Ultima The Ultima Underworld I & II Thread

[octavius]

Hmm...I'm in Loth's Tomb on lvl 3 in front of a chasm that is too large to jump, and there is a button on the other side. It's obvious that the button needs to be pressed for me to continue that way. So I produce a crossbow and after a few shots I hit the button and I see it change, but nothing happens. But when I use Telekinesis half of the chasm disappear when pressing the button.
This was rather annoying...

Another thing that was a slight decline compared to Dungeon Master is that there is no trace whatsoever of any firing mechanisms for the traps in the trap area to the N-E on lvl 3, which makes it a gamble to determine where the fireballs or iceballs will come from.

It gives you a bird's eye view of the dungeon, and I recall that there was some problem with moving around while the spell was in effect. At least I remember that I had to move about using a different manner than normal. Maybe the currsor keys instead of the WASD-like keys that was the standard?

Got it to work on the third try. First time I already had three spells actice which may have messed things up. Second time I got the icon, but nothing else happened. Oh well, it was just a test, and not a spell I rely on.

 

[WarHamster]

What I also like in UU2 is that there are some spells that are not written in the games handbook which you either can get by guessing the correct rune combination or by trading /talking with NPC.

The same goes for UU1, too. Spells like Waterwalking or Protection (or whatever the In Sanct spell was called) weren't in the manual.

Yeah, wait until you meet Ylsides. Your close-range fighter will get skullfucked.

Indeed. Figthers are in such a serious trouble against the Ylsides it's not funny. Almost rage-quit myself way back when. Mages will , however, wipe the floor with the Ylsides. Curious bit of game design there.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

octavius: There are two ways to get through L3 of Loth's Tomb. Keeping in mind that you can only ever get 7 of the 8 map pieces from the first level, so there's always a part of the tomb that's left out. Still, that shouldn't be a problem, the "left-hand-way" is safer but takes more time (don't remember the specifics) and the "right-hand-way" is shorter but much tougher. IIRC, any chasms that could be run into occur in the longer left-hand route.

Don't worry, things get more streamlined after this. Not easier, just simpler.

 

[octavius]

Don't worry, things get more streamlined after this. Not easier, just simpler.

Tell me about it...Lethe is a bitch. I got her down to yellow, but that was all before I had to retreat. I think I need a better weapon than a Dagger of Unsurpassed Damage. Sword of Stone Strike doesn't seem to work on the Undead, although it works on Golems. I found a Black Sword, but it was not magic, so I left it. Apart from that the best I've found are Axes of Great or Major Damage, but I don't have much Axe skill.

So I headed back to the Pits of Carnage to get the Gem, and hopefully a decent weapon, from Durstag, but Blog the big, hairy troll who I befriended after giving him a Grey Stone to play with, bullied Durstag into giving me the Gem, and Durstag ran away, even if he turned hostile after I unlocked the secret door to his (rather meagre) treasure chamber.

 

[someone else]

What you don't enchant your own stuff?

 

[octavius]

What you don't enchant your own stuff?

Thanks, I had forgot about that. I guess a fully enchanted Black Sword will do it.
BTW, why did you abandon your LP?

 

[Unkillable Cat]

There's a Black Sword on Level 3 of Loth's Tomb, but I can't remember if it's enchanted or not. They're indestructible, IIRC.

Lethe has another black sword, and that one is enchanted.

There's a Jewelled Sword of Major Damage in the Britannian sewers. Remember the Reaper I told you about? Search his lair carefully, it's hidden rather well.

Last time I played UUW2, the first lich (Mortis?) gave me the most trouble as his poison is really strong. Umbria's problem was reach, fucker tended to float all over the place. Lethe didn't present much of a challenge.

The Lich in the Pits of Carnage, however, tended to kick my ass repeatedely.

 

[octavius]

There's a Black Sword on Level 3 of Loth's Tomb, but I can't remember if it's enchanted or not. They're indestructible, IIRC.

That's the Black Sword I left behind. It's not enchanted.

There's a Jewelled Sword of Major Damage in the Britannian sewers. Remember the Reaper I told you about? Search his lair carefully, it's hidden rather well.

Aren't jeweled weapons very brittle? When I used a Jeweled Axe of Firedoom against Morthius each attack damaged the axe.

Last time I played UUW2, the first lich (Mortis?) gave me the most trouble as his poison is really strong. Umbria's problem was reach, fucker tended to float all over the place. Lethe didn't present much of a challenge.

The Lich in the Pits of Carnage, however, tended to kick my ass repeatedely.

I saved him to very late in the game. With superior armour, including the Flameproof vest, he was easy to dispatch.
The Dire Reaper I had missed when I first explored the area. One Paralyze and a couple of uses of Wand of Fireball and he was toast.

