Ultima cover art

Ultima

Mapping an unknown world and exploiting its stat and gold systems to completion.

Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION1 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE4 /10OPTIMIZATION7 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    1/10

    Turn-based tile movement asks nothing of the hands

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    0/10

    Monsters and Mondain follow primitive scripts

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    4/10

    The world's secrets are unknown until mapped by hand

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    7/10

    Stat grinding, gold loops and quest routing solve the game

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

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Game details

Released
1986
Developer
Origin Systems
Franchise
Ultima
Platforms
C64, PC, Mac, DOS, Apple][
Modes
Single player
Role-playing (RPG)FantasyOpen world