Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

[Jul 12, 2012, 10:36 am ET] - Share - Viewing Comments

BioWare unveils Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar, the promised announcement of a new free-to-play game, which turns out will be a new installment in the Ultima series of role-playing games when it is released later this year for Windows and iPads (with cross-platform support). The Ultima Forever Website is online, and is already accepting applications from prospective beta testers. There is an article about this on IGN where Paul Barnett tells them the game will feature Diablo-style combat, and should be available soon, since it is currently in the polishing stage. Here's part of the IGN description of the game, since it is more informative than the announcement:

Ultima Forever is a throwback to classic Ultima games, with mechanics grounded in Ultima IV. Starting as either a fighter or a mage (a druid and paladin class are coming later), your hero sets out on a quest to become the Avatar, a person who embodies what are known as the eight Virtues. Using a Baldur's Gate-like isometric perspective, you'll guide your hero either alone or with friends through hours and hours of quests, battling it out with monsters and making hard choices until your character embodies the virtues and reaches the end-game dungeons. Once you beat it, becoming the Avatar, you then start a new game plus, playing through all the content again on an even harder setting.

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15.

Re: Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

Jul 12, 2012, 11:53

nin

I'm surprised they even bothered milking the Ultima name for this.

I'm not surprised at all, especially after "Syndicate"...




RollinThundr Apr 17, 2013, 12:25: Eh really tossing stuff like that in there only to get your panties all bunched up. If you really want to call that trolling sure. Mr. Tact Apr 17, 2013, 12:33: Pretty sure that's the definition of trolling...

14.

Re: Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

Jul 12, 2012, 11:49

Cutter

Come on, you knew it was going to be garbage. I'm surprised they even bothered milking the Ultima name for this. And actually it's a really bad idea when you stop and consider it.




"Are you crazy? Is that your problem?" - Jack Burton

13.

Re: Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

Jul 12, 2012, 11:43

Wowbagger_TIP

Tanto Edge wrote on Jul 12, 2012, 11:31: A throwback to.. more like throw up on classic games. Mechanics grounded in... wtf there's two 'classes.' There were never selectable player classes in Biow--Orig--..uhh, Garriot's games. Closest you had was a bunch of tarot cards, questions and away you go! The quote from the wikipedia page: 'It is the first in the "Age of Enlightenment" trilogy, shifting the series from the hack and slash, dungeon crawl gameplay of its "Age of Darkness" predecessors towards an ethically-nuanced, story-driven approach' I have no problem with BioWare creating whatever. I have a problem with an EA subsidiary poorly rebooting and forever ruining Ultima. But there's a map! And a gypsy! The gypsy will probably ask if you want to be a fighter or a mage. I'm sure that's what they mean when they say it's been "lovingly restored". This is like a really cruel April Fools' joke.

12.

Re: Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

Jul 12, 2012, 11:31

Tanto Edge

A throwback to.. more like throw up on classic games.
Mechanics grounded in... wtf there's two 'classes.' There were never selectable player classes in Biow--Orig--..uhh, Garriot's games.
Closest you had was a bunch of tarot cards, questions and away you go!
The quote from the wikipedia page: 'It is the first in the "Age of Enlightenment" trilogy, shifting the series from the hack and slash, dungeon crawl gameplay of its "Age of Darkness" predecessors towards an ethically-nuanced, story-driven approach'

I have no problem with BioWare creating whatever. I have a problem with an EA subsidiary poorly rebooting and forever ruining Ultima.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=705LEH3j2g0&t=0m24s

11.

Re: Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

Jul 12, 2012, 11:20

Axis

Verno wrote on Jul 12, 2012, 11:18:
First of all that website is comedy gold and looks like some Facebook crap. Second, Fighter or Mage? Whoa thats some deep choice, I'm sure the gameplay mechanics will be a true testament to classic Ultima. I love how they namedrop Baldur's Gate in that interview too. Finally, Lady British? Seriously? Wow that's just really sad.

I'm usually pretty open minded about remakes but this looks like a total name cash-in.

Good points. Ultima was always about moral choices picking stats, so the whole 'fighter or mage' doesn't even fit the mold - like they are just mashing game words noobs think sound cool.




