tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post1057248545351999717..comments2024-03-29T02:34:55.592-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Game 483: Ultima VII: Part Two - Serpent Isle (1993)CRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-80772549463583601502024-01-19T18:37:08.085-05:002024-01-19T18:37:08.085-05:00Richard is a tool and a deluded blowhard. Anyone w...Richard is a tool and a deluded blowhard. Anyone who has worked with him knows that. I'm more annoyed at all the credit he stole from Raph Koster, almost all of his interviews concerning Ultima Online are total horseshit, Raph is too much of a gentleman to quibble in public, but anybody who was there knows the score. <br /><br />One day there will be some interesting articles written, P24noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-71003701871308873702023-10-21T20:20:36.141-04:002023-10-21T20:20:36.141-04:00I love that this thread made me realize that Doc S...I love that this thread made me realize that Doc Savage may be where they got the inspiration and even the name for Worlds of Ultima: Savage Empire.<br /><br />I'm sure everyone else already did know that but it was new to me!<br /><br />I knew Doc Savage had already been to lost worlds with dinosaurs (https://darkworldsquarterly.gwthomas.org/doc-savage-and-the-dinosaurs/) but knowing that Garriot was influenced by Doc Savage makes me feel like the naming of Savage Empire was pretty intentional. gamer indreamsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-63013406796017916222023-04-06T05:12:17.001-04:002023-04-06T05:12:17.001-04:00I just saw that Jimmy Maher ("The Digital Ant...I just saw that Jimmy Maher ("The Digital Antiquarian") already wrote about the history of the Serpent necklace in 2013 when covering U3 (https://www.filfre.net/2013/05/ultima-iii-in-pictures/). He quotes from Shay Addams's "The Official Book of Ultima" where you can find the story on pages 31-34, but also finds some incongruence in RG's account.Buscanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-89392946490215117842023-04-01T11:36:57.136-04:002023-04-01T11:36:57.136-04:00It isn't entirely wrong to say that the 8 Virt...It isn't entirely wrong to say that the 8 Virtues are a watered down version of the Eightfold Path, but that doesn't inherently mean that they were not independently derived.<br /><br />Cargo-culted faux-Buddism was a massive cultural presence from the late 70s to early 90s, as was Taoism and other Eastern religions. It is very easy to see how that cultural backscatter could manifest without a deliberate imitation.Gnomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920812227941556716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-43077274482116780902023-04-01T03:48:19.954-04:002023-04-01T03:48:19.954-04:00LOL, nice!LOL, nice!judd9https://www.blogger.com/profile/05775399294060687430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-44821935167363920342023-04-01T03:47:13.145-04:002023-04-01T03:47:13.145-04:00I could swear I read that the virtues originated w...I could swear I read that the virtues originated with the Eightfold Path in Buddhism.judd9https://www.blogger.com/profile/05775399294060687430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-80735842617635691492023-04-01T03:20:24.968-04:002023-04-01T03:20:24.968-04:00The manuals are written by different fictional ind...The manuals are written by different fictional individuals, each with their own biases and opinions, just like the real world. I've always taken the lore with a grain of salt.judd9https://www.blogger.com/profile/05775399294060687430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-59595006864097129842023-04-01T03:14:26.538-04:002023-04-01T03:14:26.538-04:00Playing in a larger res can break things in the ga...Playing in a larger res can break things in the game too, though. Triggers events too early.judd9https://www.blogger.com/profile/05775399294060687430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-11318057046562742132023-04-01T02:50:34.738-04:002023-04-01T02:50:34.738-04:00I always assumed that Ambrosia from U3 and Black G...I always assumed that Ambrosia from U3 and Black Gate was one of the lost continents.judd9https://www.blogger.com/profile/05775399294060687430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-7978847088774048922023-04-01T02:06:22.828-04:002023-04-01T02:06:22.828-04:00@Kish - technically, yes. But our left, or hers?@Kish - technically, yes. But our left, or hers?judd9https://www.blogger.com/profile/05775399294060687430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-86593652290865713182023-03-23T21:18:00.451-04:002023-03-23T21:18:00.451-04:00@ CRPG Addict - That's awesome you referenced ...