Fucking Ultima II Man

[made]

How is U5 underrated? People praise it all the time when Ultima comes up. If anything U6 is underrated around here.

 

[MMXI]

Nevertheless Ultima V's world definitely *feels* the largest cause of the different scales of view.

This is the only thing we'll ever agree on.

How is U5 underrated? People praise it all the time when Ultima comes up. If anything U6 is underrated around here.

True. Ultima VI is probably more underrated around here. But compared to the most talked about games on the Codex, Ultima V is probably still underrated. Ultima VII gets far more love, for instance. So does more modern games like Planescape: Torment, even though Ultima V is a far better game than it (controversial!)

 

[ever]

V, VI and VII are all better games than Planescape or Arcanum, if you ask me.

I'd say IV too but its too held back by technology.

Also VII gets a lot of hate from the combat is the only thing that matters in a role playing game crowd.

 

[octavius]

I never could get in to Ultima V as a kid. As an anal retentive (at the time) mapper, I was daunted by the sheer size of the game world. Ultima IV was bad enough to map, but Ultima V was just a hopeless task.
Fortunately like a fine wine I've mellowed with age and I'm looking forward to playing Ultima V once I've finished Wasteland. At least the combat won't be as boring as it was in Ultima IV.

 

[oldmanpaco]

I have a confession. I've never finished UV. :shame:
I got all the way to the start of the last dungeon you need to go down (Shame?) to find the real last dungeon and couldn't get past the opening room. For some reason I could not find the spots needed to open the secret door. Got frustrated and went away.

My dad re-formatted our HD and I lost my progress and never got that far on another play-through again.

 

[MMXI]

Some of the dungeon room puzzles in Ultima V are fucking difficult.

 

[oldmanpaco]

Is there any version of U5 floating around that does not require DOSBox? Something like XU4 for U5? Pretty sure not.

 

[octavius]

Is there any version of U5 floating around that does not require DOSBox? Something like XU4 for U5? Pretty sure not.

Well, there's always Amiga emulation. I'm pretty sure the Amiga graphics and sounds are superior to the DOS version.
But you are probably thinking of the Ultima V - Lazarus, a remake requiring Dungeon Siege. http://www.u5lazarus.com/

 

[oldmanpaco]

I know about Lazarus. I was looking for a version of the original. Oh well DOSBox it is.

 

[made]

Indeed, the Amiga version is superior, provided you can stomach the same tune looped over and over again (I love it).

There's also this:
http://gigi.nullneuron.net/ultima/webdir/u5ticalc.php

 

[Jaesun]

Indeed, the Amiga version is superior, provided you can stomach the same tune looped over and over again (I love it).

I see no difference between the PC and Amiga version? How is it "vastly superior"?

http://www.mobygames.com/game/ultima-v- ... creenshots

 

[MMXI]

It's a lie. The DOS version with the unofficial midi patch is the best version of Ultima V.

One of my party members died in an ultra hard dungeon room full of dragons and demons just now. When I went back to town to get him resurrected by a healer his level and experience was reset.



I can't even find out whether that's a feature or a bug. I also saved the game and so I can't go back.

 

[made]

As I said, I totally dig the music, even if it's just one track. It adds a lot to the game's overall atmosphere for me.
Btw, there appears to be a midi patch for the PC version, though I dunno how that sounds.

 

[ScottishMartialArts]

As I said, I totally dig the music, even if it's just one track. It adds a lot to the game's overall atmosphere for me.
Btw, there appears to be a midi patch for the PC version, though I dunno how that sounds.

It sounds great. The music during character creation in particular is just incredible.

As an anal retentive (at the time) mapper, I was daunted by the sheer size of the game world. Ultima IV was bad enough to map, but Ultima V was just a hopeless task.

For Ultima IV and now for Ultima V, I printed out a copy of the world map from here and made annotations directly onto that.

 

[MMXI]

It sounds great. The music during character creation in particular is just incredible.

