“What is affecting the people here in Moonglow?”
Here you’ll find inaccuracies in Moonglow, the city of pathetic liars, and its corresponding dungeon Deceit in Ultima IX. Moonglow is definitely one of the lowest lows in Ascension. The “Lycaeum” blows any vet away. The reunion with Mariah is even more disappointing than with Iolo and Katrina. The shrine cleansing ritual, repeated eight times in the game, is already getting old and boring. It’s also very funny when Raven is back, returns the backpack to the Avatar, and you find all your previously perfectly sorted inventory turned into a pile of chaos.
Ignorance of predecessors
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Two old gossips in Moonglow claim that the Avatar is a lady-killer. Is this
meant to be a lie? What happened in Ultima VII? The hero started a relationship with Nastassia,
just to say her goodbye for good some months later when going to Serpent Isle, eventually to
Pagan, and finally back home. On Serpent Isle, he had an affair with married Fridigazzi! (I
know, I know, doing those evil things in Ultima VII was up to the player, of course.
I still find it funny.)
(by Hacki Dragon)In the patch, the two women now talk about different things than the Avatar’s lady-killing.
-
The Book of Truth thinks that Britannia’s imminent destruction is the Avatar’s
fault. Is this fair? The answer: no, because whichever way you look at it - it’s
the Guardian’s fault. How could the Avatar in Ultima IV know that a superior evil being
would take form? And what about Lord British? He originally proclaimed the Quest of the Avatar.
To claim that everything is in fact the Avatar’s fault is a mean accusation.
(by Hacki Dragon)The patch makers replaced this questionable plot element with a small virtue test, which the Ascension designers most certainly failed.
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Duncan has all reason to have his doubts about the Avatar! Someone who doesn’t
know the Lycaeum
(“What is the Lycaeum?”)
is either a dangerous madman or a spy from a foreign world, working for the Guardian.
(by Hacki Dragon)All of this has been corrected in the patch.
-
In Moonglow, a “Heart Stone” suddenly pops up. What’s that?
It didn’t appear in any Ultima before, yet the Avatar seems to know it very well. You
don’t even get an explanation what a “Heart Stone” is used for.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Where does the green fog in Moonglow come from? (I know, it was just put in
because it looks cool.)
(by Hacki Dragon) -
Moonglow is full of silly magical gimmicks, like glowing spheres, magic doors,
hovering lifts,
etc. - Makes you wonder why the mages use up their mana for such senseless purposes. Times
ain’t easy, and as we know, mana is usually only used when needed. That waste is specifically
odd in light of the “mana crisis”.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Please, tell me more about the origins of that oracle in Moonglow. Previously,
there was no such thing in Moonglow.
(by Tribun Dragon)The patch creators have thought up some things about the oracle.
Technical shortcomings
-
The Lycaeum... in former times, it was a huge castle with countless halls, corridors,
and cellars; The books in that colossal library piled up yard-high, and many scholars dwelled
in the premises of that impressive complex of buildings.
In Ultima IX, the Lycaeum is a small hut, floating in the sky! Need I say more?
Is it possibly some kind of new Lycaeum? Alas, nobody tells you anything about it.(Note that Amoranth in Britain told you the Lycaeum was destroyed, so the floating hut could very well be a new Lycaeum. I’d say, however, that the inaccuracy isn’t really explained at all by this. Amoranth would have told you that they actually reconstructed the Lycaeum.)
(by Hacki Dragon)Thanks to the patch, that floating hut is no longer called “Lycaeum”, because the real Lycaeum was destroyed.
-
Duncan is standing near the Column against Honesty, next to the entrance of
Deceit. Despite of that, he is honest to the Avatar. He isn’t immune just because he’s
a warrior, is he? (That would be lame.)
(by Hacki Dragon) -
Does the Avatar actually recognize Mariah in Deceit? Anyway, the whole thing
seems strange to me: Batista stating that Mariah is dead, the Avatar not protesting although
he already met Mariah... Looks like an unfinished strand of the plot.
(by Hacki Dragon) -
After the Avatar has done everything in Moonglow, Raven is back and tells him that she can
take him to Buccaneer’s Den, Minoc, or Britain. Not to Yew. Why actually
not? You just have to sail near the coast and then swim the last few meters, don’t you?
“Why can’t you take me to Yew?”
“I’m not as virtuous as you, but at least I humble myself to the plot!”
(by Hacki Dragon) -
A minor detail worth to be mentioned: The city walls of Moonglow are useless,
because
- there are huge gates
- not a single guard can be seen
(by Tribun Dragon) -
You want another proof for the claim that most video cutscenes in the game were originally
supposed to be part of an other
plot? When the Wyrmguard throws the Avatar into the cell in the cutscene,
there is a thick wooden door. In the game, there are iron bars instead.
(by Tribun Dragon)
General problems
-
In Moonglow, you are told that there are good and evil people, with either good or
evil karma. Isn’t this a simple-minded separation? For instance, the Avatar
has committed plenty of evil crimes on Pagan (freeing Pyros, letting Morgaelin go to rack and
ruin, betraying sorcerer), but does this make him entirely evil? Guess not.
(by Hacki Dragon)In the patch, Marna speaks about more intelligent things.
-
How comes that the Avatar escapes from Deceit? The Guardian can watch every
step of him and by all means make sure the hero stays imprisoned, can’t he? Does the
Guardian want the Avatar to escape? Is it such great fun for him to watch how Mr. Virtue turns
off one of the great Columns?
(by Hacki Dragon) -
Why does Raven know where the lenses are?
(by Hacki Dragon)She heard about gossip, says the patch...
-
It’s not very virtuous of the Avatar to blackmail Tydus with the heart
stone.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
The Avatar’s whole flight from Deceit is ridiculous. Why is there a secret door
in a prison cell, that leads to a magical phase spider? You can’t design a plot
more constructed!
(by Lord Eternal Dragon)The patch uncovers that Mariah helped the Avatar escape. Good idea!
-
If Raven is such a bad ass bitch that she ventures through Deceit, why
does Samhayne need the Avatar? Raven could do it alone. She can get out of Deceit,
so she can do all the other dungeons too, can’t she?
(by Miguel Nollet) -
Everbody whines about how Magic has been almost disabled. However, this has not kept
good Tydus from creating a huge illusion spell around the Lycaeum.
(by Tribun Dragon) -
Raven’s stupidity is really hard to grasp. Just a few steps away from the entrance to
Deceit, there’s a switch to remove the debris blocking the way (you still have to wonder
how this miracle comes to pass). But instead of doing so, sparing us the complete farce that
is the dungeon of Deceit, she pins a note to the wall and pisses off, to return just when you
finished your job. She’s a great help, isn’t she?
(by Tribun Dragon)
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