@ CRPG Addict - That's awesome you referenced the FAQ way back then! <br />I can think of one way to rationalize how the three evil baddies know the Avatar even though I claim they could not have in the FAQ.<br />As the player gets transported into each of the Ultima games from our world (the game is a kind of Moongate if you will) it is the player's essence that is recognized even though the player's outer form changes between U1-3 and U4-9.<br />I might need to add this to the FAQ being its first update in 27 years!<br />The Ultima series was unique and also very meta by recognizing that the player was not just the in-game characters but became those characters by being transported into the Ultima world. It is very Narnian.<br /><br />@Busca - Thanks for finding that.Chris Billowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05100249063666323693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-88582886125935351672023-03-11T12:15:23.208-05:002023-03-11T12:15:23.208-05:00Hawkwind is a British psychedelic rock band that w...Hawkwind is a British psychedelic rock band that was probably most popular in the 70s and early 80s, the band Lemmy was in before Motorhead. Hawkmoon is the Michael Moorcock character in question, for clarity's sake. Moorcock collaborated with Hawkwind a few times so I understand mixing them up.Lughnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-27565050327411559612023-02-22T07:42:23.521-05:002023-02-22T07:42:23.521-05:00@Chet: You reference this FAQ at the beginning of ...@Chet: You reference this FAQ at the beginning of your 'Won' post on 'Ultima I' (thirteen years ago almost to the day!). At some point in the meantime, the link to the place where you originally found it back then no longer worked and there was no archived version, so good to have a new one now.Buscanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-61592065661982234462023-02-21T17:06:15.108-05:002023-02-21T17:06:15.108-05:00I've thought this for a long time, but - you s...I've thought this for a long time, but - you should create a physical book from all your entries. I love reading your posts and would totally buy a hardcopy edition. Thanks for creating your blog and sharing with all of us! Jim Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-4471235330926505352023-02-21T12:08:35.676-05:002023-02-21T12:08:35.676-05:00Ah, never mind. I overlooked the relevant paragrap...Ah, never mind. I overlooked the relevant paragraph in the context of a different answer: "Furthermore having a human Avatar playing a role in the first trilogy makes no sense as players could choose to be any race or class they wanted. It is unfair to assume that all of the Ultima series has to be formed around the Avatar character. Surely throughout Sosaria’s and Britannia’s history there must have been other heroes and heroines."<br /><br />The problem with this, of course, is that in U7P1, the Avatar engages directly with Mondain, Minax, and Exodus, and it's clear they remember each other from the original game.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-41176680996849899812023-02-21T12:06:01.685-05:002023-02-21T12:06:01.685-05:00I've read this before! I think I read it when ...I've read this before! I think I read it when it was relatively new, but also when I was playing one of the original games. I'd have to hunt down the post, but I think I even linked to it.<br /><br />I swear the versions I read previously also had a question about how the Avatar could possibly be the same hero who solved U1-U3 given that those heroes could be of any race and U3 could have 4 of them. I believe your conclusion was that the authors of the manuals who insisted the Avatar was the earlier hero were simply wrong. I also thought I remembered that someone from Origin agreed and said they'd incorporate that correction in future materials.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-14921565583310734582023-02-21T11:49:17.207-05:002023-02-21T11:49:17.207-05:00The Ultima series is easily my favorite RPG series...The Ultima series is easily my favorite RPG series for its innovation and the advancements of the individual installments, but the continuity between them was slapped on.<br /><br />The Retroactive continuity errors of the Ultima series drove me nuts enough for me to create a 'Storyline FAQ' back in the 1990s. Yep, that's a really long time ago!<br /><br />https://journals.billo.ws/ultima-storyline-faq/Chris Billowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05100249063666323693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-19341908821807972932023-02-14T09:18:31.652-05:002023-02-14T09:18:31.652-05:00Interesting! Is that something added with a patch ...Interesting! Is that something added with a patch or maybe with Exult? 