Ultima Underworld

[Saxon1974]

I was at a yard sale over the weekend and saw someone was selling an original copy of this game and it appeared to have all the contents in it, so I had to pick it up! Only 5$!

This made me start playing it again. This was originally billed as an action RPG game however, in playing it I would say its more of an RPG then many games coming out today sold as an RPG. Your character has stats, levels, skills etc....

Great game, it has awesome atmosphere, great world interaction, interesting NPCs and for a dungeon crawler it feels pretty non-linear.

Gotta love the old Origin big box games, came with tons of documents, a lore book giving you the background story, a large map, manual, install guide and even a little bag with magic runestones in it. Man I wish this type of thing would make a comeback, it sure enhances my play experience.

Thomas, might this have been an influence on any of your games?

[BasiliskWrangler]

Thomas, might this have been an influence on any of your games?

Of course! I just recently played UU1 (and started UU2, but didn't get very far). Really great games!

[Saxon1974]

Did you not like U2 or was it like of time, more of the same etc..?

Any idea how much it adds to the cost to add lots of goodies to the box like Origin used to do?

[BasiliskWrangler]

I love UU2, I just don't have the time to replay tons of old games like I used to!

As for the cost of goodies, I really don't know. I would guess between $10-$15 per game, depending on the quality and quantity of goodies. Then there is the cost of the box itself, and shipping & handling....

It is something I really want to do on future games, but we just don't have the sales volume at this point to make a "Limited Edition Box Set" version remotely profitable.

[Saxon1974]

I hear ya on replaying old games, I play a decent amount but rarely finish them due to lack of time.

I can totally understand a company in your position and not spending money on the box and manuals and stuff. I guess that's one of those things that the internet causes. Now that companies can digitally distribute why add another 10$ of cost per game to make...Doesn't make sense from a business point of view.

Too bad there aren't any companies left that do it because they believe in the work they are doing and want to provide a more rich experience for the player and feel it's worth a few extra dollars per game. I would happily pay 60$ for a game that includes that stuff, but I doubt most player would.

Unfortunately those that want to do it like you, are the smaller indies that can't really afford it. Who knows maybe you can get to that point eventually where it's an option for you. I hope that you do!

I ordered an original copy of UU2 off of ebay so sometime soon I will play that one too, with manuals and maps in hand

By the way, congrats on your CD's versions of the game selling out, nice to know at least you don't have any left over wasting cash.

[tiresius]

Great game, it has awesome atmosphere, great world interaction, interesting NPCs and for a dungeon crawler it feels pretty non-linear.

Agreed. Only a few games (Dragon Wars being another) have done the "start with nothing" scenario so well.

UU2 is pretty good, too. You go to different dungeon worlds via teleporter in a castle. The display window is bigger but world interaction is much the same.

[Grue]

This was originally billed as an action RPG game however, in playing it I would say its more of an RPG then many games coming out today sold as an RPG.

Amen! Couldn't agree more. I love both Ultima Underworlds. However, I can see why they were called action RPGs back in the day - that first-person view, you fight real-time, controlling everything with your mouse, etc. Comparing them to some modern million-selling RPGs that have all the flash modern graphics can conjure and symphonic orchestral scores, they are still miles ahead of them in immersion, IMO.

P.S. Saxon1974, you haven't played UU2? Isn't your avatar from that game? I could swear it is, but it's been awhile. NOt that it matters, mind you, just wondering.

[Saxon1974]

This was originally billed as an action RPG game however, in playing it I would say its more of an RPG then many games coming out today sold as an RPG.

Amen! Couldn't agree more. I love both Ultima Underworlds. However, I can see why they were called action RPGs back in the day - that first-person view, you fight real-time, controlling everything with your mouse, etc. Comparing them to some modern million-selling RPGs that have all the flash modern graphics can conjure and symphonic orchestral scores, they are still miles ahead of them in immersion, IMO.

P.S. Saxon1974, you haven't played UU2? Isn't your avatar from that game? I could swear it is, but it's been awhile. NOt that it matters, mind you, just wondering.

You know im really not sure on the Avatar, I just though it looked cool so I grabbed it! I know, I have played just about every oldschool RPG but for some reason UUW2 is one that I didn't play. Im going to remedy that soon though.

[Saxon1974]

I hear there is an inventory bug in the original release version (Which I have been playing) that can make the game unfinishable.

I tried applying the patch which is just a new uw.exe with a newer date (2/9/1993) but with the patch version running once I have something in my inventory and I restore a save game I get the error message "Internal Error - problems in the object list"

Anyone here know anything about that?

Anyone know where I coudl download the most recent versions that includes the patch to fix the Inventory bug?

I have a copy of both games but they are floppy disk versions.

It lets me keep playing but Im afraid to ignore that as I dont want to spend alot of time playing and have things start dissapearing from my inventory so I cant finish the game.

[Grue]

Hmm, if memory serves, there is no 100% cure to that bug, unfortunately. The patch helps but does not completely remove the problem and therefore you're pretty much forced to live with it. If I understood you correctly, you got the inventory problem after you applied the patch? Not only that, but it struck immediately after applying the patch? Strange. I think you should start a completely new game (hopefully you weren't very far into your current game) and see if that helps. If not, try reinstalling and applying the patch to a fresh install and cross your fingers.

Sorry, that's about all that I can think of now.

Remember that putting containers (bags, backpacks, etc.) within containers is generally a bad idea as it seems to result in bugged inventories somewhere down the line. Also moving between dungeon levels can corrupt inventories if you're unlucky and thus you should always save before going through the stairs and check your inventory immediately after changing levels (if there are corrupted items in there, restore and try again). IIRC, bloated containers can cause problems as well, so don't haul everything and the kitchen sink with you. Find a safe place to stash your unnecessary stuff.

P.S. Looking at the date of the patch on the following page, I notice it's newer than yours (dated Nov 30, 1994). Mayhap thou should grabbeth it? Ye Linky (scroll down to UW1) -> http://www.uo.com/archive/ftp/patches/

[Saxon1974]

I was able to find someone to give me a copy of the CD release which was created on June of 1993. The uw.exe file in that patch that you mentioned is dated from 1992.

Im going to ask Abandonia.com if they want me to send them my files since they are newer so they can upload for people to get.

Thanks for your suggestions though, I will still take them into account as to avoid the bug.

[Grue]

The uw.exe file in that patch that you mentioned is dated from 1992.

Oh, sorry. I just trusted the date given on the link (which says it's from 1994), but didn't actually d/l the patch to check it out. My bad.