Ultima The Ultima Underworld I & II Thread

[octavius]

Have you ever played the game? You move with WASDX and alternately the mouse. Shall I link the reference card that came with the game? lol

You can use the mouse for everything in UU1, including movement. I completed it once using only the mouse. Only exception is for loading and saving IIRC.

 

[newtmonkey]

I know. "You can also use the mouse" is not the same thing as "movement is done entirely with the mouse". The point is that UUW1, in addition to mouse controls, uses nearly modern FPS controls, so there is no reason for the RPS guy not to recommend it, other than he cannot recommend any game that was not released more than a year ago.

 

[Mortmal]

UU1 has (almost) literally modern FPS controls (WASDX instead of WASD) lol. Of course the guy at RPG "can't" recommend it, because for game reviewers—unlike actual professional critics/reviewers in other fields—anything released prior to last year is completely archaic and impossible to enjoy.

And by the way try ambermoon remaster, it's surprisingly modern as well, was published around the same time as UU too , much less revolutionary of course . Every other rpgs were shadowed by UU.

 

[Mortmal]

Ah excellent, I was looking for a game to break in my new high-end computer. Britannia awaits!

I hope it's a 486 or better. It barely runs on a 386.

Worked fine on a 386 dx 40 .

 

[Denim Destroyer]

I just did a surface level comparison and it seems the only difference between the current version of the GOG Underworld games on and the previous versions is an added DOS config menu on boot. Really does make me wonder why the games where pulled in the first place.

 

[LESS T_T]

https://af.gog.com/forum/general/ul..._syndicate_wars_delisting/page1?as=1649904300

We’d like to inform you that, on publisher's request, Ultima Underworld 1+2, Syndicate Plus and Syndicate Wars will be delisted from our catalog on Monday, June 28th, 1 PM UTC.

For everyone who purchased the titles prior to delisting, they will remain in their GOG library.

https://af.gog.com/news/bgrab_your_...ars_and_ultima_underworld_i_iib?as=1649904300

Today we have a HUGE surprise for all classic game fans! 4 outstanding titles return to GOG.COM, accompanied by a special message from their publisher:

„Syndicate and Ultima Underworld are back! It seems that twenty years on there’s still plenty of love for these titles so we’re pleased to confirm that effective immediately they’ll be available again on GOG, and we’ll be keeping them in the store for the foreseeable future. To celebrate this we’re offering these games as a free download for four weeks.”

That’s right! Until the 3rd of September 2021, 5 PM UTC, you can grab copies of Syndicate Plus™, Syndicate Wars, and Ultima Underworld I & II free of charge.

So, don’t hesitate any longer and dive into the captivating worlds of those classic gems!

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Someone bothered to ask EA reasons behind this, EA gave him a non-answer: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...-when-delisting-titles-following-gog-backlash

EA will consider "player perspective" when delisting titles after GOG misstep
Publisher pulled Syndicate, Ultima Underworld games from marketplace, has since relisted them in free promo

Electronic Arts has offered an explanation as to why four of its classic titles were delisted, then relisted on popular PC games marketplace GOG in the past few months.

GOG served a notice towards the end of June revealing it would soon remove Ultima Underworld and its sequel, Syndicate Plus and Syndicate Wars from its marketplace. The site said at the time this was "on publisher's request."

The decision was met by confusion and frustration from consumers, and earlier this month GOG and EA announced the titles would not only be returned to the marketplace but also available for free until September 3.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, EA's executive vice president for marketing, commercial and positive play Chris Bruzzo said the delisting came from a breakdown in the publisher's process for managing the digital titles it has on sale, and has since changed this procedure to avoid similar situations in future.

"When making decisions that affect players we take the time to review exactly what the potential impacts are and whether they serve the players best interests," he explained. "When we delisted Syndicate and Ultima Underworld we missed that step and so didn't fully consider the players perspective.

"From the level of interest players showed in delisting these games, it was clear that people still wanted them to be available, so we did two things.

"The first was to ensure that going forward we have a process in place that considers the player perspective in listing decisions. The second was to relist the titles and make them available to as many people as possible with a month-long promotion."

He added: "We saw so much love for these titles, more than twenty years after they originally launched we realised that we had to make them available again."

We recently took a deeper dive into the development and impact of Ultima Underworld in our podcast interview with Warren Spector.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

direct link for the free games:
https://af.gog.com/game/ultima_underworld_1_2?as=1649904300
https://af.gog.com/game/syndicate?as=1649904300
https://af.gog.com/game/syndicate_wars?as=1649904300

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

Someone bothered to ask EA reasons behind this, EA gave him a non-answer: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...-when-delisting-titles-following-gog-backlash

EA will consider "player perspective" when delisting titles after GOG misstep
Publisher pulled Syndicate, Ultima Underworld games from marketplace, has since relisted them in free promo

Electronic Arts has offered an explanation as to why four of its classic titles were delisted, then relisted on popular PC games marketplace GOG in the past few months.

