Ultima IX: Ascension Copyright (c) 1999 ORIGIN Systems, Inc. Patch version 1.18F (01/10/00) !!!WARNING!!! Spoilers in the information below. ------------------------------------------------------------- Additional Notes: ------------------------------------------------------------- - For additional support information and tips on improving game performance please visit our website at http://www.ultima9.com. - For tips on improving game performance please refer to the PERFORM.TXT included with this patch. - If you find you get stuck after casting a spell, hit the ESC key. The spell has probably not found a target and is waiting in spell targeting mode. - If you pressed Alt-Tab while in the game it could crash on some systems. Alt-Tab has been locked out. However, on occasion it will still cause a crash. We recommend that you do not run any other programs while running Ultima IX. - If you have Norton Utilities and uninstall Ultima IX: Ascension, make sure you right click on your Recycle Bin and select Empty Norton Protected Files to free up the space on your hard drive as Norton makes a backup of any deleted files. - If you find that your video card is not selectable during installation, try changing your desktop color depth to 16-bit. To do this, right click on an empty space on your desktop and select Properties. This will bring up the Display Properties dialog box. Click on the Settings tab. In the section that says Colors select High Color (16 bit). Click on OK. Try running Setup again. - If you find some music is not stopping (i.e. Hail Britannia) we have added a new key command to the game to flush the music system. This key is located in KEYMAP.NEW (search for flush_music) and should be copied into your DEFAULT.KMP file. (You can also simply copy the new file on top of DEFAULT.KMP to completely replace/update keymaps.) In a place where Hail Britannia is playing and you are not near Lord British's castle press CTRL+ALT+M and the music will stop. Music will then cue up normally. - We added a key command to cancel all Avatar spells. This will allow you to cancel all spells at once or "stuck" spells that are not cancelling when recast. This key is located in KEYMAP.NEW (search for flush_spells) and should be copied into your DEFAULT.KMP file. (You can also simply copy the new file on top of DEFAULT.KMP to completely replace/update keymaps.) Press CTRL+ALT+S and the spells will be canceled. - We added the ability to use the keyboard to control mimic mouse control. These keys need to be added to your DEFAULT.KMP file. The patch installs a new keymap file for you, called KEYMAP.NEW. If you have not modified key mappings yourself, simply delete DEFAULT.KMP and rename KEYMAP.NEW to DEFAULT.KMP. If you have altered your DEFAULT.KMP for your own preference, follow these steps to add the keys. Edit your DEFAULT.KMP file located in the directory you installed Ultima IX (default is c:\Program Files\Origin Systems\Ultima IX). Find the section labeled [General] and add the appropriate lines (for example): ctrl+alt+m = flush_music ctrl+alt+s = flush_spells ; Keyboard shortcuts to movement Up = forward Down = backward Left = sidestep_left Right = sidestep_right Delete = mouse_left End = mouse_right PageUp = mouse_up PageDown = mouse_down ; Numeric Keypad movement keys (Audball's preferences) ; Double-defines for NumLock being on or off. KeyPad+ = mouse_button2 KeyPad0 = mouse_button1 KeyPadInsert = mouse_button1 KeyPad4 = mouse_left KeyPadLeft = mouse_left KeyPad6 = mouse_right KeyPadRight = mouse_right KeyPad8 = mouse_up KeyPadUp = mouse_up KeyPad2 = mouse_down KeyPadDown = mouse_down KeyPad7 = sidestep_left KeyPadHome = sidestep_left KeyPad9 = sidestep_right KeyPadPageUp = sidestep_right Save the file and exit. The next time you run Ascension the keys will be enabled. NOTE: PageUp and PageDown are already mapped to functions that turn journal/book pages left and right in the original keymap file. Mapping them to mouse_up and mouse_down will cause the journal functions to no longer work. Either remap the page flipping commands, or do not copy the new mappings into your original keymap. ------------------------------------------------------------- What is Fixed in the Patch (1.18f): ------------------------------------------------------------- - Fixed a crash in Valoria, involving a creeper plant. - Fixed a plot-stopper involving the demons in Valoria. - Fixed a plot-stopper involving Shamino's conversation. - Fixed a crash in Wrong, involving an NPC who was attempting to go to an invalid location. - Fixed a lockup in Wrong involving getting your backpack returned. - Fixed a crash involving invalid music playing after a game is loaded. - Fixed a crash involving the Jade Bracelet for sale in Paws. - Fixed an audio problem involving the Avatar's sounds not playing in Windows 95. NOTE: If you modified your 'Options.ini' file to attempt to get these sounds playing, please revert/undo your changes. After this patch is installed, please set UseNotify=0 and Rolloff=1.0. - Fixed a crash in the near-endgame scene involving Lord British and Blackthorn. - Fixed a bug involving creature generators that was creating problems with collision. - Fixed a problem