To modify flags, you need to download first the respective file compiled by the Mad Hatter, the U8flag. Also, you must have the cheat program installed in your current game. Afterwards, if you follow the instructions correctly, you’ll be given a list of available Flags (in the file U8flags.txt).

After you have the control of the Avatar, simply press F9 (F7 for the unpatched version). If no bug occurs, a blue screen should appear with a menu in the top of the screen. Now click on View/Edit and then the option Usecode Flags should be enabled now. Click on it. Now you can type any Flag listed on the file U8flags.txt that you wish to modify. Beware, because it’s CASE SENSITIVE. You are only able to change its value to any of the specified values (Sorcerers attack you when their irritation values reach 3, but you can’t type this number). Some interesting things to do with it (some of them have already been explained in the Guide):

• Walk over water/lava
• Anger Lithos and trigger the invasion of the Ghouls
• Pacify the Sorcerers
• Advance in Malchir Tests
• Activate all teleport pads
• Activate Fire/Rain storms
• Kill Mordea and piss off Torwin
• Advance in the game
• Correct some mistakes you had made
• Etc... (you could help me by discovering something useful)

To activate it, at Ultima8 directory, type ‘U8 –test’. If you’re running U8 in windows9x, right-click the ‘U8W.EXE’ file and click Properties. Somewhere you’ll find the Command Line (for example: ‘C:\ULTIMA8\U8W.EXE’) and simply add ‘-test’ to it (and it’ll become ‘C:\ULTIMA8\U8W.EXE –test’). Nothing much here. It lets you check the integrity of the game files, view your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS and test the SFX and MUSIC. After you’re done, you may either quit to DOS or to PAGAN.

- Inspired by the work of Hacki Dragon (in his Nitpicks Page), to whom I dedicate this section.

In this section, I will try to discriminate all bugs, plot mistakes, plot holes and even some in-game peculiarities that I consider most relevant. If you have any suggestions or contributions, feel free to e-mail me. However, I cannot guarantee that I’ll add them all either because I don’t agree with the ideas or because I don’t think they are relevant enough (you know, my selfishness counts here, sorry). Moreover, I don’t know if I’ll ever update this guide again.

If you want to discover more about lost parts of the game (or if you want to read all the books, dialogues, etc.), open the file Eusecode.flx using a text editor such as Microsoft Word.

1. General Gameplay:
• There should be different types of traps in chests.
• You can light candles inside of your backpack without burning yourself.
• The roof of a house usually has the same height as one person. Conclusion: you can’t walk over a piece of paper while indoors.
• What’s the purpose of the Unstable Gem (found in a house near Kilandra’s)? There’s no use for it.
• You can’t equip the Zealan Shield.
• If you are playing a loaded game and try to begin a new game afterwards, the passed time will be equal to the previous game. To correct this, you need to load ‘The beginning...’, quit the game and type u8.exe again.
• There’s no narration. I like that way. The game and the dialogues look more realistic. However, you don’t know what the people, especially the Avatar, are doing or thinking. In many occasions you don’t know why the Avatar is on a certain location and what’s his intention.
• It’s raining, somehow, inside of Hydros’ Underground Temple.
• The Resurrection Spellbook was changed by the Intervention. To check the correct book search for ‘The Spell of Resurrection’ in the Eusecode.flx file.
• Lava is not considered a Fire attack. This way, Daemons can be hurt by it and Skeleton Warriors are not effectively killed by it.
• There’s no Status Effect attacks. Kiths and undead creatures don’t poison you, Golems and Trolls don’t bruise you, Daemons and lava don’t burn you, etc.
• If you hit the Tempest or Mythran while they are casting a bolt of lightning to hit you, it will freeze and will do no harm to you, but will pollute the screen. The same thing applies to you if you are casting Call Destruction and you are hit.
• If you reconstruct the Black Gate and leave the Ethereal Plane, it’ll no longer be there when you return. Also, if you return to a plane after you have destroyed a Titan, he or she will be there again regardless.
• Although the Guardian’s speeches are great, they don’t seem to be addressing directly the Avatar. In Ultima 7, the Guardian taunts him many times (‘Go inside! Tell them you are the Avatar...’).
• You can pass through most of the dungeons just by running. Your enemies can’t reach you, so you don’t need to battle them at all.
• The manual says that if you destroy an item or NPC that is indispensable for the progress of the game, you’ll not be able to save. Well, the only moment that you can’t save is when you are already dead. This is only a nitpick, because I like it that way: I can save whenever I want.

