Ultima Ultima 6 Remake in U7/Exult Engine

[Infinitron]

Yes, it's another U6 remake. It's been in development for a while, actually. I may have mentioned it in passing in the past. Not sure why I never made a thread for it until now, come to think of it.

http://ultima6.ultimacodex.com/the-ultima-6-remake/
http://ultimacodex.com/tag/ultima-6-remake/

Some images:

There's also a Savage Empire Exult remake in development, but that project seems to be going much slower.

http://savageempire.ultimacodex.com/the-savage-empire-remake-for-exult/
http://ultimacodex.com/tag/the-savage-empire-remake/

 

[octavius]

I'm looking forward to the completion of this.
I couldn't stomach regular U6, but being anal retentive I need to play both U6 and U7 before playing Ultima Underworld 2, which I have had to push back on my chronological play list.

 

[Wolfus]

I still have to finish U5...

 

[Humanity has risen!]

Why are so many people making Ultima remakes?

 

[Infinitron]

Why are so many people making Ultima remakes?

It's a community tradition.

 

[Blaine]

Perhaps the best reason to do an Ultima remake is so that it will run natively and smoothly on modern computers. Extensive DOSBox .ini tweaking can allow some of these old games to run extremely well, but the cursors will still flash like strobe lights and so on, and most people fail at DOSBox. My new computer with Win 7 64x seems to be shittier at running DOSBox smoothly than my older one was, regardless of .ini settings.

That's one reason I'm quite glad ScummVM now runs a variety of VGA Sierra On-Line adventure games. Playing KQ6 in DOSBox, the little animations like grass waving would animate at six billion frames per microsecond, and the cursor flashed like a discoball. In Quest for Glory IV, the combat proceeded at thirty quintillion frames per picosecond. All I could do was throttle the shit out of my CPU, but that made it run shitty in a DIFFERENT way and only helped but so much. And I know what every single DOSBox .ini setting does.

 

[EruDaan]

Why are so many people making Ultima remakes?

Because these games were and are a billion times better compared to the... stuff that's sold as RPG today. U6 using the U7 engine? One of the most awesome things ever.

 

[mondblut]

Remaking Ultima 6 on Ultima 7 engine? Really? Taking the last functional and RPG-like Ultima and porting it into the realtime clusterfuck? Why not remake it on Ultima 9 engine straight away?

 

[Infinitron]

Because U6's interface is shit.

But it would be better to wait for NUVIE, I agree.

 

[St. Toxic]

No way, U6 interface is the best one.

 

[Jaesun]

Because U6's interface is shit.

But it would be better to wait for NUVIE, I agree.

Agreed. U6's interface is pure fucking shit. NUVIE can however hopefully make it functional.

 

[evdk]

I wanted to rant a little, but dependable monbdblut got here first.

 

[mindx2]

Because U6's interface is shit.

But it would be better to wait for NUVIE, I agree.

Agreed. U6's interface is pure fucking shit. NUVIE can however hopefully make it functional.

Really? I actually always liked U6 a bit over U7 and never had an issue with the UI. I certainly enjoyed the combat in U6 over U7!

 

[Jaesun]

Because U6's interface is shit.

But it would be better to wait for NUVIE, I agree.

Agreed. U6's interface is pure fucking shit. NUVIE can however hopefully make it functional.

Really? I actually always liked U6 a bit over U7 and never had an issue with the UI. I certainly enjoyed the combat in U6 over U7!

Are you going off memory/nostalgia or have you actually played U6 recently? I did a full Ultima IV to VIII run a year ago and man 6's UI made me rage. It's like a horrible Alpha build of the U7 interface.

As for combat, yes. U6 is vastly superior than U7. It's a shame no one has made a turn based mode for U7 in Exult (it does include a Pause and target mode which works well).

 

[mindx2]

Because U6's interface is shit.

But it would be better to wait for NUVIE, I agree.

Agreed. U6's interface is pure fucking shit. NUVIE can however hopefully make it functional.

Really? I actually always liked U6 a bit over U7 and never had an issue with the UI. I certainly enjoyed the combat in U6 over U7!

Are you going off memory/nostalgia or have you actually played U6 recently? I did a full Ultima IV to VIII run a year ago and man 6's UI made me rage. It's like a horrible Alpha build of the U7 interface.

As for combat, yes. U6 is vastly superior than U7. It's a shame no one has made a turn based mode for U7 in Exult (it does include a Pause and target mode which works well).

No, I replayed it again within the last two years and didn't have any rage fits. Now, when I replayed U7 and my companions all ran off screen to who knows where during combat... then I...

 

[Infinitron]

U6's roguelike-style turn-based-even-outside-of-combat nature really doesn't go well together with the game's ultra-detailed world where you can pick up, manipulate and move any object. U4 and U5 had a more simplified/abstracted representation of the world, so it worked there.

The game's single worst problem is the small viewport, though.

 

[mindx2]

U6's roguelike-style turn-based-even-outside-of-combat nature really doesn't go well together with the game's ultra-detailed world where you can pick up, manipulate and move any object. U4 and U5 had a more simplified/abstracted representation of the world, so it worked there.

