It’s two simultaneous posts today as yesterdays got left on a memory stick in my office.

The first thing I find today is a chest full of every type of potion. Hiding under one of them is a key – there appears to be a tradition of hiding keys under things in Pagan.

Its not long before I find a locked door to use the key on – finding the correct key in this mess takes a little while.

I find a long corridor with skeleton guards past the door – this has to be the hall of the mountain king.

Sure enough, Lithos appears when I get to the end. He has full speech with the speech pack but the avatar is stuck with text which makes for a strange sort of conversation. The acting is nothing great as ever but it adds a bit more gravitas to the occasion. The titan comes across as being incredibly arrogant and not worth worshiping but my avatar is very polite and bows to him for all that. The titan wants Lothian to serve him in death and I’m given the task of interring the body to complete my apprenticeship.

Before I head back to the surface, I stick around to see if there is anything left to explore. I’m unable to get back across the platforms I had to jump across to get here though so I’m stuck using my recall spell to return to Tenebrae. I’m sure its highly preferable to the pre-patch version but the jumping still doesn’t always work correctly and I end up missing my target.

First job here is to get that keyring that Natreg told me about. Its in a barrel at the start of the game – at the time I guess I was distracted by the beheading that was going on.

I head back to Vividos. He gives me a new key which I can use to inter the body and gives me fairly unhelpful directions to find it. This new key will open more doors in the catacombs – I’ve seen enough of the catacombs and was hoping I could stay away from them.

The body turns out to be just outside the building I was in but I don’t discover this until I’ve walked round the cemetary a couple of times. It would help if it wasn’t half hidden behind the scenery. I’m not entirely happy about making the body a slave to the titan like this but I suppose Lothian knew what she was doing and signed up for this. I use my new key on her and the ground swallows her up and the titan proclaims that he is happy with the offering.

I return with the news and I’m now officialy Scion. Since I now know what happens to Scion’s in the long run this is further incentive for getting off of Pagan and back to Britannia but I must be safe for a good few years yet.

My next task, its back to the catacombs to make a pilgrimage to the birthplace of Moriens. I’m pretty sure I’ve already seen this in my wanderings through there previously.

Sure enough I find the plaque. This is definitely the right place. I use my key on the door.

Through here is a tomb with a load of sparkles on it – these don’t appear to do anything but look significant.

Next door is a body with a restore to sight scroll which makes hidden things visible. I use it to see what will happen and a chest appears absolutely stuffed with goodies. I’ve got a few of these scrolls which makes me wonder if I should have been using them at the time.

I find a book on a skeleton which looks highly significant. There haven’t been a lot of books so far in the game and this stands out in the endless dungeon-like catacombs. It describes the Zealan gods before the titans became powerful. It also mentions using a ceremonial disc to talk to the gods – I’m actually carrying one of these already which I picked up from Mythrans house. It was described as a ceremonial shield and I was hoping to be able to use it as a shield but its just been cluttering up my backpack every since.

The next area of note is a chest surrounded by levers. Pulling the levers doesn’t achieve anything – I have to move the skull candle by each lever then pulling one opens up the fence around the chest. In the chest is a key which I use on the door to the north.

There isn’t a lot in this new area but I do find something called the skull of quakes. I don’t know what it is or what it does but anything with a title like that has to be important so I take it with me.

Finding nothing else to do here, I head back for a fenced area I saw earlier. This is a maze of sorts with pressure plates that open/close bits of the fence. The trick here is to climb upto the raised area and jump off the end of it to bypass the last parts of the maze.

This gets me to a tomb with a suspicious looking area of earth and the conveniently placed ingredients for an open ground spell. Sure enough casting the spell opens up the ground allowing me to drop to the area below.

Down in this new area I see another of those ceremonial shields out of reach behind a load of stalactites. I can’t get through here so I head the other way.

I reach a strange area with a floating platform covered in marbles. I mess around here throwing marbles up onto the platform for a while with nothing happening. There seems to be a primitive physics system in the game so you can knock marbles into each other and they roll off. This isn’t getting me anywhere until I notice a platform of the far side of the fence which I can throw a ball onto to open it up.

