Release - First installment of Ultima II remake
Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 1:49 am
I have put the first installment of my Ultima II remake in a temporary location on the web.
http://www.xmission.com/~dh/temp/u2b.zip
For those who haven't looked at the WIP thread, this isn't a faithful remake of Ultima II. It is more of an expansion that hopefully realizes some of the potential missed in the original version.
To install the game, make a directory called U2B in the ACK games area, and unzip this file there.
Here is a brief description of the changes.
Wilderness maps are now 256X256, and there is more variety of terrains. The functions of many of the miscellaneous items obtained from thieves in the original have changed, and they are now acquired in different places. Most of the original monsters are present, but their fighting abilities have changed. Many other monsters have been added. There are more locations to visit.
Time travel works differently now, and it is not immediately possible to travel through time. The first major quest in the game is to figure out how to travel through time. Once that quest is completed, this installment of the game is essentially completed.
The installment I have released contains the BC time period with all locations completed, all dialogues finished, and all monsters placed. The wilderness maps for the other time periods (except for Legends) have been created and are accessible, but nothing is living there yet.
I have played the quest through from beginning to end, and things seem to work, but I am sure there are bugs to be discovered. If anyone here wants to spend time playing through this probably buggy game, I would appreciate hearing about the problems.
A few things work differently in this game than in other ACK games, such as the Ultima IV parody.
There are three new commands.
O - Operate, open, close, etc. Operate or manipulate certain terrain objects, such as doors, chests, and switches.
S - Search. Search chests, barrels, and a few kinds of furniture for treasure.
Z - Info (additional). Displays some additional information screens: list of spells and magic training.
There are additional variables that the game keeps track of.
TP - Training points. The player starts with 5 and gains 5 with each level. Training points are used for combat training and magic training, but are not required to learn specific spells.
Food - The player will automatically consume food (and regenerate some hit points) at regular intervals. Don't run out of food or you will slowly starve. Fortunately, food is inexpensive, and a number of monsters leave food behind, so this shouldn't be a problem. There are five food objects, and they are all alike in their properties.
Food and TP are displayed along with HP and MP, but ACK doesn't have a really good way to handle this, so I have implemented a kluge that doesn't work extremely well. Sometimes it is slow to update. I'll try to think of a better way to handle this.
The player gains HP and MP when leveling up, but anything else requires training. In BC, there is one trainer who will increase weapon skill or ranged weapon skill by 5 points per training point.
Magic system: There are wizard spells and cleric spells. With the proper training, the player can learn both types of spell. More advanced spells require certain objects to be equipped, but the first three spells of each type can be cast without any items as long as the player has enough magic points. Certain wizards and clerics in the game provide magic training. In BC, there is one trainer of each type.
Fighting: At first, the player starts in eastern North America with poor equipment. I recommend heading west toward the Great Plains area, where there is a rat-infested abandoned house. The rats are easy to kill, but watch out for the cow in the field. There is also a village south of the abandoned house. These are good places to get some equipment. After that, it's probably wise to remain in North America until you acquire some better equipment and reach Level 2. The monsters in Asia, Europe, and Africa are a bit more difficult. Later on, good equipment will easily defeat most of the monsters found in BC, but still watch out for daemons, devils, balrons, and dragons.
I hope everyone enjoys this. While anyone who wants to is playing (and testing) the BC portion, I will be working on the other time periods, and the second installment will include all of Earth's time periods (except Legends, which won't be accessible until late in the game).
Heather
http://www.xmission.com/~dh/temp/u2b.zip
For those who haven't looked at the WIP thread, this isn't a faithful remake of Ultima II. It is more of an expansion that hopefully realizes some of the potential missed in the original version.
To install the game, make a directory called U2B in the ACK games area, and unzip this file there.
Here is a brief description of the changes.
Wilderness maps are now 256X256, and there is more variety of terrains. The functions of many of the miscellaneous items obtained from thieves in the original have changed, and they are now acquired in different places. Most of the original monsters are present, but their fighting abilities have changed. Many other monsters have been added. There are more locations to visit.
Time travel works differently now, and it is not immediately possible to travel through time. The first major quest in the game is to figure out how to travel through time. Once that quest is completed, this installment of the game is essentially completed.
The installment I have released contains the BC time period with all locations completed, all dialogues finished, and all monsters placed. The wilderness maps for the other time periods (except for Legends) have been created and are accessible, but nothing is living there yet.
I have played the quest through from beginning to end, and things seem to work, but I am sure there are bugs to be discovered. If anyone here wants to spend time playing through this probably buggy game, I would appreciate hearing about the problems.
A few things work differently in this game than in other ACK games, such as the Ultima IV parody.
There are three new commands.
O - Operate, open, close, etc. Operate or manipulate certain terrain objects, such as doors, chests, and switches.
S - Search. Search chests, barrels, and a few kinds of furniture for treasure.
Z - Info (additional). Displays some additional information screens: list of spells and magic training.
There are additional variables that the game keeps track of.
TP - Training points. The player starts with 5 and gains 5 with each level. Training points are used for combat training and magic training, but are not required to learn specific spells.
Food - The player will automatically consume food (and regenerate some hit points) at regular intervals. Don't run out of food or you will slowly starve. Fortunately, food is inexpensive, and a number of monsters leave food behind, so this shouldn't be a problem. There are five food objects, and they are all alike in their properties.
Food and TP are displayed along with HP and MP, but ACK doesn't have a really good way to handle this, so I have implemented a kluge that doesn't work extremely well. Sometimes it is slow to update. I'll try to think of a better way to handle this.
The player gains HP and MP when leveling up, but anything else requires training. In BC, there is one trainer who will increase weapon skill or ranged weapon skill by 5 points per training point.
Magic system: There are wizard spells and cleric spells. With the proper training, the player can learn both types of spell. More advanced spells require certain objects to be equipped, but the first three spells of each type can be cast without any items as long as the player has enough magic points. Certain wizards and clerics in the game provide magic training. In BC, there is one trainer of each type.
Fighting: At first, the player starts in eastern North America with poor equipment. I recommend heading west toward the Great Plains area, where there is a rat-infested abandoned house. The rats are easy to kill, but watch out for the cow in the field. There is also a village south of the abandoned house. These are good places to get some equipment. After that, it's probably wise to remain in North America until you acquire some better equipment and reach Level 2. The monsters in Asia, Europe, and Africa are a bit more difficult. Later on, good equipment will easily defeat most of the monsters found in BC, but still watch out for daemons, devils, balrons, and dragons.
I hope everyone enjoys this. While anyone who wants to is playing (and testing) the BC portion, I will be working on the other time periods, and the second installment will include all of Earth's time periods (except Legends, which won't be accessible until late in the game).
Heather