4. Apple ][ Ultima Games

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Q:
What is this I have been hearing about Ultima games on the Apple ][?

A: The Apple II is a computer from the early 80's. The original Ultima Games were made on an Apple II computer. These games have become available on the internet and can be played on DOS, Windows, Linux (and other Un*xes with X) and Macintosh computers.

Q:
Ok. How do I emulate an Apple II on my computer?

A: FTP to ftp.apple.asimov.net. In /pub/apple_II/emulators you will find several directories to get emulators.

My favorite Apple ][ Emulator is ApplePC. Get the newest version (2.40) and get iierom.zip. Put them both in a directory and read apple.doc. ApplePC emulates a Mockingboard so you get the cool music in Ultima V.

The next best one I have found is AppleWin which include 16 and 32 bit versions and runs on 486 compatible computers in a Windows enironment. Download the emulator of your choice and set it up. Consult the emulator's documentation on how to do this. Unfortunately, this doesn't emulate Mockingboard.

There is also a Linux Apple Emulator available, running on the console using the svga library. It does not support a Mockingboard (yet?). You may want to check the Linux home page at www.linux.org and follow the software map.

For other Un*xes, there are some portable emulators using X-Windows. (Links and names coming up if someone sends me reports ...)

emulation.net holds many AppleII emulators for MacOS. One user reported he was not quite satisfied with Catakig. Further feedback welcome.

For further information you might want to read the usenet group comp.emulators. An emulator FAQ is posted there regularily, and this FAQ is archieved here.

Q:
LB and Mage Ok. The emulator is working now where do I get the games?

A:

Make sure you read our disclaimer, before you download any games!

The games (and many more) are also available from ftp.apple.asimov.net in the /pub/apple_II/images/games/rpg/ directory. There you will find Akalabeth, Ultima I, II, III, IV and V. These disks have been compressed by a unix form of compression known as GZIP. All files will have the extension of .gz at the end. You can get a MSDOS version of gzip from /pub/apple_II/images/games/rpg/Ultima_V directory.

Here are step by step instructions for getting a disk image to work:

  1. Download the file. We will use Akalabeth.dsk.gz as an example.
  2. The file will probably have a shorter name due to the fact it is on a DOS computer. You will need to rename the file Akalabeth.dsk.gz from whatever it is present to something like akale.gz
  3. Download the gzip compression utility from somewhere.
  4. Use the command gzip -d akale.gz
  5. Rename the given file name from akale to akale.dsk
  6. You may now load it in your emulator.

A simular process is followed for all Apple ][ disk images.

Q:
I can't get Akalabeth to boot in AppleWin, it screws up.

A: Follow this procedure to load Akalabeth:

  1. Click on the disk drive icon and load akale.dsk
  2. Click on the apple button

Q:
Which version of Ultima I should I get?

A: There are 2 versions of Ultima I available. The disk images of the first one (1981) are called Ultima_1.dsk.gz and Ultima_2.dsk.gz. The images of the second one (1986) are called U1Boot.dsk.gz and U1Player.dsk.gz. The major changes are basically the graphics.

Some time ago, asimov held a corrupted Ultima_2.dsk.gz. So if you couldn't run the original U1, reget this image, it works fine now.

Q:
When booting U2 (ApplePC), I only get the directory of the disk, nothing more. What can I do now ?

A: You need to type BRUN HELLO to run the program.


Q:
Do I get the music in Ultima V?

A: Yes and no. Yes, if you use ApplePC and no if you use AppleWin. Go into the music configuration from the Ultima V menu and set ports 4 and 5 for Mockingboard. Note that it requires an Adlib compatible card (any Soundblaster compatible will work).

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Emulator FAQ by Caliaber and Archon Dragon

Last modified: Wed Aug 10 23:19:49 CEST 2005