Dungeon Siege is out and Ultima is a nice mod

[kila]

SO imagine if you will (play ultima 9 and see where I got this quote from )
a mod called Ultima 7 using the Dungeon siege engine.
Nice don't you all think?
Of course it won't have the original feel or the Exult feel. It still would be a very intresting mod.

[Telemachos]

I was very dissapointed with the Dungeon Siege game. It feels like a simplified Diablo and there is no way I could see an Ultima game being made in that engine.... unless the engine is VERY customizable with the SDK.

- Tele

[XxVenomxX]

I've heard great things about the SDK. People are already modifying the game themselves in some ways (making the camera angles even more changable, etc...). But scripts will allow for sophisticated dialogue branching, etc. There will be ways to bring up character portraits as well. I'm pretty optimistic about this one.
I like the game, myself. I wasn't going in expecting an RPG, rather a hack n' slash adventure. And thats what I got. Plus I think the graphics are gorgeous. But graphics dont make the game! Though I can defintely see the potential Ultima quality to it.

[kila]

The game seemed marketed more towards a RPG maker kit and not really towards being a game.
The DS engine is the most customizable engine seen to date.
You can overhual the damn game into an RTS if you wanted to.
There are no limits to world size or anything.
Of course it's all hype untill we see the editor in it's final stage.

[Clock Nova]

If someone wants to reconceive an Ultima in a modern engine, why not make it one that everyone can enjoy? The soon to be released Neverwinter Nights engine will be far more customizable than DS (seeing as how it was made precisely for that purpose,) and it will be available on Win, Mac, AND Linux.

Come one, drop DS and switch to NWN.

Please.

[XxVenomxX]

Well, seeing how far along the U5 and U6 remakes are along with their planning, revolving around DS, I don't think thats a possibility. Granted, SiegEd (my name fer it) isn't out yet, but a lot of planning has gone into this basis. Not to mention Lazarus (U5)'s website is hosted off planetdungeonsiege.com now, it would be pretty bad if they decided to switch to NWN

[Stephan]

No no no, the NWN engine is not all that customizable. It's meant for building new adventures, yes, but here's the thing - it's meant for building new AD&D adventures. As far as I know, the Dungeons & Dragons rules are hardcoded into the engine, and as such it would be a very poor choice for an Ultima remake.

[Clock Nova]

I'm willing to bet that that can be easily circumvented, though.

[Soule]

I dun see anything wrong with an AD&D Ultima..
I am more interested in story than the actual mechanics..besides AD&D has very well defined rules. Imagine Batlin needs +4 weapon to hit..heh

Anywway, I am in a bit of struggle here, should I make an adventure with DS or Exult Studio? I am more for ES because it is easier to draw sprites for ES...

[Hacki Dragon]

Ultima and AD&D are different worlds. In AD&D games, all sort of numbers are important. In Ultima, there are still some stats for you and your party, but the dialogues are generall MUCH more important.

[drcode]

In ultima7, a >lot< of numbers are also involved in combat computations. You just don't see them because combat is so automatic. Plus, I recall reading that LB was a D&D fan when younger.

I've been curious about the features of the DS editor; maybe we can 'borrow' some of the ideas for ES. Also, what would you use to add new shapes to DS? I'd assume you need a 3D modeller. Or do they include one?

[Telemachos]

I read over the documentation for "Skrit" - the script language for the DS engine and Scott from Gas Powered Games describes it as a "duct tape" language meant to piece together series of in-engine functions to form the scripted events. There are for example no for-loops or while-loops by design to discourage scripters from trying to script any "engine-like" events. What that means I'm not entirely sure but it seems the scripts can just be composed of the different functions the DS team has provided you with.

This is why I fear that, for example, it's impossible to change the fact that when monsters die they drop all their items in a very diablo like manner (the items "bursts" out from the freshly slain monster in a fountain of potions, weapons, armor and gold).

Also I'm worried about their design of the levels. In DS levels are actually just a linear path from A to B - not huge open fields like you would expect from an Ultima. Try and stray from the path and you'll encounter an invisible barrier you simply cannot cross. Maybe this is not a limitation of their engine - but on the other hand, maybe it is..

Also the camera angle looks down into the ground which means you cannot see very far ahead. Of course this allows for more dense geometry (more trees, bushes etc) but it also makes the world feel smaller...

Anyway, maybe all my fears are unjustified - we'll have to wait and see what happens when the SDK gets released. But for the question about whether or not it's still possible for the other remakes to use another engine - well, I doubt they have planned anything SPECIFICALLY for the DS engine yet... most of their work is dialog, music and concept art which could be used in just about ANY game engine.. also the NWN one I guess.

- Tele

[XxVenomxX]

Thats actually not true about the linear world. For the single player, yes, its quite linear, because it's a linear game. Have you played the mulitplayer map? That thing is huge, and it's quite easy to get lost. It's a ton of open area, and it makes the single game map look like a speck. At least as much as I've explored

Plus the camera angles are already modifiable. People have edited the hard files to allow the camera angle to go ground level and below. If I knew where the instructions were I'd show ya. Aw hell, I'll look.

Phew, found it.
http://www.game-editing.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45

[Hacki Dragon]

In ultima7, a >lot

Well, that's the point
They are HIDDEN.

[kila]

DS rules CAN be changed. They are not hardcoded in the engine for PERMAMENT use with everything.
The engine is 100% customisable afaik.

[Telemachos]

XxVenomxX: Cool, thanks for that link - I'll have to check that out sometime

- Tele

[Soule]

However, I thought ES dialogue would be more interactive, plus paper dolling and portraits.

But I guess DS would provide a sub-program to easily generate 3D models(for NPCs, PCs).

I thought in AD&D games, the number are also hidden to an extent, eg. in BG you dont actually see the dice rolls, you just know the damage inflicted. In a way, Ultima is created from AD&D.

Hmm, assuming a Venn diagram, they should be two separate sets with some overlap. (Of course, the A-team is a exclusive set as usual..)

[Shane]

DS uses GMax for the 3D modelling stuff.

Its free, and there is a gamepak for it due to be released when the SDK is released, but you can begin to model your 3d stuff now..

- Shane

[John C]

Use NWN engine,first this is CRPG,so less numerals seen (its not a pen and paper RPG) ,second Its made for editing. What about meshs for NWN or DS.

Peace

P.S. Can I edit Exult for a new system (GURPS)
and sorry if i dont make sense