Ultima The Ultima Underworld I & II Thread

[Butter]

Too bad that no multi-billion company / publisher / indie developer has the balls (or skillz) to do an first person RPG adventure like the both Underworlds.

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/monomyth-a-first-person-action-rpg-dungeon-crawler.115034/

 

[Maggot]

So far I have been enjoying UUW2 even more than 1, probably due to how different each world you visit is as well as more interesting quests and dialogue.

 

[EruDaan]

Too bad that no multi-billion company / publisher / indie developer has the balls (or skillz) to do an first person RPG adventure like the both Underworlds.

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/monomyth-a-first-person-action-rpg-dungeon-crawler.115034/

Yeah, will check it out, brah.
Also, also... yes, UWII did feel almost completley different. Almost as if the developer gathered more experience with this kind of games - more hidden niches and caches of treasure. Also, yes, the worlds felt more different to each other and opened a lot more approached how and when to solve every world. It wasn't THAT railroaded.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

So still looking for those older abandoned projects. I did find a few things:
Underworld Editor

Underworld Exporter

Pix Posts an Ultima Underworld 3 Design Document

Hardcore Gaming Ultima Underworld

IBM

Playstation




Ah! Slashie again on Britannia Underworld.

Yea, I vaguely recall this one. [Slashie's Journal]

 

[ShaggyMoose]

I had no idea this was ever released for PSX! What is the platform from the animated GIF posted above? It looks like there is no way they could have duplicated the PC version maps. Was it practically a different game?

 

[Owl]

So still looking for those older abandoned projects.

Underworld Adventures looked really promising with 3d accelerated Opengl graphics, etc. Sadly it has been discontinued a long time ago.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Ah, lessee:


Stygian Abyss, 2015 7DRL Challenge, Victory!

Stygian Abyss, 2015 7DRL Challenge, Victory!
Posted on March 16, 2015 by slash

Stygian Abyss is a procedurally generated first person action dungeon crawler; survive the legendary Stygian Abyss to find the Codex of Ultimate wisdom, a new adventure awaits you every time!

Features

• 
  
  
  • A level generator inspired in Ultima Underworld
  • Explore the environment in a first person view.
  • 8 classes with different starting equipment and skills
  • 11 spells
  • 28 different monsters
  • Melee and ranged weapons

Play online now!

—-

I managed to survive for another year!

Many thanks to jucarave, a.k.a Exodus Destiny Dragon; we teamed up for this year and it was great working with him.

This 7DRL is made up of two different open source projects; the Stygian Generator and the Stygian Abyss 7DRL game.

The level generator can be used independently (you are welcome to use it in your project!), it’s very customizable and comes bundled with parameters to recreate the Abyss based mainly on Ultima IV. This one was started from scratch for the challenge. I will talk a bit more about it on a future post.





The 7DRL game module was developed using as a base the existing work that Jucarave had made for Britannian Underworld; from there we developed all the game related stuff like spells, combat, etc. A whole lot of work went there!





The cover art was created by Talzhemir “Manda” Penumbra; drawn and painted specially for this game. She was part of the Ultima VI dev team. Thank you!

The music is Ultima IV “Dungeon“, from Ken Arnold. C64 version from the Videogame Music Preservation Foundation

The sound effects were made by Bart, from OpenGameArt.

Graphics come directly from the Ultima IV and Ultima V tilesets, with some tweaks and original tiles being made.

This project is non-commercial, made just for fun from fans to fans.

I was hoping for an offline version but github doesn't seem to have it.

Play online?

 

[Spukrian]

Hey, I found this streamer who streams UU1 once every week. Pretty interesting!

https://www.twitch.tv/xstygianabyssx/videos

He's currently playing without using weapons or armour. Quite effective, I played UU2 like that.

EDIT: He has youtube channel, where he was narrating/larping the game.

 

[Reader]

I am playing UU1 right now. I have couple of questions.
1. How exactly Lore skill works? I raised it from 0 to 17 then i "looked" at various items in my posession. The only difference i saw was that Taper became Taper of Sacrifice, which i knew without this skill. Not much even from RP standpoint. What is the actual benefit of Lore skill?
2. I only begun to explore fifth level of the abyss but my level is 12 already. Considering that max lvl is 16, isn't leveling too fast?..

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

You'll want those levels.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I am playing UU1 right now. I have couple of questions.
1. How exactly Lore skill works? I raised it from 0 to 17 then i "looked" at various items in my posession. The only difference i saw was that Taper became Taper of Sacrifice, which i knew without this skill. Not much even from RP standpoint. What is the actual benefit of Lore skill?

The Lore skill increases your chance of successfully identifying an item for what it is.

The problem is... I'm not 100% how the skill works. But basically a 'Lore check' is made against each item, and if passed then the game reveals more about the item. For example you may have a Dagger of Unsurpassed Precision or somesuch. If your Lore skill is too low, it'll just say 'Dagger'. If your Lore skill is higher, it may say 'magical dagger', until you finally have a high enough Lore skill to learn that it is a Dagger of Unsurpassed Precision.

