ultima IV is apparently unplayable by "ipod generation" gamers

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ionusX

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#1 ionusX
Member since 2009 • 25778 Posts

yes thats right.. apparently 18 and under folks cant STAND ultima IV.. mani remeber that game it was sooo much fun.

the main problem is they like their games hard and fast and simplistic.. the subjects they tested (age 16-19, male and female, harcore and casual) ALL couldnt handle the game and none of them could finish the game.. every single one gave up.

the test subject claimed they couldnt be bothered with such an indirect freeflowing game with no sense of direction.. they were even given the guidebooks (the old ones (yes those ones)) and they still gave up.

why? no one bothered to read the MASSSIVE book fo wisdom and book of britannia. as a result very few made any progress and simply gave up trying.

so how doe sone pwn a new age gamer.. challeneg em to a race to the finish in ultima IV

http://kotaku.com/5647135/the-old-role-playing-game-the-kids-cant-stand

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LovePotionNo9

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#2 LovePotionNo9
Member since 2010 • 4751 Posts

Sucks for them I guess. Doesn't mean all iPod owners are like that.

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rnstudent

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#3 rnstudent
Member since 2009 • 25 Posts

Ultima universe FTW! Played Ultima Online from 1997 to 2008!

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ionusX

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#4 ionusX
Member since 2009 • 25778 Posts

Sucks for them I guess. Doesn't mean all iPod owners are like that.

LovePotionNo9

the "Ipod generation" is a term not a stereotype. or to refer to actual ipod owners.

its the age of mobile computing and handhelds.. the ipod was the real obvious one on the lsit.. before it these items generally werent very popular.. technically spekaing one could say it started the smartphones, it started the netbooks and tablet, and it started the mp3 and mp4 as a file medium. or at leats made it significantly more mainstream.

and those born into that generation of people and grew up in it are the "ipod generation", just like there was a flower power generation back in the 1970's

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kaealy

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#5 kaealy
Member since 2004 • 2179 Posts

I'm turning 30 soon and I agree with this "ipod" generation. Even if the ultima serie were revolutionary for its time, it was not fun back then or now tryin' to solve puzzels which made/make no sense whatsoever.

The whole "space ace" thing really pushed me away from the series aswell.

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ohthemanatee

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#6 ohthemanatee
Member since 2010 • 8104 Posts

seriously? Ultima IV is one the best RPG's ever made

maybe the teacher should try showing these videos to their students

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enix165

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#7 enix165
Member since 2007 • 1848 Posts

I'm 15, I played it when I was 12 and liked it...o_o

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Archendrus

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#8 Archendrus
Member since 2010 • 306 Posts

The same seems to go for any RPG pre-1990 or so. I love when people label some old school games as "unplayable" ...hmm, that's funny, I'm having no problems playing supposed unplayable game =D

Oh! This is sorta off topic, but I was wondering what people's opinions on the NES version of Ultima IV are. I bought Ultima III for the NES a little while back as I heard it was pretty true to the original, with some improvements. I've read that the SNES Ultima games are horrible and stripped down, but I can't find a solid answer for Ultima IV.

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ionusX

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#9 ionusX
Member since 2009 • 25778 Posts

dragon warrior 1.. now THATS an rpg! twas my favourite game back in the day

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maxx1458

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#10 maxx1458
Member since 2004 • 1275 Posts

Young people these days need to be spoon fed when it comes to anything they do.

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ohthemanatee

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#11 ohthemanatee
Member since 2010 • 8104 Posts

dragon warrior 1.. now THATS an rpg! twas my favourite game back in the day

ionusX

Dragon Warrior was drew a lot of inspiration from Ultima 3

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ohthemanatee

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#12 ohthemanatee
Member since 2010 • 8104 Posts

The same seems to go for any RPG pre-1990 or so. I love when people label some old school games as "unplayable" ...hmm, that's funny, I'm having no problems playing supposed unplayable game =D

Oh! This is sorta off topic, but I was wondering what people's opinions on the NES version of Ultima IV are. I bought Ultima III for the NES a little while back as I heard it was pretty true to the original, with some improvements. I've read that the SNES Ultima games are horrible and stripped down, but I can't find a solid answer for Ultima IV.

Archendrus

From Wikipedia:

Graphics had been completely redone, as was the music. The dialogue options were quite limited once again. Another change is that you cannot have all seven recruitable characters in your party at the same time, as you could in other versions. Any character over the four you could have would stay at a hostel at Castle Britannia, requiring you to return there to change characters.

However, the combat system was fairly close to the computer games, with the additional option to use automated combat.

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Archendrus

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#13 Archendrus
Member since 2010 • 306 Posts

[QUOTE="Archendrus"]

The same seems to go for any RPG pre-1990 or so. I love when people label some old school games as "unplayable" ...hmm, that's funny, I'm having no problems playing supposed unplayable game =D

Oh! This is sorta off topic, but I was wondering what people's opinions on the NES version of Ultima IV are. I bought Ultima III for the NES a little while back as I heard it was pretty true to the original, with some improvements. I've read that the SNES Ultima games are horrible and stripped down, but I can't find a solid answer for Ultima IV.

ohthemanatee

From Wikipedia:

Graphics had been completely redone, as was the music. The dialogue options were quite limited once again. Another change is that you cannot have all seven recruitable characters in your party at the same time, as you could in other versions. Any character over the four you could have would stay at a hostel at Castle Britannia, requiring you to return there to change characters.

