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How did the turn-based & real-time mechanics of the various Ultimas make the games better, or possibly worse? Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on Podbean Intro Ultima 6 Intro - Can't Remove the Pain (Acid Usagi Remix) - Trance Edit by Acid Usagi New Followers & Ultima Dragons New followers on Podbean this week are: mattrix (his first episode is a sound chec...

A meditation on the Virtue of Justice. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on Podbean It being Advent, I find myself moved once more to muse upon matters philosophical, examining the Eight Virtues of the Ultima series and comparing these against real-world philosophy and theology. This year, I'd like to focus on the Virtue of Justice , which I don't think I've given m...

Spam Spam Spam Humbug chats with members of the Ultima Online team. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on Podbean Intro Creation Theme , from the Ultima Online soundtrack Podcast Topic(s) This week, as a way of belatedly marking the 18th anniversary of Ultima Online (which actually happened back in September), Spam Spam Spam Humbug is pleased to welcome members of th...

Joe Garrity returns to Spam Spam Spam Humbug to discuss the recent DMCA exemption that was granted to benefit game preservationists. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on Podbean Intro Ultima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix New Patrons & Shout-Outs There are a couple shout-outs we'd like to give to backers of the Ultima Codex. First up, Chris increased his Patre...

WtF Dragon, Gradilla Dragon, and Chlorthos Dragon discuss the generic nature of Ultima's Britannia as compared to other, more fleshed-out RPG settings. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on Podbean Intro Ultima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix Podcast Topics We are joined this evening by Chlorthos Dragon — and we learn how to pronounce that, actually — to discuss a t...

When you back a crowdfunded project — on Kickstarter or elsehwere — exactly what does that mean? What's the nature of your pledge, and what is the nature of your relationship with the developer thereafter? Subscribe on iTunes  |  Subscribe on Stitcher  |  Subscribe on Podbean Intro Ultima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix Podcast Topic(s) This episode is mostly off the...

Helgraf Dragon joins us for an episode, and we learn a bit about him and his freaky avatar. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on Podbean Intro Ultima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix New Followers & Ultima Dragons We're happy to welcome a few new followers on Podbean this week: wholelotofgamingwithiic, Housebound Podcasts (which seems to talk about the latest ne...

WtFD muses about the task of introducing his kids to computer games. Also, Spam Spam Spam Humbug crossed the 100,000 listens threshold this week, so thank you for listening. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on Podbean Intro Ultima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix New Patrons & Shout-Outs A big thanks to Neil , who recently adjusted (upward, just so we're clear)...

Spam Spam Spam Humbug sits down with Colby Young and Gord Moran of IronOak Games to discuss For The King, and its beginnings in The Black Gate Board Game. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on Podbean Intro Teaser Trailer Score , from the For The King soundtrack New Followers & Ultima Dragons Spam Spam Spam Humbug has a couple new followers on Podbean this week:...

Withstand the Fury Dragon looks back at Ultima Forever a bit after the one-year anniversary of its shutdown. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on Podbean Intro Come With Me, Stranger, from the Ultima Forever soundtrack New Patrons & Shout-Outs We have a couple new patrons on Patreon this week: Chris Hopkins and Johnny Wood are our newest backers. Thank you, Chri...

Ultima 4 was released thirty years ago, if you can believe that. As such, the SSSH crew discuss the game, its legacy, and whether or not modern gamers can handle it. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on Podbean Intro Wander , by David Arnold, from the  Ultima 4  soundtrack New Followers & Ultima Dragons We have a new follower on Podbean this week: ploy812 . Welc...

An examination of games which have over- or under-delivered on promises made early in development. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on Podbean Intro Ultima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix New Patrons & Shout-Outs Firstly, I'd like to send some thanks in the direction of Dominus , from the Exult team, who recently backed the Ultima Codex on Patreon! To those of...

