Ultima VI: The False Prophet (DOS)

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Ultima VI: The False Prophet
Ultima 6 - DOS - USA.jpg
Platform: DOS
Year: 1990
Developer: Origin Systems, Inc.
Buy: Amazon
For other games in the series see Ultima.

Ultima VI: The False Prophet is a top-down fantasy RPG by Origin Systems. It was the first Ultima to be primarily released on DOS instead of Apple, and the first to have wide support for various graphics and sound adapters.

In the game, you again play as the Avatar. You are beckoned to Britannia through an unusual red moongate, only to find yourself the target of an assassination plot. You're thankfully rescued by your companions and brought to Lord British's throne room. It seems that the gargoyles have begun to attack Britannia and take over their shrines. You must stop their attacks by uncovering their true motives.

Screenshots

Ultima 6 - DOS - Bootup.png

The opening sequence.

Ultima 6 - DOS - Title.png

The title menu.

Ultima 6 - DOS - Introduction.png

Well that can't be good!

Ultima 6 - DOS - Character Creation.png

Figuring out my patron virtue.

Ultima 6 - DOS - Lord British.png

Long time, no see, LB!

Ultima 6 - DOS - Camp.png

Setting up camp along the high way.

Music

VGMPF Album Art       Icon-Help.png

Ultima 6 - DOS - Album Art.jpg

Ultima 6 was not only a major upgrade in graphics, but it was also a major upgrade in audio. The earlier, rather plain soundtracks were replaced by a more polished sound, and support for high fidelity audio devices really helped. However, even with the professional sounding new songs, a few of Ken Arnold's songs from Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (C64) survive, as well as the Ultima mainstay, Stones.

Initially, Herman Miller was tasked with the game's soundtrack which he began after Thanksgiving of 1989. However, most of his work was scrapped and replaced with songs Todd Porter had composed throughout the 1970s and 80s. Though several of Ken Arnold's songs are reprized, it is doubtful he worked on the music at all, and his songs were probably arranged for the new audio format by Miller.

Recording

The game allowed for six different sound cards of varying quality. So far, four of them have been recorded. They are separated by the number at the beginning of their track. 1 is the Roland MT-32, the highest quality. 2 is the AdLib which has a warm sound. The Adlib wasn't as impressive sounding as the MT-32, but the sound card was far more ubiquitous, so it's usually the version people remember most. 3 is the Creative Music System AKA Game Blaster which has a more electronic tinny sound. 4 is the Tandy 3 Voice, the lowest sound fidelity. 5 is SSI 2001, that keep most of the melody, but very often drops any backing tracks; the redeeming quality is that SID chip by itself gives better sound than the previous two devices.

Some of the titles are derived from the Origin Soundtrack album, those used in Ultima V derive their title from that game. See the individual song pages for full details.

