- INSTA-POLL -
Poll 10 Results
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Poll 9 Results
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Poll 8 Results
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Poll 7 Results
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Poll 6 Results
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Poll 5 Results
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Poll 4 Results
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Poll 3 Results
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Poll 2 Results
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Poll 1 Results
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News: July-August 1999
Select another month's news:
(July-August 1999)
(September 1999)
(October 1999)
(November 1999)
(December 1999)
| August 31, 1999 - Neocryte |
23:29 - Wow, sorry everyone, I've had a couple of very busy days. So, here comes a monstrous update... DurhamDragon mentioned today what he heard from a Japanese fansite: "The Japanese computer magazine 'DOS/V' scored an interview with Richard Garriot himself in their September issue, in which he revealed several details about the special edition of U:A. According to the interview: - The special edition of U:A will be called the 'Dragon Edition.' - The Dragon Edition will contain a leather-bound manual, a cloth map, and eight tarot cards." Cool!! Thanks for the news, DD..... Ok, next thing.. My good friend Snoekie pointed out to me today, that the official Ultima IX Site has two new 'icons' on it - the 3Dfx logo, and the Creative Environmental Audio logo. Could this be a hint? Hey, and in case you're still fired up about that 'soon-to-be-heard awesome news thingy,' read this topic for more ideas... demo, release date, game on store shelves, giant news? Oh, almost forgot, yep, over the big 2000 (counter), thank you everyone!
08:50 - If you are interested, you can pre-order Ultima IX here
at Onsale.com. Keep in mind, though, that there
is still no release date.
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| August 30, 1999 - Neocryte |
23:22 - Something's big is soon to happen. Check this out... "I have heard from certain reliable sources that Origin is going to spring a little surprise on us in a week or so. When that happens, there are going to be a lot of very happy Ultima fans on this board. The calm before the storm..." - this was posted by a Deus Ex programmer at the
Ultima IX Horizons Board. Wow, very interesting. A fired up discussion arose at the official boards!
11:21 - Not much new. In case anyone out there is interested about the price of Ultima IX, here at the
boards is a discussion about it, with ideas
going up as high as $70 USD.
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| August 29, 1999 - Neocryte |
20:47 - New link up, to the Ultimate
Ultima Page, a new site dealing with Ascension, with news, interviews, and links. Very nice design.
11:24 - There was a question today at the boads,
asking if a high-end Celeron would run Ultima IX. Here's Fullmetal: "I'm sure a celery 400 would run u9 just fine. In fact, the high end celerons actually run faster than comparitively clocked p3s (little known fact)."
10:20 - Well, Screenshots Page 4 is up! It has 15 screenshots that are actually pretty old, but hey.. there might be a few that you haven't seen!
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| August 28, 1999 - Neocryte |
21:24 - Just updated the pic.. Hey, any of you download that U7 intro speech yet? :) If so, how about some feedback?
20:40 - Here is DurhamDragon on the question about how free you are to explore in the game:
"The game will start out with a training area on both Earth
and Britannia where you pick up parts of your interface and
inventory and learn the basic skills of the game.
After passing this first portion of the game you should get
to the main continent of Britannia have a fair bit of freedom
in where you go and what you want to do.
There will be some random creature encounters in the
wilderness and plenty of area to explore and discover. I
have yet to play an Ultima where I felt restricted in any
great way."
16:27 - Update at the Downloads section! I recorded the introduction from Ultima VII: Black Gate, where
Guardian gives a nice long speech. Go to downloads for
more info or just grab it now (403 KB)! Oh, one more thing,
don't use GetRight to download it, it screws it up somehow (at least mine does), while it works otherwise.
12:20 - There's a nice new
interview with Richard Garriott up at PC Zone. It's not so much about Ultima IX itself, but it's more about the life of Richard Garriott - hey, he's building a huge cool castle for a new home right now! Really interesting read.
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| August 27, 1999 - Neocryte |
22:39 - There is a pretty fired up discussion going on at
this topic
concerning software piracy. A fun read to see many people's points of views! Ok, tough day today, so good night. :)
17:35 - Cynthe has been at the boards today
and answered to the question why there is so little Dev Team response. Here is what he said:
"Our days are really long, and we're all trying to finish up
our tasks.... and with a game of this magnitude, believe me
-- there are ALWAYS little extra things you could add or do.
