Spam Spam Spam Humbug

The response to the announcement of New Project Britannia has been overwhelming, so let's talk a bit about what the project needs and where we want to see it go.IntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMixNew Patrons & Shout-OutsI want to give a shout-out to Josh Nielsen, a.k.a. Joshontheweb (you can find him on Twitter: @joshontheweb). He's a long-time Ultima fan, and a long-time fan of the Codex as well; we've been mutual follows on Twitter for a few years now. And it turns out that he's actually working on Zencastr. Josh and I had a really engaging discussion on Twitter about Zencastr and some of the features that would turn it into a powerful podcasting platform, and it's cool that in addition to being passionate about all things audio (to our great benefit), he's an Ultima guy.And I owe a few shout-outs, in particular, to Sergorn Dragon, Browncoat Jayson, and Iceblade, though for different reasons. Sergorn and Iceblade get the nod for their gentle (and sometimes not-exactly-subtle) prodding over the last few months; we've been sitting on the New Project Britannia idea for a while now, and I was the main reason for the delay. It took a long time — too long — to finally get a subdomain set up for it, and to announce it formally. Browncoat, meanwhile, deserves acknowledgement for his hard work in putting together much of what will comprise this episode, actually. We'll be talking a lot about the things that New Project Britannia aims to create, what it needs to see those things created, and what resources exist to get the project off the ground and running.Follow-Up From Previous EpisodeYou know, arguably, this whole episode is going to be follow-up from last week's episode, since we'll again be talking about New Project Britannia. Still, there were a few comments posted to the previous episode's forum thread that I'd like to draw attention to.First off, both T. J. Brumfield and our own Linguistic Dragon spoke to the issue of how those who don't necessarily have talent as coders or visual artists might contribute to the project. Both Brumfield and Linguistic are passionate and avid writers, for example, but neither has any familiarity or skill with Unity proper. My thoughts on this are that while much of New Project Britannia will in fact require a high degree of technical skill, those who can write — and write well — can likely still contribute to the project in some way. After all, it would probably be a good idea to build up an asset kit of books, scrolls, and other documents all pre-populated with lore-appropriate text. Project teams could then take this kit and add a dash of readable, ready-to-go flavour to the bookshelves and nightstands of Britannia.AvatarAcid had a similar concern; he's not terribly familiar with Unity and doesn't feel he has much skill as a designer or coder. Of course, if you've seen his work with Minecraft, you'll already be well aware that he has some significant skill with creating terrains in that particular game. And as such, he has graciously volunteered to contribute heightmaps of some of the terrains — he has actually already shared the maps for the Gargoyle Realm (from Ultima 6) and Morgaelin (from Ultima 8). I just have to convert these into the RAW format that Unity can import, and they'll be ready to go as downloads....the first downloads for New Project Britannia.

Project Britannia II: a new framework to be built by and for the Ultima & SotA fandoms, which intends to become the go-to resource for Ultima & SotA fan projects.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on StitcherIntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMixNew Patrons and Shout-OutsFirstly, I'd like to give a shout-out to Cody, who recently adjusted his Patreon pledge...upward, just to be clear. That was a really cool thing to do; thanks!Also, a note of thanks to Juliet, who sent in the first topic suggestion we've received to date. That's right: thus far, we've thought up all of the things we've talked about ourselves. But she had a great suggestion — she wonders if we'd consider doing an episode on how the Ultima series handles the subject(s?) of masculinity and femininity, and how these are explored in different characters and/or the Virtues. (Note that we're not going to get into that today; it's a great suggestion, but we need a little more time to prepare.) So thanks for that, Juliet!(She's also something of a fan of Linguistic's writings, by the way.)Podcast Topic(s)Some History: Project Britannia is a name that will most likely ring a bell to any Ultima fan that followed the development of the numerous fan projects which emerged during the first decade of the century. It was born from a technological and artistic collaboration between Team Lazarus (Ultima V: Lazarus) and Team Archon (The Ultima 6 Project). Both teams were originally working separately on their respective Ultima remakes, both using the Dungeon Siege engine. Both teams had different strengths, and it became obvious that sharing resources would be the best way to ensure that both projects came to fruition. This led in turn to the birth of Project Britannia: a wonderful endeavor that aimed to offer a complete set of game systems — and a complete map of Britannia — to use as the technical basis for other Ultima fan projects. And while it never achieved wide use beyond the two projects that helped create it, Project Britannia is what allowed for both Lazarus and the Ultima 6 Project to be completed. If there is a lesson to learn from this, it is that as fans we gain strength from unity and collaborative efforts, rather than by slaving away in our own separate ways.Now, as noted, Project Britannia didn't go on to serve as the foundation for any other projects. While early plans for Ultima: Return (or, as it was known then, Return to the Serpent Isle) toyed with the idea of using Dungeon Siege and the Project Britannia framework, multiple design issues as well as the engine's dated feel and controls led to the decision to create Ultima: Return with the Neverwiner Nights 2 engine instead. Oh, and let's also not forget Dungeon Siege's significant compatibility issues with newer Windows versions, an issue that would only be exacerbated by the fact that Return would take years to develop.Another motivating factor in the decision to use NWN2 was the work done by the Realms of Ultima project, the team behind which was able to design a mind-blowing ship travel system for use in Neverwinter Nights 2 modules. Realms of Ultima was intended, from the start, to serve the same purpose as Project Br

