Ultima VI
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| Ultima VI: The False Prophet | |
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| Developer(s) | Origin Systems |
| Publisher(s) | Origin Systems |
| Designer(s) | Richard Garriott and Warren Spector |
| Engine | Ultima VI Engine |
| Release date(s) | 1990 |
| Genre(s) | RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single Player |
| Rating(s) | Unrated |
| Platform(s) | DOS, Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore 64, Super NES, FM Towns |
| Media | 5.25" or 3.5" floppies (PC version later released on CD-ROM), cartridge (SNES) |
| Input | Keyboard and Mouse |
Ultima VI: The False Prophet, released by Origin Systems in 1990, is the sixth part in the computer role-playing game series of Ultima. It was the last in the "Age of Enlightenment" trilogy.
Some years after Lord British has returned to power, the Avatar is captured and tied on a sacrificial altar, about to be sacrificed by red demon-like creatures, the gargoyles. The Warriors of Destiny suddenly appear, save the Avatar and collect the sacred text the gargoyle priest was holding. In Castle Britannia, the Avatar learns that the shrines of Virtue were captured by the gargoyles and he embarks on a quest to rescue Britannia from the invaders.
The game deals with cultural difference, and issues of racism and xenophobia related to this difference. It suggests in-game solutions to this issues, without trying to deny any basis for them.
This game ended the use of multiple scales; in earlier games a town, castle, or dungeon would be represented as a single symbol on the world map, which then expanded into a full sub-map when entering the structure. Now, the whole map used a single scale with the towns and other places, seamlessly integrated into the main map; dungeons were now also represented in 2D instead of 3D. The game kept the basic tile system and screen layout of the three preceding parts, but altered the look into a much more colorful pseudo-isometric view, to take full advantage of the newly-released VGA graphics cards for PCs.
Non-player characters had their portraits shown when talked to, something that would not have been feasible on the classic 8-bit Apple II. It was originally planned that Ultima VI was to continue on with the Apple II series, and through the much more capable 16-bit Apple IIGS, where its advanced graphics, music and mouse interface would been more than suitable to handle the task. In the end a decision to cancel was made due to the declining market size of the Apple II platform, and marked the first time a chapter in the Ultima series was not available for the Apple II (the platform it originated on). It was one of the first major PC games directly targeted to PC systems equipped with VGA graphics and a mouse, when the big "gaming computer" was still the Commodore Amiga. The game supported sound cards for music as well, which were not yet common when it was released. Other sound effects, such as the clashing of swords, magical zaps, or explosions, were still played through the PC speaker.
The Ultima VI engine was also used for the spin-off series Worlds of Ultima.
A port of the game for FM Towns platform was made primarily for Japanese market. This CD-ROM-based version included full speech in both English and Japanese. What is interesting about this version is that the voice acting was done at Origin, using mostly the people the characters were based on (Richard Garriott voicing Lord British, and so on), though not all personnel could be reached for the recording so substitutes were used for them.
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[edit] Cheats
An ingame cheat for Ultima VI can be accessed by having your avatar talk to Iolo with the following phrases. "Spam <enter>, Spam <enter>, Spam <enter>, Humbug <enter>" Ignore any remarks from him. After the three phrases have been mentioned, a menu will pop up when you can access all the different items in the game.
[edit] Compatibility with modern systems
Ultima VI runs reliably in a DOSBox environment.
An engine remake project called Nuvie, similar to the goals of xu4, Exult and Pentagram, is in works. Not much of the game functionality is yet implemented.
[edit] Fan remakes
There is a current project to recreate Ultima VI using Dungeon Siege engine. Another remake project uses the Exult engine, using graphics from Ultima VII. Ultima 6 Online is an MMO version of Ultima VI.
[edit] External links
- Ultima VI: The False Prophet at MobyGames
- The U6 Project, a fan remake based on the Dungeon Siege engine
- Nuvie
- Exult remake discussion
- Ultima 6 Online project (fan remake)
- Description of the FM-TOWNS version
| The Ultima series |
| I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII - VIII - IX |
| Akalabeth (Ultima 0) |
| Worlds of Ultima : The Savage Empire - Martian Dreams |
| Ultima Underworld : The Stygian Abyss - Labyrinth of Worlds |
| Ultima Online |
| Ultima Worlds Online: Origin - Ultima X: Odyssey - Arthurian Legends |
| Ultima articles - Ultima characters |
