Vacation Plans

Hey folks, sorry I've been gone so long without a peep, but I've had some stuff come up that's been unavoidable and have also been trying to decide what to do for my upcoming vacation. I have decided to put the blog on hiatus for about two months until I come back from visiting family and friends in the USA. I enjoy finishing a large chunk of something before taking a break and would hate to have a game hanging over my head half completed while I am enjoying myself. I hope you understand.

In the meantime, I have been playing other games not listed on the backlog list including Bioshock: Infinite, Dishonored, and long term strategy games like Europa Universalis 3 and Hearts of Iron. It's been a good little diversion from the classics I've been playing today and is a good way to compare the problems of yesteryear with today. I'll probably bounce between some of these until the middle of June when I come back.

I hope you all have a great spring and join me when I come back from my epic journey to the East Coast to play Bastion.

Good luck and enjoy yourselves,

--Backlog Killer

49 - Ultima Underworld

Sorry about the long wait. I had a busy Easter holiday that I spent at the hospital. Nothing is seriously wrong or even wrong at all, but we needed to get something checked out to make sure it isn’t or won’t become a problem. Luckily, everything is fine, but my wife and I have lost yet another holiday and I am really tired from constant trips home and back. I am sure we will have more fun on our trip back to the United States next month.

Ultima Underworld

“What can I say about the game that I haven’t said already?” This is what I kept thinking to myself over the last few days and I am having a hard time figuring out if there really is anything. The engine and immersiveness were astounding at the time of its release, it introduced many concepts that have become standard in modern games, and it remains a beacon of unbridled creativity and inspiration by a small studio. Discussing these may be beating a dead horse, but they require at least an honorable mention.

What remains after the completion of the game is the feeling that the plot, objectives, and game world itself are all intertwined and one cannot be removed from the others without unraveling the whole thing. I rarely get this feeling and can list only a few titles that have conveyed it… maybe Mean Streets and Might & Magic III. But what I mean is that the plot develops so organically that the player begins piecing everything together without being told anything explicitly in any serious information dump. Maybe it comes from the smaller production team or the more renegade production process, but everything comes together naturally and symmetrically. This is what I miss the most about older games, especially those made for the PC.

The importance of Ultima Underworld cannot be disputed, but I also think it has become somewhat of an artifact. I know this will be a controversial opinion, but compared to the dozens of games following its productions that have taken its notes and improved upon them, it does not hold up as well. It is true that many modern games such as The Elder Scrolls would not even be around without its legacy, but I think that being aware of its existence and influence is much more important than playing it. I wholeheartedly recommend any player who is interested in the genre complete the game, but many gamers may find it frustrating since the developers themselves were trying to suss out what they were actually doing. Even though an early car is a marvel that should be preserved and analyzed, you wouldn’t want to drive it down the road every day. Ultima Underworld most certainly has a limited appeal today compared to universal praise in the past.

I don’t mean to sound disparaging at all. In fact, I would recommend anyone remotely interested in 3D dungeon crawlers or the history of gaming to at least try playing it. But I do recognize that the game is rough around the edges. Combat is not very fun, some of the puzzles are nebulous at best, and the movement is difficult to adjust to. What is great is that the immersiveness of the game and wonder of exploring the dungeon transcend all these downfalls to provide a deep well to be drawn from over and over again by products coming out as recently as this year.

Ultima Underworld is the most important game I have played for the blog, so far.

What’s next?

Next I will be playing Bastion, but I have not decided if I should take a break from the blog until after my trip or try to squeeze it in. With the recent events, I am thinking about just waiting and taking my time. I am still very tired and having trouble producing content with all the other stuff going on, but I hope you enjoy it.

In addition, here are my final stats for the game. Enjoy!

--Backlog Killer

48 - The End

Well, we’re finally at the end. After roughly fifteen to twenty hours of game play, I have finished Ultima Underworld. This post will cover my brief backtracking to the crypts of Level 5 and my final confrontation with the Slasher of Veils. Follow me into the bowels of the Stygian Abyss to explore (part of) Level 8.