Since our time is limited, I think most of the team has been
trying to focus as much as possible on finishing it, rather
than keeping up on the boards (unfortunately, it's hard to do
both).
Plus, I'll be honest... I haven't had time to read all the
posts, so it's hard to answer questions without knowing
what's already been said. I'd hate to give out a spoiler or
something that wasn't meant to be said yet... :)"
11:17 - Multiplayer still seems to be a common question about Ultima IX. People keep asking for
add-ons or patches or maybe even more waiting as long as it's multiplayer. Well, I completely agree with
these words of Fullmetal: "It is a single player game, always was designed that way, and will NEVER EVER have a multiplayer
patch or have multiplayer included." If you are interested in the subject,
read this topic!
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| August 26, 1999 - Neocryte |
21:40 - Nothing really new. Actually, I am planning to change the insta-poll question again sometime real
soon. I haven't received any e-mails about the site lately, and I would appreciate some
feedback suggesting me some insta-poll
question or just telling me how much my page sucks :) In any case,
e-mail me.
17:34 - Steel pointed out today at the boards
today, that there is a game coming out, Cythera,
that has been inspired by Ultimas, and maybe even more. Steel: "The most obvious similarity is the graphical interface. It has an almost identical look and feel of Ultima 7. There's a tile or two that seems to be taken right from Ultima." Click to read the whole topic.
10:46 - In case you didn't check my page yesterday :), I must once again mention that CapnBill said there
will be no AMD 3DNow support in Ultima IX, because they simply don't have the time to fit it in. I forgot to
mention yesterday that CapnBill answered another question concerning a video card, this time a Voodoo Banshee.
CapnBill: "Yes, works fine! Performance feels good." Okay then.
|
| August 25, 1999 - Neocryte |
22:38 - Sad news for AMD owners... CapnBill stated today that there will most likely be no 3DNow
support for Ultima IX. Here are his exact words: "Sorry, but we're so completely buried that it looks unlikely
that we'll be able to fit it in. But, on the up side, the
game is shaping up well! Sorry for the bad news."
21:40 - After a few questions about weapon trails, Jaccl himself posted a note. Here's what he said:
"There are a variety of special effects in the combat system.
The effects vary based upon weapon and armor type and
ability as well as quantity and nature of damage delivered." There was also a question
about how many monsters/skills/spells will be available in Ultima IX.
Here in General Info is what Yobgod answered.
17:09 - Sorry everyone, there just aren't any exciting news lately. However,
here is an interesting
Ultima-related site that offers Ultima stuff for trade/sale.
11:09 - Hehehe, I love this quote by The34: "uhmm thats like "shock" you know when someone gets injured
in the course of an accident and they don't realize it untill
its too late... ya know.. shock.
:) i think everyone will be the same way. to a greater or
lesser extent. the way i feel right now.. if someone knocked
on my door and said, "this is for you" I'd open the plain
brown paper package, see "Ultima IX: Asenssion" and go "heh
thats cool" put it down and go to bed. (wake up the next
morning screaming and shouting at the top of my lungs that
there is no way in h.. er.. no way at all that I'd be going
to work today)." I also reinstalled ICQ
today, my number is 8305747 in case you want to contact me.
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| August 24, 1999 - Neocryte |
21:33 - Ok,
here is some beefy brain food!! Zounds shared his thoughts about Scara Brae. I have
to say quite confusing for a person like me, but interesting. Gives you something to ponder about...
By the way, do you care what kind of box Ultima IX has? If so, read
this topic.
18:02 - Discussion boards are
back online. Terilem Dragon asked a question about Ultima IX's title menu. Here's a small bit from
Ralph Dragon's answer: "...in UIX it's being presented in a most splendid fashion. You immediately
'Journey onwards', and your load/save can be accessed through your journal (a book)." I put the
rest into General Info.
13:41 - Hmm, the boards are
again closed for maintenance.
11:38 - Sorry to inform you all, but there are no real news right now. If you wanna just
check out some comments by other gamers, head to the
discussion boards and await for later updates :) Oh.. have you read the
virtues story yet? Part two was posted yesterday and can
be read
here.
