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- **** The Exodus Project ****
- * Ultima III Upgrade *
- * *
- * Release 3.1 *
- ****************************
- Table of Contents:
- 1 - Disclaimer
- 2 - Project Scope
- 3 - Current Features
- 4 - Installation Instructions
- 5 - More Information
- 6 - Credits
- 7 - Contact Info
- 8 - Nifty Quote
- 1 - Disclaimer:
- Please note that Ultima is a registered trademark of Electronic
- Arts, Inc (EA). This project is not affiliated with nor endoresed
- by EA. You must own a legal copy of Ultima III: Exodus in order
- to apply this patch.
- 2 - Project Scope:
- The goal of this project is to convert Ultima III: Exodus
- for the PC up to newer standards.
- The first phase of this project was to convert the legacy
- CGA (4-color) graphics to lesser-legacy EGA (16-color)
- graphics. Let's face it: magenta, cyan, and grey were not
- exactly pleasing to the eye. I conformed loosely to the
- C64 color scheme, and used some tiles from the PC versions
- of U1 & U4. (As of v1.0, this phase is complete!)
- The second phase added MIDI music to the game. Many
- thanks go to Aradindae Dragon (co-author of the U4 MIDI
- Upgrade) for supplying me with the MIDI package in the
- first place. (As of v2.0, this phase is complete!)
- The third phase of this project added VGA (256-color)
- graphics to the game. Having a series of successes with
- other upgrade projects, I had learned quite a bit more
- about assembly language since I first started this hobby,
- so I modified the architecture to be more driver-oriented.
- This allows for easier maintenance and increased
- extensibility in the future. It also enabled the addition
- of a driver to simulate CGA Composite mode. (As of v3.0,
- this phase is complete!)
- Other goals that are not necessarily part of any particular
- phase include adding Quit and Restore hot keys, slowing
- down or controlling the game speed, and adding an
- option to disable the annoying "AutoSave" feature. (As of
- v2.1, all these features have been added!)
- Future enhancements might entail modifying the sound effects
- to be generated by WAV/MP3 data, looking at using SVGA DOS
- libraries for higher-resolution graphics, and/or allowing others
- to more easily customize the graphics and music. At the moment
- though, I feel the U3 Upgrade is in a very good spot where it is,
- so don't expect these things any time soon (or perhaps ever).
- 3 - Current Features:
- This is currently Release 3.1, which supports the following
- features:
- 1) Fully colored VGA (256-color) tiles
- 2) Fully colored EGA (16-color) tiles
- 3) A Composite-mode CGA (16-color) simulation driver
- that operates on the CGA data; see more info at:
- https://sourceforge.net/p/ultima-exodus/wiki/CGA%20Composite/
- 4) EGA/VGA/Composite dungeons are also in color
- 5) Peer Gems yield a multi-colored look at the world
- map, versus only texture in the CGA, C64, and Apple
- II versions
- 6) Restore (ALT-R), Exit (ALT-X), and Main Menu (ALT-M)
- hotkeys have been added to the game. ALT-X is also
- supported while at the Main Menu.
- 7) A Frame Limiter that eliminates the need for moslo
- 8) Enhanced MIDI Music from the C64 and Apple II versions
- 9) Ability to Enable/Disable the AutoSave feature
- 10) Replaces the 0-7 moon phases with actual moon icons
- 11) Gameplay balance fixes related to monster generation and
- food consumption rates.
- 4 - Installation Instructions:
- 1. The PC version of Ultima 3 must already be installed on
- your hard drive. If you have a previous version of the U3
- Upgrade installed, you may:
- a) Replace it with a fresh copy of Ultima 3. (be sure to
- back up your savegame files ROSTER.ULT and PARTY.ULT if
- you do)
- b) Alternatively, if upgrading from v3.0, you may uninstall
- it with "BINUNPAT U3UP-30.PAT". This will reverse the
- changes to the Ultima 3 binaries and restore it to its
- original 1980's state.
- 2. Unzip the U3 Upgrade zip file into your Ultima 3 directory
- on your hard drive. This step will not affect your current
- installation or saved games.
- 3. Apply the binary patch to the game files:
- a) If installing from Windows, open a Command Prompt and
- navigate to the Ultima 3 directory. Run "BINPATW
- U3UP-31.PAT".
- b) If installing from Linux, open a shell terminal and
- navigate to the Ultima 3 directory. Run "./binpatl
- U3UP-31.PAT".
- c) For all other systems, start your DOS emulator (e.g.
- DOSBox) and navigate to the Ultima 3 directory. Run
- "BINPAT U3UP-31.PAT".
- 4. Run ULTIMA3.COM in a DOS enumalator to start the game.
- Optional steps:
- - This version ships with default configuration. You can change
- this configuration in one of the following ways:
- a) If in Windows, run U3CFGW.
- b) If in Linux, run u3cfgl.
- c) You may start your DOS Emulator, navigate to the Ultima 3
- directory and run "U3CFG".
- Modify them as you see fit and press 7 to save the configuration
- and exit.
- - This version ships with General MIDI as the default driver. You
- can change this by running SETM.EXE from the Ultima 3 directory
- to configure a different sound card. This must be done from a
- DOS emulator.
- - You can run U3RESET.EXE to reset the game map if you want
- your party to enter an uncharted Sosaria. Your party must
- be dispersed in order to clear the map. This program will
- not affect the Roster.
- 5 - More Information:
- Please read the following text files for more information on
- this packge.
- HISTORY.TXT - History of updates to U3 Upgrade
- FILES.TXT - Describes files in U3 Upgrade package
- 6 - Credits:
- Thanks to all the people who have submitted comments, suggestions,
- and bug reports thus far. Your comments are greatly appreciated,
- and have helped to make this a better upgrade to a great game!
- Thanks twofold to Aradindae Dragon (Ryan Wiener) for a) supplying
- me with the Midpak drivers and b) helping me to get them working
- properly.
- Thanks also to Wiltshire Dragon for his beautiful VGA tileset
- from the Ultima IV Upgrade, without which I would have to go
- scouring the 'net for graphic artists willing to do this.
- Thanks to NewRisingSun for posting Composite CGA screenshots to
- MobyGames, inspiring me to return to the U3 Upgrade and write a
- Composite CGA simulator.
- Thanks to nakedbaby on GOG.com for asking about the status of
- v3.1, prompting me to focus on getting this release out finally.
- Thanks to the Ultima Dragons of rgcud and Facebook for, well, just
- being the outspoken group that they are.
- And thanks especially to Richard Garriot for creating Ultima III
- in CGA and forcing us to play it on RGB monitors, thus inspiring
- me to learn assembly. ;)
- 7 - Contact Info:
- Please email me with comments, rants, suggestions, bugs, etc. Do
- NOT email me for pirate copies of Ultima III (or any game for that
- matter). And say "NO!" to SPAM!
- Michael C. Maggio
- Voyager Dragon, -=(UDIC)=-
- voyager@voyd.net
- Project WebSite - http://exodus.voyd.net/
- SourceForge - https://sourceforge.net/projects/ultima-exodus/
- 8 - Nifty Quote:
- "Truly great madness can not be achieved without significant
- intelligence."
- -- Henrik Tikkanen
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