I already told it on Facebook: Last night while I could not sleep, I managed to get the old game “Ultima Ascension” running. It was something I already tried many times. But under Windows Vista and Windows 7 it seemed impossible. But somehow last night I must had a very bright moment that made me ponder about tweaking the graphic card in my computer. The graphic card in this computer is way overqualified for Ultima Ascension. So basically is what I did is making my graphic card as stupid as possible so it could communicate in a good way with the game. And that worked!
You may wonder why this Ultima Ascension (also known as Ultima IX) is so special to me. It was the very first Fantasy Roleplaying Adventure game that I bought. I was so amazed by this game. The graphics were awesome for that time. I loved to do the quests and wander around in that amazing fantasy world… I played it for many and many hours.
But on the back of the CD-box there is an advertisement for another Ultima game…
The advertisement was for Ultima Online. The word “Online” fascinated me very much. The beauty and excitement of Ultima Ascension online? And then this text on the advertisement: “Interact with thousands of players simultaneously in the breakthrough internet fantasy world”? So I ordered the Ultima Online CD and made so my first steps into the world of online gaming. I played Ultima Online for many years. It leaded me to other so-called MMORPG’s (Massive Multi Player Online Roleplaying Games). Some of these games I played for a long time as Lineage II and Everquest II (and the later I still play). Others just grabbed my attentions for a short time, such as City of Heros and Asheron’s Call. And to other I returned again after being away (Aion is an example of that).
I think you can say that Ultima Ascension stood at the beginning of it all…
I will replay Ultima Ascension. Not in hurry, but step by step, when I have time and my mood is after it. And there I got the idea to make a kind of journal about the journey that I will make through the game here on my blog. Some times there may entries following each other, at times there may be more time between them. But to understand it all correctly there is some background information needed.
The adventures of Ultima take place in a world far away. Maybe in another time or dimension, at least it is far, far away. Normally not reachable for mere humans.
The main character in all the games is a fictional male resident of Earth who is called upon by Lord British to protect and, later, Britannia from a number of dangers. Originally, the player character was referred to as The Stranger, but by the end of Ultima IV he becomes universally known as the Avatar.
Before the land of Britannia was formed by the great cataclysm, it was known as Sosaria — a large land, with many feuding city states. And Lord British is the ruler of Brittania.
Virtues are very important in the world of Brittania. They are way of life to find inner fulfillment and give the best to the people around you. At least, this is, when the virtues are well-meaning. Virtue can also be twisted into something different, to tighten the grip of tyranny. In the picture below an overview of the virtues:
There is many more to know about the world of Brittania. It is rather a complicated world, too complicated to explain here. Many things will show during the playing of the game and where needed I will add some explanations.
Time to prepare the first steps into the world of Brittania….. (in the next article about Ultima IX that is :P).