Let's Play Ultima VIII #09: Searching for Mythran

With out stats at maximum and a decent amount of equipment, it's time to head out of Tenebrae and begin our search for Mythran. There are four ways out of the city, one for each of the cardinal directions and each leads to a different part of the countryside. Once we step a little beyond the city gates, we're on our own; no-one will come to our if we get in trouble, though saying that I doubt the guards would rush to assist us within the city walls either. Aside from a few small spiders and a little lizard, the Avatar has yet to engage in a serious fight with anything truly dangerous, but out in the countryside there are plenty of things to do battle with if we chose to. You don't have to fight them of course, as you're likely to outpace anything if you run away at maximum speed, but you won't get any awesome loot or stat increases if you do. With us at maximum stats, we only need to fight for the loot enemies have.

Even though we're seeking out Mythran there are places on our way that we can examine - many of which we won't be able to do much with yet - and people to talk to. Having no idea which NPCs will become important later in the game and wanting to know more about the world and how Tenebrae functions, it's a good idea to talk to everyone you meet and ask all you can. It's also polite to get to know people, as we might be here for quite some time.

I must admit that in-depth conversations with NPCs and reading books filled with lore about the world you're adventuring in are something I can't resist doing. I like to see all the effort the developers of the game went to in weaving the world I'm exploring, not to mention some sneaky clues to solving things later in the game can be hidden in the most innocuous of conversations or parchments. Even if there are no clues, the knowledge about the world and the people in it is reward enough for me.

Unfortunately, I must concede that the font the game chose for the dialogue and the text is not the best. It's rather difficult to read at points, resulting in me stumbling over my words. I know it was picked for stylistic reasons, but when that interferes with your ability to understand what's written or being said, that's not good. Hopefully I'll grow used to it as the game continues but for now, large blocks of dialogue will continue to be more difficult to read then I'd like.