>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> PCGames Rotunda Forum Event 04/27/94 >>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> Special Guest: Origin CS >>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> CoHost: PC Sylva >>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> Host : CSS Lee >>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> OnlineHost * * * Copyright 1994 * * * America Online, Inc. * * * All Rights Reserved * * * * * * Serving America Online * * * and PC-Link * * * PC Sylva Please join me in welcoming the design team for the latest in Ultima PC Sylva adventures... PC Sylva ..Ultima Viii: Pagan. Welcome, Origin! :) PC Sylva I understand just about everyone is there. Who will lead off? Origin CS Howdy folks! This is from the Ultima 8 team here at Origin Systems, Inc. CSS Lee A whole Team in that one name...amazing... ;) Origin CS Clap clap clap PC Sylva :D CSS Lee :::::::loud raucous applause::::: Origin CS Let me do some introductions.... Origin CS My name is Mike McShaffry, and I was the Director on U8. Origin CS We also have John Watson, who was Creative Director (responsibile for the Origin CS story and game) Origin CS Here as well is Tony Zurovec, Technical Director (programming) Origin CS Also Mark Vittek, primary implementor on the team (puzzlemeister....) Origin CS Also Denis Loubet who was the Art Director... Origin CS and finally Lord British (Richard Garriott) who created the Ultima series. PC Sylva ::wild applause:: CSS Lee Is it tight in that Screen name? ;) Origin CS We are really happy to get the chance to talk first hand (sort of) with the Origin CS actual players Origin CS of Ultimas! Origin CS Being software folks we rarely get first hand feedback.... Origin CS Yes, Lee. It is tight :) Origin CS Anyway.... thanks for being here everybody! Lets get to the questions! CSS Lee We have questions, Sylva.. ;) PC Sylva We do? :o CSS Lee I know that feeling of fear.. ;) PC Sylva ;D Origin CS Fear? CSS Lee We can start if you and the Origin folks are ready. Origin CS What fear? PC Sylva Let's get on with them! #1... Origin CS We are ready! CSS Lee Ok...from RoyalOak....comes this beaut... Question Are there currently any employment opportunities w/Origin ? Origin CS Of course... move to Austin. ;} CSS Lee snicker.. CSS Lee From DarrenC27 comes this.... Question Origin OS I have a 486/33DX 8 Megs and you game VIII runs so SLOW! What is up Question with that? Origin CS What sort of Video Card do you have? Origin CS The Window's excelerator cards don't really support VGA, only SVGA... Origin CS They run extremely slow when attempting to run VGA... Origin CS Other than that, I cannot say. It should run acceptibly well on those Origin CS machines.... Origin CS We have many at Origin. CSS Lee Is there a minimum memory requirement, Origin, that may be getting tight? Origin CS No, eight megs should be perfect. Origin CS I suggest that you call our Customer Service department if you have other Origin CS speed problems. CSS Lee From Roctor... Question First, great job with Ultima VIII. I'ld like to know how the techs feel about Question the Question complaints with the games interface. Will there be a change of the "mouse Question only" scheme in the Question next game? Origin CS First, thanks for the compliment. Origin CS We are currently designing Ultima IX to use more hot-keys for more frequently Origin CS used.... Origin CS functions. Origin CS If you have suggestions, please leave them in the Ultima IX board at keyword Origin CS Origin. Origin CS We read those on a regular basis. CSS Lee In response to your first (employment) answer..Thumper900 comments.... Comment Well Origin I am moving very close to Austin can i get a job CSS Lee Hehehe.... Origin CS This is for anyone in the Austin area that wishes to work at Origin.... Origin CS prepare a resume for Kai Stringer here at Origin. Origin CS Send samples of your work if you have it. It will help. Origin CS And thanks for the interest. CSS Lee RoyalOak is curious...... Question Any word on Ultima 9 or what Richard will try next? Origin CS Who knows what Richard will try... Origin CS Let's let him answer... CSS Lee Hmmm..... CSS Lee Did Richard just come in? CSS Lee ;) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >At this time, the system had a hiccup. Most returned unscathed.