-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- for Ultima IV FAQ ver 3.1111 - this is a work in progress
How hard is it create a new world? Can I add custom tiles and graphics? Where do you define Balloon, Whirlpool and Avatar starting pos? How do I set the balloon start position? How do I set the players starting position? How do I make dungeons link to the game? How do I make custom towns, villages and castles link to the game? How do we handle DEATH? What about linking SHRINES? How do you define the game ending including the questions and answers needed? How do the fixed spawns (like the pirate ships at the ABYSS) work? How does one define frigates in the game? How do I get a horse? Can I modify Hawkind's dialog? Can I change the intro picture sequence? How do I modify Lord British's dialog? How do the moongates work and are they configurable? How does one put in custom items in Britannia? Will there be a provision to CREATE custom items in game like mixing stuff or creating custom items IN GAME? Can I edit Dungeon files, town files and people dialog? Can I create/edit a new WORLD from scratch and modify the current one? What is in the Name_Generator Directory? How do we define and edit the Whirlpool? How do you modify the messages displayed after meditating at shrines? How does one submit custom modules? _____________________________________________________________________________________________ How hard is it create a new world?
Honestly, I tried to make this as easy as possible, and all custom content is within the available *.ini files provided in the /u4_maps directory. The ini files come pre-documented in most cases and you must refer to the help in them or here before attempting to modify them. Note that a simple mistake will render the game un-playable. Back up files before attempting to create new areas. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Can I add custom tiles and graphics? Yes, by replacing the tilesets and intro graphics you can add your own. Some graphics are jpg and some png. Try to keep size down for these as game will run faster.
Refer to file 'prefs.ini'
USE ALTERNATE BOOT SPLASH SCREEN = FALSE <------means the first intro splash screen on boot up USE ALTERNATE GAME SCREEN = FALSE <------means the surrounding screen while playing USE ALTERNATE GAME ICONS = FALSE <------means tilesets for monsters and icons for towns etc... USE ALTERNATE GYPSY SCREENS = TRUE <------means all intro scenes from creating new character2gypsy AVATAR_ON_GAME_INIT_START=107,086 <------starting pos. when creating NEW character WHIRLPOOL_ON_GAME_INIT_START=059,241 <------Whirlpool starting pos. when creating NEW character BALLOON_ON_GAME_INIT_START=080,049 <------Balloon starting pos. when creating NEW character
This file holds the starting graphic parameters. My default settings are shown here. Changing from one to another and running the game will have it load that graphic set in. The file 'prefs.ini' loads when U4 is run and it is at that time the graphics are loaded.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________ How do I set the balloon start position? refer to file 'balloon.ini' - contents of file - ****current spawn spot for balloon - yy,xx**** 050,113 - end of contents - the 050,113 refers to the yyy,xxx location of the balloon. this reference is read during startup and game load. It is always updated during a save _____________________________________________________________________________________________ How do I make dungeons link to the game? refer to file 'dungeon_links.ini' - contents of file - **This holds the locations of all dungeons ** SRC_area <-where avatar must be in order to access dungeon DEST_area <-Dungeon Name to go to (*.dng) Music <-Dungeon music to play while crawling Coord_in <-yyy,xxx coord Where dungeon is located Coord_out <-yyy,xxx coord where you end up upon exiting dungeon Message <-Message to appear when entering this dungeon BLANK LINE line with ****'s *************************************************************************************** WORLD COVETOUS.DNG Halls_Of_Doom.mid 027,156 027,156 :Prepare Avatar,:evil lurks within:these depths!: - end of contents - To link Covetous (COVETOUS.DNG) map to britania, you need to specify the following data: First line - WORLD defines that starting place is Britania (refered to as WORLD) Next is the actual *.dng file to link (type exact filename). You can even specify a unique MIDI file to play.coordinates where dungeon is located - format yyy,xxx, followed by coordinates avatar goes to upon dungeon exit (format yyy,xxx,). Then a simple 1 line message. IF you want to specify a CR (new line) then use the COLON ':' formatter. For example :Prepare Avatar,:evil lurks within:these depths!: will display as Prepare Avatar, evil lurks within these depths! Then finish with a blank line of "*" - just copy/paste and 'eof' must be present at the end of the file to delimit an end of file marker. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ How do I make custom towns, villages and castles link to the game? In order to link a *.ULT (town file) to the WORLD, you must be familiar with the file 'links.ini'
Here's an EXCERPT from links.ini
WORLD 106,082 Britain Towns.mid BRITAIN.ULT 015,000 TOWN 106,082
When the First Line = "WORLD" means this town file (*.ult) is linked to the main map "WORLD". The Second line corresponds to the coordinates in the WORLD where this town is found. The Third line is the name you assign to this town. The Fourth line is the custom midi (sound) file played when entering this town. The Fifth line is the actual file name (*.ult) to link The Sixth line is the coordinates you start when you enter this place. The Seventh line is the type of place. Possible values are "TOWN", "VILLAGE", or "CASTLE" It makes no difference whether you put a "CASTLE" as opposed to a "TOWN". It's just for the player. The LAST line corresponds to the coordinates you go upon exiting this place back in the WORLD.