I think that the Lore-skill requirement for these tidbits of info to be revealed is always a fixed number, meaning either you will know, or you will not. Try again later when you have a higher Lore-skill. By contrast, the Search skill adds a chance-based modifier of success to a roll, meaning you can 'Search' the same piece of wall several times until you find the hidden door/switch.

You will eventually find someone who is willing to identify items for you... for a price. So it's not super-important to put points into Lore.

2. I only begun to explore fifth level of the abyss but my level is 12 already. Considering that max lvl is 16, isn't leveling too fast?..

It levels out a bit, meaning that at higher levels you'll get skill points several times between level gains. But yeah, in an extensive playthrough of Ultima Underworld (both games) players will reach the level cap.

 

[Reader]

I see. Thanks a lot!

 

[Cael]

Remember in UU2, the level cap means nothing. Skill points continue to go up as you gain XP. There is effectively no cap on skill point gain.

 

[Butter]

Does anyone know how the probability works for skill increases? It might be my imagination, but it seems like it's weighted towards the skills that you haven't invested into, like it's pulling cards out of a deck. My Attack is at 30 and I'm guessing I'll never see it increase again.

 

[octavius]

Uh...I think 30 is the max value for skills.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

The Skill System[edit]
The skill system in Ultima Underworld is based on a 0 to 30 range for skill values. Attempts to use non-combat skills have a certain probability of success and every point the Avatar has in the relevant skill adds one chance in 30 to this probability. The base difficulty might vary from task to task; each locked door has its own difficulty of picking, each type of creature has a certain chance to be detected by Track and so forth; but it is generally the case that 1 point of skill adds 1 chance in 30 to the chance of success.

Combat works somewhat differently. Each creature type has a certain chance to hit and be hit in combat. Assuming the Avatar swings in a monster's general vicinity, the chance to hit increases by 1 to 30 units (as many units as half the Attack skill plus the specific weapon skill), while the chance to avoid being hit increases (also by 1 to 30 units) by the Defense skill plus half the weapon skill.

When the Avatar trains in a skill, the number of skill points gained depends somewhat on the value of the underlying ability score (Strength for combat skills, Intelligence for magic skills and Dexterity for all other skills). Skills tend to advance very quickly until they reach equal to half of the underlying ability score, then advance more slowly until the same value as the ability score is reached, and then advance very slowly thereafter.

Combat Skills[edit]
Combat skills are the most important in both games. While it is absolutely needed to train Attack and Defense, it is best to specialize on only one weapon type and stick with it. It has to be added that the weapons are not balanced: missile weapons are far too weak, useless if stronger enemies come into melee range and need ammunition. While unarmed combat is possible, it is not ideal.

Attack[edit]
Description: the more points, the more effective the Avatar is in hitting and hurting opponents. Adds 1/2 its value to the odds to hit in combat, with all weapons.

UU1 mantra: RA

UU2 trainer(s): Geoffrey

Comments: while it is useful, it is a very poor choice, cost wise, to invest skill points here. This is because it adds only 1/2 to Attack odds per point; a weapon skill adds 1 per point to the odds, and adds 1/2 per point to Defense to boot. It is better to pick one weapon skill and investing solely in that. 30 points spent on attack would cost only 15 points on a weapon skill for the same to-hit bonus, leaving 15 points to spend on other skills.

Defense[edit]
Description: It determines how big the chance of stopping a blow is, while not swinging the weapon.

UU1 mantra: ANRA

UU2 trainer(s): Geoffrey

Comments: increases defense at a 1-to-1 ratio (twice that of a weapon skill). This and a weapon skill are the only ways to make one harder to hit.

Sword[edit]
Description: Together with Attack and Defense, this skill determines how well the Avatar can use sword weapons.

UU1 mantra: AMO

UU2 trainer(s): Syria, Lobar (is better than Syria)

Comments: thanks to the imbalance of weapons, with Caliburn in UU1 and the Sword of Stone Strike in UU2, it is the most useful weapons skill, also because many good swords are available early. Also, in UU2, the trainer Lobar is special, in that he always adds 1 more point to the sword skill, on top of however many points you would normally gain. This makes sword the easiest weapon skill to maximize.

Mace[edit]
Description: the are several types of maces, with the "Mace of Undead Bane" being one of the best.

UU1 mantra: KOH

UU2 trainer(s): Dupre, fighters in Pits of Carnage (after getting respect)

Comments: this is a real alternative to swords, should one ignore the "Sword of Stone Strike".

Axe[edit]
Description: The strongest axe available is the Axe of Firedoom, which should only be used while wearing the Leather Vest of Flameproof.

UU1 mantra: GAR

UU2 trainer(s): Dupre, fighters in Pits of Carnage (after gaining their respect)

Comments: this is a real alternative to swords, should one ignore the "Sword of Stone Strike".