 

2. Avatar:
• When you kick your opponent, he or she will strangely receive the weapon attack too, incluing any attributes inherent to this weapon. For instance, you can kill a Troll with one kick if you have the Slayer equipped, you can permanently kill a Skeleton Warrior with kick attacks if you have the Flame Sting equipped and your kick can hit a Ghost if you have any magical weapon equipped.
• He is too slow to cast a spell or to turn. Although this visual effects are great, it makes many of his spells useless (for example, the Explosion spell), because they are too slow and weak to the point that even a Troll will have time to counter-attack you. On the other hand, spells like Call Destruction and Meteor Shower are much more useful and they are cast immediately.
• Only the Avatar can be blown to pieces (why?). When you light a flask of oil inside of a Skeleton’s contents, nothing happens. Although I don’t like the mages’ one-hit-kill-the-Avatar, I like the idea that the final hit (fire) can blow you or your enemy apart.
• If you are blown up, you only die after one of your severed hands stops moving. It means that, if you manage to throw it into water or lava before it stops moving, you’ll not die! It also means that, if you are carrying it with you and you accidentally drop it or double-click on it, you may die!
• If you light a flask of oil inside of your backpack ar if you read the Trixter’s book, you’ll say the words ‘Bye-Bye’. After this, even if you take them from your backpack, you’ll still be blown to pieces. Note: if you survive, you can reuse them.
• If you light a Fire Gem inside of you backpack, you’ll also say ‘Bye-Bye!’. However, nothing will happen to you.
• The Avatar falls in slow motion sometimes.
• If you put a backpack or a chest inside of your own backpack, you’ll not be able to carry anything else in your backpack afterwards (you’ll have to use the new container).
• You cannot move while you are talking to a person. This can be a problem, especially if there is an enemy after you nearby.
• You can’t carry corpses.
• If you die, let’s say, engulfed by fire, drowned in the sea, or even in a remote place like the Ethereal Plane, you’ll still have a tombstone waiting for you.
• In the unpatched version, the Avatar falls when he takes a heavy blow. However, your enemies don’t. Why? This is unfair!
• Alternatively, in the patched version, if you take a light blow, you’ll be knocked backwards. However, if you take a heavy blow, you’ll not even move. Arghhh! What the...
• You can’t climb down.
• If you keep attacking the air (or anything else), you’ll also increase your status points. In particular, punches or swings tend to increase strength more often; while kicks tend to increase dexterity more often.

 

3. General NPC:
• There should be no immortal NPCs, except for Stellos (to a certain point). In my opinion, it’s similar to a non-linear game. While the latter fact limits your right to come and go, the former prevents you from killing any person you want.
• Common NPCs usually don’t have the capability of physically attacking you (except for Theurgists, Malchir and children). Also, they don’t eat, sit, rest, sleep, run and work (they just keep walking and mumbling).
• A dead man’s content are usually created when he dies. This person doesn’t actually have the item he was supposed to carry. Darion and Jenna don’t have any swords, guards don’t have armor or halberds, Korick doesn’t have a hammer, Sorcerers don’t have enchanted foci, Trolls don’t have clubs, Skeletons not only don’t have their one-edged axes, but also, create new contents every time they fall in battle, etc.
• All creatures are damn slow. The Avatar moves too fast for them.
• NPCs don’t talk to you when you are invisible. However, when you rob them, they will miraculously notice you. They can’t hear you, but they can see you?
• Korick forges the Air focus for free. He’ll be out of business soon.
• There should be more shops selling potions, scrolls (Mythran, maybe), provisions, etc. Also, you could be hired by Gwilli(a)m (what’s his name?) to hunt Kiths and Toraxes; by Orlok to bring him supplies, etc.
• Some NPCs die on foot. Maybe they are wearing some huge shoes to not fall!
• In the Plane of Fire, you can find several still-fresh corpses. Where did they come from? I think the Avatar didn’t understand very well the actual situation because he even tried to talk to them (double-click on them – many times, preferably).