Another type of link can be within a "CASTLE" or "TOWN" or "VILLAGE" and this would mean like climbing/descending a ladder to go up/down a level. In U4 these levels are actually just another map to load. Let's look at how one goes and links ladders up/down in LORD British's castle. TOWNS (or any area) CAN ALSO have many levels like CASTLES.
WORLD <-----you must be here first 107,086 <-----where this link is LORD BRITISH LVL.I <-----assign any label to describe this area Rule_Britannia.mid <-----music played when entering this area LCB_1.ULT <-----this is where you are going to 031,015 <----where you goto when entering this area CASTLE <----Place descriptor 107,086 <----These are exit coords when leaving area
This would mean when in the WORLD, pressing the 'E' key to enter this place would load in 'LCB_1.ULT' which is Lord B's castle - level 1. Etry coordinates are 031,015, and exit coords are 107,086.
There's a LADDER at coord. 003,003, and when you hit /d/escend to go down, this part is then exectuted-
LCB_1.ULT <-----you must be here first 003,003 <-----where this link is (ladder) LORD BRITISH LVL.II <-----assign any label to describe this area Rule_Britannia.mid <-----music played when entering this area LCB_2.ULT <-----this is where you are going to 003,003 <----where you goto when entering level 2 CASTLE <----Place descriptor 107,086 <----These are exit coords when leaving area
So here the game would load 'LCB_2.ULT' (second level) and start you off at 003,003 (same as before - unless you plan on teleporting somewhere!), then 'Rule_Britannia.mid'plays.
After exploring this area LCB_2.ULT, you come across another ladder at 003,003 (LCB_2.ULT), so what link get's executed? Simple, the one shown below - See below -
LCB_2.ULT <-----you must be here first 003,003 <-----where this link is (ladder) LORD BRITISH LVL.I Rule_Britannia.mid LCB_1.ULT <-----this is where you are going to 003,003 <----where you goto when entering level 1 CASTLE 107,086
See, here we are currently in 'LCB_2.ULT' so hit /k/limb to go up, we end up loading 'LCB_1.ULT' and zoning to coords. 003,003
This is how we LINK the various areas to the WORLD
How do we handle DEATH? Death can occur via - Starvation, Desease, Poison or by battle Injuries. A UNIQUE link is when you (and ALL party members) DIE. See below...
