Dino's Ultima Page

Celebrating 21 Years

Ultima IX - Ascension

Information Sections on Dino's Ultima Page

Ultima 9 information sections on Dino's Ultima Page, complete with relevant external links, include:

Bugs and Mistakes

Hacki's Ultima Page [English | German] started primarily to show what ridiculous things were done or left out in Ultima IX. It's got at least 15 pages nitpicking Ultima IX, accessed either from the links on the right or from the Ascension [English | German] page.

A list of bugs is just below the cheats in the Other Codex (Internet Archive).

Characters and Dialogue

Quill Dragon extracted a full Ultima 9 transcript [ZIP] from the game's original data files. A copy is being hosted here at Dino's Ultima Page since Quill Dragon's Lair is no longer around.

Cheats

There are also some cheats on the Other Codex (Internet Archive). Some of these are also listed at the Ultima 9 page at The Cutting Room Floor.

Documentation

Quill Dragon's Ultima 9 Key Summary [TXT] is a reference of the various keyboard commands in Ultima 9. A copy is hosted here at Dino's Ultima Page since Quill Dragon's Lair no longer exists.

If you want to change the keyboard controls to something more convenient, a GOG.com forum thread explains how to do this.

Fun

Easter Eggs

Phyllis Jones
Phyllis Jones
Rabbit-shaped rock in Yew
Rabbit-shaped rock in Yew

There's an area in Serpent's Spine where you can find a beautifully made memorial to Phyllis Jones (screenshot above). An explanation for this was given when Gallara Dragon originally posted about this on the UDIC Facebook Group:

Sergorn Drakael wrote: "It was made by U9 Lead Artist (and now SotA Artsit) Scott Jones for his mother Phyllis Jones who had just passed away. As I recall she was the reason he became an artist, so he wanted to pay tribute to her this way in the game."

Scott Jones himself confirmed this in the same thread:

Hello folks... Yes indeed, I created that art and that in-game area shortly after my mom passed away during the later years of U-9's production cycle... My mom practically raised me on fairytales and fantasy of all kinds, and was the source of my interest in art, an inspiration toward my creative side in general, and certainly the source of my particular sense of humor... I'm so glad you fine folks appreciate the little shrine I made for her... Seeing this thread, and reading your wonderful comments, brought a pleasing tear to my eye... Thanks!

In the same thread, Sergorn also wrote about a similar reference found in Britain:

Sergorn Drakael wrote: "There's also a different memorial near the Britain Cimetary devoted to Lord Brinne, fellow Ultima fan and a prominent member of Ultima IX Horizons who passed away a few month before the game came out. :("

In Yew, beside the circle of stones, there's a large rock shaped like a rabbit.

A list of Ultima 9 Easter Eggs can be found:

Mischief

As with most Ultimas, you can kill Lord British. This is done by preparing poisoned bread back in Earth, carrying it with you to Britannia, and putting it on Lord British's plate instead of his regular bread.

Check out Whacked-out Ultima 9 at IT-HE Software for some fun in the typical style of DOUG the Eagle Dragon.

Wolf Dreamer's website (WebDB2 link) was dedicated to doing all sorts of strange stuff in Ultima 9. Most of the original content is being hosted here at Dino's Ultima Page.

Hidden Things

There is an unused area near Moonglow containing bizarre things such as a miniature pirate, an aquarium with dancing pirates, and a pirate behaving like a chicken. Videos showing this area can be found:

Trivia

The video showing the destruction of Britannia (an altered version of the original Armageddon video) is used at least four times:

Items

There is a list of weapons and armour and their effects on the Other Codex (Internet Archive).

The Other Codex also has a list of Items and Locations (Internet Archive).

Mike's RPG Center has lists of weapons, armour, potions and reagents, all with prices. There is also a list of training you can undertake.

Magic

There are some useful notes on Ultima IX spells on the Other Codex (Internet Archive).

The Other Codex also has a list of spell locations by area and by circle (Internet Archive).

Mike's RPG Center has a list of spells with prices and locations.

Maps

In-game World Map

Britannia
Britannia

In-game Town Maps

Earth
Earth
Britain
Britain
Buccaneers Den
Buccaneers Den
Moonglow
Moonglow
Trinsic
Trinsic
Valoria
Valoria

In-game Treasure Maps

Denis Loubet's World Map

In December 2015, Denis Loubet released a high-resolution image of the Ultima 9 cloth map:

"Here is the image used for the cloth map in Ultima IX:Ascension at 50% resolution. Even reduced by half, the attached full map is big enough for screen-saver purposes. It's all there, the docks of Buccaneer's Den, the glowing force-field around the Lycaeum, even the virtue symbols in the border.

"This was done way back in 1999, in an old version of Photoshop, using a lot of paths, bitmaps, and layers. Countless hours went into this on a tight deadline, and now it's here for you to download and enjoy! :-)"

This world map can be downloaded:

External Links

Development

Development History

The development of Ultima 9 was long and rough. Read about it:

Bob White Plot

Bob White's own summary of the original plot - that is now known as the Bob White Plot - can be found:

A different overview of the Bob White Plot can be found at The Codex of Ultima Wisdom.

Another brief summary of the Bob White Plot is available here at Wikipedia.

Actual Origin documents pertaining to the Bob White Plot have been released by The Ultima Codex in 2011/2012 and include:

Sergorn has written some observations about the Bob White Plot as well as comparisons to other Ultima 9 plots, both of which can be found at The Ultima Codex.

Ed Del Castillo Plot

A summary of the Ed Del Castillo Plot was released at The Ultima Codex.

Original Plot Remnants

Many things from the original plot have survived and made it into the final game. Read more about them:

Unused Maps

Many maps shipped with the game that are not accessible except by cheating. Read about them:

Removed Cutscenes

See Removed Ultima IX Cutscenes at The Codex of Ultima Wisdom.

Other Media

You can find a bunch of early development screenshots at Auric's Ultima Moongates.

Remakes

Ultima 9: Redemption was a remake that had been in progress for well over a decade. After the departure of Avatus, the original project leader, it was taken over by Corv's Titans of Ether, only to be cancelled after 12 years in the making. Read more about it in its WebDB2 entry, or check out the surviving soundtrack [Spotify | YouTube], composed in 2006-2008 by Matti Paalanen.

Infinity Eternal was run by a former Redemption member. It seems to have disappeared.

Eriadain is another Ultima 9 remake project by Moa Dragon that was cancelled a long time ago. Read more about its history at its WebDB2 entry. Its Ultima Codex entry suggests some kind of recent revival of activity.

© by Daniel D'Agostino 2002-2023