One Last Frustration

With the tri-part key, all eight talismans of Caribus, and the confidence of seven completed levels under my belt, I descended to Level 8 of the Abyss to take out the lurking evil that is the Slasher of Veils. Garamon had informed me he may be able to help me with this overwhelming task if I could acquire his bones and return them to his grave in the crypts. Putting this at the top of my list of priorities, I set forth.

Level 8 is basically a molten chasm constructed of nothing but cliffs and rivers of lava. The dragon scale boots nullified the threat of the lava, but it did not get rid of the threat that constantly respawning fire elementals posed. These things were everywhere and could make quick work of my level 16 character if I got caught by surprise. I spent most of the time searching the southwest area filled with bone piles for any sign of the correct one, but they all looked the same. I finally came across one particular nook containing a stone golem, supplies, and several magic rune stones strewn over the ground indicating a struggle. I assumed this was the site of Garamon’s final stand, but made sure by testing with other generic bone piles that stack together into piles of multiple units. Satisfied that the bones did not stack, I returned to the crypts of Level 5 to give his remains a proper burial.

[Hopefully he'll stop bothering me every time I sleep.]

After interring the bones, the ghost of Garamon appeared to thank me for stopping his brother and putting him to rest. Before leaving, he tried to brainstorm ways to take out the Slasher of Veils. Hmm… if we only had items of pure virtue… to which I responded with “what about these talismans?” That seemed correct, but “how can we destroy them to release their power?” he asked. “Drop them in lava?” Seemed good enough for him.

[Great idea! Glad I thought of it.]

So the answer is to destroy all of the items I have been working so hard to attain to force the Slasher through a dimensional rift, banishing him from Britania forever. Easy enough, right? With this information, I took one last look at the levels I had worked so hard to explore and stepped into Level 8 for the last time.



Confrontation

Finding the prison of the Slasher of Veils was very easy with the dragonscale boots. After just a minute of walking through the lava lake and fighting a few flame elementals, I found a large central structure with a stone door and triangular indentation matching the tripart key. I’m pretty sure I skipped roughly half the floor by doing this, but I don’t really mind since I seem to have wrapped up most of the story threads I had encountered. Nervously, I put the key into the giant door to reveal…

[Nice. Nice. Let me get another angle...]

[Excellent! Nice working with you.]

The Slasher of Veils trapped in the middle of a lava pool. Fortunately, he is unable to move allowing me to walk around getting some glamour shots for the blog. It is interesting because as an adult I had no apprehension about walking around the area and exploring the chamber, but as a child, I can imagine being very scared that the demon may spring out of his reverie at any moment. It was a fleeting thought, but one that made me think about how I interface with games now. In any case, I began the procedure of banishment by tossing all eight talismans into the pool. After disposing of the last talisman, the Sword of Justice, a moongate opened swallowing the Slasher of Veils AND me with it!

[Uh oh.]

Dumped into a chaotic landscape of mysterious paths, disembodied eyes, mouths, and constant damage, I immediately started running. There were several paths to take, but I remembered the advice I wrote down given by a crystal ball on level one saying that the green path was correct. With the Slasher in pursuit, I sprinted all the way down the path which seemed to go on forever. In fact, I was almost completely dead by the time I reached the moongate exit and was worried I would need to do the whole thing again. Fortunately, I made it just in time and the gate slammed shut behind me trapping the demon forever.

Finally thanked and given a quick “Sorry” by the Baron who had essentially sentenced me to death in the Abyss, I boarded a boat back to Britania and traveled back to Earth to sleep off the adventure. I had finally finished one of the most revered games in the history of PC gaming: Ultima Underworld.

What’s Next?

Next time I will be giving my final thoughts about Ultima Underworld, but, in the mean time, I have been playing through a few other games that were not on the list. I have just about played out The Binding of Isaac, although I would like to unlock the final levels to truly “finish” the game. I’m not sure if I will go for all of those achievements on there, even though I hate to be outdone by Gary. I also began playing Dishonored which is a pretty cool game and has been enjoyable since it strongly evokes the feeling of Thief: The Dark project. (It’s also easier to play without having to stop and take notes as I do when blogging.) In any case, I am looking forward to the next game I have picked and hope to begin writing about it soon.