on startup where the EAX environmental settings were either being set incorrectly, or preventing startup altogether. - Made additional D3D improvements. D3D is now native to DirectX 7. Supports bilinear filtering of alpha textures in 16-bit via multipass rendering of the same texture, if that feature is supported on the given D3D hardware. - Compressed textures are now properly supported on all platforms except nVidia's; this is a driver issue. The Savage4 card is one of the top performers as a result. - GeForce is now supported properly. - Screen shots in Voodoo2 SLI mode now work properly. - Fixed numerous moderate memory leaks. - Fixed a severe memory leak that would manifest if you open a book, then Alt-Tab away from the game. - Lifts received a code overhaul, and now function more reliably. If the Avatar moves while on a lift, the lift halts its movement until the Avatar stands still. - Fixed a problem with the Moonglow boat lift where you would sometimes fall through it. - Fixed a vertical lift in Hythloth that was unreliable. - Fixed a vertical lift in Yew; added a button at ground-level to summon it. - Fixed several inventory gold overflow crashes. - Sometimes, starting a new game in version 1.06 (Patch #2) would not work properly; this is now fixed. - Fixed several problems in the Spirit summoning rituals. - Numerous bugs in the installer have been fixed. If you re-install the game with the fixed installer (available on the remastered CD), the game installs more reliably and runs more smoothly. - The new install handles installation of DXMedia, which is required for movies to work properly. - Suppressed humming and whistling of the Avatar, and any NPC who is in the process of dying. - Added an LODScale value to OPTIONS.INI; scales the distance at which LODs change. - Avatar coughing & whistling is eliminated. - You can no longer charm the Guardian. - If you put more than 2047 objects into a single room-sized area, the game now issues a fatal error and exits (before it would just crash). ------------------------------------------------------------- What is Fixed in the Patch (1.06f): ------------------------------------------------------------- - Made additional D3D improvements. - Fixed an issue in D3D in resolutions higher than 640x480 where the camera could only turn in one direction. - Fixed an issue on the TNT cards where the Avatar's responses were not displaying. - Fixed a crash that could occur if you saved your game while underwater. - Fixed a crash that could happen when the earthquakes occurred in Covetous. - Fixed a crash that could occur in the prison Wrong when walking down the hallway near the false Raven's cell. - Fixed a crash that could occur if you tried to bind reagents using the binding circles in Moonglow or Wrong. - Fixed a number of miscellaneous crashes. - Fixed a few issues with the Hardware Setup program that would reset the options settings to the defaults. - There were some situations where an item could disappear if your inventory was full and you swapped your sword and shield for a two handed weapon. We addressed this. - Improved creature reaction to ranged attacks. - Made it so your spells are canceled if your spellbook is taken away like when your are sent to Despise or captured in Wrong. Thus your mana will not continue to drain. - Fixed a problem where some spells could get "stuck" on and not be canceled. - Fixed a problem where the Stone spell would fizzle if you were using auto-targeting. - Fixed a problem where the Kiran Shield would give you an extra 5 mana if you were out of mana when you took it off. - Fixed a problem where if you cast Light from a scroll it would use some of your mana. - Fixed an issue where pigs would end up propogating like rabbits in certain areas of the world. - The flag to allow you to speak with Eustus is now set when you read the Book of Justice as well as when you speak with Vasaglarem. Thus you can now get the Quill from him when either action is taken. - Fixed an issue where some of the trainers would give you the option to train again (they wouldn't train you again, just offer) after you had trained once. - Fixed an issue with Desbet where he would not talk to you again if you did not have the gargoyle queen egg. You will now be able to come back and speak with him again. - Fixed an issue where Amoranth acted like you had the candle of love when you did not. - Fixed an issue where Marek the fisherman would give you a Karma boost multiple times. - Fixed Phineus so you could talk to him in mid-fight in the arena and get your belongings back. You will have to start the fight over and still have to win three fights in a row to get a skill increase and you will have to pay again if you do this. - Fixed a problem with Felix and Castro where you could not get the information about the Kiran Stones if you said goodbye immediately. - Fixed an issue with Sarah where you could exit the conversation and then not have the option to get the mantra from her later. - Fixed a problem where the Avatar could sometimes become stuck inside a rock, or a wall/ - Fixed a bug in swimming that made swimming very difficult. - Fixed an issue in Moonglow where the magical airship would