A few people have asked for the establishment of a list of ground rules that they can use in their own attempts to beat my 88 minute and 55 second Ultima 6 speed record. Because I think this is awesome (both from a community-building standpoint and because it means people will be playing Ultima 6), I put up a list of rules a while back which were to be the guidelines for any future speed run attempts. Here, then, are the finalized rules:

Part the First: Setup & Configuration

1. The game must be played using DOSBox. This can either be the Good Old Games version, or something you’ve set up yourself. (For the record: I used the GOG version.)
2. The CPU core emulation must be set to simple. (This is the GOG default.)
3. The CPU type setting must be set to 386_slow. (This is the GOG default.)
4. The CPU cycle count must be set to 3000. (This is the GOG default.)
5. The game must be configured to run in its VGA graphics mode.
6. You may use whatever audio setting grabs your fancy. I did my speed runs with the default AdLib sound, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying MT-32 sound if you’d rather.
7. You can upscale the game as you see fit; playing at original resolution is also acceptable (though it might be a bit difficult on particularly high-resolution monitors).

Part the Second: Evidence

1. The playthrough must be recorded, and the duration of the recording (or the sum of the durations of the recordings) shall be taken as your playthrough time. In DOSBox, video recording can be triggered by pressing CTRL+ALT+F5.
2. Playthrough videos must be uploaded to a video sharing service, e.g. YouTube. YouTube (and possibly other services) allow for uploads in excess of 15 minutes of length if you take certain steps; be sure to enable this feature if needed.
3. If your playthrough is broken into multiple videos, please ensure that your party is in roughly the same position at the start of each video as they were at the end of the previous one, or at least ensure that the game is in the same general state.
4. Video recording shall begin at the moment the game interface first appears following the introductory video. DOSBox will automatically terminate the video during the endgame sequence, when the game switches from the playable interface to the cutscene.
5. Playthrough duration will not include cutscenes, and the video(s) you upload do not need to include these. DOSBox will save these as separate videos, so you will not have to do any video editing.

Part the Third: Plot Points & Gameplay

The following plot points must be completed in order to actually pass Ultima 6: liberate all eight Shrines of Virtue, obtain the two Codex Lenses, obtain the Vortex Cube, obtain the balloon plans and build the balloon, obtain the sacred quest from the Temple of Singularity, and journey to the Shrine of the Codex to carry out what must be done there.

For my speed run, I played from a position of semi-ignorance; I made a point of talking — in each Virtue town — to the NPC who could tell me the mantra for the corresponding Shrine. I also made a point of visiting each of the three gargoyle Shrines — Diligence, Control, and Passion — in order to obtain the necessary mantras.

We can debate whether the above should be included amongst the rules. Here’s what I think should be the minimum standard:

1. If you have to complete a task to obtain an item, complete that task in the most expedient manner possible without killing any relevant NPCs. This is mostly the case with the Rune of Sacrifice; I think you can obtain it by killing Selganor, but for this playthrough you must go through the process of obtaining panpipes and playing Stones for him.
2. Use of the Pickpocket spell is not, strictly speaking, disallowed…but you’ll probably waste a lot of time reaching level 5.
3. No using Iolo’s cheat menu!
4. You must, at minimum, recruit Beh Lem at the appropriate point in the game; everyone else is optional. Technically, recruiting Sherry is also required at one point, but you do not need to keep her in the party if you don’t want.
5. I don’t know if it’s strictly necessary to obtain the Amulet of Submission from Draxinosum; it may not be. Regardless, it must still be obtained for the purposes of your speed run attempt.

Anyhow, as noted above, this is an initial proposed rule set. We can hash things out for a day or two, and on Wednesday the finalized rules will be published. At which point, Dragons and Dragonettes…start your DOSBoxes!