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/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| THE LORD BRITISH CONFERENCE |
| A transcript of an on-line conference with Lord British on the GEnie system |
| Edited by Count Nibble EXCLUSIVELY for Countlegger 10 |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
<SCORPIA> Our guest for tonight, Lord British. Go ahead, Lord B.
<[Lord British]> Hello everyone...sorry I'm late, had some trouble getting a
good line in. Well, as you all know I am Lord British, and my real name
is Richard Garriott...tonight I hope to talk to you all about Ultima 4,
and also tell you a bit about Ultima 5; at least all that I can...I have
been working on Ultima 5 now for a few months...when I came in I heard
someone ask if I did all the programming myself, and YES, in general, I
do...For the first time here with Ultima 5 I am getting some help, Steve
Meuse here at O.S.I is helping me, thus far he has written many of the
editors I am using. (Scorpia, should we take Ultima 4's then talk
Ultima 5?)
<SCORPIA> Lord B, ok if that's what you'd like to do. All right, raise hands
for questions...ok...Wild Bill is up.
<[Wild Bill] W.T.COLBURN> Lord B, I want to give you the usual accolades for
Ultima IV. I love it!! I am also very interested in your anti-theft
techniques. I see that you use Manuals and Maps in your packaging.
Anyone who does not BUY your game is really in for a bummer of a time.
My compliments in that area also. Any comments??
<[Lord British]> Thanks Bill, Have you finished it? The things you have
noted...map, manuals, etc...are not only good protection, but I believe
add greatly to the value of the product...I know they cost us a lot,
which is the major factor in why Ultimas cost over $50.
<[Wild Bill] W.T.COLBURN> Thanks. I agree with you completely on the value
for the consumer. Also, I love the manuals, etc. They are well done,
and fun to read and examine.
<[Lord British]> Thanks!
<[Wild Bill] W.T.COLBURN> Finally, I have not yet finished the game, but hope
to soon.....
<[Lord British]> Good luck!
<SCORPIA> Ok, B.Reese is next, go ahead B.
<B.REESE> Great work on Ultima but when is the IBM version for 4 coming out? !
<[Lord British]> The I.B.M. version is at this moment coming along very
well...
<B.REESE> What month?
<[Lord British]> Last I saw it you could do most all of the commands, so
should not be more than say 2 months...very tricky to guess.
<B.REESE> Why do the conversions take so long? Do your staff do them
serially?
<[Lord British]> AH...Yes and no. The 6502 versions (i.e. Apple, Atari, and
Com64) are often done serially, and the 68000 family are done one after
the next, and the Amiga, and Atari ST versions too. But these three
groups run fairly independently. The reason for their serial nature is
because often work is duplicated within the same processor family.
<B.REESE> Thanks...next time (for 5), do the IBM conversion first! Keep up
the great work...goodbye!
<SCORPIA> OK, Tyger is next. Go ahead, Tyger.
<[Lord British]> Bye
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> Ok. I have 4 questions and one comment. 1) When is the
ATARI ST version coming out, and will it use GEM?
<[Lord British]> The ST version is in final play test and YES.
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> Will it run on Monochrome?
<[Lord British]> YES, mono.
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> 2) On the next Ultima are you going to let us attack
diagonally?
<[Lord British]> YES, in fact there are two attack types...you can A)
(north,south,east,west), or you can do a ^A which gives you a crosshair
to place upon any monster...
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> 3) When are you going to start a scenario-based game?
[With modules (levels & games)]
<[Lord British]> Well thats a more difficult question. I did intend to do
just that with Ultima 4, but I changed my mind due to the fact that with
each Ultima I make so many improvements, (I think)...
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> (u did)
<[Lord British]> ...that to stagnate with any of my systems so far would not
be in keeping with the route the games have taken to date, if you follow
my meaning...
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> (yeah)
<[Lord British]> But later, when I have crammed as much as I think I can
TECHNICALLY...into a game, I will probably spread out into scenarios.
