[flickr size="thumbnail" float="left"]3925275457[/flickr]
Produced by: Panzer Dragon
Website: The Other Codex
Releases:
* General MIDI Patch (64.3 KiB, 53 hits)
This patch adds MIDI music to Ultima Underworld 2, to give the game a bit of additional atmosphere.
Utilities!
Produced by: Pix
Website: Pix’s Origin Adventures
Releases:
* Pix's Ultima Patcher (5.4 MiB, 676 hits)
With the release of Ultimas 1-3 and Ultima 4 on Good Old Games, Ultima Aiera published an article containing information about patching and updating those Ultima titles that have been re-released for sale thus far. Ultima fan Pix (whose repositories of scans of Ultima documentation are really worth checking out, by the way) took it upon himself to collect all of the various patches and updates discussed in that article into a single, easier-to-use application.
The utility should now cover all Ultima titles available on GOG, including the Underworld games and the Ultima 7 box set.
Pix cautions that while the Patcher should work on clean installations from Good Old Games, installations that have been modified in any way already could cause strange results. It includes DPMI and other necessary files as well, so that the graphical upgrade patches for each game work properly.
Presumably, this utility will continue to be expanded to cover additional Ultima titles should they be released on Good Old Games.
[flickr size="small" float="left"]5264120449[/flickr]
Produced by: Ryan “Zerker” Armstrong
Website: Ice Caverns @ Zerk Zone
Releases:
* The Ice Caverns for UT (2.9 MiB, 130 hits)
A detailed re-creation of the second floor of the Ice Caverns from Ultima Underworld 2 as a map for Unreal Tournament. According to Zerker, “[t]his map was made at the request of Daniel Todd, aka Digital Nightfall. This map also includes a mod conversion of the original midi music from Ultima Underworld 2, as well as snow/ice texture set from Rune.” The map is evidently playable in most of the game’s modes, including Domination.
And yes, it apparently does include the Redeemer (though it’s not easy to find or reach).
Naturally, the map also requires Unreal Tournament to play. Copies of the game for Windows
[flickr size="small" float="left"]5264493760[/flickr]
Produced by: Ryan “Zerker” Armstrong
Website: Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss @ Zerk Zone
Releases:
* The Stygian Abyss for Unreal (2.6 MiB, 136 hits)
This is a re-creation of “the entire first floor of Ultima Underworld for Unreal.” The level fully supports all of Unreal‘s default gaming modes, including co-operative play and botmatches.
It also implements some of the conditions present in the Abyss in Ultima Underworld. Zerker warns: “[d]on’t kill everything you see. Most of the humanoids are in fact, not hostile in this map, to be true to the original. There are still a few hostile Skaarj away from the settlements, but inside the settlements, they’re friendly. The secret door by the silver sapling must be shot to be opened, the one by the fountain of strength only opens from inside, and the one in the Grey Goblin settlement is unopenable. Oh, and if you get sick of trying to jump up the steps in the jumping puzzle, I sympathise with you, but there is some worthwhile stuff up there, if you can spare the minute needed to get it right.”
Naturally, the maps also require Unreal to play. Copies of the game for Windows
[flickr size="small" float="left"]5245157900[/flickr]
Produced by: Ryan “Zerker” Armstrong
Website: Pits of Carnage @ Zerk Zone
Releases:
* The Pits of Carnage (4 maps) (266.4 KiB, 126 hits)
* The Pits of Carnage (combined map) (169.3 KiB, 113 hits)
A detailed re-creation of the four arenas — Fire, Water, Air and Earth — in the Pits of Carnage from Ultima Underworld 2 using Unreal Tournament. In UW2, the Pits of Carnage were a place from which no escape was possible, and in which the only passtime was selecting enemies to duel with. If that isn’t the ideal context for a set of multiplayer maps for a top-rate first-person shooter, I don’t know what is.
All four arenas, according to Zerker, fully support the game’s botmatch mode. For added multiplayer fun, he has also created a special “combined” map that incorporates and joins all four arenas.
