tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6264881409789872629.post573120306865748705..comments2024-03-26T08:44:02.732-04:00Comments on Data Driven Gamer: Game 88: UltimaAhabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04131989140638867919noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6264881409789872629.post-83730268766382626712021-07-07T17:20:10.841-04:002021-07-07T17:20:10.841-04:00Thank you Ahab!! I will follow your advice.Thank you Ahab!! I will follow your advice.iorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15825471406613372261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6264881409789872629.post-91687720891409959082021-07-07T10:45:55.732-04:002021-07-07T10:45:55.732-04:00I'd use CiderPress to explore the files on App...I'd use CiderPress to explore the files on Apple II games, and TRSTools for TRS-80 games. This won't work with WOZ files, though, and also will only work with games that have explicit files on the disk, and only if they're in a format known to the explorer tool. Reach For the Stars, for instance, doesn't seem to use any files. The program code and data seems to be directly loaded from unstructured disk sectors.<br /><br />Unfortunately, when these tools fail, I don't know of any good way to distinguish blank space from code/data. The useless sectors can be filled with garbage rather than zeroes or any other obvious pattern.Ahabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04131989140638867919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6264881409789872629.post-56494472423904605612021-07-07T06:56:18.651-04:002021-07-07T06:56:18.651-04:00Hi Ahab.
I was wondering if I could borrow your w...Hi Ahab.<br /><br />I was wondering if I could borrow your wisdom. I want to know the size of the programs for Apple II games and perhaps TRS-80 games, but I noticed that the file size I usually see on Windows Explorer is simply the capacity of the floppy disks that was used back then (blank space is counted towards the total size). Is there a way to determine the actual size of the program? If I delete the blank space on a Hex-Editor like Stirling, will it show the approximate size of the actual program?iorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15825471406613372261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6264881409789872629.post-81393333408446873102021-05-13T20:58:27.864-04:002021-05-13T20:58:27.864-04:00I'm old enough to remember Ultima being releas...I'm old enough to remember Ultima being released on the Apple ][ plus and to have owned an original copy of Akalabeth: World of Doom.<br /><br />With regard to your comments about Ultima being painfully slow, keep in mind that that was "normal" speed back in the early '80s. Ultima was such an amazingly different beast, the thought that it was "slow" never even crossed my mind as a teenager.bwyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07218283740687989199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6264881409789872629.post-87155644811069504032021-01-17T11:29:02.605-05:002021-01-17T11:29:02.605-05:00Anything's possible, but I think that's un...Anything's possible, but I think that's unlikely for multiple reasons -<br /><br />The Ultima Codex doesn't mention having multiple versions of the original game, and this wasn't common at all back then.<br /><br />Ultima can't be easily edited. The code structure is unorthodox, consisting of several different programs tied together with low-level calls. Common practice for editing a BASIC game would be to CTRL+C to halt execution and then use LIST to view the code, but this doesn't work in Ultima, and changing the code in just one of its programs would likely break everything.<br /><br />There are three copies on Asimov, and between them all the dungeon code does not meaningfully vary.<br /><br />So, the existence of an earlier, buggier version of Ultima is possible, but raises several questions, such as why isn't it documented or available anywhere, and how did whoever wrote about that bug play it? Fewer assumptions are needed to posit that Ultima Codex is wrong about that one.Ahabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04131989140638867919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6264881409789872629.post-77514645859021665312021-01-17T06:38:56.959-05:002021-01-17T06:38:56.959-05:00Of course I have read your mechanic's page 😁 ...Of course I have read your mechanic's page 😁 Your code analysis is the one of the most valuable content in your blog.<br /><br />Hmm, I am wondering if there could be a possibility where there are different versions?? The ultima codex seems to be very detailed and well documented. A page that goes on to explain every single port of Ultima must be reliable than average. From what I know, it was quite a common thing where the users will edit the BASIC code themselves in those days?? I saw some games that even suggests you to do that in the manuals. Do you think there is a possibility the very initial version had that bug, but later edited and the latter is the one that we have access to now?iorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15825471406613372261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6264881409789872629.post-8193983894700052682021-01-16T14:46:41.467-05:002021-01-16T14:46:41.467-05:00I tested this by running The Dungeon of Doom's...I tested this by running The Dungeon of Doom's first level three times, mapping each time. In all cases, the positions of false walls, doors, pits, and traps were the same. The only difference was the position of force fields and chests.<br /><br />I have details on dungeon generation on my "Basic mechanics of Ultima" page. But here's something I didn't put there -<br /><br />Before placing the false walls, doors, pits, and traps, the RNG is seeded with the dungeon's coordinates. The X, Y, dungeon depth, and continent index are used here. These numbers don't change, so your Dungeon of Doom should be identical to mine.<br /><br />But before placing the remaining dungeon features, the RNG is re-seeded with the elapsed game time value. Therefore, these will be different! Only the force field is really consequential to the map, though.Ahabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04131989140638867919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6264881409789872629.post-81346298256300943092021-01-16T12:23:11.426-05:002021-01-16T12:23:11.426-05:00Hi Ahab.