However, the combat system was fairly close to the computer games, with the additional option to use automated combat.

Hmm, I might pick that one up too then. Seems like a decent port =D

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timma25

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#14 timma25
Member since 2005 • 1131 Posts

I'm 21 and trying to play it for the first time now having downloaded the game yesterday. I must admit I have no idea what I'm doing. Maybe it doesn't help that I downloaded the game and have no idea where to find the information it keeps referencing to but just basic conversation is almost impossible. All I know is "job, quest, follow" and their is nothing to help teach me all the possible conversation options.

I've got no gold, the drops from monsters suck and I think my guys got poisened since I started losing health when moving a tile (and inevitably died for the first time). Until I came online today I had no idea what the point of the game was. To be fair to all the ipod generation, this is a really unforgiving game that does not welcome new comers.

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ohthemanatee

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#15 ohthemanatee
Member since 2010 • 8104 Posts

I'm 21 and trying to play it for the first time now having downloaded the game yesterday. I must admit I have no idea what I'm doing. Maybe it doesn't help that I downloaded the game and have no idea where to find the information it keeps referencing to but just basic conversation is almost impossible. All I know is "job, quest, follow" and their is nothing to help teach me all the possible conversation options.

I've got no gold, the drops from monsters suck and I think my guys got poisened since I started losing health when moving a tile (and inevitably died for the first time). Until I came online today I had no idea what the point of the game was. To be fair to all the ipod generation, this is a really unforgiving game that does not welcome new comers.

timma25
the lack of documentation is your problem, you're supposed to read all the documentation BEFORE you boot up the game
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#16 Jag85
Member since 2005 • 20629 Posts

yes thats right.. apparently 18 and under folks cant STAND ultima IV.. mani remeber that game it was sooo much fun.

the main problem is they like their games hard and fast and simplistic.. the subjects they tested (age 16-19, male and female, harcore and casual) ALL couldnt handle the game and none of them could finish the game.. every single one gave up.

the test subject claimed they couldnt be bothered with such an indirect freeflowing game with no sense of direction.. they were even given the guidebooks (the old ones (yes those ones)) and they still gave up.

why? no one bothered to read the MASSSIVE book fo wisdom and book of britannia. as a result very few made any progress and simply gave up trying.

so how doe sone pwn a new age gamer.. challeneg em to a race to the finish in ultima IV

ionusX

It's not just today's generation, but a majority of gamers tended to find computer RPGs inaccessible even back in the 80s. That was pretty much the reason there was a computer/console split in the first place: the primary reason console RPGs (like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy) were created was to make the genre more accessible to console gamers, who at the time were more used to playing accessible plug-and-play action games with colourful graphics, and couldn't be bothered to read long manuals.

The key difference between computer and console RPGs back then was one of accessibility and presentation, so it shouldn't be surprising that today's gamers (both computer and console types) who are even more used to accessibility and presentation would have even greater issues playing 80s computer RPGs, since even console RPGs from back then are considered inaccessible today let alone computer RPGs of that era.

The same seems to go for any RPG pre-1990 or so. I love when people label some old school games as "unplayable" ...hmm, that's funny, I'm having no problems playing supposed unplayable game =D

Oh! This is sorta off topic, but I was wondering what people's opinions on the NES version of Ultima IV are. I bought Ultima III for the NES a little while back as I heard it was pretty true to the original, with some improvements. I've read that the SNES Ultima games are horrible and stripped down, but I can't find a solid answer for Ultima IV.

Archendrus

The NES versions are basically remakes of Ultima III & IV updated in the style of Dragon Quest (itself inspired by Ultima and Wizardry, ironically) and produced by a Japanese company Pony Canyon primarily for a console audience. In other words, the NES versions of Ultima III & IV are basically designed to be more streamlined and accessible, using a Dragon Quest style menu system (as well as Dragon Quest III's automated combat feature in Ultima IV's case), along with expanded dialogues and a few cut scenes.

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#17 Articuno76
Member since 2004 • 19799 Posts
The OP has avoided making the point directly, but I think we can all feel the slight laugh-down-the-nose at the expense of the 'young-uns'. Is it possible that the game simply isn't worth playing now because it's been superceded by much more refined player friendly games that scratch the same itch? Many old games simply don't hold up because...they really aren't very good. People have choice now, they don't have to spend hours putting up with bad or primitive design decisions any more when they can simply get another game that probably didn't make the same mistake. I myself for this reason find I spend far less time trying to get into a game than I used to in the early 90s. That doesn't mean I don't play those games to death if and when I do get into them, but I certainly am not going to waste hours of my life 'trying' to enjoy a game, I am sure the same applies to younger people. Now if we are talking about a game that where climbing the difficulty curve and learning the intracasies of the system is worthwhile then that is all well and good (and perhaps somewhat of an acquired taste). Most old games however, simply are not of this variant of game.