Naturally, the maps also require Unreal Tournament to play. Copies of the game for Windows
[flickr size="small" float="left"]5245107562[/flickr]
Produced by: Ryan “Zerker” Armstrong
Website: Pits of Carnage @ Zerk Zone
Releases:
* The Pits of Carnage (139.2 KiB, 117 hits)
A detailed re-creation of the four arenas — Fire, Water, Air and Earth — in the Pits of Carnage from Ultima Underworld 2 using Unreal. In UW2, the Pits of Carnage were a place from which no escape was possible, and in which the only passtime was selecting enemies to duel with. If that isn’t the ideal context for a set of multiplayer maps for a top-rate first-person shooter, I don’t know what is.
The Arenas of Earth and Water, according to Zerker, fully support the game’s botmatch mode, while the Arena of Fire technically supports it (the bots are evidently not smart enough to avoid the lava pits). The Arena of Air, however, doesn’t support Botmatch due to limitations in the game’s engine.
Naturally, the maps also require Unreal to play. Copies of the game for Windows
[flickr size="small" float="left"]5187039515[/flickr]
Produced by: Ryan “Zerker” Armstrong
Website: Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss @ Zerk Zone
Releases:
* Ultima Underworld for UT (16.9 MiB, 194 hits)
A remake of the maps of all eight levels of Ultima Underworld for Unreal Tournament. Each map has been “enhanced,” according to the producer, over the original version, so expect your favourite areas from the classic game to have a great new feel to them. All of the maps support the Deathmatch play mode; a few of the maps also support other game modes. (Check the project’s website for a complete listing. And for a pretty concise summary of the game itself and the nuances of every level thereof.)
Of course, the maps also require Unreal Tournament to play. Copies of the game for Windows
Note: this is not a complete remake, in that it does not implement the various races or plot of Ultima Underworld. That said, having a complete set of high quality maps to begin with would serve to cut down on the time it would take to develop a complete remake of the game.
[flickr size="small" float="left"]4173087750[/flickr]
Produced by: Julien Langer
Website: Abysmal Engine
Releases:
* Abysmal for Ubuntu (off-site)
* Abysmal for Windows (Installer) (1.2 MiB, 493 hits)
* Abysmal for Windows (ZIP) (1.3 MiB, 405 hits)
* Abysmal for Linux (AMD64) (1.1 MiB, 334 hits)
* Abysmal for Linux (x86) (1.1 MiB, 349 hits)
* Abysmal Source (1.1 MiB, 372 hits)
The Abysmal Engine is an attempt to create an Ultima Underworld 1/2 and System Shock engine for modern operating systems. It will still require the original Ultima Underworld or System Shock data files to run.
Abysmal is a successor to previous such attempts at creating an engine for the Underworld games, and builds on the work done by The System Shock Hack Project, Underworld Adventures and Underworld 2 Revival projects.
It is still at a very early developmental stage (the author warns that none of the games are actually playable), but seems to be making decent progress. An iPhone 3GS version even appears to be in the works!
[flickr size="thumbnail" float="left"]3926245212[/flickr]
Produced by: Iolo
Website: Traducción Ultima
Releases:
* Traducción de Ultima Underworld (512.4 KiB, 390 hits)
This is a full translation of Ultima Underworld into Spanish, one of a series of Spanish Ultima translations that appeared within the last couple of years.
[flickr size="small" float="left"]3925266689[/flickr]
Produced by: ZIO Interactive Inc.
Website (for Purchase): PocketGear
Releases:
* Slide Show Demo (2.5 MiB, 343 hits)
This remake of Ultima Underworld for the PocketPC seems to work fairly well on most main-line PocketPC models. While the developer, ZIO Interactive, doesn’t seem to feature the game for purchase or download anymore (that I can tell — the site is in Chinese), the game itself is still available for purchase from PocketGear.
A “demo” of sorts is available, although it is little more than a slide-show of in-game screenshots and graphics.