How does the Ultima series handle masculinity and femininity? How are certain characters — or even the Virtues — portrayed as masculine/feminine? Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on Podbean Intro Ultima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix Podcast Topic(s) [Ken] So this is kind of a big deal, as episodes go, because this is the first episode for which the topic has bee...

How much prominence does combat need to have in an RPG? How necessary should combat be to progressing through — or passing — the game? And is there something “lesser” about including an “easy” difficulty setting? Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher Intro Ultima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix

The response to the announcement of New Project Britannia has been overwhelming, so let's talk a bit about what the project needs and where we want to see it go. Intro Ultima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix New Patrons & Shout-Outs I want to give a shout-out to Josh Nielsen , a.k.a. Joshontheweb (you can find him on Twitter: @ joshontheweb ). He's a long-time Ultima fan, and a long-time fan o...

Project Britannia II: a new framework to be built by and for the Ultima & SotA fandoms, which intends to become the go-to resource for Ultima & SotA fan projects. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher Intro Ultima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix New Patrons and Shout-Outs Firstly, I'd like to give a shout-out to Cody , who recently adjusted his Patreon pledge...upward, just to...

In which we look at ways to get the Ultima games up and running on mobile devices. This is relatively easy in the case of Ultimas 1 through 8...but what about Ultima 9? Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher Intro Ultima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix New Patrons & Shout-Outs A big shout-out to Browncoat Jayson and Golem Dragon , both of whom worked to keep the Ultima Codex up to d...

E3 has come and gone. There were actually some pretty neat things presented thereat, albeit EA has once again refused to announce a new single-player Ultima. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher Intro Ultima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix Podcast Topic(s) Sergorn Dragon and I have this thing we do every year, just before the first-day EA showcase at E3: we each pick odds that a new,...

What is a companion, in an RPG context? What is a henchman? Does the distinction even matter, and if so, why? Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher Intro Ultima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix New Patrons & Shout-Outs This week, the Ultima Codex has new supporters on Patreon! Thank you, Pascal and kodenkm , for helping keep the site running. Follow-Up From Previous Episode So how a...

In which Withstand the Fury Dragon geeks out for a bit about Mass Effect 4 and Ultima 6, and muses upon the future of the Ultima Codex. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher Intro Crash Landing , from the Mass Effect 2 soundtrack. Podcast Topic(s) I was going to talk about some of the recent rumours surrounding the next Mass Effect game — which I'll refer to as Mass Effe

Being an excerpt from the Journal of the Avatar, from the period of history known as “The Warriors of Destiny”. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher Intro Ultima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix Shout-Outs and New Patrons Seeing as how this is the first time we'll be thanking new patrons, this is more of a shout-out to everyone who is already supporting the Ultima Codex via Patreon. So...

Do video games really need to grow up? Are they mostly just immature power fantasies at present, or are they vehicles for philosophy and mature storytelling? Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher Intro Ultima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix Follow-Up From Previous Episode Reckoning's nods to Ultima. Especially the destinies & skill trees.  Podcast Topic(s)

Withstand the Fury Dragon never seems able to shut up about Big Huge Games' 2012 RPG, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning . Herein, he'll try and explain why. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher Intro Gadflow , from the Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning soundtrack (composed by Grant Kirkhope).  Podcast Topic(s) The great tragedy of Big Huge Games' Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is that it all bu...

In which SSSH discusses the attention and detail that were put into the manuals and reference books that accompanied the Ultima games. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher Intro OC ReMix #44: Ultima IV 'trollbash' by Subliminal Labs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SQBKgHA9jU Podcast Topic(s) Kotaku — which, granted, is not the most historically literate gaming-focused website — post...

The Spam Spam Spam Humbug crew take a look at Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny . Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher Intro Ultima V - Stones 2001 Remix by DJ Lizard ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I1eprpYEDU ) Follow-Up From Previous Episode Adric speaks briefly to something from the Pillars of Eternity discussion. Podcast Topic(s) The Creation and Design of Ultima 5 What were some of...