Funnily enough, the music that the midi patch adds to the character creation is actually the one song played on the Amiga version all the way through the game. So yes, that's the looped tune made was talking about.

For Ultima IV and now for Ultima V, I printed out a copy of the world map from here and made annotations directly onto that.

No wonder you're speeding through these games. I've made complete maps for every dungeon from Ultima III through V.

 

[made]

Dude, why do you keep doing this? I was just typing up the same damn thing after checking YT.

 

[Sceptic]

It's a lie. The DOS version with the unofficial midi patch is the best version of Ultima V.

This. Graphics are about the same IIRC, but the DOS patch music is much nicer. Bonus points for the Ultima 6 main theme showing up during the game.

 

[Ammar]

It's a lie. The DOS version with the unofficial midi patch is the best version of Ultima V.

One of my party members died in an ultra hard dungeon room full of dragons and demons just now. When I went back to town to get him resurrected by a healer his level and experience was reset.



I can't even find out whether that's a feature or a bug. I also saved the game and so I can't go back.

Dying -> Experience loss, not necessarily enough to lose a level. Shouldn't reset to starting values, though. If you really want to you can use that to maximize your stats since you gain +1 to a random stat when levelling. IIRC the amount of experience lost depends on your Karma.

 

[ScottishMartialArts]

No wonder you're speeding through these games. I've made complete maps for every dungeon from Ultima III through V.

No, I make my own dungeon maps on little squares of graph paper, one for each level. The site I linked to provides high res versions of the cloth maps that were originally included with the game.

 

[octavius]

How true is Lazarus to the original version? Is it the definite version?

If playing the original version is it a good idea to import your characters from U4?

 

[Jaesun]

How true is Lazarus to the original version? Is it the definite version?

It IS basically the same thing, except it has the game combat mechanics of Dungeon Siege and now has "Skills" you can learn. Also since the text of V was limited to disk space, they fully expanded upon the dialogues of all the NPC's. That alone is one of the best features in Lazarus (and they fully stick to the Lore of Ultima V), as well as the music. Which is hands down the best game soundtrack ever created. The dungeons are not 100% like those of the originals, but they tried to keep the same "feel" of the originals, and in that they succeed. They are (for the most part) very well done and enjoyable to go through.

 

[oldmanpaco]

Alright I got it all running. Let's crack this bitch!

Maybe I'll make an LP I don't finish out of it.

 

[MMXI]

Dying -> Experience loss, not necessarily enough to lose a level. Shouldn't reset to starting values, though. If you really want to you can use that to maximize your stats since you gain +1 to a random stat when levelling. IIRC the amount of experience lost depends on your Karma.

But a level 4 character with over 800 experience (hadn't levelled him up to 5 yet) was ressurected at level 2 with 100 experience and with his exact starting statistics. In other words, he lost his stat increases from levelling up. He's effectively reset.

 

[ever]

How true is Lazarus to the original version? Is it the definite version?

If playing the original version is it a good idea to import your characters from U4?

No such thing as importing characters IIRC, cause there's just you - the rest you meet during the course of the game. You can make the same choices in the gypsy wagon as you did in Ultima IV.

Lazarus is very good for what it is - a fan remake with filler story, but I prefer the original. I'd recommend Lazarus to someone who has never played an Ultima before and isn't accustomed to the interface conventions of the 1980s.

Why do I prefer the original? The magic carpet, ship combat, object interactivity, consistency and ( incredibly biased ) artistic feel. Also there are some parts of Lazarus that are very poorly written ( The resistance meeting by the well in North Brittany stands out as an example of terrible writing ), and there are a few signs around that give away that it's an amateur effort ( talk to most people in Britanny - their portraits are just photos, also the portrait of every NPC is different in style from every portrait of a guy you can recruit ) which hurts the experience.

However for someone like you I'd recommend the original and tell you to play Lazarus whenever you feel like it.

 

[MMXI]

Importing does make a difference. If you've bothered to max your stats in Ultima IV, your character will start off with insane statistics.