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> 4) Is IV going to be in a folder like high priced IBM
software?
<[Lord British]> I dont know what folders you mean, so...
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> like binders
<[Lord British]> No, I guess not, it will be in the Ultima 4 box as with other
versions.
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> Ok, for #5...This is more of an idea than a question...
But can you have a "adventurer's note book" in Ultima IV, where the
player has an extra disk just for notes? (It can work like DATA-base.)
<[Lord British]> Very good idea...thats a good idea...it would be a bit tough
to cram in the 8-bit machines, but, the Mac, ST, and Amiga could do it
easily. There is not enough room in memory or on disk for the 8-bits.
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> That is it...I have played 2, 3, & 4 and they grow on
you. (A big hand shake) Fini.
<SCORPIA> Ok...Before the next person goes, I have a loooong list of people
here, so I am going to restrict everyone to 2 qyestions each, otherwise
this will take forever. If you like, I can put you on the bottom of the
list if you have more you want to ask or say, but from now on, only 2
questions please...and Exodus (where have I heard that before?), you're
next. Go ahead.
<[Exodus] HLESSER> Thanx...Mr. British, I wish to commend you on the work for
all of the Ultimas and especially Autoduel. My first question is: What
inspired you to start the Ultima series (books, movies, etc...)?
<[Lord British]> Well, thats a good question...it kind of happened on
accedent. In high school I learned how to program in BASIC at about the
same time I was learning FRP's. I began writing games when the school
had not but one computer course. I wanted to learn more, so they let me
and a friend have a class where all we had to do was have a project that
we worked on and we would get credit. My projects were FRP's. Then
when I graduated, I went to work for a Computerland store and was then
exposed to Apples and graphics for the first time, so it was a natural
to take the games I was writing in school (on a teletype) and rework the
28th one I did into graphics, which became known as AKALABETH. I never
intended to publish it, but a publisher got ahold of one and signed me
up...then I said to myself, "Self: if you can do this for play, think
what you could do if you were doing it for publication!" And then I
began work on ULTIMA.
<[Exodus] HLESSER> I have Akalabeth, it was pretty good for back then, now my
second question/idea...
<[Lord British]> (1978)
<[Exodus] HLESSER> ...I was wondering if you are ever coming out with hints
(like InvisiClues in a way) for Ultima or any other of your great games,
and if so, when?
<[Lord British]> Well I'm not sure...for Ultimas we will probably do just what
we were doing, but include a little more info than we did in U3's, like
we did in U4's. But for the other games, I don't know at this time. We
have given it some thought.
<[Exodus] HLESSER> Thank you a lot for your time...and for an idea, when
someone completes an Ultima, how about a feature which allows them to
print out an award for themselves to show that they completed the
adventure?
<[Lord British]> Well, as a matter of fact, in Ultima 5, I plan to record the
players progress on the disk, i.e. what main goals were acomplished on
what dates, etc., and then when you are done with the game you can send
in your disk, and we can generate a custom story / history of your deeds
and adventures. Like that?
<SCORPIA> <neat!>
<HTCOLONNA> <GREAT!>
<J.RADEN> <YES!!>
<[Wild Bill] W.T.COLBURN> <yes!!>
<[Exodus] HLESSER> thanx
<[Lord British]> Also, you do know that if you write to O.S.I. about
completing an O.S.I. game we have personalized certificates we send
out...
<SCORPIA> Ok, Morgul is next.
<[MORGUL] K.ALLEN> First, not meant as a disrespect, but I know (in U3 at
least) that in LCB castle there is a Lord British. Just out of
curiosity, can you kill him?
<[Lord British]> Well, LB was meant to be Undefeatable in Ultima 3 but there
turns out to be a way...In Ultima 4, however, if you attack him you WILL
die.
<[MORGUL] K.ALLEN> Thanks...second question: how many more Ultimas are there
going to be and what pretense will you use?
<[Lord British]> That is a good question to which I don't have an answer. I
suppose they will go on and on until either they quit selling (eeek) or
I get tired of writing them (booo)...