I head north and jump over this beam to avoid damage.

I next have to complete one of those tiresome ‘tower of Babel’ type puzzles. These things are more of an exercise in patience than anything else.

I have to walk on pressure plates. Walking on the one in front of a block lowers its smallest platform, walking on another raises it again. After messing around with this for a few minutes I move it to the left hand side. Nothing happens – apparently I was supposed to move it to the middle….

A few more minutes later and I’ve moved it to the middle. A door opens at the top and I run up….

…straight into a beam which kills me off instantly.

I reload and complete the babel puzzle yet again and this time cast stone flesh before I run through the beam. I reach what looks like an important location and use a couple of keys I found earlier to get in.

This room has 3 statues of the Zealan gods. I take the hint from the book I read earlier and drop the shield on the altar. The old gods all speak to me (in full speech again) telling me to go into the next room and get a blackrock pyramid from the spirit in there.

The door is locked but I’m carrying an open portal scroll I picked up somewhere which opens it up. I have to defeat the ghost before I can steal his blackrock pyramid. I consider mixing up a spell for this but that would mean trying to find the ingredients in my backpack so I hack at it with my axe which does the trick.

I get the blackrock pyramid from a chest behind the throne along with a few other goodies. When I go back outside the statues give me a new quest. I have to find the other titans, steal there powers and become a new titan myself of a fifth element – Ether. How or where I do this I don’t know but there are areas of the catacombs I haven’t explored yet.

Ultima 8 continues to annoy me – completing the tower of babel thing 3 times with this clunky interface was painful. I seem to be spending nearly all my time in a never ending dungeon. Whatever happened to exploring the towns/world and talking to everyone? The population of Pagan appears to be tiny. Tenebrae was a decent size – I realised this was the games only town but I expected to see some smaller settlements elsewhere. The map that comes with the game appears to be pointless and has just been included purely because Ultima’s have always had cloth maps.

Playing around with the marble puzzle emphasised just how difficult it can be to pick an item up. The engine is very fussy about being close to the object but if I get too near I’m assumed to be standing on it and I can’t pick it up either. If a marble rolls infront of a wall and out of sight then its lost forever – there needs to be some sort of function where walls vanish if they obstruct the view.

1994 really hasn’t been the best year for Origin games all round but I have got System Shock and Wing Commander 3 still to come which should be something of a redemption when I get there. My favorite game of the year so far has been Pacific Strike. It was by no means great – more of a rehash of old themes using existing technology but it was fun once it got going. About 1/3 of Origins games came out inside this 93/94 period and there is definitely evidence that they were turning out too many to maintain high quality levels.

I went into Ultima 8 expecting it to be a bit of a departure from the rest of the series but otherwise a decent game. I suppose if I was into dungeon crawls I’d be enjoying it more although the interface would still be a problem. The storyline and dialog isn’t bad but its so slow at coming between long dungeon stretches. I’m desperately looking for a change in the gameplay now when I start looking for my next titan. I can’t cope with more maze-like dungeons, dodgy puzzles/key hunts and platform jumping. I’ll be making liberal use of walkthroughs otherwise to speed through as quick as possible.

Necromancer #3 is just down the corridor with all the lightning. He gives me a spell to call the dead to help me out in battle. I never used this – I expect it summons a few ghouls.

While searching for the next one I find a shield, something I’ve been wanting for a long time.

The next spell I’m taught by necromancer #4 is grant peace. I think I can use this to kill ghosts and skeletons but its usually easier to avoid combat in this game (so far) and I haven’t used it yet either.

Finding the 5th necromancer proves to be a bit harder. It’s much further to go for one thing but a lot of the areas I have to pass through spit fireballs at me and I can’t stand still for any time at all without being hit.

To the south I find some magic armour – guarded by a pit trap. These pit traps are a constant annoyance – they are completely invisible and walking on them means instant death as you fall through the floor to your death. Accidently running into water is also instant death and the monsters can hack me to pieces in no time if I get in the wrong position. I’ve never died so much in an Ultima and I’m having to save constantly – this game really needs a quick save button for that reason.