# Title ComposerArranger Length Listen Download
101 Can't Remove the Pain Todd PorterHerman Miller 3:46
Download
102 Ultima Theme Ken ArnoldHerman Miller 4:08
Download
103 Fall Leaves Todd PorterHerman Miller 1:30
Download
104 I Hear You Crying Todd PorterHerman Miller 3:22
Download
105 Rule, Britannia! Thomas ArneHerman Miller 1:24
Download
106 Black Forest Todd PorterHerman Miller 3:07
Download
107 Stones David WatsonHerman Miller 5:14
Download
108 Engagement and Melee Ken ArnoldHerman Miller 2:18
Download
109 The Wander Todd PorterHerman Miller 1:56
Download
110 Cap'n Johne's Hornpipe Ken ArnoldHerman Miller 1:32
Download
111 Audchar Gargl Zenmur Herman MillerHerman Miller 1:24
Download
112 Unity Herman Miller, Thomas ArneHerman Miller 1:24
Download
# Title ComposerArranger Length Listen Download
201 Can't Remove the Pain Todd PorterHerman Miller 3:46
Download
202 Ultima Theme Ken ArnoldHerman Miller 4:08
Download
203 Fall Leaves Todd PorterHerman Miller 1:30
Download
204 I Hear You Crying Todd PorterHerman Miller 3:22
Download
205 Rule, Britannia! Thomas ArneHerman Miller 1:24
Download
206 Black Forest Todd PorterHerman Miller 3:07
Download
207 Stones David WatsonHerman Miller 5:14
Download
208 Engagement and Melee Ken ArnoldHerman Miller 2:18
Download
209 The Wander Todd PorterHerman Miller 1:56
Download
210 Cap'n Johne's Hornpipe Ken ArnoldHerman Miller 1:32
Download
211 Audchar Gargl Zenmur Herman MillerHerman Miller 1:24
Download
212 Unity Herman Miller Thomas ArneHerman Miller 1:24
Download
# Title ComposerArranger Length Listen Download
301 Can't Remove the Pain Todd PorterHerman Miller 3:46
Download
302 Ultima Theme Ken ArnoldHerman Miller 4:08
Download
303 Fall Leaves Todd PorterHerman Miller 1:31
Download
304 I Hear You Crying Todd PorterHerman Miller 3:22
Download
305 Rule, Britannia! Thomas ArneHerman Miller 1:24
Download
306 Black Forest Todd PorterHerman Miller 3:06
Download
307 Stones David WatsonHerman Miller 5:15
Download
308 Engagement and Melee Ken ArnoldHerman Miller 2:18
Download
309 The Wander Todd PorterHerman Miller 1:56
Download
310 Cap'n Johne's Hornpipe Ken ArnoldHerman Miller 1:32
Download
311 Audchar Gargl Zenmur Herman MillerHerman Miller 1:24
Download
312 Unity Herman Miller, Thomas ArneHerman Miller 1:24
Download
# Title ComposerArranger Length Listen Download
401 Can't Remove the Pain Todd PorterHerman Miller 3:46
Download
402 Ultima Theme Ken ArnoldHerman Miller 4:08
Download
403 Fall Leaves Todd PorterHerman Miller 1:31
Download
404 I Hear You Crying Todd PorterHerman Miller 3:22
Download
405 Rule, Britannia! Thomas ArneHerman Miller 1:24
Download
406 Black Forest Todd PorterHerman Miller 3:07
Download
407 Stones David WatsonHerman Miller 5:14
Download
408 Engagement and Melee Ken ArnoldHerman Miller 2:18
Download
409 The Wander Todd PorterHerman Miller 1:56
Download
410 Cap'n Johne's Hornpipe Ken ArnoldHerman Miller 1:32
Download
411 Audchar Gargl Zenmur Herman MillerHerman Miller 1:24
Download
412 Unity Herman Miller, Thomas ArneHerman Miller 1:24
Download
# Title ComposerArranger Length Listen Download
501 Can't Remove the Pain Todd PorterHerman Miller 3:46
Download
502 Ultima Theme Ken ArnoldHerman Miller 4:08
Download
503 Fall Leaves Todd PorterHerman Miller 1:31
Download
504 I Hear You Crying Todd PorterHerman Miller 3:22
Download
508 Engagement and Melee Ken ArnoldHerman Miller 2:18
Download

Credits

(Sources: Game, Manual)

Though John Miles is credited in the game, he said he didn't write the sound driver or create the audio format for Ultima 6, and believes that it was created by Gary Smith and Martin Galway. The game's instruction manual also credits Richard Garriott for sound and music, so he may have possibly created the audio drivers for the game.

Albums

Origin Soundtrack

Origin Soundtrack.jpg

1991-??-??

Game Rip

Format

Conversion

Download

File:M.png

VGZ.png

Download

(Info)


The compressed M files are simply located in the root install folder. The files do not contain individual tracks for different output and instead rely on drivers to filter the audio to work on the various sound cards. The music seems to have been targeted to the MT-32, and possibly tweaked for the AdLib, but everything after that was an afterthought. SSI 2001 soundtrack loses in rhythm and harmony, but does not drop notes in remaining music parts. The Creative Music System and Tandy 3 Voice soundtracks are quite poor, often losing some of the notes.

All of the music was recorded by capturing the audio of DOSBox except for the MT-32 soundtrack which was recorded on an actual MT-32. The MT-32 soundtrack does not use SysEx data, but it does change the instruments prior to each song being loaded. The instruments are not stored in the music file, so this is probably controlled by the driver or the program.

This rip includes the original music files, an uncompressed copy of the files, the sound drivers, and the renamed music files.

Audio Devices

Music

Icon - AdLib.png Icon - Creative Music System.png Icon - MT-32.png Icon - Sound Master.png Icon - SSI 2001.png Icon - Tandy 3 Voice.png

Sound

Icon - PC Speaker.png

(Source)

Despite allowing so many different devices for music, all of the game's sound effects use the PC speaker.

Releases

  USA.svg   USA
Ultima 6 - DOS - USA.jpg
Title: Ultima VI: The False Prophet
Platform: DOS
Released: 1990-??-??
Publisher: Origin Systems, Inc.

Links