Morphius didn't hit me at all, and with Umbria I jumped onto one of the ledges, out of the Golems' reach, and corned him.
So it's really only Lethe that is giving me problems, since she does massive damage, is hard to hit and has lots of HP.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I think the damage to your axe had more to do with the "Firedoom" element than the brittleness of the weapon. IIRC, Firedoom means that a fireball is launched from the weapon towards the victim. I used it on the weakling you first meet in the Pits of Carnage, the axe swing made him surrender and start dialogue, but after the dialogue ended the fireball kicked in and toasted him. Oops.

To be honest, I don't really remember if jewelled weapons were fragile or not. Shame UUW2 doesn't have Glass Swords...

 

[octavius]

UU2: I assume that in order to be able to blow the Horn of Quintius I found in Praecor Loth's Tomb I need to use myself as the vessel of the djinn bottle, and use the energy when letting it out to blow the Horn?
Only problem is that I would also need a Potion of Iron Flesh. But I've only found one and used it in the fight against Lethe (that asshole Zoranthus didn't mention the Potion of Iron Flesh the first time I spoke to him).
Any idea where I may find another? Or will a spell of Iron Flesh do as well?

 

[Unkillable Cat]

The spell will suffice, though you'll need the Vas rune if you haven't found it already.

EDIT: If you REALLY want a potion of Iron Flesh, Merzam in Killorn Keep will sell one to you if you ask him specifically.

 

[octavius]

Ah, the Etherial Void in UU2. I loved the red path; it was like proto-Doom battling the Barons of Hell. The yellow road? Nor quite so fun...
I think I'm getting close to the end now. Have to finish the yellow path and two other paths, get the last Blackrock Gem, blow the Horn and then...? I guess there will be a showdown with the infamous Mors Gotha (a goth chick?) as well sometime.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Let me just run one thing by you, before you continue. Have you 'visited' the Shrine of Spirituality before? You know what I mean.

If so, did you pick up the Blackrock gem in the center? If you did, you probably noticed that you couldn't put it in your inventory... but you could throw it.

If you've done this before you reach the Shrine in full, you will save yourself a considerable headache.

The checklist of things to do before you can complete the game:

# Find all 8 blackrock gems, have Nystul enchant them, then fuse them with the big blackrock gem in the sewers.
# Assemble Altara's Rod, then use it to sever the Guardian's lines of power in the 8 worlds.
# Recover the Horn of Praecor Loth.
# Imprison an Air Djinn within yourself, so that you are capable of blowing the Horn.
# Determining at what time the spell was cast that encased the castle.
# Recover the spellbook that was used to cast the spell.

The only item on this checklist that could be a problem is the spellbook. Check with Altara and see what she has to say once you've completed all the other objectives.

And yes, foreshadowing a badass bitch like Gotha without letting you meet her is a bit wrong, isn't it? ;-)

 

[octavius]

Yeah, I've "been" to the Shrine of Spirituality. Even managed to pick up the gem, but not put in inventory, and now I see in an orb that it lies in one corner.
I had been through three of the four paths before I met the ever so helpful Blog the Troll, who told me I needed to recolour the pyramid, so I have some backtracking to do.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Not just backtracking, but playing Q*Bert 3D.

 

[octavius]

And so Octavianus saves Britannia again:

Excellent game! Should have been on my top 25 list.

Bigger and more of a true Ultima than UU1, but also more easy to abuse the game mechanics if you are thus inclined. I felt a little bit guilty when using the Sword of Stone Strike as it did make things rather too simple against Mors Gotha and her cronies.

Even of it's bigger, I only used 2-3 more days to complete it than I did UU1 (six days), even with much more total levels and some of them very slow, like lvl 2 of Loth's Tomb.

All the NPC interaction and unlinearity is very Ultima, but I find the 1st person gameplay much more engaging than the top down one in Ultima 7.

I noticed some recurring themes, like "badass bitches". The two most powerful enemies, with the possible exception of the demon in the void, were female warriors. Another recurring theme was the Avatar being irresistable to trolls. Even old Ragwurst (?) from UU1 was happy to see "Rodriguez" in his dreams.

There were some levels that made me wonder what the devs had been smoking...and I had to laught when I suddenly found myself in what must have been "Ultima 1".

This game deserves more love!

BTW, anyone tried to play any of the UU games with high Stealth skill? If so, what are the difference in gameplay?

 

[RK47]

Nothing.
I realized that combat is probably the only way to get through most encounters and never really bothered with lockpicking skills.
Cudgel of entry opens all doors.
Axe of Lifestealing for cheesy non death.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Nothing.
I realized that combat is probably the only way to get through most encounters and never really bothered with lockpicking skills.
Cudgel of entry opens all doors.
Axe of Lifestealing for cheesy non death.

This. The Cudgel of Entry (a.k.a. 'The V.I.P. Pass') makes a large chunk of the game redundant. Using your fist as a weapon makes another large chunk of the game redundant as well.

