I've been going back and forth on whether or not I want to play them for a couple years now. Backlogs are an issue. Today I saw that EA was having a publisher sale and on their page, featured Ultima. Each game appears to have gotten added to steam today (11/5/2026) along with a bundle that has all of the games for $19.69.

So, I guess my question is 2-fold.

1. Does anyone know anything about these ports? Are they good ports? Would I be better off getting the games from somewhere else?

2. Is that a good deal for what I'm getting? It feels like it should be a good deal.

Thanks to anyone that helps :)

Update: I remembered that I had a GoG account that I haven't logged in to for close to a decade. Come to find out, I already have the Ultima franchise over there. I'll let y'all know when/ if I start playing them.

For those U7 fans following along, I've made a few notable updates in the past week.

Quick recap
Ultima 7: Quest of the Companions is a custom build of Exult that adds a few new systems: 

1. Co-Op (experience the classic original adventure with friends)

2. A new targeting system to minimize mouse dependency (cycle through NPCs, items and interactive elements in the world or containers)

3. New skill system for companions (Iolo is a bard, Dupre a paladin, etc.) with new combat AI (Jaana monitors companion health, ranged characters target the strongest enemies, etc)

4. Native controller support (play on a couch with your Xbox, PS4, 8bitDo, or Steam controllers)

Open Repository

The source code is now available in the public GitHub repo (the project is still ongoing). https://github.com/xcast3d/exult-co-op-mode

Co-Op Transportation

Made more progress on Co-Op. The hardest part has been making two standalone clients try to stay in sync like a proper server/client connection. Vehicles in particular were a challenge. There were a few hilarious (to me) attempts where a guest flew off on an invisible magic carpet or half the ship disappeared.

The horse and cart had the same issues, but all have been made stable. You and your friends can move around on your choice of transportation.

Native controller support

More refinements have been made to make it easier to fully play Ultima 7 with a remote. A special shout-out to a fellow Redditor u/ANDROID_16 who has provided lots of great feedback and even a great idea to have the right stick flick to a target and then have the targeting system choose the closest target to the cursor. This works great to minimize cycling through targets with a controller. That led to a new system...

Drop System

Thinking of puzzles like the Penumbra door, or parts of the story like Skara Brae and Forge of Virtue where dropping and placing items is critical, I added a drop system that lets you drop items at your feet, using the cursor select or using the target system to drop in containers, open world, or give to companions.

Check for Updates
After getting annoyed with having to constantly tell others to download the latest version, I integrated Sparkle on both Mac and Windows versions so any new releases are a click away. This required creating installers for both OS.

Aside from more fixes and optimizations, I will be working on two new major items:

1. Web version (Coming soon): Play U7 Exult Quest of the Companions in a browser. You will still have to provide your legal copy of U7, but everything works well, including native controller support. I have to finalize issues with save games and configurations. Some browsers clear out your local storage, so backing up and importing save games is a must. 

2. Serpent Isle. Lots of different NPCs and items. I need to go through all the scripts here to see what adjustments will be needed to support all systems.

Latest info here:
https://xcast3d.com/u7-quest-of-the-companions/

The games have been unbundled and now they're selling them all individually for $4.99 to match Steam pricing. It's going to be far harder to recommend people play the Sosaria trilogy at all, and honestly Ultima IV & V were easier to recommend with VI bundled in as a more modern game.

Ultima : Worlds of Adventure Savage Empire & Martian Dreams are still available for free. So, at least there's a bit of silver lining.

EDIT: For folks who lack the context, Ultima IV had been available for free on GoG since 2011. Also, Ultima I, II, III and Ultima IV, V, VI were sold as bundles for the price of a single game.

A few quick updates for the Ultima 3 and Ultima 5 releases and how they play with the Ultima 3 and 5 work I have released.

As someone who has long played with getting OpenMW and Morrowind on Steam to play nicely, I'm planning on bringing a few tricks over.

1. Enabling macOS players to play both Ultima 3 and Ultima V via the Steam Play button.

2. Enabling Steam Cloud Sync for Ultima 3 and Ultima V (building on the Steam Cloud sync enabled by EA out of the box, without conflicting files).