 

4. Magic, Mages:
• Mages usually kill you in 1 hit. There’s no chance to block or to counter attack them normally. In my opinion, it’s similar to a non-linear game. While the latter fact limits your right to come and go, the former eliminates any chances you have to survive, hindering the Avatar from moving and from defendinding himself. A good fight would be a better option.
• Beren can find you anywhere. This contradicts the manual that states that the Flash spell can only be cast to arrive on places already visited. This problem is evident when you attack the peasants of the Slayer subquest.
• The mages seem to be low on battery, since they usually attack you only once. The exception are the Sorcerers (at the Enclave), the only ones who attack another creature, besides you, with spells.
• Stellos and Holy Cyrrus can perform their magic even after you take the blackrock stone from Stratos.
• While the Call Quake is supposed to be the main spell for attack of Necromancy, it is useless, since your enemy is not damaged (except for Spiders and Skellots) and both you and everybody on screen keep falling on the floor (you are hurt by your own spell?). At least it should bring some status effects.
• There’s no real use for the reagents: Sticks (Dead Man’s Elbow) and Sliced Executioner’s Hood.
• All Sorcerers will get real mad if you steal or attack one of them (this is perfectly acceptable). Nevertheless, why do all Sorcerers want to kill you when just a member of the Cabal insulted you or was insulted? This is just a personal afair and if someone wanted to attack the Avatar, he/she would have to attack the other aggressive Sorcerer as well (especially if he/she is an adversary).
• The Hear Truth Spell is not very effective. Just works for Orlok, Aramina, Xavier and Cyrrus. Don’t work for Bane, Vardion, Shaana, Torwin, Gwilli(a)m, Kilandra, Hydros and Orlok’s ghost story (which is a lie!), that also involves Gwilli(a)m, Kilandra and Darion. My opinion is that Mythran is also lying (he knows much more than what he actually tells you).
• The Reveal Spell can’t dispel all forms of invisibility as Stellos mentioned in ‘The Chronicle of Pagan’. The Invisible Man, Ghosts and the book ‘The Destruction of the Temple’ in Mythran’s house cannot be made visible with this spell (maybe the book was not there, it could’ve been teleported).
• Xavier usually tells you the wrong location of Honorable Stellos. By the way, the old man never goes to Windy Point.
• I was disappointed to see that you only need to use the Blackrock fragments to dispatch the Titans. There should at least be a fight after their were weakened (for example: you’d need the Necromantic and Sorcerous power to defeat Hydros).
• If you return the Breath of Wind to Stratos, you’ll not be able to retrieve it afterwards (meaning that you won’t be able to finish the game). And, even then, you won’t be able to cast Air spells and Stellos will die anyway. Rather strange...I don’t know if this is a bug or a trick played by Stratos.
• You can use the Breath of Wind on Stratos at Argentrock. It can also prevent you from finishing the game.
• The Conflagration Spell seems to be very slow and weak. Sometimes it can’t even kill a Ghoul. Now it’d be different if this spell was targeted...
• You can’t cast a Summon Ghoul spell (Kal Corp) that Vividos casts during the Ceremony of Eternity. And he was only an apprentice then.
• You don’t manage to cast the Resurrection spell. Maybe it was supposed to save the ones killed directly or indirectly by Mordea and to bring happiness to Rhian again? Or to resurrect the Zealans from their undead slavery? Or to restore the Tree of Balance? Who knows?
• It’s important to note is that ‘The Chronicle of Pagan’ mentions that the runes for the Resurrection spell are ‘Vas An Corp’. The peculiar part of the story is that the Withstand Death Spell also uses the same runes. Since this spell can also bring someone back to life, could this be the easier way to cast the Resurrection spell that Stellos was talking about?
• There’s just one Staff in the game (if you are playing the game normally – the other one is with the Master and can only be obtained if Pyros is set free during the Ritual of Fire) and two spells that use it (Explosion, Create Fire). Then, you’ll have to choose which spell you really want. There should be at least another one. Maybe you could find it inside Corodin’s grave (or even inside of Maedron’s, who had killed him), since he was the one who created the first staff, but you can’t.
• On the same subject, Maedron probably killed Corodin by summoning a Daemon to attack him. If so, Corodin would be bound to Pyros, not Lithos. Then his grave could not be there.
• If you cast Summon (whatever) Creature to assault Beren in Tenebrae, he’ll kill you, instead of the creature.
• Before your conversation with Beren near the River of Lava, if you haven’t talked to him yet or if you have angered him in Tenebrae (or even in the Enclave), there will be a opening dialogue (he’ll be either surprised or irritated because of the flow of water that appeared there, cooling the River of Lava). If he’s not angry with you this dialogue will be missing and Beren will appear as if he has been talking to you for some time. Now, if he is completely mad at you, he’ll atempt to kill you, but he’ll not succeed because the game will freeze first.
• Malchir has not the Tongue of Flame (and the book) nor the Magical Arm Guards, before the Ritual of Fire; items that are supposed to be with him 100% of the time. He is also much less resistent to attacks before the summoning of Pyros than by the time you’re challenged by him.
• The Confusion Blast spell, contrary to the other Thaumaturgic spells, can only be cast once. To cast it again, you must once more gather all the reagents for this spell.
• No Death Blast spell is learned from Mythran.
• The Devastation spell is a joke. It was meant to kill everyone from Pagan, just like the Armageddon Spell from Ultima 7 does in Britannia. However, it only makes your on screen enemies disappear for a while and it also activates the firestorms.
• You cannot return to Pagan once you have cast the Ethereal Travel spell. There could be some sort of feedback indicating the effects of destroying a Titan (e.g. the rain stops – or you command it to stop - after you destroy Hydros).
• According to the book ‘Journal of Veras, the Healer’, the magical weapon which defeated the Trolls was Nehdra’s Needle’. However, in the game it’s called Protector (why?). With the patch, this mistake is corrected, and the name of the weapon is changed... but in the correct source, the book. Why? Nehdra’s Needle was much better than Protector. Besides, Veras herself told (in the Unpatched version) that she had labeled this weapon of Nehdra’s Needle.
• The Ancient city of Knarl (Cheat Room) was a Zealan city (before the war with the Titans). So why are the weapons Bone Crusher, the Protector and the Daemon Shield (clealy weapons from the Third and Forth Epoch) still there?

