Underworld Ascendant (Warren Spector Ultima Underworld remake)

[Sepiche]

This has been on my radar for a bit, but there's a new trailer out along with a release date, so I thought it could use a thread.

It's being designed by Warren Spector and Paul Neurath, will be set once again in the Stygian Abyss, and will be an update of the original Ultima Underworld gameplay.

[Daehawk]

Never played the original Underworld games and have never heard of this. But I trust Warren Spector and Paul Neurath to make an amazing game.

Also to me this is Typhon

[Max Peck]

Obligatory enthusiasm dampener...

It’s a continuation of the Ultima Underworld games (without the Ultima name), see, and a first-person action-RPG immersive sim doodad. You’re turned loose with goals to achieve but a fair degree of freedom in how to approach them, working as you please within intermeshing systems of physics and AI and whatnot. All those emergent toys: stacking, throwing, burning, splashing, shoving, distracting, stealing, manipulating, and who could forget murdering? Or that’s the plan.

I’ve heard and read mixed reactions from folks who played preview versions and found the systems not that interesting to muck about with – and not much more effective than just murdering everything. Perhaps that’s why this release date is a little later than planned; as recently as June it was slated to launch in September. Hopefully the extra time helps enough, as I don’t want to live in a world where fire feels wrong.

[Baroquen]

I really enjoyed both UU games, so much so that I believe I finished both. (A rarity, then and now...) I backed the Kickstarter, so I'm in on this either way. I'm looking forward to it, but have plenty of games on my plate at the moment, do the release date bump doesn't bother me much. Hope it's entertaining whenever it gets released.

[MonkeyFinger]

I really enjoyed both UU games, so much so that I believe I finished both. (A rarity, then and now...) I backed the Kickstarter, so I'm in on this either way. I'm looking forward to it, but have plenty of games on my plate at the moment, do the release date bump doesn't bother me much. Hope it's entertaining whenever it gets released.

+1

[Smoove_B]

Cautiously optimistic...

[Sepiche]

I also think people really forget how ahead of it's time UU was. All the creatures were 2D, but it had completely 3D environments 4 years ahead of Quake, and 1 year ahead of Doom and it worked great (assuming you could get enough expanded memory together ).

It's like I'm standing next to a real ghost!

[JCC]

Since I have given up on the Thief series ever being properly revitalized, Arkane is putting Dishonored on ice indefinitely, and this company is also making System Shock 3 - I am very hopeful for this. I have watched a couple of game play demos at some convention that looked really fun. I will probably be in pending the reviews not being bad. If this game ends up a disappointment - I will be pretty depressed.

[map]

I need a remake of "Crusader".

[ColdSteel]

There was a lot of negative reaction to the initial build they released to backers. So, I guess I would say I'm cautiously pessimistic at this point.

[Baroquen]

There was a lot of negative reaction to the initial build they released to backers. So, I guess I would say I'm cautiously pessimistic at this point.

I haven't seen much discussion about this. Do you happen to know - was it disappointment toward the game build (ie. tech, bugs, graphics, etc.) or was it more nostalgia/expectations/remake-itis? (I know I asked that question poorly, but I hope you get the gist).

[ColdSteel]

Do you happen to know - was it disappointment toward the game build (ie. tech, bugs, graphics, etc.) or was it more nostalgia/expectations/remake-itis?

The game is supposed to be pretty much 100% procedural with a living, AI driven world and the complaints I saw were mostly about the procedural play being underwhelming. Since that's all the game has, that could be an issue. There were some UI and technical complaints too. Hopefully they are still adding stuff and making it better up to release.

Here's the ars technica hands-on impressions which is representative, I think:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/06/ ... ascendant/

[MonkeyFinger]

Well, I Kickstarted it so will be getting it regardless. <crossing fingers!>

[Baroquen]

Do you happen to know - was it disappointment toward the game build (ie. tech, bugs, graphics, etc.) or was it more nostalgia/expectations/remake-itis?

The game is supposed to be pretty much 100% procedural with a living, AI driven world and the complaints I saw were mostly about the procedural play being underwhelming. Since that's all the game has, that could be an issue. There were some UI and technical complaints too. Hopefully they are still adding stuff and making it better up to release.

Here's the ars technica hands-on impressions which is representative, I think:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/06/ ... ascendant/

Gotcha. Well, I'll be hoping for the best. Thanks for the info and link!

[JCC]

So, release week is here. I watched a bit of beta play videos yesterday and I am concerned. It definitely looked a bit rough technically with bugs, poor optimization, etc. Their forums are not exactly loaded with optimism either from the backers who have been playing. I will still likely pick this up assuming it doesn't get hammered too much in the early impressions. It seems like the ability to quick save is something they are trying to add late in the process, which seems like a very curious decision. Playing an immersive sim without a quicksave/quickload sounds awful to me. Also, why is there still no price on their Steam page?!

Still, this game should be in my wheel house so I am still hoping hard that this will work out. Ironically, I never finished either Ultima Underworld. I just really hated the interface and the difficulty despite many hours in both. I certainly appreciate how much they influenced future games I love though. I really wish some eager dev had convinced EA to let them redo it in a better more modern engine/interface back when it might have been an economically worthwhile thing to do. (Like when Thief 2 / System Shock 2 came out - maybe using the Dark engine in fact...)

(Fingers crossed!)

[Jag]

Still waiting on a Steam key for backers. Maybe it's coming on release day. Did the survey thing already.