<[MORGUL] K.ALLEN> Thanks, and its been a pleasure talking to you.
<SCORPIA> Ok, before we go on...
<[Lord British]> Thanks Morgul.
<[MORGUL] K.ALLEN> Bye!
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> (drop me, have to go)
<SCORPIA> OK, scratch Tyger (grin)...J.Raden, your turn.
<[Lord British]> Evil grin she has.
<J.RADEN> Ok. Lord, first I want to compliment you on all the Ultimas. When
should U5 be out, and how will it differ from the others? (I would have
run out of ideas by now!)
<[Lord British]> Well, to tell about Ultima 5 in great detail I am going to
wait till all questions are through, but briefly, so far, it takes up 6
sides of disks...it has 512 tiles to draw the maps with (as opposed to
256 in U4)...it has twice the size outdoor map, and twice as many
towns...twice as much data per NPC, and the list goes on and on and
on... As for the plot, it will be a sequel to Ultima 4 but more like
The Empire Strikes Back. The bad guys may win this one... (evil nasty
grin)
<MIKE.HALL> Will there be a version for the C128 or will it be for the C64
only?
<[Lord British]> Well...
<J.RADEN> Well, when should it be out, and will it be out for Apple first,
then all the others, or will several versions be out at the same time?
<[Lord British]> To answer the two questions: the C128 version of U5 may
differ in some ways...for instance, even on the Apple I am getting so
crammed for memory that music has been put up into the aux. 64k, so 64k
Apples may not get music, and this may also hold true for the 64/128.
As far as when will U5 be out, and on what computers, usually Apple is
first but if I finish U5 very soon (i.e. only slightly after Christmas),
then we may hold it for a few months while some translations are being
done and so that it does not encroach on U4 sales.
<J.RADEN> Ok, thanks a lot for answering my questions. I hope the Ultima
series sticks around for a while. They're awesome!
<SCORPIA> Ok, David FGJ is next. GA, David.
<[DAVID] FGJMAJ> Any updates on AUTODUEL?
<[Lord British]> So far there are no updates that I know of...do you have a
problem?
<[DAVID] FGJMAJ> Like new equipment...
<[Lord British]> Oh, no there is not any new equipment YET, but it looks like
we are going to do a sequel!
<[DAVID] FGJMAJ> What sequel?
<[Lord British]> AUTODUEL II.
<[DAVID] FGJMAJ> Thanks . . .
<SCORPIA> Ok, Makyo is next.
<[Makyo] PSM> If it pleases Your Lordship . . . Did Smith the Talking Horse
have anything useful to say?
<[Lord British]> A very common Question...Unfortunately, no, he did not. You
see, I wanted him to have a clue, but he came into the game so late that
I just couldn't think of anything good for him to say.
<[Makyo] PSM> What games are you planning on releasing for the Amiga? (And
when?)
<[Lord British]> All our products and U3 will be soonest.
<[Makyo] PSM> Thanks!!
<SCORPIA> Ok, C.Davis is next.
<C.DAVIS> Your Lordship, what do you think the effects of the ST and Amiga are
on game design?
<[Lord British]> Well, unfortunately the ST and AMIGA, even though they are
very powerful...if we were to write, say, Ultima's first on them, and
take advantage of their great power, then we would never ever fit them
into the 8-bit machines, which is where the VAST majority of sales are
right now. However, as 16-bit becomes the standard, you will see more
and more original developements -- like Ultimas -- being done for them.
In Ultima 5, I have crammed so much in already at this early stage that
I don't know how long I can continue in 8-bit. A few more yet...
<C.DAVIS> 2) when will AUTODuel and OGRE be out for the ST and ATARI 8 bit ?
<[Lord British]> Autoduel soon, Moebius, soon. Ogre later...how's that for
obscure?
<C.DAVIS> Thanks...hurry on OGRE...
<SCORPIA> Ok...Bazzar is next.
