newtmonkey wrote on Today, 07:55:

Ultima V (Apple II)

when i played older games like this i would suspend my "analytical" mind and just go with the imagination and story, i find that more difficult to do now, such RPG's start to feel a bit to "rinse and repeat" or spreadsheet like... i'd like to enjoy them innocently again in a way, without knowing too much about how they actually work and so on, too much experience results in illusions shattered and curtains falling away, if you know what i mean

gerry wrote on Today, 12:59:

when i played older games like this i would suspend my "analytical" mind and just go with the imagination and story, i find that more difficult to do now, such RPG's start to feel a bit to "rinse and repeat" or spreadsheet like... i'd like to enjoy them innocently again in a way, without knowing too much about how they actually work and so on, too much experience results in illusions shattered and curtains falling away, if you know what i mean

I think it's just a matter of sitting down and committing to playing a game and appreciating it for what it is. Modern games are generally so streamlined and "easy" to play that it's easy to just sit down and play for an hour without really putting any thought or effort into it.

When I decide to play an older game, I always "force" myself to spend at least 60 minutes (even if over a couple of days) playing it before deciding whether to continue. A lot of getting into an older game is just learning its interface, really, and 30-60 minutes is usually enough time to get used to its interface and quirks.

Ultima V (Apple II)
I could not believe how expensive food is in this game--I was finding it unbelievably difficult to get anywhere in the game, because I had to spend all of my money on food and only food.

I figured there was something I had to have been missing, so I started searching around. I checked every walkthrough and FAQs I could find, and no one mentions it being an issue at all. Then I found one resource that mentions that food is sold in packs of 25, not 6(!) as in the Apple II version:
https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Ultima_V:_Warri … rectory#Taverns

I started up the MS-DOS version (GOG) and, sure enough, food is sold in packs of 25 units! I guess Origin realized how brutal the Apple II version is and made the early game quite a bit easier in the DOS port. This explains why I never had any trouble at all getting started with the DOS version back when I tried playing it a few years ago!

I really like the idea of playing the original version of the game (and transferring my Ultima IV Avatar into it), but the food situation in the Apple II version is absolutely ridiculous. Maybe it's just a matter of slowly fighting battles I know I can easily win (making sure to save after each one) until I build up a decent stockpile of food, gold, and items (reminds me of Ultima II... ugh). I'm seriously considering just playing the DOS port, now.