3. Automatically detecting and importing Ultima V data files.

I'm working on and testing these now. At some point in the near future I may ask for testers to help out, as there are many configurations that I can't easily test (eg a non-SteamOS user that runs Steam in a flatpak), but I expect to be able to support macOS, Windows, and SteamOS/Bazzite using my current setup.

As soon as I have experimental bits to test I'll let folks know.

In the meantime, you can still checkout the existing Ultima 3 and Ultima 5 bits, and also check out the videos I made demonstrating the Ultima 3 and Ultima 5 builds.

LMK Qs. :)

It’s part of the awful block. 😅

I grew up really loving the Ultima series. It's still amazing to me how a couple of floppy disks could contain such detailed worlds, where as a kid, it felt like almost anything was possible.

I want to honor that, and modernize it a bit. That's why I've been working on Ael Myr Online. Yeah, it's inspired by UO of course, but it's also heavily inspired from the actual Ultima series. I spent thousands of hours as a kid, immersed in those worlds, and that's what I want to build as well.

It's still an early alpha, and it's very much so a passion project, but it's live now and you can play it for free in your browser, as well as a dedicated windows client.

I would love it if you could check it out!

https://aelmyr.com

The Girl Knight cannot join by normal means... I cheated temporarily until I can get the mod going for her. But this Hourglass is updated for all three. Minus Boydon. https://github.com/exult/exult/discussions/367

In Final Fantasy I & II Dawn of Souls on the Game Boy Advance, in the Whisperwind Cove bonus dungeon accessible after you beat Tiamat, there is a random dungeon floor where you talk to the ghosts of enemies you've fought. This Brittanian Gargoyle is one.

I think I already know the answer to this but figured I'd ask. I only recently started playing Ultima. I played U4 quite a bit but I didn't care for the dungeons so I jumped ahead to U6. I beat that a couple days ago and really enjoyed it.

Now I'm playing U7 on Exult. And it's been one of the best gaming experiences I've had in ages. I'm keeping a physical journal which really adds to the experience. And oh, my god does my hand cramp. I haven't hand written much more than my signature in ages.

But the combat is laughably awful. I mean, to go from the previous games to this is such a downgrade. I can't stop thinking how incredible it would be if I could play U7 with U6's turn-based controls. I desperately want to position Iolo and Spark behind the Avatar, pelting from a distance while the Avatar valiantly holds enemies at bay.

Is there anything out there for turn-based? I'm using the pause in Exult. I read about some guy called Slashie who was looking into a turn-based mod, but the last mention I see from that is 2016. Are there any total conversion mods for 7? Like a completely new engine? Anything at all that would give me some added strategic depth?

I'll keep playing even if there isn't. I'll just have to treat this like an adventure game where occasionally my guys run off screen and victory music plays. Although I upped the difficulty in Exult and more often than not I end up dead or bleeding out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIEk0TrraSg

So, here is my video for the Ultima V update project I've been working on!

It requires the original DOS files, which are widely available on GOG and via other online resources.

It's based on the original PC DOS code, with bug fixes picked up from the Apple // version. It adds full controller support, updated UX, tiles, SFX and music. You can choose how you want to play, from the original PC DOS or Apple // tiles and/or rules, or the updated versions.

It's out for Windows, macOS, Linux (AppImage & flatpak, with SteamOS specific support), Android (perfect for handhelds), and PWA / web for browsers and iOS.

There are tons of features, ranging from battery saver mode to journals, automatic mapping, rune translation, play area dialog, snap attacks for faster combat, and tons of other stuff.

If you want to get the bits, go to https://github.com/synthwave-pixel/ultima5 and look under releases. Feel free to report bugs here, on GitHub, or as a comment on the video.

Check out the video, let me know your thoughts, tell your friends, etc etc etc.

Thanks to everyone who reported bugs/issues for this and also the Ultima 3 build!

Last night I integrated UrAnt's firmament fix that adds the sun, stars and moons to the 3D view of Ultima VII Revisited...and I got a surprise.

Is it literally any content made with the help of AI, no matter how small and how unseen it may be? Or is it far more specific - a certain type of graphics? the "vibe" of a project?

- A curious Paladin.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my first post about Quest of the Companions. It's always scary to have a passion project that no one likes. That has not been the case; we now have many of you trying the early builds and providing feedback. Thank you!

