Exult is being developed in C++ under Linux using the SDL library to make porting to other platforms relatively easy. The current version lets you walk your animated Avatar around Britannia, hear the music and speech from the game, talk to NPC's, open/close doors, and identify items. This, and further development, is only possible due to the work done by other fans who have decoded the various Ultima7 data files, especially Gary Thompson, Maxim Shatskih, Jakob Shonberg, and Wouter Dijkslag.
Exult aims to let those people who own Ultima 7 (copyright 1993) play the game on modern hardware, in as close to (or perhaps even surpassing) its original splendor as is possible. You need to own Ultima7: The Black Gate in order to use Exult, and we encourage you to buy a legal copy.
None of the people involved are affiliated with Origin Systems or Electronic Arts in any way, nor are those companies responsible for, or even aware of, this work. Do no contact them about anything to do with Exult.
New Version 0.26 is available! Download the source for Linux, or grab W. J. Palenstijn's Win32 binary! You'll see lots of bug fixes, Midi music in Windows, and your party will now follow you.
Note: You need to own a copy of Ultima 7 to run Exult, and you may also need SDL, SDL_mixer, and Libkmidi if you are building from source.
The developers of Exult are:
Jeff Freedman , a software developer currently working in the EDA industry in Oregon, and who has been fighting with Ultima7's graphics and usecode for nearly two years now.
Dancer Vesperman an Australian Internet Engineer/software developer who has added support for the Guardian's speech, music, and has done all the configuration work that a proper open-source project requires.
Willem Jan Palenstijn in the Netherlands, also known as "Arthuris Dragon", is doing the Windows port.
Tristan Tarrant, our
latest volunteer, resides in Italy, and will be working on game save/restore,
along with support for Serpent Isle.
News:
5/9/00
Version 0.26 is out! This has many bug fixes and plot improvements, plus the first Midi support under Windows.
4/25/00
We've just released 0.25, which includes the first Windows binary since converting to the SDL library. We've also continued with lots of new development, so expect another release soon.
3/23/00
Version 0.20 is out, and includes a whole lot of work by Dancer Vesperman, who has implemented speech, midi, and all the configuration. In addition, this version includes object animation (look at the fountains), the first support for inventories, and now shows the mouse pointers and fonts from the actual U7.
3/1/00
Version 0.12 is now available. The XLib and Win32 code has been replaced with a multiplatform library called SDL. Plus, obstacle detection and climbing are implemented. This means that you now have to open a door before you can walk through it.:-) Unfortunately, the ability to climb stairs also exposes more glitches in my rendering algorithm.:-(
2/21/00
Version 0.11 released, with many improvements to the "usecode" interpreter. I'm now going to work on getting the Windows port up to date.
2/10/00
Version 0.10 released, with a "usecode" interpreter for driving the game plot and conversations.
2/8/00
Moved Exult to SourceForge.
After letting the project lie fallow for several months, I'm back, currently incorporating an interpreter for "usecode", which drives the games plot.
Links:
New
Can you imagine Ultima 1 redone in 3D? Check out
this site!
The webmaster of the Jackchaos Game
site has kindly provided a forum
for Exult.
For a similar project, see The
U7 Conversion Project
For a full map editor, visit The
U7 Wizard page