
Paulon
> Another way of killing Lord British is to use the Black Sword (needs Forge of
> Virtue installed). Arm yourself with the Black Sword, call up the inventory and
> double click on the Black Sword to talk to Arcadion. Select Death and then
> target Lord British. Please note that this is a rather unfriendly act and so the
> castle guard will descend upon you like flies on a piece of rotten meat.
Something I noticed when I tried that once was that it's the male
Avatar's portrait that's used for the conversation with British when the
female Avatar has been selected.
I'll have to check that to see if it's still the case in later versions.
Gammadragon
Be a female Avatar. Become a knight of Monitor and then go see Lucilla
(woman at the bar) at the few hours before dawn. She instantly realises
she's been a lesbian all her life! No wonder she wasn't satisfied with all
those hunky knights.
Tristan Miller
"Joseph Morris" <j...@it-he.org> wrote in message
news:39A1B6FE...@it-he.org...
> Is there any chance you can send me / put up a screenshot of that?
> Before, and after.. I presume the dialog is something like:
>
> Drop Lord British on floor
> It broke!
>
> I would love to see that.
Yes, it does indeed say something like that... Lord British is treated just
like any other glass object once he's been suffocated. :)
Unfortunately, I don't own a copy of (that version of) the game, and my
friend lives at least a thousand kilometres away. I'll send him an e-mail
to see if he'd be so kind as to reinstall U6 and take a few screenshots for
us.
Tristan Miller
"Paulon" <paul...@InVasAnSpam.ihug.co.nz> wrote in message
news:MPG.140cfdcc5...@news.ihug.co.nz...
> The easter egg list is at
> http://www.users.fl.net.au/~steven/UltimaEggs.txt
Ah, excellent! I'm glad to see someone's taken the time to collect these...
(Truth be told, though, a lot of the items on the list are bugs or design
oversights rather than bona fide Easter eggs.... but what the heck, they're
amusing nonetheless!)
It's been a while since I've taken a look, but I believe the initial track
and sector of the program disk contains the string "DR. CAT SAYS: HOWDY,
HACKER!" If you pull the .D64 files (disk images) of Ultima V off any
Commodore 64 games site (e.g. http://www.lemon64.com), you might be able to
see the message yourself by opening it in a hex editor such as UltraEdit.
Then again, maybe not -- though there is some overlap, there is not a
one-to-one correspondence with ASCII and the Commodore PETSCII character
set. I can't remember if it's just uppercase or just lowercase letters that
are congruent... <shrug>
My hard drive is toast right now, but if I find my backup CDs, I'll post the
e-mails I passed back and forth with Dr. Cat after I found this egg.
MagerValp
PR> What does it say? Not having a C64 or the C64 version, I can't
PR> check for myself.
TM> It's been a while since I've taken a look, but I believe the
TM> initial track and sector of the program disk contains the string
TM> "DR. CAT SAYS: HOWDY, HACKER!"
Yup:
panini(83)> xdump u5a.d64 | head -16
00000000 43424d00 00000000 58595a5a 59004c00 CBM.....XYZZY.L.
00000010 20004c00 20000000 20202020 20202020 .L. ...
00000020 44522e20 43415420 53455a3a 20202020 DR. CAT SEZ:
00000030 20202020 20202020 484f5744 592c2020 HOWDY,
00000040 4841434b 45522e20 20202020 20202020 HACKER.
00000050 20202020 20202020 01010101 01010101 ........
00000060 01010101 01010101 01010101 01010101 ................
00000070 01010101 01010101 01010101 01010101 ................
00000080 01010101 01010101 01010101 01010101 ................
00000090 01010101 01010101 01010101 01010101 ................
000000a0 01010101 01010101 01010101 01010101 ................
000000b0 01010101 01010101 01010101 01010101 ................
000000c0 01010101 01010101 01010101 01010101 ................
000000d0 01010101 01010101 01010101 01010101 ................
000000e0 01010101 01010101 01010101 01010101 ................
000000f0 01010101 01010101 01010101 01010101 ................
--
___ . . . . . + . . o
_|___|_ + . + . + . . Per Olofsson, konstnär
o-o . . . o + Mage...@cling.gu.se
- + + . http://www.cling.gu.se/~cl3polof/
Tristan Miller
"MagerValp" <cl3p...@cling.gu.se> wrote in message
news:p14bsyl...@panini.cling.gu.se...
> panini(83)> xdump u5a.d64 | head -16
> 00000000 43424d00 00000000 58595a5a 59004c00 CBM.....XYZZY.L.