And while Spoony is being a dick about UUW2, he does raise a good point about vital items being stored in a SECRET ROOM in the room you start in. Maybe it's a copy protection question, like "Did you read the manual?"

octavius: Congratulations on finishing the game. Did you visit the Goblins in the sewers before completing the game? Did you unlock Nystul's chest? Did you crash the Keep to beat Mors Gotha the first time? (Alot of people did that.)

 

[octavius]

octavius: Congratulations on finishing the game. Did you visit the Goblins in the sewers before completing the game?

I had been meaning to bring some alchohol to one of the goblins, but forgot it.

Did you unlock Nystul's chest?

Sex by Madonna?

Did you crash the Keep to beat Mors Gotha the first time? (Alot of people did that.)

Had to try it, of course. It didn't change much, though. The Guardian still saved her ass, and she forgot her spell book. Only difference was not encountering the squad of soldiers near the large gem.

 

[Jaesun]

Why isn't there a Classic Ultima Underwold like Kickstarter? ;_;

 

[Sceptic]

And while Spoony is being a dick about UUW2, he does raise a good point about vital items being stored in a SECRET ROOM in the room you start in.

No he doesn't have a valid point, he's a fucking moron, because

it's a copy protection question, like "Did you read the manual?"

Seriously, you can complain all you want about industry and publisher evil, but when even the self-touting retro reviewers can't be bothered to RTFM it's no wonder modern games are so full of shitty handholding.

 

[evdk]

Why isn't there a Classic Ultima Underwold like Kickstarter? ;_;

Because Arcane is working on shitty popamole and Spector is huffing paint in Disney janitor closet.

 

[octavius]

Let me just run one thing by you, before you continue. Have you 'visited' the Shrine of Spirituality before? You know what I mean.

If so, did you pick up the Blackrock gem in the center? If you did, you probably noticed that you couldn't put it in your inventory... but you could throw it.

If you've done this before you reach the Shrine in full, you will save yourself a considerable headache.

Actually I was able to enter the shrine itself by first Levitating and then casting Portal. Not sure if Levitate was even needed.
Anyway, it looked like you weren't supposed to enter the shrine, so I ended up just using a Levitate scroll and pick up the gem from one of the corners where I had dropped it while dreaming (didn't occur to me to throw it past the pillars).

 

[octavius]

And while Spoony is being a dick about UUW2, he does raise a good point about vital items being stored in a SECRET ROOM in the room you start in.

No he doesn't have a valid point, he's a fucking moron, because

it's a copy protection question, like "Did you read the manual?"

Seriously, you can complain all you want about industry and publisher evil, but when even the self-touting retro reviewers can't be bothered to RTFM it's no wonder modern games are so full of shitty handholding.

Well, much of TFM is a tutorial that anyone experienced with UU1 should not really need to read. And since I can't recall the manual mentioning the secret room it must have been in that section.
I just watched Spooney's "review". He does have some good points, but he concentrates solely on the negative things about the game, like the NPCs getting in the way and being mostly useless (or in the case of Lord British, totally useless) and the Headlesses being far tougher than in other Ultima games.
The game is definitely more frustrating and harder then the first game, which I guess is partly why I abandoned it the first time. It's also a bit rougher around the edges, especially the Pits of Carnage where I aborted my first game. The devs have said themselves that they would have like extra time to polish the game.
But being more frustrating and harder it makes it all the more sweet to complete the game. And I'm rather about using only three in-game days, which is one day better than UU1. Once you find that magic vendor in Killorn Keep you hardly need to cast spells anymore, since using gold to recharge wands instead means you can use the wands instead of spending mana, thus eliminating the need to sleep to regain hit points and mana.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

There's a "User's Guide" manual with UUW2, and then there's also another manual which is written as if Nystul had compiled it for the Avatar. IIRC, the information about the secret room is found in there.

It's also the only 'canon' source that actually acknowledges that the events in the Stygian Abyss took place in the history of Britannia. None of the other Ultima games even mention it, not even in their manuals, and the original plot for Ultima IX had the Avatar being forced to summon the Slasher of Veils instead of Pyros the Fire Titan.

And if you were wondering why I mentioned that you should re-visit the Goblins, it's because they give you a blackrock serpent that they find. This serpent plays no role in UUW2, but it plays a HUGE role in Serpent Isle. (AFAIK, it took players YEARS to uncover how to find the Blackrock Serpent in-game.)

Speaking of Serpent Isle, I hope you also found the Crystal Ball in the Ice Caverns that showed you key moments in the Avatar's timeline, all the way from his battle against Mondain, to becoming the Avatar, to seeing himself peering into a crystal ball... and then to seeing omenous portents of the future. It's one of a handful of cases where foreshadowing in a video game refers to an unreleased title (at the time). It's one thing to foreshadow events that'll take place in the game you're playing now, but events in a sequel? That's pretty much unheard of.