Note, we are still using links.ini
ON_DEATH <----------required 000,000 <----------required LORD BRITISH LVL.II <----------description of where you go to Rule_Britannia.mid <----------What's played when going here LCB_2.ULT <----------FILE loaded when death is triggered 008,019 <----------Spawn spot after death (right in front of LB's throne chair) CASTLE <----------Can be "TOWN" or "CASTLE" 107,086 <----------Where in WORLD you goto after leaving this place
What about linking SHRINES? Yes, there's another type of place that exists - this is the "SHRINE" area. See below for an example - Note, we are still using links.ini
WORLD <------All shrines are found in the WORLD 207,081 <------Location of the Shrine Honor <------Name of Shrine Rune of Honor <------Rune Required to Enter summ <------Mantra 000,000 <------Required as is 000,000 SHRINE <------Type of place 000,000 <------Required as is 000,000
Linking dungeons is done with file 'dungeon_links.ini' - see help index above... _____________________________________________________________________________________________ How do you define the game ending including the questions and answers needed? refer to file 'ending.ini' - contents of file - ******Ending of Game*************** Format - * # of questions (must be >4) * Questions followed by answers * *********************************** 12 What dost thou possess if all may rely upon your every word? What quality compels one to share in the journeys of others? What answers when great deeds are called for? What should be the same for Lord and Serf alike? What is loath to place the self above aughtelse? What shirks no duty? What, in knowing the true self, knows all? What is that which Serfs are born with but Nobles must strive to obtain? If all else is imaginary, this is real What plunges to the depths, while soaring on the heights? What turns not away from any peril? What is the Word of Passage? honesty compassion valor justice sacrifice honor spirituality humility truth love courage veramocor - end of contents - FORMAT - 5 descriptor lines, followed by # of questions - in this case 12 The next 12 are questions, followed by 12 answers. Passage is NOT granted if you answer any wrong. The game asks the questions in order top-bottom, and displays 4 possible multiple choice answers - which the player must choose correctly. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ How do the fixed spawns (like the pirate ships at the ABYSS) work? refer to file 'fixed_spawns.ini' - contents of file - ******************************************************************* **User defined Spawns. Refer to Spawns.txt for spawn id info** ** format ** ** number_of_spawns=nn , # of unique monsters in this file (use nn) ** yy <- 1-255 ** xx <- 1-255 ** id <- refer to Spawns.txt **difficulty <- refer to Spawns.txt **spawn position <- 41-100 ******************************************************************* number_of_spawns=05 ******************************************************************* 222 225 Pirate hard 41 - end of contents - This is how fixed spawns are initialised. The number of spawns is between 01 and 99 i.e - this number corresponds to the number of custom spawns within this file. The next 2 lines define the starting positions - yyy,xxx Then the actual monster name is stated. The various name options are found in file 'spawns.txt' (read only!) Do not modify that file, just refer to it's contents. Pull out the difficulty - easy, medium or hard are referenced. Not all monsters are found in all 3 difficulty areas, so you must use exactly what's provided. Next provide a spawn position from 41 to 100. 01-40 are already defined within the game and are reserved. _____________________________________________________________________________________________
How does one define frigates in the game? refer to file 'frigates.ini'
- contents of file - **This file defines STARTING locations for 5 (ONLY 5) USER DEFINABLE FRIGATES** format for all 5 (if you have <5 then use 000,000) format: yyy,xxx ******************************************************************************* 092,134 <-----ship#1 228,093 <-----ship#2 106,081 <-----ship#3 000,000 <-----ship#4 none owned because 000,000 000,000 <-----ship#5 none owned because 000,000 - end of contents - In this case, I have defined 3 frigates. In the game capturing a pirate yields the ship as treasure, but if you get >5 ships, 1 is dropped and sunk. This file is read/write during game load/save _____________________________________________________________________________________________
How do I get a horse?
refer to file Horse.ini - contents of file - NONE 000 000 501 - end of contents - If there is no horse owned, then use the syntax as above. The keyword "NONE" describes no horse owned. If you own a horse then the "NONE" gets replaced with the place it's parked i.e "WORLD" or "EMPATH.ULT" followed by the yyy and xxx coordinates. The "501" represents a horse facing(500=left 501=right)
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Can I modify Hawkinds dialog? Yes, but there's no point in doing so because his guidance is integral to the avatar's success. I would leave the file 'hawkind.ini' alone. But the format is 8 lines (8 virtues) per 20% virtue completion. So 100% means 8 virtues with 1 line each * 5 for a total of 40 lines. _____________________________________________________________________________________________
Can I change the intro picture sequence? Yes, refer to file 'intro.ini' and see the format used. 1 line for the graphic file to load, followed by UP To 5 lines of dialog. ___________________________________________________________________________________________
How do I modify Lord British's dialog? Refer to file 'LordBritish.txt' Within that, you will see a repeating format - for example - compassion <--------keyword 1 <--------number of lines that follow He says:The bards in the:towne of Britain:are well versed:in the virtue of:Compassion! <----his response