What is the game? Oh, sorry. The next game in my sights is going to be a critical favorite: 2011’s Bastion. I am excited about this one and hope I can complete it before plans put temporary brakes on the blog. I will be visiting my parents in the United States in May and June and do not plan on playing too many games for the blog at that time. Anyway, stick around while I collate my thoughts about Ultima Underworld into one package for you.

Hint: I really liked it.


--Backlog Killer

47 - A Real Rug Puller

Busy busy busy the last week or so, but I’m finally back and we’re almost done with Ultima Underworld. We recently left off with me having swept through the mages’ college in the Abyss, amassing all eight talismans of Cabirus, and trudging down to Level 7. What dangers awaited me? Boy howdy, it sure was a lot.

Curveball

Level 7 did not start well when I noticed my mana, represented by the blue vial, drained itself down to nothing immediately after exiting the stairwell. This was obviously part Tyball’s devious plot and made it apparent I was going to have to solve the entire area without access to any magic. Luckily, I had only been using magic to heal myself and generate food so the loss of this ability did not have much of an impact. I can imagine it being a HUGE problem for players who had focused only on magic and had not put any skill points into weapons since this disadvantage comes along with no warning. I would say this is questionable game design; much like giving players of Deus Ex: Human Revolution the option of being completely passive and then throwing them into an unavoidable boss fight.

Exploring the level turned out to be just as much of a hassle as not having access to magic. I emerged from the stairs in a grey room with several exits, but most of them were obstructed either by sheer cliffs, locked doors, or just dead ends. I spoke briefly with an escaping prisoner on his way upstairs who told me that the only way to access these areas was with a talisman of Tyball’s army. This turned out to not be exactly true as I could also be jerks to the soldiers and they would open the gates to attack me. Unfortunately, this tactic carries the disadvantage that doors may randomly close and lock themselves leaving me stranded. Learning this, I made it a priority to seek the talisman.

[It really does help to have the medallion.]

The only series of unlocked doors led me to a mine that had been abandoned by slave workers because of a gazer I easily dispatched. I found an amulet, maybe belonging to a dead guard, that I could use to access every part of level 7 opening up more possibilities. The entire area was basically a fortress with check points, encampments, and mines being tended to by slaves of Tyball. After gaining access to the mines to the northwest, I entered a prison where I was trapped by the troll guard in a small transfer room. In order to escape, I had to bribe him to release me. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I didn’t have any extra money on me. The prison contained some helpful prisoners and a few locked doors, but nothing of immediate interest. Unlocking an escape tunnel, I worked my way back to the entrance through a molten cavern filled with fire elementals which are, no doubt, the toughest creatures in the game. Even at level 15, they could still kill me with several fireballs which I used to my advantage by respawning back at the entrance to the level.

This route also led to one of several quick diversions down to three isolated parts of level 8 including: a key cheekily hidden behind a skull, an abandoned mine containing ‘orbstone’ a wizard told me could be used to restore magic to level 7, and a treasure trove guarded by an imp and several golems that I will discuss later. I immediately took the orbstone and key to open most of the remaining doors in the level.

The key brought me to a lava pit containing what looks like a jumping puzzle. A nearby map indicated the solution was actually much simpler as a teleportation square brought me to the locked door at the top off the cliff. Entering the door, I found myself at the entrance to a deadly maze that will cause instant death if the incorrect path is taken. “How can we know the right path?” you ask. Well, aside from extensive trial and error, inscriptions and hints around the level refer to a crown that can be used to reveal the way. This brings me back to the treasure trove I had found before. The stockpile contains several crowns, all except one of which have a ruby in the middle. The obvious choice for the one piece we are allowed to take according to the imp’s instructions is the crown with the white gem. This is the Crown of Maze Navigation that can be worn to reveal the golden path to victory.

[The maze without the Crown of Maze Navigation.]

[The same view with the crown on.]