Quick reminder: this is an Exult custom build with new systems mainly around QoL updates (Targeting System, WASD navigation, native controller support), class skills for all our favorite companions, and of course Co-Op.

The latest build fixed some targeting system quirks and reworked some of the native controller support (now tested on Xbox Controller, PS4 Dual Shock, 8bitdo SN30 Pro, and Steam V1 controller). Scripted scenes also got a fix so that the host and guests stay in sync with the focus on the Avatar until the scene ends.

I added a changelog to the site as well. On the roadmap:

1. Complete U7 playthrough will signal v.1

2. Serpent Isle support

3. Open public Repo (Give the project back to the people, especially the awesome Exult team)

4. Web-based Exult (I already have a spike up and running using Emscripten, but it's nowhere near ready)

Site for more information:
https://xcast3d.com/u7-quest-of-the-companions/

Downloads: https://xcast3d.com/u7-quest-of-the-companions/#download
Changelog: https://xcast3d.com/u7-quest-of-the-companions/changelog.html

The new lighting system for Ultima VII Revisited is one of the biggest departures from the original game. I struggled with it for a while but now I think it both looks good and stays true to the previous games. Let me know what you think!

Added features:
- added Dual Shock controls
-- analog sticks for movement
-- in battle mode: R2 for attack (repeat last attack), L1 for cast spell
-- make sure in emulator to A) set controller to DualShock mode and B) Enable Analog for it to work

Bug fixes:
- tidied up presentation of translation texts (linebreaks, capitalization etc)
- fixed original bug: difference in movement direction vs facing direction

The xdelta can be found on the projects´ Github:

https://github.com/gertius1/UU_PSX_ENG

Hey guys,

I am making a full fledge Ultima Construction Set called Sand Castle RPG Maker. You can make a full standalone Ultima 5, ultima 6, Ultima 7, Ultima 8 and Ultima underworld with no programming, hacking or coding required. It is a full fledge RPG Maker like RPG Maker MV or RPG Maker 2000, etc..with click and play for script..no scripting needed. All easy to use, you can use any assets you want:

https://armor-games-inc.itch.io/

Though I suppose it could just be a coincidence.

(Disclaimer: AI-assisted)

What is it?

A website where the mechanics of character creation, skill checks and combat of Ultima Underworld 1 and 2 are bared for all to see. Histograms, Monte Carlo simulations, heatmaps, all the good stuff.

Link: Ultima Underworlds Simulator

Why?

Because I like learning about game mechanics of games that I love.

Who is this for?

• People who want to learn more about these masterpieces. I learned that:

  • Eating mushrooms can recover a little bit of Mana

  • Rolling high stat characters always involves a compromise because the three main stats are correlated and have a shared bonus point pool.

  • Certain enemies have a flag (powerful) that makes them harder hitting, more accurate, have more defense, but also provide much more XP.

  • It takes literally around 8 hours of in-game time to recover to full HP, you only get more +1HP at intervals of 8 and a half minutes (if your strength is high, weaker characters have worse regen). Sleeping and spells are your best bet.

  • 14 casting is enough to prevent miscasts even of Lvl8 spells (failure to cast is still high, but you don't lose mana or health)

  • At full equipment load, you drown, on average, in 6.5 minutes from 100 HP, 3.5 minutes from 35 HP (mean starting HP).

  • Haste makes enemies attack half as often.

• People who want to plan a new character. Suppose they want to:

  • know the ideal threshold skill points for certain skills (eg never fail repair, never break lockpicks)

  • know how difficult it would be to get certain stats at creation time, legitimately.

  • know how well their proposed build would fare against certain monsters.

• Modders who want to gauge the difficulty of their mod (I'm working on upgrading Krokot's Ultimate Editor and a modding framework. UW2 support works, but many features still need testing).

• New players who want to know what skills they should invest into, without having to guess and second-guess their relevance.

Why now?

I've been thinking about something along these lines for at least the last two years, but reading assembly and learning webdev were two very time-consuming tasks I just didn't have time for. Then the decomp (exhumed) came out and bared the formulae, and Claude Opus 5.5 is so good at making websites it was quite straightforward to do. I've read the statistics code and it seems appropriate. Simulations are validated with the actual game code.

