RE: We chat about videogames and videogame accessories.
12-31-2013, 09:38 AM
I also picked up the Ultima series in the GOG sales, so not having played the series, I started from Ultima I...
Interesting. Not for everyone, and I wouldn’t play it again, but I ended up beating the whole thing because it wasn’t terribly long or difficult, just a bit grindy. Combat is fast-paced and can be likened to Rogue, Gauntlet, or Wolfenstein 3D in certain ways. Most of the grind Stats are gained through grinding overworld exploration and repeating quests from kings—only cheat I did was raising the Strength stat from 81 to 99 in a hex editor, because they put diminishing returns on it unlike with every other stat, and I didn’t feel like doing 18 more quests. Fighting monsters is not really for leveling but is instead the primary means of obtaining currency (and hit points, if you decide you’re going to get them the inexpensive way).
Because it’s such an early computer RPG, the mechanics are all sorts of strange (for instance, you start with a low number of hit points and you just keep getting more), but as far as the RPG mode goes, it’s surprisingly accessible and probably beatable without a guide if you approach it with an experimental spirit, although you will need to look up the keyboard commands and reading the manual is probably a must. Other than my talking about stat grinding, the most important hint I could give that wasn’t too clear in the manual is that pub rumors are vital if you are going to play spoiler-free. But seriously, I had plenty of fun just playing with guides.
A very good thing about this unbuilt genre stuff: if you know what you’re doing, there’s almost nothing in the way of RNG unfairness. In the rare event you die (or common if you don’t start by getting your stats up), you’ll be resurrected. The penalties for this are kind of stiff, but they don’t touch your character sheet. But you can also save scum pretty easily if you want (at least in the GOG release, pressing “q” for quit doesn’t quit; it just saves).
The weirdest part of the whole thing is probably the fact that you need to go into a space-fighter mode as part of the main quest. Close second: kings seem to keep their princesses in prison cells. And they’ll be right back in there once you break them out and escape the castle with them (the guards, previously after your blood, won’t bat an eye). Well, that’s some 80s computer games for ya; they can be quite surreal even if they’re not trying to be.
Interesting. Not for everyone, and I wouldn’t play it again, but I ended up beating the whole thing because it wasn’t terribly long or difficult, just a bit grindy. Combat is fast-paced and can be likened to Rogue, Gauntlet, or Wolfenstein 3D in certain ways. Most of the grind Stats are gained through grinding overworld exploration and repeating quests from kings—only cheat I did was raising the Strength stat from 81 to 99 in a hex editor, because they put diminishing returns on it unlike with every other stat, and I didn’t feel like doing 18 more quests. Fighting monsters is not really for leveling but is instead the primary means of obtaining currency (and hit points, if you decide you’re going to get them the inexpensive way).
Because it’s such an early computer RPG, the mechanics are all sorts of strange (for instance, you start with a low number of hit points and you just keep getting more), but as far as the RPG mode goes, it’s surprisingly accessible and probably beatable without a guide if you approach it with an experimental spirit, although you will need to look up the keyboard commands and reading the manual is probably a must. Other than my talking about stat grinding, the most important hint I could give that wasn’t too clear in the manual is that pub rumors are vital if you are going to play spoiler-free. But seriously, I had plenty of fun just playing with guides.
A very good thing about this unbuilt genre stuff: if you know what you’re doing, there’s almost nothing in the way of RNG unfairness. In the rare event you die (or common if you don’t start by getting your stats up), you’ll be resurrected. The penalties for this are kind of stiff, but they don’t touch your character sheet. But you can also save scum pretty easily if you want (at least in the GOG release, pressing “q” for quit doesn’t quit; it just saves).
The weirdest part of the whole thing is probably the fact that you need to go into a space-fighter mode as part of the main quest. Close second: kings seem to keep their princesses in prison cells. And they’ll be right back in there once you break them out and escape the castle with them (the guards, previously after your blood, won’t bat an eye). Well, that’s some 80s computer games for ya; they can be quite surreal even if they’re not trying to be.
sea had swallowed all. A lazy curtain of dust was wafting out to sea