Ultima Underworld for Delver

Mike Ratzlaff says:

Hi, Mike Ratzlaff here. Imagine working on a project, and doing a Google search for research that project, and finding a website with a link pointing back to your original project. What a trip! 🙂

Here’s a few more in-development screen shots:
Adding diagonal walls:
http://i.imgur.com/t3msalT.png

A new map rendering system to display the diagonal walls:
http://i.imgur.com/6emAxB1.png

And let me clear up a couple of things:

First, about Delver (and take this with a grain of salt, as I am neither the creator nor the maintainer of Delver code, nor is Delver complete (currently at release 0.65)): Chad (AKA [Priority] Interrupt) is in contact with Notch and discusses Java game development, but that seems to be the extend of the connection between Minecraft and Delver. Delver has no mining, no crafting, has an engine born from ray-casting and is still 2d in some aspects, and has a simple but solid plot (fight your way to the bottom, grab the MacGuffin, get back out). Minecraft has extensive resource gathering and crafting features, a fully 3d voxel based engine, and a very loose plot (get stuff, make stuff, try not to die). Overall I’d say the only thing they have in common right now is exploring caves and killing bad guys, but lots of games have that, right?

And the second thing – Oh please for the love of God do not go around telling people that I am doing a re-make of Ultima Underworld! It’s too much pressure! Seriously though, there have been teams of ambitious people with more experience and talent than I that have attempted to do a UW remake, and where are they now? TSSHP? LOW? Now I’m watching the Abysmal project but not holding my breath. What I’ve done is really just a re-skin of existing Delver mechanics. I’ve added a few things (for example Delver code supports shields but Delver 0.65 had no such items implemented, I’ve also added weapon definitions to include axes, maces, slings, and crossbows) but that’s all mostly cosmetic.

The general idea of the plans for my UW mod look like this:
I’ll release it as 1.0 when Delver goes 1.0, using as many of Delver’s then-features as are appropriate to giving the game a UW look and feel. I’ll probably release 2 modification packages (or, more likely, a single package with some kind of a switch option).
Option 1 will have maps made by my UW->Delver map converter. They will have the same layout and features as the UW maps but most of the NPCs, quests, and quest items will not be reproduced. Also, maps would be made linear (one entrance, one exit) to fit Delver play style.
Option 2 will use Delver’s map generator to make maps (as Delver does now) but will give pieces of the UW maps to the level generator, such that you end up with maps that have a lot of familiar UW locations, but their layout has been shuffled around every time you play.

I know a lot of people are going to be screaming “That’s not Ultima Underworld! You’re changing it!” And they’re right, I’m not trying to do a perfect re-make of UW, I’m adding the UW look and feel to a new game engine in Delver. Think of it more along the lines of the UW levels for Unreal or the UW Morrowind project – not a faithful recreation, jut a nostalgic revisit.