Thread View: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg
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Started by tol... Derek Tolley
Fri, 11 Nov 1994 17:35
Re: Ultima 9 - What Do >You< Want to See?
Author: tol... Derek Tolley
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 1994 17:35
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 1994 17:35
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bma...@origin.ea.com (Brian Martin) writes: [trimmed some] >My name is Brian, and I am one of the many Ultima 9 team members. >U9 is in the early developemental stage, and we want to know what you >would like to see in the next Ultima. First of all (and briefly) the things I DON'T want to see: (1) Any arcade puzzles (2) Weird perspectives that prevent me (the player) from seeing what my character would be able to see. No losing objects under tables or getting stuck in narrow cave passages. Things any good Ultima should have: (1) Lots of interesting, in-character dialogue. This does NOT necessarily mean millions of NPCs; it does mean that what NPCs there are fit into their world, talk in character, and advance BOTH the plot and the gaming atmosphere. (2) A larger, diverse world. It's FUN to be exploring the wilderness and suddenly find a small, hidden village. Don't give everything away on the map. (3) Smith, the talking horse, in some form. Things I personally would like to see in an Ultima: (1) No non-plot-relative combat. No random ghoul, mage, or demon attacks. All combat occurs for a reason in the game; NPCs may tell the player what those reasons are. This means bandits may randomly attack the player when he is near their hideout, or the road they frequent. NPCs could mention the bandits' existence, and ask for help/ tell how to avoid them. Give a reason for random combat, and if possible, tie it someway to the overall plot. (2) The best monsters are humans (or humanoid). Random wolves and such are cool for atmosphere in the woods, but enemies with obvious evil motives are more fun to destroy. The best Ultima villains are people like Blackthorne, who are dangerous for more reasons than their combat skill. And above all: No matter how cool something seems in design, unless the player has an easy-to-use user interface to perform the cool activity, it will only piss him off to do it. Coolness of look falls way short in importance to ease of use, especially when the player will spend many hours playing. Derek Tolley tol...@cs.ucf.edu
Re: Ultima 9 - What Do >You< Want to See?
Author: sim... Simon Sabato x6516
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 1994 20:48
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 1994 20:48
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Well, I would never think of myself as an older gamer, but I've been playing the Ultimas since Ultima II. I remember looking at Ultima I but it was too slow, and then when you redid it, I couldn't last five minutes without dying. What I didn't like in the Ultimas --------------------------------- Ultima IV was great, but I really didn't like the fact that I could lose my avatar points so easily. My brother played the game for thirty seconds and knocked me back about 5 days worth of playing by saying "Yes" when someone asked if he was humble. Ultima VI, I thought, gave up too much strategy for the new graphics. I felt like I was just connecting the dots a lot of the time. Perhaps the plot was too linear. Oh, yeah, and it crashed a lot. I had to go into the thing with a hex editor when the game crashed with my characters on a ship at the edge of the world. What I loved in the Ultimas --------------------------- Ultima VII had some great surprises and really made better use of the heavy graphical GUI. Ultima V started sketchy (I remember being _way_ to frustrated just trying to keep fed and alive.) Once my character got to a certain point, that wasn't an issue anymore. The game's plot was very well done. I remember such elation when I was following British's trail and I found the abandoned raft underground. To be truthful, I haven't played U8 or even Serpent Isle. So in my answer I have a question: should I play Serpent Isle or continue to U8. U7 was so long ago, unless S.I. is needed (plot-wise) I'd rather just grab U8.
Re: Ultima 9 - What Do >You< Want to See?
Author: wol... Jim Wolford
Date: Mon, 28 Nov 1994 20:16
Date: Mon, 28 Nov 1994 20:16
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I enjoyed in ultima 4 learning what an avatar is in the realm of virture, and I liked in ultima 6 learning that the gargoyles had their own system of virture, so as a story idea I would like the avatar to help create a new "avatar system" and train a new avatar for the world. and let that avatar be Spark or Beh-lem or even better both. Here is a chance to keep the name 'Accession' yet now it is the accession of new avatars and the dawn of a new age of understanding and peace on Britania. Now that I think about it, perhaps include some of the philosophy of the Ophidians and then make a trinity of ideas that would heal the world. In ultima 10 throw another rotten feind on the world (aka shadowlords, guardian...) and fight them off. Cobalt Dragon -==(UDIC)==-
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