> >The Log continues from this point > >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> CSS Lee Hi folks... CSS Lee We've been experiencing a system bug or difficulty. CSS Lee Let's continue now...did you answer that last question, Origin.? Origin CS Not sure, what was the question again? CSS Lee I believe it was from RoyalOak, asking what Richard was going to do next? CSS Lee I asked if he came in...and then the lights went out here. ;) Origin CS We let Richard touch the keyboard and it broke. We'll be typing for him now... CSS Lee Great...whew...hate to lose my spot on the stage again. ;) Origin CS I know what you mean... PC Sylva How embarassing... :X Origin CS Richard wants to make Ultima IX more like traditional, epic Ultimas... Origin CS More game, more story, more world, MORE FUN!!! CSS Lee JoJamieson wants to know..... Question When is The Gardian going to DIE?? Origin CS Now, if we revealed that, what would the Avatar have to do in the next or Origin CS future games? Origin CS :) CSS Lee Michael 814 wants to know.. Question what happened??? Origin CS About what? CSS Lee I think we experienced one of the system bugs, Jo.. CSS Lee We were able to get back in, so let's keep the question pertaining to CSS Lee Ultima..okay? CSS Lee Pardon me while I search for questions relating to our subject. ;) CSS Lee Okay.. CSS Lee Here we go.... CSS Lee From Gray Mouse... Question Question to Richard (When he gets back): Since Origin has grown so large, does Question he feel Question that his creative influence over projects such as Ultima has diminished? Origin CS Yes, it has. But I have complete faith in the people I have selected to carry Origin CS on the games CSS Lee RickLO1 says..... Comment Keep up the great work, Ultima is the ultimate game! Origin CS Thank you from all of us here. CSS Lee LOL...Roctor wants to know... Question Did a gate open when Richard sat down, swallowing all of out into oblivion? Question Richard really Question is powerful huh? CSS Lee LOL.. Origin CS LOL... PC Sylva Well...I'm impressed. :D CSS Lee From PietroLP comes this question... Origin CS Yes, the gate was Richard's bad luck with computers. :} Question Are there any major bugs in U8 that you are aware of? CSS Lee Kind of a loaded question. ;) Origin CS Yes, but there is a patch for all that we know about... Origin CS It is available at Keyword Origin. Origin CS Or from our customer service. CSS Lee From PC RobO....... Question Hi Richard! I read many years ago - in the Apple II days - that you got Question inspiration for Question the original Ultima from being in the S.C.A. Are you still a member? CSS Lee Let someone else type for Richard. ;) CSS Lee Hehehe PC Sylva ::bracing self:: Origin CS Yes, Richard is in and goes to some of the events. Origin CS I have the board. (John Watson) Origin CS Heheheheh... CSS Lee From John2002... Question Will there be a patch in the future to allow the keyboard to be used to Question control the player? Origin CS Not likely. Origin CS Sorry, we don't consider that a bug. But we will consider it for Ultima IX! CSS Lee BJWESTON asks...... Question Great job with Pagan, but out of all the Ultima. I've enjoyed the olders Question (i.e. Ultima Question 3-5). Any plans on using those older Ultima engines again???? Things ran a Question lot quicker back Question then. :) Origin CS Well, if you want to take a giant step backward in presentation and Origin CS technology... Origin CS Sure, but we don't. So I don't think we will any time soon. CSS Lee ToneyMatt asks.... Question I'm interested in whether or not Origin thinks a RPG game is better left Question totally Question open-ended (Arena comes to mind), or its better with good writing, and a good Question story - and the Question player gets at least "somewhat" led along...? Origin CS Random is bad, a well thought out story is good. Origin CS At least in our opinion. CSS Lee DreidD asks... Question is RG here (right now) Origin CS Yes, he is. Right here, hovering over the keyboard. CSS Lee Again, from John2002...... Question What happenened to the pictures for every person in the game? I noticed Ultima Question 8 doesn't Question have close-up pictures of people in the game. Origin CS Portraits will return, we miss them as well. CSS Lee Wilhelm661 asks.... Question Is there going to be an add-on to U8? How about journey to Knarl? A city Question that's mentioned Question in a book at the Tenebrae Library! Origin CS I'm not sure about Knarl, but there most likely will be an add-on disk. CSS Lee From Overturf... Question What will the "interim" game be like?. That is, the U8.5 or the "Savage Question Pagan"? Origin CS No comment, hehehehehe... CSS Lee From MikePUG comes this question for Sylva.. Question PC Sylva: Can we get credit