🚀 go-pugleaf

Nice to see you guys actually going out on the Internet newsgroups to
get your gaming ideas.  If this starts a trend, I think the computer
gaming world will not only benefit, but be *revolutionized*.  I just
hope that no wisecrack will start flaming you or impersonating you,
etc.  If you don't know what I mean, check out the alt.* groups,
especially alt.games.mk and alt.games.doom.

I have enjoyed playing your Ultima series ever since Ultima IV, Quest
of the Avatar.  I remember playing Ultima IV on my Atari 800XL home
computer (remember that?) for hours on end.  For the Atari, it was
arguably the best game I ever played on it.  Ultima V was good, as
well as Ultima VII and Serpent Isle when I upgraded my system back
then.  My favorite, however, was Ultima VI.  I really can't explain
why, except that you guys seemed to hit just the right combination of
game engine, story, and graphics.

No, I haven't played Ultima VIII, and from what I've seen on these
newsgroups, I don't plan to either.  Oh well, I guess no award-winning
series is absolutely perfect.

Suggestions for Ultima IX, eh?  This should be the grand finale
between the Guardian and the Avatar in Britannia, right?  Well, I hope
you guys put as much effort, if not more, into this game as you are
putting into Wing Commander III.  My ideas may not be much, but for
the sake of brainstorming:

1) Make a decision as to whether you will make the game engine reflect
   Ultima IV, V, and VI or whether you will make the game reflect
   Ultima VII.  Both are great game engines, but the grid layout and
   the turn-based movement of the 2nd trilogy won't combine well with
   the real-time movement of Ultima VII.

2) If you go with the 2nd trilogy turn-based style of the game engine,
   which happens to be my preference, make the combat reflect Ultima
   VI.  Each party member should either be assigned a combat tactic or
   be controlled by the player.  If possible, have the combat reflect
   X-Com in certain ways, like time units, taking cover, and improving
   skills by utilizing those skills, but don't lose the Ultima flavor.

3) If you stick with the Ultima VII style of combat, at least improve
   the AI of the NPC's, including the party members and the enemy.
   Also, friendly fire seemed to be a huge problem in Ultima VII,
   especially when Iolo got the triple crossbow.  Please solve that
   problem.

4) Make the story VERY non-linear, but don't make the story just a
   bunch of mini-quests like Might and Magic.  (I hope you don't mind
   me making references to other companies' games.)  This is why
   Ultima IV was so successful.

5) Avoid the scavenger hunts.  The treasure map of VI, the search for
   the answer to Alagner's riddle in VII, you get the idea.  Try to
   relate every search to the main storyline.  I didn't see how
   finding a certain treasure can be related to the theme of finding
   the solution to the gargoyle problem.

6) Do away with the concept that you have to train every time you gain
   a level.  Have it so that people who carry a lot of stuff gain
   strength with each level, those who move around a lot or use
   crossbows gain dexterity, and those who fight a lot gain combat
   experience.  Leave training for magic and for inexperienced party
   members.

7) Above all, I don't want to see anything but the classic orthodox
   struggle between good and evil.  One of the reasons why playing
   Serpent Isle made me feel so uncomfortable was that I felt like I
   was part of the end of Britannia.  After all, when the Banes were
   released by Batlin, only a handful of Britannians survived, right?
   Also, that pentagram in Ultima VIII sure didn't make me feel any
   better.  Please leave all that new age stuff out of the storyline,
   and stick to the system of the eight virtues standing up against
   the Guardian and his evil.

Good luck with Ultima IX, guys.  If you guys are truly striving to
learn from your past mistakes, then all of us Net surfers here will be
supporting you as much as possible.

				- Allen "Ninja" Kim
				  (known as Arathorn in Britannia)