In which we look at ways to get the Ultima games up and running on mobile devices. This is relatively easy in the case of Ultimas 1 through 8...but what about Ultima 9?Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on StitcherIntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMixNew Patrons & Shout-OutsA big shout-out to Browncoat Jayson and Golem Dragon, both of whom worked to keep the Ultima Codex up to date with the latest Shroud of the Avatar, Underworld Ascendant, and Crowfall-related news during the last few days of June and the first few days of July.There have been a few new patrons that have added their support to the Ultima Codex Patreon campaign over the last couple of weeks, so much so that the first funding goal of the campaign has been met! Patreon of course take their share of the monthly funds (the service itself does have to make money somehow), so what comes to me doesn't quite cover the hosting costs of the Codex...but it certainly helps.So a big shout-out and note of thanks to Cody, Richard Garriott, Stile Teckel, George, and Thorwan. We're on to the second funding tier now (the slider in the sidebar has been updated to reflect this)...and if we hit that, I'll be able to give the Codex server a much needed upgrade (adding to its processing power, memory, and storage).Podcast Topic(s)It has been a couple weeks since the last Spam Spam Spam Humbug episode, owing mostly to the fact that Withstand the Fury Dragon took a bit of a vacation...in real life, not just from posting on the Codex. So, to get back in the swing of things, the SSSH crew sat down for a nearly two-hour long chat...ostensibly about getting the Ultima games running on mobile devices, but which veered off into a number of other topics as well. You'll really have to listen to the episode in full to catch everything; the show notes below will focus on the various means of running Ultima games on mobile devices.iOSHaving been an iPhone user myself for a number of years, I've had ample opportunity to experiment with iDOS and iDOS 2, two ports of DOSBox developed for iOS by Litchie. iDOS 2 is obviously the newer one, and the one that is still in somewhat active development; there's a full tutorial on how to get Ultima 6 running in it here. Commenter Adam also produced a variant of these instructions, useful for getting more than five games running in iDOS 2, which can be found here (essentially, it involves creating multiple batch files, each of which contain menus with f

E3 has come and gone. There were actually some pretty neat things presented thereat, albeit EA has once again refused to announce a new single-player Ultima.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on StitcherIntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMixPodcast Topic(s)Sergorn Dragon and I have this thing we do every year, just before the first-day EA showcase at E3: we each pick odds that a new, single-player Ultima game will be announced. Over the years, we've broadened this category a little bit: we're not necessarily asking for a BioWare-level AAA cinematic experience, after all. It would be perfectly fine with us if EA took a page from Ubisoft and had a smaller indie studio do a new Ultima title that aimed to check off all the classic features of that series that fans have been missing in games ever since. (Ubisoft, as you'll recall, did exactly this with Might & Magic X, which was developed by Limbic Entertainment; the result was pretty great, all things considered.)EA, of course, continues to disappoint in this respect...and to be fair, the general consensus seems to be that their presentation at E3 this year was a disappointment overall. That said, they did announce a couple of interesting things, and we'll take a look at those in a bit.This year, I followed LazyGamer's E3 coverage, and they did a pretty bang-up job of it. So expect that most of what gets linked to in these show notes will be to articles of theirs. (Check out their photo gallery, as well; wild stuff therein.)Bethesda: This was apparently Bethesda's first E3, but it didn't show. Okay, there was that supposed “gaffe” whereby they “accidentally” went live on Twitch during a rehearsal, and inadvertently outed that they were going to announce Dishonored 2 during their show ...but I'm not sure I buy that it was actually an accident, you know? And even if it was, it certainly didn't hurt the official reveal of the game. The Dishonored series, you'll recall, is developed by Arkane Studios, who previously gave us Arx Fatalis (which game was nearly called Ultima Underworld 3). Harvey Smith, one of the studio heads at Arkane, is also a former Origin Systems guy; he was the QA Lead on Ultima 8, and was instrumental in the development and release of the massive patch for that game which (among other things) corrected issues with the jumping mechanic.

