4 ms·

The only ultima games I played before seeing VIII were Underworld games I and II, and they were pretty great. (Probably, I is my second-favourite RPG from the 1

The only ultima games I played before seeing VIII were Underworld games I and II, and they were pretty great. (Probably, I is my second-favourite RPG from the 1990s, bested only by the great Betrayal at Krondor.) 8 was a huge disappointment. I couldn't figure out how to do _anything_, the movement and controls were so thoroughly broken, that I gave up in 30 minutes, completely frustrated, not being able to figure out how to do anything.

ekianjo 6y ago
Underworld were not real Ultima games. At least the first one was a different game on which they stamped Ultima for brand recognition
- Andrew_nenakhov 6y ago
  Since I experienced Underworld first, it was the reverse to me: other Ultimas felt not real Ultims games.
- dfan 6y ago
  Underworld developer here. We certainly started it before we got the deal with Origin, but a lot of the design was done afterwards with the fact that it was an Ultima in mind. I'll grant that its Ultima-ness was thinner compared to many of the games with Roman numerals on them. Ultima Underworld II, of course, was designed to be an Ultima game from the start.
  - nickthemagicman 6y ago
    Just so you know those games were badass! I had so much fun playing them. Elder Scrolls came out later and that was the first fantasy FPS game that I has as much fun with as underworld.
  - Tornhoof 6y ago
    I still remember the uncountable hours I played Underworld I & II. Thank you for these games.
  - Sunspark 6y ago
    I had a lot of fun with Underworld and I am someone who played Ultima IV and VII. Great game!
  - ajxs 6y ago
    I've always felt that UW1 is massively underappreciated for the impact it had on computer gaming. It's been attested that John Carmack was inspired to create the engine that would eventually become Wolfenstein after seeing Underworld at a 1990 software convention and saying that he could write a faster texture mapped engine. It had an enormous impact on me as a child discovering games in the mid 90s. I got a copy of UW on a games CD I got bundled with a Creative Soundcard[0]. This also came with so many other fantastic games, of which another was Ultima VII. [0]https://archive.org/details/creative-labs-ea-compilation https://archive.org/details/creative-labs-ea-compilation
  - Andrew_nenakhov 6y ago
    Oh, wow. Thanks for many happy hours then) By the way, the most ingenious thing UW did was its acrobatics mechanics, when you subtly could jump for longer and longer distances, and I didn't even realize that it was increasing up until I restarted the game and suddenly found out that I can't make a rather casual jump over some chasm, which could be easily jumped over in previous save. I don't think I ever saw such things in other games, only some platformers have shown something resembling that.
aidenn0 6y ago
Forget the 90s; I have yet to play a better CRPG than Betrayal at Krondor.
- defen 6y ago
  The same site did a great post about BaK https://www.filfre.net/2019/10/betrayal-at-krondor/ https://www.filfre.net/2019/10/betrayal-at-krondor/
- Andrew_nenakhov 6y ago
  I get where you are coming from, but I had a blast with Gothic 1/2 and Mass Effect 1. Running through haunted forests or driving or roaming desolate planets, under the double suns is a very special experience, evoking memories of Star Control 2. I can't quite compare those two with Krondor, that's why I have put Krondor into special 90s category. (speaking of Mass Effect, a lot of people seem to love the second part, 'because it is so character driven', but I felt myself confined to corridor missions. The freedom of descending on a planet and driving it around was the most appealing part of ME experience, which was absent from 2 & 3 installments)
  - aidenn0 6y ago
    I haven't played either of the Gothic games so I'll have to give them a try. Anything reminiscent of SC2 can't be all that bad!

ekianjo 6y ago

Underworld were not real Ultima games. At least the first one was a different game on which they stamped Ultima for brand recognition

Andrew_nenakhov 6y ago
Since I experienced Underworld first, it was the reverse to me: other Ultimas felt not real Ultims games.
dfan 6y ago
Underworld developer here. We certainly started it before we got the deal with Origin, but a lot of the design was done afterwards with the fact that it was an Ultima in mind. I'll grant that its Ultima-ness was thinner compared to many of the games with Roman numerals on them. Ultima Underworld II, of course, was designed to be an Ultima game from the start.
- nickthemagicman 6y ago
  Just so you know those games were badass! I had so much fun playing them. Elder Scrolls came out later and that was the first fantasy FPS game that I has as much fun with as underworld.
- Tornhoof 6y ago
  I still remember the uncountable hours I played Underworld I & II. Thank you for these games.
- Sunspark 6y ago
  I had a lot of fun with Underworld and I am someone who played Ultima IV and VII. Great game!
- ajxs 6y ago
  I've always felt that UW1 is massively underappreciated for the impact it had on computer gaming. It's been attested that John Carmack was inspired to create the engine that would eventually become Wolfenstein after seeing Underworld at a 1990 software convention and saying that he could write a faster texture mapped engine. It had an enormous impact on me as a child discovering games in the mid 90s. I got a copy of UW on a games CD I got bundled with a Creative Soundcard[0]. This also came with so many other fantastic games, of which another was Ultima VII. [0]https://archive.org/details/creative-labs-ea-compilation https://archive.org/details/creative-labs-ea-compilation
- Andrew_nenakhov 6y ago
  Oh, wow. Thanks for many happy hours then) By the way, the most ingenious thing UW did was its acrobatics mechanics, when you subtly could jump for longer and longer distances, and I didn't even realize that it was increasing up until I restarted the game and suddenly found out that I can't make a rather casual jump over some chasm, which could be easily jumped over in previous save. I don't think I ever saw such things in other games, only some platformers have shown something resembling that.

aidenn0 6y ago

Forget the 90s; I have yet to play a better CRPG than Betrayal at Krondor.

defen 6y ago
The same site did a great post about BaK https://www.filfre.net/2019/10/betrayal-at-krondor/ https://www.filfre.net/2019/10/betrayal-at-krondor/
Andrew_nenakhov 6y ago
I get where you are coming from, but I had a blast with Gothic 1/2 and Mass Effect 1. Running through haunted forests or driving or roaming desolate planets, under the double suns is a very special experience, evoking memories of Star Control 2. I can't quite compare those two with Krondor, that's why I have put Krondor into special 90s category. (speaking of Mass Effect, a lot of people seem to love the second part, 'because it is so character driven', but I felt myself confined to corridor missions. The freedom of descending on a planet and driving it around was the most appealing part of ME experience, which was absent from 2 & 3 installments)
- aidenn0 6y ago
  I haven't played either of the Gothic games so I'll have to give them a try. Anything reminiscent of SC2 can't be all that bad!