5322

I’d buy that. CRPG addict is doing Ultima V now, looks kinda cool:

I love this period in RPG history where there is starting to be enough of a tile set to make an evocative, interesting world with little animated sprites. I’d like to play Ultima V, to the extent I am thinking about not reading the next few blog entries because of the “spoilerz”.

Magic Candle from around the same time period (1988/1989ish) is one of my favourites as well. (Note to GoG people - I would buy that too!!)

Ultima I - III are interesting from a “history of RPG games” perspective - I enjoy reading about them in places like Mat Barton’s book or the CRPG addict’s blog. But they don’t interest me in a “I’d like to play that” way.

5323

Is anyone here actually going to buy that pack?

I might buy 4-6, if they release those as a pack, but the first 3 aren’t really that great, from what I’ve heard.

5324

Not I, that’s for sure.

5325

I’ve already got the Ultima Collection set up under DOSBox, and the extras are probably just the same scanned documents as on the disc, so I don’t really have any reason to buy it either, beyond the warm fuzzies of supporting GOG. I’d gladly shell out for Martian Dreams and Savage Empire though, the two I’m still missing.

I already played the hell out of 3 when I was young, so I’ll probably skip it, but I’ve been meaning to give 1 and 2 a whirl for a long time now. If I ever find the free time…

5326

I think I’ll snag the pack. At the least, I’ll probably play through Ultima III. Not so sure about I or II though.

5327

This has probably come up before, but is there a reason GOG only publishes DOS versions? The games have to be emulated anyway and in the case of really old titles, such as the early Ultimas, other platform’s versions might often be superior.

5328

With other platforms you get into things like having to license the ROM code for that hardware as well, in addition to another emulator, the added hassle of disk-swapping, etc.

A bit of a shame, as the DOS versions of U2 and U3 in particular are kind of weak, but I can understand why they’d be hesitant to move away from DOS for now.

5329

This can only mean the rest of the Ultima games are coming, can’t wait for that but passing on I - III.

Come on GoG, give us Wizardry 4 - 7!!!

And I wouldn’t mind the D & D Gold Box games.

5330

Edit (oops)

5331

I have a great deal of nostalgia for Ultima 2, as it was my first ever computer game. But the DOS version pales to the super-awesome C64 version I played. I’d be interested in replaying 6 and 7, but probably not any of the other Ultimas.

5332

Is anyone here actually going to buy that pack?

I might buy 4-6, if they release those as a pack, but the first 3 aren’t really that great, from what I’ve heard.[/QUOTE]

I believe the only way GOG could realize a substantial number of sales of the first three Ultimas would be to merge them with the second three into an Ultima six-pack. Nostalgia will only take you so far.

5333

Ultima 4 isn’t in the 1-3 pack because they are releasing it separately for FREE.

5334

It’s been free for ages. Can you sell something that the owners gave away for free?

5335

Regarding the freedom of Ultima IV:
http://games.on.net/article/12060/EA_Serves_Takedown_Notices_to_Ultima_IV_Sites_Rumours_Abound

5336

EA could certainly relicense it to GOG, whose package would then have the added value of the installer and DOSBox preconfigured and the manual scans, which you wouldn’t get with the free version. But it’s arguable whether those would be worth the $6, and it’s still valuable as a promotional item, so may as well keep it free.

5337

They’ll probably bundle Ultima IV with V and VI.

Ultima I, II, III - $5.99
Ultima IV, V, VI - $5.99
Ultima 7 and expansions, Ultima VIII - $5.99
Ultima IX - $5.99

Seem about right?

And if you click to play the Flash version of Ultima IV you get taken to this page:

Thank you for visiting Phi Psi Software. If you are looking for the Flash version of Ultima IV, it is no longer available for download from this website. We received a Cease and Desist notice from Electronic Arts, which owns the copyright for the game, on March 11, 2011. Ultima IV can be found for free on other sites mentioned in this article here. As to the timing of the cease and desist, I will not speculate. Even if a rumoured remake was in the works, I think that allowing people to explore the classic version of the game in flash would only increase sales in the long run for Electronic Arts.

5338

That would be nice, but I suspect we’re more likely to see the most recent Ultimas as one or two packs at $10 a pop, not $6.

5339

I actually found an old backup I had made of a ton of floppies onto CD about a year ago. On it was Ultima 8, and I decided to give it a try as I hadn’t played it since release.

What an awful game. I can’t believe I actually made myself complete it back when it came out. I’m pretty sure the entire time I played it I was thinking “it must get better… this is Ultima 8! Ultima 8!”.

It should be entirely removed from existence. It brings nothing but pain. At least Ultima 9 had a few redeeming aspects about it.

5340

I haven’t played Ultima 9, but I agree that Ultima 8 is not very good. As I recall, it felt more like an isometric platformer, than anything else. On top of that, it takes place in a world that is not very interesting, and you don’t get to meet any of the characters from the earlier games.

Removing it from existence might be a bit harsh, though. :)

5341

Not sure if anyone’s mentioned it yet, but there’s some enhancements for the early Ultimas posted here. Namely music (originally omitted from the PC versions, but present in other system versions) and slightly upgraded graphics.

To get it working, you may need to install some dpmi files into the game directories. More info here.

Have fun with it.