[flickr size="small" float="left"]3925266871[/flickr]
Produced by: Zen
Downloads:
* Ultima Underworld for Dungeon Keeper (27.7 KiB, 311 hits)
This is a multiplayer Dungeon Keeper level based on the first level of Ultima Underworld. While Dungeon Keeper doesn’t do sloped surfaces the layout is otherwise very close.
Since much of the level is impenitrable rock much of the challenge in designing this level (and, presumably, subsequent levels also based on Underworld) came from managing the space for rooms well.
The map replaces level 61 (multiplayer map 7) in the game, and is for 3 players (but it can be played by one player against the computer). The developer doesn’t have a website at which to host it, so this offering is more or less exclusive to Aiera at present.
To play the level:
[flickr size="small" float="alignright"]5349705406[/flickr]
Produced by: Saduj
Website: Ultima Restoration
Releases:
Utilities
* Ultima Potions (hak pak) (376.6 KiB, 598 hits)
* Ultima Potions (demo module) (37.0 KiB, 449 hits)
* Ultima Potions II (hak pak) (375.8 KiB, 437 hits)
* Ultima Potions II (demo module) (41.3 KiB, 418 hits)
* Venom Dagger (erf import file) (2.4 KiB, 437 hits)
* Venom Dagger (hak pak) (36.3 KiB, 446 hits)
* Venom Dagger (icons) (700 bytes, 445 hits)
* Venom Dagger (source files) (11.9 KiB, 445 hits)
* NPC Schedules (erf import file) (64.7 KiB, 412 hits)
* NPC Schedules (demo module) (455.6 KiB, 403 hits)
* NPC Schedules (readme) (4.2 KiB, 467 hits)
* Moongates (erf import file) (23.7 KiB, 440 hits)
* Moongates for CEP (erf import file) (23.7 KiB, 432 hits)
* Moongates (demo module) (198.5 KiB, 435 hits)
* Moongates for CEP (demo module) (565.3 KiB, 472 hits)
* Savage Empire Female Portraits (3.2 MiB, 585 hits)
* Savage Empire Male Portraits (1.6 MiB, 520 hits)
* Ultima Conversation System (files) (287.7 KiB, 465 hits)
* Ultima Conversation System (demo) (685.6 KiB, 427 hits)
* NWN 1.69 Portraits & Soundsets Unlocker (18.3 KiB, 482 hits)
* NWN 1.69 Portraits & Soundsets Unlocker (readme) (216 bytes, 478 hits)
* NWN 1.69 Portraits (93.4 KiB, 508 hits)
* NWN 1.69 Soundsets (31.6 KiB, 517 hits)
This is actually a comprehensive collection of utilities and in-progress remakes of Ultima titles, all done in the Neverwinter Nights engine. The list of utilities is pretty comprehensive, including functional moongates (with Orb of the Moons!), NPC scheduling, animated potions, a conversation system to replace the default NWN system, and a very good reproduction of the venomous dagger of Ultima 7 fame.
But even more promising is the list of remakes that are being put together by this team and others. Currently in progress are remakes of Ultima 1, Ultima 7 (which provides the screenshot here), Ultima 8, Savage Empire, and Martian Dreams. Most of these seem still to be in the early stages of development, but the Ultima 7 remake — which deals, it seems, only with the events of The Black Gate at present — looks to have progressed somewhat further.
Here is hoping, then, that this collective set of efforts bears much fruit in the future! As the projects progress, I’ll probably break off each remake into its own standalone entry. For now, this one omnibus entry will suffice.
[flickr size="thumbnail" float="left"]3926245212[/flickr]
Produced by: Azarael
Website: Tradução Ultima Underworld
Releases:
* Patch v0.2 (95% translated) (146.9 KiB, 332 hits)
This is a not-quite-complete Portuguese translation of Ultima Underworld. A full translation does (or did) exist, but I seem to have misplaced the relevant file, and it is no longer available for download from the developer.