What is a companion, in an RPG context? What is a henchman? Does the distinction even matter, and if so, why?Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on StitcherIntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMixNew Patrons & Shout-OutsThis week, the Ultima Codex has new supporters on Patreon! Thank you, Pascal and kodenkm, for helping keep the site running.Follow-Up From Previous EpisodeSo how about that timing? I find time to actually comment on the latest and greatest Mass Effect 4 rumours, and BioWare up and announces Mass Effect Andromeda at E3. The setting would seem to have changed (per the rumours, it was to be set in a galaxy called, if memory serves, the Helius Cluster), but it looks like many of the other details that were leaked on Reddit have proven true. And the choice of Johnny Cash's Ghost Riders in the Sky for the trailer soundtrack was hilarious, and brilliant.Additionally, Stirring Dragon left a very lengthy and well-thought-out comment in reply to last week's episode. In particular, he made a couple of suggestions regarding how I might change my approach to the Codex in the future. The first one, I agree with unreservedly:First, I think it would be a good idea if you just offered early podcast access as a reward to anyone that donates to your Pateron campaign, even if they back it at the $1/month level. You can always come up with some higher tier rewards down the line if you think you need to, but this would be at least a nice incentive for all your supporters.This is a good idea. And as such, this episode of SSSH — and all future episodes thereof — will be available a day early to anyone who contributes at least $1/month to the Ultima Codex on Patreon.Stirring had another suggestion:It may be a good idea to consider creating a Patreon tier level for covering large budget game studio projects and their updates. How I envision this working is that any game company that has an RPG related game they would like to be covered by the Ultima Codex and a budget of $500k+ will need to at least be supporting your Patreon at the correct base level for that to happen. This level should also be required for any Kickstarter coverage for any related games. I think a $50/month tier for this is more than reasonable for the marketing exposure these type of games would get from the Ultima Codex. Honestly, there is no reason you should be spending your time covering large studio Kickstarters and updates about their games if they are not in some way supporting your efforts to do so. This is a very easy win-win for both sid

In which Withstand the Fury Dragon geeks out for a bit about Mass Effect 4 and Ultima 6, and muses upon the future of the Ultima Codex.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on StitcherIntroCrash Landing, from the Mass Effect 2 soundtrack.Podcast Topic(s)I was going to talk about some of the recent rumours surrounding the next Mass Effect game — which I'll refer to as Mass Effect 4 here even though that evidently isn't what it will be called. Yeah, it's not Ultima-related...but Mass Effect 4 does have, as its lead designer, a certain Mr. Ian Frazier...whom I hope we all recognize as Tibby, the project lead for Ultima V: Lazarus (which we still need to do an episode about at some point). Some coverage: http://www.lazygamer.net/rumour-2/did-a-mass-effect-survey-reveal-horde-mode-city-building-and-game-size/ Original Rumour: http://www.reddit.com/r/masseffect/comments/32yzxf/last_month_i_took_a_random_survey_about_mass/ Better formatting: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1031314 There's a couple things in particular that I want to call out in and among all the leaked details: Dialogue: Building upon the rich history of strategic dialogue that has defined the Mass Effect series, you can make meaningful choices in every conversation you have with characters that impact the way your game evolves. The next Mass Effect adds deeper control over your conversations through a greater ability to interrupt and change the course of the conversation as it is happening. During certain conversations, you will be able to take action based choices, such as the option to pull out your gun and force someone to open a door instead of convincing them to do it through conversational guile. Action based choices give you more options for how you approach dialogue with characters in the game and can lead to more extreme outcomes on the story as it evolves around the decisions you make when interacting with a huge cast of NPC characters. Seamlessly Travel Through the Next Mass Effect Universe: As you pilot your space ship, Tempest, across the 100s of solar systems that are seamlessly connected in the next Mass Effect, you will encounter new planets filled with valuable reso