I’m feeling a bit better equipped with my magic armour now – a helmet and gauntlets would be nice to complete the set but I should be better able to cope with combat. I need a longer weapon more than anything else – the range on this dagger is a bit pathetic.

Heading West from where I got the armour gets me to a lava filled area. Jumping onto a particular platform here teleports me to another new map.

I find necromancer #5. This one teachs me an invulnerability spell of sorts – now this sounds useful. The snag is that I’m only able to use it once….

It doesn’t take long to find where I’m supposed to use it. I arrive at a corridor with no way through other than straight into the path of a fireball spitting trap.

My new spell works and I get through unscathed.

There is something that I’m guessing is a troll on the other side. I’d usually run away but since my spell hasn’t worn off yet I take him out with my dagger. This takes quite a lot of hits but I get there in the end. There isn’t any great reward for this.

In fact the way the stats work in U8, there is no reward for combat at all. My three stats are increased by swinging my weapon, running/jumping, and casting spells as far. It makes no difference whether I’m actually achieving anything though so I could just sit there clicking my mouse for half an hour striking nothing and presumably max out my strength stat. I really don’t like this system at all – the levelling in other Ultima’s opened up new spells as you progressed and rewarded combat. Here I’m best off running away and if I ever need to up mystats for some reason I’ll just click away and increase them.

I find necromancer #6 who teaches me the create golem spell. He tells me that I can use this spell to reach the hall of the mountain king and visit Lithos and that I can need to go to Stone Cove via the catacombs.

Visiting Lithos sounds like the way to go although I’m a bit unsure as to where I’m going exactly. I follow the steps up to the right of the final necromancer and this gets me back into a catacomb like level. From here I head a long way SW to this area with a few traps and a lever I need to pull.

This area stumps me for a while. Stalactites keep falling from the ceiling and either blocking me in the area with the lever or outside it. Pulling the lever opens up the metal gate but this is no use if I can’t get to it once its open. After reloading 4 or 5 times I manage to get the stalactites to fall in an area that doesn’t block me. I can’t say I’m too impressed with this ‘puzzle’.

Getting through the now open gate allows me access to a new area which I’m hoping is Stone Cove. I head off to the South exploring and discover an island over a load of floating platforms. This is hidden so I’m looking for something good here but don’t find anything.

I then notice another larger island off to the west of this one. Getting here is a complete pain. I have to jump across more platforms but they are guarded by skeletons. When I get near they attack – a single hit knocks me into the water and I die instantly. Eventually after a load of attempts the skeleton commits suicide in the water before I get to it and I gain access.

The island has a new magic weapon – an axe this time. I try it out on the skeleton ontop of the raised area and it dies in about 4 hits. This is a huge improvement and should make life a lot easier.

I have to turn round and head back over the platforms from here. Near where I entered back to the North I discover a set of double doors. I can’t open them but there is a highly suspicious patch of earth just below. I cast my new create golem spell on the earth.

My golem springs into life – I can actually give it orders to follow or attack and the like. I order it to open the doors which it does but its too big to follow me through into the next area.

Aside from a hostile golem which I avoid, I find an enclosed area with a throne. The lever doesn’t open the gate but I manage to climb over the wall and take a look around. All I find is a lever by the throne which I pull. I’m instantly attacked by a load of ghouls but this lever doesn’t appear to achieve anything else.

I head back to the south and a bridge appears – I’m sure this wasn’t here before which must be where the lever comes in. This leads into an area with floating platforms that fade in an out in true platform game style. with the patched game this is easy – I expect it wouldn’t have been in the original.

My next challenge is an area full of forcefields – my attempt to get a screenshot here wasn’t the best but they flash blue very briefly when I walk into them. The idea of this area is to throw mushrooms to see where the forcefields are and work through them maze style. I could have done this but the easy option seems to be to just run through, take the damage and then sleep to recover as needed.

I do this and reach the other end in no time. There is a chest with a key and a few gems. One of the gems appears to protect me from the force fields so that I can just run straight back through them. I passed a locked door just below the maze and the key opens this.

