The Ultima Underworld 3 Ideas & Concepts

Bart on 28/3/2000 at 08:34

Hi everybody,
Wow I haven't posted on the ttlg forums for so long. Anyhow, yes, Underworld 3 is definatley THE game i'm waiting to be made! Here are some of my 'ideas'

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-The Avatar, The King, and Britannia!
(Basically, we all loved the games because the characters were all tied into a small community and it was with medieval weapons and settings, so thats something that should stay for U3)
-Story!
(Yes ofcourse, but what makes a great story is having an even greater universe to set it in, and Ultima Underworld definately has already set that.)
-Expanded Items etc.
(Ultima Underworld already had superb weapon/item managment...i mean..wat other game could let you choose what kinda of gloves you put on into battle!!

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http://www.ttlg.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif, so maybe they should just enhance everything, like add more magical/unique weapons in the style of Diablo. maybe even build-your-own items. Where after slaying a powerful dragon, you can take a dragon scale and put it onto your breast plate to make it resistant to this or that.)
-Equally Original and Dark Soundtrack
(While searching the dark catacombs looking for trouble, I want to hear the sound effects as well as a dark deep soundtrack in the background...the Midis in the original games made this perfect, at many times just deep trumpets playing low notes with occasional percussion fillins. System Shock 2 did a good job with it's 2nd level, em the one with the keycard at the end of the long crew quarters. The underworlds so far also had the right idea of battle, like when danger was near...the music slowly kicked in and when the battle started...crash bang, the band plays on!)
-Sound Design
(Ok, this is something that should really be worked on. System Shock 2 was a great game, for me anyways, because the sound was so important to the game. I think that U3 would be good if they had unique sound techniques. I'll give you and example of what I mean. New games now have enhanced graphic techniques, like when you fire a rocket down a corridor, the light follows the rocket down the corridor and , if you were moving towards this corridor via a T connection, would would just see a flash of light go by...get me? Well thats what they should do with the sound. Like when a troll roars...it actually bounces through the nearby corridors (like the light) and slowly fades away. Not too easy to explain, but I hope you sort of understand.)
-Multiplayer
(First of all, although I do think Deathmatch would be nice, I think that the COOP aspect would be A LOT better. Also, in multiplayer games there should be a section in the castle (the starting point/like a 'town') where there are like 8 rooms, assuming that it would support up to 8 players in a game. Everytime a new player enters, he is assigned a room and only HE can get into it and take stuff from, like a hotel room

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http://www.ttlg.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif, and ofcourse it should be blocked out by any magic, so those crazy mages can't telekenisis all your magical armour. On a side note, I've always thought it'd be cool to barter with other players

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Well thats all I can think of at the moment. If anyone has actually read this, thank you, and please let me know what ya think

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Btw, check out my game remixes, including several Ultima Underworld and System Shock ones!
(http://www.heechee.net/bart) http://www.heechee.net/bart (http://www.mp3.com/bart_klepka) http://www.mp3.com/bart_klepka

-Bart-

PS: I'd be more than happy to work on the music/sound side of things for Underworld 3 if even need be

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http://www.ttlg.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif I do write that kinda stuff too.

Malygris on 29/3/2000 at 09:31

Things that aren't of paramount importance? Hmm. Interesting question.

Let me put it this way: the quality of a game is defined, in my mind, by the experience that I come away with. There are several games that stand out as having especially significant impact on my gaming life, one of which is Dungeons of Daggorath (the first 1st-person rpg I ever played), and another is Megawars (the first online multiplayer game I ever got into). Both of these games are hideously primitive compared to what we have available today, and yet both left indelible impressions on me. I play games today that are full of flash and bang and whizzo crap that don't leave me anywhere near as involved and satisfied as those two games. Would either of those games satisfy me now? No. (Well, maybe Megawars.) But the point is that gameplay was far, far more important that flashy graphics, sound, or effects.

I'm all for the best possible graphics and sound and so forth that we can get, but not at the expense of the game itself. Compare games like Thief or System Shock 2 to something like Quake 3. From a technological standpoint, Q3 buries them both, and yet which would you rather play? Which is really the greater gaming experience?

Here's another example. I used to play a lot of Mechwarrior 2. Played the hell out of it solo, then got on the net and played in the Netmech Registry league for quite awhile. Got into the beta program for Mercenaries, played that on the net quite a bit too. Loved it. But the most intense and exciting Battletech gaming experience I ever had didn't come from the MW2 series, with all it's bells and whistles; it came from the BTech 3056 MUSE, a completely text-based (and completely primitive, relatively speaking) online game. I can still remember a great number of the battles fought in that game, even though it's been ages since I've played it. I used to come away from a session sweating, and sometimes shaking a bit. It was a truly outstanding game, without any of the flash that's standard in most titles these days.

