New Download: The Ultima 4 Upgrade Graphics Patch Work With xu4
So I’ve been horribly lax in posting this, but it…anyway, back in 2013, Hurin came up with a solution to make Wiltshire Dragon’s Graphics Upgrade for Ultima 4 work with xu4:
xu4 v1.1 (http://xu4.sourceforge.net/) currently breaks support for the u4upgrad.zip pack (http://www.moongates.com/u4/upgrade/Upgrade.htm) by Aradindae Dragon and Wiltshire Dragon.
Most of that pack’s appearance has been worked into the built-in “VGA-ALLPNG” xu4 video mode. However, there are two issues:
- The base terrain is now green instead of black. This can be quite jarring for Ultima veterans since “black with green dots” has been the standard since Ultima I.
- The “HUD” has been changed.
This pack restores the original appearance of both. Just decompress this ZIP file and overwrite the PNGs in your xu4/graphics/png/ directory with the ones provided in this ZIP file. Then, replace xu4/conf/graphics.xml file with the one provided. The former step replaces the affected terrain tiles while the latter step enables the old “HUD” from the upgrade pack.
When finished moving around files, the “VGA-ALLPNG” video mode should appear and behave just like Aradindae Dragon’s and Wiltshire Dragon’s Graphics upgrade.
I attempted to make the result of this work its own “video mode” in xu4 so that “VGA-ALLPNG” could be left alone. However, adding another video mode caused inexplicable problems with the opening title screen. So this will have to do.
Hurin also devised a solution for the issues that xu4 has when displaying the endgame sequence in the same video mode.
You can grab the revised Graphics Update from Hurin’s site, or from the Ultima 4 Upgrade project entry here.
(Hat tip: Sir John)
I can’t believe anyone would play any game with those horrid hqx filters enabled.
For some people, it’s all about the fullscreen.
I always use filters with older games. Sorry for the purists, but the original pixelated art just look terrible on any modern screen, these old games weren’t meant ot be played on these. So yeah, filters are a must. 😛
That might be true, but using those filters totally destroys the graphics. Nothing there is enhanced or better looking – no matter the screen size.
Personally, I agree.
But I recognize, too, that not everyone else may feel likewise.
Truth renaak. People need to appreciate the pixel art more. As Bruce Lee said, “It’s like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.” Nobody played the early Ultima’s for the graphics anyway.
I’m with you, although I think a simple scaling feature is alright, especially when the game’s resolution doesn’t divide evenly into the game window’s resolution. If a game’s 320×200 then it’ll look good on any display at resolutions of 640×400, 960×600, 1280×800, 1600×1000, etc. When the AR changes or it is full screened and no longer divides evenly, some sort of scaling filter will need to be applied to help mask the fact that each pixel in the game is no longer the same size.
Pixel art when done correctly in a way is better than modern game graphics. It’s like a mosaic (limited resolution), rather than a mural (unlimited resolution). In the case of a game as old as Ultima IV you have an abstract representation of the game’s objects due to a limited color palette and small sprite size. In more modern games like Street Fighter II a more literal interpretation of the game characters is possible due to larger sprite size and fuller color palette. Even so, taking a highly detailed 3D model of Chun Li and scaling it down to SFII’s resolution would not yield as satisfactory a result as the hand-draw original art. That’s because an algorithmic reduction in resolution only works to a point, after which there is insufficient resolution to accurately convey important information about the subject. That is the threshold at which a skilled pixel artist can not only still artistically convey that information, but reduce the resolution further if necessary. The ability to do so successfully is an art form unto itself because it requires choices (which pixel is which color) that are based purely on aesthetics rather than mathematics. To the purist (or the pixel artist), applying an aggressive filter to the end result of that process could be considered offensive.
Then again, many consider Bud Light offensive and I drink it like water, so YMMV.