[ATTN: Games SIG people] Someone mention Exult/xu4?

[Michael Fleming]

[ If you're not interested in Linux gaming or the SIG, feel free to skip
over this email, I won't take offence ;-) ]

Hey folks,

I've just had a wander through the Games SIG Wiki pages and noticed the
"Games of Interest", xu4 and Exult. Perhaps I can enlighten a bit? I'm an
old Ultima fan and have been for too many years :-)

I've tried to package Exult before, with limited success (and not using the
rather ugly spec the developers package) - it will compile on FC3 but dies
with a number of C++ related errors on anything later than that - I'll give
it another try if anyone wants something precise to work with, as it's been
a while and my C++ skills are practically nonexistent.

In regards to legality/ability to play games other than U7 on it, I don't
believe that's the case at this point - it was designed to play Ultima
VII/Serpent Isle on Linux because, at the time of it's inception, there was
no other way of doing so (I don't think dosbox was around or stable). Much
of the heavy lifting in Exult was deciphering the "usecode" which described
the game world and it's mechanics.

It'd be useful to folks that own the original games, but few others.

xu4 is possible, but the legality of distributing the Ultima IV data is
indeed murky as the terms have been misunderstood and lost over time. In
summary, it  was originally released to one magazine for it's cover CD as a
promo at the time Ultima IX as released. It's not strictly freeware, it's
distribution originally on said CD only plus any site run by a member of the
online Ultima fan club (the Ultima Dragons, www.udic.org. Yeah, I'm a
member although it's been ages since I did much with them).

(For a little more background info on how it came to be available to the
latter, have a wander over to
http://www.enlartenment.com/ultima/u4download.html - I was one of the
people involved in it's more widespread legal release back in
1997. Beware: site design is very old, hasn't been touched in years, ugly
as a bag of smashed crabs. You Have Been Warned.)

In summary: If legal/policy is OK with it, IMO package the code parts of
the games and leave getting the data as an exercise for the reader. I'll
even take xu4 if noone else wants it :-)

Thoughts?

Michael.

-- 
Michael Fleming <mfleming at enlartenment.com>
"Bother" said the Borg, "We've assimilated Pooh!"