for the down time? PC Sylva I'll check into that for you, Mike. Leave me mail. ;) PC Sylva ::creeping back into dark corner of the room:: CSS Lee DreidD asks.... Question RG: Do you find your games satanic ( I don't , but many people do) CSS Lee Move over Sylva...I'm there too. ;) Origin CS No, but it might seem so to someone who has never played an Ultima. CSS Lee I'd like to add something here. I find it interesting that this kind of CSS Lee game... CSS Lee could be viewed like that, when most of the RPG's I play, seems to favor.. CSS Lee the idea of good conquering evil...how could someone find satanic themes in.. CSS Lee something like that? Origin CS The only people I think who find satanic themes in Ultima... Origin CS don't know enough about the protagonist of the game and really should try Origin CS playing one... Origin CS before assuming it is rife with evil intent. CSS Lee TheRattle asks... Question What are your Ideas about the view of UIX???? Origin CS The view? If you mean the "camera angle", it will most likely be similar to Origin CS Ultima 8. PC Sylva Origin...I understand you have some cluebooks to give away. PC Sylva Want to see if anyone is interested? 0:) Origin CS Yes, we do... :( Origin CS :) Origin CS Sorry. PC Sylva No, Lee... :D CSS Lee ;( CSS Lee Let me see if the dice are working.. CSS Lee Lord knows we could all end up punted again. ;) PC Sylva :o Origin CS Lord British? Origin CS ::wink:: OnlineHost Dice Rolled: 13 29 3 1 11 16 34 33 28 29 36 25 11 15 37 PC Sylva ::snicker:: CSS Lee Yikes.. CSS Lee Everybody still here? OnlineHost Dice Rolled: 24 CSS Lee Number1 CP is a winner... PC Sylva Congrats! CSS Lee How many more do we have to give away? CSS Lee I could do this in one roll. CSS Lee ;) CSS Lee Ok, what's up next in the prize window... CSS Lee Okay.. CSS Lee The next prize is another cluebook. OnlineHost Dice Rolled: 21 CSS Lee MIKEMAN1 is our winner for the Cluebook. PC Sylva ::applause:: CSS Lee Before we give out the remaining prizes.Sylva... CSS Lee Tell the folks what they have to do to receive their prizes. PC Sylva Okay, you lucky winners.... PC Sylva Send your prizes to me at.... CSS Lee Heheh PC Sylva ...er, send your names and address to OSI, via E-mail. :) CSS Lee is that a typo, or wishful thinking Sylva. ;) PC Sylva Typo....moi? 0:) CSS Lee We have three more prizes to give out.. CSS Lee 2 CD's and.....a special prize that I'll let Origin describe...... Origin CS The special prize... Origin CS Well, it's nothing other than the... Origin CS Add-on disk! PC Sylva :o Origin CS The Lost Vale. :) CSS Lee ;;;Yawn...... NOT!!! CSS Lee ;) PC Sylva We can just pretend I'm sitting out there, can't we? :) CSS Lee What are you willing to trade for Sylva? ;) Origin CS Sure, Sylvia. Whatever you say. PC Sylva ;) CSS Lee Okay...let me get those dice rolling... CSS Lee I'm going to roll the next 3 in a row...so if you aren't here...you don't win. CSS Lee Kay? OnlineHost Dice Rolled: 78 208 80 CSS Lee Yikes.. CSS Lee We don't have a 208, CSS Lee Looks like I'll do this one at a time. PC Sylva ::handing loaded dice to Lee:: CSS Lee Thanks Sylva.. OnlineHost Dice Rolled: 23 CSS Lee Michael814...congrats.. OnlineHost Dice Rolled: 140 PC Sylva Congrats, Michael! CSS Lee yikes.. OnlineHost Dice Rolled: 92 CSS Lee This is ridiculous...your dice really are loaded, ain't they Sylva? ;) OnlineHost Dice Rolled: 103 PC Sylva Wow...that's my number! CSS Lee Heheh OnlineHost Dice Rolled: 5 CSS Lee Congrats...CDT BUCK.. OnlineHost Dice Rolled: 135 OnlineHost Dice Rolled: 30 CSS Lee SEgolf...congrats... CSS Lee That should be all 3... Origin CS Congratulations to the winners! Origin CS We'll get those things off as soon as we get them. CSS Lee Or did I miscount, Sylva? CSS Lee From Kerensky... Question Why was the sunken ship eliminated? Origin CS Just not accessible from the game. The Add-on must be something that touches Origin CS the world. Origin CS No ship travel in Pagan, no ship travel in The Lost Vale. Sorry. CSS Lee Number1 CP asks... Question Hi Richard! Chris from Columbus here! Have orders for Pagan exceeded Question estimates? My local Question retailers say it's selling great. Why did EA fake the Pagan Cover in their Question new catalog? What Question are they afraid of... Controversey Sells! Origin CS Hi Chris. Pagan is selling very well, domestically and european. Origin CS And we "faked" the cover because the lead times were too far in advance for Origin CS the cover. Origin CS Or the real cover anyway. CSS Lee ToneyMatt asks.... Question Hmmm.. how about any