No sooner do I remember to post news about Ultima 5 Redux than I find out that Brad Hannah has published a new update detailing his work on the project as of this month.

Notable changes in this update include a shift in perspective; Ultima 5 Redux now sports a more traditional isometric viewpoint. The lighting engine has seen additional updates, and at this point every object in the game has been converted to 3D (voxels). The rudiments of a UI HUD have been put in place; character stats are visible, as are item quantities and location tracking. The UI for conversations with NPCs has also been improved, and a basic inventory system has been implemented. Additionally, a few functions familiar to us from Ultima 5 have been implemented, including: [K]limbing of fences and mountains, [O]pening of doors, [J]immying of same, using [SPACE] to pass time, and [G]etting torches from walls.

Oh, and portcullis’ drop at night, now.

It’s also worth noting that there are actually two different parts of the Ultima 5 Redux project: Ultima 5 Redux proper (which is a utility for accessing and interpreting Ultima 5 game data and save files), and Ultima 5 Redux 3D, which is the voxel-based remake. That said, the project as a whole operates — and is publicized — under the Ultima 5 Redux name.