Teaser Question #1
What were the Ultima?
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Anthony Salter says:
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Infinitron says: -
carademono says:
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Slashie says:
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“Ultima Online: New Legacy” Has Launched – The Ultima Codex says:
Uh…
From this question I surmise that the new Ultima game is going to give an actual meaning to the word “Ultima” in the context of the game?
(It’s interesting to compare Ultima with Final Fantasy, another series whose name has nothing to do with the actual games. ‘Ultima’ is of course the feminine form of ‘final’ in Latin)
I keep remembering how Richard Garriott wanted to name the first game Ultimatum but couldn’t due to legal issues.
Boy that would have sucked as a title.
In spanish, Ultima means “the last”, so it was very funny when we said “Ultima” and then “Ultima 2”, “Ultima 3” and so on…
“The last” is one meaning of “ultima”; the word can also mean “the furthest”; we see it used in this fashion in the phrase “ultima Thule“, which — depending on how literal you want to get — can either mean “the furthest north” or “beyond the known world” (in a northward sense).
I’ve actually always interpreted Ultima — in its use in the series — to mean that Britannia is “the furthest” outpost of human-like life. That’s my own reading of things, though.
Infinitron: Good guess…but for once this has nothing at all to do with Mythic. Whatever it is I’m teasing here, it’s something other than that.
I never really gave any thought about the meaning of Ultima. It just is a cool name for a series that is the Ultimate gaming experience!
Altima, isn’t that a car manufactured by Nissan?
The furthest one man, and the people who follow suit, shall strive for apotheosis, as well as the farthest that they shall fall should they fail the virtues!
Besides that, I always assumed the same as Sergorn; that this series is simply the Ultimate one. So much for humility, Lord British!
For me, they are lives that have become fond memories bleached by the passing of time and the concerns irl, sometimes rekindled by some fan project, some juicy “news” about that glorious past and how it could have been better, how it bettered some of us, how it still has a thriving legacy and a future.
The Ultima made me, they were my growing up, the first gameverse with a lore worth the name, a history worth pondering, mysteries kept forever for millions of player to ponder upon, whether by design or accident.
They were a kind of ultimate world-immersive gaming experience that few have managed to reach up to in terms of engaging content and human depth.
But back to earth, they could have been more and I see it now as a failure, a failure of our modern covetous “capitalism” that sadly repeats other and other and not just in the gaming industry. This world seems bent on becoming a hell hole. Where did we go so dastardly wrong?
Again, the Ultima were an unique experience that changed and shaped meany and seems to be increasingly difficult to share with youngers players – such a shame. But let’s not despair, no deceit shall veil our minds for long, other experiences were and will be to them as transcendental and shall not earn our despise, even if not as philosophical.
… Heading back to the Abyss ^^
“What were the Ultima”
Wait a minute, are the Ultima no more? Or have they just changed from what they once were? Sort of sounds like asking “what were the Lumerians?”; a foreboding kind of question. Also, this phrasing makes them seem a noun rather then simply an adjective…or maybe it’s both. Obviously plural. Capitalized, but still alien enough not to be a “Who”.
If they were a people, my guess as to what they were is: extreme. But there’s a few things we need to know:
When is the time of the Ultima?
Where were the Ultima?
How are the Ultima?
and Why do you ask?
I ask…
…because it’s a tease for what is to come!
Ultima II – that was one damn fine line of eye makeup!
Spawn of the wizard “Revlon”, I believe.
*ponders* The Ultima were journeys to other worlds, linked to our own. I always liked the idea that I was playing as “me”, becoming the Avatar as I passed through the moongate (though the time my TV got stolen was a little annoying).
And according to my Infinity Eternal lore (that I made up :-p ) Britannia was not the furthest world with human life. Wouldn’t it instead make sense that stronger connections were with “closer” worlds, and weaker with ones that are “further away”.
*starts to get nostalgic thinking about the large amounts of lore and worlds you could visit in IE*
By your words WTF, and the way the question is worded. The Ultima sound like a not-so-clever way to introduce a back-story further back than Mondain.
“The Ultima sound like a not-so-clever way to introduce a back-story further back than Mondain.”
…Through the return to Serpent Isle? Sounds like a good place for some retroactive continuity that will blow our minds and preconceptions about what Sorsaria was from the beginning. Do they have the audacity to turn their beloved series on it’s head with a fan game?
But since I’m not established in my Ultima lore, that sort of thing won’t inflame me too much.
For me, the Ultima was the undiscovered country of self discovery; that which I long ago dipped my toes into with Savage Empire and the Black Gate, but mostly watched my brothers go forth with minor understanding. For too long it has been vague and alluring to me, and when enough of these fan games are complete, and this new Mythic thingy, I will take the plunge and know at last what the Ultimas were, and what they are.
It has nothing to do with any of the remake projects.
Mostly.
A series of computer role playing games for the Apple ][, subsequently ported to other operating systems.
A question. What were the target OSs of each of the nine canonical Ultimas? Was VI the first Ultima game targeted first to DOS on IBM-PC and compatibles? I know the earlier ones were written for Apple’s OS at the time.
Ultima Return is definitly bringing a lot new lore… I don’t think this teasing has anything to do with us however, or else I’d know.
Isn’t that a sedan made by Nissan? j/k
Seriously, it’s a bit shameful to admit, but I never gave much thought to the name either. My first experience with Ultima was the NES version of Ultima4, which I had alongside the first Final Fantasy and several other games who’s names had little to do with their content. I suppose in that environment, it was just easy to except a name as having no specific context other than for marketing.