new technology they plan to support? (Continued support Question for Question Logitech's 3D controller - REAL 16-bit sound samples, etc.) Origin CS New technology... Origin CS Let's see... possibly super-vga, other than that, pretty much the same Origin CS requirements... Origin CS Oh, and eight megs required. CSS Lee HardWired2 asks a hard hitting question.... Question What was the reasoning behind switching from a very nice and popular (if the Question sales of Question U7/7.5 are an indication) interface to the one used in U8? Origin CS Well, Ultima 3 and 4 sold perfectly well also... Origin CS That doesn't mean we get to stand still technologically. Origin CS If we let the technology rest, believe me, others won't. CSS Lee Nykk asks...keeping in character.... Question How come the Avatar steals and kills friends in UVIII???? This is so against Question what being Question the Avatar is about.... Origin CS Right. It sets up the next game. (Intentionally obtuse) Origin CS ;) CSS Lee WillWise asks.. Question Will Origin ever move away from the Avatar concept? I think it destroys the Question mystique of Question the game to start out as a hero rather than to work one's way up from Question obscurity as in the Question original games. Origin CS Possibly. With time, and creativity, anything might happen. CSS Lee JoJamieson on hardware capability.... Question If Ultima VIII requires a 486/33 Minumum, then the user probably has a big Question hard drive. Question Why not make the game really big and very detailed and more interesting? Origin CS Ultima IX is going to be a CD game. It should be big enough. (600 megs or so) CSS Lee Roctor asks.. Question Mike McShaffry:Why was Pagan smaller compared to the past Ultima's? Was it to Question give quality Question over quantity? Though quality has never been missing. So why a smaller game? Origin CS Ultima VIII was not, in actuality, a much smaller world. The detail was still Origin CS there... Origin CS But if you think not... just wait for Ultima IX. It's going to blow you away. Origin CS Epic, think big and in depth. CSS Lee CarolB5750 asks. Question So what was the deal with the wild goose chase to find the tomb of what's his Question name? Origin CS Tomb of Moriens? Origin CS That was where Vividos lived. Remember? PC Sylva That's the one. Origin CS It's right where we put it. CSS Lee From Bishop Q...... Question in part 6 of ultima there was a character named blaine that could join your Question party. what Question happened to him? Origin CS He got lost in Britannia somewhere. Perhaps he'll return some day. Who knows? CSS Lee From ToneyMatt... Question I'd like to know how MUCH time Origin is putting into their Sega/Genesis/Etc. Question development Question compared to the PC stuff (I notice they ARE advertising heavily on the Sega Question stuff) Origin CS We actually don't have any Sega/Genisis/Etc. They are not really supported at Origin CS Origin. Origin CS EA itself takes care of that market wonderfully well. CSS Lee HardWired2 with a question of existence.... Question Everyone's dying to know: Does Moriens even EXIST in the current version of Question Ultima 8? Origin CS Well, yes... Origin CS As an old, moldering corpse. CSS Lee From Grey Mouse...... Question About plot; judging from the last few Ultimas, plotline is starting to play Question second fiddle Question to other aspects such as graphics. Will this continue, or will the next Ultima Question be as epic as the Question classics we have come to love? CSS Lee What a way to make a reappearance. ;) Origin CS Ultima IX is going to be a return to epic story and game quality.... Origin CS We want to keep the graphic quality high, but will not sacrifice the game Origin CS quality of... Origin CS Ultima IX. Origin CS And thanks for all the input on the boards... (Personal note from John) CSS Lee From RickL01...... Question The Ultima and Underworld games have gone through a lot of transitions, the Question most recent Question U8 doesn't seem to use a lot of the new techniques, for instance the map, why Question not? Origin CS The map is an interesting concept. Origin CS We just might support it in the next Ultima. CSS Lee From Michael814.... Question O.k. a real question, are they bringing back some kind of party system or will Question U9 be Question single character(the Avatar) again? Origin CS Ultima IX will not have a party in the old-style (ie. extended inventory)... Origin CS But it might have thinking, eating, sleeping, fighting followers. How about Origin CS that? CSS Lee DreidD