 

5. Enemies:
• According to some books, Skeleton Warriors can be destroyed with the Bone Crusher. This never happens. You can only kill a Skeleton with fire (flask of oil, fire gem, fire darts, Flame Sting, Sorcerers’ spells -except for fire shield-, campfire, Daemon attack, etc) or with Necromantic powers (Grant Peace).
• Again, these Skeletons only use axes in the game; nevertheless, ‘The Chronicle of Pagan’ also mentions swords, shields, armor, and so forth. Not to mention that its inventory is always changing (and doesn’t include the particular axe the Skeleton uses).
• Bone Crusher Hammer should be more effective to undead creatures of Earth. For example, it should kill a Skeleton Warrior forever (like a Grant Peace spell does).
• All creatures seem to hate the Avatar so much that they don’t attack anybody else, just him. There are some, like the Troll and the Seeker, that wants to attack anyone. However, if you and another living thing is on its sight, you’ll be its main target.
• If a creature is fighting another and you attack one of them, the two will probably charge you. Also, even if you don’t interrupt them during their fight, the winner will most likely be happy to kill you too. This problem is evident when you cast Summon Creature/Dead or Create Golem spells. The only one that is (usually) safe is Summon Daemon.
• The Kith could be de-venomed. Maybe to use it’s venom on a weapon?
• The game doesn’t explain how the Changelings shapeshift. Moreover, the creature only transforms into Avatars, flora and stones normally (id est, without cheating).
• Trolls are said to be an offshoot of the Zealans. However, because it’s not possible to enter in the Lost Vale and, consequently, in the Ancient Gods’ city, these noble and wise spellcasters could never be found.
• Despite the fact that the origin of the Seeker is unexplained, ‘The Chronicle of Pagan’ informs that the explosion the Seeker creates after it dies can hurt you, but it can’t in the game.
• The Aerial Servant can transform the objects they touch into currents of air as well. However, it can’t transport a locked door out of your way or, at least, unlock the door using this technique. OK, it would be cheating so it’s not a good idea.
• Still concerning Aerial Servants, some of them can attack you, contradicting ‘The Chronicle of Pagan’.
• Legends claim that Daemons can hurl destructive balls of fire, but the only one who does that is Arcadion, who is a Sorcerer. Maybe they are referring to the ancient Daemons (being Arcadion one of them) who are not bound to Pyros.
• ‘The Chronicle of Pagan’ mentions that Ghosts can attack with their draining touch, but they can’t. Moreover, why can they summon Ghouls if they are not bound to Lithos?

