Anyway aside from from recreating a map, I looked into mods for Minecraft. I can't make my own, but I do know just enough about configuration files and specific mods and modpacks to cobble together something Ultima-ish. Thanks to programs like FTB and Curse, a great deal of the work is already done. Now I just need time and an endgame.
The game plan isn't simple, most of the first leg I'll be on my own, and then it gets interesting.
- I need some scale. A couple mods allow for access to other dimensions beyond Minecraft's Standard 3: Overworld, Nether, and End. It could be possible to find a mix of mods that will allow EVERY world of Ultima on a single server instance. How big of a file will that be? What kind of power would be necessary to run it? - I hope to start testing this with my first map by simply copying it several times to different dimensions.
- I need some limits. Sosaria and Britannia are not infinite worlds, I need to determine the size limits and how to handle reaching that limit. Can I use teleporters to send folks to the other side of the map?
- I hope to get help designing the cities and dungeons. I plan to drop some cash on this part. I'd like to have a hosting service run a fairly robust server for as long as I have help. That means I'll need volunteers eventually, and possibly financial support from them, long enough to build the world and drop NPCs in appropriate places. If I can get even more support, volunteers with knowledge of the mods and command blocks in the game could help set up the events, challenges, and puzzles. Others could work on transcribing dialog into NPCs or creating skins and costumes. A great deal of people, limited by the power of the server, could all work simultaneously on this part. I have a rant on that, but I'll save it for a less boring post. :)
- I need to test multiple modpacks. In my test packs, I have several mods just for the use of extra creative tools. A good deal of mods I'm using may be useless, I may need to add others. Opinions of others would be helpful here. If folks could test and experiment with mods they think would be helpful and give me feedback it would all be appreciated. The goal would be Maximum use from the minimum number of mods. It currently takes ages to start the game on my laptop. Access to the mods I use is handled directly by Curse. Which brings me to-
- I need a distribution method. I do not want to host a large server for the entire Ultima fan-base. I hope that this project will be run by smaller groups and families, freely distributed. I understand Curse can do quite a lot with this, grouping a modpack with maps, settings, and tile-sets. However, I'd like there to be a master file with several iterations of the project included so that as updates in Minecraft come out and new mods are written, someone can remix the project as it suits them, using all of the resources at hand. - If anyone knows a good tutorial on torrent file creation and distribution, let me know. I think torrents were made for things like this.
The end Goal(s):
-Best case
I picture a small group running a server and setting out on an adventure that spans several of the original games. Scenarios rewritten to accommodate a small party or a single player as accurately through the story as plausible, with some tongue-in-cheek play with Minecraft references (Lord Brickish anyone?). If possible I'd retell all of the games, maybe even rewrite 1,2, and 3, to have a deeper narrative. I'd like to see others play with the story as well, What if Spark took a more important role and even traveled to Serpent Isle. Four Men and an Orphan. The sky's the limit.
-What I'd settle for right now
I would like a decent UO sized map with scripted NPCs and an economy with which to create stories and scenarios with. A Dungeon Master's Minecraft world to shape and add to.
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