Being an excerpt from the Journal of the Avatar, from the period of history known as “The Warriors of Destiny”.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on StitcherIntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMixShout-Outs and New PatronsSeeing as how this is the first time we'll be thanking new patrons, this is more of a shout-out to everyone who is already supporting the Ultima Codex via Patreon. So big thanks go out to Stirring Dragon, Seth, Violation, Adam, Chris, Neil, Gabi, and Jayson.Podcast Topic(s)Day 24 of the 8th month, 189th year of the Britannian CalendarThree days.That was how long it had been since we'd last seen the sun. It half-blinded us as we emerged from the prison caverns of Wrong, and made us trip and stumble over the rocky coast of Lost Hope Bay, yet even so, we were glad for its presence. The aches of the travel-weary, the wounds of battle, they can be soothed by rest or by magic, but there is no balm for the palpably oppressive gloom of the Underworld, except to escape from it - and between Dupre sliding halfway down an underground mountain amid the cacophony of the rockfall clanging against his armor, and a hallway of explosive traps culminating in a fight with four demons, that had been no easy task. Yet escape we had, with the Shard of Hatred nestled in my pack, and it was a relief. The six of us each found a perch, taking a moment to catch our breath now that we were back on the surface. The lapping of the waves against the rocks, the steady rise and fall of the waves, was soothing - the only sounds of running water in the Underworld were the roars of waterfalls echoing off the cavern walls. The light fluttering of wings had me tense for a moment until I heard the call that accompanied it and relaxed, reminding myself the sound no longer meant the approach of yet another pack of mongbats and the inevitable fight they brought with them, but that of harmless gulls, or perhaps even an albatross. Compared to the dank and dismal place we had just come out of, this was pure tranquility.But as much as I wanted to sit and savor the scenery, there was still work to be done and my desire to see it finished won out. Reluctantly, I rose. “We've still a job to do,” I told the others. “We make for the Abbey.”And one by one, they rose as well, without complaint.~~~Long as it was, the walk through the Deep Forest was refreshing, in a way. Though the thick canopy filtered the sunlight, it was still brighter than the torches we were forced to make use of in the Underworld - and better still, instead of seeing little more than the inky black beyond the glow of the torch, here in the forest we were treated to a display of nearly every shade of green imaginable. Shamino was certainly in better spirits because of it, humming a jaunty - though slightly off-key - tune as we walke

Do video games really need to grow up? Are they mostly just immature power fantasies at present, or are they vehicles for philosophy and mature storytelling?Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on StitcherIntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMixFollow-Up From Previous EpisodeReckoning's nods to Ultima. Especially the destinies & skill trees. Podcast Topic(s)Video Games Don't Need to Grow Up: Niche Gamer published an article a while ago attacking what they feel is the mistaken idea that video games are inherently immature: “One of the common themes of the so called ‘games criticism’ is the idea that video games as they are right now are simply immature power fantasies which exist purely to appeal to the lowest common denominator. The medium itself has the potential—there’s nothing in there that makes telling serious, intelligent stories through the games less viable than telling them through books or movies—but everyone but a few, under-appreciated visionaries prefer to focus on forgettable stories about heroes shooting villains. Things need to change if gaming is to be treated seriously.”Their take, then, is that while it could be possible to maintain this view if you only looked at a very narrow subset of games — Call of Duty and similar titles, for example — it's profoundly untrue if you consider both a broader selection of modern games, and if you look back at the history of the industry: “Imagine the most stereotypical plot for a role-playing game (computer or console, it doesn’t matter) you can think of. Chances are it will involve a sort of ultimate villain that needs to be defeated at the end of the game. It might be a dragon that kidnapped a princess, a cruel king, an evil wizard, a forgotten, evil or maybe something that came from space but it will be there—a final boss that waits for you in his lair, threatens the whole world, and commands an army of enemies for you to overcome.One of the ways of making things less cliche and giving the players something to think about would be to create an RPG that has no final boss, maybe even writing about a world in which all the major villains have been already defeated. This offers the possibility of a game that isn’t really about the good guys fighting the bad guys but about good guys proactively making the world a better place.Such a game exists. And it was made in 1985.”Now, what game could they possibly be talking about?5 Awesome Gifts Dungeons & Dragons Gave to Video Games: IGN, kind of as a companion piece to their coverage of Sword Coast Legends, published an article a few months ago that took a look at five ways in which Dungeons & Dragons, the pen-and-paper tabletop RPG system, exerted significant influence on video games. The five specific cat

