Ultima 4 or Bard's Tale

[sablestorm]

This is a bit of an obscure question, but I figured the larger UO community might know it. Did anyone ever play the old Bard's Tale game back in 85, the same year Ultima 4 came out? Does anyone know which game was actually released first? I ask this because both Ultima 4 and Bard's Tale featured a town named Skara Brae. I think Bard's Tale even permitted one to import characters over from Ultima 3, if I am not mistaken. At least the Commodore 64 version did.

 

[Ludes]

They were both released for the Apple II in 1985.

I have them both but haven't dusted them off in a while..

 

[sablestorm]

Yeah, I knew the year was the same. I haven't been able to find out when precisely in the year they were released, however. It's just a curiosity for me. Who came up with Skara Brae as a town name first? Did Michael Cranford and Richard Garriott know each other and talk about it? I'm tempted to go buy Bard's Tale from GOG as it includes the three old ones too.

 

[Aran]

I'm betting the Scottish people of Skara Brae came up with it first


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skara_Brae

 

[SlayerofBunnys]

This is a bit of an obscure question, but I figured the larger UO community might know it. Did anyone ever play the old Bard's Tale game back in 85, the same year Ultima 4 came out? Does anyone know which game was actually released first? I ask this because both Ultima 4 and Bard's Tale featured a town named Skara Brae. I think Bard's Tale even permitted one to import characters over from Ultima 3, if I am not mistaken. At least the Commodore 64 version did.

I do remember asking for both of them for Christmas back in 1985.

Looking on the web I couldn't find a release date for Bard's Tale 1 but did find a September release date for Ultima IV. That said I also found the magazine Computer Gaming World reviewed Bard's in the Nov/Dec 1985 issue and Ultima in the Jan/Feb 1986 issue.

http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=0&pub=0&id=500

Looking through the checklist of games in the back of the 1985 issue sure brought back a lot of memories as did an ad for a bunch of the old Avalon Hill strategy games (with next day delivery being offered).

 

[sablestorm]

I'm betting the Scottish people of Skara Brae came up with it first


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skara_Brae

=) I already knew about the old ruins.

I do remember asking for both of them for Christmas back in 1985.

Looking on the web I couldn't find a release date for Bard's Tale 1 but did find a September release date for Ultima IV. That said I also found the magazine Computer Gaming World reviewed Bard's in the Nov/Dec 1985 issue and Ultima in the Jan/Feb 1986 issue.

http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=0&pub=0&id=500

Looking through the checklist of games in the back of the 1985 issue sure brought back a lot of memories as did an ad for a bunch of the old Avalon Hill strategy games (with next day delivery being offered).

Thanks for looking! Your last comment makes me think of playing Panzer Blitz and Panzer Leader back in the day.

 

[Ludes]

I love old magazine archives like that!
If anyone has links to others please share...

 

[sablestorm]

I love old magazine archives like that!
If anyone has links to others please share...

I don't know about online archives, but I did spend some time awhile back collecting old PDF versions of Dragon Magazine.

 

[Ludes]

I do remember asking for both of them for Christmas back in 1985.

Looking on the web I couldn't find a release date for Bard's Tale 1 but did find a September release date for Ultima IV. That said I also found the magazine Computer Gaming World reviewed Bard's in the Nov/Dec 1985 issue and Ultima in the Jan/Feb 1986 issue.

http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=0&pub=0&id=500

Looking through the checklist of games in the back of the 1985 issue sure brought back a lot of memories as did an ad for a bunch of the old Avalon Hill strategy games (with next day delivery being offered).

Got a big kick when I got to the October of 1983 issue.. Talks about a new software company called EA...

 

[Ludes]

As I read through the archive SlayerofBunnys shared I saw this several months later... Feb 1984

ELECTRONIC ARTS
Almost all of this new company's
releases since last reported have been
conversions of games already on the
Atari to other computers. Two, Hard
Hat Mack and Axis Assassin have come
the other way — from Apple versions —
and both look it. Hard Hat Mack is
another running-jumping-climbing
game, and Axis Assassin is a game that
looks like Tempest (see next subject), but
has unique play elements.

 

[sablestorm]

Anyone remember the Archon games which felt a bit like the Star Wars chess game in video game format. I always loved those games, which I think were EA games. The Despise revamp felt a bit like Archon.

 

[hen]

Uhh I visited Skara Brae last year.
It's a beautiful place, to call it ruins is I feel, disrespectful.
It's a wonderful place and I hope these people who lived there had some happiness in their lives.

 

[sablestorm]

Uhh I visited Skara Brae last year.
It's a beautiful place, to call it ruins is I feel, disrespectful.
It's a wonderful place and I hope these people who lived there had some happiness in their lives.

Do tell. I'm referring to the ruins on the Orkney Islands which got unearthed by storms in the mid 1800s. The place you visited, was it in the Orkney Islands? Does it date back that far or did it take its name from the ruins?

 

[Ludes]

This is a bit of an obscure question, but I figured the larger UO community might know it. Did anyone ever play the old Bard's Tale game back in 85, the same year Ultima 4 came out? Does anyone know which game was actually released first? I ask this because both Ultima 4 and Bard's Tale featured a town named Skara Brae. I think Bard's Tale even permitted one to import characters over from Ultima 3, if I am not mistaken. At least the Commodore 64 version did.

Just for fun I have spent several days researching old magazines..

SlayerofBunnys kinda pointed me in the right track with the link to CGW archives..

But after reading a lot of old magazine archives I can say that Bards Tale beat Ultima IV to release...
Not by much but it did come out first..