Interview: IGN, Jeff Skalski, Ultima Forever as a Link to the Past

IGN has posted one of the latest interviews, and it’s a very good interview with Jeff Skalski, Ultima Franchise Producer, covering the free-to-play/cash shop aspects, the virtues, quests, the action and the fighting.

One of the things they won’t be selling is virtue:

You can buy new vanity gear to stand out in the crowd, or even a new weapon that has those stats you’ve been hunting for. Need a few more healing pots or a little more inventory space, we got you covered. Want early access to your favourite classes’ abilities? We’ll even let you snag those too. The only one thing we won’t sell is virtue. You have to earn that! 😉

Jeff also spoke a bit about the combat:

Sure, think Legend of the Zelda: Link to the Past, but you have 4-5 abilities instead of just swing. Our combat is positional based, and by flanking or hitting an enemy from behind you increase your chance to crit.

One of the better interviews that will answer a few more questions for those interested in Ultima Forever.

11 Responses to "Interview: IGN, Jeff Skalski, Ultima Forever as a Link to the Past"

Sanctimonia says:

August 8, 2012 at 7:20 am

I’m relieved that Jeff knows what Zelda III is and is making a comparison. Of course, even in The Legend of Zelda you could thrust your sword, throw your sword, shoot arrows from a bow, burn trees and enemies, throw and grab items with a boomerang, cast magic and fire from a wand, lay bombs to destroy enemies and the environment, move boulders, traverse water with a raft, play a flute, plant meat bait, heal yourself and block attacks. Good show, TLZ.

Hopefully Ultima Forever has at least as many gameplay mechanics as its 1986 counterpart. 😉

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Sergorn says:

August 10, 2012 at 10:22 pm

I think the one thing they should take inspiration from Zelda are dungeons. Ultima IX did that, and that’s part of why it has IMO the best dungeons of the series.

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1. iceblade says:
  
  August 11, 2012 at 6:42 am
  
  Iceblade liked that comment.
  
  They are probably one of the things that will be primarily kept intact in FW.
  
  Also, hopefully they will have party based puzzles, though I have to wonder how involved these dungeons will actually be when they only 15 minutes long.
  
  Reply
  1. WtF Dragon says:
    
    August 13, 2012 at 4:32 am
    
    I suspect some will be longer than that, though I say that without being able to point to hard evidence.
    
    Reply
2. God says:
  
  November 11, 2012 at 12:34 am
  
  I hated the dungeons in U9, just lame switch puzzles. I hated Ultima 9 in general because EA botched it. Its sad to see such a great game series with an epic storyline end up at the levels of Ultima 9.
  
  Reply
  1. WtF Dragon says:
    
    November 16, 2012 at 5:13 am
    
    Heh…whereas I and others feel that the dungeons, especially, were U9’s strength, for their variety.
    
    Although I’ll grant that Hythloth was annoying, damn fish.
    
    As for Ultima 9, you’ll find people here who love it and hate it, but I don’t think we need to launch into that particular debate just now. Thanks for the comment; keep popping by!
    
    Reply
Sergorn says:

August 13, 2012 at 12:52 pm

Also perhaps the “15 minutes” comments refers to a time you can complete a dungeon, but the time it takes to do everything there is to be done in it.

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Sanctimonia says:

August 20, 2012 at 8:37 am

It’s beginning to dawn on me how Ultima fans appreciate so many different aspects of the various games, with the only unifying similarity being the IP/name. Almost as if Ultima were a symbol rather than a concrete set of evolving yet familiar characteristics.

For example, Sergorn complimented Ultima IX’s dungeons (which I can’t comment on), but I loved those of Ultima V and VI. VII’s sucked of course compared to previous versions, but were cool if you hadn’t seen the others. The TLZ’s dungeons were consistently dominant in almost every way.

Another example, Iceblade spoke of party-based puzzles. I never thought of Ultima has having puzzles, but in retrospect they did. Another idea about what makes a good Ultima game.

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1. WtF Dragon says:
  
  August 20, 2012 at 9:00 pm
  
  I will totally second Sergorn on U9’s dungeons. The dungeons in U6 were, indeed, formidable and commendable, not to mention deep and complex. For the most part, U9’s dungeons are that as well…and while they probably don’t have as many raw miles of corridor as do the U6 dungeons, what they DO offer above and beyond The False Prophet is variety.
  
  That’s the real selling point about the dungeons in U9; each has a very unique character to it, in terms of tone, opponent types, and visual feel. The dungeons don’t just feature the same reddy-brown walls over and over again.
  
  Reply
  1. Sanctimonia says:
    
    August 22, 2012 at 8:37 am
    
    IBM-PC and compatible Ultima V dungeons have EGA (16 color) mountain, block and mine dungeon varieties. To me the selling point was how deeply I felt myself within an Ultima game while exploring the dungeons and overworld. If it didn’t feel forced and I was invited in by sheer smoothness of experience then I feel it succeeded.
    
    Reply
    1. WtF Dragon says:
      
      August 25, 2012 at 12:24 am
      
      I suspect you’d like U9’s dungeons…I really do.
      
      Except maybe Hythloth. Nobody likes Hythloth. It’s a bitch of a dungeon.
      
      Reply

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