I will support you and this amazing effort!!

Hey Lyle, thanks for the support. Could you register again with the subscribe link above, or post another comment, as when you posted the email address was encrypted. I couldn’t add you to the list. Comments from here on will register correctly.

I tried to update the subscription but I think it’s still encrypted

Oh and btw I posted as Magicman previous posts. Dunno why I switched to my real name on this one.

You are on the list Lyle! Commenting or using the subscribe button are both working now. You are the first one. Now we just need another 40 or so…

Have you posted this to UDIC FB or r/ultima yet? I haven’t seen it and this seems like the sort of post where you actively want feedback.

Some ballpark estimate of the costs would be nice. I’d almost certainly be in at $50, for example, but probably out at $300 (the $3000/10 number you gave above).

I’m not on Facebook, Reddit, Twitter or any social media, so I rely on this site only. If you want to send a shout out there, by all means!

I am going to nail down costs later, as until things are really lined up, it is hard to estimate. Still, I could imagine between 2500-3500$, with plenty of variance for the actual quality of content (paper costs, embossing, fabric, box thickness etc.) and quantity.

I’ll continue to add detail as I press forward with each element of the content. For now I am producing/designing content, and lining up artists, artwork, and printers etc. What I am looking for here is a ballpark figure for how many people are interested. 10-20…probably can’t proceed. 20-40…maaaaybe doable. 40 or more…looking doable.

Whatever the case, I will produce the content digitally for myself at the least. If others are interested it might be possible to make it real.

Of course I’m in!

I am in!

Count me in

Heya! I‘ve made a custom fan box for Underworld Ascendant (the wannabe successor of the Ultima Underworld series) and managed to get a good looking box out that people really liked. The cost was €4.6 per box (including the cost of a prototype box and shipping materials etc it came to €5.8 but shipping had to be paid on top of course). I did that via pack.ly and if you want details and close up pictures I‘m happy to help (or could even take over the box production). Under https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fon2wlxyt0zn1s5/AAC3ChDmDCQLDr9e-A5eMklNa?dl=0 you can see some of the work in progress and the end product (everything named uabox… is the finished box).

Absolutely! Would love to put this next to my original UIV box!!!

Heya Dominik!

Thanks for the info. Fenyx4 already ran your project and details by me. Very cool. I actually got a line on a company that produces a little more expensive box, but from what I can see the build technique/style is exactly like the original boxes (Apple II/C64 Ultima IV/V boxes). They are a little more expensive than the price you got, but I am hoping to make something that would perfectly snuggle in between everyone’s Ultima IV and Ultima V boxes, so authenticity counts for me.

Check them out here: https://www.boardgamesmaker.com/print/custom-size-game-box-oem.html#

However, this would need a minimum of 100 orders, to be affordable. So things are still up in the air. The digital version of the box is DONE though. Could be printed now.

I just found out about this and it looks amazing! How can I throw money at you foe this?!?!?!

Hi Christopher,

Glad this project perked your interest! Peruse the site, as there is lots of info here. As for throwing money at me, if enough people show interest here, I will run a short kickstarter or gofundme campaign, then immediately go to production. I will make no profit, and the campaign will strictly be to crowdsource/share production/art costs.

Yes, the one I did comes close but is not perfectly the same as the original box (folding seams especially). I‘m really hoping you get the 100! I want one!

Of course you can’t do this, you don’t own the IP. Just release it digitally and make the feelies for yourself and stop being weird.

Yes yes yes please. Looks beautiful.

I have an expansive Ultima Collection. This looks amazing and I am all in.

Great! I will add you to the List!

Dominik Reichardt - I backed UA for a pretty absurd amount of $ mainly for a collector’s edition box. As you probably know, they gave us a standard box with a sticker as the only upgrade. I would love to obtain some of your work. How can I get in touch with you? Also, could the same service be used to print the unreleased Ultima 8 expansion box?

Where do you get off doing this or selling it? You don’t own the rights and can be shut down at any moment. This is REALLY stupid. Just release your mod and stop pretending you own Ultima.

By your logic, shouldn’t I also NOT release the mod? Maybe I won’t!

This seems like the third party mods for Doom and StarCraft that were released in stores back in the day. I don’t remember anyone crying like a baby and insulting the creators back then. I for one will be buying this piece of awesomeness and putting right next to my official Ultima games.

A mod is one thing, but this idiot is going to charge. And was contemplating Kickstarter. I assure you EA does not allow crowdfunding of its IP.

By all means don’t release the mod if you want to be ridiculous. The hundred people who want to play it will be sad but at least you won’t get cease and desisted by EA,

Have you considered removing Ultima IV from the heading on these items? Maybe lead with your title, then *An Unauthorized Ultima IV Expansion. Keep all the same fonts. If you don’t like this idea perhaps release the files and point us in the direction of where to produce each item. Also, consider doing a smaller run of 5, with confidence you’ll be able to recoup your costs to individuals in private sales. A crowdfunding campaign is going to attract a Karen like NOTHANKS who will happily report you to EA. Circumvent that nonsense. Please don’t let negative comments disrupt your creativity. Definitely release your MOD. Stay open to new ways to get these physical items in people’s hands. We understand you aren’t trying to make a profit. Clearly you are a fan like many of us with a shelf full of big boxes that could definitely use an addition. Take care.

Hey Yesplease,

I have previously considered all your ideas, and already have versions of the feelies with ‘Threat of the Trinity’ and ‘Trinity’ as the lead. I have always been a little unsure of the box design, not really for ‘legal’ reasons, but because this is an expansion/addon and not a full game. So I looked to ‘Silver Seed’ and ‘Forge of Virtue’ for inspiration. They don’t really align well with the design direction of Ultimas III, IV and V, however, so for now I have focused on a pure ‘Ultima IV/V style’ box.

Crowdfunding is still a question mark. As I mentioned in a recent post, I am not sure that Kickstarter really applies. Certain components of the feelies are 100% legal, such as the book (which has zero ‘Ultima’ labeling and is just a journal, albeit highly tailored in a generalized way to Ultima IV (or V)), the trinket, and to a lesser degree the reference cards (if Ultima is removed as the header), which means I could crowd fund those, and even make a profit. The map I am uncertain of, as it is certainly a map of Britannia, though looking around the web you can find multiple places with maps of Ultima being sold for cash/profit. On large websites who are certainly sticklers for the legality of what is sold in their ‘store’.

The box, tweaked more towards a ‘Silver Seed’ look, would also be in the clear. So, in the end that just leaves the game itself. Is it legal to make a mod? Everything, and I mean everything in the mod, is 100% created by my hand. Even the Apple style graphics, which I rebuilt by hand from screen grabs. The disk in the box would only contain those elements, setup to be installed over a regular installation of Ultima IV. Legal? No? Then perhaps the entire feelies run could be sold without the game, and the game could be released for free elsewhere.

However, releasing for ‘free’, minus the internet, still means the data has to be stored on a piece of media. Like a disk or a floppy. Which can be charged for. All the ‘packaging’ can be charged for. Postage too. So I can certainly also ‘charge’ for a free release. Minus the internet.

In any case, there are a myriad of ways still to get a physical set of feelies produced. I’ll keep an open mind for any and all of them, until the physical items are ready for production. Until then I’ll keep on trucking!

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Yesplease.

You are delusional and can’t sell any of this. It’s not your property.