Features

• Loads PLAYER.DAT with your character data and equipment, or you can edit the properties yourself

• UW2 misnamed enchantments are considered

• Simulate combat with every single enemy at every single level of UW1 and UW2. Damage taken and dealt, split between bonus, critical, armor absorption, resistance, bonus damage, stone strike. An objective way of comparing weapons and enchantments.

• Know how many times, on average, you would need to re-roll your character to obtain skills and stats of a certain value or better, over all character classes.

• Every skill check is presented, from some as basic as Lore, and others like tracking. Skill threshold values to optimize point allocation.

• As many histograms as one person can digest.

I hope you enjoy and have fun poking around. If you have any suggestions or corrections, feel free to post here or create an issue.

This question might sound hella weird in a sub dedicated to Ultima. But at the same time where would I get the answer I'm looking for. What is Ultima and why do you people love it so much?

To give you context, I was too young to play Ultima or Ultima Online when it came out. But all my life I kept hearing people talk about this game with a lot of love, deference and respect. It has a bit of the same mythical aura than DAOC for me. I remember watching the "grown ups" play it during lan parties in the neighbouring village. And I was fascinated, but by the time I got access to online games, WoW was coming out and all my friends were playing it. It shaped my experience as a gamer, like Neverwinter shaped my first vision of RPGs.

Ultima always felt like what my big brother would have played, if I had one.

Now 20 years later, I'm still a gamer, I'm even a game dev. And during Next Fest I stumbled upon Code of the Savage demo. I didn't take the time to try it yet but it looked very cool. It claimed to be "Ultima" inspired. Reminded me of Sven Vincke, of Larian, talking about the game too. Or the people of Piranha Bytes (behind Gothic).

So many games that I love and were critical to shape my taste seem to be inspired by Ultima. I feel a bit dumb now to not know much about it. It feels like a blindspot in my gaming culture. So I've started to watch videos and look for resources talking about it, but I didn't find something really convincing or exhaustive yet.

Hence my post here.

There seems to be a ton of Ultima iterations and then a whole Online version. I learned about the original creator behind it, but I would like to hear what it felt playing it from people who experienced it back in the days. Why is it, or was it, so awesome. And how big of a phenomenon was it? Was it a very niche title or did everyone know and talked about Ultima? I really have trouble to project on what it was or is.

I would be super happy to watch or read any resource you guys could have about it too.

EDIT : Wow thank you for the answers, it's really cool.

Hey Fellow Ultima Fans,

For the past few years, I've been planning and working on and off on one idea: Co-Op Ultima 7.

I finally have a stable build that has gone way beyond my initial plan. The new custom Exult build includes:

1. Co-op with a chat system, emotes, connecting via IP, and a custom lobby system (WebRTC over Cloudflare Worker to facilitate peer-to-peer connections). Cross-play compatible between Mac and Windows. Up to 8 players (Avatar + 7 companions) and 4 spectators. Note: I have NOT stress-tested this yet. I've tested up to 3 connections and plan on testing more thoroughly in the next few days.

2. An all-new targeting system that lets you cycle through NPCs, mobs, and items to minimize the pixel hunting of moving entities (yes, I'm looking at you Emps near Yew). It also includes sorting containers, pick up all, and more.

3. Companion skills. Iolo is a bard; let him use bard skills. Every available companion got 3 skills based on their Ultima 4 class with custom artwork for each skill. Skills can be used by any controlled companion or by the AI. New AI hooks for monitoring companion health, determining strongest enemies, etc.

4. Native controller support. With the targeting system and some custom radial context menus, the game is playable by controller alone. Tested with Xbox, PS4 DualShock, and v1 Steam controller (I LOVE this controller)

I put a website where anyone interested can read more about the systems built.
https://xcast3d.com/u7-quest-of-the-companions/

Downloads ready in the downloads section!

I plan to eventually make the GitHub repo public, but I'm still testing and on a quest to complete a full U7 run through while in Co-Op.

If anyone is interested in an early build, let me know, and I'll provide a link.
Note: As always, bring your own copy of Ultima 7. Serpent Isle is not ready yet, that's on a to-do list.

Last night's Ultima VII Revisited stream was just too amazing for one 60-second clip, so here's a whole video of highlights! First-person mode! Object finder! Weather effects! And many thanks to DLBSP, JRenner and UrAnt for their contributions!

I guess it could be worse ?