Game of Death

After following the long, circuitous path, I found myself abruptly face to face with the evil mage Tyball who instantly started frying me with electric bolts and fireballs. I was able to back him into a corner of the arena to prevent him from casting spells and wailed on him with the Sword of Justice until he went down. Even though it sounds easy, I only had a sliver of HP left. Afterward, I was given a troubling speech:

 Uh-oh, looks like Tyball was responsible for kidnapping the princess, but meant to use her as a vessel for the pan-dimensional demon The Slasher of Veils! And now that I have killed him and released the princess, the hideous creature will soon escape and wreak havoc on Britania! It looks like we've really messed things up down here. I had no choice but to figure out a plan to get to level 8 and defeat the Slasher of Veils. I also took the opportunity to smash Tyball’s orb with an orbstone to restore magic abilities on level 7.

Thinking quickly, I took the keys on Tyball’s corpse and returned to the prison to access the doors that were still locked. Each of these contained a prisoner willing to help me find one piece of the three part key to access the sealed room where the Slasher was held. One simply gave me a key, another drew a map on the back of a picture of a guy named Tom, and the last simply left me with the instructions to deliver the password Folanae to Illomo at the mages’ college.

Using the provided key, I unlocked a door at the far northwest of level 7 to ascend through three floors of monsters finding the first part of the key at the top. I returned to level 5 to deliver the picture of Tom to the mourning mage Judy who shed a single tear that turned into the second part of the key. The last part of the key was very interesting. After delivering the phrase ‘Folanae’ to Illomo, he urged me to check the library for more information. At the library, I found a book titled ‘Folanae Fanlo’ which Illomo told me could be utilized at shrines. Speaking the word fanlo at the shrine yielded the final part of the key which I combined with the rest to complete my access to the Slasher of Veils. But how would I defeat him? Resting gave me one final vision from Garamon in which he told me his brother, Tyball, had killed him in a disagreement and left his bones unburied on level 8. If I could bury his bones properly, Garamon would help me think of a way to defeat the demon and save Britania once again.

[The last part of the key is mine!]

Packing my things carefully, I set off for level 8 and the final part of Ultima Underworld. I was almost done.

What’s next?

Sorry about the lack of analysis, but, aside from a few missteps, the game is mostly the same solid design throughout all eight floors. I hope to provide a short diary of what I did to complete each level, but it’s beginning to resemble a walkthrough. Hopefully I can scrape together some stuff for my final impressions.

As for now, I am trying to complete Dark Souls again and hope to finish some other games before I play the next one for the blog which I have already decided on. I won’t reveal it yet, but I am looking forward to this independently developed action game a lot. I also may try to finish Dishonored in the mean time since my wife bought it for Christmas and I’ve still only played thirty minutes of it. Anyway, join me next time for the conclusion of Ultima Underworld!

--Backlog Killer

(@backlogkiller)

46 - Getting Close Now

I thought things were winding down in Ultima Underworld, but they picked right back up again on Level 7 where I remain while writing this update. Things are continuing on schedule and I am looking forward to finally completing the game. I think I am almost finished and can see several story threads coming to an end. For now, though, we’ll stick to speaking about Level 6 and its consistent tone.

Fire in the Mountain

Level 6 of Ultima Underworld was the most consistent floor I had explored since Level 3. The entire area was made up of the remains of a mages’ college and laid out according to the now familiar trend of a central hub branching out into the cardinal directions. To the north and west were ruined libraries, dormitories, a shrine for leveling up, and an arena containing an indestructible golem. The east was a barren maze of fire caverns and monsters constructed by a rogue mage of the college who had since moved down to Level 7, and the southern area contained all remains of the mages’ college including students and teachers who pushed the plot of the story at hyper speed. What is really cool about the dungeon is that as I go lower and lower, more lava and cracks appear as if I were approaching the very center of the earth. The whole level gave the impression of constant earthquakes and lava seeping through the floor even though the engine couldn't demonstrate this mechanically.

[My map of Level 6.]

One NPC in the area was Dr. Owl who asked me to free his mute assistant from the clutches of the lizardmen. Since I had already accomplished this, the good doctor directed me to a loose tile in the abandoned meeting room to the west containing the Wine of Compassion, the fifth of the talismans. While in the area, I entered the golem’s arena to challenge him as the Knights and Trolls on level 4 had told me they used to do. Upon dismantling him easily with my high attack and sword skill, I was given yet ANOTHER of Cabirus’s talismans: TheShield of Valor.

[Haha. Not really, bub.]