I expect I must be getting somewhere near to finding Lichos now but I’ve no way of knowing for sure. I’m starting to collect a few keys now and would like to collect that keyring Natreg mentioned but I’ll wait until I run out of things to do here, or find a recall pad rather than retracing my steps.

There are aspects of this game that are starting to annoy me a bit. I find myself having to save constantly – this isn’t such a big thing although it would be nice not to have to go through a menu to do this. Every time I save the guardian comes up with one of about 4 phrases and this is getting on my nerves. The ridiculously small rucksack is worse still – I can never find anything. I don’t want to have to shuffle around 60 little icons every time I have to use an item.

Only being able to move in diagonal lines can be a problem, I had one area in a cave where I had to move down a narrow corridor and I just couldn’t get the avatar to go down it. This isn’t helped by the isometric view blocking my view of what I’m doing some of the time. I’ve found the scenery climbing to be really temperamental – usually it doesn’t work and I have to get into a specific position or try over and over before my avatar will climb up a ledge. More than anything, the endless deaths and reloading are bugging me – things like the pit traps or being knocked into the water a dozen times by the same skeleton with the only way through being to wait for it to commit suicide.

I said yesterday that Ultima 8 was growing on me but right now its going the other way again. There hasn’t been any point in this game yet when I’ve really felt compelled to carry on with it. I’m persevering purely because its now the only game in the series I’ve not finished + for the benefit of this blog. It isn’t bad – I’m just indifferent to it. I could make a case for each game in the series being a classic up to this point even including the spin-offs. Things are going to have to pick up enormously if U8 is to live up to those standards.

I think today was the day when I finally got into this game. There was no specific reason for this, it just takes me a while with each new Ultima for some reason. It’s why I never got round to playing them all. 

I headed off looking for the 2 reagents. I’ve been given quite clear instructions on where to look. I start out looking around the east road map for executioners hood. I find a couple of mirror images of myself shuffling at me like something out of an asian horror movie.

These turn out to be changlings. When I hit them I usually knock them down and they transform into their true shape. They are a lot less dangerous in this form.

In the NE of the area I find what I’m looking for in a small pit full of these changlings. I’ve not talked about the new combat system yet. There isnt a lot to say. As far as I can tell it involves clicking on the enemy as fast as possible. I’d swear that I’m far more likely to hit in some directions than others and that I strike faster when I’m aiming directly up or down. Hitting the enemy sends them reeling back, giving me a chance to strike again and stop them hitting me.
Because of this system, once I’ve got a hit in I tend not to take any more damage. The dangerous stage is at the start. I’m not very impressed with the combat – it’s a bit arcadey but without introducing a skill element. I prefer the system used in every Ultima game so far except for Ultima 5 and even that had a better system with the problem stemming from combat being too slow/frequent.

There doesn’t seem to be any levelling up that I’ve noticed. Some of my stats have improved through combat by the end of this days session but I’ve no visible measure of experience points or anything like that. It appears that my stats will just slowly increase throught the game through combat without me having to train or level up.

The other reagent I need is outside a burned out house in west Tenebrae. There is a ghost guarding this and I don’t attempt to take that on at this point but just grab the sticks and scarper.

I take my reagents back and I’m now an apprentice. I’m given a key which I can use to cast spells and given my next task which is to learn spells from the long dead necromancers who invented them.

I’m told to gather the reagents in the library and read the books to learn my first few spells. I then need to go to a building north of the cemetery and use one of my new spells to open up the wall and enter the catacombs.

I follow these instructions to the letter. I have to avoid another ghost but make it through to the wall.

The new spellcasting system is a bit strange. I have to place the appropriate reagents in a bag, close it and then use a caretakers key on the bag. When I reopen the bag there is a little icon representing the spell. Using this casts the spell and the icon then disappears. This system is a bit unwieldy but I guess it might not be the same one used for all the different types of magic. I mean if I get offensive fireball spells and the like I don’t want to have to put reagents into a bag one at a time like this in the middle of combat. I suppose I could prepare them in advance. I’m not certain right now if I can double the reagents and get double the spell icons.

