Editing Ultima I

[[Image:U1box.jpg|right|thumb|140px|Game Box Art]]
[[Image:U1title.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Title Screen (PC)]]

'''''Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness''''' is the first official game in the series (''[[Akalabeth]]'' is the "unofficial" start). It was published for the Apple II by [[wikipedia:California Pacific Computer Company|California Pacific Computer Co.]] on June, 1981, simply under the name ''"Ultima"'' (before it was known that there would be more than one installment). ''Ultima'' inspired many other RPGs of the early to mid-eighties, laying the foundation for a whole genre.

== Development ==
Unlike ''Akalabeth'', ''Ultima I'' was from the start a commercial product. The original version was an actual two-man production: only [[Richard Garriott]] and Ken W. Arnold were part of its development.

The game was re-released on December 23rd, 1986 by Origin on a number of other platforms, including Apple II, IBM-PC and C64. This version has extras the original was missing. Details were changed and the whole game got a face-lift to make it more appealing to the players of the mid-eighties.

=== Differences between platforms ===
There aren't any differences between the C64 and IBM-PC versions of the 1986 re-release, apart from the graphical superiority of the PC-port (by the standards of the time). Other than that, the two ports are totally equivalent.

An enhanced Apple IIgs port was made, but is an extremely rare find. Versions for other systems do exist, including versions for Atari 8-Bit, FM Towns, and MSX2.

For more details, see [[Computer Ports of Ultima I]].

== Story ==

{{Spoiler}}

The wizard [[Mondain]], after his first defeat in ''Akalabeth'', attacks [[Sosaria]] again with his hordes of evil and foul magic, threatening to crush the world beneath his heel. The Player, in the role of the [[Stranger]], travels to Sosaria for the very first time, to stop Mondain's plans from succeeding. However, Mondain has become immortal thanks to a magic gem, and his fortress is unreachable, making the mission difficult.

The Stranger must fulfill several quests for the various kings of the land, in order to obtain four different colored gems, before venturing into outer space to battle malicious "starwalking" creatures. After this is done, a freed princess reveals the location of a hidden [[Time_Machine|time machine]], with which Mondain's fortress can be breached. Confronting Mondain, the Stranger shatters the [[Gem of Immortality]] so that Mondain can be defeated, and Sosaria free of his evil. Thus, Sosaria is finally safe from the evil wizard.

{{Endspoiler}}

== Release ==
[[File:Ultima_ad8109.jpg|thumb|150px|Early Ultima advertisement]][[File:UltimaI-Advertisement.jpg|thumb|150px|Ultima I (1986) advertisement]]The original was quite a success in its time, when computer games were something completely new, and started the ''Ultima'' series. Reviewers at the time were impressed by its colour graphics and detailed gameplay.<ref>''Softline, Volume 1.1'', September 1981. Page 18.
</ref> It sold 50,000 copies. For a time where computers where only seen as tools for the workplace, this is an amazing feat. The re-release of 1986 sold better, with the series already established and well-known.

The game was later included in several compilations:
* ''[[Ultima Trilogy I II III]]'' (1989)
* ''[[Ultima I-VI Series]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Ultima Collection]]'' (1998)

=== "Feelies": ===
The original release of ''Ultima I'' from California Pacific included the following:
* The book ''[[Playbook]]''.

The 1986 re-release, together with the game, contained the following things:
* The book ''[[The First Age of Darkness]]'' and a ''Player Reference Card''.
* A cloth bag containing five [[Gold Coins|Coins of the Kingdom]] (1 gold, 3 silver, 1 copper).
* [[Ultima I Maps of Sosaria|Paper maps of the four continents of Sosaria.]]

== Trivia ==

* Early on, the title "Ultimatum" was chosen, but the name was trademarked by a board game already, so the publisher suggested truncating it to ''"Ultima."''

* While the cover of the re-release is the same as the original, the name was changed to ''"Ultima I",'' to reflect that it is the beginning of the series.

* This is the first commercial game to use tile graphics to display the surroundings.

* When the game was remade, Garriott changed the monster "Balrogs" to "[[Balrons]]". It is not known if this was because of possible legal trouble with the copyright owners of ''Lord of the Rings''.

* ''Ultima I'' (as well as ''[[Ultima Underworld]]'' and ten other classic games) is available on the July 2000 issue of PC-Gamer Magazine (CD-ROM edition).

== Additional information ==

* For bugs in this game, see [[Bugs#Ultima I|Ultima I Bugs]].
* For easter eggs and real-life references in this game, see [[Real-Life references and Easter Eggs#Ultima I|Ultima I Real-life references and easter eggs]].
* For nitpicks for this game, see [[Ultima I Nitpicks]].
* For a map viewer, see [[Ultimatrix]].
* For a saved game editor, see [[Ultima Saved Game Editor]].

== External Links ==

* [http://www.notableultima.com/collectibles/Title_U1.html The collectible Ultima - ''Ultima I'']

* [http://members.inode.at/357352/english/nitpicks_u1.htm Hacki's ''Ultima I'' Nitpicks]

* [http://www.ultimainfo.net/Codex/Ultima1.htm The Other Codex - ''Ultima I'']

* [http://aiera.timeimmortal.net/ultima1.php Ultima Aiera ''Ultima I'' resources]

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_I Wikipedia's article on ''Ultima I'']

==References==
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[[Category:Ultima I| Ultima I]]