Continuing this rapid series of discoveries, I returned to the dorms and helped a mage named Bronus deliver a book to his friend Morlock who was just down the hall. In return, I was given a hint about a secret door in an hourglass shaped room that led to the Book of Honesty. A little behind the curtains information here: I had already picked up the book when I searched the suspicious room and found the secret door without any hints. That makes seven out of eight talismans and only leaves out the trickiest one of all.

Woah, dude… woah.

I ran into another mage named Fyrgen who seemed to be stoned out of his gourd in what he described as a “lucid dream” after sniffing some incense. To do this myself, he said I only needed to light a cone over a torch and use it to attain my own visions. Having ignored the incense previously, I retraced my steps to pick up a few pieces so I could try it out.

I was rewarded with several visions of a cup bearing strange words on the side. I combined the three different syllable from these visions into one word: insahn. When used at a shrine, this mantra gives directions to a certain point on the level. I messed around with it for a while and eventually found the designated spot on Level 3 in a small section of the sewers I had explored before. After taking care of the resident gazer, I played the tune Eyesnack taught me on the flute to reveal the final talisman I needed to complete the game: the Cup ofWonder. And in case you are wondering, I did use a FAQ for this portion. I was completely stuck a little later and found out how to make this work. I am positive I would have discovered the correct location, but if I had not known to play the flute I think I would have gotten very frustrated. Hey, I’ve been good so far!

[Trippy stuff.]

With all eight talismans in tow or equipped, I proceeded down to Level 7 which turned out to be one of the most pace upsetting floors of the dungeon. Clued in by the mage Illomo that his friend, Seer Gurstang, had been captured by the evil mage Tyball, I prepared for the worst.

What’s next?

Level 7 should be finished soon. Tyball appears to be the one responsible for the kidnapping I have been blamed for. He also seems to be the brother of the strange ghost that appears when I sleep in the game, but I am not sure what it all means as I have yet to encounter Tyball. And what waits on Level 8? Find out when I get there!

Oh yeah, check out this Easter egg: a nod to legendary Origin Systems game designer Warren Spector I discovered while exploring some supply tunnels in the mages’ college. Apparently he was a pretty demanding boss!

Follow me on Twitter (@backlogkiller), leave comments to let me know what you think, and thanks for reading.

--Backlog Killer

45 - Gathering Steam

Level five of Ultima Underworld is definitely the most bizarre design I have experienced so far. Although the map and layout is symmetrical, the individual areas seem very disconnected and each has its own quirks. They all came together with some strange puzzles and even crazier references that were a completely surprise. This is a pretty quick one, so let’s dive right in.


Quick Advances

In the last post I had mentioned that I visited the tombs of Level 5 to retrieve the hilt for the sword of justice. I returned to explore the rest of the area from that starting point, but found it was actually cut off from the rest of the floor. Returning to level four, I found more stairs in the meeting hall that led to the central area of level five proper. Ripping my way through spiders and skeletons using my newly forged (and indestructible) Sword of Justice, I found myself in small room with one lever at its four corners and a pedestal in the middle. This is the site of the Ring of Humility that the knight had tipped me off about in return for the gem cutter. Using the correct combination, I found myself in possession of the ring and halfway to all eight of the talismans of Cabirus.

Continuing south I arrived in a large meeting room presumably used by the organization different societies attempting to create a utopia in the Abyss before it all fell apart after Cabirus’s death. Taken over by rodents and rubbish, the whole area was quite effective in conveying a feeling of ruin, decay, and tragic failure of an idealist’s plans. Sound familiar to anyone? (Bioshock)

Other than that, the other portions of the level surrounding the central hub were quite straightforward. The east was blocked and had a set of stairs heading down to level six, south led to a large cavern with a lava river and a sad mage pining for her lost boyfriend named Tom, and the west contained a shrine and an NPC named Anjor. Anjor is a wizard looking for eighty rock samples contained in the mines to the southwest to aid his magical studies. Unfortunately, the mines can only be accessed through a teleportation chamber the ghoul mine foreman knows about. I was not interested in carrying around so many rocks, but I retraced my steps to level four to return in the southeast portion of the map to talk to the ghouls.

[My map of level 5.]

Not quite the crypt keeper.

