So I just bought the Ultima 7 pack and I noticed there was a lot of extra downloads available. Like the manuals, maps and so on. There was also some other stuff like something called cluebooks and playguides. I want to play the game as was intended back then, so are some of these stuff unofficial stuff that was not included in the game? They look very proffesional and "autentic" but where they included in the base game? Also there are 3 manuals. I guess the design documents where not included in the original game at least? :p

Also is it a good idea to start playing Ultima 7 or should I start with some earlier game? (some of them look very dated though from the screenshots).

I have only played Ultima Online (a lot!) and a bit of Ultima Ascension before.

The cluebooks were sold separately and the design documents weren't included either (obviously :P). That doesn't mean people back then didn't use any strategy guides, walkthroughs or magazines, even back in the days before the internet people would be exchanging hints and tricks for video games and strategy guides were sold for a reason. Also, people cheated even back then, so don't be ashamed if you skip some level grinding.

As to what game to start with, I've already written a post in this thread:
http://www.gog.com/forum/ultima_series/which_chapter_of_ultima_should_i_start_with

technically you can start anywhere, just watch Spoony's videos to get the plot summary if you decide to skip the earlier games. I never played Ultima until recently when it was released on GoG, so you don't need to have grown up with DOS computers to enjoy the games.

Ah thanks! :) I think i would rather prefer to experience it myself instead of reading a plot summary so by the other post I understand the best way is for me to play Ultima 4-5 and 6 first? Did ultima underworld connect also or was that made after? (it looks more graphically impressive compared to ultima 4-6)

If i buy the ultima 4-6 collection i also get some cluebooks and stuff. those where not included also originally? What about the lorebooks, spellbooks, reference cards and maps?

Ultima Underworld takes place between Ultima VI and Ultima VII, but it mostly stands on its own. You should just know what the whole deal with the Avatar and the virtues is, but you can just watch Spoony's reviews or, even better, just read the manual (memoirs of Sir Cabirus). The game was originally not even meant to be an Ultima game, so they just squeezed it in somewhere into the canon.
Ultima Underworld II takes place between Ultima VII and Ultima VII Part Two and forms a bridge between the two games. Again, the manual will fill you in on the plot of Ultima VII, so technically you can just jump in, but this time it was developed as an Ultima game from the start and you will meet old companions and the NPCs will reference events from the previous games. It's nothing that will prevent you from enjoying the game, but when I started it I was like "WTF are these people talking about? Who are they even?", whereas in Underworld 1 no one knew you or that you were the Avatar. No, the cluebooks were sold separately as well. The lorebook is the manual and the players are expected to read them, the spellbooks are just fluff to look cool, the only really important information is which spell needs what keys to press and what reagents to mix. The reference cards are technical manuals on what hotkeys to what, how to install the games and so on, basically all the non-lore parts. The cloth maps were a major part of the packages and since there is no ingame map they are essential. I traced the map of Ultima IV no graph paper so I could takes notes on it as I played.

Yes, pretty much. As I said, you can watch Spoony's videos; the basic premise of Ultima 1 is that the evil wizard Mondain has created the Gem of Immortality, so you need to travel back in time and kill him there. In Ultima II his girlfriend and student Minax takes revenge by distorting time and causing chaos on earth, so you have to back in time and kill her. In Ultima III the demon/computer/child thing of the two of them causes mayhem, so you have to go kill him/it.

If it were just the story I wouldn't mind, I played plenty of games with even less story, but the games themselves just haven't aged well, or rather they were never that good to begin with. It's mostly a mindless grid fest with just one character and very little to no tactics. Ultima 1 can be betean with a male dwarf fighter by just hammering the A key over and over again. I skipped Ultima II since it seemed like the same thing but more convoluted.
Ultima III on the other hand has a four character party with a tactical combat screen and could have been a decent old RPG if it weren't for the absured food consumption rate and the small monster spawn rate. You will be constantly starving and hoping for a monster to appear to make at least some money to spend on more food to make more money to spend for more food. There is a cheat program you can use to edit your save file and ive your party all the food they can eat, but i didn't know it at that time.

That said, those games are not very long, so if you are curious you can check them out, just be aware of what you're getting yourself into. It was really more about figuring out what you needed to do than actually doing it. i knew those things already, so I guess that was the problem. It's like with Star wars, every child these days knows who Yoda is and that Darth Vader is Luke's father, but when Empire originally came out it was a shock to the audience that the green little thing was a great Jedi master and that the bad guy and the hero were related. Well, meaybe not every child knows it ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uox6Kw6504Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06EOkVfO95s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJAS8z5it2M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RPCHKj3-vs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGCkxIARI8M

Thanks! :)

I have started playing Ultima 4 and I really like it. However I did buy the Ultima 1-3 collection, but from what I have read in other places to the games are not very good. I am thinking of reading through the manuals for them though, that should give maybe more backstore then the actual games? :P

Also how do the other Ultima games fit into the series? Like the ones called Savage empire and Martial dreams. How many of these are they? :S

I actually have enjoyed playing through I-III. As long as you don't expect immersive gameplay or even any sort of continuity they're fun little games. :)

If he already has the first trilogy he might as well give it a try, the games don't take much time to finish. Just don't expect too much, those were the baby days of RPGs. There is only those two spinn offs (and Underworld 1 & 2). They take place after Ultima VI and were meant to be some sort of filler while waiting for ultima VII. Origin reused the Ultima VI engine, something the company hadn't done before, each Ultima game used to have it own engine (that's why Serpent isle is not ultima VII but Ultima VII Part Two). There is pretty much no connection to the main series, you're still the Avatar and there are some references to Brittania, but these games are set in alternate history Earth and Mars. You can really play them at any time or not at all, you won't miss anything from the story. In fact, the games sold not very well, so most people did actually skip them.

Martian Dreams is a pretty great game though, good challenge and fun story. I never got into Savage Empire, will probably give it a whirl at some point.