So having just gone through the first game and really enjoying it, I obviously wanted to continue through the series. I started 2 and was immediately confused, after searching for a town for a few minutes (and wandering into a tower with no light) I died. I reload and come back with like 5HP?! A quick search tells me apart from re-installing, how to erase my character to start a 'new' one. So I do that.

This time I wandered into a time gate, unknown to me at the time, and end up in Pangea where it seems there's only one town, and still no apparent way to get any health. Do I have to buy HP from rulers, or can you get it from dungeon running like the first? I also talked to the oracle in that town, but every time I did it just crashed the game?

I did see one 'getting started' thread here, but it talks about not starving which I didn't have much problem after realizing I walked 20 billion years into the past. It also mentions using a glitch that may or may not still be present.

Basically I would like to play through the series, but this is really putting me off. After completely enjoying the first, is this just noob stuff that I'll get over after tinkering away for some time, or am I going to need a walkthrough/cheat to stand a chance here?

Sorry if it sound like I'm whining about this, but I really do want to play and enjoy this if I can I don't like skipping games in a series, but I know it gets better in later games. Thanks if you can help.

I skipped the second one and jumped straight to the third one. Here is some useful information:

http://ultima.wikia.com/wiki/Character_Advancement

I always found this to be unfortunate. Why add a ton of dungeons to the game that you have no real reason to use? I was, however, surprised to find out later that the FM Towns version as well a later patch for the Apple II version made it so thieves did NOT drop trilithium, therefore making Towers and Dungeons required. So perhaps this was never the intention?

http://codex.ultimaaiera.com/wiki/Computer_Ports_of_Ultima_II#The_FM-Towns_Port
http://codex.ultimaaiera.com/wiki/Ultima_II#Apple_II_Patches In the CGA version, be careful you don't offer too much or your stat will roll back to 00. The Upgrade patch fixes this bug. (It also introduces an exploit that was posted here recently. I hope to have a fix for that with the next release.) He's actually called Santre in this game, but I assume he's the same as Sentri in later games. He does tell you he has a "quick blade" if you talk to him before you offer the gold. Of course, you have to fight your way into the prison for no apparent reason first. Not exactly intuitive. You can get info about the patches for U2, U3, and U5 and download them here:

http://exodus.voyd.net/

Pix's Ultima patcher makes this easier for the GOG releases, and includes a bunch of patches for all the other Ultima games.

http://www.pixsoriginadventures.co.uk/ultima-patcher-1-2/

Wow, that really sucks about the dungeons, not only worthless but you need a light? Though I guess you really only needed one in the first game too, since they all had the same enemies and no special prize at the bottom. (Really makes me wanna remake it :D)

So they don't get you health back like the first though?

-I did know about the quickblade, watched Spoony's Ultima reviews which is why I really wanted to play all the originals.

-I also got the patch found here but it says to run Ultima2.com which I don't see. I have an .exe but it seems to still be a DOS one and when I open that through DOSBox the game runs at a ridiculous speed. First time I loaded I was killed instantly by a guy on the map who was next to me when I quit. I also followed the installation in the readme, but still see the old graphics. :P

Is that Pix's Patcher a better one than this or same thing?

Finally I also tried a save game editor, but couldn't get that to really work, should I just save scum by copying my PLAYER file while I have health? It seems once I die there's really no coming back.

Thanks for the suggestions you guys, I see the same few faces across the Ultima threads so I'll take your advice and give it a little effort. Wish me luck!

Pix's patcher has the same fix BUT it uses a convient little installer to make applying it to the GOG versions of the Ultima games alot easier, so you don't have to go through the hassle of going into dosbox and apply it from there.

One thing about Towers and Dungeons in Ultima II is that they are an easy resource for Tri-Lithium, which is necessary for launching a rocket later in the game. You can also get it by fighting enemies, but it's a rare drop; the caches in dungeons are a more surefire way of getting it.

So, they're not totally useless. Just nearly so.

already knew this.
play the towers and dungeons for sake of role playing they do have tri-lithium and you can find hardly any of this fuel on thieves and monstgers I've found very little in my play since I started and I already am at the point where I acquired the space ship. I'd recommend if you do this, play as a cleric, dungeons are fun as a cleric. I did another run though as a thief but the only place I could delve was the Tower of Egypt. other dungeons especially on other planets were broken. levels had no up ladders.

horses travel twice as fast but cost twice the food, if you are starving it is because you are on horseback, they eat too! also this is a role-playing game and not one you should rush on. either play it or don't but there are ways to make it fun! :)
there is a patcher,
https://ultimacodex.com/2018/06/pixs-ultima-patcher-version-1-66-released/

fixing such crashes and also the Greenland dungeon isn't on other planets anymore, far as a Know the layout of Greenland dungeon is the same no matter what time on Earth you are in, whether Pangea 9 mill B.C, 1423 A.D, or 1990! if you want Tri lith and you don't want to fuss too much I'd say Egypt tower is the best place the top is lined with the stuff! thieves rarely drop it as blue tassels you have to have only 1 blue tassel to commandeer a sea going ship but you need enough tril lith to deal with miss jumps on the space going ship. unless you want to rush it Id' say about 14 tri lith of explore ALL of the planets with no room for failure to jump to Earth again.

Well, since this thread has already been necroed...

Here's an exploit to make it easier to acquire stats. It involves save skimming, but I don't consider it a cheat since so much of this game is unnecessarily tedious, including getting enough gold in the first place:

1) You only need Wisdom if you're a spellcaster. It's a wasted stat otherwise.

2) You only need high Intelligence if you're a wizard. Otherwise, Intelligence + Charisma determines the prices you pay at merchants. To get the maximum discount at the lowest cost in stat increases, you need to increase both to exactly 40 apiece. (The 40+40 is a glitch; otherwise, the two stats added together would have to be at least 86.)

3) Go to New San Antonio, 1990. Save just before entering the town.

4) Walk to the Hotel California, find the man who gives stat increases, and pay him as much as you can afford at once.

4a) You pay in increments of 100 gold, up to 900 at a time, and each hundred gold pays for a potential +4 increase to a random stat.

4b) The only times you might choose to pay less than a full 900 would be if you were trying to hit a specific number (like exactly 40 in Intelligence or Charisma), if you were close to maxing out a stat, or if you didn't have that much on you at the time.

5) If he says Alakazam, immediately check your (Z)tats to see what increased, and if it was of use to you.

5a) If the stat increase was helpful, immediately leave town and save your game. Don't press your luck.

5b) If he either didn't say Alakazam, or you don't need the increase in the stat that he chose, immediately quit the game without leaving town or otherwise saving your progress.

6) If you quit the game, you can go ahead and try again without penalty; you didn't lose any money, and your stats were unaffected.

7) If you saved the game and still have more money, you can give it another go. Return to step 4.

8) Profit.