With development of ultima 8 exult, a remake of ultima 8 in the ultima 7 engine, underway, it got me thinking. If ultima 9 was made in the ultima 7 engine, what would you want? I figure this be a good spot to promote community discussion.
I think the biggest challenge is not just making 2d sprite assets from the 3d asset from the final release, but it is to rewrite ultima 9 and take the best out of the bob white version, ed del castilo version and final version and create the best approximation of the ideal ultima 9 by taking the best of the 3 versions of ultima 9.
For reference, here is the plot summary of the bob white version:
https://hacki.bootstrike.com/english/articles_orig_plot.htm
And a couple other references I found: https://wiki.ultimacodex.com/wiki/Development_history_of_Ultima_IX
https://ultimacodex.com/2011/06/ultima-9-ed-del-castillo-plot-summary/
as well as what have been gathered about ultima 9 so far
https://ultimacodex.com/2024/11/ultima-9-was-released-25-years-ago/
As for gameplay, what would you guys want to bring back from the 3 versions? What you like and dislike? Be it areas, gameplay mechanics and story points.
For example. Would it be interesting to start with the god powers from pegan then add a plot reason for the avatar to build up from zero again? Or have them stay powerful and build the story and gameplay around it like with legacy of kain blood omen 1?