Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss

[Kneenibble]

Ultima Underworld remains to this day my all-time favourite video game. From the story, to the music, to the then-awesome but now-hilarious graphics, it's a class act and a work of art.

I still have the CD for it somewhere in relatively good condition -- it was a double CD, Ultima Underworld and Wing Commander 2 (also an awesome classic game & series). Over the years I've intermittedly attempted to install and play it on newer and newer computers. I got it to work in the early 2000s somehow, but generally it just doesn't.

I never beat it! I always got to about level 13, I had maybe four or five of the seven artifacts, and lots of the special items like the dragonskin boots and the ring of leap. Level 13, but then the monsters became too hard and I kept dying, or there was that weird lava maze where even with the boots or even flying the air just seemed to drain vitality, or I got lost. I fear I may never have closure.

SO.
Let this thread be an invitation to some wizard somewhere who can tell me how to play it again, and if anybody has enough to say on the topic, a discussion of the game's impeccable virtues.

[jamroar]

Ultima Underworld remains to this day my all-time favourite video game. From the story, to the music, to the then-awesome but now-hilarious graphics, it's a class act and a work of art.

I still have the CD for it somewhere in relatively good condition -- it was a double CD, Ultima Underworld and Wing Commander 2 (also an awesome classic game & series). Over the years I've intermittedly attempted to install and play it on newer and newer computers. I got it to work in the early 2000s somehow, but generally it just doesn't.

I have three copies of the game, the original box with the 5.25 floppies, a standalone CD, and a collected UW/UW2. :)

The game doesn't get enough recognition, especially seeing how it did a much better 3D environment thing before Wolf3D.



Let this thread be an invitation to some wizard somewhere who can tell me how to play it again, and if anybody has enough to say on the topic, a discussion of the game's impeccable virtues.

You needed to patch the game (last two links) (http://reconstruction.voyd.net/index.php?event=project&typeKeyword=fanpatch) to run on NT/2000/XP, using VDMSound (http://sourceforge.net/projects/vdmsound/) for sound. These days, I suppose you could also just run it through dosbox (http://www.dosbox.com/comp_list.php?letter=U&showID=12).

[factotum]

I actually preferred UW2--like you, I never managed to finish the original, whereas I completed UW2 twice. Much greater variety of scenery in UW2, too, and I still find the music that played on the frozen world to be haunting.

[Breltar]

I got to the final boss in U:UW but never actually beat it. I too think it was overlooked in the age of wolfenstein 3D.

[Kneenibble]

You needed to patch the game (last two links) (http://reconstruction.voyd.net/index.php?event=project&typeKeyword=fanpatch) to run on NT/2000/XP, using VDMSound (http://sourceforge.net/projects/vdmsound/) for sound. These days, I suppose you could also just run it through dosbox (http://www.dosbox.com/comp_list.php?letter=U&showID=12).

Thanks very much. I'll be trying this once exams are over.

I actually preferred UW2--like you, I never managed to finish the original, whereas I completed UW2 twice. Much greater variety of scenery in UW2, too, and I still find the music that played on the frozen world to be haunting.

So it was good? I only heard of the sequel quite recently, I'd love to try it out.

[Mikeavelli]

You weren't actually supposed to beat the final boss of Ultima Underworld. You had to throw all the talismans into the lava, and it opened a moongate that sucked you into another world. You then run down the green path until you get to the moongate that takes you home.

I never really got into UW2, even though I loved UW. I never beat it as a kid, but finally booted it up again maybe a year or two ago when I had some free time lying around, played through the whole thing, finally finished it.

Had to use a walkthrough to get some of the more obscure puzzles. I mean, seriously, Picking up the Vines to get them off the wall so you could open the secret door?