Here compassion is a key word and when asked, the next line '1' refers to # of lines in the conversation. (turn off wordwrap in notepad). He would reply -
Sample output:
He says The bards in the towne of Britain are well versed in the virtue of Compassion! _____________________________________________________________________________________________ How do the moongates work and are they configurable? Yes, refer to file 'moongate.ini'
- contents of file - this is where avatar moongate appears when the first moon is at phases 1-8 102,096 224,038 037,050 019,166 194,104 126,023 167,187 133,224 this is where avatar teleports to when the second moon is at phases 1-8 102,096 224,038 037,050 019,166 194,104 126,023 167,187 133,224 - end of contents - The first series of 8 numbers yyy,xxx are where the moongate appears when in phase 1-8, for example - moon1 phase1 ---moongate appears at 102,096 phase2 ---moongate appears at 224,038 phase3 ---moongate appears at 037,050 phase4 ---moongate appears at 019,166 phase5 ---moongate appears at 194,104 phase6 ---moongate appears at 126,023 phase7 ---moongate appears at 167,187 phase8 ---moongate appears at 133,224 The next series of 8 numbers yyy,xxx are where the moongate teleports to when in phase 1-8, for example - moon2 phase1 ---moongate teleports to 102,096 phase2 ---moongate teleports to 224,038 phase3 ---moongate teleports to 037,050 phase4 ---moongate teleports to 019,166 phase5 ---moongate teleports to 194,104 phase6 ---moongate teleports to 126,023 phase7 ---moongate teleports to 167,187 phase8 ---moongate teleports to 133,224 Remember the moons are usually out of phase because the second moon rotates at roughly 3 times that of the first moon so a gate does not teleport to more than a few destinations. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ How does one put in custom items in Britania? Refer to file 'quest_items.ini'
- contents of file - ***Quest Items format -*** WORLD = item found only on surface (Britania) and NOT in a town/village/dungeon etc... PAWS.ULT = item found in PAWS only. This name MUST be part of the '.ult" extension file i.e PAWS.ULT ITEM name followed by yyy,xxx location of item*** eof/eof 000,000 = end of file (required as a file terminator) EMPTY LINE (CR) delimits each item WORLD Bell of Courage 208,176 WORLD BLACK STONE 133,224 LYCAEUM.ULT Book of Truth 006,006 COVE.ULT Candle of Love 001,022 WORLD MANDRAKE ROOT 054,182 - end of contents -
for example, in the Lycaeum (LYCAEUM.ULT) at position 006,006 (yyy,xxx) is found the 'Book of Truth' Anything found in Britain is referred to as WORLD (not in a town/village/dungeon etc...) Let's make a sample item - let's create a Book of Honor (not in U4) and place it into the WORLD at coordinates 150,085 (I just made those up). Copy/Paste into the file anywhere. You would use this syntax -
WORLD Book of Honor 150,085
If this item is found in a TOWN/CASTLE, let's assume in Britain then we use -
BRITAIN.ULT Book of Honor 150,085
Keep in mind you can only find and keep 1 instance of this item. So if you find it in Britain and look for it again in the WORLD, the computer will tell you - you already have it. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Can I edit Dungeon files, town files and people dialog? Currently the following are editable via provided programs -
Town, village, castle editing and new creation of these Also editing, creating and copying NPC dialogs is available with town_ editor.exe No Dungeon (*.dng) editing is available yet.
There is help for town editing/ building provided in the U4.zip release
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Can I create a new WORLD from scratch and modify the current one?
Yes, with the world_editor.exe, you can create any world and edit the current one. Please note the file modified is "World.map" and you may want to backup you previous one before doing any editing. There is help for world editing provided in the U4.zip release
___________________________________________________________________________________________ What is in the Name_Generator Directory?
Within this directory is a GREAT utility "EBoN 3.3" by Sami Pyorre to create unique names for your creations. It is very comprehensive and can generate thousands of names by genre. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ How do I create 'new recipes' usable by the the TINKER merchants? Will there be a provision to CREATE custom items in game like mixing stuff or creating custom items IN GAME?
What this is all about is the user can quest for items and then when a recipe is known, go to a Tinker Merchant and have him/her create special items for you for a small fee. It's also possible to use the newly created item to be used in part of another recipe to create another item - and so on. Please note the SPELLING MUST be identical to the inventory item. There's a limit of 64 UNIQUE items one can have, although you can create infinite item types.
See the file 'recipes.ini'
Cookie Sheet <--------Item 1 needed Bread Dough <--------Item 2 needed * <--------Item 3 needed - A "*" is used to denote nothing needed * <--------Item 4 needed - A "*" is used to denote nothing needed * <--------Item 5 needed - A "*" is used to denote nothing needed RATIONS <--------Item created is placed in inventory and 5 food is added to player's total
another example -
Iron Ore Iron Bit Mold Gold Ore * * Golden Ore
Golden Ore Magical Parchment Key * * Enchanted Key
Here the goal is to create a Enchanted Key. First required is Iron Ore, Iron Bit Mold, Gold Ore, and upon paying the Tinker you get Golden Ore. Then with the Golden Ore, you add a Magical Parchment, a Key, and finally you create an Enchanted Key. So this Enchanted Key could be used in the game to enter a special area like a dungeon, town or castle.
