Hi,
This might be a stupid question, but why does Ultima 1 have better graphics than 2 and 3. Is it some fan-made mod of the original game?

Thanks.

The DOS version of Ultima 1 was released in 1986 whereas the DOS versions of Ultima 2 and 3 were released at roughly the same time as the Apple II versions. There's an upgrade patch for Ultima 2 and 3 to make them look like Ultima 1 and 4.

Thanks. So basically the DOS versions of 2 and 3 are same as the original Apple versions, while U1 is a rerelease?

This brings me to my second question. Is it possible to get the original U1 somewhere? Alternatively, how different is the U1 DOS rerelease from the original? Is it just graphical changes or are there any gameplay differences as well?

The reason I'm asking is because I've had some "bad" experiences with rereleases (official and fan-made). Quite often, while the new and improved versions are in many ways "better", they are just not the same as the original; it's quite a different game. (An example of this is Settlers 2 Anniversary edition... it just isn't the same)...

Well, this DOS version is the only actual DOS version. The original version is the Apple II version from 1980. They are functionally the same game. The only wildly different Ultima versions are the console ports of all the games. With the upgrade patches to add the music and upgrade the graphics, the DOS versions become the best versions (or joint best versions) of all the Ultima games.

You can read up about the different versions for each game on the following pages:
http://codex.ultimaaiera.com/wiki/Computer_Ports_of_Ultima_I
http://codex.ultimaaiera.com/wiki/Computer_Ports_of_Ultima_II
http://codex.ultimaaiera.com/wiki/Computer_Ports_of_Ultima_III
http://codex.ultimaaiera.com/wiki/Computer_Ports_of_Ultima_IV
http://codex.ultimaaiera.com/wiki/Computer_Ports_of_Ultima_V
http://codex.ultimaaiera.com/wiki/Computer_Ports_of_Ultima_VI

Just remember that Ultima 2, 3, 4 and 5 have upgrade patches to effectively make them the best versions, while Ultima 1 never needed one because it was released in 1986 as my previous post mentions.

Actually, there are a few minor differences between the original and the remake, and one significant one. The significant one is that the Apple original didn't have wandering monsters on the main world map. The only combat was in the dungeons, and of course against Mondain at the end. The minor differences included variant town/castle maps and resurrection of dead characters (in the original game death was permanent). There is a patch for the DOS Ultima I, however, that corrects a slight graphical bug: Text can sometimes glitch out when encountering enemies with long names. It's not a show-stopper, however.

Guys, thanks for the replies. They explain what I wanted to know.

The links are great DeathStrike.