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| August 23, 1999 - Neocryte |
21:39 - The official Ultima IX page has posted
part two of the Virtues story. In case you haven't read part one, do so
here, and part two can be read
right here. Also, read Yobgod's
explanation about losing your powers every time you enter Britannia. Beware, it is a spoiler!!! Good night.
14:11 - Yay, the discussion boards are open
again! But, not much other news...
09:34 - Hmm, the boards
are still closed for maintenance. But if you are bored,
Tom's Hardware posted a nice
article today about Athlon vs PIII at various speeds. This
one again shows how fast and stable Athlon is, and the exact opposite Pentium III. Here's a small
bit: "These times have changed. Athlon was designed for high
clock speeds, leaving Pentium III considerably behind. The
Athlon-platforms, as few as there are right now, have proven reliable
and stable in our lab-tests, and Athlon's office application
performance continues to be significantly ahead of the Pentium III at
the same clock speed." The
article has some nice benchmark results with office tools,
3d-gaming and 3d-rendering. Hmmm, maybe consider getting an Athlon for Ultima IX? :)
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| August 22, 1999 - Neocryte |
23:14 - Ummm, because of the lack of real news I declare this update dedicated to the
picture of the day, the Animal Farm. Actually, the
discussion boards will or should open in less than two hours, but I will be sleeping
by then, so sorry :) As I sail the oceans of Ultima VII, I love it more and more, the money
from the Mint Lady was able to buy me a ship, hehe. Okay, till tomorrow.
11:18 - "Work on U:IX was then started about 5 years ago, but that
is not the same game that they're working on now..." - Yobgod.
Here in the general info is the rest of what Yobgod said
about how long the game was developed. And.. not much other news - the
discussion boards were closed for maintenance today.
|
| August 21, 1999 - Neocryte |
21:16 - Hey all, I'm back. Ok, first of all,
Ultima Dungeon has moved to a new address, so I updated the links... Also, there was a good
point made by Terilem Dragon today about weapon trails.. that you don't really need them for weapons
other than lightsabers (can you say Phantom Menace?). Read it
here. And in case you wanna know, I got Drakan today, will see if it
plays as good as the demo. :)
10:30 - Bobel had a pretty crazy, but a cool idea at the
boards today. Here is a part of what he said: "Maybe you could place in Ultima:A SE box all others ultimas
1-8 i think it would be good idea..." Read the topic
here. I am going away for the rest of the day, so expect an update late tonight.
|
| August 20, 1999 - Neocryte |
21:39 - Weee, I killed the Mint Lady in Ultima VII today. Hmm, I wrote a little
story about how I did it (don't think I'm crazy or anything). Ok, now for the real news...
Here
are some more ideas people had about Ultima IX Special Edition - as in what to include with the package: a cloth map,
and ankh, a ring, or.. a longsword? Umm, and
here is a quick explanation why when you enter Ultima IX, you don't have
your old powers anymore. I guess it can be considered a spoiler for some people, so view at your own
risk.
11:48 - New insta-poll is here, people. Please take a second to vote... Thanks :) Oh, click
here for last poll's results. Cloth Map won with 36 votes, Juicy Manual was second with 17, Soundtrack
third with 9, Action Figure fourth with 7, and Just the Game last with 3 votes.
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| August 19, 1999 - Neocryte |
22:50 - Hey, here is an interesting comment by Nottleben: "HW acceleration is working on BEOS 4.5.1 with a 3DFX Glide running Quake 2. And OpenGL is not going to be used for
Ultima IX anyway they are using Direct3D and Glide." Hmm, CapnBill hasn't
been at the boards for a while.
13:26 - The new BE OS seems to be getting farther and farther these days... There was
a question asked if Ultima IX was going to be ported to it
here. Here is what ChrisK answered:
"OpenGL Hardware acceleration is planned for their next
release (R5) that is due out sometime next year. Until that
happens, a port wouldn't be possible. So, unfortunately, a
port to the BeOS is very very unlikely. Since I'm using and
programming BeOS myself, I know what a wonderful OS it is,
but it'll need help (e.g. drivers from hardware companys) to
succeed."