<BAZZAR> Lord British, first Sierra marketed Ultima II, are they going to
market Ultima 4 or 5, becaues on the 8 bit Origin marketed III...who's
next??
<[Lord British]> My first publisher was California Pacific. They published
Akalabeth, and Ultima, and promptly went out of buisness...so on to
Sierra I went with Ultima II... But, I did not like the way I was being
treated there so Myself, Chuckles and My brother started Origin Systems.
So, as you can see, this time I am publishing myself, so unless
something horrible happens (knock on wood), this publisher should be it
for a while. By the way, my contracts with Sierra just ran out, so I
will be publishing all of the Ultima's -- I,II,III,IV,V -- myself.
<BAZZAR> Ok...I am also wondering how you feel about the Atari ST, and if you
plan to fully support it???
<[Lord British]> It is very nice, and yes all O.S.I. products are planned for
it.
<BAZZAR> Ok...will they be the same playing as Ultima II on the ST? It plays
nice, but seems a little blocky..
<[Lord British]> I hated the translation of U2 that Sierra did...we are
re-doing it.
<SCORPIA> Ok, *now* it's your turn, Nexus.
<[NEX] J.BRODY> As a young high school gamer/programmer I'd like to say I
respect your work on the computer very much...
<[Lord British]> Thank you much.
<[NEX] J.BRODY> ...and you said somthing about editors. Do you program the
editors first, and then the detailing?
<[Lord British]> Yes...
<[NEX] J.BRODY> Ok, and is the programmers life all wealth and fun?
<[Lord British]> ga
<SCORPIA> IS that it, Nex?
<[NEX] J.BRODY> I guess so...
<[Lord British]> Oh...I was waiting for more about editors. The editors I
write look a great deal like the game will actually play, so I see the
screen as it will look during game play...but of course I can turn the
"hide" off/on, to see thru walls and walk on water, etc. As far as your
second query, there are many aspects of the programmers' life that are
as you suggest, but it also has many drawbacks that are difficult to get
into in a short discussion...
<[NEX] J.BRODY> Sorry about the pun. OK
<[Lord British]> ...but later if thee and I are still on we can discuss it.
<[NEX] J.BRODY> Thank you very much, sir.
<SCORPIA> OK, go ahead Conrad.
<[Uk] CONRADSMITH> A little comment...I have done Ult 2-4 and the ending to 4
was a royal pain...I loved it...anyway...Why do you call yourself Lord
British?
<[Lord British]> I must agree, it was a B@#$% to complete...a real chore. My
nickname Lord British comes from early in high school...one summer I
went to O.U. (oklahoma university) for a summer course in computer
progamming. When I arrived there some of the people who were there
ahead of me came to my room, and said "HI". So I said "hello", and they
said, "hello, no one from round here says 'hello', so you must be from
Britain so we'll cal you 'BRITISH'". As it turns out I was born in
England so I became known as British that summer...
<[Uk] CONRADSMITH> Is there any way to get Ultima I?
<[Lord British]> Not yet, but we are re-writing it even now into machine
launguage for release this fall.
<SCORPIA> OK...
<[Uk] CONRADSMITH> Great...I was wondering about the Lord British because I'm
English...
<[Lord British]> I was born in Cambridge...
<SCORPIA> Uni, it's your turn now.
<[UNI] CARL.VALLE> Do you find people who use computer games to be mostly
male/or loners and fond of science fiction/fantasy? (I am Uni and
female and alone among the above groups in my circles of friends.) I am
a proud user of TRS-80 mod III and Tandy 1000.
<[Lord British]> Ok Uni...we here find that the profile of users, based upon
our warranty cards, is strongly based in the upper teen males, but we do
have a very strong showing of older males as well, and some very very
young ones. But in this industry females are hard to come by. "Young"
is 7-9 years...also, as I believe you asked, the typical computer game
player is in fact a loner type, and often socially removed or quite...
<[UNI] CARL.VALLE> Do I have another?
<SCORPIA> Uni, yes you get 2 questions.