asks... Question Every one has always wanted to know where Morian's birthplace is, well your Question the expert so Question where is it??? Origin CS Moriens, I take it. Origin CS He was born and raised in Tenebrae. He was the first Necromancer. CSS Lee Folks...if you haven't had your questions answered yet..hang on.. CSS Lee we're going for a marathon answering session. ;) CSS Lee We're here till 11:00 p.m. EDT...10:00 Central....9:00 Pacific. CSS Lee From JoJamieson.... PC Sylva Er....9:00 Mountain. :) Question Are you ever going to have another Ultima with commands you have to type in, Question like Ultima Question 5? I liked that better, because it got me alot more into the game. Origin CS Not likely, but we have been giving a lot of thought to that very subject. Origin CS If we can find a way, we'll do it. CSS Lee From ToneyMatt.... Question In their newer games, are they going to make them MORE friendly to other Question Memory Managers Origin CS Yes, we are writing in protected mode, using a dos extender... Origin CS So, anyone who uses memory managers that are incompatible will have problems. Origin CS But let me say, many other game companies are doing the same. Origin CS So get used to it. It's the only way we can bring you this quality of game. PC Sylva I'm using 386Max and haven't had a problem (yet) with these DOS extenders. PC Sylva That doesn't help the QEMM users, but. . :X Origin CS I know, QEMM wants all the memory...\ PC Sylva I have a question about the Avatar in the next game... Origin CS Shoot. PC Sylva Any chance we'll see a choice in appearance again? I rather miss.... PC Sylva ...playing a female. Origin CS Most likely so. If there is, there will be gender choice, as well as race Origin CS choice. Origin CS If not, same as Pagan. Sorry. CSS Lee From BrettE1..... Question Richard, will you please consider releasing an Ultima-style world builder? It Question would make Question you a fortune! Use of the U6 engine would be great, but I would even settle Question for U5! Origin CS I am sorry, but these are proprietary peices of software that cannot leave Origin CS Ultima. CSS Lee From McD Avies.... Question Any possibility for a Ultima ACS (adventure construction set)? I have Question Unlimited Question Adventures, and play it more than Pagan (sorry!) and I think an ACS would be Question great! Since U7 was Question so large, it would probably only be feasable to use the U6 engine.::dreaming: Origin CS Hiya McD. Origin CS Thanks for all the input, but I believe we just answered that question. CSS Lee From MIKEMAN 1.... Question Ultima made Origin. Is production of Ultimas Origin's primary concern? Origin CS Not at all. Just a strong concern. Origin CS We produce the Commander line, as well as the Interactive Movie series,yet to Origin CS be released. CSS Lee From RickL01.... Question Can we expect to see Iolo and the other friends of the Avatar in future games? Origin CS Who knows? Possibly. I really can't say at this point, and would you want me Origin CS to? CSS Lee From CDT BUCK one of our winner's by the way...comes this question... Question pardon me for being so misinformed but I really don't know much about Ultima Question if its not to Question disturbing to the meeting could you give me a breif rundown on the Question storyline(s) Origin CS Ummmmm.... CSS Lee ouch.. ;) Origin CS I don't think that would be a good idea. Go to keyword Origin and look around. CSS Lee Just keep Richard from that Keyboard. No first person narrative. ;) Origin CS There's information there. CSS Lee LOL CSS Lee From Michael814.... Question Was that really Arcadion form U7&7.5 in Sorcerer's tower, and if so will we Question see him again? Origin CS Yes, it was, and perhaps. That's all I can say at this point. CSS Lee From Lazarus5.... Question Hi. LOVE the Ultimas; stuck in U7 II now! Anyway, I played U1 back in 1980 Question or so, and Question have heard it's been revised. True? And how? Origin CS Not true. Sorry. CSS Lee From John2002.... Question The perspective is also a problem. Have you considered having different Question viewing angles or Question something? Also, what happened to night and day? What about not being able to Question see around corners? Question All of this was in Ultima V. Origin CS We have considered soooooo many angles... Origin CS But this one is the best for our needs. Origin CS Night and day just might return. Origin CS Corners. Now I never had a problem with that. CSS Lee As an aside...Origin.. Origin CS Yes? CSS Lee Does the view angle, make the programming