🚀 go-pugleaf

Hi Origin,

first of all I thank you for going on the net and listening to the
various propositions made by so much people.  It's nice to see a
company which actually tries to get in touch with its customers.

I'm a long time ultima fan.  It started back in school... My personal
favourite is Ultima IV (followed by U5 :).  But the best user
interface for an Ultima has Serpent Isle/Silver Seed.  And the best
proportions in respect to quests vs. subquests has Ultima 7/The Black
Gate.  I still maintain my idea that an Ultima V redone with the user
interface of Silver Seed would be a bestseller.  But now to U9...


1. Bring back the party!

Big quests (they are big, aren't they?) need to be solved by a group
of people.  The Avatar is not a superhuman ;).  Maybe temporary
splitting the party could be interesting; where one part is directed
separately from the other (but only if this isn't a obstacle against a
non-linear plot).

2. Different map scales!

This is not new, but its effective.  The world has to be huge!  This
feeling to wander around the world (lost in wilderness) was best
achieved with the different map scale system used in U4/U5. 

3. Combat system.

Both turn-based and real time combat have their advantages and
disadvantages.  A hybrid as proposed by many others would be great.
Where you can stop the action and direct your people; eg. casting
spells, take evasive action, etc.

4. Dungeons.

The 1st person point of view for dungeons was better than the system
used in U6-U8.  Maybe several simple Ultima Underworlds integrated?
(I don't mind swapping CD-ROMs; I am accustomed to it :)

5. Story over graphics.

If graphics are standing in the way against plot, sacrifice the
graphics.  The priority should be: story, complexity, graphics.  Nice
graphics are nice looking, nothing more.  If you have seen it once,
it's enough.  But if you can play a story several times, because there
are twists still not discovered yet, you have definitely more.

6. Exploring.

Two thirds of the Magic System and the Bestiary (and some other things
as well) shouldn't be documented.  Let us discover spells and their
use.  Let us find secret libraries where forgotten people have listed
vital information about such things!

7. The cloth map.

There has to be a cloth map.  This is a standing tradition with all
Ultimas.  :) You don't plan to drop the cloth map, do you?



This are my thoughts (but not all) on this subject.  I hope they are
constructive.  I don't think that Ultima 8 is the worst game ever
made.  In fact I enjoyed playing U8.  But I enjoyed playing U4 more.
(I played it recently again: now on my 486. I played it also on my C64
and on my Amiga 1000.)

Thank you, -Arnulf