“That’s not such a problem. I rather like killing undead things.”
Here you’ll find inaccuracies in Ultima IX’s animal world and plant life. The developers have screwed a number of things. It just doesn’t feel like Ultima anymore. They threw out numerous traditional Ultima monsters and introduced as many new ones instead. Their artificial intelligence doesn’t deserve that name, by the way.
The following nitpick is new:
Ignorance of predecessors
-
Let’s not waste time talking: Has anyone ever seen a crustacean in Britannia? It takes
forever until evolution creates such complex new life forms. Not only 20, 80, or 200, but rather
billions of years.
Here’s a list of all monsters that have suddenly entered stage in Ultima IX:- Crustaceans
- Brutes
- Creepers
- Hellhounds
- Icehounds
- Zombies
- Predatory fish
- Vultures
The designers had more than enough possibilities to explain this phenomena. For example, the new creatures could have come to Britannia from another world when the Guardian was attacking Britannia, or a mad mage could have created them. Unfortunately, they did not care at all, as it seems.
Vultures, by the way, may have to be removed from that list. In Ultima VII, the Avatar’s companions went for enemies with the words“Vultures shall pick thy bones!”
in combat.
(by Hacki Dragon)The patch explains it: The Guardian brought the new beasts into the land.
-
There are so many new creatures in Ultima IX, yet some old monster races disappeared.
Unsurprisingly, the developers could have explained this with one or two dialogue lines, but
they did not. (For example, the Columns could have altered the Britannian climate, which caused
the extinction of certain races.)
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Where have the Wisps gone, who once could be found in Deep Forest? I think
they deserved to be included in Ultima IX, since after all, they brought the Avatar onto the
Guardian’s track in Ultima VII, while in Ultima 6, they brought the Armageddon spell
to Britannia. Have they finished their research in Britannia in the meantime? Please don’t
tell me that useless flying magic orb east of Britain is supposed to be a Wisp!
(by Hacki Dragon) -
Isn’t it odd that there mummies in Ultima IX? Mummifying never belonged to Britannia’s
culture, rather to that of Serpent Isle.
(by Antero90) -
On Serpent Isle, Templar in Monitor said that Goblins liked darkness, and
that they fight better in it. In Ultima IX, Mathis claims that Goblins do not like
darkness because their vision suffers from it.
(by Natreg Dragon) -
In all previous Ultimas, Dragons were very intelligent and able to cast spells.
However, in Ultima IX, they are apparently damn stupid and have lost all magical abilities.
Not even Talornia casts spells. Very odd.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
The overall appearance of the wingless Gargoyles in Ultima IX is all but flawless.
They should be smaller and weaker than the winged ones, like in Ultima VI and VII.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Yeah, the flora was messed up, too: Nightshade, which has always been a mushroom,
has mutated into a leaf plant. This is even funnier in the light of the following paragraph
from the Book of Mystic Wisdom in Ultima IV:
Conclusion: The mage who wrote the spellbook in Ascension has got be terribly incompetent, seeing as how he confuses reagents with ordinary plants.“Nightshade. Not to be confused with the rank-smelling plant of the same name, the Nightshade used in the mystic arts is an extremely rare mushroom that is only found in the deepest, most remote forests.”
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Where does the bearskin in Lord British’s Castle come from? Did you
ever see a polar bear in Britannia?
Perhaps a polar bear from the northern lands of Serpent Isle was taken to Britannia during the teleport storms (and quickly used by Lord British to decorate his bedroom). Unfortunately, the developers don’t mention it with a single word.
Note that the very same bearskin can be found in a room in Shame - Odd!
(by Tribun Dragon) -
On Serpent Isle, the Gwani told you there are only two Ice Dragons left, and that they were
about to become extinct. Later, we dispatched one. Too bad we find at least two Ice Dragons
in Ascension, really. If they didn’t come from Serpent Isle, then where did
they come from?
(by Tribun Dragon) -
The Hydra, formerly a monster, has turned into a plant. What the heck?
(by Flash)
Technical shortcomings
-
Gazers fade away in Ultima IX, which is surprisingly perfectly correct (although
all other killed monsters do the same), but no insects appear at their place like in
previous Ultimas.
(Don’t say this would have been too hard to code - There are insects in the swamps of Paws.)
(by Tribun Dragon) -
The Gazer got quite a new outfit... Doesn’t he remind you of a painting
by Picasso?
(by Tribun Dragon) -
The Britannian climate has got to be a joke; for instance, there is a tropical
climate with palms in the town of Trinsic and in Skara Brae, while there is mixed forest in
between.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
A classical technical glitch, but still funny: Virtually all monsters in Ascension
leave gold after you’ve killed them - even Giant Rats, Gazers, and other beasties
you’d not expect to. Bad design!
(by Dino the Dark Dragon) -
Every single monster, including Dragons, Giant Rats, Gazers, and Vultures, leaves a
human skull in the red blood pool!
(by Tribun Dragon)
General problems
-
There are wine bottles in Ultima IX. But where do they grow wine? You don’t
see a single wineyard in Ascension.
(Don’t say this is pedantic. In Ultima VI and VII, we were shown how wine was grown at Empath Abbey.)
(by Tribun Dragon)
You discovered a nitpick not yet listed on this site? Send it to me! You are also welcome to use the message board for discussions about nitpicks.