more difficult? Origin CS That depends. Origin CS The view of older Ultima's was rather odd, it looked like everyone was Origin CS leaning. Origin CS And before that, they were just iconic tiles. Origin CS This, we believe, is the most realistic view we can use. CSS Lee I was curious, because I notice on other games I've played, the.. CSS Lee switch between difficult to obtain views..and night and day switches.. CSS Lee seems to send my HD screaming. ;) Origin CS Well, anytime you change views, you are changing the entire screen. Lotsa Origin CS data. Origin CS That has a tendancy to make the HD speak up. CSS Lee From MikePUG... Question What is the meaning of the endgame? Or are we supposed to "figure it out for Question ourselves"? Origin CS Yes. Origin CS No. Origin CS Well, it's ambiguous. Origin CS For a reason. But we won't tell you. Origin CS ;) PC Sylva ::nuts:: CSS Lee LOL CSS Lee From ToneyMatt.... Question Is it true that newer Ultima's are gonna feature an Ultima Underworld Question pespective - and if Question so, is Looking Glass going to write it?? Origin CS They might, in far future, but Looking Glass won't write it. We will. CSS Lee Michael814 asks... Question What are you going to do about revising the paper doll and inventory system? Origin CS Better art for paper doll with more in depth placement. Origin CS Inventory just about the same. It serves the purpose fairly well, we think. Origin CS There might be some revisement, though. CSS Lee From Zonker1....... Question I've heard a complaint that there are too many places where precise mouse Question movement and Question button pressing, (i.e. jumping over firepits), decide the fate of the Avatar. Question This merely Question encourages repeatedly saving the game and then re-loading. Was that intended? Origin CS No. Not really. Origin CS Just meant as a challenge. Origin CS In future, there will be intellectual puzzles around all physical puzzles. CSS Lee From RickL01..... Question Richard, I have tried all most all of Origins games but found the Privateer Question game to be the Question most frustrating, any hope for an "easier" version of Privateer or that style? Origin CS I really couldn't tell you. Perhaps we should have a Privateer conference. CSS Lee From ToneyMatt..... Question Hmmm.. just curious - what is the ACTUAL frame-rate that Origin thinks should Question be achieved Question with the vast majority of 486s and U8? Origin CS Well.... we would like to see at least 25. Origin CS This can happen on 486DX 66's Origin CS Slower machines will be slower, of course. CSS Lee From Michael814.... Question Any comments about what the magic system will be like for U9? Origin CS Yes, but I'm not going to say anything about it, yet. Origin CS CSS Lee Tease..; ) Origin CS I know. CSS Lee From Roctor..... Question Will there ever be a chance to buy autographed Ultima's as was the case with Question Ultima VI? Origin CS I'm not sure, Ultima VI was a tenth year anniversary for Ultima. Origin CS I think Richard might find another special occasion to offer that deluxe Origin CS version. CSS Lee ANNATAR 1 asks..... Question Is Ultima X still scheduled to be a VR format? Origin CS Wait a minute! Who said that? That's just a possibility. Origin CS It's only a little way off in the future, guys. Origin CS ::sarcasm drips:: CSS Lee From John2002..... Question I cannot find any bug patches for Ultima VIII on America Online. Where are Question they? Origin CS Actually, I was incorrect in telling you that there were patches online. Origin CS The patch utility is shipped with the game. Call customer support for help... CSS Lee From RickL01..... Question Where did the idea of Lord British come from? And Britania? Origin CS Lord British came up in paper games, a character name. Origin CS Richard was born in Britain, so he gave that name to his world. CSS Lee From LorryK..... Origin CS Take the east road, from East Tenebrae. Origin CS It'll take you right there. CSS Lee From PCC Brig..... Question Ultimas 4-7 shared a certain feeling of "reality" -- Britannia had a great Question medieval flavor Question to it, and the "suspension of disbelief" was excellent. That was utterly Question absent from U8. :( Question Will you attempt to bring back the "We create worlds" feeling in U9? Origin CS I can't agree with that assessment of the games. Origin CS I feel that Ultima VIII presented more realism than Ultima VII. Origin CS So, I cannot truly adress that question. CSS Lee From one of our prize winners.....SEgolf asks.... Question Why the