Zygon Dragon has posted an update to the project website for The Ultima 6 Remake, which — in case you’ve forgotten — is an attempt to re-create Ultima 6 using Exult (and thus, in essence, the Ultima 7 engine). In short, the project is not dead, and work is being done on it still:

Hello everyone, back with a big update! Updates might be few and far between but work is still being done on the mod. I’ve been going back and forth between the usecode stuff and map work. I have finished a few more plot-essential dungeons: Shame (Despise?), Destard, Covetous/Wrong. I’ve fixed/added more of the main npcs conversations such as the hungry pirate you find in Shame and Bonn, the crazy hermit, and Sutek.

Work has started on a brilliant side plot schemed up by Pegbyter, regarding everyone’s favorite jester, Chuckles. It will solve a dangling plot thread from U5, and will have different ways to solve it, like a good Avatar or a very unvirtueous one. Some secret areas have been added that go along with it. Purists can go about the game and not even bother with the side plot or need to visit the areas, but you’ll definitely want to.

In between map work and coding the npcs, I’ve been working on getting the U6 balloon off the ground, so to speak. At the moment it lacks new shapes, but progress has been made. The next dungeon to be worked on will be Sutek’s catacombs, where his crazy experiments splicing things together weren’t limited to animals and monsters…

I have realized recently that while this is has been a huge project for all of us, it actually seems like while we have a lot to do, we’re VERY far along and it doesn’t seem as overwhelming anymore. Plotwise, the first half of the game is almost complete (everything on the Britannian overworld). Most plot critical npcs, dungeons, and map areas are just about finished. The remaining plot essential dungeons to the first half of the game that still need to be created are Captain Hawkins’ grave, Sutek’s catacombs, and Hythloth. That would leave the gargoyle world, gargoyle dungeons/shrines and all gargoyle npcs. Once the main plot can be played, filling in the rest won’t be hard at all. Knowing that the mod isn’t too far off now, things are coming along much easier. Until next time!

There are several new screenshots to check out, one of which can be seen above. Click on through to view the rest!