Ultima The Ultima Underworld I & II Thread

[Jaesun]

Also don't forget you can re-map they keyboard in DOSBox to make it just like a WASD FPS.

But UW is already WASD. Well, WASDZXC.

I meant move more like a WASD FPS today, because this default shit is fucking retarded:

 

[octavius]

Be sure to setup a mt-32 emulator before you play UW, and avoid the gog version like the plague (or extract the game files and run them separatedly).

You are right, "Charles".
The GOG versions are set up to use Roland sound, but doesn't include the needed files to actually get the Roland sound, so you end up with piano sound when walking in UU1. And to run the set up files you need to extract them from the "game.gog" file, and run them through DosBOX. It's easier to just edit the UW.CFG file, which will be generated/edited by the set up program, directly. But then you need to acquire the needed info to know what to edit...
I've also found that you really need to crank up the mouse sensitivity and CPU cycles in the .CONF files.
So the games need quite a bit of tweaking to play optimally, but its worth it IMO.

I am starting to see a certain pattern when it comes to Octavius and Deuce Traveler

Heh, if we had such a poll, I'd vote Deuce Traveler "Newbie of the Year" 2012.

Also don't forget you can re-map they keyboard in DOSBox to make it just like a WASD FPS.

But UW is already WASD. Well, WASDZXC.

I meant move more like a WASD FPS today, because this default shit is fucking retarded:

Use the mouse for movement. Apart from updating your map, you hardly need need to bother with the keyboard at all when actually playing, only when saving or if you want to turn on or off music.

 

[Excidium]

Yeah, the gog version is actually completed screwed up. It comes configured to use mt-32 and with the midi music patch pre-installed. Like what's the fucking point of having the two at the same time.

I meant move more like a WASD FPS today, because this default shit is fucking retarded

W runs, S walks, A and D turns, X backsteps, Z and C strafes. What's the problem with it? I mean the only thing that is annoying about the controls is J for jumping, because you always miss that fucking keypress in a hurry.

You the mouse for movement. Apart from updating your map, you hardly need need to bother with the keyboard at all when actually playing, only when saving or if you want to turn on or off music.

Can't believe people actually play moving with the mouse. I guess it's the hard mode.

 

[Jaesun]

Yeah I re-mapped jump too that was annoying. To bad no one could hack in a mouselook like they did do with System Shock.

 

[octavius]

Can't believe people actually play moving with the mouse. I guess it's the hard mode.

It becomes second nature after a while. The advantage is that you can gradually adjust walking/running speed by the position of the mouse cursor. With keyboard you either walk or run, I think.

 

[Excidium]

Well, you can just tap s. I tried playing mouse-only and the first thing I did was throw my sword at a goblin instead of readying it for combat. How do you even move during combat using the mouse?

 

[octavius]

Well, you can just tap s. I tried playing mouse-only and the first thing I did was throw my sword at a goblin instead of readying it for combat. How do you even move during combat using the mouse?

You can move and fight at the same time; use left mouse button for moving and the right for fighting. But I guess the problem would be choosing between Bash, Slash, and Thrust while at the same time regulating movement speed. If you want absolutely perfect FPS control I guess you need to use both mouse and keyboard, but UU was slow enough that it was never a problem for me, not even against the black Knight or the Fire Elementals. The Avatar doesn't flee from battle anyway, so he valourously stands his ground.

 

[Excidium]

Hey it's not fleeing, it's tactical repositioning.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Those controls look like System Shock 1, I see absolutely nothing wrong with them

 

[zeitgeist]

To bad no one could hack in a mouselook like they did do with System Shock.

Shouldn't it be possible with an AutoHotkey script?

 

[Jaesun]

Those controls look like System Shock 1, I see absolutely nothing wrong with them

Have you tried the mouselook mod for it though? It's really sweet. <3

To bad no one could hack in a mouselook like they did do with System Shock.

Shouldn't it be possible with an AutoHotkey script?

I *vaguely* remember some people talking about doing that on the GOG forums(?) but they could not get it to work for this game.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

I am starting to see a certain pattern when it comes to Octavius and Deuce Traveler

Crap! He's onto us/me...

