Ultima 7

[MetalCraze]

I plan to play U7 (I missed it for obvious reasons). So my question is which Ultima 7 is recommended? the original one or the remake? Because some people were saying that remake is missing something - I want to know what. Just keep it shorter and spoiler-free.

please.

 

[RK47]

remake? on what? i never heard of any. Do you mean Exult?

 

[made]

Exult was missing some combat details and NPC schedules, I believe.

Anyway, go play Witcher while it's hot; can always replay Ultima the next few years when no decent RPG comes out.

 

[MetalCraze]

exult - obviously

Anyway, go play Witcher while it's hot

I will but currently I'm unable to do this. I'm living in a wonderful world of 2d now.

 

[Micmu]

Exult wasn't a 1:1 remake, not even close, last time I checked. Maybe it's improved now.

Just play the original. Works okay in DOSBox after some fiddling (haven't tried with the latest version). Use mame3x filter to make it look better.

 

[RK47]

...i don't know what u really miss out lol ...
u7 is as simple as rpg can get. the only revolutionary thing about it is the exploration and interactivity+npc scheduling. Checking every cupboad for loot, talking to npc using 'hyperlink' words. Press combat while the 'danger' song plays, and everyone will go apeshit.

The story and exploration is the only thing keeps me interested. The combat, not so much. Equip the best gear you can and just live with it. You can't die anyway.

 

[Claw]

"Only"?

 

[RK47]

lol yeah funny isn't it. it sounded so 'simple' to make a game fun by including all ultima 7 did and maybe coat it with shiny graphics, but the rpg developers had other ideas.

Sorry for understating U7 achievements, but maybe it's because it didn't age well.

Sitting on chairs though, is something cool! I wish Witcher n NWN 2 has that

 

[MetalCraze]

I actually want to play it because of a story, world interactivity and exploration. I do not expect many role-playing wonders from it.

Sitting on chairs though, is something cool! I wish Witcher n NWN 2 has that

yes - if you can't sit on chairs that's not a rpg.

 

[RK47]

ah then be careful of ditching 'somewhat' important items. and avoid killing npcs indiscriminately if you are interested in completing the main quest.

If not, play as u wish, I once plowed through the whole tavern during peak hour. Ended up with dozens of dead bodies. Was pointless fun. The gore was high end stuff for that time.

 

[MetalCraze]

yeah, I know how to handle this -hardcore- rpgs - where you was punished for throwing out important stuff and killing important people.

 

[Jasede]

Exult all the way. The latest stable release works well. I played Ultima 7 more times than I can count with or without exult and you will miss nothing that will detract from the experience.

 

[RK47]

it has more shortcuts as well, allowing you to save time on feeding your characters, hunting for keys in backpacks. etc. There's not much reason to play its original version.

 

[Alex]

I played both parts with exult and had no problems, except for a spell that seemed to do not work in part 2 (fire snake or something like that). But that was some time ago and the bug is probably fixed by now.

 

[cutterjohn]

Exult wasn't a 1:1 remake, not even close, last time I checked. Maybe it's improved now.

Just play the original. Works okay in DOSBox after some fiddling (haven't tried with the latest version). Use mame3x filter to make it look better.

How long ago was that? I played around with it a vit last Christmas season(whiling away some otherwise dead time only with a notebook incapable of playing anything really recent) and didn't notice any major differences in the first 10h or so.

NPCs seemed to wander around on their schedules, fighting was clickety-click-click, etc. with exult v1.1 or .2 whichever was current at that time...

 

[BillyOgawa]

The world, characters, and story are what make the game worth playing. And the Exult version has all that intact. Combat is a minor diversion, if anything.

 

[Zomg]

For how much of the game is that conservative self-improvement cult the main "bad guy'? They're such a shitty, preachy strawman idea and the writers don't seem to know that they're an obvious trope that I'll pick out as villain material instantly, so they slowly ramp up how much I'm supposed to be offended by them. Between them and the NPC followers I couldn't continue past a couple of hours in.

 

[Jasede]

Ummm, Zomg, it's not like the Fellowship is supposed to seem good. Lord British outright tells you he doesn't trust the bastards and the whole thing is such an obvious Scientology spoof that it sent me r00fling all day. I mean, Batlin even tries to kill you quite blatantly when you want to join them! But if you really can't stand them you should know the Fellowship will be around the whole game, right until the bitter end.

Also, it's generally agreed on that Ultima 7-2 is the Ultima 7 to play for story. At least I agree on that. I have not played a game that would shock me that much, in all the right ways. I never feel any big incentive to replay Ultima 7 - it's great for its non-linearity and schedules, but Ultima 7-2 has the incredibly superior narrative and writing. Go give it a spin, please!

 

[MisterStone]

Maybe we need to stick a thread about U7. I always think about trying to play it again, and have to go back and search through tons of old threads to find out what people think about Exult, running it on DosBox, etc.

So when was the last exult released? I played it via Exult about 1 1/2 years ago, and it was OK, but a little quirky. Has anything changed?

 

[Elwro]

Is stealing implemented in Exult? I remember being able to loot everything in the starting town when I played it for the last time - no NPC got offended by this, and it was one of the things (apart from the ridiculous combat) that put me off. I guess I'll try it in DosBox.

 

[Jasede]

Just get the latest CVS build, it has stealing and everything. It's just like a better Ultima 7.

 

[stargelman]

Just remember to keep a journal. There's so much to do in this game -some of which may take some time- and there's no handholding. Better write down exactly what you're supposed to do, where and for whom, unless you're not as senile and forgetful as I am

 

[Micmu]

Hm, I tried Exult in one of it's earlier versions (2,5-3 years ago?), then just replayed U7 in dosbox.
After checking their page now, I see it has been quite updated since. Will give it a spin then.

 

[Antagonist]

Despite Exult having some problems compared to the original like the still not fully functionaing schedules it's really recommendable as the few shortcomings are overshadowed by the many benefits in my opinion. Especially the mods make Exult more interesting than the original as they introduce some much needed bug fixes and a couple of nice yet unobstrusive alterations which make the world even more interactive and consistent. On the technical side you have better grafix (!!!), better sounds and music (check the download page) and a better combat system (real-time with pause).

Exult 1.4 is still in development though although I didn't have any problems the last time I tried it but it's adviseable to still look occasionaly for updates.

 

[Alex]

Ummm, Zomg, it's not like the Fellowship is supposed to seem good. Lord British outright tells you he doesn't trust the bastards and the whole thing is such an obvious Scientology spoof that it sent me r00fling all day. I mean, Batlin even tries to kill you quite blatantly when you want to join them! But if you really can't stand them you should know the Fellowship will be around the whole game, right until the bitter end.

Also, it's generally agreed on that Ultima 7-2 is the Ultima 7 to play for story. At least I agree on that. I have not played a game that would shock me that much, in all the right ways. I never feel any big incentive to replay Ultima 7 - it's great for its non-linearity and schedules, but Ultima 7-2 has the incredibly superior narrative and writing. Go give it a spin, please!

Jasede is right about the Fellowship. However, Ultima 7 has some shades of gray. Some people who joined the fellowship are honestly trying to help other, or so would seem. While others, aren't really evil, just moronic. A few simply had "profound experiences" that change their lives (can't say more without spoiling the plot). The first ultima 7 also has many interesting quests, losing to part 2 only because it isn't as cohesive. Also, it is much more fun to explore than morrowind (in my opinion, at least).