As a pleasant surprise, the ghouls were very helpful and formerly part of the larger society being formed in the Abyss. One ghoul, named Marrowsuck, converted some string and the dragon scales I had traded the trolls for into a set of dragon scale boots allowing me to walk on lava. I also spoke to a friendly ghoul named Eyesnack who taught me a song for a flute I had found in the meeting chamber that I am sure will come in handy later. After finally getting the combination to open the teleportation room for the mines, I stepped in and worried about how I would ferry all these rocks back to Anjor.

[All the other kooks with the dragon scale boots...]

What a weird surprise this turned out to be. The mines are laid out in a symmetrical grid with the required rock samples that actually have zero weight laid out as evenly spaced dots. Four ghosts flew around as I collected the dots in a giant and tonally inconsistent Pac Man reference. Even though this is not nearly as egregious as Minecraft in Borderlands 2 or ‘lol bacon’ type jokes in other games, it really tore me out of the experience since the rest of the game was moderately serious. Goofiness has always been part of the Ultima experience, but this one was just so out of the blue it seemed strange. I imagine it was cool on release, though, and took quite a bit of quest scripting to get working. I’ll let it slide.

Returning the stones to Anjor, I was given a giant chunk of gold that I am not sure what to do with and sent on my way. I explored a few more corners that hadn’t been revealed, found a hidden door that connected to the tombs, and finally made my way down to level six.

[Anjor the mage: giver of Pac Man quests.]

Next Time

Next post I will get into my adventures on level six and my delight of how everything is coming together. I think I am actually getting really close to finishing the game (at the time of this post I am on level seven) and am looking forward to seeing its conclusion. Thanks for checking in even though this was a short level without much content besides the Pac Man reference. Level six has much more plot relevant action.

As always, follow me @backlogkiller on Twitter and leave any comments you have about your experiences with Ultima Underworld. It remains a joy to play and is definitely one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had while gaming for the blog. Every session reveals more influences it has had on game design solidifying its legendary status more and more for me, personally. I can’t wait to see what it offers up next!

--Backlog Killer

[I'll just be chilling in this lava with my new footwear.]

44 - Labor of Love

Although I find myself anxious about writing the blog, or not writing to be more accurate, I feel it as more of a motivational pressure rather than a suffocating snuff out the candle flame kind of deal. When I fall behind in my normal tasks I tend to feel smothered, but not so much for this project. Every day life has begun to cascade a little bit, covering up the low priority of playing games to write for strangers: work needs to be done, obligations fulfilled, errands, & c. Pressure builds up, but never to the point of stress which is a welcome feeling for someone as high strung as me. Being able to sit down and complete two levels of Ultima Underworld in one night felt extremely good. I would estimate myself to be 60-70% finished with the game and am having a blast. That being said, I am looking forward to getting into something that doesn’t take as much investment for the next game.

DO feed the trolls!

Level 4 is very straightforward. The entire floor is symmetrically laid out into quadrants: the southwest contains a faction of knights known as the Knights of theOrder of Crux Ansata, the southeast hosts a clan of trolls, and the northern half is made up of two substantial puzzles. What is also interesting is that unlike the other levels I have experienced, the entire southern half of level four is relatively safe with no hostile monsters aside from a few spiders whereas the northern side is a death trap. Taking the time to speak with each faction, I was able to piece together a much bigger picture in terms of lore and how the abyss had been settled.

[The map of Level 4.]

The Stygian Abyss is only a dungeon because it has been retaken by nature. When it was being settled by Sir Cabirus, the entire Abyss was meant to be a shining example of understanding and virtue. Before his death, the entire colony was living in peace and working together to make life underground more comfortable, but since his death, everything has reverted back to its original state. Not to mention that this puts a very sinister slant on the entire situation of those remaining factions being locked in with prisoners being added to the population all the time. What in the heck was Lord British thinking?