08:35 - Just in case anyone cares, I finally got Ultima VII to work... I've been playing
it for quite a few hours. As for the news, none really worth mentioning this morning, so await the next update. :)
|
| August 18, 1999 - Neocryte |
21:15 - Ok, four new screenshots up, taken from
the new interview. They're pretty cool. I finally received my copy of Ultima VII by the way,
and right now I'm fighting with the damn Windows 95 to launch it. :)
20:28 - Gamespot
has posted a new
interview with Richard Garriott with some new screenshots.
I will put some of them into the screenshots section tonight.
11:58 - Does Windows 2000 mean better performance for Ultima IX?
Here are some comments made on that question.
10:01 - Fullmetal was able to find that sky "bug" in another picture as well (the
dragon one). Again,
here is the first pic, posted by Laa-Yosh.
And here is the second one, noted by
Fullmetal. As you can see the "bug" is in exactly the same part in the texture of the sky,
so it might actually be a real bug...
Any ideas? If you are interested in reading the whole topic, click
here.
|
| August 17, 1999 - Neocryte |
21:30 - Laa-Yosh posted today that there might be a bug in the sky, as can be seen in
this picture. Personally, I think it's just the image's bad quality, but maybe not...
What do you peple think?
17:18 - Hey, wanna laugh? Read
this topic at the
discussion boards, where Yobgod, Russell, and others talk about their
"systems." As for some other news,
Tom's Hardware has posted an extremely cool
article about how they tested a KryoTech 800 MHz Athlon! Here
is a quick scoop: "Kryotech's new highend-system makes it the currently fastest PC in the
whole wide world. For $2,200 you get a box with an amazing overall performance, regardless if you're a
professional workstation user or gamer." Oh, here
is a little pic taken from the article... yep it's the 800 MHz beast.
10:28 - Jaccl has been at the boards this morning and thoroughly answered the question
about Ultima's programming language. I put it in the
General Info.
|
| August 16, 1999 - Neocryte |
22:12 - Ah, I forgot to mention that my Linux port question was answered today
by Jaccl (a member of the Dev team) and then frozen by DurhamDragon, hehe. Here is what
Jaccl said: "A Linux version would be cool but there are no plans to do a
port at this time." And then DurhamDragon kindly added: "Anything's possible, but no plans means even if it is done
eventually, you won't see it for a long time." Thanks.
21:54 - DurhamDragon closed up a lot of topics today at the discussion
boards. Here is what he said on the Archery subject: "I will add though there are four levels of expertise with
each weapon skill, with each level adding a different tactic
with the weapon (for example a defensive spin is something
you can learn with a staff)." And here is what Jaccl mentioned on the same subject:
"Archery works by aiming at the target, holding the mouse
button to draw the bow, and releasing it to shoot. There is
also an auto targeting mode but it is not nearly as much fun."
Yep, archery kicks butt...
10:57 - I posted a question today at the
boards about the possibility of porting Ultima IX to Linux.
Mail me if you have any ideas. Oh.. that gives me an idea for
a new insta-poll, so beware... it is coming soon.
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| August 15, 1999 - Neocryte |
21:51 - Sorry for not too many updates today.. I spent a lot of time installing
Linux today, and just had a lot of other real life stuff to do. In any case, here is
Yogbod on Ultima IX's clothing/armor: "There are, according to CapnBill, at least 12 different
types of armor/clothing.
There are separate objects for helm, breastplate, pants
and gloves, at least. You can mix and match. (But a pair of
gloves is one object, so you can't do the Michael jackson
thing...)"
15:21 - In case you are interested what language Ultima IX was written in, here is
what IronFury said today at the
discussion boards: "As a matter of fact, the team developed a development tool
for the designers to use with C/C++. And the programmers are
using C/C++ for the game and other engines." Yep, no other news so far...
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| August 14, 1999 - Neocryte |
22:16 - Hmmm, it seems like it's that time again to change the insta-poll question.
Please e-mail me
if you have any ideas about it.
15:40 - Ok, I updated the Screenshots. I added a
third page, which has 10 new pictures taked from that Next Generation Online
interview, so you can view them easily. There aren't really any
other important news... so enjoy the pics!