Withstand the Fury Dragon never seems able to shut up about Big Huge Games' 2012 RPG, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Herein, he'll try and explain why.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on StitcherIntroGadflow, from the Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning soundtrack (composed by Grant Kirkhope). Podcast Topic(s)The great tragedy of Big Huge Games' Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is that it all but demands a sequel, and will never have one. Although its developer, Big Huge Games, has re-opened, the Amalur IP remains the property of Rhode Island in the wake of the 38 Studios bankruptcy.The setting of Reckoning, the world of Amalur, is wholly deterministic; everything and everyone in it is entirely beholden to a predestined fate. This fate can sometimes be foretold, in whole or in part, by the fateweavers of the land, but it can never be altered. And it is into this world that the player's character is resurrected, having been killed just prior to the game's beginning in the long-raging war between a race of immortal Fae called the Tuatha and the mortal races of Amalur. But the circumstances of the player's death and resurrection have resulted in something unique: a being who has broken free of the bonds of fate, and who is no longer beholden to a fixed destiny.The idea of a fateless being in the midst of a fate-governed world is an intriguing concept that Reckoning doesn't explore to its fullest potential, but there are certainly moments where the theme shines through. The storytelling is often at its very best in these moments, especially in those times where the player's mere presence disrupts the weave of fate and alters the destinies of individuals, groups, and entire races. Much of this occurs in the game's side quests, and those stories often eclipse the main plot. As the final act of Reckoning begins, however, the main plot finds its stride, and treats the player to a philosophically-charged, action-packed rush right up to the final confrontation. (Reckoning 2 would have, I've been told, explored the concepts of fate and destiny in greater detail. Alas!)Reckoning's world isn't a true open world, but is instead divided into several large areas. Each area is itself massive, and boasts a different biome. Where other fantasy RPGs of its era emphasized a muted colour palette, Reckoning opts for rich, saturated colours; part of the joy of exploring the world of Amalur is how staggeringly beautiful much of it is. The world is also heavily influenced by Celtic mythology, and much of the voice acting reflects this; it's a welcome departure from the Nordic motifs on display in other games in the genre.In some respects, Reckoning can be thought of as a single-player MMORPG. The game is methodically laid out, and while there are numerous narratively rich side quests in addition to the main story, there are also plenty of fetch quests and monster-killing missions. The crafting system is well-implemented, the skill trees add meaningfully to the gameplay, and the Destinies concept — essentially, interchangeable meta-classes that can be reassigned on the fly — adds an interesting strategic element to how you manage your character.Combat in Reckoning, however, is anything but methodical; it is hyper-kinetic and brutal, fast-paced and tactical. The key to combat in Reckoning is movement, and a

In which SSSH discusses the attention and detail that were put into the manuals and reference books that accompanied the Ultima games.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on StitcherIntroOC ReMix #44: Ultima IV 'trollbash' by Subliminal Labs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SQBKgHA9jUPodcast Topic(s)Kotaku — which, granted, is not the most historically literate gaming-focused website — posted an article recently which purported to discuss The Beauty of the Game Instruction Manual (http://kotaku.com/the-beauty-of-the-game-instruction-manual-1697341910). The manuals — digital and physical — for games like Minkomora, Tomb Raider, We Love Katamari, Mojib-Ribbon (the manual for which is, admittedly, both beautiful and something of a rarity), Final Fantasy 7, Bangai-O, and even Space Assault are discussed in the article. A few other games are mentioned in the comments.Notably absent from both the article and the ensuing discussion? Ultima. What was I saying above about historical illiteracy?Examples and ReferencesUltima 1 Manual Design Boards: http://gallery.ultimacodex.com/ultima-1-1986-manual-design-boards/Ultima Underworld Japanese Cluebook Art: http://gallery.ultimacodex.com/ultima-underworld-japanese-cluebook-artwork/Ultima 9 Packaging Design Notes: http://gallery.ultimacodex.com/ultima-9-packaging-design-and-patch-notes/Ultima 9 Box Art: http://gallery.ultimacodex.com/ultima-9-box-art-source-images/Origin Systems Manual Art and Paintings: http://gallery.ultimacodex.com/origin-systems-manual-art-and-paintings-by-chris-binky-launius/More Origin Systems Manual Art and Paintings: http://gallery.ultimacodex.com/more-origin-systems-manual-art-and-paintings-by-chris-binky-launius/Ultima Underworld Cover Art Sketches: http://gallery.ultimacodex.com/ultima-underworld-cover-art-sketches/