not return if you fell off of it. It now appears back at its original starting point (Tydus' house) when you take the lift up. Also increased the speed the ship travels. - Fixed an issue in Valoria where the Demons could be killed early which prevented you from finding the Dagger of Valor. - Fixed a section of Covetous where the lava would sometimes rise too high. - There was one point in the game where the Guardian could be killed (though it was extremely difficult), making the game unfinishable. This has been fixed. - You now receive a karma boost for finishing the water valve quest in Paws. - Vasaglarem now leaves Lord British's castle after the shrine of compassion is cleansed (as was originally intended). - Fixed the point where you could get the Hail Britannia music stuck and cause it to repeat for the rest of the game. Those of you who already have this problem with your savegame use the flush_music command described in "Additional Notes" above. - Fixed an issue where the lift to Vasaglarem's House in Yew would not return if you have already used it. When speaking to Desbet the lever to call the lift back will reveal. If you install the patch before entering Britannia this lever will be visible at the outset. - Fixed an issue with Raleigh where he would sell you a Longbow if you selected Composite Bow or War Bow. He now offers the correct weapons and prices. - Fixed an issue where the game would lock if you purchased a jade bracelet from Irene in Cove. - Fixed an issue with Leeland in Moonglow so he doesn't say his daddy's gonna die over and over again. ------------------------------------------------------------- There are a few items that will only be reflected if you install the patch before you reach a certain point in the game. Note that these fixes are less critical to your gaming enjoyment (the game still works, we just improved upon a few things) and you are not required to start over. The patch will still fix the issues listed above regardless of how much you've played. ------------------------------------------------------------- - Fixed an issue in New Magincia where the quest was not completable if you went to Ambrosia/Hythloth first. Note: You may be able to continue with an existing savegame depending upon how the quest was triggered. This will fix the problem 100% of the time if you have a savegame anytime before you received the quest from Katrina. - The lighthouses without gems were emitting light before the gems were placed. This will be fixed if you install the patch before you arrive in Britannia. - Aidon now consistently returns to his house in Britain after you free his daughter in Paws. This will be fixed if you install the patch before you arrive in Britannia. - Fixed an issue where you could fall through the lift in Covetous. If you install the patch before enter Covetous you will see this change. - Fixed an issue where the Silver Serpent prison would be unlocked but he would not be free. This would only occur if you got the key, left the cave and then returned later to free him. If you install the patch before you arrive in Britannia you will see this change. - Fixed an issue where the flag wasn't properly being set when you picked up the glyph of compassion. This would cause Raven to not show up outside of Despise and the Mayor to not move to Paws. You will see this fix if you install the patch before entering Despise. - Fixed an issue with a cave along the coast of Minoc where some invisible lava existed. If you install the patch before you arrive in Britannia you will see this change. - Fixed an issue in Terfin where a large stone block could randomly block the path to continue. You will see this fix if you install the patch before entering the Terfin dungeon for the first time. - Fixed the shrinking room in Hythloth so the water does not rise until you have exited the pipe, thus preventing the random occurrence of getting stuck as the water rose. You will see this fix if you install the patch before arriving in Hythloth. - Fixed an issue where the water levels were not rising and falling consistently in the same area of Hythloth. Again, you will see this fix if you install the patch before entering Hythloth. - Fixed a situation that could cause Raxos to end up in the ceiling. You can see this fix if you install the patch before you arrive in Britannia. - Fixed several instances where NPCs could end up standing on top of furniture. You can see this fix if you install the patch before you arrive in Britannia. - Fixed a situation where you could crash when using the teleport pads in Wrong. You will see this fix if you install the patch before entering Wrong. ------------------------------------------------------------- What is Fixed in the Patch (1.05f): ------------------------------------------------------------- - Further optimization of the Direct3D support. - Fixed an issue where the Detonator 3.53 drivers were not working properly with the game with DirectX 7 installed. - Addressed a problem with the Riva 128 and Intel I740 with certain drivers and DirectX 7. - At times, monsters would not be properly hostile to the Avatar. Many of these situations have been addressed. - There was an issue