Ultima III (VIC 20) Released 20 March 2025 скачать в хорошем качестве

Ultima III (VIC 20) Released 20 March 2025

Download: https://vic20ultima3.wordpress.com 35K RAM expansion and a disk drive or SD2IEC required Ultima III: Exodus, released in 1983, was a groundbreaking computer role-playing game (CRPG) developed by Richard Garriott, also known as Lord British, and published by Origin Systems. It introduced several innovations, including a full party-based system where players controlled up to four characters with distinct abilities. The game also featured tactical, turn-based combat on a separate battle screen, that alone set it apart from many CRPGs of the time. Ultima III focused on creating a rich, immersive world with deep lore, character progression, and open-ended exploration. Players could freely navigate a vast overworld, visit towns and dungeons in almost any order, interact with townspeople, and make meaningful choices in their adventure. This sense of freedom was exceptional in an era when most games followed linear progression and high-score mechanics. Kenneth W. Arnold’s music score for Ultima III was groundbreaking in 1983, setting a new standard for game soundtracks. At a time when most computer games had little or no music, Arnold composed a dynamic, multi-voice score for platforms like the Commodore 64 and Apple II, enhancing immersion and storytelling. His memorable melodies demonstrated how music could reinforce themes and emotion, giving the game a distinct audio identity. This pioneering approach influenced future CRPG soundtracks, proving that music was not just an extra feature but a vital part of the gaming experience. VIC 20 Ultima III is a faithful conversion of the C-64 version. All game logic is included as-is. VIC 20 specific graphics and sound routines were created from scratch. The 16×16 pixel tile graphics from the C-64 version were carefully adapted to 8×16 resolution, flat-pixel tiles on the VIC 20. The port is based on Ultima III Gold, an enhanced C-64 edition released by MagerValp in 2007. He disassembled and documented nearly the entire Ultima III code for his project and generously provided his archived work folders to aid this port—an invaluable resource. Thanks to his prior work, developing the VIC 20 version became a two-month project instead of a year-long endeavor! The original music score by Kenneth W. Arnold is heard on the VIC 20, but instead of a SID chip or VIC 20’s out-of-tune square voices, the output is generated by a custom-built soft synth capable of playing three channels of sawtooth waveforms with envelopes and 9-bit frequency resolution, producing a 4-bit audio stream at 8.5 kHz. Although this synthesizer consumes approximately 60% of CPU time, the Ultima III game code still runs at an appropriate speed. This is achieved by using character mode instead of a hires bitmap, fitting the reduced-size tile graphics and text font into a single character set—allowing for up to 10 times faster rendering. Also, in dungeon and peer-at-gem views, where a small bitmap region is built from characters, the vertical resolution is half that of the C-64 version, with much less pixels to draw. Maybe a personal Ultima III anecdote to wrap things up? As teenagers, a neighbor and I completed Ultima III (and later Ultima IV), and there were at least three other young Ultima enthusiasts in town. Quite possibly, these games and the way they flirted with ye Olde English played a role in inspiring me to go and study English Philology at the University of Oulu a decade later. What does it feel like to look at someone else’s 40-year-old code today? Awe-inspiring. Every loop and conditional branch reveals that this was a labor of love. Back then, in Garriott’s parents’ garage, they may not have been the greatest programmers in the neighborhood yet, and looking at certain parts of the code it seems they only barely managed to do what they had perhaps envisioned—but they did, and the result was a defining moment in the Ultima series. One can observe how the computerized dungeon master’s duties and every roll of randomness are embedded in tight, concrete assembly instructions. Like reading a guidebook. The game logic is built upon 8-bit (and often BCD format) numbers, much like how a real-world RPG relies on dice. It’s no coincidence that a torch lasts exactly 256 turns! Journey Onward, Fare Thee Well, Thou Art Greater! Experience More, Lord Andreas Alexandros 0:00 Ultima III Commercial 1:38 Character creation, start game, visit town 6:22 Conflict with trolls 8:30 Gameplay after a few dozen hours 11:33 Visiting Town of Moon 14:14 Peer at Gem 17:58 Exploring a dungeon 36:04 Visiting Lord British 40:29 Sailing the seas, Silver Snake 45:46 Visiting Devil Guard 55:06 Visiting Ambrosia 1:07:34 Visiting another dungeon 1:10:43 Horsing to Exodus Castle 1:15:59 Attacked by... the floor 1:21:02 What a plot twist! Exodus is an Altair :) 1:23:49 Title screen, Iolo's Bows & Spinets, music & fx test (select song 0 and press Shift/Lock down to play notes, octave select by keys , . / )