Ultima The Ultima Series Discussion Thread

[Bruma Hobo]

He only has a couple years left. Hope you guys are ready for it.

Who cares, unless he suddenly decides to grab an Apple IIe to code a top-down RPG from scratch, he has nothing of value to offer.

 

[OndrejSc]

He only has a couple years left. Hope you guys are ready for it.

Who cares, unless he suddenly decides to grab an Apple IIe to code a top-down RPG from scratch, he has nothing of value to offer.

He can switch projects with Chris Roberts and finish each other's game pronto.

 

[Zep Zepo]

I've met and talked with him. He seemed pretty accessible for the most part. This was at E3 when Origin was pimping Ultima Online. UO was actually a pretty good game until Garriott handed over the reins, and Star Long and whoever fucked it all up.

Zep--

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Did anyone ever get through The Witcher netflix series? After looking at some of the npc lore I think the ultima series could have been something ok. Witcher boredthe fuck out of me. Maybe, just maybe Ultimacould work. I should see if Ultima has english novels.

 

[bandersnatch]

Come on guys, give the boomer game designers a break. They had their time and now it is supposed to be our job to sit back and listen to their stories about how special they were for being born at the right time in history to put just about any game out and make money. Sure they had some skill, but those days of practically zero competition in the games market are long gone.

It's true Garriott learned this the hard way with Shroud of the Avatar (some say he should have learned it with his previous game Tabula Rasa). Garriott's career was in trouble the minute he starting distancing himself from taking credit for Shroud and started to throw others under the bus. If a designer can't take credit for a bad design, then he will never learn to make a good one. Anyone who thinks that Shroud wasn't in his full creative control the whole time is just plain dumb and doesn't know Garriott. Garriott always calls all the shots and nothing gets by him. All you need to do is read a few of his books to understand that. Shit, he could remote into the Shroud offices with a video robot anytime he wanted to watch people work! Don't tell me that he didn't know what was going on. The reality is that Garriott was given a huge chance to assemble his dream team and make his dream RPG, even without a publisher barking down his throat, and it was found lacking.

You can't be on top forever, something boomers don't like to admit. It's much better to leave on a high note in your career. And according to this thread, it sure seems that high note for Garriott was probably around Ultima VII. Right around the time he cashed out and sold to EA. Funny how that works.

 

[Vormulak]

Imagine actually liking this dungeon crawling grinding nonsense, it even lacks engaging combat so it fails in this respect as well, so whats left? The story? Yeah the linear story where each game only has one outcome, totally a game worth the time investment. Can't believe boomers actually shill this trash.

 

[Bruma Hobo]

You see, Codex? This is the kind of retardation the combatfaggotry vs storyfaggotry narrative creates.

 

[Vormulak]

You see, Codex? This is the kind of retardation the combatfaggotry vs storyfaggotry narrative creates.

Ultima sucks in both regards, if it did one or the other well I'd give it a pass.

 

[Bruma Hobo]

How do you know that?

 

[Vormulak]

How do you know that?

>how do you know this generic fantasy game with clicking the same button forever combat is trash
>how do you know this generic fantasy game that looks like trash is trash
>how do you know this generic fantasy game with 1 ending isn't an rpg
gee, I don't know

 

[c2007]

How do you know that?

>how do you know this generic fantasy game with clicking the same button forever combat is trash
>how do you know this generic fantasy game that looks like trash is trash
>how do you know this generic fantasy game with 1 ending isn't an rpg
gee, I don't know

So, you hate boomers. Enough that you blame Gen Xers for shilling the game.

Your retardation is off the charts, even for the codex. Please dip your balls is whatever acid is readily available, we don't need more of your retardation in the world.

God damn.

 

[Vormulak]

How do you know that?

>how do you know this generic fantasy game with clicking the same button forever combat is trash
>how do you know this generic fantasy game that looks like trash is trash
>how do you know this generic fantasy game with 1 ending isn't an rpg
gee, I don't know

So, you hate boomers. Enough that you blame Gen Xers for shilling the game.

Your retardation is off the charts, even for the codex. Please dip your balls is whatever acid is readily available, we don't need more of your retardation in the world.

God damn.

ironic coming from a cuck

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I'm betting the majority of games have only 1 ending be it a few words. "THE END", a picture, or maybe some video. I know not all, but multi-endings don't fall into old-school majority.

 

[bandersnatch]

Multiple endings on sucky games still makes them sucky games. They were created to extend the replay-ability of single player games, but nobody wants to replay a game if it was not fun the first time just to see another ending screen. They will just look it up on youtube. I would take a good game with a single ending over a sucky game with multiple endings any day.

 

[Vormulak]

Multiple endings on sucky games still makes them sucky games. They were created to extend the replay-ability of single player games, but nobody wants to replay a game if it was not fun the first time just to see another ending screen. They will just look it up on youtube. I would take a good game with a single ending over a sucky game with multiple endings any day.

It isn't an either or situation and to qualify as an rpg it must enable the player to affect the outcome of narrative.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Multiple endings on sucky games still makes them sucky games. They were created to extend the replay-ability of single player games, but nobody wants to replay a game if it was not fun the first time just to see another ending screen. They will just look it up on youtube. I would take a good game with a single ending over a sucky game with multiple endings any day.

It isn't an either or situation and to qualify as an rpg it must enable the player to affect the outcome of narrative.

So, by your reckoning there are about 2 dozen rpg's in existence?