where the fire arrows would not fire when using the most common oil flasks in the game. - If you had your bow drawn and then opened your backpack, the arrow count would read 1, regardless of the actual count. - If you jumped in water twice in specific situations would cause the Avatar to lock up. This is fixed. - The zoom reset key (ctrl-insert) has been fixed. - Addressed a crash that can occur if you save the game while poisoned then load that game and try to continue. - If you place an item between the compass and backpack the game would sometimes crash. - When manipulating bags there was a random lockup that could occur. This has been fixed. - If you dragged a bag while the bag gump was open you could have interface troubles. This was addressed. - Fixed an issue if the Spellbook was placed in a bag, it was not being added to the interface. - The duration of spells (which have a duration) cast from scrolls has been increased. - The Day spell has been adjusted so that it will not temporarily blink out in certain situations. - The Time Stop spell mana drain has been increased dramatically to reduce the balance issues generated by the spell. - Fixed a problem where you could manipulate some items while in the Wizard Eye view. - Fixed a problem where linear spells cost mana if you have the Arms of the Magi on. - Arms of the Magi will check to see you have enough mana based upon the reduced spell cost rather than the standard spell cost. - Addressed a balance issue where you could cast spells while the backpack was open. By design, monsters are non-hostile when a container gump (backpack, bag) is open meaning they had no way to respond to your spell/attack. Now when you cast a spell while the backpack or bag is open, they will be closed so the monsters may respond. Additionally, quick targeting is now disabled when the backpack or bag is open. - Fixed an issue where Rupert the blacksmith (in Trinsic) would not always recognize that you had blackrock and thus will not make a Blackrock sword for you. - We found and fixed several areas where Raven would provide incorrect conversation options. - Added an option to have Raxos give you the key to Nico's cell after the Shrine of Sacrifice is cleansed. You no longer have to kill the repentant man to free Nico. - You no longer have the option to ask Lord British about the shortcut to Yew once he has shown it to you. - The speech for the two drinking skeletons near Britain is now playing (the text was only displaying before). - Eustus would not speak to you if you clicked on him. Thus you had to walk away and approach again if you did not answer his questions. Note: he still no longer has anything to say once you have received the Quill of Justice. This is as we designed it. - Fixed a few areas that were not playing the correct city music. - The text for the Blackthorn note was too long for the scroll it was on and thus you could not read the entire thing. The scroll has been extended. - Groldek (the evil Archmage in Serpent's Hold) was not casting his spells correctly and would try to walk forward off his platform. He now cast the proper spells and stays put. - Addressed an issue where two characters would rush each other in an in-game cinematic (while using their magic). They now stand still. - Fixed a problem in Despise where you would get a Karma hit even if you saved Thadious (should only do so if you let him die). - Fixed a problem with the blacksmiths where they were not offering any money for the blackrock sword. - Fixed some incorrect labels in the Minoc vendors (e.g. said "Dozen Oil Flasks" when it would only sell you one.) - Fixed a problem in the Abyss where the fireballs would be left behind in the hall, preventing progress later. - There were times when the small rowboat that sailed you to the secret entrance of Wrong would not show up. Made this more reliable. - Fixed an issue where the secret cave from Buccaneer's Den to New Magincia would open the false path when you tried to travel from Buccaneer's Den a second time. - There was a point northwest of Yew that would sometimes get stuck repeating the same sound over and over. This has been addressed. ------------------------------------------------------------- There are a few items that will only be reflected if you install the patch before you reach a certain point in the game. Note that these fixes are less critical to your gaming enjoyment (the game still works, we just improved upon a few things) and you are not required to start over. The patch will still fix the issues listed above regardless of how much you've played. ------------------------------------------------------------- - Made the trigger bricks in Wrong easier to see. If you install the patch before entering the prison of Wrong you will see this change. - In the Terfin dungeon the game would sometimes crash if you placed all of the black gate pieces in the circle too quickly. Cleaned this up so it works properly in all situations. If you install the patch before you enter the Terfin dungeon you will see this change. - Created a way for you to keep the Mage Shield once you've found it. If you install the patch before you arrive in Britannia you will see this change.