Something else I’ve not mentioned yet is the new inventory system. It’s very much the same as Serpent Isles actually  with wearable items appearing on my avatar and everything else going into my backpack. Its been simplified from U7 with fewer slots available.The new backpack is small and finding things is a pain in the neck. Things stay where you put them which is good but  why did Origin make the thing so small. Why not have a backpack that fills the screen?

My spell works and opens up the wall allowing me access into the catacombs.

The catacombs are huge and full of skeletons which I attempt to ignore. I’m just about strong enough to beat them but they reanimate after you kill them so it doesn’t get me anywhere. I find a lever which flips my screen upside down – I’ve not seen this trick since Prince of Persia – even my mouse movements are reversed. I end up reloading when I’m bashed to death by a skeleton that catches me up after I spend too long trying to reverse the lever.

Further in the level, by grabbing hold of a ledge, just before the floor collapses from under me I get to a chest containing my first bit of armour in the game (magic leggings).  I then head for the hole in the floor and drop down a level.

This level is quite dangerous with collapsing ceilings and traps of varying sorts. I manage to make it through to my first necromancer and cast death speak on him. The reason I’m here is to attempt to learn spells from the necromancers who created them – its an initiation test of sorts before I can become a true necromancer. He gives me a spell which allows me to pretend to be dead. I will need this to reach the next necromancer – he also mentions that some stalactites which were blocking my way before will now be gone.

I find the area with the ex-stalactites. On the far side its guarded by 3 big red things. I’m no doubt supposed to use my new spell here but that would be far too much hassle and I just run round them.  My attempt here to capture a screenshot of them didn’t go all that well and I just about got a couple of feet in the picture.

The next necromancer gives me a stone flesh spell.

This time I do need the new spell as I run down a corridor with lightning everywhere.

Thats where I stopped for today – I’ll carry on seeking out necromancers next.

I’m enjoying the game now but it isn’t feeling like an Ultima. To some extent Serpent Isle didn’t either – this has carried on moving in the same direction and got a bit further away from the roots of the series. I hear the guardians voice piping in more than any other game (usually with the same few phrases) but this seems a bit forced as if Origin knew that this game didn’t have a strong link to the rest of the series. I don’t think its the story so much – Martian Dreams was every inch an Ultima in a strange setting with no real ties to Britannia. It’s something to do with the nature of the gameplay. Ultima’s were very much games of exploration and discovery with quests there in the background to push you along. The quests seem to have taken over more and more as the series has gone on.

Its been a while but I’m back again and ready to pick up where I left off on Ultima 8. Between flu, office parties and getting stuff sorted out for Xmas I’ve not had much chance for gaming recently but I’m going to make an attempt to get U8 finished before Xmas now so should be posting most days.  

When I was last playing I was attempting to get to see Mythran. Following the trail leads me to the first of the games jumping puzzles.

As I understand it from the manual, with the games original interface to get between these blocks I would have to have the mouse cursor the appropriate distance from me before jumping to select how far I jump. This sounds truly awful – missing a jump is instant death. The new system of jumping to the cursor is a lot simpler. I can live with it but it has to be said that these platforms floating in the middle of nowhere do feel to belong in a platform game.

I get to the other side and find my first monster of the game. – a ghoul/zombie. Its on top of a ledge which I eventually figure out is climable in the new engine. Trying to fight the zombie doesn’t go too well. I haven’t found any weapons yet and I don’t have any money to buy them either. After some failed attempts I give in and just run past.

A few zombies avoided later and I get to a big room full of levers. After some trial and error I figure out to pull the ones that don’t have bones infront of them.

This opens up a gate into a new area…

and leads on to what I assume to by Mythrans house. The entrance to here is guarded with traps – rolling boulders and some sort of lightning trap that periodically jumps between pillars. There is a whole corridor of this – its easy enough to time so I make it first time through. Again this feels like it belongs in a platform game.

On the other side of the traps is Mythran. He’s standing next to another of those grey platforms.

Mythran is full of information. He gives me the brief history of the world which involves the guardian trying to introduce a new belief system when he came to the realm. The people were split into two factions. Then the great destroyer came and the four elemental titans defeated it, destroying most of the land in the process and leaving just this small island.

