Ultima VII - Day 1
01/05/08 22:16 Filed in: Ultima VII - The Black Gate
After scouring eBay for ages I finally got myself a copy of Ultima VII. I think the reason for not downloading it was because I feel guilty for not buying a legit copy back in 1992 when it came out. The idea to blog Ultima came from a webpage I stumbled across whilst looking for hints. Ophidian dragon did a top job blogging his way through the entire Ultima series. You can see here his webpage. I'm not going to do the entire series but as The Guardian Saga still stands the test of time I'll attempt to blog it here. Mainly for reference reasons too.
Back in 1992 I remember seeing Ultima VII in the computer store. Was pretty expensive and I did not have that type of cash around to buy computer games. I can't recall exactly how I came across a copy but I played it for a few weeks and never got too far. I think due to the reason no Roland MT32 and my little 386sx25mhz did not really hand it too well.
These days I'm running a Mac Book Pro 2.33ghz with 2GB RAM and a Roland MT32 connected to a Edirol UM2EX. Took me ages to find some clues how to get Dosbox to recognise a Roland MT32 connected via USB. Main problem being no core midi support. Courtesy of the Quest Studio forums some nice chap decided to compile and hack a version of Dosbox so that it supports the Roland MT32. Hats off.
Trinsic was exactly how I remembered from 1992 but this time the incredible Roland MT32 soundtrack playing along in the background. Things like the game manual and map really do help engross you into the world of Britannia. My copy had none of these things back then but it did come with a free Stoned virus though. (I can hear Lord British laughing quietly to himself)
Trinsic is one of my favorite towns and a murder is always a good way to start off an adventure. Greeted by Iolo I searched the stables to find the graphic murder scene. After talking with the towns folk it was obvious something was a miss with the Fellowship. Not the happy chaps they seem to portray. I could not resist "liberating" the offerings box from its heavy load. Not sure if it was deliberate overlooked by the coders but pillaging things directly into Iolo's backpack does not seem to raise an eyebrow. After Trinsic I moved onto Paws.
Darn beggars. Paws has a couple of cool little side quests. Most games I find hard to get background information or hints to help me along and the side quests don't seem to be listed officially (Not listed in the key to the black gate hint book). I'm not one of those hardcore gamers that seem to work everything out and finish a game in 12 hours. I remember the sheer size of Ultima VII being so daunting and gave the impression of complexity.
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