Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar

[Lucas]

Here is the full story:

http://www.ultimaaiera.com/blog/ultimaforever-com-launches-for-real-this-time/

Personally I cannot access the website; beside some kind of "repository", maybe it will become some kind of portal for the much rumored Paul Barnett's seekret Ultima project (facebook game? Browser game?)

EDIT: Website works:

http://www.ultimaforever.com/

[rk47]

HAHAHAH

oh god. David Gaider's Ultima: Origins.

[WindupAtheist]

For no reason at all here's a crappy death metal song about Ultima some guy just posted on Stratics.

http://inred.bandcamp.com/track/panic-in-serpents-hold

[Mrbloodworth]

Looks like a promo site for the series.

[Sheepherder]

So apparently the only game they've released so far is IV.  Normally I'd be thankful, but IV is already freeware and has been for decades.

[WindupAtheist]

Quest of the Avatar was better on the NES anyway. For real.

[Lucas]

Nice (unofficial) port of Ultima IV (with 256 colour upgrade) on the Ipad...With a new interface!:

http://www.ultimaaiera.com/blog/screenshots-and-video-of-ultima-4-on-an-ipad/

[Venkman]

Ooh nice. Ya know, the iOS devices would be the PERFECT platform to bring Ultima back to. Start with Ultima III, do heavy marketing to capture the new audience while getting your Ultima fans of old in as ambassadors. Price it right (it's not premium price worthy) and go.

[Lucas]

So, I bet most of you didn't know this (neither did I).

THE ULTIMA IV MANGA, published in 1989, now translated in english!!!!

http://www.unmasqued.com/eclecticify/manga2_start.php

And here's more info about the various manga published in Japan and the apex of Ultima popularity:

http://codex.ultimaaiera.com/wiki/Ultima_Manga


Yeah, ahem, cool uh?

[Lucas]

Scan of a 1983 (!) brief interview with Lord British, where he talks about bugs in Ultima II; also features hippy glasses and another piece on the Man himself published on the National Inquirer at that time.

http://www.ultimaaiera.com/blog/1983-infomania-interview-with-richard-garriott/

[WindupAtheist]

If we're posting bits of Ultima apocrypha, particularly from it's Japanese heydey, then here's the studio version of the main theme from the NES version of U3 and the whole album while we're at it. Only the main theme and track #5 have vocals. The translated manga is a nice find.

[Sky]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc6oTi_fcP0

I need to put this in my repertoire.

[Lucas]

Whoa, insane!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Akalabeth-pre-California-Pacific-Version-Manual-Cover-/220817180395?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3369bac6eb#ht_819wt_1139

21 minutes left at the time I'm writing this; related article on Ultima:Aeira.

http://www.ultimaaiera.com/blog/original-akalabeth-cover-and-manual-for-sale-on-ebay-currently-for-2225/

...And another one, fake:

http://www.ultimaaiera.com/blog/another-akalabeth-for-sale-on-ebay-possibly-a-fake/

[Lucas]

Even more insane...The auction ended at $4.900

[WindupAtheist]

And it's not even the game, it's just the manual and the baggie teenage Garriot stuffed it into 30+ years ago.

[Yegolev]

Wonder how much a bag full of Tabula Rasa would get....

[Hawkbit]

[Lucas]

2012 marks the anniversary for two very important Ultima games (important for the franchise itself and the CRPG genre in general) : Ultima Underworld 1 and Ultima VII: The Black Gate.

Website Ultima Codex put up two impressive tribute pages, with a lot of info and original material for both games:

http://underworld.ultimacodex.com/ (including an interview with Dan Schmidt, Looking Glass/Blue Sky Productions programmer)

http://ultima7.ultimacodex.com/ (among other stuff, an interview with Brian Martin, designer)



- Plus, what appears to be a legit game design document for the never released Ultima Underworld 3, dated 22nd August 1997:

http://www.pixsoriginadventures.co.uk/ultima-underworld-3-script/

It comes from the archives of the University of Texas, see here (no need to be registered on FB) :

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150440484027133.352509.374329482132&type=3

[Lucas]

Looks like the possible reboot of the Ultima franchise might be announced today or tomorrow at the SDCC. Here's the latest tweet by Paul Barnett (who has been working on it for quite some time):

http://twitter.com/thatbarnettblok/

On way to comic con, we have a game to announce! Go go BioWare digital!

---

Another clue comes from Jeff Skalski, Producer at Bioware Mythic: for the last eight days, he twitted one Ultima Virtue a day:

http://twitter.com/Jeff_Skalski

Last but not least here is an official tweet from the "Ultima Forever" account:

http://twitter.com/ultimaforever

Virtuous things are happening today.

----

Of course I'm not anticipating the greatest game of all time or anything, but Ultima is still my favourite CRPG series, so I can't help but being excited.

[Lantyssa]

So who's Barnett's self-insertion character going to be?  Duke Insufferably British?

[Sky]

I have many good memories thanks to Garriot, but I'll be shocked if this ends well.

[HaemishM]

Barnett is involved with an Ultima reboot?

The Hate Fire gets another coal.

[Lucas]

Almost there...

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/07/11/report-bioware-mythic-to-announce-new-free-to-play-title.aspx?CommentPosted=true#commentmessage

BioWare Mythic is reportedly set to continue its development of F2P titles with an official game announcement soon.

CVG says that it talked to BioWare Mythic general manager Eugene Evans, who told the site that the developer would be announcing a free-to-play online title on July 12.

The website also speculates that the game will be based on a classic EA franchise.

Any guesses or wishes?

Incoming franchise rape!!!! 

[Lantyssa]

SWTOR?

[Malakili]

 

Dis gon' be good.

[Lucas]

Actually....HERE WE GO, main page just changed:

http://ultimaforever.com/

I don't even know what to say, lol.

[UnSub]

It is like "Batman Forever"? Or Duke Nukem Forever?

[Trippy]

Actually....HERE WE GO, main page just changed:

http://ultimaforever.com/

I don't even know what to say, lol.

[Malakili]

Requiring an Origin account really tops the whole thing off.

[Rasix]

 

[Lantyssa]

Oh look, no female character option either.

[KallDrexx]

wait wtf lady british?

[rk47]

wait wtf lady british?

The KING IS DEAD THE KING IS DEAD LONG LIVE THE QUEEN! 

[Tebonas]

Why is there a gypsy concept art if there are only fighters and mages? This game will be insulting to long time fans, that I'm sure of.

[Lucas]

Why is there a gypsy concept art if there are only fighters and mages? This game will be insulting to long time fans, that I'm sure of.

It's purely speculation on my part (we'll know something more today at the Comic-con presentation, I guess), but maybe we'll start as either Fighter or Mages, but the Gypsy, at some point in the game, throughout the traditional "virtue questions", will let us choose a more specialized sub-class, among the traditional Ultima ones (or at least some of them: Druid, bard, shepherd, tinker, etc.).

And yeah, first impression is   . At this point, though, I'm quite curious to see it in action to understand what they were thinking :P

EDIT: Official Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/UltimaForever