Custom RESERVED ITEMS currently are: RATIONS Enchanted Armour Mystic Armour Mystic Weapon Enchanted Weapon
When you create RATIONS with above recipe, you get 5 food, but the RATIONS are deleted from the inventory as are your items to create it. Creating Enchanted Weapon (aka Mystic Weapon) and Enchanted Armour (aka Mystic Armour) also yield an item and the bits required to fabricate these disappear from inventory. For you reference, Mystic Armour and Enchanted Armour are exactly the same item as are Mystic Weapon and Enchanted Weapon. Spelling MUST be exactly like seen here (case sensitive).
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How do we define and edit the Whirlpool?
See the file 'whirlpool.ini'
- contents of file -
Obviously must be on legal water tiles 0-3
format MUST be: yyy,xxx (3 numbers for EACH coord.) This is the location where the whirlpool is found
format MUST be: yyy,xxx (3 numbers for EACH coord.) This is where you goto when going INTO whirlpool
072,027
090,135
- end of contents -
The Whirpool is self maintaining once initial coordinate are set. Whenever
you save/load game, the current whirlpool location is saved and this
file gets overwritten. Therefore the whirlpool loads in its position every time
after a save/load. The whirlpool exists only over water and when a frigate
navigates over one, player gets teleported to the destination coordinates,
anywhere in the WORLD.
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How do I set the players starting position?
Simply, just place the coordinates you want to start here and upon game load, this is where you will start. Save Game overwrites this file.
- contents of file -
**This contains the starting positions for the avatar during boot. This file is read/write.**
Once you save, there will be a new starting position seen here.
You can only start in the 'world' and not in a town, village etc...
format: yyy,xxx
105,083
- end of contents -
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How
do you modify the messages displayed after meditating at shrines?
Simply put, when meditating at a shrine for either 1,2,3 cycles, the
appropriate message is displayed. Here is an excerpt from the
file 'shrines.ini' for just the Compassion text - Note the ':' imbedded
in the text is used as a carriage return (CR) in the game.
- contents of file -
****************************************************************************************************************
**this file holds the text that's shown when meditating at shrines**
format:
type of shrine (as taken from links.ini)
text output when meditating 1 cycle
text output when meditating 2 cycles
text output when meditating 3 cycles when player is NOT a partial avatar in the virtue
****************************************************************************************************************
Compassion
Kill not the non evil:beasts of the land,:and do not attack:the fair people!:
Give of thy purse:to those who beg:and thy deed shall:not be forgotten!:
Third, light the:candle of love at:the entrance to the:GREAT STYGIAN ABYSS!:
- end of contents -
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How does one submit custom
modules?
This is pretty easy - Anything in the directory /u4_maps/ (but not
u4_maps/save) should be made into a *.zip and emailed to
me. I will unzip, place into /u4_maps/ directory and check out the files.
Naturally, you can include the u4_maps/save directory
if you are including a current save game. If you are downloading a custom
module, you do the same but always backup your
previous u4_maps/ files first.
You can download and upload just the *.tlk (talk files) and *.ult (town files) and incorporate them into a new / existing module.
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Where do you define Balloon, Whirlpool and Avatar starting pos?
Refer to file 'prefs.ini' (especially refer to the White BOLD text)
USE ALTERNATE BOOT SPLASH SCREEN = FALSE <------means the first intro splash screen on boot up USE ALTERNATE GAME SCREEN = FALSE <------means the surrounding screen while playing USE ALTERNATE GAME ICONS = FALSE <------means tilesets for monsters and icons for towns etc... USE ALTERNATE GYPSY SCREENS = TRUE <------means all intro scenes from creating new character2gypsy AVATAR_ON_GAME_INIT_START=107,086 <------starting pos. when creating NEW character WHIRLPOOL_ON_GAME_INIT_START=059,241 <------Whirlpool starting pos. when creating NEW character BALLOON_ON_GAME_INIT_START=080,049 <------Balloon starting pos. when creating NEW character
This file holds the starting player parameters. My default settings are shown here. If you create a new Module or define a new Whirlpool, Balloon or Player starting spawn point then change these values. The only time these are used is during a Initialize New Game...
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