13-year-old me was stuck for weeks (of in-game time) before I gave up and called the Origin hint line. They confirmed that a restart was in my future.Danielnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-68746602322089385042023-02-14T07:03:07.410-05:002023-02-14T07:03:07.410-05:00I'm quite sure that that item is replaced dail...I'm quite sure that that item is replaced daily if removed/destroyed, to ward against just such a walking dead scenario. One of the places the developers were actually on the ball, as far as I recall.Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-3951312335629534922023-02-14T06:51:24.326-05:002023-02-14T06:51:24.326-05:00In my opinion, that key ring is the best item in a...In my opinion, that key ring is the best item in any of the two U7 games!Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-2244449444644326282023-02-14T06:47:57.302-05:002023-02-14T06:47:57.302-05:00In Ultima VI, there's also the Silver Serpent ...In Ultima VI, there's also the Silver Serpent monsters. These are among the most powerful monsters in the game, but iirc they only appear in the gargoyle hall of tombs - where you never even have to go! I seem to remember that the manual had some blurb about these creatures being the likely progenitors of the many myths and fables of serpents in Britannian folklore. <br />In Ultima VII, silver serpent venom is of course a powerful drug that pops up in several places in the story and has a small quest attached to it.Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-34490049240641472542023-02-14T06:43:26.713-05:002023-02-14T06:43:26.713-05:00In every version of the game that I've played,...In every version of the game that I've played, the key you get to open a certain misplaced building which houses a critical piece of loot (needed to get off the first island) failed to work. I could only continue by cheating with hackmover or similar exploits, depending on the version of the game I played. This early in the game, the bug nearly had me quitting the game when it first came out (can't remember how I solved the problem back then, possibly via a patch file on a disk - downloads weren't invented yet), and to my horror reappeared in later versions I played.Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-75764185722987340122023-02-10T21:41:11.186-05:002023-02-10T21:41:11.186-05:00The guy who wrote the article is Hiromasa Iwasaki....The guy who wrote the article is Hiromasa Iwasaki. He's a game developer who has been in the industry since the late 80s. You can google him to see his LinkedIn. His twitter name is @snapwith. He speaks English so feel free to contact him.<br /><br />The online version of the articles is here: http://www.highriskrevolution.com/wp/gamelife/2017/06/24/roe-r-adams-iii-%e3%81%8c%e3%82%84%e3%81%a3%e3%81%9f%e3%81%93%e3%81%a8%ef%bc%88%ef%bc%96-%e7%b5%82%ef%bc%89/ You can use a site like deepl.com to get a pretty decent rough translation. <br /><br />He also posted in the Roe Adams thread (at my behest) on the rpgcodex forum. (https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/roe-r-adams-iii.140199/) Though that site is populated by a lot of unsavory characters so be careful.<br /><br />The lies that Garriott tells and what makes him a "systematic and talented liar" is that he has basically erased Roe Adams' role in Ultima development from the history books. Also, if you followed the development of Garriott's more recent disaster of a game, Shroud of the Avatar, you should be more than aware of all the falsehoods he has spewed regarding that.Tim Kaisernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-55732520824580194052023-02-10T12:30:03.733-05:002023-02-10T12:30:03.733-05:00According to Nakar, Lord British knows Iolo well e...According to Nakar, Lord British knows Iolo well enough to predict that he'd need a change of pants soon... and seconds later (when the lightning strikes), he is proven right!Radianthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03866535042372152723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-5266807873388875232023-02-10T11:04:21.431-05:002023-02-10T11:04:21.431-05:00Maybe the pants are Iolo's, and maybe they hav...Maybe the pants are Iolo's, and maybe they have a rip in them, and maybe Gwenno had promised to mend them before she left but forgot to, so maybe Iolo is bringing the pants to Gwenno to patch them for him, and the Avatar and the rest are just along for the ride.The Dukehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18021667637255061683noreply@blogger.com