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I haven't tried playing the Underworld games in quite a while, and one of the reasons is the control scheme. Having J as the jump button is a really retarded design decision when you think about it, and 1, 2 and 3 as the "look around" buttons even more so.

UUW1 was my first Ultima game, and it introduced me nicely to the Ultima lore and world without actually having me in it. Therefore it's a nice place to start for the wary Ultima virgin. It's a totally independent adventure that has no effect upon the lore or story of Ultima later on.

UUW2, however, is connected to the other Ultima games, Ultima 7 specifically. You meet the standard cast of Britannia, plus some persons of note from Ultima 7, and find yourself in a situation that came about from your actions in that game. What's more, there are small hints and references that will play a part in Ultima 7 Part 2, so storywise it takes place right between them.

While UUW1 is one whole dungeon with variable themes, UUW2 feels like a series of opposing ideas bundled together. Some places work wonderfully like the Tomb of Praecor Loth, the Scintillus Academy and the Lost City of Anudunos, while others seem either a little cheap (Goblin Prison Tower) or are totally dependant upon your imagination to work (Killorn Keep, which is supposed to be a floating fortress in the desert, yet there are no windows or in-game graphics to help you visualize that).

Darth Roxor: You don't need to make those dragonskin boots to complete UUW1, but they help with dealing with lava. The game is designed so that you never really have to step onto it, and there are other ways to get across where you do. As for Fire Elementals, I killed them wholesale by casting Fire Resistance, wearing the dragonskin boots and bashing them in melee.

As for anyone planning to play UUW2, some simple tips (for those that don't read manuals):

# Dying in Britannia is permament, dying in any of the prism worlds will send the Avatar back to Britannia. So be careful when exploring the sewers of Britannia.

# One of the first rooms you'll explore in the sewers has 2-3 headlesses in it. They'll tear the Avatar a new asshole, so avoid them until later on. Like I said, be careful.

# The mean-looking trees that slowly slither about are Reapers. They are very tough and hit VERY hard, there's one early on in Britannia that I would recommend avoiding for a while, except his lair has a couple of things of value.

# Later on there's a Dire Reaper, one of the most dangerous monsters in the game. It's as tough and strong as a Reaper, but also shoots lightning at potential meals, like Avatars. I tend to cast Time Stop to kill it.

# Spells beyond the 4th Circle cannot be cast with the Runes while in Britannia. They can still be cast from scrolls and wands, though.

# Nystul has a chest in his room that has no key, and takes spectacular Pick Locks skills to open. It contains an Easter Egg, so don't bother wasting time or lock picks on it until the endgame.

# I do not recommend using the Fireball and Lightning spells to kill monsters. Items lying about in the game world can be destroyed by the Area of Effect damage of these (and other similar) spells.

# Items thrown into water (and lava) are gone forever, unless they're plot-vital quest items, which will 'float' on the surface.

# The Avatar doesn't have to fight every battle himself. Sometimes you can get friends to do that for him.

# For Thief veterans, the Tomb of Praecor Loth will feel very familiar. It should also be treated as such, for it has enough traps to kill the Avatar several times over.

Sadly, the only game that continues the tradtion of the Ultima Underworld games is Arx Fatalis, but there's also a Thief 2 FM called Ruins of Originia that has a really strong Ultima Underworld vibe to it, especially in the first and last mission.

 

[Gord]

I don't suppose you can easily fake Roland Mt-32 by using the right Soundfont with BassMidi?

Not that it is too important, I've changed the config files so that it correctly plays on SoundBlaster, but better music might be welcome.

Still wanted to finish U7 before replaying UU2, though.
However, while I greatly enjoyed the Underworld games, the normal Ultima parts never managed to grab me as much. They are ok, I think, but something about the style prevented me from really enjoying them.

 

[someone else]

I don't have much of a problem with jumping.
Slow walk and the game won't let you fall off the ledge, then press shift-J to jump. Should get you pass most of the jumping areas in UW1&2.

 

[Fowyr]

Both are awesome games, but UUW1 was centered about dungeon exploration (more in the vein of System Shock (though, it's not a RPG) and Legacy) and UUW2 was closer to the talky-talky Ultimas. Some UUW2 worlds were very fun.

Spoiler

I remember how I was flabbergasted after killing brains what kept the Keep afloat.

