Ultima 1 Remade & Reborn

sheetsda writes "A company called Peroxide Entertainment(a freeware company) is remaking Ultima 1 under the title Ultima 1 - A Legend is Reborn. They're using their own engine, 'featuring most of the goodies you'd expect of a modern commercial 3d engine in the market' and recycling the overall plot but adding details."

Comments

Re:Rights? Read the FAQ...

[Halo1]

Q: How does the project relates to Origin Systems, legal owner of copyright?

A: Origin Systems, affiliated to Eletronic Arts has no part on the development of the game, although Peroxide has informal allowance to develop the game and gain attention of the media, since there is no marketing and financing involved.

You might want to check here...

[weslocke]

Over at the Fans for Ultima website they have quite a bit of information about the various Ultima remakes & patches in the works.

This is yanked from that page... some info on other remakes:

Monday, September 3, 2001: Remake Mania

Hello people,
This is my first news update for FfU. Maigo and I decided to share the work, so that the site sees changes more often. This one is just a news update, the subsections will be updated soon. We're glad you've stayed tuned over the past months.

A lot has happened in the fan community, with several new and interesting projects announced. Most of them try to recapture the magic of the earlier games with newer technology, so this is both for nostalgic fans and for those who never played the older Ultimas because of their dated graphics. So here are the new projects, in "chronological" order:

Ultima IV: The Dawn of Virtue: The Dawn of Virtue: Using a self-written engine similar to Bioware's Infinity engine (which powered games like "Baldur's Gate" and "Planescape: Torment"), project leader Jaako Peltonen plans to redo "Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar", released 1985. The website provides several concept renderings and drawings.

Ultima Underworld 1 and 2: Twister Software is currently working on a complete remake of the two Ultima Underworlds with a new 3D Engine. Surprising is the announcement of a multiplayer mode; up to 8 heroes will be able to explore the Abyss or shatter the Blackrock dome.

Ultima VII: The Black Gate and The Serpent Isle : Like Ultima V: Lazarus, this project is going to use the Dungeon Siege engine. Interesting are the "Expected Outcome Pictures", Dungeon Siege promotional shots showing what some Ultima locations could look like.

Ultima IX: Redemption: Another project using the Dungeon Siege engine. As a response to the plotwise disappointing Ultima IX: Ascension (Dialogue/Plot patch downloadable here), Ultima IX Redemption is not a remake, but a completely new attempt at finishing the trilogy of trilogies. Avatus, the project leader, promises a rich and compelling storyline with several endings, depending on your decisions.

A similar attempt is Ultima IX: Eriadain, which will make use of the upcoming Neverwinter Nights engine.

Ultima IV: Elijah: Elijah rocks. Plain and simple.

This means that teams are working on remakes for every Ultima except 2, 3, 8 and the Worlds of Ultima series. That's a lot. It's great to see that the community is that active. If even half of these projects get finished, we'll have a lot to play in the future.

All the announcements have inspired Evil_Freak Dragon to write a pretty hilarious story featuring all the major projects. "Lazarus' Redemption Prophecy: A Legend is Reborn with the Dawn of Elijah's Great Balls of Fire" features some insider humor, but it might still be a great read even if you aren't involved in any of the projects.
-Grandor Dragon