 

[octavius]

ironic coming from a cuck

The real irony is that the less someone is in a position to be cuckolded, the more likely they are of calling others cucks.

 

[Vormulak]

Multiple endings on sucky games still makes them sucky games. They were created to extend the replay-ability of single player games, but nobody wants to replay a game if it was not fun the first time just to see another ending screen. They will just look it up on youtube. I would take a good game with a single ending over a sucky game with multiple endings any day.

It isn't an either or situation and to qualify as an rpg it must enable the player to affect the outcome of narrative.

So, by your reckoning there are about 2 dozen rpg's in existence?

yes

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

What's that dirty double dozen list in order of quality?

 

[Vormulak]

Depends upon what qualifiers you use but if you mean just in general heres my subjective list of the top 10 rpgs based upon my thoughts at this moment in time and including only titles I've completed and can thus accurately judge.
1.Temple of Elemental Evil
2.Tyranny
3.Arcanum
4.Planescape: Torment
5.Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
6.Fallout
7.Fallout New vegas
8.Age of Decadence
9.Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption
10.Fallout 2
Again this is of course an entirely subjective list as any other will be and I'm sure it will change in future but thats how I would rate them today and in reply to the retards who thought my comment retarded if narrative choice and consequence aren't what define an rpg what does? Game mechanics can be transferred to any game and there are plenty of games that make use of the same mechanics found in games which are undeniably and undoubtedly rpgs, if however we define the genre by its mechanics we must allow dozens of completely linear and hollywood-esque cinematic films to apply the label to themselves because they make use of the mechanics.

 

[bandersnatch]

Player choices in Ultima definitely affected the narration of the game at least going back to Ultima IV. Maybe not the endings, but the story along the way for sure. CRPGs, including Ultima, came out of tabletop D&D. The definition has changed over the years what defines them, but nobody can deny that their roots come from tabletop D&D play. You can argue all day about what mechanics should and should not have been kept from the tabletop days to define what makes it a real RPG.

 

[Vormulak]

Player choices in Ultima definitely affected the narration of the game at least going back to Ultima IV. Maybe not the endings, but the story along the way for sure. CRPGs, including Ultima, came out of tabletop D&D. The definition has changed over the years what defines them, but nobody can deny that their roots come from tabletop D&D play. You can argue all day about what mechanics should and should not have been kept from the tabletop days to define what makes it a real RPG.

freeform narrative is the focal point of tabletop, the mechanics are of secondary import and in fact can be barebones, though personally I prefer a robust and complex set of mechanics for various actions in game, most importantly combat.

 

[bandersnatch]

Player choices in Ultima definitely affected the narration of the game at least going back to Ultima IV. Maybe not the endings, but the story along the way for sure. CRPGs, including Ultima, came out of tabletop D&D. The definition has changed over the years what defines them, but nobody can deny that their roots come from tabletop D&D play. You can argue all day about what mechanics should and should not have been kept from the tabletop days to define what makes it a real RPG.

freeform narrative is the focal point of tabletop, the mechanics are of secondary import and in fact can be barebones, though personally I prefer a robust and complex set of mechanics for various actions in game, most importantly combat.

What the hell is freeform narrative? Sounds a bit like "Theatre" talk to me. Are you in the Theatre, a LARPer, or do Cosplay by any chance? Games by definition have rules(mechanics) and a goal. That's their "focal point" and everything else, including narrative, comes out of that. Lets not get confused here.

 

[Daemongar]

Depends upon what qualifiers you use but if you mean just in general heres my subjective list of the top 10 rpgs based upon my thoughts at this moment in time and including only titles I've completed and can thus accurately judge.
1.Temple of Elemental Evil
2.Tyranny
3.Arcanum
4.Planescape: Torment
5.Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
6.Fallout
7.Fallout New vegas
8.Age of Decadence
9.Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption
10.Fallout 2

Let's see: 2003, 2016, 2001, 1999, 2004, 1997, 2010, 2015, 2000. Earliest game: Fallout, in 1997.

Now, Ultima 8 came out in 1994. Strange, it's almost as if someone is claiming games that predate his ideal games should have had the mechanics which weren't prevalent at the time. I mean, hey, I'm a fan of multiple endings like the other guy! Now, could you name the game pre-1994 that had those mechanics you crave, you know - deep combat and C&C that affects the ending? The only game that springs to mind is the Wizardry series, but how much C&C is there?

Come on guys, give the boomer game designers a break. They had their time and now it is supposed to be our job to sit back and listen to their stories about how special they were for being born at the right time in history to put just about any game out and make money. Sure they had some skill, but those days of practically zero competition in the games market are long gone.

Yeah, man, that guy who made Wizardry 1 - Milton Bradley - the game Wizardry was there for the taking by anyone! All someone had to do is a little coding and poof, what everyone could have done was done and he raked in the profits! Same with Ultima! Anyone could have come up with that idea! Same thing for Amazon! There wasn't an Amazon at the time, that's why me, Jeff Bezos, invented it. I mean, it was right there and there was no competition! And also that guy who invented cars? That's right - there weren't any other cars, so it's not like the first car was any good! Same goes for the Internet! Same goes for TCP! I mean, why can't we have a protocol that takes packets of data and assembles them somewhere else while including error correction?!

 

[Vormulak]

I'm not saying every game needs narrative freedom I'm merely saying that boomers need to quit living in denial and pretending that these games are rpgs when they're entirely devoid of any narrative freedom.