Should the player succeed and answer all of the questions correctly, he or she obtains the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom and becomes the Avatar. If the player answers any of these questions incorrectly, the player character is warped back to the surface world and forced to navigate the Abyss again from the start. Once the player has reached the bottom of the Abyss, he or she must answer a series of questions. Once the key is acquired, the player must then descend into the eight levels of the Abyss. To accomplish this final task, the player must use eight colored stones (one found in each of the eight dungeons) to find the three parts of a key. When the player has completed this task for all eight virtues, he or she is ready to take on the Abyss to find the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom. Once a player has reached the required level in a given virtue (the seer Hawkwind in Castle Britannia keeps the player appraised of his or her virtue) he or she must meditate at the shrine corresponding to the virtue. Positive influences include refraining from stealing (i.e.: Not opening treasure chests found in towns or castles), giving gold to beggars and blood ( Hit Points) to healers, meditating, answering NPCs' questions properly, not fleeing from combat, and letting non-evil creatures encountered during combat flee. The player's standing in each of the virtues is determined by actions taken during gameplay. The player is tasked by Britannia's Lord British to become an Avatar by reaching enlightenment in each of the eight virtues. However, unlike Ultima III, the game does not feature an "underworld" like Ambrosia.ĭungeon exploration in Ultima IV continues to use first-person, 3D hallways, but now also features rooms depicted from an overhead view as well. The availability of these gates are dependent on the phases of the two moons, which determine which gates are currently open and their destinations. While exploring the overworld, the player has access to the moongates magical gates that were introduced in Ultima III. There is also an "Auto" option that allows the computer to pick the action that the party member will take. When the player enters a battle encounter, the player can choose to move party members individually one square per turn, cast magic, or attack from melee or long range (if the party members are appropriately equipped). CombatĬombat is similar to Ultima III, but now spells require reageants which must be purchased (or found) and mixed in advance of combat. In console versions of the game, text entry is replaced with a list of conversation topics that the player can choose from. The conversation system is built on the foundation found in Ultima III, allowing the player to engage with NPCs with the key words "name", "job", and "health" and then by repeating phrases from the NPC's speech. Inspiration for the eight virtues and three principles is found in a number of sources, including Buddhism and Hinduism, and as Richard Garriott himself said, the Wizard of Oz. In each city, the player encounters a character of the class representative of the city's virtue, that under the right circumstances can join the player's party for a maximum total of eight party members. The virtues themselves are built on the three principles of Truth, Love, and Courage. There are eight virtues in the game, each represented by a class, a city, and a dungeon. The player's representative class and virtue also determine the city in which the player starts the game. The player's answers determine which of the eight virtues he or she is most closely aligned to, and then the player begins the game with a character of the class which represents that virtue. The player creates their protagonist at the start of the game by answering a series of questions about what he or she would do in a morally ambiguous situation. However, Ultima IV introduces the concept of virtue as a foundation that governs the player's identity and progress. The basic gameplay in Ultima IV is not substantially different from Ultima III. Released in 1985 for the Apple II and then for the Commodore 64 and the IBM PC, Ultima IV departed from the "kill the evil wizard" plot of the earlier games of the series and encouraged the player to complete the Quest of the Avatar by mastering eight virtues and finding the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom. Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar is the fourth entry in Richard Garriott's long-running and influential Ultima series of role playing games.
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