UnderworldExporter

ArchivedPlayableWindows

Based on Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds

About

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (1992) is an action role-playing game in the Ultima series in which the Avatar explores the Great Stygian Abyss to rescue a kidnapped baron's daughter; its sequel, Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds (1993), sends the Avatar through multiple dimensions to stop the Guardian. UnderworldExporter (UWE), at release 1.09, is a Unity-based engine for playing Ultima Underworld 1 and 2 using the player's own copies of the original game files. Ultima Underworld 1 is fully completable, the UW0 demo is supported with minor gaps, and Ultima Underworld 2 is only partially implemented; it also includes experimental map-viewer support for System Shock 1 and Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri.

How it differs from the original

Compared to the originals, this recreation is limited by using low-resolution original 2D game art, placeholder textures on its 3D models, and Underworld 2's sound effects standing in for both games' audio; the UW0 demo lacks weapon animations, and animations in UW2 are misaligned.

Getting started

After downloading and extracting a release, players point a settings file at their own legally obtained copies of the original game data (Ultima Underworld 1 and/or 2, and optionally System Shock 1) before launching the program to reach each game's main menu.

History

Development on this Unity-based version has stopped: starting in 2024 the author shifted focus to reverse-engineering Ultima Underworld 2's executable and moved active work to a full rewrite in the Godot engine, partly to keep the project fully open source rather than dependent on Unity's licensing terms.

Known limitations

graphics: Limited range of resolutions due to using original game art; 3D models have placeholder texturing.
gameplay: UW2 is very buggy and not as feature complete as UW1; occasional glitches may occur when loading save games.
audio: Sound design is very basic; sound effects are from Underworld 2 rather than the original versions.
animation: No weapon animations in UW0; animations in UW2 are misaligned.

Requires original assets. The project requires original game files from Ultima Underworld 1 and/or 2 to function.

Additional notes

Trivia: The project's own README tells newcomers the best way to experience Ultima Underworld for the first time is still the GOG.com release run in DOSBox, not this tool.