 

6. Storyline (specific):
• Strangely enough, the Carthax Lake, the Argentrock Isle, the Shrine of the Ancient Ones and the Sorcerers’ Enclave can only be accessed via Catacombs. A pitfull excuse for a linear game (ironically, the only place you should actually have reached using the Key of Scion is The Pit of Death). Why couldn’t they use only caverns?
• Also, thinking that way, you must be a student of Necromancy and had already met Lithos in order to become a Theurgist or Sorcerer.
• Darion never manages to convince you to marry Jenna. Nor she is interested in marrying anyone. However, she wants to travel throughout the world. Maybe if you helped her, she’d be more kind to you.
• During the game, Lithos doesn’t seem to care if you take or not the Heart of Earth from the Pit of Death (you can even talk to him with it in your possession). However, he was supposed to send earthquakes and an army of Ghouls to invade Tenebrae.
• In addition, you were not supposed to enter the Pit of Death through Stone Cove (when you create a Golem to open the doors to the Hall of the Moubtain King). You were supposed to enter there through the Lower Catacombs (using the Key of Scion) as a part of your Pilgrimage. Maybe in the add-on the cave there would not be blocked...
• Kilandra’s baby, Elaina, died, was interred and then sent over to Lithos. That’s confirmed by her gravestone in the Cemetery. Moreover, even Kilandra tells you that her daughter had passed to the Pit of the Dead. However, what’s strange is that Elaina appears in the game as a ghost: not bound to any of the Titans and she even talks to her mother sometimes.
• Where does Devon go after he kills Mordea? What he does there? And what does he mean by saying he’ll contemplate the recent events away from Tenebrae?
• The ancient city mentioned in the book ‘The Forgotten Riches of Knarl’ is most likely the Cheat Room; however, the lack of work on this topic made this city turn into a hole in the Catacombs.
• The Ship of Doom, the Zealan’s Ship, the Vengeance Bay and the Lost Vale; clearly places well mentioned, either in the game or in the manual, were never implemented in the game.
• You never know what the Avatar was planning when he set Hydros free. At first I thought that she would indeed grant you some Tempestry powers. However, after you do that, you notice that his true intention might have been to cool the River of Lava. Who knows what he had been thinking?
• You also don’t know what was the Avatar’s intention when he went to Malchir’s Inner Sanctum. Was he there to ask for information or to, in fact, obtain the Tongue of Flame (by force, if necessary)?
• You don’t know why the Avatar needs so desperatly the Breath of Wind until you are very near to the end of the game. Regarding the Heart of Earth, you don’t even know what it actually is by the time you take it.
• Another one: why does the Avatar free Pyros? Maybe to control the flood in Tenebrae with the firestorm?
• The purpose of the Pilgrimage in the Catacombs seems to be so stupid that makes me think that this event was meant to be much more important and would take you to another place. Also, why would the Birthplace of Moriens be somewhere that is forbidden by the Titans to enter? Guesses: maybe it would be near the Lost Vale, since Lithos was the one who sealed it (the Skull of Quakes could play a major role here); or in the sealed cave in the Pit of Death (since Vividos told the Avatar to go there for the Pilgrimage – unpatched version only).
• When you find the Bone Crusher, there is only one Skeleton Warrior guarding it. Now, Lord Esmil could destroy hundreds of them with this weapon. Why would he lose to this last one? My suspicion is that he was slain by a Golem, since it is very resistent to blunt attacks. Also, wouldn’t it be cool if Lord Esmil, now a Undead Tempest serving Lithos, was there to protect the Bone Crusher?
• Alexis was resurrected by Stellos. She was not interred (or at least she should not have been) where Kalen blocked the flow of water to the Temple of Flowing Waters. She really died several years after Hydros had been trapped.
• Also, Hydros had probably killed her to end the pact between the people and Lithos, since Alexis was Kalen’s apprentice, so she was possibly supposed to be resurrected to be able to take Kalen’s place as the Necromancer. However, it’s strange that Kalen ends up interring her; by the way, in the wrong place (not in the Cemetery).
