Ultima 7 Now Works in Windows 95/98

Yes, you read that correctly. If you've ever wanted to play Ultima VII - The Black Gate or Ultima VII, Part Two - Serpent Isle on your newer computer, you were out of luck for the most part. Trying to configure the memory managers, sound card drivers, etc was as big a nightmare as I've ever encountered. I know, I've spent hours trying to replay these classics. 

Well , as of today that problem has been solved. Thanks to a new utility, Black Gate and Serpent Isle can be run effortlessly in Windows 95 or 98, with virtually any kind of sound card. This utility was devised by an Ultima enthusiast in France, and has just recently been publicly posted. I've tried it and it works almost flawlessly on my computer.

Using the program is very simple. Download the file U7Win9x.zip, and unzip it into EITHER your Ultima7 OR Serpent Isle directory. It will work equally well in either. If you look with  Explorer, you will see that the program creates a couple of new files - U7Run.com and U7vxd.vxd. There will also be a couple of text files; a readme file with more detailed instructions about the program, and a technical file for those who are curious as to how this little bit of magic works.

Making sure that BG or SI are installed and configured as usual, you activate the program by starting the U7Run.com file. This can be conveniently done with the start - run menu. If this file is located in the Serpent directory, typing C:\Serpent\U7Run.com will start Serpent Isle. If it is in the Ultima 7 directory, the command for Black Gate is C:\Ultima7\U7Run.com.

This program has been designed to run in conjunction with certain editions only. Practically speaking, if you have any CD-based edition of Black Gate or Serpent Isle (These include the Forge of Virtue and Silver Seed addons) you should be OK. Further details are available in the readme file.

While I did not create the utlility, I can try to help a bit if you have troubles with it. Use it at your own risk, as I cannot be liable for any problems the utility causes. With that said, I've installed the utility, and am now able to play my two favorite RPG's of all time with absolutely no trouble...Enjoy!

Daylar