[hitbyambulance]

I also think people really forget how ahead of it's time UU was. All the creatures were 2D, but it had completely 3D environments 4 years ahead of Quake, and 1 year ahead of Doom

(and released several months before Wolfenstein 3D, to boot)

[JCC]

So I watched an interview with Director Joe Fielder last night that inidcated this will be $30 with 15% off this week. This means I am likley IN as long as the early feedback isn't abysmal. I STILL don't understand why this info isn't available on Steam or the UA website.

[DOS=HIGH]

Keys are available if you were a KS backer and can be found if you log into your BackerKit. It is a 10.8GB download on Steam. A bit concerned over the beta talk so I'm going to hold off playing for a patch or two, unless the release version gets better feedback.

[JCC]

So, I really like it. Performance seems much better than the beta videos I watched. Playing on Ultra only saw a few minor framerate drops. I am not a stickler for this though. As long as it doesnt drop below 30 fps I usually don't notice unless I have a FPS counter turned on.

Apparently the save system really sucks. I guess you can save whenver but it puts you back at the beginning of a level. Given that these levels are large, and you will be going through them multiple times on missions, this will probably annoy most if not all players.

Also, this is the first game that (apparently) doesn't support surround sound that I have played in a LONG time. This seems a massive oversight for a game like this. I couldn't find an in game setting for this. I need to post a comment on their forums or email support I guess.

I like the gameplay - it does the immersive sim thing well. I am not sure how I feel about going through a few levels many times over and over with different missions. We'll see. These days I pretty much play everything with a gamepad, and the gamepad controls work, but it's not intuitive (for a dummy like me) when doing things like switching weapons/abilities and managing the inventory. I really wish inventory wasn't limited. The tutorial is WAY too long. Also, the voice overs have these odd pauses between sentences (from the villain and the guide) that is pretty annoying.

Anyway, I paid $27 so I am more forgiving than if I paid $60. With Dishonored on hiatus, I don't know when I will get to play a game like this again so I didn't want to wait.

I see a lot of fan rage on the Steam and official forums. I like it so far, but I see many complaints from those who don't.

[Skinypupy]

Huh, this looks like a niche game that might be kind of cool...

Apparently the save system really sucks. I guess you can save whenver but it puts you back at the beginning of a level. Given that these levels are large, and you will be going through them multiple times on missions, this will probably annoy most if not all players.

...and I'm out.

[JCC]

Yeah this is a BAD genre to not have quicksave/quickload.

Of course, this really only matters when you actually want to quit the game. The game does carry over the Silver Seed from the Underworld games. At the start of each mission there is a silver sapling, you "use" it to get a seed. You can then plant a seed anywhere you want (over and over again) in the level (that has dirt - so far this is most places). And, if you die you respawn at the sapling.

Not the same as a quicksave, but at least death doesn't mean starting all over. Just keep using your seed. (that sounds nasty)

[Dave Allen]

Also, the voice overs have these odd pauses between sentences (from the villain and the guide) that is pretty annoying.

Could be a feature. Sound files loaded off the floppy drive used to do that.

[JCC]

So, played a lot more and more and more warts are appearing. Gamepad support mostly works, but there are areas on the interface where a mouse hover gives you information and in some areas there is no way to get that info with the gamepad. Since switching to mouse/keyboard some other annoyances with the gamepad have also been solved.

Once I went to the 2nd area for quests (tonight), all of my arrows stopped working. After finishing that mission, I took a mission at the first area and arrows appear to be broken still. On my next reload if the arrows still don't work, I'll probably put the game on the shelf and wait for fixes.

I really do find the game fun, but it was definitely released too early and is lacking polish. It's a shame since I really like it. Others are pretty disappointed in it.

Since this developer is also making System Shock 3, I hope they can do a better job with that.

[JCC]

So I have run into a (common) bug where arrows just stop working, so this is now shelved until they get more fixes out. Reviews are beginning to trickle out and the game is taking a (deserved) beating. It's a shame, I generally have enjoyed it more than others but it's just too unstable and unpolished.

Using the Underworld name was probably a mistake since this really is only like the Ultima Underworld games on the surface at best. It's also was clearly not ready for release. I hope they don't botch System Shock 3 as badly or then they will really be dealing with pitchforks and torches.

[ScaryMike]

I'm also putting this one back on the shelf for a while. I'm hopeful they will patch the sh#t out of it. It seems right up my alley, in the Arx Fatalis sort of way, but its just way to buggy. Plus the save system is ridiculous right now.

[ScaryMike]

This pretty much sums it up perfectly.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun: This is not a review of the wholly unfinished Underworld Ascendant

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/1 ... nfinished/

[MonkeyFinger]

Yeah, damn shame. Shelved as well for now.

[Skinypupy]

PC Gamers review was brutal as well

Underworld Ascendant is the first game from OtherSide Entertainment. Established by the original founder of Looking Glass Studios, OtherSide is essentially Looking Glass 2.0, employing some of the same designers and seemingly sharing the same ideals about game design. Its legacy includes the likes of Thief, System Shock and of course, Ultima Underworld—three mighty pillars of PC gaming. Just take a moment and think about those games, how massively influential and ahead of their time they were. Imagine what those designers could do with today’s technology and tools.

Now imagine the complete opposite. You’ve just imagined Underworld Ascendant.

There’s no way to sugarcoat this. Underworld Ascendant is phenomenally bad, a catastrophic mess of poor design ideas, woeful execution, and bugs the size of buildings.

Ouch.