<[UNI] CARL.VALLE> Is anybody writing for the ubiquitous MODEL III anymore?
<[Lord British]> Not very many I'm afraid. Tandy equipment is a tricky
thing...
<[UNI] CARL.VALLE> I mean with 48K and 2 disk drives.
<[Lord British]> ...because it used to be that Tandy would only carry Tandy
brand software so you had to license your stuff to them at horrible
rates...so they pushed away a lot of the developers...and its a tough
road back.
<SCORPIA> OK, JM Donnelly is next.
<JM.DONNELLY> (four wine coolers later...)
<SCORPIA> (I've only had one so far jm, grin)
<[Lord British]> Got one for me?
<JM.DONNELLY> I have two questions. 1) Have you found that there is a big
market for IBM conversions of your games?
<[Lord British]> Uni: yes for PC compatables, and JM: the IBM market for
entertainment products was actually a let down to us. They only make up
a small percentage of our sales, and we have a tough time finding
affordable translators who will do the conversions, since even for an
Ultima translation royalties are an unknown $ on the PC.
<JM.DONNELLY> 2) Do you play games, and if so, what are your favorites, other
than your own, of course?
<[Lord British]> I play only a few games, when they come highly recommended,
and then usually I only look at them long enough to form my own opinion
of them. Some of the games of note I can think of are...The Bards Tale
is real slick...
<SCORPIA> <yes!>
<[Lord British]> ...and even though it's one of ours, OGRE is also real
slick...
<JM.DONNELLY> (Sure, a little free advertising...grin)
<[Lord British]> ...hehehe...(really though thats my opinion)...and beyond
those...I draw a blank?...any I should consider?
<[Exodus] HLESSER> Wizardry...(but too boring considered to yours)
<JM.DONNELLY> Nope, just wondering. Thanks a lot. You seem like a nice guy
as well as a crack designer and programmer.
<[Lord British]> Wizardry was good but is not up with current state of the art
any more.
<SCORPIA> <he IS very nice!>
<[Exodus] HLESSER> yep
<[Lord British]> Thanks, JM. Let me say that Wizardry broke a lot of ground
in this industry.
<SCORPIA> OK...Go ahead Heinrich
<[Heinrich] HTCOLONNA> WOW! Ok, the 'lowest common denominator' of the Atari
8-bits is 48K. However, the newer models have 64K and the newest 128K,
and (I am an ultima NUT!) I must complain that the music is left out of
UIV. A lot of new games check for an XL or XE. Please consider this
for the future. I commend the design of Ultima IV...the combat is not
nearly is repetitive as in UIII...and I hope UV moves a little bit
further from this combat repetition. Could you comment on these things?
Thanks.
<[Lord British]> Ahhh...
<[Heinrich] HTCOLONNA> One tiny thing...joystick would be nice too.
<[Lord British]> Music -- I agree and in the future these sort of checks will
be made. I am considering joystick at this time, and also I agree that
combat is getting better, but it does have a way to go yet. I have a
number of new things that I am trying this time to remove the redundancy
of combat for an experienced party...we'll see how it goes. Did that
cover it?
<[Heinrich] HTCOLONNA> One more thing and I will shut up...are you happy with
Atari 8-bit sales? Thanks a whole lot.
<[Lord British]> Yes, Atari has always been in the top 3.
<SCORPIA> Ok Frank, go ahead.
<[Frank] WPFRANK> My Lord, when do you plan to release Ult 4 for the Mac? (I
have another)
<[Lord British]> Ultima 4 for the Mac is done by the same person that does the
IBM version, and will shortly follow it since much code is re-used...so
this fall some time.
<[Frank] WPFRANK> I would pay dearly for a copy of Apple Ultima IV on those
Mac disks for the Apple computer, is there a way you could get it on
those?
<[Lord British]> Clarify?
<[Frank] WPFRANK> The disks that run in that Mac drive but hooks up to the
Apple...Apple released it in the fall i think, it only runs ProDOS.