A history lesson is all very well but what I really want to know is how to leave – he tells me that I will need to master all 4 forms of elemental magic in the world and sends me off to learn earth/death magic first by following the east road out of Tenebrae. At the end of the conversation he gives me a recall item which I can use to go to any grey pads I’ve seen.

We’ve been seeing some form of teleport system in every ultima since U6. This is the sort of system U6 should have had actually to keep the game structured. Using my new item I transport myself straight back to the palace.

The east road has a few monsters of one sort or another on it. I found a weapon of sorts in Mythrans house (a fang) and I can finally beat some of these monsters.

I’m supposed to follow the great eastern road to find the necromancers I’m looking for but since it goes North rather than East I assume I’m going the wrong way and wander off the path. I find this little building which the guardian tells me not to go in (so I go in).

The floor collapses landing me in some sort of dungeon with a very large monster. I go the other way and run into a skeleton warrior who makes very short work of me. At this point I figure I’d be better off going where as I was told and restore a game.

The home of the necromancers is quite small and there is only the one person here for now. He is the second in command and is the guy I’m looking for. He is prepared to help me if I join the order.

Before that he does of course have a missing item I have to retrieve. The ceremonial dagger used in all their rituals has been taken by the tempest. I volunteer to get it back and he tells me to look in the palace.

I don’t get anywhere searching the palace but the tempests handmaiden says she will talk to me if I meet her after work at her home. She tells me a little about the regime and all in all it doesn’t sound like the best place to work.

After a bit of persuasion, she gives me a key which I can use to get the dagger.

I head back for the palace and still can’t unlock the bedroom doors. A bit of exploring and I find a key under a cushion which lets me in.

The dagger is in a chest in a little room to the side.

I return the dagger straight away. The chief necromancer Lothian is currently lying on a slab – I can see whats coming here.

Lothian is willingly killed in the ritual and allegedly goes to join the necromancers in the hall of the earth titan. I’m told that the same fate is reserved for all leaders of the order in the end – no wonder they are short of recruits then.

Speaking of recruits, I foolishly volunteer when asked to join up myself. As ever I have to fetch some items first, this time two magical reagents.

On the walk back into town I’m stopped by a guard who questions me about Bentic. He and Devon have been arrested and thrown into jail for some reason. I decide to have a look into this and leave the reagents for now.

I find Devon in the palace dungeons. Bentic has already been beheaded. Devon doesn’t admit to even knowing why either of them were arrested and asks me to look into it. He suggests I ask Salkind.

Salkind is not especially helpful and won’t give me any answers but I do learn that he keeps a logbook of all executions.

I read the logbook, there have been a number of executions but Bentic’s is the one I’m interested in. It says he was conducting some sort of illegal research and that the evidence is in the dungeons. There is a room with no obvious entrance in the dungeon which is probably the place.

Mythran will sell me the scroll I will need to get into the dungeon. I buy this off him (using money I got from a chest in his house).

I go back to the dungeon. Its definitely the right room as it says Bentics Journal when I click on the book. Using the scroll reveals a door in the wall and I can get in and read the book.

The book says that Devon is the rightful tempest – this explains why Mordea put him in prison.

Before I can move a posse of guards show up and escort me to the docks.

Devon is about to be executed when we interrupt.

I speak up about Devon being the rightful tempest.

Salkind manages to admit this in an unconvincing slip of the tongue. Mordea doesn’t take too kindly to this and blasts him down with lightning. She then orders the execution to proceed anyway but the executioner refuses and also gets struck down.

This is the cue for a duel between the previously helpless Devon who suddenly discovers his powers, manages to defeat Mordea. She is swallowed up by the lurker while the rest of us lie stunned on the ground. I struggle to my feet and Devon announces that now he is tempest the first thing he will do is leave and think about the job. He promptly jumps off the end of the pier and walks on the water out of the scene.

I’ve made Tenebrae a slightly nicer place but this doesn’t seem to have gotten me any nearer my goal so I’ll get back to collecting those reagents next.