[flickr size="thumbnail" float="left"]3925275457[/flickr]
Releases:
* UW2Edit v1.1 (9.4 KiB, 392 hits)
A simple utility for editing character statistics in Ultima Underworld 2.
[flickr size="square" float="left"]3887219649[/flickr]
Produced by: Fallible Dragon
Releases:
* UWEdit (306.6 KiB, 473 hits)
A simple utility for editing character statistics in Ultima Underworld.
[flickr size="thumbnail" float="left"]3926245212[/flickr] [flickr size="thumbnail" float="left"]3925275457[/flickr]
Produced by: Jonathan Rimmer
Website: UWE Homepage
Releases:
* Ultima Underworld Editor (156.7 KiB, 466 hits)
* UWE Source (2.6 KiB, 296 hits)
* DPMI Memory Manager (40.5 KiB, 291 hits)
A 2D, DOS-based editor for both Ultima Underworld and Ultima Underworld 2. Also available is the source code. The program may require the DPMI Memory Manager because of the Allegro libraries that were used in its making.
[flickr size="small" float="left"]3925266891[/flickr]
Produced by: Peroxide/Telemachos
Websites: UGCK and Viewer
Releases:
* Underworld Viewer (84.8 KiB, 367 hits)
* Underworld Game Creation Kit (20.2 MiB, 349 hits)
Although Peroxide has ceased to be, some of their old projects are still kicking around on the Internet. The Underworld Viewer is a simple utility that renders all the levels of both Ultima Underworld and Ultima Underworld 2 using whichever acceleration mode you prefer so that you can view them and wander through them. It may also be possible to load the level models into a 3D rendering program, if the images on Peroxide’s site are any indication.
And Telemachos, formerly of Peroxide, never seems to run out of ways to keep busy. Building off of the Underworld Viewer, he produced an actual editing kit with which to edit different aspects of Ultima Underworld, as well as walk through all the levels and (possibly, if the screenshots tell the truth) test-play them.
[flickr size="thumbnail" float="left"]3925275457[/flickr]
Produced by: Origin Systems Inc.
Website: Origin Systems (redirects to the Ultima Online site)
Releases:
* Official Patch (618.4 KiB, 247 hits)
This patch corrects several plot-stopping bugs in the disk-based version of Ultima Underworld 2 only. All versions of the game that shipped on CD should have the patch installed already.
[flickr size="small" float="left"]3926051442[/flickr]
Produced by: Vividos
Website: Underworld Adventures
Releases:
* Release 0.9 Mojito (Win) (794.0 KiB, 268 hits)
* Release 0.9 Mojito (Linux) (571.9 KiB, 220 hits)
* Release 0.9 Mojito (Debian) (733.4 KiB, 213 hits)
* Release 0.9 Mojito (Source) (1.5 MiB, 222 hits)
* Release 0.9 Mojito (Linux Src.) (1.5 MiB, 191 hits)
* Release 0.9 Mojito Music (6.9 MiB, 253 hits)
Much like Exult and Nuvie, this project aimed to re-create an engine for an Ultima game that ran on modern operating systems without the use of patches. In this case, the game was Ultima Underworld. and the results looked promising. This engine, like Exult and Nuvie, used the original game data files.
Sadly, as of February 2007, Vividos has stopped development on Underworld Adventures.
I contemplated for a while the idea of moving this remake to the Orphanage, but decided against it for the moment; with Mojito, the remake had come fairly far along, enough so that I’m content to leave it in UW Remakes section for the time being.
[flickr size="thumbnail" float="left"]3926245212[/flickr] [flickr size="thumbnail" float="left"]3925275457[/flickr]
Produced by: Moscow Dragon, Sir Cabirus Dragon
Website: Sir Cabirus
Releases:
* NT Patch (44.4 KiB, 241 hits)
Windows NT (and NT-derived systems like Windows 2000) are not always game-friendly platforms. Moscow Dragon came up with a patch that allowed Ultima Underworld 2 to run under the Windows NT/2000 environment, and this was later expanded upon by Sir Cabirus Dragon to support Ultima Underworld 1 as well.
