GOG Becomes More Awesome

Originally Posted by Myrkrel
They could basically do a GOG version of the Ultima Collection which has all the old games (1-8 + Akalabeth).

I doubt GOG would ever do a bundle that large because they like to milk their games for as much money as possible, while keeping prices low at the same time.

I could see them bundling Ultima 1-4 perhaps, but anything after Ultima 5 would most likely be sold individually.

The Might & Magic 6-pack is almost as large though - that's what makes me think it's possible.

And Ultima Collection had a lot of extra goodies that they could put into it, which would make sense from a marketing perspective. Also, does Ultima 1-5 really offer "enough" to make it viable to sell them without the later Ultimas included, to anyone but the most diehard CRPGer?

Right - and EA even offers Ultima IV for free download already. I've read that Ultima 1-3 are interesting in a historical sense but not nearly as strong as the later entries (I never got around to playing 1-3). So the real value of the collection would be Ultima 5-8 (since Ultima IV is already available).

Originally Posted by JDR13
I doubt GOG would ever do a bundle that large because they like to milk their games for as much money as possible, while keeping prices low at the same time.

I could see them bundling Ultima 1-4 perhaps, but anything after Ultima 5 would most likely be sold individually.

Years ago I bought I-III in a bundle (this was for the C64). And IIRC at one point on the PC they had a IV-VI as well. Maybe those will show up.

The first 3 ultimas can be described as
Ultima 1: Richard Garriot learns programming
Ultima 2: Richard Garriot puts everything that he think is cool into one game
Ultima 3: Richard Garriot tries to make a serious game

3 has some gameplay value, but it was still not "there" yet.

If they are to split the collection, it will most likely be either: 1-6 in one, 7 (part 1 & 2) in one and 8 on its own, or Part 1-6 in one, and 7-8 in another. Unlike King's Quest & Space Quest (which they split into 2 each), the different Ultima games are of rather uneven "value".

Ultima 1 is fun, but obviously extremely simplistic. You can finish it in about 4 hours on a modern PC though so its worth it if you are a fan of Ultima overall. I tried Ultima 2 a couple times. The thing I hated the most was the color scheme. It was some type of purple.

I'd like to see them put Ultima VI, SE and MD all in one pack. I've been playing around with NUVIE lately and it would be fun to have all those games easily playable.

Originally Posted by Fnord
does Ultima 1-5 really offer "enough" to make it viable to sell them without the later Ultimas included, to anyone but the most diehard CRPGer?

Seeing as how they sell games like HoMM 1 separately, I'd be very surprised if they bundled more than 4 or 5 Ultima games together, and I wouldn't be shocked if they only did something like Ultima 1+2, etc.

The gregarious and gracious guys at Good Old Games are at it again: Richard Garriott’s Ultima I, II, III, and IV will become the latest additions to their collection of PC classics for sale on Tuesday, August 30. The first three Ultima games will come bundled for the same price. And Ultima IV? That’ll be free for the taking!

Told ya….

Bummer I don't really foresee Ultima 1-3 to sell all that well though.

Yeah they should have bundled Ultima IV with I-III as an added incentive - but really couldn't since it was already free elsewhere.

I assume they are leading up to the later ones. Hmm I wonder now if they will all be separate (5,6,7 and 8). There are just enough slots left in their "old school" EA thing.

In any case I'm glad they're being made officially available.

GOG has just released Nox! Fantastic game!

I still have my CDs near my PC (in fact, it's actually installed too!), but I might just buy it for the sake of it. I love that game.

I am actually more excited about Nox than the Ultima release.

It was because of slightly obscure titles like this that I started to like GOG. I am not so fond of the obvious classics of the last few months.

More Ultima on GOG, this time you get 4(again) 5 & 6. 4 is already free, and I thought 6 was a stinker, but 5 is good. Question is, is 5 worth $6 on its own?

Ultima 5 is worth 40 dollars. And why is Ultima 6 a stinker?

I had a strong dislike for the interface, and I thought the story was a bit too "convenient" in some places. Granted, I never actually finished the game, so it is possible that it picks up near the end

I loved Ultima 6 back when it was released and played it to completion. I haven't tried it again in recent years but I don't remember the interface being too bad. As a progression from Ultima 1-5 interfaces it was definitely an improvement. I guess they refined things a lot more with Ultima 7 though.

I just found it awkward. Picking up items was a chore and I did not like inventory management in general in Ultima 6. And I can't really put my finger on why, but I found the combat controls to be a bit awkward as well.

Originally Posted by Tilean
I am actually more excited about Nox than the Ultima release.

It was because of slightly obscure titles like this that I started to like GOG. I am not so fond of the obvious classics of the last few months.

There's nothing obscure about Nox. In its time it was a big budget Diablo clone made by Westwood Entertinment (Command & Conquer).

The best game of all the Diablo clones, IMHO. It looked superb (much better than Diablo 2 a year later), was even faster and had the item collecting stuff reduced.

I have to admit I am also excited about Nox. I enjoyed that game so much. I might get it and give it another shot. As far as Ultima goes, I never was a fan of the series but then again I never gave any game much of a chance. What's so great about them anyway ? (and try to answer without flame/sarcasm/nostalgia element).