This remake of Ultima 4 traces its origins back to July 2003, which is when the Ultima IV Reborn mod was released for Neverwinter Nights. Years later — in 2010, to be more precise — Ultima IV Reborn saw a number of bug fixes and updates made to it courtesy of Glanestel Dragon, mostly based on feedback from people who had played the mod. An Italian translation was released soon thereafter, and was later converted to a dual-language (English and Italian) version, keeping all of the updates and enhancements that had been introduced in the Italian version, but adding in the faux Middle English text and dialogue again.

Additional revisions to Reborn adjusted the appearance of many of the monsters (to bring them more in line with Ultima lore), custom portraits , custom item icons, and Ultima-themed loading screens were also included. Several optional bits of content — an Ultima-themed GUI, an Ultima music pack, and still yet more Ultima-inspired character portraits — were also made available.

This reworked version of Reborn has given the mod a significant overhaul, enough that it should be treated as a separate mod. It features a new introductory sequence, a new endgame sequence, and new loading screens. Towns have been integrated into the landscape of Britannia, karma point accrual and loss has been tweaked (making it possible, or at least much easier, to advance in Honesty, Compassion, Justice, and Sacrifice). New items have been added (including swamp boots!), some item behaviours have been adjusted, and many bugs have been squashed.

Importantly, Rebirth only works with Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition, the updated — and still-maintained — version of Neverwinter Nights released by Beamdog. You can download all the various files needed to run the mod from its home at the Neverwinter Vault, or from the brand new project entry for it here at the Codex.

Oh, and if you want to see the mod in action, here’s a walkthrough of the introduction: