RPGWatch Feature - Ultima 6 Project Review

Guest writer blatantninja describes his experiences with the Ultima 6 Project, as he returns to the beloved franchise through Archon's work. Here's a snip from the review:

Dealing with the NPC's and related quests is a fantastic and deep experience. Many quests have more than one way to finish them, and not all paths are always virtuous. Even deciding how to answer a question can have ramifications. This is not a game where the player can just always click through each response or inquiry until there are no longer any options and then look at the journal afterwards for the synopsis. The player must pay attention and often really think about the choice he is about to make and how it might impact his Karma. It's a refreshing return for many of us that have grown weary of games with superficial conversations with no real consequences from the choices available.

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Read it all here.
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A really enjoyable read, blatantninja - thanks for the article.

Peering gems do work just like in the original. The Gargoyle lands are equally stunning and varied while some of the quests there are extremely challenging.

Very cool review and well written.

Got the game but gotta find the time to play it.

Thanks for the well written and informative review. I'm looking forward to playing this remake eventually. I'm waiting to see what patches and potential mods bring first.

I've played a bit of the game so far and finding the camera and UI to be somewhat frustrating. I have weapons in weapon slots but one guy refuses to fight. Maybe he needs a skill point in mace weapons. Also I had three of the party members blinking yellow and nearly dead and I couldn't figure out why. I quaff'ed a health pot with no effect, which is the first time in any RPG I've ever seen a heal pot do nothing. Finally one of the party members complained that they needed sleep and were about to die (not collapse?). I'm finding that entering rooms in Lord BS's castle can be difficult. The roof will show because the camera is above it, and if I click there the party refuses that order. So I have to angle the camera so that I can look through the door and then click the floor inside it. Then when the party member goes inside I need to click another point farther in the room and then the whole party will enter it. It's just clunky. My experience so far with the game tantalizing but also frustrating. I'm sure there's a good game in there.

Edit: I found out the heal pots are yellow. Red ones don't!
Edit2: I had my Avatar in the wrong stance mode (engage and defend instead of move freely). Well, wrong for what I wanted. Fixed!

Daroou: You need to feed your characters and you have to sleep in Ultima games or you won't survive.

Daroou said:

I've played a bit of the game so far and finding the camera and UI to be somewhat frustrating. I have weapons in weapon slots but one guy refuses to fight. Maybe he needs a skill point in mace weapons. Also I had three of the party members blinking yellow and nearly dead and I couldn't figure out why. I quaff'ed a health pot with no effect, which is the first time in any RPG I've ever seen a heal pot do nothing. Finally one of the party members complained that they needed sleep and were about to die (not collapse?). I'm finding that entering rooms in Lord BS's castle can be difficult. The roof will show because the camera is above it, and if I click there the party refuses that order. So I have to angle the camera so that I can look through the door and then click the floor inside it. Then when the party member goes inside I need to click another point farther in the room and then the whole party will enter it. It's just clunky. My experience so far with the game tantalizing but also frustrating. I'm sure there's a good game in there.

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You definitely have to get used to the interface. It can be a bit clunky, but sadly, it's due to the engine, not the mod and there isn't anything that can be done about it. Having played through Lazarus, I was already aware of the limitations/issues and how to get around with them. Best I can say it just try to get used to it. Once you are, you barely even notice.

One thing that is an issue in going into rooms/houses is which character the camera is centered on. If it is one of the last characters in the party and you have all selected, you'll end up with half the characters inside, but the camera still outside. You have to click on one of the first characters to get the camera focus to change then re-select the whole party. Annoying., but I find myself just always making sure the camera focus is on the avatar (in the first slot).

And thanks for the kind words everyone, this was my first attempt at a game review!

Thanks Blatantninja. Yes i'm getting used to the UI and just as you said it seems to be becoming less of an issue than at first. Your review is well written and a good service. I found a copy of DS for $4 at Micro Center in the 'old games' section.

I had one party member die just now and am not sure if he can be revived. So far having fun killing rats, a gremlin, a spider, etc. It is a good game I think.

Party members can be revived. Collect their stuff and orb back to LB who will restore them with an XP penalty. Later you can buy a res spell.

The chat room for the game is a good place to get answers to any questions you might have: http://www.projectbritannia.com/forum/chat/index.php

I hang out in there and help some but there are others who are very helpful including a couple members from the team. It's not always populated, but it's a good place to check out if you get stuck.

I do hope the author decides to revisit this "Review" to correct a number of inaccuracies present in it. I feel it does quite a dis-service the the incredible work Team Archon did to provide us with such a wonderful and free game.

Jaesun said:

I do hope the author decides to revisit this "Review" to correct a number of inaccuracies present in it. I feel it does quite a dis-service the the incredible work Team Archon did to provide us with such a wonderful and free game.

