Posted June 14, 2015
Here are a few things you might not have known about Ultima 6.
Nearly everything in the game is an object. This includes creatures, items, spells (in a spellbook), walls, floors, treasure chests, and even things like wand charges.
Every object is, as I call it, either transient or persistent. Every object that exists at the start of the game is persistent, while objects created later are transient. (Notable exception: reagents are always persistent unless created via the cheat menu.)
Whenever you leave an area of the map, the area is garbage collected. Every transient object in the area will be deleted. A persistent container will not be deleted, and its contents will be safe; this provides a convenient way to store your excess inventory. (I recommend the chest in your room of Castle Britannia.) A transient container, however, will be deleted, as will its transient contents. The persistent contents will be lying on the ground. (Simple demonstration: loot a treasure chest off a dead enemy, put a rune inside it, drop the chest on the ground, and leave the area. When you return, the rune will be lying on the ground.)
Spellbooks and Wands act as containers: any spells written to a spellbook and any wand charges are stored in the item the same way a chest or bag contains its contents. This, in turn, has some interesting consequences that I will get to.
A creature, when killed, is replaced by its corpse, which is a container containing everything the creature was carrying.
Now, with that in mind, here is how certain spells behave:
Replicate: Creates a transient duplicate of an object. If a container, the duplicate is empty. Only works on certain objects (typically non-magical items, notably including the boomerang.)
Animate: Turns a non-creature object into a creature. Does not work on chests or bags. If a container is animated, its contents will be dumped onto the ground. (This includes wand charges, which can be seen and examined, but can't be picked up.) The animated creature is transient (even if the original object was permanent) and its corpse will be the original object (again transient).
Clone: Creates a duplicate of a creature. Always works, but the clone will not be carrying anything. If killed the clone will leave a corpse. This allows you to get the Avatar's corpse, which is not (to my knowledge) otherwise attainable. It also allows you to duplicate animated objects, which in turn allows you to duplicate non-Replicateable objects like Magic Plate. This is a good way to make money, especially if you already got the gold from the will-o-wisp.
Nearly everything in the game is an object. This includes creatures, items, spells (in a spellbook), walls, floors, treasure chests, and even things like wand charges.
Every object is, as I call it, either transient or persistent. Every object that exists at the start of the game is persistent, while objects created later are transient. (Notable exception: reagents are always persistent unless created via the cheat menu.)
Whenever you leave an area of the map, the area is garbage collected. Every transient object in the area will be deleted. A persistent container will not be deleted, and its contents will be safe; this provides a convenient way to store your excess inventory. (I recommend the chest in your room of Castle Britannia.) A transient container, however, will be deleted, as will its transient contents. The persistent contents will be lying on the ground. (Simple demonstration: loot a treasure chest off a dead enemy, put a rune inside it, drop the chest on the ground, and leave the area. When you return, the rune will be lying on the ground.)
Spellbooks and Wands act as containers: any spells written to a spellbook and any wand charges are stored in the item the same way a chest or bag contains its contents. This, in turn, has some interesting consequences that I will get to.
A creature, when killed, is replaced by its corpse, which is a container containing everything the creature was carrying.
Now, with that in mind, here is how certain spells behave:
Replicate: Creates a transient duplicate of an object. If a container, the duplicate is empty. Only works on certain objects (typically non-magical items, notably including the boomerang.)
Animate: Turns a non-creature object into a creature. Does not work on chests or bags. If a container is animated, its contents will be dumped onto the ground. (This includes wand charges, which can be seen and examined, but can't be picked up.) The animated creature is transient (even if the original object was permanent) and its corpse will be the original object (again transient).
Clone: Creates a duplicate of a creature. Always works, but the clone will not be carrying anything. If killed the clone will leave a corpse. This allows you to get the Avatar's corpse, which is not (to my knowledge) otherwise attainable. It also allows you to duplicate animated objects, which in turn allows you to duplicate non-Replicateable objects like Magic Plate. This is a good way to make money, especially if you already got the gold from the will-o-wisp.