The Spam Spam Spam Humbug crew take a look at Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on StitcherIntroUltima V - Stones 2001 Remix by DJ Lizard (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I1eprpYEDU)Follow-Up From Previous EpisodeAdric speaks briefly to something from the Pillars of Eternity discussion.Podcast Topic(s)The Creation and Design of Ultima 5What were some of the obvious influences that Origin Systems drew on for inspiration? TolkienRobin HoodWhat were some of the significant changes in game design apparent in Ultima 5, as compared to earlier entries in the series?Simplification of classesSize of world in dual scaleInteractivityNPC schedules/day-night cycle?What kinds of feelies were included in the Ultima 5 game box?LB's expedition account as mapWhy was the Magic Axe so wildly imbalanced and overpowered?The Gameplay of Ultima 5What are the different gameplay approaches Ultima 5 allows for?SingleParty“Themed” gameplayWhat sorts of cheats, secrets, or exploitable bugs exist in Ultima 5?What are some of the more mysterious aspects of Ultima 5?AnkhAmulet of TurningThe Legacy of Ultima 5Are there any games that seem — or very obviously are — inspired by Ultima 5?How did Ultima 5 contribute to the larger mythos of Ultima?Some discussion of Ultima V: Lazarus is warranted, given that it is one of the most high-profile — and well-done — Ultima fan remakes of all time. Always remember: if you'd like to recommend anyone for a shout-out, send an email to UltimaCodex@gmail.com...which you can also use to suggest podcast topics, offer commentary or criticism about podcast episodes, and/or to volunteer your time as either an occasional or regular contributor to podcast sessions. As well, if you haven't already, you should totally sign on with the Ultima Dragons group on Facebook, or with the Ultima Dragons community on Google+ . The Facebook group is easily the larger and more lively, but that just means that the Google+ one needs a few more members posting content there on a more regular basis. Also, don't forget to contribute to the #udic hashtag if you're on Twitter. As well, please consider Liking the Facebook page for The Ultima Series, following the Ultima Codex on Twitter, or encircling the Ultima Codex on Google+. And whatever social network you favour, please also consider sharing any content posted to those social media profiles with your own follo

