First timer on Ultima

[Hocevar]

So, I decided on finally playing Ultima after years of hearing awesome things about it.

I'm starting with Ultima VII since it seems to be one of the best games of the series and it isn't as dated as the others.

Now, I already have the game and Exult up and running but the settings are a bit overwhelming.

First of all, what is the audio pack for ? Is it "just" a better quality audio/music ?

I already got the all-in-one pack and installed, do I need to do something else to activate it ?

And what is the "speech" option on audio for ? From what the docs says it's just for the Guardian and/or the Great Earth Serpent but I'd just like to confirm that.

Second, I was reading the documentation and FAQ and I got worried after I got to this part:

"4.3. Higher resolution is cheating
Using higher resolutions is considered cheating as you can see too much of the surrounding area. Since the game was designed to be played at a specific size (320x200), this can actually lead to plot-stopping problems; hence we will not fix any problem caused by your cheating! Don't say we didn't warn you
But being able to play in higher resolutions is actually one of the big advantages of Exult but as mentioned above it comes with a price."

Does that means that if I use a higher resolution the game may break ? If it does, is it irreversible, aka do I need to start a new game or just by reverting to an old save and playing through said part with the default resolution fixes it ?

Speaking on graphics, disregarding that problem what is the best scaler option, considering just the best graphic possible.

If I play on windowed mode is it possible to lock the pointer inside the game window ?

Should I use the RC1 version of Exult or the last snapshot ?

Anything else I should now ? My goal is to run the game as closest to the original experience as possible, ofc I don't want to sacrifice everything else to do so.

I think that covers about all my doubts, thanks in advance for anyone that helps me out

[Dominus]

Music pack contains the mt32 music, which many consider better than plain midi or SB emulation. It also contains the sound effect pack without which NO sound effects are being played.
Speech, of course we write and constantly update the documentation and FAQ to misinform you...
Higher resolution, I play with higher resolution but am being careful to pick things up close to the avatar. Also higher resolution WILL spoil stuff because you can see further than the game was designed for. Also things might not look good.
Scalers is a personal preference, some like it blocky as the original, others like it smooth. TRY!
No mouse lock
Original experience, don't run it in higher res, but use a scaler to make it bigger.
Use the latest snapshot, but read the warning on the front page which is for both rc1 and snapshot (you can also read there what changed sine rc1)

[Hocevar]

Thanks for the clarifications

Regarding higher resolutions, so I should just be carefull with taking items ?

[Jaesun]

Higher resolutions allow you to SEE much farther than you are supposed to in the original. For example with a higher resolution, instead of just exploring and only seeing one house on the screen in the original, you now can see 3 houses and what is inside those houses on the screen (chests, items etc..).

If it IS your first time try to play in the original resolution. The ability to see much farther than was intended, kind of spoils things when using a higher resolution.

[Dominus]

What he says!!!

[Hocevar]

So, aside from spoiling the game there is no plot-stopping problems as it says on the docs ?

And another thing, is there a way to use fraps with Exult ? I can't seem to make it work.

[Dominus]

There CAN be plot stopping problems. We haven't tested out everything and as written in the faq in SI you can wreak havoc by using/taking items from too far away.

[alagner]

>There CAN be plot stopping problems. We haven't tested out everything and as written in the faq in SI you can wreak havoc by using/taking items from too far away

Yup, especially SI is vulnerable here. And due to the game's engine and the way some rooms and items are placed, seeing too much may just spoil the whole atmosphere...

[Korneluk]

Even in BG(U7), you'll find that seeing further lets you see dungeon rooms you shouldn't.

[JDR13]

What resolution would be the best balance between visuals and not "cheating" too much?

[alagner]

320x240 scaled twice imho. 400x300, also with 2x scaler seemed pretty reasonable too.

[_]

320x200 is the original resolution. i strongly reccomend sticking with that and using a nice scaler.