The game's single worst problem is the small viewport, though.

That's why I'm really looking forward to NUVIE.

 

[octavius]

U6's roguelike-style turn-based-even-outside-of-combat nature really doesn't go well together with the game's ultra-detailed world where you can pick up, manipulate and move any object. U4 and U5 had a more simplified/abstracted representation of the world, so it worked there.

The game's single worst problem is the small viewport, though.

That's why I'm really looking forward to NUVIE.

Me too. I've had to put both Ultima 6, 7 and Underworld 2 further down my play list while waiting for Nuvie.

 

[EruDaan]

Maybe it's just

Remaking Ultima 6 on Ultima 7 engine? Really? Taking the last functional and RPG-like Ultima and porting it into the realtime clusterfuck? Why not remake it on Ultima 9 engine straight away?

me but I actually liked the massive interactivity between the player and the world. Sure combat is nothing more but a joke. Backpack and inventory management can become a chore (but less than U6, that's for sure). And that the multilayered dungeons are gone (and Serpent Isle redeemed itself for that... somehow ) isn't that cool either. But fuck it, I grew up with Ultima 7 and can only see it through rose tinted glasses. Which doesn't prevent me from playing it even nowadays from time to time.

 

[mindx2]

General Maxson

FAQ: http://nuvie.sourceforge.net/?page=faq

1. Why is the project called Nuvie?
   
   Nuvie, Pronounced 'New-Vee' stands for 'New Ultima VI Engine'.​
2. Do I need a copy of Ultima 6 to use Nuvie?
   
   Yes. Nuvie uses the original Ultima 6 datafiles. You will need to install them from the original floppies, or copy them from one of the Ultima Collection CD's.​
3. Will Nuvie use an interface similar to that found in the original games?
   
   Yes, we are planning to provide a faithfull recreation. This includes providing the original interface. We are, however planning to provide a new enhanced gameplay mode along with the original gameplay mode. The new interface details haven't been finalized yet but it will probably have a full screen game window and floating gump style windows.​
4. Does Nuvie support multiple savegames?
   
   Yes. Nuvie supports multiple savegames.​
5. Can Nuvie play my original savegames?
   
   Yes. We also hope to play Nuvie savegames in their respective original game engines.​
6. Is there any way I could contribute?
   
   We are always looking for help. If you feel you have something to contribute please contact us.​
7. What platforms will Nuvie run on?
   
   Nuvie currently runs on the following systems. Linux, Windows (95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP) and Mac OS X. If you port Nuvie to another platform please let us know.​
8. Will Nuvie support higher resolutions?
   
   Currently Nuvie only supports the original 320x200 resolution. (This can be scaled) The enhanced interface may support higher unscaled resolutions.​
9. Are you planning to use scaling algorithms like Exult's to improve the look of U6's tile graphics?
   
   Nuvie supports several common image scaling routines. Scale2xSaI, Super Eagle and Bilinear scaling.​
10. Are you in touch with the various other teams/projects focussing on Ultima 6?
    
    We are in contact with other u6 projects. Nuvie wouldn't have been possible without the information collected by other U6 enthusiasts. Hopefully others can make use of the information collected by the Nuvie team too.​
11. Why doesn't seance work on Quenton?
    
    Unfortunately this is a problem with the original game. There is no conversation text for Quenton where he can talk. Here is a forum thread where it is discussed how it can be added.​

 

[General Maxson]

What is the difference between Exult and Nuvie?

mindx2 - thx bro.

 

[Jaesun]

What is the difference between Exult and Nuvie?

Exult is an engine that uses the Ultima VII data files and re-creates the original game. NUVIE is an engine that uses the Ultima VI data files and re-creates the original game.

 

[General Maxson]

What is the difference between Exult and Nuvie?

Exult is an engine that uses the Ultima VII data files and re-creates the original game. NUVIE is an engine that uses the Ultima VI data files and re-creates the original game.

Thx! Are there any recreations like that of earlier Ultimas?

 

[Infinitron]

What is the difference between Exult and Nuvie?

Exult is an engine that uses the Ultima VII data files and re-creates the original game. NUVIE is an engine that uses the Ultima VI data files and re-creates the original game.

Thx! Are there any recreations like that of earlier Ultimas?

Back to Roots, for U4 and U5:
http://gamengine.net/
http://ultimacodex.com/tag/back-to-roots/

 

[Jaesun]

What is the difference between Exult and Nuvie?

Exult is an engine that uses the Ultima VII data files and re-creates the original game. NUVIE is an engine that uses the Ultima VI data files and re-creates the original game.

Thx! Are there any recreations like that of earlier Ultimas?

http://wiki.ultimacodex.com/wiki/Xu4

That's the only other one I know of. Of note, Ultima's IV - V - VI - VII BG/SI - VIII all work fine in DOSBox. These custom engines however add much more user friendly interface/shortcuts that are not in the originals. And in Exult's case, it fixes all the game breaking/crashing bugs that are still present in Ultima VII BG/SI.