GOG served a notice towards the end of June revealing it would soon remove Ultima Underworld and its sequel, Syndicate Plus and Syndicate Wars from its marketplace. The site said at the time this was "on publisher's request."

The decision was met by confusion and frustration from consumers, and earlier this month GOG and EA announced the titles would not only be returned to the marketplace but also available for free until September 3.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, EA's executive vice president for marketing, commercial and positive play Chris Bruzzo said the delisting came from a breakdown in the publisher's process for managing the digital titles it has on sale, and has since changed this procedure to avoid similar situations in future.

"When making decisions that affect players we take the time to review exactly what the potential impacts are and whether they serve the players best interests," he explained. "When we delisted Syndicate and Ultima Underworld we missed that step and so didn't fully consider the players perspective.

"From the level of interest players showed in delisting these games, it was clear that people still wanted them to be available, so we did two things.

"The first was to ensure that going forward we have a process in place that considers the player perspective in listing decisions. The second was to relist the titles and make them available to as many people as possible with a month-long promotion."

He added: "We saw so much love for these titles, more than twenty years after they originally launched we realised that we had to make them available again."

We recently took a deeper dive into the development and impact of Ultima Underworld in our podcast interview with Warren Spector.

Am I misreading this, or is the spokesman basically saying “We’re so grossly incompetent that we aren’t actually aware of a large amount of products we own, nor do we know or care if they have any real value, but hey, since you guys got upset here’s that thing you were complaining about for free”?

I mean what the hell?

 

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

Am I misreading this, or is the spokesman basically saying “We’re so grossly incompetent that we aren’t actually aware of a large amount of products we own, nor do we know or care if they have any real value, but hey, since you guys got upset here’s that thing you were complaining about for free”?

I mean what the hell?

Why are you so surprised? I bet that for EA these titles are basically the equivalent of old garbage forgotten in in their basement.

 

[Fowyr]

Would I recommend you play any of these games in the here and now? Probably not! They're historically interesting and I am glad that they are both available outside of EA's Origin, but there are a lot of games to be playing, aren't there? Six or seven, at least.

What a dick

Rock Cuck Shotgun strikes again.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Someone bothered to ask EA reasons behind this, EA gave him a non-answer: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...-when-delisting-titles-following-gog-backlash

EA will consider "player perspective" when delisting titles after GOG misstep
Publisher pulled Syndicate, Ultima Underworld games from marketplace, has since relisted them in free promo

Electronic Arts has offered an explanation as to why four of its classic titles were delisted, then relisted on popular PC games marketplace GOG in the past few months.

GOG served a notice towards the end of June revealing it would soon remove Ultima Underworld and its sequel, Syndicate Plus and Syndicate Wars from its marketplace. The site said at the time this was "on publisher's request."

The decision was met by confusion and frustration from consumers, and earlier this month GOG and EA announced the titles would not only be returned to the marketplace but also available for free until September 3.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, EA's executive vice president for marketing, commercial and positive play Chris Bruzzo said the delisting came from a breakdown in the publisher's process for managing the digital titles it has on sale, and has since changed this procedure to avoid similar situations in future.

"When making decisions that affect players we take the time to review exactly what the potential impacts are and whether they serve the players best interests," he explained. "When we delisted Syndicate and Ultima Underworld we missed that step and so didn't fully consider the players perspective.

"From the level of interest players showed in delisting these games, it was clear that people still wanted them to be available, so we did two things.

"The first was to ensure that going forward we have a process in place that considers the player perspective in listing decisions. The second was to relist the titles and make them available to as many people as possible with a month-long promotion."

He added: "We saw so much love for these titles, more than twenty years after they originally launched we realised that we had to make them available again."

We recently took a deeper dive into the development and impact of Ultima Underworld in our podcast interview with Warren Spector.

Am I misreading this, or is the spokesman basically saying “We’re so grossly incompetent that we aren’t actually aware of a large amount of products we own, nor do we know or care if they have any real value, but hey, since you guys got upset here’s that thing you were complaining about for free”?

I mean what the hell?

tl;dr:
woops, some mid-level employee wasn't aware people actually play old games, uhh... here's some free old games

 

[BlackGoat]

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/ea...list-syndicate-and-ultima-underworld-from-gog

As I said last time, I wouldn't really recommend you go play any of these games. They are classics, historically significant, and I value their continued availability. I'd wager a lot of future game designers could still learn from them. But as a player, there's probably a hundred more modern and enjoyable games you haven't played which you should prioritise first. Me? I've still not got round to Dishonored 2. Keelhaul me immediately.

