Cambragol updated the Ultima IV – Threat of the Trinity development blog recently, discussing how beta testing of his extensive mod for Ultima 4 is now undergoing a second round of beta testing:

Beta testers are going through their second playthrough, testing the updated content.

After feedback from the first playthrough, a substantial chunk of content was added to provide optional pathways to complete the Threat of the Trinity. Concomitant with that, a set of optional quests was included, as well as a complete set of ‘Random Encounters’.

It would see that the beta test met with somewhat mixed feedback, though this led to a number of important changes in the mod:

The beta-testers were split on the difficulty of the overall ‘game’, with one feeling it was hard, but doable. The other felt it was hard, and maybe a bit too hard. Certain aspects of Threat of the Trinity are pretty brutal. Without getting into detail about what that brutality is, I can say that I decided to overcome it, or at least address it, by adding this new content. The beta-testers did not feel that the brutality was bad really, but at least one thought that some alternative pathway, or ways to address the difficulties, would be good.

So I set forth to create a series of ‘optional quests’ which, though not critical, can make certain aspects of the Threat of the Trinity a bit easier to get through. They are non-critical, and a hardcore player could just forgoe them and forge ahead with a direct assault on the original content.

While forging ahead with that I decided to finish my partially completed set of random encounters. They are now done and polished and in game. Around 30 encounters, ranging from a lonely campsite in the grasslands, to 6 level lost ruins, complete with treasures, monsters, and NPCs.

You can check out some new screenshots in the blog post. Toward the end thereof, Cambragol addresses the all-important question of a possible release date:

Frankly, it could be released right now. It is 99.9% done. It just needs a final pass to weed out any remaining bugs, and to ensure that the new content works. To that end the Beta-testes are doing another complete playthrough (They are dauntless). Once they are done, and they and I are satisfied, then it will be 100% done.

When it is 100% done, I will think about a release date. And a release method. I am a little loath to do a digital release. In this day and age, downloading an app or a game just seems so cheap and trivial. Digital distribution has taken away the wonder of buying a game with a box, a map, booklets and other goodies (maybe digital distribution hasn’t taken this away, but they are certainly two extremes). I don’t feel it would be really right to distribute this ‘mod’ digitally, considering the origin of the game, and its place in the legends of ‘feelies’ releases.

Additionally, Cambragol has released an updated version of his Rideable Dragon mod for Ultima 4, which adds — what else? — a dragon capable of being ridden by players to the game. You can grab that from the Threat of the Trinity project entry here at the Codex.