12:42 - Snoekie notified
me today that Next Generation Online has
posted a cool interview
with Richard Garriott. It has some new screenshots too - I will probably add these later tonight
into the Screenshots section for easier
viewing.
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| August 13, 1999 - Neocryte |
22:29 - Just wanted to remind everyone that the page will not be accessible in about 3
and a half hours from right now. It will be off for 4-6 hours, starting from 2:00 AM on August
14, 1999, which is tomorrow. Thanks for your patience.
19:27 - Does anyone know any HTTP servers
where Ultima IX videos can be downloaded from? If so,
mail me.
18:58 - DurhamDragon, a co-host of the
Ultima IX Discussion Boards, closed two topics today (Ultima ports to PSX2/Dreamcast/etc.,
and Ultima IX demo). "It should come out shortly before the game does. So we'll
have to wait until they do some more bugfixing and
playbalancing before the demo is ready. It doesn't do anyone
any good to have a demo that crashes," was what he said about the demo. And about the
ports: "There are are currently no ports planned. When the game is
done, perhaps they will look at the possibilities of porting
to the newer consoles or other computer platforms. But in
any case if a port IS eventually decided upon, you're going
to be waiting quite a while for it." Yeah, I guess that's quite true. Why would anyone
want a port anyway, PC is just so much better...
17:09 - I have recieved a letter today confirming that I am now a member of the
Ultima Dragons, which
is dedicated to the fans of all Ultimas. There hasn't been much news or any new updates
on the main Ultima IX site
for a while. Quoting Laa-Yosh, "Once again we see a halt in the updates of the main web
site. Some new videos, links, and then nothing for looong
days. Last update was almost a week ago, and the last main
update was more than two weeks ago! Something should happen soon..."
12:06 - Hmm, not much news lately. I ordered Ultima VII Black Gate and Serpent
Isle yesterday from the Dragon's Den,
and it was pretty cheap, about $6. Errr, I don't have much else to say, for now.
|
| August 12, 1999 - Neocryte |
21:31 - A little quote from CapnBill on clipping plane: "It is my desire to have no upper limit on the clipping, for
the exact reasons you've described--I too want to play the game in a year to two with the
planes all the way out! We'll do what we can..." By the way, on Tuesday, Next Generation
Online actually did post 4 "new"
game screenshots, but again... it seems that we have
already seen all of these!
18:00 - Woohoo! The counter went over the 1000 mark. Thanks all. Ok, for the updates... Yogbod
explaned some details about the rain storm,
very interesting. Also, some people are getting impatient to get a demo of Ultima IX. Read
here!
11:37 - I got notified today by
Freeservers, that they are moving to a new building. This means that this site
will be unavailable for about 4-6 hours on Saturday, August 14. They will start the move
at 2:00 AM Eastern Time (the time zone this site is in)... so beware! :)
11:14 - Do you have a Cyrix processor in your computer? Here is what a few people said
today about Cyrix for Ultima IX. "The Cyrix is too weak for UA's engine." - Laa-Yosh ...
"The Cyrix is famous (not in a good way) for it's performance
with 3D games, or lack thereof. The Intel processors have
better performance and AMD processors should be good too
(especially if they managed to implement 3Dnow as they
currently plan)." - DurhamDragon
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| August 11, 1999 - Neocryte |
21:51 - On a question about NPCs' line of sigh, Jaccl answered: "Monsters do have variable line of sight abilities but
as a general rule monsters see pretty well in the dark. You'll just have to find other ways to be sneaky...
Monsters have a tendency to notice things like being hit by an arrow." Cool.
17:45 - Tom's Hardware has posted
some nice articles. One is
Athlon vs. PIII, it talks about AMD's new Athlon chip as it was benchmarked against Intel's Pentium
III. It seems that Athlon beat PIII in almost every test they ran! The second article is titled
32 Graphic
Card Meltdown Part I, and it talks about features offered by different graphic cards.
12:31 - Do you want an editor for Ultima IX, to create your own worlds and quests?
Personally, I think it wouldn't be so great.
Here is what others think.
11:59 - A new link added to Ultima IX Horizons,
a very cool Ultima IX site with tons of information, pics, and frequently updated news.
|
| August 10, 1999 - Neocryte |
23:49 - Err.. new pic of the day :)
17:15 - I asked a question earlier today, if Ultima IX engine will be able to handle
reflections. DurhamDragon said that they were thinking about it, but then decided not to
have reflecting surfaces. And then, here is what Jaccl said: "With a little tweaking the engine could produce excellent
mirror/reflection effects but it doubtful that they would beintroduced this late in the
product cycle. Dont worry thou, weve got plenty of cool visual effects, especially in the
magic system."
12:27 - Wow, thank you CapnBill! CapnBill has answered a monstrous heap of questions
today. First, issues on clipping plane
distance and viewing area. Second,
tips on improving Ultima IX performance. And third, CapnBill answered about
tweakability options and reusing arrows.
11:44 - Next Generation Online has started
Ultima Ascension Week. They have posted four pics, but only one of them seems to be new. They actually posted
these yesterday, claiming that something new will be coming today. We'll see.
|
| August 9, 1999 - Neocryte |
23:42 - The special edition issue has come up again at the
discussion boards. Some people are having a few crazy but
cool ideas about what Origin should include in the package. Read it
here.
13:41 - My question at the forum was answered today. I asked how long the arrows and
the dead bodies would stay in the world (see Downloads, Gameplay
Video 1). Here is what DurhamDragon said: "CapnBill said at one time that arrows striking their target
would be visible for a short while but would fade away. I'm
not sure if there are circumstances where you can shoot
arrows and retrieve them afterwards (maybe from a practice
target?)."
11:38 - Woohoo! Thanks to Snoekie,
I finally got an account at the Ultima IX Discussion Board.
Also, there was question there today about Ultima IX's physics engine, and it sounds really cool. Quoting Blimpy:
"If the barrel had some water in it, it would sink a little, but still float. If the barrel was
full of water, it would sink completely." Read the rest
here.
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| August 8, 1999 - Neocryte |
22:30 - Ack, sorry for no major updates today, very busy day. Had to work on my car
for a while and then a three-hour tennis match, sigh. Hey, at least there's always a
new pic of the day... my favorite too.
15:57 - CapnBill answered a question about
popping detail on objects in the distance. Also, there was an interesting question asked about
Ultima IX Special Edition, when and if it is going to be released, most people hoping it
would be released the same day the regular one is, so they can choose which one to buy. Even
CapnBill put in a word about it: "I heard of a special edition just a few days ago, so I
believe it's still in the plan! Other than that, though, I don't have any details." Click
here to read the whole topic itself.
|
| August 7, 1999 - Neocryte |
19:27 - Hmmm, Cloth Map seems to be the main choice of the new insta-poll. Action
Figure and Juicy Manual are tied at second. New pic of the day. Actually the castle in
the pic is also shown in Gameplay Video 2 at the Downloads
section, and it looks even smoother in the video!
15:14 - Is there actually any advantage of having a DVD version of Ultima IX? Errr.. I don't
know, but
here is what some people had to say about it.
12:04 - Interested about Ultima IX's first-person view issues? Click here
to read posts about it. Also, a new link added to Podziemie Ultimy IX Ascension, the first
Polish Ultima IX site. Hey, did it anyone download any of those videos? If yeah,
did you like them?
09:48 - Ok, new insta-poll. Please vote... Click here
to see the last poll's results. In a nutshell, Beautiful Environment won with 34 votes, Amazing Detail is second
with 25, and Storyline is third with 23. Cool.
|
| August 6, 1999 - Neocryte |
19:13 - Ok, two more links added to Downloads.
That makes all nine videos... Yes, they're quite large, but they're definitely worth the
wait of the download, especially the first, third, and ninth videos.
18:42 - Is Ultima IX going to be a complete world? Here is what Jaccl had to say
about it: "The entire continent of Britannia, its islands, lakes,
oceans, forests, cities, shrines, animals, npcs, monsters,
etc is all treated as one continuous map. There is no concept
of 'level' or other artifical division and there will be no
CD swapping or loading screens when traveling.
Most dungeons are located on separate maps but load times
are quite minimal and we've worked hard to hide the
transitions. These should not require any CD swaps either."