Missile[edit]
Description:

UU1 mantra: FAHM

UU2 trainer(s): Iolo

Comments: missile weapons are not any good; see the notes at the top of the category.

Unarmed[edit]
Description:

UU1 mantra: ORA

UU2 trainer(s): Syria, Garg

Comments: unarmed combat is sheer desperation. While survival is possible, this skill should be ignored.

Via Ultima Underworld wikia

 

[Cael]

Does anyone know how the probability works for skill increases? It might be my imagination, but it seems like it's weighted towards the skills that you haven't invested into, like it's pulling cards out of a deck. My Attack is at 30 and I'm guessing I'll never see it increase again.

1. Skill point gain depends on your current skill level. The higher it is, the less you get per train. There is some randomness involved, but the long term trend is as you say.
2. 30 is max in any skill or stat.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

A nice summary of the weapon skills, but I disagree with their opinions on Unarmed; it is not "sheer desperation".

Sure, it is lesser than almost all of the other weapon groups, but it has two notable advantages that none of the other weapon groups offer: No encumbrance, and no repair maintenance required.

I'm aware that the latter point get rendered moot by the 'Repair Item'-spell, which is why Unarmed is a more viable choice for UU1 than UU2.

 

[Cael]

A nice summary of the weapon skills, but I disagree with their opinions on Unarmed; it is not "sheer desperation".

Sure, it is lesser than almost all of the other weapon groups, but it has two notable advantages that none of the other weapon groups offer: No encumbrance, and no repair maintenance required.

I'm aware that the latter point get rendered moot by the 'Repair Item'-spell, which is why Unarmed is a more viable choice for UU1 than UU2.

UU1 has Caliburn, which basically made any weapon skill other than Sword a bit redundant.

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

So far I have been enjoying UUW2 even more than 1, probably due to how different each world you visit is as well as more interesting quests and dialogue.

Interesting. The different worlds were exactly one of the main points that made UUW2 unplayable for me: The world doesn't feel organic, realistic, coherent anymore. In UUW1 I felt like the nameless outcast (thank God the dropped the Ultima-references) stumbling in a godforsaken dungeon, deeper and deeper, discovering the different cultures and piece by piece, stone by stone finding out about the sad and melancholic story of Sir Cabirus' fallen Utopia. The whole world takes part in this story telling, mirrors aspects of it, every ruin is meaningful, every new plane of the massive dungeon tells part of it. I felt like being there and from the moment the gate closed behind me I knew it was about survival.
In UUW2 on the other hand the story itself felt rather ludicrous and unfitting for Ultima (why the hell did they even feel the need to bring in Ultima?) it wasn't able to hold all these wildly different places together in a meaningful way. Unforunately I was never able to get over that, maybe if I persisted I could have enjoyed the game but after the monolithic, once-in-a-lifetime experience UUW1 was for me I simply couldn't. Maybe now, years later, I should try it again...

 

[LarryTyphoid]

I finally got Roland MT-32 emulation working on the Linux version of DOSBox so I can play Underworld 1&2 with proper music. Turns out, all you have to do is follow the instructions on Munt's DOSBox patch page on their github. Some may laugh at me for being a stupid techlet and not getting this sooner but hey, it works now. Don't bother with that DOSBox-X or Daum garbage, they didn't do shit for me and X has horrible performance. Just patch the source code yourself like they instruct.

 

[Denim Destroyer]

The bane of every man gamer... reading instructions. In all seriousness I wish GOG's version of Underworld had a preset for MT-32 emulation if Munt is present on the system.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

I finally got Roland MT-32 emulation working on the Linux version of DOSBox so I can play Underworld 1&2 with proper music. Turns out, all you have to do is follow the instructions on Munt's DOSBox patch page on their github. Some may laugh at me for being a stupid techlet and not getting this sooner but hey, it works now. Don't bother with that DOSBox-X or Daum garbage, they didn't do shit for me and X has horrible performance. Just patch the source code yourself like they instruct.

I just want to thank you for this post. It inspired me to finally figure the damn thing out, since I recently started UU1 for the first time. Mind you, I did go with DOSbox-X, but I don't really have the same performance issues. Wish it did more for the sound effects, but either way its a massive improvement.

The bane of every man gamer... reading instructions. In all seriousness I wish GOG's version of Underworld had a preset for MT-32 emulation if Munt is present on the system.

I think that if GOG wanted to do that they would have to pay out the ass. I get the impression that music equipment makers like squeezing every last penny they can out of their audience these days.

 

[Denim Destroyer]

I found DOSBox-Staging to be a nice alternative to DOSBox-X, which in the topic of this conversation, would be relevant due to Staging having a built in MT-32 Emulator. I was able to use that while playing through Underworld 1 with no issue.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

In all seriousness I wish GOG's version of Underworld had a preset for MT-32 emulation

GOG hasn't put effort into the games they sell for years now. They just package it with dosbox and that's it, very lame.