Spam Spam Spam Humbug gets group! WtF Dragon is joined by Boolean Dragon, Linguistic Dragon, and others to discuss Obsidian Entertainment's new RPG, Pillars of Eternity. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher IntroTitle Theme - Pillars of Eternity Soundtrack (Justin Bell)Podcast Topic(s)Pillars of Eternity: Obsidian Entertainment's Pillars of Eternity (http://eternity.obsidian.net/) was released a couple weeks ago. It casts players in the role of The Watcher, a uniquely gifted individual who can perceive the souls of others.Pillars of Eternity is also designed, in part, as a throwback to the Infinity Engine RPGs of the late 1990s and early 2000s (e.g. Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, and Icewind Dale). Obsidian's stated mission with Pillars of Eternity is to "recapture the magic, imagination, depth, and nostalgia of classic RPG's that we enjoyed making - and playing." Although built with the modern Unity 3D engine, Pillars of Eternity strives to recapture the isometric, essentially 2D look of the old Infinity Engine games, adding modern conventions only sparingly and where it will improve the overall "old school" experience.That Controversial Poem: Pillars of Eternity was, of course, crowdfunded via Kickstarter, and many backers submitted small pieces of content that were included in the game at various points. One of the rewards for pledges of $500 and up was "[the backer's] name and a personalized message on a MEMORIAL STONE IN-GAME".One such backer, Firedorn Lightbringer by handle, penned a somewhat off-colour poem for his in-game tombstone:"Here lies Firedorn, a hero in bedHe once was alive, but now he’s deadThe last woman he bedded, turned out a manAnd crying in shame, off a cliff he ran"This inclusion greatly upset Twitter user @icequeenerika, who called out Obsidian for allowing what she termed "transmisogyny" to be included in Pillars of Eternity. After some deliberation, Obsidian elected to contact Firedorn Lightbringer about the poem, who subsequently elected to change its wording:"Here lies Firedorn, a bard, a poetHe was also a card, but most didn’t know itA poem he wrote in jest was misreadThey asked for blood, so now he’s just dead"Was this the right course of action for Obsidian to pursue?Pillars of Eternity Tabletop RPG and Card Game: Pillars of Eternity has seemingly been a monumental success for Obsidian Entertainment, so much so that expansions to its universe are being considered in the form of a tabletop RPG and a card game (http://www.dualshockers.com/2015/04/06/obsidian-entertainment-looking-to-expand-on-pillars-of-eternity-with-tabletop-rpg-and-card-game/)."[Obsidian Entertainment CEO Feargus Urquhart] specifically detailed that the card game would release first under the guidance of another development company, and mentioned 'This isn’t like a [collectible card game] or anything like that, but it’s more just a fun, kind of, four people get around and play a single session card game.'In terms of the tabletop RPG, details around the game are still vague and in more of a conceptual state, with Urquhart detailing that the studio is still 'absolutely' investe

Proving once again that reducing something to raw numbers isn't necessarily the best way to appreciate its beauty: Kotaku commits journalism with a grand article about the Homeworld Remastered soundtrack. Also: useful Windows applications, encryption software, and sundry other gaming news. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher IntroTheme from the Castle of Death (Ultima III) by Dan Minut - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5EnSST8nM0Podcast Topic(s)Gaming “news” site Kotaku took a break from posting articles about the history of dicks — penises, just so we're clear, not toxic jerks — in video gaming (http://kotaku.com/an-abridged-history-of-video-game-dicks-1692489201) and inadvertently published a truly excellent article (http://kotaku.com/how-we-overhauled-the-homeworld-soundtrack-for-a-new-au-1692665327) that examined the creation of the soundtrack for Gearbox's Homeworld Remastered. The quality of the article was probably helped by the fact that it was written by Paul Ruskay, who has been doing audio work for computer games since the mid-1990s and who helped shape the sound of the original Homeworld games...in addition to leading the effort to remaster that audio for the recent re-release of the series.It's a fantastic look at the process by which the audio for the games was remastered, from the original backup tapes/hard drives to the final version. And it gives this podcast its title; that is how many sound files the remastered Homeworld games contain, and how many folders exist to contain all of them.Homeworld Remastered, for its part, seems to be a truly excellent collection, based on available reviews. (http://www.pcgamer.com/homeworld-remastered-review/). And yes, the sound design — which really was, and remains, truly excellent and gives Homeworld much of its unique feel and atmosphere — gets singled out for particular praise.Did you all hear about the Super Mario 64 tribute that popped up last week? (http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/27/super-mario-64-browser/) Unity developer Roystan Ross built a (what else?) Unity-based remake of the original game's first level — Bob-Omb Battlefield — and released it as a free, web-playable game that he called Super Mario 64 HD. If you didn't hear about it...you're now officially hearing about it too late; Nintendo issued a cease and desist order (http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/31/nintendo-squashes-browser-based-mario-game/). Mind you, I suppose that was kind of an obvious one.There was also a bit of a meme floating around a while back concerning Link, the protagonist — though not the titular character — of the Legend of Zelda games. Basically, as I understand it, the meme centered around whether Link, the character, would work just as well as a female; I don't know if the discussion also focused on whether or not the character of Zelda would work well as a male, because I did not follow it that closely. I did, however, take note of TechRaptor's take on the matter (http://techraptor.net/content/cant-link-girl), which basically was to argue that Link can't really be reimagined as a female character