Yours truly, Axis

10.

Re: Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

Jul 12, 2012, 11:18

Verno

First of all that website is comedy gold and looks like some Facebook crap. Second, Fighter or Mage? Whoa thats some deep choice, I'm sure the gameplay mechanics will be a true testament to classic Ultima. I love how they namedrop Baldur's Gate in that interview too. Finally, Lady British? Seriously? Wow that's just really sad.

I'm usually pretty open minded about remakes but this looks like a total IP cash-in, unsurprisingly hot on the heels of Diablo 3 with its RMAH. I'm sure EA has wet dreams of cash shops in a hack n slash.




Playing: Faster Than Light, Tales of Graces F, Fire Emblem 3DS Watching: Ghost in the Shell, Hannibal, Oblivion

Re: Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

Jul 12, 2012, 11:14

Wowbagger_TIP

ItBurn wrote on Jul 12, 2012, 11:01: Ok I read all the data. Including joystiq interview with creative director Free to play: Jesus, no. Ipad and PC: Lowest common denominator. It's going to be a very simple game. They compare it to a facebook game: Oh god no. "for a more casual player": :'( They say it's not an mmo, but everything sounds like an mmo. They're just trying to save face. "We can't replicate the original game"..."The original game is lauded as very important": That's what the creative director said. He actually thinks that there was only one Ultima game. He clearly has no idea what Ultima was. All in all, this is the polar opposite of what I would have wanted in an Ultima game. The game might still be good, but it's just sad that because of this reboot, we might not get a real Ultima any time soon. Given what you found out so far, I'd have to say that there's an almost zero percent chance of the game being good. I doubt it will even be recognizable as an Ultima game.

Re: Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

Jul 12, 2012, 11:04

Bhruic

nin wrote on Jul 12, 2012, 10:45: I hate to shit on something right out of the gate, but when I see "free to play" I totally lose interest... The F2P doesn't bother me that much, but the "plays on iPad" does.

Re: Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

Jul 12, 2012, 11:04

Axis

Ultima is not an action RPG with 'diablo style combat', so this whole "throwback to classic Ultima games, with mechanics grounded in Ultima IV" sounds fishy.

Still, I USED to dig bioware with their NWN, and played the hell outta ultima in my c64 days, so I'll at least keep it on my radar, but I don't hold out much hope.




Yours truly, Axis

Re: Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

Jul 12, 2012, 11:01

ItBurn

Ok I read all the data. Including joystiq interview with creative director Free to play: Jesus, no. Ipad and PC: Lowest common denominator. It's going to be a very simple game. They compare it to a facebook game: Oh god no. "for a more casual player": :'( They say it's not an mmo, but everything sounds like an mmo. They're just trying to save face. "We can't replicate the original game"..."The original game is lauded as very important": That's what the creative director said. He actually thinks that there was only one Ultima game. He clearly has no idea what Ultima was. All in all, this is the polar opposite of what I would have wanted in an Ultima game. The game might still be good, but it's just sad that because of this reboot, we might not get a real Ultima any time soon.

Re: Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

Jul 12, 2012, 10:58

Wallshadows

MattyC wrote on Jul 12, 2012, 10:53: I will just leave this here... Looks like I have a lot of watching to do today.

Re: Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

Jul 12, 2012, 10:53

MattyC

I will just leave this here...

Re: Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

Jul 12, 2012, 10:52

Wallshadows

What's a Paladin?

Re: Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

Jul 12, 2012, 10:45

nin

I hate to shit on something right out of the gate, but when I see "free to play" I totally lose interest...

Also EA dragging something out the bottom of the closet and tossing it to Mythic/Bioware isn't helping my opinion of it...




RollinThundr Apr 17, 2013, 12:25: Eh really tossing stuff like that in there only to get your panties all bunched up. If you really want to call that trolling sure. Mr. Tact Apr 17, 2013, 12:33: Pretty sure that's the definition of trolling...

Re: Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

Jul 12, 2012, 10:41

Kajetan

yawn I just keep my golden, warm memories of learning the runic alphabet, of baking bread and slaying dragons, while convincing a whisp to give me the Armaggeddon spell which i used to destroy Britannia.

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