https://wiki.ultimacodex.com/wiki/Comput...Hi Ahab.<br /><br />https://wiki.ultimacodex.com/wiki/Computer_ports_of_Ultima_I#The_Apple_II_Original<br /><br />Here it states that there is a bug where when you reenter a dungeon level, the layout has changed.<br /><br />I read your post and Nathan's post, but it did not seem like you encounted that problem. Do you have any insight on this??<br /><br />iorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15825471406613372261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6264881409789872629.post-47569532789019448052019-09-12T13:08:51.285-04:002019-09-12T13:08:51.285-04:00After reading the reviews... I decided a long time...After reading the reviews... I decided a long time ago to simply skip Ultima II and Ultima VIII.<br /><br />The others all have very interesting points, or are amongst the best CRPGs ever written.<br />arthurdawghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04269435724709435094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6264881409789872629.post-14655801495260708102019-09-11T20:32:51.900-04:002019-09-11T20:32:51.900-04:00It’s interesting that Garriott chose a design that...It’s interesting that Garriott chose a design that seems to discourage dungeon crawling. With ladder up/down as an option, it seems pretty foolish to go to the trouble and risks of exploring the dungeon. Pits and leprechauns and cubes, oh my!RetroAnalysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10633021712932756737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6264881409789872629.post-3821246525687674932019-09-11T17:30:55.600-04:002019-09-11T17:30:55.600-04:00Still can't get into Ultima II thoStill can't get into Ultima II thoERobertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10100273633659655294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6264881409789872629.post-47183440870248558672019-09-11T17:29:41.687-04:002019-09-11T17:29:41.687-04:00I picked this up from GoG a long time ago, but jus...I picked this up from GoG a long time ago, but just couldn't get into it for a long time. Then, I tried it again about 6 months ago after playing through Lowlander and LowlanderII (by Bob Sabiston at Flat Black Fims, on Android) and I REALLY enjoyed it! I played the DOS remake.ERobertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10100273633659655294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6264881409789872629.post-7312057437387629082019-09-11T12:00:12.369-04:002019-09-11T12:00:12.369-04:00I played some recreations of Garriott's first ...I played some recreations of Garriott's first ever version of DND a while back, and that game also featured pits that could only be escaped with ropes and spikes. It's a little odd that they'd still be in Ultima, but not in Akalabeth, as Garriott's earliest games seem to be fairly iterative.Nathan P. Mahneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01184246437497081701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6264881409789872629.post-72572416035614708852019-09-10T09:50:59.246-04:002019-09-10T09:50:59.246-04:00I played the 1986 remake to completion around 1989...I played the 1986 remake to completion around 1989 or so... I found it in the "big city" that we used to visit from time to time from our smaller community on sale, and snapped it up!<br /><br />I had a Tandy 1000 at the time, so it was nice that they used the TGA graphics and it looked like Ultima 4 and 5...<br /><br />It's definitely more limited (It is amazing how much progress was made in games from 1977 to 1990 when the computer power blasted off into the 32 bit realm...)<br /><br />The very first CRPG I owned was Ultima III in 1987, so the whole series remains my favorite by far.<br /><br /><br />arthurdawghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04269435724709435094noreply@blogger.com