From: mkudzin@engws5.ic.sunysb.edu (Matthew A Kudzin)
Newsgroups: rec.games.misc
Subject: ULTIMA VII is HERE
Date: 16 Apr 92 20:34:36 GMT
Article-I.D.: sbcs.1992Apr16.203436.21578
Organization: State University of New York at Stony Brook
Originator: mkudzin@engws5.ic.sunysb.edu


Yes, That's right, Ultima 7 is finally out in stores.  I have my copy right
here in front of me.  And since nobody else has posted about it, let me be
the first to give everyonemy opinion of the game.  Let it be known ahead of
time that I am an avid Ultima fan, and love them far more than any other 
CRPG that I have ever seen.  Given that, here are my opinions ...

I've only played the game for a couple of minutes, so these are really 
FIRST impressions.

1.)  The game comes with its own memory manager.  This means that you 
can't have your regular memory manager loaded while you play the game.  
This seems like it is going to be a major nuisance.  The installation 
program will create a bootable floppy for you so that you can just boot
up from the disk drive rather than having to continuously change your
autoexec.bat and config.sys files.  Instead, I have written a short batch
file which swaps files around and then reboots the computer and loads
the game.  It then restores all my files to normal after I'm finished 
playing.  Even so, it's a pain in the neck.

2.)  I do not think I am going to like the new interface.  I liked the old
system used in Ultimas 3,4, and 5.  I was even kind of disappointed when 
Ultima 6 started using the mouse.  Ultima 7 practically requires you to
use a mouse.  If you don't mind using the mouse, I suppose it's OK, but
I personally prefer to use the keyboard whenever possible.

3.)  The game is big.  I knew it was going to be, and it is.  It comes on
six 1.44 3 1/2 disks.  Interestingly, the game also comes with a copy of 
the Ultima Underworld demo.

4.)  The graphics are good.  I do not have a soundboard (sigh) so I cannot
comment about the sound.  I have noticed, however, that the game seems to 
be missing something without the sound. I always liked having the back-
ground noises going on when I played the other ultimas on my old Commodore.

5.)  In some respects the game actually seems a little slow.  When you click
on an object, it tells you what it is.  If you don't wait long enough before
clicking on something else, the new object name will appear over the old 
one, making it difficult to read until the old one is erased.  It's not a
real problem, just slightly annoying.  I'm running the game on a 486/33, so I
don't think the hardware is a problem.

6.)  Some of the objects are too small.  I had the same objection to UW.
For example, on the table in the stable there is a piece of Gargoyle 
jewelry.  It least that's what the game says.  I would not have been able
to recognize it as jewelry without clicking on it.  I've got SVGA, so 
again, I don't think hardware is a problem.

7.)  I have not yet gotten into combat, so I cannot comment, but not being
able to control all the people should be interesting.  I'm not sure how
it's going to work with the new interface.  I have enough trouble getting
the avatar to walk using the mouse, no less fight.  Hope I get used to this.

8.)  I introductory graphics are nice, but the scrolling is quite jerky.
I've seen better introductory screen, but who really cares about the intro
anyway.

All in all, it's an Ultima, so I'm sure I'll like it.  The interface does 
not suit my personal tastes, but everybody has different tastes.

Have fun, I know I will,
Matthew Kudzin
mkudzin@ic.sunysb.edu
kudzin@nuclear.physics.sunysb.edu