HiPhish: If you're not sure about the music just make a duplicate of your Ultima IV folder. One copy will have the upgrade patch applied normally, and the other is for you to experiment with. Then compare the two and see where they diverge. ultima IV is a DOS game, so it doesn't need any registry entries or library dependencies, you can copy it around as much as you want.
I have two U4's running at the moment:
*The Gog install with this patch applied
http://www.moongates.com/u4/upgrade/files/u4upgrad.zip (The Gog install does write the install/uninstall info to the registry and creates an entry in Programs & Features, which I like, for some reason...;))
Edit: The following version is the one to play, however!
*This version of U4:
http://xu4.sourceforge.net/download/xu4win32.exe Note that with the xu4 version of U4 the Gog version is not required: you simply run xu4win32.exe and install it to its own, separate folder and then download the original Ultima4.zip compressed file found here:
http://www.thatfleminggent.com/ultima/u4download.html ...and simply move it into your xu4 folder (in the same directory as xu4.exe)--
NO DECOMPRESSION IS REQUIRED of ultima4.zip, as xu4 decompresses what it needs from the original compressed game file on the fly when the game is opened. Ulitma4.zip
has to be in the xu4 root directory for the the xu4 version to work.
I find both versions to be very nice, but each has something I wish the other had...;) xu4 is not a strictly a DOS game at all but is entirely self-contained and runs fine under Win8.1x64 with no compatibility options set! It has its own configuration options that are accessible only from inside the game. In-game Music is pre-configured and very good, too. If wanted, you can also play with a mouse so use of the arrow keys is optional.
The u4upgrade.zip, which is applied to the full DOSBOX Gog install by decompressing it to the root directory of the game, is nice, too. I sort of like the graphics in the upgrade better than those in the xu4 version, but not radically so. Music is not as good as the xu4 version, but that's a matter of opinion, too. Close. Overall the xu4 graphics are cleaner looking.
Edit: OK, I just discovered the location of the xu4 configuration file...! (Little devil was hiding from me in the
C:\users\(user name)\appdata\roaming\xu4 folder!) Bastardo! I have now set the VIDEO setting from VIDEO=EGA to VIDEO=VGA and xu4 has now used *both* the
Ultima4.zip & the
u4upgrad.zip file in the xu4.exe root directory. Hallelujah, at last, at last!
This is
the version to play, no doubt about it!
xu4 + ultima4.zip & u4upgrad.zip