What a dick

 

[Jinn]

Those pieces of shit at Rock Paper Shotgun and their relentless shitty takes on games. It boils my blood that these people are supposed to be the "representatives" of our hobby.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/ea...list-syndicate-and-ultima-underworld-from-gog

As I said last time, I wouldn't really recommend you go play any of these games. They are classics, historically significant, and I value their continued availability. I'd wager a lot of future game designers could still learn from them. But as a player, there's probably a hundred more modern and enjoyable games you haven't played which you should prioritise first. Me? I've still not got round to Dishonored 2. Keelhaul me immediately.

What a dick

Ultima Underworld games hold up pretty well with a bit of control clunkiness.

I could see if this was about the early Ultima games or something but the Underworld games aren't that old.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

I could see if this was about the early Ultima games or something but the Underworld games aren't that old.

Funny, but I found the old Ultima games (and even Akalabeth) perfectly playable when I tried them for the first time, even without a manual. UU took a bit to get used to, but it also worked out pretty well.

Syndicate? Also perfectly playable, I had no trouble getting into it when I tried it in mid 00's.

I mean, what the fuck is wrong with these people?

 

[Cael]

I could see if this was about the early Ultima games or something but the Underworld games aren't that old.

Funny, but I found the old Ultima games (and even Akalabeth) perfectly playable when I tried them for the first time, even without a manual. UU took a bit to get used to, but it also worked out pretty well.

Syndicate? Also perfectly playable, I had no trouble getting into it when I tried it in mid 00's.

I mean, what the fuck is wrong with these people?

For zits and millennials, anything more complicated than Diablo is in the "too hard" basket.

 

[Mark Richard]

A statement like that would've never been uttered on Rock Paper Shotgun ten years ago. Older games can be so appealing because they offer something modern games don't. There's no modern equivalent of Ultima Underworld (though Arx Fatalis gave a damn good try). It's a physics-based dungeoneering simulation with a rich body of interactive possibilities that allow for emergent gameplay. Unless you had abusive parents who owned a large basement, this is the closest you'll get to being thrown into an actual dungeon.

 

[Humbaba]

How high is the gimping potential during character creation in UU1? Bard seems interesting because they get lots of skills but I don't know how much the game rewards specialisation compared to generalisation. Also, why does the S key move forward instead of backwards?

 

[Wunderbar]

Blackshirt there's a ton of useless skills in the game, and in order to level your stats you must first find specific mantras in the game world (some of which are hidden and can be missed). Just take the Druid.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

If you find it difficult to play Syndicate/Syndicate Wars your classrooms in elementary school likely had only 8 other kids in it and random parents on standby for when one of them tried to eat glue.

 

[Sinatar]

How high is the gimping potential during character creation in UU1? Bard seems interesting because they get lots of skills but I don't know how much the game rewards specialisation compared to generalisation. Also, why does the S key move forward instead of backwards?

W is run forwards, S is walk forwards, X is move backwards. You can use dosbox's key remapper (ctrl F1) to change it if you want.

 

[Black Plague]

Don't forget the mouselook thingy, it was mentioned on this or some other thread here as well.

I noticed the lack of "context sensitive" right click with the mod. Should it be like that? (=lack of click+drag pick up/use, only look)

 

[A horse of course]

I don't have anything against people being honest and not simply following the hivemind to try and look cool/elitist (e.g. people on rpgcodex who defend blobbers), but it's become trendy in game journalism to positively revel in proclaiming how stupid and lazy you are and then acting smug about it when called out.

Someone who actually cared about the hobby would suggest curious players approach the games from the perspective of engaging with control schemes, world design, and exploration that are so different from modern games that they actually feel fresh again. If I wanted to hear some ignorant retard simply dismiss something with "oh it's too old and dated now, meh", I could ask a random friend or someone on an internet forum. If you have nothing to contribute beyond that, maybe keep it to yourself when writing a news article.

This is quintessential "New Games Journalism". Thank you based Kieron Gillen.

 

[BlackGoat]

I just don't get the point of posting something like that, and not just once but twice in quick succession. And phrasing it in a way like he's rubbing it in.

It's not like if he said "You guys should play Ultima Underworld it's a classic" everyone would run out and play it, but he might get a handful of people genuinely curious. Instead he basically shits on it and reinforces what people are already doing anyway. His shitty readers don't need to be convinced to play whatever new bullshit just came out instead of classic masterpieces.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

UU1 does have a lot of useless skills and general lack of skill parity, but it’s still not a hard game. You have to be actively trying to gimp yourself to make a completely unviable avatar.