History

u4

I started out wanting to port Ultima 4 to a computer I designed myself (the Chloe 280SE). The Chloe is a modest enhancement of the original machine (256K of RAM and some additional video modes—8×1 attributes and 512×192 mono) and I thought a U4 port would be a good way to show off its capabilities. However the project was in development hell for years. In the interim I developed a software screen mode for the original Spectrum that gives you a 144×144 pixel window of 8×1 attributes. Suddenly an Ultima in almost EGA style color became possible on the 128K machines. In the end I had to limit it to the later Amstrad machines as the earlier models had a nasty hardware bug that reduced the amount of CPU cycles available per frame. The engine, scope, and setting of the game are somewhere between U3 and U4. The game is actually tape based, although the a virtual tape will be available. Side A contains the character generator. Side B contains the game. After the game is loaded the only use of the tape is for save games. Of course if you’re using an emulator you can just save a snapshot.