<[Lord British]> Do you mean the new 3.5" drives for the Apple II series?
<[Frank] WPFRANK> yes
<[Lord British]> OK...well actually I use those now myself, and U4 and U5 will
both likely go there at some time.
<[Frank] WPFRANK> So I couldn't get it on those right now?
<[Lord British]> Don't you have 5-1/4" drives?
<[Frank] WPFRANK> I have a Mac only, but I have an adaptor that can use those
disks. That would be my only way to get Ultima 4 now.
<[Lord British]> Let me get this straight...You have a Mac but no Apple II and
an adapter for your Mac drives to what?
<[Frank] WPFRANK> A program I have enables me to run Apple 3.5 disks on my
Mac...
<[Lord British]> I got ya...
<[Frank] WPFRANK> ...thereby converting it temporarily into an Apple.
<[Lord British]> Frank, write to my office, and we can try to help you!
<[Frank] WPFRANK> Wow! Thanx a million!
<SCORPIA> OK, Dyangie is next (followed by C.warren).
<DYANGIE> What is Autoduel and what is it about?
<[Lord British]> Autoduel is based on a board game called Car Wars. It's kind
of like Mad Max and The Road Warrior...you start the game with some
(little) money, and then go into a future world (post nuke), and then
have a full role playing game to solve, where your utinsels are cars
that you build for battle on the roads, etc . . .
<DYANGIE> Are you planning on making a game like Adventure Construction Set?
<[Lord British]> Not any time soon...they're too much work (for an Ultima-type
game) and could only really hurt me in the long run.
<[Exodus] HLESSER> There are some Ultima Constuction Sets out...
<[Lord British]> ...Well...
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> ...(for characters)...
<[Exodus] HLESSER> ...made by pirates...
<[Lord British]> ...Not really...
<DYANGIE> Thanks a lot, LB...
<[Exodus] HLESSER> ...and are in ads in computer magazines.
<[Lord British]> They are map editors, not the same thing.
<SCORPIA> Ok, C.Warren is next
<[Exodus] HLESSER> No, I mean the full biggie Ultima III. A friend of mine
had one.
<[Lord British]> I have seen some good ones, but not a construction set.
<SCORPIA> Go ahead, C.
<[yankee doodl] C.WARREN> Hello, Lord British. We fought a war with the
British 200 years ago, and WON, so I will dispense with the titles
hereon in. (he he)
<[Lord British]> By the way I was born in England on July 4!!!!
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> (happy birthday)
<[Lord British]> Thanks!
<[yankee doodl] C.WARREN> Thanks. The Atari 800 XL/XE's are THE superior 8
bits. If sales are good, why no support?
<[Lord British]> What do you mean no support? We give it the same as our
others.
<[yankee doodl] C.WARREN> Are EVERY Origin game available for the Atari,
simultaneous with the C-64? I doubt it. That's what I mean by no
support.
<[Lord British]> Well, as a matter of fact EVERY game is planned for the
Atari, and falls 3rd in our list of translations, to be done behind C-64
for sales reasons.
<[yankee doodl] C.WARREN> Hmm. Second question: I can't make back-ups of
Ultima IV with my Happy drive. How come? Is piracy so bad?
<[Lord British]> Grrr...I have not heard of a Happy drive in some time...as a
matter of fact Atari may be the worst in piracy...which has caused many
companies to not support it at all.
<[yankee doodl] C.WARREN> Let me rephrase that... I know that piracy is bad.
But I don't pirate. It is just that when I pay 50 bucks for a game, I
like to be able to back it up.
<[Lord British]> Yes, you should be able to back up certain things. But to
say that a person is rightfully due a backup of non-essential things
(games, not business software)...
<[Exodus] HLESSER> I have to go so I'll just ask this one quick question, When
will Ogre first be out? (Doesn't matter what kind...we have 6
computers.)
<[Lord British]> (ogre-apple now out)...
<[yankee doodl] C.WARREN> My last question: I lived in Britain for 4 years.