You're right, chances are that if LGS does UW3, I don't have much to worry about. The original UW, plus Thief, SS2, and others, pretty much lay that fear to rest. But a reputation that's built over the course of several games can be easily damaged by one bomb, especially if the designers (or the corporate types) get the idea that they'll sell better with flash over substance.

So what is important?

Well, story, as I said. Intrigue me. Involve me. Give me something to care about, and make me perfectly happy to sacrifice another half-hour of sleep, just so I can see what happens next.

Depth. Give me options, give me choice. Don't force me to kill everything, and don't make everything kill me. Give me trolls who want wormy-stew. Give me ghouls who want to make music. Don't force me to be a one-man killing machine, but let me be one if I want to.

Environment, and lots of it. The design of the Underworld was a work of art; that single dungeon (huge as it was) was far superior to all the dungeons in Daggerfall combined. The first time I fell into the water and found myself swept away by the current just floored me, and I still remember the chill I got when I discovered the burial ground, with all it's secret doors and enscribed tombstones. I want to explore, and I want to be rewarded for my explorations.

In-game information that means something. Do you have any idea how long I spent looking for the mythical dragon in Daggerfall? Or the lost city in the desert? Or any of a number of other goodies that were alluded to in the various books lying around that game? The frustration I felt when I finally came to realize they weren't there was incredible. Give me a book or a scroll that refers to a lost artifact, or a hidden area, or anything of that nature, and then put it there. Make it hard to find, and make it worth my time to find it.

Character options. Give me lots. Instead of the typical fighter/mage/thief stuff, let me just be a guy, and then let me pick my talents and skills. I want to be who I want to be, and do what I want to do.

Those are a few thoughts. I could probably throw out a few more, but I'm damn near falling unconscious as it is (hence any spelling or grammatical errors you may find), and I need some sleep. I'll put out some more tomorrow, if further inspiration strikes.

And honestly: do you think there's any chance at all that this game will ever get made?

Mr Croft on 15/4/2000 at 21:14

Come on guys, you have to have more ideas & concepts for UW3.

So back to the top you go thread.

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(http://www.tombraider.com/) Mr Croft ~ (http://www.lglass.com/) LGSer Extraordinaire & Founder!
By the way, have you signed the (http://www.ttlg.com/cgi-bin/uw3petition/) UW3 Petition yet?

Steezo on 16/4/2000 at 06:12

I'd have to say the two things I thought made the underworld games were the extensive plot, side quests, inventory and attention to detail, in uw1 it was easy to look around the areas where the Knights of Crux Ansata and the trolls were and beleive that you were walking through a battleground, the broken weapons, the bodies and the message on the Writ of Lourne let you know how far things had fallen apart.

Systatix on 20/4/2000 at 06:12

I'd be worried if the game was made by anyone but Warren Spector. Warren Spector now designs over at Ion Storm, working on Deus Ex now.

-Sys

Dangus on 20/4/2000 at 07:42

UW3 definitely needs storyline, but it really needs to drop the Ultima moniker. Who needs it anyway, UW1 was only vaguely Ultima related and it still was great, even if UW2 was damn good as well.
I would go for something with the Dark engine but I'd rather wait for a complete stand alone game for this to really meet it's potential.

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Denis on 27/4/2000 at 14:00

It's true for me that Thief is UW seed! Story lines and orientation are different but "undefined something" is the same.
In details, Dark Engine is good for this RPG sort (as UW was) implementation.
But what we can do for UW ressurection...
P.S. Sorry for my baaaaaad English.

^Teppic on 27/4/2000 at 18:08

Just throwing in my 2 cents...

I agree with many people here that the important thing (for me) would be for a game similar to the first two Underworlds, but with modern-day sounds/graphics. ie with the same level of immersiveness, attention to detail, atmosphere, plot etc etc as the originals.

Also, has anyone here ever played Roguelikes (eg Nethack or Angband)? They're sort of like Diablo minus the graphics but with infinitely better gameplay in its place.

Imagine a game with all the fabulous qualities of the first two Underworlds, modernised graphics, and the flexibility of Nethack. Now *that* would rock [would be quite a tall order to make though

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Dunbar2 on 28/4/2000 at 03:13

Quote:

Originally posted by Systatix:
I'd be worried if the game was made by anyone but Warren Spector. Warren Spector now designs over at Ion Storm, working on Deus Ex now.

-Sys

Its true Warren Spector participated in UW1, but he came in near the end of the developement cycle and only only added a few touches to it. Also Warren Spector has stated that he doesn't like the fantasy genre anymore if I remember correctly, so it is unlikely that he would participate in UU3. I believe LGS has enough talented people that there is no need for Warren.

Based on the petition and other online forums, I believe that LGS is well aware of our interest in a first person RPG and a third installment of the UU series. Unfortunately there are quite a few companies involved, which really complicates matters, for a UUW3 to become a reality. To circumvent having to deal with EA and Origin, my guess is that LGS may make an RPG set in the Thief universe after Thief 3 comes out. This is my prediction, but I could be entirely wrong.

-Dunbar

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