Regardless, level four is in relative peace as the Knights and trolls live side by side in a sort of détente even though a few feral trolls and crazy knights have run off on their own. This is where I entered the picture. Speaking to the trolls, I found they did not have much to say but were in possession of their own shrine of virtue I was able to use to gain some more skills. I was also able to trade a rotworm stew I had made with a recipe from the goblins of level one for a set of dragon scales with one of the trolls. The Knights were more helpful and even offered to make me a member of their order if I recovered some lost artifacts. The first of these was a eulogy that was lost in the trolls’ shrine I was able to return immediately. I was then sent to find a lost golden plate in the maze to the northwest. Talking to a few of the order’s members, I was also told of another puzzle known as the “bullfrog puzzle” to the northeast.

What excited me most about this portion of the game is that the main quest finally started to gel a little bit. I love the moment in many old games where the mists begin to clear and I find seemingly unconnected pieces suddenly falling into place. Since there are no mission markers or objective lists being ticked off, it is completely up to me to gauge my own progress which can be overwhelming sometimes. I find myself missing this in modern games as everything seems to be shepherded along in fear that players will get confused, which they very well may. Ultima Underworld began this process here as I completed the Knights’ quest.

Charged with the task of killing the renegade ‘Chaos Knight’Sir Rodrick, I headed to the former feast hall of the humans and trolls to face him. I had leveled up my combat and cudgel skills to take him down and was able to after a bit of running and hiding to heal. A key he dropped opened the maze I was looking for, at the end of which I found the gold plate. I returned it in exchange for the Standard of Honor; one of the eight talismans of virtue! This luck continued as I talked to a knight lamenting the theft of the Taper ofSacrifice by a crazed madman obsessed with staving off darkness. Knowing I had talked to a guy fitting that description on level three, I quickly returned and easily traded some food for it. I was now in possession of two out of eight talismans within twenty minutes. The pace was picking up quickly.

[Rodrick is on the line, here.]

This streak continued as I traded the gem cutter I got on level two for defeating the gazer in the mines to another knight who clued me in on the switch sequence to get the ring of Humility! I used this momentum to propel myself through one of the hardest puzzles I have faced in the game so far: the bullfrog puzzle.

More platforming…

The bullfrog puzzle harkens to one of those idiosyncrasies that most games with dungeons have: weird and obtuse puzzles. This one is especially esoteric as no instructions or hints are given at all. The room is simply a platform with two rotating levers with eight positions, two buttons that are either on or off, and a giant square plot of dirt surrounded by a moat. After ten minutes of messing around and getting frustrated, I had figured out that each press of the top button moves a piece of dirt up one ‘level’ while the lower button moves it down. Despite this revelation, I was unable to see what relation the rotating dials have to do with what area is raised. As far as I can tell, one lever corresponds to the ‘x’ axis of the square while the other is the ‘y’ axis, just like on a graph. Then, each button press raises the level of the selected coordinate. The complicated part is that a few squares SURROUNDING the selected coordinate are raised too making my ‘just raise every position two levels’ strategy non-workable. Somehow, I accidentally cleared a path to the far northeastern corner of the room where another platform was made available. I still don’t understand how it worked or what I did, but it’s done.

Proceeding through this newly revealed corridor, I found stairs down to a set of tombs in level four in which I found the hilt of the sword of justice! Returning the sword to Shak, he agreed to repair the thing in an hour giving me three out of the four required talismans to complete the game! The only problem is repairs are in real time. It literally takes an hour of in game time. Luckily, I was able to use the bedroll to sleep for this one and get the sword immediately, but repairs I had done for lesser equipment had consisted of me bringing the weapon or armor to Shak and leaving the game running while I did something else for ten minutes until the repair was done. I am not a big fan of that design decision.

[I sure waited long enough.]

In the end, I had three out of the eight talismans and had completed level four of the abyss. With things coming together quickly, I am hoping I can complete the game within the next two weeks. But… we all know how my scheduling goes so this may not come to bear. Anyway, it’s time to pump my sword stat so I can use this indestructible Sword of Justice for the rest of the game. I hope all of the other items are as useful as this one.

What’s next?

I have already completed level five of the abyss and will be posting about it shortly. In the meantime I hope to work ahead of schedule and have the game finished ahead of the blog content so I can post more regularly. I apologize for the slower pace, but daily life has been hectic lately and I’m trying to play in the middle of all that. Until next time, see you on level five of the Stygian Abyss; definitely the strangest one yet.

--Backlog Killer