How to go about customizing Ultima Underworld's controls...

Dark Angel on 20/2/2002 at 23:22

Is there any easy way to do this rather than hacking the .exe? i've looked around the files, i've found nothing that might help me do this..so i'm just assuming the keybinds are hard coded.

PraetorJudis on 21/2/2002 at 00:54

Correct, the key binds are hard coded.

twisty on 21/2/2002 at 06:24

You will get used to the controls soon enough, DA.

Dark Angel on 21/2/2002 at 08:52

Oh i'm used to them after i've been playing with it for a while but then when i go to use Dromed i get the Look Up/Look Down keys mixed up since i'm used to the way UU does it...and vise versa.

Itd just be nice to customize them anyway, such as the Jump key since i always have to look at the keyboard to look for 'J' key when i wish to jump and then thats kind of annoying ..not to meantion an immersion killer.

PraetorJudis on 21/2/2002 at 10:40

If you click your second mouse button while moving, that will also cause you to jump.

Dark Angel on 21/2/2002 at 18:46

Yeah i noticed that by accident...its hard for me to do though, i mean to actually use it for jumping...

So i take it no one else has ever had any desire at all to customize them then?

PraetorJudis on 21/2/2002 at 19:33

Ten years ago, customizable interfaces were unheard of. The user had to modify his/her own behavior!

DCLXVI on 21/2/2002 at 22:40

Quote:

Originally posted by PraetorJudis
Ten years ago, customizable interfaces were unheard of. The user had to modify his/her own behavior!

Not true, Xenon 2 (1989) had customisable keys - god knows why anyone would want to customise something so basic as left/right/up/down to move and space to fire, though. That's the only example I can think of from the top of my head, I'm sure there must be others though.

The UW interface is easy enough though, once you've spent a little time getting into the swing of it.

PraetorJudis on 22/2/2002 at 01:25

You know, I almost qualified my statement with a 'practically' or 'virtually' because I figured someone would pipe up with the one or two games that did have customizable control schemes.

Next time I'll know to follow my impulse! ;)

SteveMcCrea on 9/3/2002 at 23:01

I'd take objection to "practically" too.
Customisable keys go back at least as far as 1983.
A large number of the latter day ZX Spectrum games had customizable keys, eg Chuckie Egg. "+++PRESS R TO REDEFINE KEYS+++" R OKZXP
I'm sure someone could provide Apple II examples too.
Maybe they just go in and out of fashion.

It would be nice to redefine the UW keys - I'm sure a bit of hacking would turn them up.