16:39 - Four more links to videos added. One of them is kind of
a spoiler - it is the intro cut-scene for the game, so consider that before viewing it. One of the videos actually mentions
that one Ultima IX hour is approximately 6 minutes of real time.
12:14 - CapnBill on some issues: clouds in Ultima IX, and the hadware.
11:46 - Three links to awesome videos added into the Downloads
section. I redesigned it, so hopefully it is now easier to navigate. The videos are quite large, but they are
so damn good! The last one especially, kept me drooling all over the keyboard, hehe. I only put up three links,
because I still have to download the other ones and view them before posting the links to them. So, there might
be more coming today! Meanwhile, the large download should keep you busy.
01:30 - So, the server seems to be working fine now, no more access problems anymore.
Or am I mistaken? I
will be updating the Downloads section, hopefully today, so be on the look out. Any ideas for
the insta-poll?
01:06 - Is there 1st person view in Ultima IX? Apparently, the answer is: "sorta."
Sorta? Yep. Quoting DurhamDragon: "You can go into first person view to look at things up
close, but I don't believe you'll be able to move around in
that mode. The game was designed as 3rd person, so combat
and other activities would be awkward in first person (for
instance to put an item in your inventory you'd normally be
able to drag the item over yourself)."
|
| August 5, 1999 - Neocryte |
21:40 - Ok, finally a new pic of the day. Unfortunately, I still can't create a new account at the
Discussion Board - it keeps
giving me a JavaScript error. Does anyone know why?
Mail me.
12:49 - The insta-poll question is kind of getting boring. Want to help me think of
a new question for it? Mail them here!
12:02 - There was a question
asked today at the Discussion Board about the clipping
distance, or how far you can see in Ultima IX. Here is a part of Fullmetal's answer: "CapnBill mentioned that today in fact, (in regard to a
question about the appearance of trees) they do have
different levels of detail in world objects. i don't know
exactly how many they have, but there are..." Click here to
read the rest. Also, sorry for no new pic of the day today or yesterday. As I already said,
I reformatted my computer, and I still need to reinstall Adobe Photoshop.
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| August 4, 1999 - Neocryte |
23:00 - Yes, I am done with my computer. I did a full reformat on all the drives, and
it works much faster now. Anyway... Now it was actually approved that Ultima IX will take
up not 4 CDs, but only 2. I guess that's good, because you wouldn't want to swap those
CD's all the time during gameplay. Also, if you are planning to buy a new 3D card, I really
suggest reading this article,
it compares the TNT2 to Voodoo3 and explains why TNT2 is so much better.
14:50 - I am planning to do a major format on my computer, because it's really not
working well. So, there may not be any updates for the next few days...
12:01 - There was a
question asked today about how complete the world of Ultima IX is. Here is what
DurhamDragon had to say:
"The world itself you should technically be able to cross
(assuming you have the right types of transportation) without
ever having to swap CDs or wait for a loading screen."
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| August 3, 1999 - Neocryte |
18:18 - Three new screenshots, very nice ones.
17:56 - I contacted Freeservers (my page's host), asking them about the access problem.
They said that it's because of their servers and should be fine in about two days or so. Please be
patient. Once again, sorry to all who had trouble connecting to my site. There is a nice new
preview at PC Zone. It mentions that Ultima IX is going
to take up 4 CDs! Cool eh?
12:16 - Exchanged links with Ravage
Dragon's site. Also, new section up today: News Archive,
that's where old news are going to go to. Once again, sorry to everyone who wasn't able to
access the site at certain times, something's weird. I might have to find another server to
move the site to.
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| August 2, 1999 - Neocryte |
19:20 - Sorry if you weren't able to access this page today. Something was strange with
the server, it seems to be working now though. Not many updates today... By the way, if any
one of you out there has a G400 video card, be happy - it's one of the best D3D cards to play
Ultima IX with.
12:56 - Received an e-mail from Snoekie,
talking about Ultima's release date. He said that the June issue of PC Gamer proclaimed
September as the month for Ultima IX to be released in. Late September and October seem
about right, because even CapnBill said that there are a few weeks left for debugging, and
then there's just CD printing, manuals, etc.
Any ideas?
