Open Beta... why not?!?

I guess I could share the link to the Ultima 4 game on my Blog. I don't think too many ppl read this (if any) so if anybody wants to take the game for a spin then here is the message I sent out to my Beta testers:


I had planned to build it in one month... it ended up taking 2 and a half; however, this was the most fun I’ve had in programming for as long as I can remember. I’d love to know what other people think of the game, especially people who played the original back in the eighties.

So without further adieu:
http://www.phipsisoftware.com/ultima4/Ultima4.html

When the Flash page loads up simply click on the menu page, and press I to Initiate a new quest. This will take you through the initial story, to the character creation questionnaire, and then into the game. From then on in you can ‘Journey Onward’ from the main menu to continue your old game.

I’ve posted a bunch of the original manuals online:
History http://www.phipsisoftware.com/ultima4/History.pdf
Mystic Wisdom http://www.phipsisoftware.com/ultima4/Mystic.pdf
Reference Card http://www.phipsisoftware.com/ultima4/RefCard.pdf
Small Map http://www.phipsisoftware.com/ultima4/Map.gif
Large Map http://www.phipsisoftware.com/ultima4/Map.jpg

Here’s a quick reference of some of the more important key commands:
Arrows move your party around.
E for entering cities and castles
O for opening a door
G to open up a chest (use a player with high DEX)
T to talk to townspeople (try JOB, HEALTH, NAME...)
R + W for readying and weapons & armor.
Z check out the stats and equipment of your party
Q to save your progress
K + D to climb up and down ladders
A to attack a creature
(beyond that check the reference card at the above link)

Finally, if (or perhaps when) you find a bug or other weird issue. Please send me an email. I’ve set up the following addresses to help collate new bug issues in the Ultima project:

Bugs and Gameplay Issues: ultimabugs@phipsisoftware.com
Game questions and general issues: ultima4@phipsisoftware.com
Compliments and letting me know when you’ve beaten the game: lordlegster@phipsisoftware.com

Cheers and let me know how your quest goes,
Blair (Lord Legster) Leggett

P.S. I have also found through recent testing that the game only works in I.E. and Chrome, but not in Firefox and Opera. I am attempting to resolve this issue asap.