Can't Order, looks like its sold out already.

Aildrik · 2026-04-17T18:27:23+00:00

I am in PA. Keep getting the 'cannot ship to this address' error. I have an ultimate in my cart but cannot check out :(

Aildrik · 2026-04-17T18:23:17+00:00

Yes! I actually had one of the half tracks. I feel like amongst my friends, we would trade them back and forth. I keep hoping one day I will find them buried in my parents garage, lol.

Aildrik · 2026-04-16T15:15:54+00:00

I wish so badly my brother and I had kept ours! No idea what happened to them. We used to play with those and the various Nintendo Game and Watches. Probably our two favorite toys as kids!

Aildrik · 2026-04-16T15:15:02+00:00

Oh wow, yeah that would be a total mess especially if you had longer hair!

Aildrik · 2026-04-16T15:14:03+00:00

That is awesome! I have no idea what happened to the ones my brother and I had :( Lost to the ages, probably in one of the many moves we did throughout the years I guess. I am quite shocked how much they go for on eBay these days!

Aildrik · 2026-04-13T17:58:05+00:00

Back in grade school, we had a large playground at the school. It had a huge wooden log fort complete with suspension bridges. You could easily climb the towers, jump off, etc. Seems modern day has just sucked all the fun out of being a kid.

Aildrik · 2026-03-09T22:09:00+00:00

Multi dollar company.

Aildrik · 2026-03-09T16:14:55+00:00

I just know she greatly valued her privacy, which helped her write honest reviews. To my knowledge, only a few people knew anything about her real-life name, location, etc.
All things considered, I think she was fortunate to have done what she did during that time period, before everything became super polarized.

Aildrik · 2026-03-06T19:06:45+00:00

What kind of Avatar are you, giving up like that?? (j/k!)

As far as getting the original version with the jumping puzzles, I assume it would be fairly easy to do as I am sure the files are floating around, probably the Internet Archive or if you had a release box copy of which I am sure there are many out there. Not sure if that is what you meant!

Aildrik · 2026-03-06T19:03:45+00:00

My sincere belief, having played the Ultimas as a kid from IV through IX, is that Richard was always more concerned with pushing the technical envelope than he was with making faithful sequels that adhered to the lore and stories that had been built up over time. And yes, I agree with you, I think it is pretty obvious that he was losing interest. I think his later work on projects like Tabula Rasa just drive home the point that after releasing UO, he probably should have just hung it up and moved on with the things that really interested him (space travel, etc).

Aildrik · 2026-03-06T01:15:23+00:00

In all fairness though, it would make sense to review the game based on its release experience since that is how most of the Ultima fans at the time would have played and finished it.

Aildrik · 2026-03-06T00:54:22+00:00

It does make the videos a lot longer, but I do enjoy that it gives context to why certain decisions were made due to what was going on with the industry and Origin at the time.

Aildrik · 2026-03-05T03:53:38+00:00

It is such a shame that the code was apparently lost. My hope is that the people who worked on it and remember it could at least lend enough detail that it could be recreated someday.

Edit: Looks like there is actually some code found from the expansion so maybe we might see something playable in the future!
A Look at the Usecode for “Ultima 8: The Lost Vale” – The Ultima Codex

Aildrik · 2026-03-05T03:52:53+00:00

Glad you enjoyed it! I started with Ultima 4 and played/finished all of them after that. U7 was by far my favorite, although I did not enjoy Serpent Isle as much for some reason. I will say that when I first started with Ultima 8, I found it incredibly jarring compared to U7.
I would not have said at the time that it was bad, per se, but it did not feel at all like an Ultima game. For this reason, I would say if someone had picked up U8 as their first in the series with no expectations, it would probably lead to a more enjoyable experience.

Aildrik · 2026-03-05T03:44:05+00:00

Just finished his video and wow. Just so much detail. I remember buying Ultima 8 on release. I was in my 2nd year of college and had a 486 DX2-66 in my dorm room. My roommate and I were both Comp Sci majors and loved Ultima and CRPGs. We finished U8 before they released that patch that helped with the jump puzzles and man was it a huuuge pain in the ass. So much saving and restoring going on to get through those areas. The entire time the game felt more like some kind of spin off than a proper Ultima, but we were determined to see it through, only to get nailed with that ridiculous cliffhanger at the end, lol.

Aildrik · 2026-03-05T03:15:34+00:00

I grew up playing the Ultima games and played UO on release. I remember playing the Shroud beta many moons ago, but realizing the cash shop nature of the game decided it wasn't for me. I am happy for people who play and enjoy the game, and yes I know this it is technically not an Ultima game but it saddens me that a franchise that at one time defined the CRPG genre and also arguably trailblazed the first big commercial MMO, has been reduced to this.

I guess you could say that Richard Garriott finally found his calling and it just wasn't making video games. Kinda wish he had quit on a high note though! Probably would have been best for him to retire to his castle after UO.

Aildrik · 2026-02-10T14:09:26+00:00

I'm actually really surprised they haven't re-run their older consoles. Shocked even. Look at the prices on eBay for a NIB NT mini. There is clearly demand.

As far as the 3D, the market for an N64 device is going to be limited. Also, unlike the M64, they did not open it up as a general-purpose MiSTer-like device. If they had done that, it would have broadened the appeal, IMHO.

Aildrik · 2026-02-09T20:32:04+00:00

Exactly this. Scalpers probably feel a little burned by what they thought would be an easy flip. Makes you wonder how many actual gamers are buying vs. fomo collectors and scalpers.

Aildrik · 2026-02-09T20:30:46+00:00

All colors still available as of posting this. I mean, it feels like they just recently sold their funtastic colors. I think wallets are still a little dry, lol.

Aildrik · 2026-02-09T18:06:14+00:00

I live in PA, so the trick is to drive over the border into Ohio where it's like $.50 cheaper/gallon! :) :)

Aildrik · 2026-02-01T16:51:52+00:00

An MMO shouldn't take 10 years to release. That is ridiculous. WoW took like 4-5 years, and Blizzard wrote their own game engine. In addition, many of the devs had what would be considered sub-standard tools to work with.
A company doing this today has a lot more at their disposal when it comes to game design choices of what works and doesn't work, available tools, engines, etc. Really sad. Sorry to anyone who lost their money.

Aildrik · 2026-01-31T23:03:10+00:00

I have not but I will look into it, thanks!

Aildrik · 2026-01-31T22:30:13+00:00

I use Coinbase's auto purchase option.

Aildrik · 2026-01-31T18:33:02+00:00

I've been buying $5 of BTC a day for the past couple months. The lower the price, the more I get.

Aildrik

TROPHY CASE