 

[octavius]

UU2 is harder than UU1. More enemies at a time, and there's locked doors everywhere, and so far I haven't found a single key.

Level design so far is weaker too. Too many areas that defy the laws of physics, with holes randomly appearing and disappearing in the ground, and stone blocks going up and down. UU1 felt more like a serious dungeon "simulation". It seem like they tried to make the game harder by introducing these silly obstacles that are more suitable in more abstract games like Dungeon Master and its clones, or in platform games.

 

[octavius]

The Goblin Tower was an improvement after the dungeons under Lord British's castle.
Very small and compact area, but different ways of handling the situation.
I didn't realize you could complete the area in a totally pacifist way. Last time I played I remember slaughtering all the goblins, and only then realizing I could have used the Ogre prisoner to do the butchering.
This time I used subterfuge to complete the area, and only killed Janar the jailor(who didn't accept the password when I asked him for his keys?) in order to set free the Ogre and help the Human Resistance.

I remember only fragments of the game, so it's almost like playing it for the first time. And it's a more rewarding experience this time when I much more well versed in the Ultima history. Back then I treated UU2 as a sequel to UU1, instead of as a sequel to U7.

 

[Gord]

Funny, I always liked the mood of the sewers beneath the castle.
The general theme of some forgotten past history and loss fit well with most of the rest of the game.

 

[Sceptic]

The general theme of some forgotten past history and loss fit well with most of the rest of the game.

I thought that theme was done EXTREMELY well in the Tombs later on. There's a lot of lore about the history of the various people, and then you meet and chat with their ghosts, and the conversations with the three companions send chill down my spine in how they can be so utterly self-centered and so unwaveringly loyal at the same time.

I think UW2 is in many ways an improvement, but it's also got a lot more problems and is more uneven than UW1. It's funny that UW1 was made a series of unconnected levels that were then shoehorned together while UW2 was made as a single piece from the start (and made to fit with Ultima lore obviously), yet UW1 structure is much tighter and the game is much less linear. UW2 linearity can lead to problems at time, like being unable to open the portal to the next world and having NO CLUE why, since the the reason the portal is locked usually has nothing to do with the portals themselves, and the worst possible bug (before patch), the servants' strike. And the most infuriating part, that you cannot do anything about the traitor even if you're damn well certain whodunnit.

Anyway the game's great, and quite long (longer than UW1) with some great moments in some of the worlds. Ice Caverns are fantastic, as is Scintillus (the Vault in particular), the Tombs, and of course the Void. There are a LOT of alternative ways to do some things - the goblin tower is the most obvious, but there are also several ways of dealing with Killorn Keep (not all are good though - keep saves handy).

 

[Unkillable Cat]

UU2 is harder than UU1. More enemies at a time, and there's locked doors everywhere, and so far I haven't found a single key.

There's more than one way to open a door. That said, there is only one door in the sewers that you cannot open except by using the key, and it'll be given to you later on. The only other key-related business in the sewers is somewhere that I previously mentioned, and it opens the armoury up in the castle.

Another often overlooked part of the sewers is where you act like a salmon.

One last tip... when getting close to the endgame, don't forget to visit the goblins in the sewers... provided you didn't butcher them.

 

[octavius]

Another often overlooked part of the sewers is where you act like a salmon.

Water Walk + jumping up a waterfall?
I was planning on doing this once I reach lvl 5.

EDIT: I freed Milenus from the Prison Tower and he closed the portcullis on me. What a nice little goblin...Fortunately I had a pole with which to reach the switch. Who said poles are useless?

Also, I have problems finding Lord British in this game. He rarely is in the throne room. The few times I've seen him he's been in the Great Hall or garden. But where does he usually hang about? He's not in the mentioned places, nor the library when I search for him.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

He often hangs out in his room, which you reach through the "stairs" on the left of the throne room.

 

[octavius]

He often hangs out in his room, which you reach through the "stairs" on the left of the throne room.

Bugger me with a fish fork, I never noticed that room! The downside of a map already filled out, I guess.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Yeah, you'll run into pre-filled segments of the automap again later on, you'll find a map of the Ice Caves, complete with notes from explorers, and again in the Tomb where you have to gather the map together.

And then you're gonna run into a place where the automap doesn't work at all. Have fun.