I really want to play this franchise but im not very familiar with it, I own 4 to 7, has anyone got a suggestion wich one to start with? Wich I mean wich one is the easiest to start with to get familiar with the franchise. And if possible reckomanned a mod or enchantment what was made for that game.

The first 6 are quite good, considering they all have excellent moral choices and great roleplaying (save for the first 3, which are quite simplistic in nature).

But Ultima 7 "The Black Gate" and "Serpent Isle" really stand out in my mind as being some of the finest games ever made. I'd seriously suggest playing U7 first, because it will really get you into the fiction. The story is pretty great, the gameplay is the best it's been thusfar in the series (even though combat involves hitting a button and watching all the characters smash into each other on screen). It's so in-depth, that you can even make bread and other edibles if you have the proper ingredients. It certainly requires a lot of micromanagement, especially with all of your followers inventories as well as your own, but it's probably the most fun game out of the whole series, save for the exceptions of Ultima Underworld 1+2 (which I don't even consider to be part of the same series).

Anyway, I'd say that you should play Ultima 7 first and foremost, because it's the most fun in my opinion. The other 6 games have not aged well, and would really only be worth playing for nostalgic reasons or if you're a completionist. Ultima 8 is just God-Awful, especially with the platforming, all of which is done from an isometric perspective (what were they thinking??) and, as I said before, the Underworld games are not really related at all.

That shouldn't stop you from playing them, too. I love UU 1+2, they're fantastic dungeon crawls, but Ultima 7 is probably the best to play first.

Depends, if your going for story then probably 4 since that is where the overall story starts while pretty bare bones in both narrative and gameplay as the first half is spent talking to npcs and finding the runes and mantras for each of the shrines, building up your virtues and recruiting party members but it's still pretty fun if you can get over the archaic interface. But it does make 5 a much more interesting experience since in five you will see the same virtues you help embody twisted and darkened as they become fascist law. Plus you will also have a idea of what Britannia was like before Blackthorn took over and turned the world into this dark and paranoid place where you have to watch were you go and what you say, lest you draw unwanted attention and find yourself imprisoned or worse taken to Blackthorn himself and ruthlessly interrigated. Yeah Five is one of my personal favorites next to 7.

If your going by what is the easiest to get into then 7 or 6 by far with 7 being a lot more easier then 6 in terms of interface and graphics.

As for mods just grab Pix's Ultima patcher it's a all in one program that has all currently available fan mods and upgrades such as the VGA and Midi Music upgrade for 4, the midi music patch for Ultima 5.

http://underworld.ultimacodex.com/pixs-ultima-patcher/

Also you can use Exult for Ultima 7 which is a fan made engine port for Black gate and Serpents isle that improves alot of the issues with 7 but does have one annoying bug that can cause items to dissapear from your inventory, personally I never ran into this issue out side of when I was using the serpent isle paper dolls in Black gate. But from what I heard it can happen so if you do use exult just make multiple saves.

Don't you think that you could appreciate Ultima 4 better if you play the 3 before it? Not entirely sure, but from what I remember, I think you can even import saves from the last games and continue from where you left off. I do know, however, that there are these moral choices that you have to make that are fairly intense and can change the whole outcome of your game (who lives, who dies, who does neither, etc.) and they're even better if you know the characters already. If you want the best Ultima experience possible, start with Ultima 1 and play through the whole series like you would've had to back when they were still under development. That will force you to invest time into the game and really appreciate it for what it is.

I, however, do not recommend doing that, since the earlier Ultima games are looking and feeling quite dated. Start with 7. Seriously. If you like it, play the earlier ones. That's your best option, I'd say.

Not really since Ultima's 1-3 are only really losely connected to the rest of the series by a bunch of retcannons and the fact that the Isle of death and despair from Utlima 1 returns in Ultima 7 part 2 as the serpents isle oh and the isle of fire and Castle Exodus from Ultima 3 returns in the Forge of virtue expansion,but ultimately you don't need to play the first three to get 4 since 4 is where Richard Garriott started focusing on continuity and keeping the world constant where in previous installments the world kept changing, plus up to Ultima 6 the Stranger from another world who was the hero of Ultima 1 and 2 as well as the band of heroes who defeated Exodus were not the Avatar.

They changed it to all having been the work of the Stranger and that the Stranger became the Avatar in Ultima 6 to fit with where they were going with the story line and the garish virtues and the embodiment of them which were Modain, Minax, and Exodus.

That depends. The first three are very simple games and are useful in that they establish some of the backstory / ancient history for the rest of the series. Some of the things you encounter will resurface later in the series. (e.g. Lands of Danger & Dispair, Gem of Mondain, Great Earth Serpent, Ambrosia, etc) Having said that, they're really old games and haven't aged well at all. In terms of story they're somewhat disconnected from the rest of the series and each other. Garriot didn't really think in terms of continuity in those days and made a half-hearted attempt to connect the games in the manuals. Also, beginning the game can be a daunting task if you don't know where to start, especially U2 where it's really difficult not to die of starvation. But once you understand the mechanics of the game it goes much more quickly. I can usually finish U1 in about 1-2 hours, U2 in 2-4 hours, and U3 in a day.