I can’t say that Ultima 8 has got me hooked at all yet. Its not bad but frankly there are other games I’d rather be playing. It’s early days though and I’d say that its still growing on me.

My first job would appear to be exploring the town. I’m told that its called Tenebrae by a guard and that its divided into 3 areas of poor, rich and the palace. Walking around gives me a better look at the graphics. They are definitely nice but possibly a bit too colourful and the placing of tiles is very obvious. Something else I’ve noticed is that the avatar appears to have a black border around him which doesn’t help to make him appear to be part of the world. It all looks a bit fake and plastic giving the impression that the world and everything in it is a model.

You could argue thats an improvement over the cartoonish U7 graphics. I’m split as to whether its an improvement. I do feel a little too close in for my liking – an SVGA mode would be nice. The town is divided into small blocks also which load when you reach the edge of another – I prefer a continuous world although its a minor point.

I head for the poor area of town first looking for the tavern which I never managed to find. I run into the executioner from the docks who suggests I should talk to the librarian and failing that a mysterious mage living outside of the town. The conversation is a little different from U7 in that I get to choose whole sentences now instead of a single keyword. This is a big improvement – it makes the conversation a lot easier to follow. In U7 I was just picking all the options without even knowing why they were on the list half the time and this just makes more sense. The downside is that putting words in the avatars mouth as such personifies him and its supposed to be you thats playing the game.

I get the name of the mage (Mythran) out of the executioner. I’ll have to track him down later I’m sure. She is reluctant to tell me about him and I have to swear not to bother him without good cause.

I find a blacksmiths – if I had any money I’d buy a weapon but I’m starting the game with absolutely nothing. He is quite proud of his profession and doing a good job but does hark back to things being better in the past (without getting too specific). I’m starting to learn a little more about the gods no. The woman at the docks ordering the execution is known as “The Tempest” and is effectively head priestess to the water god. The god gives her some power in return allowing the weather to be controlled and guarantee good crops. She has got a little overzealous these days and such executions for blasphemy are not uncommon.

Indeed walking around town, I see quite a few guards harrassing the peasants for not paying taxes and the like. The rule here looks somewhat oppressive.

There are some strange structures around town including a caged troll who makes the ground shake when he walks. Like everything else huge creatures like this are smoothly animated.

I accidently wander out of the northern end of town and into a farming area complete with some very strange herds of animals. They look nasty but don’t actually attack me.

I’ve not done exploring town yet so I head back in and find the library on the east side. The books here are readable in the same manner as Ultima 7.

I don’t find the librarian but do locate another resident in his house. He wants to know how I got here and I risk telling him the guardian banished me here. The guardian is held in high regard and he says the he must have been blessing me.

 He also tells me to talk to the librarian.

Before I find the librarian, I run into the woman whos husband just got his head chopped off on the docks. Not only has she lost her husband but her son has left to become a theuragist (almost definitely mispelt). This means that he studies under the air god and becomes a healer. It appears that the 4 gods have 4 schools in effect and an associated magic for each one. I say that I’ll ask him to visit if I see her son.

I go back to the library and this time find the librarian a floor up. He doesn’t know anything about getting me home but also points me towards Mythran and even gives me directions. That has to be the next place to go but I still haven’t looked at the palace.

The palace turns out to be a bit smaller than I expected and is mainly given over to rooms for the palace guard. The tempest is in her throne room but won’t talk to me until I tell her where I am from. I get a choice of four options and I try them all but none of them do the trick so this is a dead end for now.

On the next floor up I find some sort of strange plate which rises and lights up when I walk near it. I have no idea what this is about for now but it looks important – probably some sort of teleportation device for speeding around the world.

I only played for about another hour to get this far – I’ve explored most of the town now it appears, although I’m sure I missed a few buildings out. It’s quite a big place but not huge considering that it appears to be the only town in the game. The map for Serpent Isle that comes with the game is a bit strange – there is just the one city down in the corner and the majority of the island is made up of mountain ranges which look impassable. I’ll be interested to find out how I’m supposed to get to the rest of the island – I suspect some sort of central cave system. Before I get that far I’ll see what this Mythran has to say for himself.