increased emphasis on action and the lessened emphasis on interaction Question and Question storyline? Origin CS This has been a subject that has weighed heavily on our minds. Origin CS Any problem that you find in Pagan's story, if you disliked the size or Origin CS content... Origin CS Will be fixed with the next Ultima. Origin CS It will be EPIC. I don't know how else I can say that. :) CSS Lee From TheRattler...... Question Richard, What was PAGAN to you?? Did it come out they way you wanted it??? Origin CS Yes, I liked the game very much. I enjoyed the Hall of the Mountain King Origin CS especially. Origin CS But the cut scenes, such as the Execution, and the Pyros Scene, and the Change Origin CS in Rule... Origin CS Exemplified the kind of cinematic scenes that I wish to incorporate into Origin CS UItimas. CSS Lee From RickL01.... Question What are the new interactive games supposed to be like? Origin CS Bio Forge is the first installment. I can't tell you very much about it. Origin CS Perhaps a Bio Forge conference is in order. CSS Lee From Kerensky... Question Was there ever anything behind the door in the cave with the hammer of Question strength? Origin CS That is the place where the Add-in disk takes off... Origin CS Have fun if you get it. Origin CS :) PC Sylva IF? CSS Lee I've got a question that I'll have to answer. Origin CS When? CSS Lee From Zonker1... PC Sylva Better. ;) Question I wish someone was actually reading these comments, but I was number 5 when Question the 5 was Question rolled, and you gave the prize to someone in row 5, which would be numbered Question somewhere around 35 Question or 40. The reasoning for this was... what? CSS Lee Okay...Zonker..it works like this. CSS Lee I have the ability to call up all screen names. Listed alphabetically. CSS Lee The number that comes up...chooses those in the alphabetic order. CSS Lee Regardless what you see...my list is what the winner is chosen by. CSS Lee From John2002... Question Origin, Power Macintosh support? Origin CS Sorry, but alas, no. CSS Lee From HardWired2... Question If you knew where Moriens is all this time, why were we given "He's really not Question around, go Question on with the quest" answers by every OSI Rep? Origin CS I was speaking about Moriens in fictional terms. Moriens is not really in the Origin CS game. CSS Lee From Number1 CP....... Question Ultima IX (3DO?) Origin CS Not yet, but perhaps in time. It's gonna be on the PC-CD first. CSS Lee From John2002.... Question What is Ultima IX's subtitle? When will it be out? What about the Underworld Question series? Origin CS Ultima IX: Ascension. You can expect a similar developement time to Pagan for Origin CS Ascension. Origin CS About Underworld, there are no plans to further this series at this time. Origin CS But there may be as time goes by. CSS Lee From Roctor... ;).........(a prize suggestion.)...... Comment Lets give away Richards car!!! CSS Lee LOL.. Origin CS Which one? CSS Lee Which one can he spare? CSS Lee Heheh PC Sylva ::snicker:: Origin CS The one that just had the clutch go out? CSS Lee From RyanL..... Question Whenis the next UltimaUnderworld planned to come out? Origin CS See above. CSS Lee From RickL01... Question Any chance for another humorous game like the Savage Kingdom? Origin CS Savage Empire? Origin CS Hmmmm... Origin CS We'll be doing some Ultima technology spin-offs, but not in Ultima worlds. CSS Lee From RyanL... Question What is the planned style of interface for the new Interactive Movie Part one Question CD-ROM game. Origin CS Mouse and keyboard combination. CSS Lee From HardWired2.... Question If you know where Morien's Birthplace is (Or where ever it is Vividos sends Question you) please Question tell us EXACTLY where it is? Origin CS What is this obsession with Moriens? Anyway... Origin CS No, I don't know any other place than Tenebrae. Origin CS I think you have stumbled upon a red herring. CSS Lee From ANNATAR 1.... Question What ever happened to Warren Spector? Origin CS He's still here. Origin CS He's extremely active as a Producer at Origin. CSS Lee From Roctor... Question Thank you for trashing the Voodoo guys. CSS Lee From RyanL.... Origin CS Thanks. Voodoo is gone for good. But it did serve it's purpose. Question With the U7 on CD pak, How come you have to install the entire game to play? Question Why not just Question part of the game and leave the maps and other stuff on the CD? CSS Lee Interesting thought.. Origin CS Because the game wasn't designed to do that. It was basically shovel-ware. Origin CS Sorry.