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Ultima 7 is a role-playing game for the PC from about 1992. It's so massive and open-ended that I've never even played through a fraction of it. Due to the age of the game, it doesn't run well on modern computer configurations. A new open-source game engine, Exult, was written in 2000 which allows players to experience the game all over again. The data files from the original game are still required, but the game engine is all new, and even has some improvements.

This image is a complete map of the game, generated automatically by Exult using the --buildmap command-line option. (See the Exult documentation for details.) Generating the entire map at full resolution creates 144 tiled images, each a 2048×2048-pixel indexed PCX image. Rather than go through the tedium of piecing together these pieces manually, I used Photoshop to automatically convert all the PCX files to RAW files (just pixel data). Then I wrote a two-dozen line Java program to piece together a single RAW image out of all the parts. Then I imported the complete RAW image back into Photoshop and restored the palette to the proper colors. The final image is 24,576×24,576 pixels (about 604 megapixels), 256 colors.

UPDATE — I created another map with all the roofs and moutaintops on. Predictably, there's a lot less to look at since everything's covered, so I'm not providing any additional images.

Thumbnail The city of Britania. Or at least most of it. The castle is at the top of the image. 25% magnification.
Thumbnail A random section of Trinsic, the town you begin the game in.
Thumbnail The casino in Buccaneer's Den. Once you can get a ship, go here. By saving your game every time you win and loading every time you lose you can come into a small fortune in rather short order.
Thumbnail Caves north of Britania. 25% magnification.
Thumbnail A very dangerous cave. Wish the map had monsters on it so I could see what was guarding this area. No doubt something terrifying.
Thumbnail A lair! Filled with riches! Huzzah! Probably the home of another snarling beastie.
Thumbnail Nicodemus's bungalow (bottom) and a giant board for a game for which the name eludes me (top). Not chess, I know that.
Thumbnail A quintet of wares peddlers' abodes in southern Britania.
Recent comments
Absolutely fantastic - Just right for new player to this great game!! Well done indeed!
ah.. the best.
– Anonymous
Your high resolution map was invaluable in my research. Without this resource, I would not be able to supply crucial details in an upcoming revision of U9. Thank you.
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