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I disagree with Corwin that the gems work the same as with the original game. Yes, they both give overhead shots that show your party, but in the original game, you were far enough up that it was really almost a full map view. In U6P, it's more of just an overhead shot that shows some of the surrounding areas. Granted, this is in large part to the difference in technology, imo, and the sheer massiveness of most of the dungeons. I don't claim that Corwin is wrong, we just see it differently. Using a gem, for me, in the original left no doubt as to exactly where I was within a specific dungeon level. In U6P, I don't feel like I get the same result (as I try desperately to compare what I see via the gem with the map, if I can find one). It's just a matter of opinion.

What other inaccuracies are in my review? I felt that I wrote it primarily in a positive light. It accurately portrays my experience with the game, which has been great, though no game is without flaws and this one does have a few. So I take offense if you think that it does a disservice to their work.

It's kinda funny that Jaesun had issue with your review when he submits more bug reports than all other posters combined

That said, there are some major bugs still around in the game. If you look at the times in between milestones and apply that to the time it'll take to get a major patch, we may be waiting months, not weeks, for these issues to be fixed. The game is completable, somewhat, at this time. It's definitely not all it can be or will be though and I'd still suggest waiting for 1.1 to play it. I've had fun with the game, but there is a lot of code that needs to be cleaned up before the game is truly stable. I've started several characters and finally decided to play a mage, just to find out that while mages have all the restrictions of earlier Ultimas, they don't have the large mana pool that was available to a mage in those games. They have the same exact mana as a paladin/bard/etc. That may be the bug that broke this nut's back, because I've kinda lost the desire to play anymore. Time will tell....

So far, it's a pretty, but flawed, gem.

crpgnut said:

It's kinda funny that Jaesun had issue with your review when he submits more bug reports than all other posters combined

That said, there are some major bugs still around in the game. If you look at the times in between milestones and apply that to the time it'll take to get a major patch, we may be waiting months, not weeks, for these issues to be fixed. The game is completable, somewhat, at this time. It's definitely not all it can be or will be though and I'd still suggest waiting for 1.1 to play it. I've had fun with the game, but there is a lot of code that needs to be cleaned up before the game is truly stable. I've started several characters and finally decided to play a mage, just to find out that while mages have all the restrictions of earlier Ultimas, they don't have the large mana pool that was available to a mage in those games. They have the same exact mana as a paladin/bard/etc. That may be the bug that broke this nut's back, because I've kinda lost the desire to play anymore. Time will tell….

So far, it's a pretty, but flawed, gem.

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I'm playing a Paladin because when it comes to RPG's, I'm pretty much a walking cliche! So far, especially with the mana regenerating so quickly, I haven't had any issues with running out of it (except in the ant mound since I was having to heal/cure my party so much).

I've only run into minor bugs so far, though I am just getting to the point of heading to the gargoyle lands (one piece of the map left). I like that it tells you how long you have been playing for. I'm at about 45 hours and I imagine that there is still a decent amount of the game left. I'm kind of curious what the optimum number of hours is for a game. I think generally we see ranges of 40-60 hours of expected play. I have to say, as much as I love the game, after all this dungeon diving, with the size of them, I'm getting a bit of game fatigue.

I have over 150 hours total over all my characters; I'd have to look it up when I got home to be more exact. I've gotten a good amount of play from the game. I'm not dissatisfied, but I'm wanting it a little more polished before I finish. If they can iron out the mana bug, I may continue.

Bug fixing, etc is actually going quite well and quickly. Many issues are as a result of DS itself and what the team has had to do with that engine to make the game work. There are some things about which nothing can be done. Any constructive suggestions people can give to the team on the official forums is also appreciated!!

Feedback welcomed

Just to echo what Corwin said - a lot of things that have been reported, or just plain complained about, have been fixed in the latest build of the 1.0.1 patch, which will probably be released pretty shortly.

1.1 will address the larger problems as much as we can; the performance problems, moongate issues, dungeon design complaints, etc. will be addressed in 1.1. I would say that 1.0.1 is certainly quite playable, and can be enjoyed just fine for most people. Our hope is that we can keep the scope of 1.1 very focused, and thus avoid the long delay between milestones that we had in the past. If anyone wants to help by providing feedback, we DO LISTEN, even to ridiculously scathing and unfair feedback, and we are making improvements.

It's not perfect, but 1.0.1 is certainly PLAYABLE on most computers, and the vast majority of it seems to meet with people's approval. So whether you wait for 1.1, or decide to play through 1.0.1, thanks for playing and supporting our work.

There's no doubt that Team Archon listens and implements fixes. The mana bug I mentioned a few days back has been addressed in a patch. It has allowed me to continue my journeys. I still stand behind the idea that waiting to 1.1 would be better for most folks, so that they can have the improved experience gained from the bug squashing of us early players. If you have something fun to play, play it and come back to U6P when it's patched up. If you don't have anything to play at the moment, by all means download U6P and start playing. There's a lot of hours of fun in the game, even in the current state. I've been doing some very minor testing for U6P for a few weeks and they're constantly fixing stuff and the game gets better almost nightly.