In which WtF Dragon comments on Warren Spector's SXSW lecture on “the dangers of thinking of games as fun” and raises some objections thereto. Because the real danger is the idea that fun is necessarily the same as escapism.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on StitcherIntroUltima Music Market Place Uploaded by Pekka Leppäluoto - https://youtu.be/xO-lLTo8HUIPodcast Topic(s)Warren Spector, presenting at SXSW earlier this month, gave a talk on “the dangers of thinking of games as fun”. (http://herocomplex.latimes.com/games/sxsw-warren-spector-on-the-dangers-of-thinking-of-games-as-fun/)In it, he quoted a study that stated the value of the gaming industry, globally, is around $94 billion. He then went on to ask why games, despite the fact that the industry has outpaced the film and television industries, remained in a sort of cultural ghetto. His answer: that at least part of it has to do with the metrics used to measure a game’s success: namely, the idea that what makes a game successful is whether it is fun or not. Which, it would seem, he is opposed to.“People thought movies were trivial at one point, and now you can get a [film studies] PhD,” Spector said. “People thought that popular music wasn’t worth studying. People thought that television wasn’t worth studying …. [New forms of] media start out as outliers, and then over time they either go away or they become inside …. We’re a pretty darn central part of culture.” And yet, in spite of the fact that games are everywhere, Spector feels that “the dialogue surrounding them has failed to catch up.”Continuing along this line of thought, Spector went on to argue that those who write about games need to ask how the game fits within the surrounding culture — what does it say about gender roles or politics, for instance? It’s not enough to write off a game as “escapism.”“The obvious question to ask is what are they escaping from and what are they escaping to,” he said.Now, Warren Spector is a well-respected game designer, a luminary of the industry, and I'm just a guy with a microphone and a website. So, take what I'm about to say with as many grains of salt as you see fit...but I think the good Mr. Spector errs somewhat in his arguments here. Because he's right: games are a fundamentally different form of entertainment than television, cinema, or music. TV shows, movies, and songs on our iPods...we are passive participants in these forms of entertainment. We don't get any input into them; they are created only for us to sit back and take in.Games aren't like that; games are designed for us to interact with. Something happens in the game, and we — the player — respond to it. And then the game responds to our response in some way; there's a back and forth of action and reaction that takes place, and it is by that means that we navigate through the circumstances of the game, through its world and story. And fun — the notion that there is something in that action/reaction dynamic that produces enjoyment on the part of the player — is central to the idea of what a game is. I suppose I could cite Raph Koster's A Theory of Fun here, but...if a game isn't fun for the players, players won't stick with the game even if it has a really

The first Spam Spam Spam Humbug episode. Topics include RPG elitism, Shroud of the Avatar, ten rules for creating fantasy maps, and an iOS game that has come out now for Windows which is a keen homage of Wind Walker.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on StitcherIntroRule, Britannia, from George Nowik’s remix of the Ultima 3 soundtrackPodcast Topic(s)On RPG Elitism: This conversation in the Ultima Dragons Facebook group, in which a discussion about NPC schedules in Shroud of the Avatar turns into a debate about isometric RPGs versus RPGs that offer other viewing angles.And also this conversation in the same Facebook group, in which a discussion about Shroud of the Avatar’s ongoing crowdfunding success turns into a debate about Kickstarter games in general and what it even means to be a critical or commercial success.Ten Rules for Making Better Fantasy Maps: This is the article at io9 that kicks off the discussion. And Kevin Smith’s map — which I will work to restore the downloads for — can be found here.Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas: Get it now on GOG!Always remember: if you'd like to recommend anyone for a shout-out, send an email to UltimaCodex@gmail.com...which you can also use to suggest podcast topics, offer commentary or criticism about podcast episodes, and/or to volunteer your time as either an occasional or regular contributor to podcast sessions.As well, if you haven't already, you should totally sign on with the Ultima Dragons group on Facebook, or with the Ultima Dragons community on Google+ . The Facebook group is easily the larger and more lively, but that just means that the Google+ one needs a few more members posting content there on a more regular basis. Also, don't forget to contribute to the #udic hashtag if you're on Twitter.As well, please consider Liking the Facebook page for The Ultima Series, following the Ultima Codex on Twitter, or encircling the Ultima Codex on Google+. And whatever social network you favour, please also consider sharing any content posted to those social