• If you free Hydros from Carthax Lake, she’ll tell you that she will have her vengeance on Devon, even if you hasn’t deposed Mordea yet. This could spoil your game if you are playing Ultima 8 for the first time. Moreover, you cannot warn Devon about the danger he got into and Mordea doesn’t seem to care about the heavy storm.
• What was Mordea’s intention when she took the Necromancer’s Ceremonial Dagger? And why she wanted to hide the Skull of Quakes in the Catacombs? Possibly, Lieutenant Vittek knew her reasons, and I think he was murdered by Mordea for knowing too much. Maybe she knows of the Lost Vale, since she is very knowledgeable on the ways of Necromancy and the Ancient Ones.
• Nadayr mentioned a deep Undersea City (maybe it’s referring to the ‘Sunken Lands’) in his book. Maybe you were supposed to have entered this city using your never-earned Tempestry powers (add-on?) to retrieve the Tear of the Seas from the Lurker’s domain (instead of taking it from Devon).
• There’s no explanation of Arcadion in the game. They should’ve planned some story for him to explain why he doesn’t remember anything from the previous Ultimas. I think that he lost most of his power because there were no soul to feed him in Pagan, since the Titans owns them all. Note: why does he disappear after the Ritual of Fire?
• Some of the Necromancers don’t appear in the game. Two of them are Moriens and Kalen. They could teach some things important to you (including how to use the Key of the Necromancer or how to cast Tempestry spells using Necromantic artifacts).
• Unimplemented side-quests related to some stories like: ‘The Ear of Arricorn’ (maybe to obtain the Shadowlander’s Dark Blade?); the ‘Eye of the Boulder’ and its power; how the Trolls, from respected and wise spellcasters, suddenly became mindless brutes, described in ‘Honor Lost’ and ‘Captain’s Report’; Salem’s related stories (maybe in the Vengeance Bay or in the Undersea City) like ‘The Voices of Mary’ or ‘Expedition Journal, Book II’ that can also explain how is a ‘life’ of a dead person (every day of his ‘life’ seems to keep repeating) and the correct location where the Sun stopped (Guardian’s Keep?), but what is that mysterious Speaking Stone the writter talks about?
• I think the Avatar was supposed to learn the Resurrection Spell (probably during a quest), but he never does it.
• The game doesn’t explain why the Sun has stopped cycling Pagan and why the Titans are so reluctant to talk about this topic. Maybe they are draining power from it?
• Malchir seems to be also interested in the Sun subject. Maybe to control a huge power, to overthrow the Titans or to simply test the limits of knowledge of Pyros.
• What is the relationship between Shaana and Mythran (besides both being Thaumaturges)? Is she Mythran’s granddaughter as Jeff Abramson (in his FAQ/Walkthrough) had speculated?
• Mordra was supposed to play a major role in this game. However, since the add-on was never released, she couldn’t be inserted into the plot. I think she is the old woman that appears in the Lost Vale screenshots after having returned unsuccessfully from her trip to Britannia. Or perhaps she never left Pagan and the Mordra from Ultima7 has nothing to do with the one from Ultima8.
• After you take all the Blackrock fragments, the Titans were supposed to punish the Pagans. Hydros sent her rainstorms to wash away the inhabitants of Tenebrae; Pyros activated once again the sleeping volcano; Lithos sent terrible quakes to Tenebrae as well as hordes of Undead. However, Stratos’ related tragedy is only mentioned by the Theurgists and by Mythran as being a long-term tragedy. In my opinion, it would be cool if some sort of plague affected the Pagans because Stratos is not sending fresh air anymore or, at least, some Tenebraens (especially Devon, who was supposed to be hurt by Hydros) could be asking for the help of the Theurgists because of the harm caused by the raging Titans.
• The pedestal in the form of a Pentagram over which once stood the Great Obelisk seems to be still intact. The Edifice is said to be destroyed, but the Temple itself was not damaged and was sent to another dimension... who or what protected the Temple?

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