11:17 - There were more computer requirement notes posted on
this topis - everyone sharing their systems' stats. CapnBill answered some
questions today about Direct3D vs. Glide performance, and about resolutions Ultima IX can be played on. Read
it here.
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| August 1, 1999 - Neocryte |
20:41 - There was a question asked about the computers the Ultima development team was
using in this topic. It
seems that their systems are quite beefy, hehe... Also, as you might now (or not), the recommended
amount of RAM for Ulima IX is 128MB, it was changed from 64MB (a while ago), and
here is why. Also, from a note a few days ago, Lord British
answered a few questions - look in General Info.
11:20 - Ok, I split the Screenshots page into two, so each would
take less time loading all the thubnails. There are 15 pics on the first page, and 12 on
the second one. If I get some more shots, I will probably even make a third page too.
11:06 - A lot of people were wondering about required and recommended options for their
system to play Ultima IX. This topic
at the Ultima IX Discussion Board has a few people talk about
the system upgrades they made (some just for Ultima IX, hehe).
10:34 - A new link added to a cool Ultima IX site
by Twiggy Dragon, I suggest you check it out, it
has a cool History section, which tells about the whole Ultima series. I will probably redesign
the screenshots page in the next few days, make it into two pages - too many thubnails for one page.
Also, I am thinking of adding a News Archive section... but those are all thoughts.
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| July 31, 1999 - Neocryte |
21:46 - I changed the Articles section
a bit, divided it into Recent and Old Articles, so there would be less disorganization and
confusion (thanks to Laa-Yosh). Also,
Deon du Plessis pointed out to me
that the release date of Ultima IX may be November 9th, which is actually "proved" by this
Adrenaline Vault site.
I am not completely sure about this though, because if it was known for sure that the release
date was November 9th, why would Lord British and the Ultima crew keep that date secret?
Any ideas?
I really appreciate all the feedback I get, thanks a lot everybody!
15:19 - Quick update: cleared up some info about Guardian's voice in the
Downloads section. Thanks a lot to Deon du Plessis.
14:33 - Three more screenshots.
Sorry if you don't see too many updates today or tomorrow, very busy weekend.
00:05 - I added a few more downloads, creating the Misc. Downloads
section, it has a few little gadgets in it. The Insta-Poll is going quite good, and it seems
that most votes are concentrated on Beautiful Environment, with Storyline and Amazing Detail sharing
the second place. If you would like to vote, please do so - it's in the lower left corner of
the page. Oh, check out the new pic of the day.
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| July 30, 1999 - Neocryte |
17:55 - Today has truly been the day for updates. Three more screenshots have arrived.
By the way, don't forget to visit the Ultima IX Discussion Board, because you
can find answers to the many questions you might have about Ultima IX.
16:41 - VoodooExtreme has posted an interview
with Lord British himself (Richard Garriot) about Ultima IX and related stuff. It, for example, explains how Mr. Garriot
got his nickname.
13:02 - Yes, another little update... Six new pictures added. Now,
twenty-one screenshots total. All 640 by 480, of course.
12:32 - A new preview up at the Articles section.
Its title is Role-Playing Revival (thanks Gamecenter)
and it is definitely worth the read.
11:59 - Two video interviews with Richard Garriot are now linked to, at the Downloads section.
They are both quite small (2.5 MB each), and very interesting, so I suggest you download them. They are at 320 by 240 resolution
and last about a minute each.
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| July 29, 1999 - Neocryte |
22:16 - Six more screenshots at the Screenshots section. Thanks to the
Official Ultima IX Site for making a link to this page
from them.
12:10 - New section up: Articles.
I posted links to two articles up there, a cool preview and an Ultima IX FAQ.
00:11 - Eight more screenshots added to the Screenshots section, making
the grand total of nine. More are coming!
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| July 28, 1999 - Neocryte |
17:55 - Added the Insta-Poll (please vote) and the Pic of the Day! Read the message of Lord British
about Ultima IX.
17:03 - All sections now work. I am working on getting much more screenshots right now.
13:15 - Welcome to my new Ultima IX: Ascension site. Some sections are already up and running, but some
still need to be finished. Please be patient, the page will be up completely in a couple of days.
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