> 00000010 20004c00 20000000 20202020 20202020 .L. ...
> 00000020 44522e20 43415420 53455a3a 20202020 DR. CAT SEZ:
> 00000030 20202020 20202020 484f5744 592c2020 HOWDY,
> 00000040 4841434b 45522e20 20202020 20202020 HACKER.
<nod> And, of course, the "XYZZY" that appears at offset 8 also has
significance. It has its roots way back in the 1970s, and has been used as
an Easter egg in various games ever since. The Jargon File
(http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/entry/xyzzy.html) explains:
xyzzy /X-Y-Z-Z-Y/, /X-Y-ziz'ee/, /ziz'ee/, or /ik-ziz'ee/ adj.
[from the ADVENT game] The canonical `magic word'. This comes from ADVENT,
in which the idea is to explore an underground cave with many rooms and to
collect the treasures you find there. If you type `xyzzy' at the appropriate
time, you can move instantly between two otherwise distant points. If,
therefore, you encounter some bit of magic, you might remark on this quite
succinctly by saying simply "Xyzzy!" "Ordinarily you can't look at someone
else's screen if he has protected it, but if you type quadruple-bucky-clear
the system will let you do it anyway." "Xyzzy!" It's traditional for xyzzy
to be an Easter egg in games with text interfaces.
Joseph Morris
> > Is there any chance you can send me / put up a screenshot of that?
> > Before, and after.. I presume the dialog is something like:
> >
> > Drop Lord British on floor
> > It broke!
> >
> > I would love to see that.
>
> like any other glass object once he's been suffocated. :)
>
> Unfortunately, I don't own a copy of (that version of) the game, and my
> friend lives at least a thousand kilometres away. I'll send him an e-mail
> to see if he'd be so kind as to reinstall U6 and take a few screenshots for
> us.
If you could do this I would be very much obliged.
Gammadragon
below. Since then, I've seen it thousands of times, but I didn't know it
originated there.
The appropriate place to say the magic word is in the building at the start,
and in the cave with the words somehow shown (inscribed on a rock??) Well,
if anyone wants the game, I might actually have it on disk somewhere :).
"Tristan Miller" <trmi...@ontrack.com> wrote in message
news:5%Ao5.115$SQ....@news7.onvoy.net...
Gammadragon
places, two from memory are Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight (fly cheat) and Might
and Magic 4-5: Clouds/Darkside/World of Xeen in the .cfg file. Perhaps it
means "here I am, JH"??
"Gammadragon" <gamma...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:taLo5.53$sL....@news0.optus.net.au...
Matthew Fries
<gamma...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Another "magic word" i have noticed is "eriamjh". It has appeared in a few
>places, two from memory are Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight (fly cheat) and Might
>and Magic 4-5: Clouds/Darkside/World of Xeen in the .cfg file. Perhaps it
>means "here I am, JH"??
Exactly.... It's from the movie "Brazil". It was a secret password
that you typed to get the elevator to go to the penthouse office.
E-R-E-I-A-M-J-H
Remove the BALONEY from my email address.
-----------------------------------------------------
Matthew Fries Minneapolis, MN USA
fre...@baloneyvisi.com
"Quit eating all my *STUFF*!" - The Tick
Hunter-Gatherer Dragon
you're standing on them, they can't hurt you.
Hunter-Gatherer Dragon
Maxim S. Shatskih
> (woman at the bar) at the few hours before dawn. She instantly
Arming the male Avatar with the whip and going to Lucilla is great fun too.
Nietzsche said - "don't forget your whip when you're going to the woman!"
Casting Locate in Goblin's passages (near the chessboard "Do not disturb the
players!") - is a fun too.
Max
Maxim S. Shatskih
> to be an Easter egg in games with text interfaces.
Not only for games.
From the Linux kernel:
"touching /xyzzy in the filesystem turns inode debugging on" or something
like this.
Max
Psychonaut
"Joseph Morris" <j...@it-he.org> wrote in message
news:39A2F4E5...@it-he.org...
> > Unfortunately, I don't own a copy of (that version of) the game, and my
> > friend lives at least a thousand kilometres away. I'll send him an
e-mail
> > to see if he'd be so kind as to reinstall U6 and take a few screenshots
for
> > us.
>
> If you could do this I would be very much obliged.
Alas, but it seems my friend has recently moved from Regina to San Diego and
did not take his copy of Ultima VI with him. I currently live near Toronto,
so it's not exactly practical for me to borrow the game from his parents'
house. <sigh> Sorry...
Regards,
Tristan