Ultima VI: The False Prophet (DOS)
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- 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.
Contents
Screenshots
Music
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VGMPF Album Art |
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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 (C128) 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 reprised, it is doubtful Arnold 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:
- the Roland MT-32, the highest quality.
- the Ad Lib Music Synthesizer Card which has a warm sound. It 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.
- the Creative Music System AKA Game Blaster which has a more electronic tinny sound.
- the Tandy 3 Voice, the lowest sound fidelity. Unlike Game Blaster, the output is simplified, sometimes excluding backing tracks.
- SSI 2001, that keeps 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.
- Covox Sound Master, which sounds quite the same with Tandy 3 voice.
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 | Composer | Arranger | Length | Listen | Download |
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| 101 | Can't Remove the Pain | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 3:46 | Download | |
| 102 | Ultima Theme | Ken Arnold | Herman Miller | 4:08 | Download | |
| 103 | Fall Leaves | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 1:30 | Download | |
| 104 | I Hear You Crying | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 3:22 | Download | |
| 105 | Rule, Britannia! | Thomas Arne | Herman Miller | 1:24 | Download | |
| 106 | Black Forest | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 3:07 | Download | |
| 107 | Stones | David Watson | Herman Miller | 5:14 | Download | |
| 108 | Engagement and Melee | Ken Arnold | Herman Miller | 2:18 | Download | |
| 109 | The Wander | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 1:56 | Download | |
| 110 | Cap'n Johne's Hornpipe | Ken Arnold | Herman Miller | 1:32 | Download | |
| 111 | Audchar Gargl Zenmur | Herman Miller | Herman Miller | 1:24 | Download | |
| 112 | Unity | Herman Miller, Thomas Arne | Herman Miller | 1:24 | Download |
| # | Title | Composer | Arranger | Length | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 201 | Can't Remove the Pain | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 3:46 | Download | |
| 202 | Ultima Theme | Ken Arnold | Herman Miller | 4:08 | Download | |
| 203 | Fall Leaves | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 1:30 | Download | |
| 204 | I Hear You Crying | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 3:22 | Download | |
| 205 | Rule, Britannia! | Thomas Arne | Herman Miller | 1:24 | Download | |
| 206 | Black Forest | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 3:07 | Download | |
| 207 | Stones | David Watson | Herman Miller | 5:14 | Download | |
| 208 | Engagement and Melee | Ken Arnold | Herman Miller | 2:18 | Download | |
| 209 | The Wander | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 1:56 | Download | |
| 210 | Cap'n Johne's Hornpipe | Ken Arnold | Herman Miller | 1:32 | Download | |
| 211 | Audchar Gargl Zenmur | Herman Miller | Herman Miller | 1:24 | Download | |
| 212 | Unity | Herman Miller, Thomas Arne | Herman Miller | 1:24 | Download |
| # | Title | Composer | Arranger | Length | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 301 | Can't Remove the Pain | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 3:46 | Download | |
| 302 | Ultima Theme | Ken Arnold | Herman Miller | 4:08 | Download | |
| 303 | Fall Leaves | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 1:31 | Download | |
| 304 | I Hear You Crying | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 3:22 | Download | |
| 305 | Rule, Britannia! | Thomas Arne | Herman Miller | 1:24 | Download | |
| 306 | Black Forest | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 3:06 | Download | |
| 307 | Stones | David Watson | Herman Miller | 5:15 | Download | |
| 308 | Engagement and Melee | Ken Arnold | Herman Miller | 2:18 | Download | |
| 309 | The Wander | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 1:56 | Download | |
| 310 | Cap'n Johne's Hornpipe | Ken Arnold | Herman Miller | 1:32 | Download | |
| 311 | Audchar Gargl Zenmur | Herman Miller | Herman Miller | 1:24 | Download | |
| 312 | Unity | Herman Miller, Thomas Arne | Herman Miller | 1:24 | Download |
| # | Title | Composer | Arranger | Length | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 401 | Can't Remove the Pain | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 3:46 | Download | |
| 402 | Ultima Theme | Ken Arnold | Herman Miller | 4:08 | Download | |
| 403 | Fall Leaves | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 1:31 | Download | |
| 404 | I Hear You Crying | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 3:22 | Download | |
| 405 | Rule, Britannia! | Thomas Arne | Herman Miller | 1:24 | Download | |
| 406 | Black Forest | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 3:07 | Download | |
| 407 | Stones | David Watson | Herman Miller | 5:14 | Download | |
| 408 | Engagement and Melee | Ken Arnold | Herman Miller | 2:18 | Download | |
| 409 | The Wander | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 1:56 | Download | |
| 410 | Cap'n Johne's Hornpipe | Ken Arnold | Herman Miller | 1:32 | Download | |
| 411 | Audchar Gargl Zenmur | Herman Miller | Herman Miller | 1:24 | Download | |
| 412 | Unity | Herman Miller, Thomas Arne | Herman Miller | 1:24 | Download |
| # | Title | Composer | Arranger | Length | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 501 | Can't Remove the Pain | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 3:46 | Download | |
| 502 | Ultima Theme | Ken Arnold | Herman Miller | 4:08 | Download | |
| 503 | Fall Leaves | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 1:31 | Download | |
| 504 | I Hear You Crying | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 3:22 | Download | |
| 508 | Engagement and Melee | Ken Arnold | Herman Miller | 2:18 | Download |
| # | Title | Composer | Arranger | Length | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 601 | Can't Remove the Pain | Todd Porter | Herman Miller | 3:37 | Download |
Credits
- Ripper: TheAlmightyGuru (M), vgmrips (VGM)
- Recorder: TheAlmightyGuru (MT32, AdLib, CMS, Tandy), M1911 (some SSI 2001), Fagear (some Covox Sound Master)
- Game Credits:
- Music: Ken Arnold
- Music: David Watson credited as Iolo Fitzowen
- Music: Herman Miller
- Music: Todd Porter
- Not Credited Composer: Thomas Arne
- Manual Credits:
- Sound and Music: Herman Miller
- Sound and Music: Ken Arnold
- Sound and Music: Todd Porter credited as Todd Mitchell Porter
- Sound and Music: David Watson credited as Iolo Fitzowen
- Sound and Music: Richard Garriott
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
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Game Rip
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
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Music |
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Sound |
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(Source)
Despite allowing so many different devices for music, all of the game's sound effects use the PC speaker.
Releases
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Links
- mobygames.com/game/dos/ultima-vi-the-false-prophet - MobyGames.
- gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/562662-ultima-vi-the-false-prophet - GameFAQs.
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_VI - Wikipedia.
- Games Released In 1990
- Games Developed By Origin Systems
- Games
- Ultima VI: The False Prophet (DOS)
- Games With Album Art
- Games By Ken Arnold
- Games By David Watson
- Games By Herman Miller
- Games By Todd Porter
- Games By Thomas Arne
- Games By Richard Garriott
- Games With Albums
- Games That Use M (Origin)
- VGZ Conversions
- Games That Use AdLib For Music
- Games That Use Creative Music System For Music
- Games That Use MT-32 For Music
- Games That Use Sound Master For Music
- Games That Use SSI 2001 For Music
- Games That Use Tandy 3 Voice For Music
- Games That Use PC Speaker For Sound
- Games Released In USA
- DOS Games
- Games Published By Origin Systems
