Digital Download on September 16th
September 16th, 2025 will be the 40th anniversary of the release of Ultima IV on the Apple II. To celebrate this occasion, Threat of the Trinity will be available for download from that date. Stay tuned to this page for more release info.
Sorry to keep you waiting, complicated business
I set the 40th anniversary as my outside deadline to find a solutions/resolution to ‘feelies’. That date is approaching, so here we are. I did not find a way to make the feelies happen, though I really, really, reeeeally tried. Mostly it came down to 3 factors: 1. Insufficient interest: The cost to produce certain aspects of the feelies (mainly the box and the book) was too high, and additionally required a bare minimum of 250 orders (more depending on the printer(s)) With less than 100 interested parties, the production/cost ratio was too high. 2. Anonymity: I wanted to maintain my anonymity, and requesting cash from people, while holding to that, was just not going to work. 3: Drama: I’ve seen way too many crowd sourced ventures devolve into absolute nightmares. Didn’t look forward to that. I tried to offset that by finishing EVERYTHING first, but still, production/delivery snafus seem common.
All that aside, I have been sitting on a finished version of the game for 5 years. Beta tested to the abyss and beyond. However, I couldn’t help picking away at things while grappling with the feelies work. So now the game has a lot more content than originally playtested, which also means a lot more potential for bugs. I’ve tried to catch ‘em all, but it’s just not possible. I have set a release date, and will hold to that, so I must ask everyone to forgive any bugs which may(will) pop up. I will support any issues that arise, and endeavor to fix them asap. I am going to spend the next month getting back up to speed on the game, and trying to make it a smooth experience for anyone who gives it a shot.
Update
After going over the final version in my repository, it looks like I left things in a very nice state. I double checked some outstanding bugs/issues, and it seems I had already fixed them. So I have the final version set aside, ready to be released. However, I also left notes for 7-8 ‘Final Details’ - decisions on which I left for … well… now. These are things like the random encounter rate, various other game balance rates, spell tweaks etc. Most I am leaving be, as the final state of balance seemed good for some time. However, one was worth another look. That was energy spells. I previously created a new series of functions to make this spell useful (because currently, it is 95% useless), which revolve around making energy spell effects 5 - 30 times larger, in addition to AI responses to the different energy types, and differentiation of their damage.
I am also mulling over making a list of the extensive balance/game tweaks made. Though I prefer not to dwell on the details of the engine, some changes may confuse players who are sticklers for rules. Without outlining what was changed, it could be interpreted as a bug, which I would prefer not to happen - Could spoil the experience a little. Perhaps a list of changes with a ‘spoilers’ tag around it…
10 Comments
Michael
This looks incredible, can’t wait to try it! What about the music? Since this is a DOS port have we lost the A2 Mockingboard music?
Cambragol
Hope you enjoy it Michael! Yes, as this is a DOS port, no mockingboard music. I did find a potential way to add the music in, but it would mean sacrificing most of the mod. There is a limit to what can be fit in these old DOS exes, and avatar.exe was already pushing it before all the Trinity features were added. There is one other way to add music it, but it would not quite be native, and was done already for Ultima IV. Perhaps I’ll look into that one day, or someone will update the original music modification for Threat of the Trinity.
Frank
Glad to see this project is still going. Looking forward to playing it. Thanks for all you sank into this. I’m sure the road was long.
Lee
May the force be with your Avatar.
Cambragol
@Frank - Thanks for the kind words. The road was long indeed, more than 2000 hours of work I’d estimate, but satisfying to bring it all together in a final, polished piece.
DarkBlueMonkey
Congratulations on getting over the line! I look forward to playing it :)
Magicman
Wooohooo! I can’t wait!
Miracle Dragon
This is truly exciting. Regarding the ‘feelies’. If you’ve got them created digitally and just can’t justify the cost of physical production, might we be able to get digital downloads to print out ourselves?
Cambragol
Glad to hear you’re excited!
I am going to include pdfs of the Player Reference and the Quick Reference, and a .jpg of the Map.
The Player Reference and Quick Reference could be printed out at a printshop and likely match the style/quality of those in Ultima III - V
The Map and Quest Journal need to be produced professionally and I may still try to print those out at scale. I’d have to invest in 250 copies at the veeery least. Their broader appeal (the quest journal could be used for Ultima III - V, maybe even beyond) might make this possible in the future. Maybe the expansion will broaden the interest as well? If that doesn’t come to pass, I will release digital copies as well.
The box needs special, professional attention, and needs to be printed at scale (to match Ultima III-V exactly) - I think this has the least appeal, as it is very specific to the expansion. I will likely make the digital files available at some point, nonetheless.
The trinket was in limbo, because I realized it should be full size, and so a ‘skull’ or some other artifact of the trinity would not work. I sourced runes, virtue stones and a 3-part key, but needless to say a digital version here is pointless.
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