Software support for Atari over there is pathetic, even by Origin. How
come?
<[Lord British]> Probably not so many Atari's over there...
<[yankee doodl] C.WARREN> There are a BUNCH. But they seem to be ignored.
<[Lord British]> We find sales in the UK to not be great anytime. In the UK
cheap is the big thing...Ultima is too expensive.
<[yankee doodl] C.WARREN> Yep. In the UK, a cassette recorder is still a neat
idea...
<[Lord British]> True.
<[Lord British]> Next?
<SCORPIA> Next is Merlin.
<T.MERLIN> Ok...I got on late and I'm not sure whether or not this question
has already been asked, but what are the changes and/or improvements in
Ultima 5 over Ultima 4?
<[Lord British]> This is probably a good time...
<SCORPIA> (yes, it is!)
<[Lord British]> ...to go into that. I was saving it for the hard core group
of diehards...here goes. Ultima V...well, first to repeat some of the
things I did say...I have now been working on it for a few months and it
is coming along very very well. Some of the technical changes are, that
so far in early development it takes up 6 disk sides...
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> (oh, my god!)
<DYANGIE> really
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> (I'm in love already)
<[Lord British]> ...I have doubled the number of shapes (tiles-grass, water
etc) that I have to make the surface of the world with to 512. This
gives me a lot more terrain types, and a lot more detail, like I have
coastline tiles so that the coast does not look blocky...I have curves
and diagonals, rivers and roads, juctions for both, waterfalls and
things...There are left edge of hills trailing off into grass, and right
and so on so that the map hardly looks like tile graphics any more.
Looks more like a hand drawn picture.
In the towns there are tables, chairs, lamps, bookshelves, anvils,
torture devices...the list goes on and on and on...so just walking
around in the world is a whole new experience. There is now real time
of day and night, and at night it gets dark...in towns you can see
circles of light around the lampposts...outdoors there are lighthouses
with a beam of light that circles...
There are many new types of NPC's...they also have twice the speech
capability of U4. They (hopefully) will travel about the town in an
intelligent manner rather than randomly. Towns are all (most all),
multi stories tall...the shopkeepers' houses are often above their
shops, and they have the appropriate furnishings, etc. Combat will have
two attack commands -- (A) and (^A) -- for the old normal attacks and
the new (controlled attack) for choosing who to strike anywhere on the
screen, by means of cross hairs that you place on your target. As far
as the plot goes...I won't tell, except...
<SCORPIA> <AWWWW!>
<[Lord British]> ...that the bad guys will do well in this game...
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> oooo!.
<[Lord British]> ...and also there is a whole Underworld...
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> (killer)
<[Lord British]> ...the same size as the surface (256x256) to explore in the
darkness...and and and...thats all for now! GA
<SCORPIA> <siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh> OK, last minute questoons? Questions, even.
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> yeah
<SCORPIA> OK GA Tyger.
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> So, then the guards arr going to go on rounds and be
yelling "2:00 and all is well!", right?
<[Lord British]> YES Typer!
<SCORPIA> <hehehe>
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> are--
<[Lord British]> thats YES, Tyger!
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> --you going to upload a sheet like U-IV?
<[Lord British]> NPC sheet, YES!
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> I want this game NOW!!!
<SCORPIA> <I want it yesterday>
<[Lord British]> ME TOO!
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> (hehe)
<SCORPIA> OK....
<[NEXUS] J.BRODY> WE ALL DO
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> Need a beta tester?
<SCORPIA> I think we can close the CO at this point...
<NARACK> NEED A LOT OF TESTERS?
<[Lord British]> In house only, sorry!
<SCORPIA> Lord British, thank you for coming (you were terrific as always).
<[NEXUS] J.BRODY> Yes, thank you very much...I got alot out of it.
<[Tyger Von] S.HALL> very very much!
<[Wild Bill] W.T.COLBURN> Thank you very much for sharing with us tonight,
Lord B.
<[Lord British]> Thanks Scorpia, my pleasure!...as always.
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