U5 Lazarus Questions

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Just started this up for the first time. I've been leery to try fan remakes since Ultima is so beloved to me but this one is top notch so far. The music is fantastic and the writing has been excellent. I even spent a few hours reading everything in the book of lore (The Fall of Lord Blackthorn was a great read).
Enough with the plug and on to my questions. Skills, I've read conflicting things about them. Is it wise to train skills as soon as I can or do I wait until I'm a higher level? I've read the cost scales as you go up in level but so does the power of each skill. If I take a skill at level 2 will it be just as powerful as I level then if I had taken it at say level 6?
Second, should I focus on getting my companions right away before earning much exp? Will the characters I haven't yet picked up level as I do?
Also, I've read about some issues about vanishing characters if you dismiss someone in your party and you want to pick them up later. Any thing I should avoid doing to make this not happen? Any other non spoiler tips I should be aware of?

I'm a power gamer at heart, I'm the min-max king. Don't judge me!

Except in the Underworld, which will always kick your ass even when you're maxed out.

So far Lazurus is pure fucking awesome, I don't know why I've avoided it for so long aside from the fact that 99% of fan remakes fucking suck. Bros, I have to take notes! Oh how I've longed for a game that actually requires me to take notes (yes, seriously).
Jaesun, how is the U6 project compared to Laz? I've been skimming the forums and saw quite a few of your posts.

Glad to see another convert !! Lazarus is truly a gem that any self described Ultima fan NEEDS to play. It's unfortunate that the Dungeon Siege engine will automatically keep some away. The game exceeds it's own engine and makes you forget that it uses that game as a base.

As far as U6P I agree with Jaesun. It is almost as good as Lazarus in my opinion. The writing and making Britain come alive is it's strongest areas. The gargoyle invasion is an actual invasion this time and the world is reacting to it. The area that stopped me from continuing was the dungeons. Everything above ground felt fresh and "fun" while the dungeons I entered (can't remember which ones) were just one long chore. Everything the U6P team has stated tells me they are fixing this glaring problem and the one thing that keeps this from equaling Lazarus.

Wait for 1.1 then enjoy!

Yup, Lazarus is awesome. I truly loved that game. I didn't really mind the engine.

Probably too late, as you've already started, but: NPC's not in your party don't gain experience. I usually like to take my time on the overworld talking to people and getting to know the layout of Britannia before going dungeon crawling when playing any Ultima, so I did the same with Lazarus. Unlike the original, some NPC's will have things to say when taken somewhere that makes sense (eg Sentri in Serpent Hold), and it's nice to see these bits. I admit I cheated and got the party limit to 8 with a mod, just to see more NPC interactions (and some will even spawn quests; Katrina certainly does).

Regarding training skills, you will finish the game with FAR more money than you will ever need, so don't worry about rising costs.

Also: Lazarus is fucking awesome.

Thanks for the tips!
I decided to stop power gaming for once in my damn life and just enjoy this thing. I was initially thinking I've played U5 (hell, I bought the game with saved allowance money in 1988) so many times, I'll just min-max this beast and see what it's about. As soon as I got to Yew and started interacting with the NPC's, I knew I had to slow down and really enjoy the game. The fine folks that wrote this and expanded all the dialog get a huge BRO fist! I still have trouble believing 'The Tale of Captain Johne' and 'The Fall of Lord Blackthorn' are fan fiction. I've never played a remake that gave me that tingly nostalgia feeling until this one. I'm as giddy as a school girl.

Yes. EA should pay these people good money to make a new Ultima game.

Oh hey a Lazarus thread.

Welcome to Team Lazarus, Bro.

Nice. What engine changes does the U6 Project add?

Can anyone tell me which show/movie this comes from?

What's interesting is that "The Tale of Captain Johne" is fucking old, much older than the Lazarus project. I remember reading it in high school.

It's incredible that the writer (Michael D. Hilborn) showed up years later and wrote another, stylistically consistent, story. He is a true bro

That said, I couldn't help but imagine Lord Windemere as some sort of JRPGish/Sephirothish white-haired pretty boy, misunderstood emo type of character.
i wonder if that was the intention.

Finally finished this last night and am now depressed it's all over. Game was awesome! If you haven't played this yet, you're a faggot. If you're faggot and you've played it, you're a true bro.
I had a few incidents of rage with grappling and sea travel crashes. For some odd reason my game was buggy as fuck when my ship got near some of the islands south of Trinsic. If I was in overhead map view, the land masses would randomly switch and crash the game. A major fucking PITA when I was already docked and tried to disembark because you're forced into overhead map view. Aside from the crashing issues, game is nearly perfect.
Now on to the U6P, any bug issues I should know about?

Ultima Lazarus sucks gigantic pig cock. Last time I parked my ship on a beach of Buccaneer's Den, walked around a bit, got back to the boat, and fuck, the ship can't be moved, at all. I was stuck on the fucking ship. I needed to us Kal Lor or whatever spell to go back to LB's Castle. Then I realized you can't buy more ships in Britain. Shit shit shit shit I uninstalled it out of frustration.

Just kidding; the real reason why I deleted the game was I went to New Magincia to check out the twin sisters who I fondly remember how beautiful they were. Then it turns out my taste was not the same as several years ago. They didn't attract me so much anymore. With a broken heart like discovering that someone you loved doesn't attract you anymore, I deleted the game.




Actually, I've played Lazarus a few years ago and got very far, then I dropped it due to some other stupid games I guess. A few months ago I replayed it again and the damn ship bug really ruined my mood. Since I've replayed the damn game about a dozen times over the years but never got really far, my patience really wore out. So in both anger and great sadness I quit the game for good. I'm still feeling depressed today as Lazarus is a really really really good game.

I lost a ship in Lazarus due to that bug. It became immobile when I docked on some coast. No big deal, I went to a town and bought another one, and was more careful thereafter.

You can LARP and say it was a shipwreck.