U4 and all games that follow it (except U8) are set in Britannia. U4 begins your quest to become an Avatar and is therefore where the moral choice that defines the Ultima series really begins. U5 continues the story and extends upon the virtue philosophy by demonstrating how tyranny can result when you legislate morality, that is when virtue is forced upon you by law. But U4 (and U5 to a lesser extent) haven't exactly aged well either. They sport a user interface similar to U1-3 and the combat system can be somewhat tedious.

U6 & U7 (parts 1 & 2) have more usable interfaces and feel more like you're exploring a living world. Many will say that U7 is where Ultima hit its prime and I agree, but U6 is nearly as good. Both games have full character portraits, continuous worlds (no entering/exiting towns - just one big map), NPC schedules, simpler combat, and mouse-driven interfaces. If you choose to skip U4 & U5, you can technically learn all you need to know about the virtues from U6.

The later two games is when the series started to decline. U8 has some horrible jumping puzzles, click-oriented combat, unbalanced stats, exploding chests, a quirky magic system, and is essentially a cross between an RPG and a platformer - hence why some folks call it "Super Avatar Brothers". Despite that, it does have some redeeming qualities, particularly the atmosphere. The haunting music, the desolate landscape, the dying civilization, and the Guardian/Destroyer deception... Origin created world where you can truly feel the despair and loneliness emanating from this place. All the while, the occasional Guardian taunt reminds you that you're in fact being watched and are helpless to stop him from destroying Britannia.

And U9... well... it looks pretty. That's the only positive thing I can really say. Let's just say I choose to forget everything else about that game.

So, to summarize, if you want to experience the whole series chronologically, learn all the backstory and don't mind the archaic interface or grueling experience grind, start with U1. If you want to experience only the content that's relevant to the core of the series - Britannia & the virtues, start with U4. If you want to experience the series at it's prime, play U6 & U7. And despite its flaws, I don't recommend skipping U8. (U9 is another story.)

Also, in terms of mods:

U1 - No upgrades that I'm aware of.

U2 - Get the U2 Upgrade. Adds EGA graphics, fixes the galactic maps, and fixes a whole slew of other bugs. (shameless plug - I'm a bit biased here since I wrote the upgrade)

U3 - Get the U3 Upgrade. Adds VGA/EGA/CGA Composite graphics, MIDI music, and fixes some bugs. (another shameless plug)

U4 - You have a choice: get the U4 Upgrade which adds VGA graphics and MIDI music --or-- download XU4 which is a new SDL-based graphical engine for the game. XU4 includes the VGA graphics and MIDI music from the upgrade.

U5 - Get the U5 Upgrade which adds MIDI music. (yet another shameless plug)

U6 - There's a patch to add support for higher-quality GM / wavetable music (default is Adlib / FM synth). And though it's not entirely stable yet, keep an eye on Nuvie which is a new engine for U6.

U7 - I recommend playing in Exult which is a new engine for U7 and is relatively stable. If you get Exult you can also install Marzo's Keyring Mod and Serpent Isle fixes which add new items, additional side quests, new avatar portraits, and other bugfixes. You cannot install these patches without Exult.

U8 - GOG version should have all essential patches. Additionally, Pentagram is a new engine for U8. The game is allegedly finishable in Pentagram, but I expect you'll hit a lot a bugs so it's a risk. Don't use unless you want to submit bug reports to Pentagram with the expectation of making it more stable.

U9 - Turn off the speech and install the fan-contributed monster, economy, and plot patches.

There are probably more, but these are what I prefer. Hope that helps!

Thanks all I descided to buy 1 to 3 as well and play them first since they arent very big and then lay in order, but where does uw came to place?

UW1 is between U6 & U7 part 1. UW2 is between U7 parts 1 & 2.

Thanks, I have installed the vga path for 4 and it looks great but i wonder ghow do i change it back in english since now everytthing is with rune text?

You have rune text? That shouldn't happen with the VGA patch your sure you installed just the VGA patch and not the rune text patch as well?

My mistake, I installed everything without looking :), I am lvl 5 atm and done nothing yet :)

I been there too, oh in Skara Brae as odd as it sounds talk to the Ankh that Shamino and co. hang around.

I watched the spoony reviews and i descide to only play 4 tot 8 since playing 1 to 3 not making sense and where you really need a walktrough to finish.

I had a feeling that would happen. U4 is pretty fantastic, but make sure to keep the guide that it comes with (which is right here on GOG).

The first three are an acquired taste.