My name is Aaron, I am a Dad.
His name is Josh, he is a son...of mine...the son...my only...you know what I mean.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Ultima 6 Day 9 : Jhelom

After training for a good deal of time by running around looking for trouble, we managed to get Sherry ready to level. A quick glance at a guide to the shrines and we found that the best shrine to gain strength is in Jhelom. So we started looking for ways to get there.

I really should have been using the first shrine in Cove for Exp farming, because leveling up has been a pain and we are broke. I've begun to get comfortable with the moonstone, portaling back to the throne room for healing. It's saving a buck or two on food, too. Seriously though. Really tempted to rob the bank or something. Oh! And murder Finn for being an inconvenience.

But I digress.

We summoned a gate to Jhelom-

No, actually we went to the shrine of Valor and got our butts handed to us.

After a restore, we THEN ported to Jhelom and proceeded to talk to everyone in town. Eventually, with some exploration and leading questions for Josh, we found out the Mantra and discovered the Rune. There was also cheese, naturally, because we found the rune in a mouse hole, along with a ring of invisibility.

Glance around for Hobb- I mean...Bobbits...

And off to the shrine, once again!

...And again!

...Third time's the-

...Oh bother.

...OH THE HUMANITY!

We took several swings at taking down the gargoyles. Alas, Dupre seems to die every time. I started taking direct control over the entire group, but Josh was getting very confused. I'm trying to limit myself to only controlling BROOK JOHNSON and Sherry, but it's difficult.

Next time around we'll probably just take the Exp hit again and deal with the aftermath. Once we have a few more party members and some level-ups, I think we'll have a good foothold in the game...Finally.

     -Dear Joshua,

Sometimes we learn more from failure than success. While, true, sometimes saying that just feels like we're slow learners.

With Love,
Dad

Sunday, May 14, 2017

Quick Announcement! 5/15/17

Air conditioning went out, family in the hospital, cats and dogs living together.

You get the idea, it's been a bad week for father/son time. So no progress in Ultima 6.

Very little progress on the U/M Project as well, just some modpack experiments and plans for opening up development to the public to any Dragons wanting to contribute to building on their favorite map.

And lastly I will be taking down the "Unrelated Headcanon" post. I have moved, added to, and made some corrections to it on a second blog. Ultima Dad's Headcanon. Yes, the name isn't original, but while it's important to me to write out my ideas, the Ultima Dad blog is far more important over-all.

So if you're interested in my odd views on what the stories of Ultima could be, head on over and prepare to be confused.

Just being honest.

Sunday, May 7, 2017

Ultima 6 Day 8 : Sherry Shenanigans

No! We did not kill Sherry the mouse. WHEW!

Or, if we did, I restored the game and just forgot. Could have sworn we killed a rodent the castle, but maybe that was just my memory playing tricks on me.

We acquired Sherry as a companion and immediately began seeking trouble to train her up. I am definitely going to spend some time in my own doing this, as exciting as combat is for Joshua, finding animals for her to take on safely isn't easy. And battle tactics with an easily killable mouse... definitely need a plan. I think I have one.

We started with a lightning wand dear-ol' Chuckles had stashed away.



Aaaaand we quickly found that it was overkill for the rats in the sewers.

I'm not sure what the respawn rate for the first level of sewers is, but trying to go further down into the depths has had a surprising effect. Joshua is scared of the caverns. I tried to reassure him, but he would have none of it. The dark atmosphere, music, and the appearance struck a terrifying cord.

I remember having this reaction in a few games back then; Underworld, Dungeon Master, and later Alone in the Dark. Just, not Ultima 6...Maybe I would have been afraid in 8, but in 6 I remember running through every area I could... usually into certain doom. I'm not sure of how to proceed, I will simply have to avoid any quest underground for now, but I can't see that lasting forever.

Out we went into the wilderness to scare up some snakes, to no avail, and had to settle on traveling towards minoc...

*mysterious outro music*

...budget shortfalls, we work with what we gots.


     -Dear Joshua,

Caves, we will need to go eventually. I hope we can work out a way of getting you over your fear of...cave tiles and spooky tile sets... maybe a few rounds of Zombies Ate My Neighbors? We might have to skip Ultima Underworld.

With Love,
Dad

     -Dear Izzy,

Daddy's hair isn't long enough to braid, and you don't know how to anyway. Please stop. You two will cause my hair to fall out in due time, no pulling necessary.

With Love,
Dad