the Ultima series.
When I was but a wee lad in high school, Ultima Online rocked my world. I played that game so much, made many friends, roleplayed and griefed. Then I moved off to college and had a terrible Internet connection, which prevented me from playing it. I had to move on. Great for my grades, but there was a certain "lightning in a bottle" quality that Ultima Online captured. It existed in a particular moment in time and can't be recreated.
Other MMORPGs have aspired to create their own realistic alternate reality; EVE Online was probably the closest to recreating the gritty dog-eat-dog world of early Ultima Online.
In 2023, I started playing through the Ultima series of single-player CRPGs courtesy of GOG.com. I poked at Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness then moved onto Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar, which many consider a fine entry point into the series.
One unique thing about the Ultima series is that it behooves the player to take good notes. You must remember the reagents necessary to cast spells, draw maps of the dungeons as you explore them, and write down the things that NPCs say.
So, without further ado, here are some of my notes starting with Ultima IV.
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar.
useful links.
- the three manuals that came with Ultima IV:
- Ultima Patcher,
which has graphics upgrades and adds music.
- Alt-F slows down the now-hyperactive animation speed.
- Do not save in town, it'll corrupt your save.
- the Ultima IV map.
- Ultima IV walkthrough.
- magic and reagents.
- Nakar's Ultima 4, 5, and 6 Let's Play guide.
quests and notes.
- [ ] Promised Mitre in NE Skara Brae that I would seek the stone in the dungeon Hythloth. They told me to ask about the stone at the Tap in Trinsic. I tried asking, nobody knew of the stone.
- [ ] A wizard, Mentorian, in a hidden village in Lock Lake reachable only by ship knows the gate spell. Ask him about it. Jingles in Paws, his student, told me about him.