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The Spam Spam Spam Humbug team offer up their rankings of the Ultima games, and discuss why they like (or dislike) each one.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanIntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMixPodcast Topic(s)Slashing Dragon recently posted, on his blog, his ranking of the Ultima games. And while he lists the games in chronological order of their release, he appends his ranking to the end of his discussion of each entry in the series. He also makes the interesting move of grouping Akalabeth, Ultima Underworld, and Ultima Und --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message

What is social justice? And more importantly, what isn't social justice?Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanIf you've followed the news surrounding the controversies that have erupted in the video games press (and in the industry in general) over the last couple of years, you've probably encountered the term social justice (or the pejorative term social justice warrior, sometimes shortened to SJW) at some point. You've probably also encountered the concept of social justice if you've been involved with the mainline Christian churches since at least the year 2000. The idea of social justice — society's obligation to provide the conditions that allow associations or individuals --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message

Spam Spam Spam Humbug chats with Adam “Goldenflame Dragon” Burr about The Dark Unknown, the Kickstarter campaign for which concludes this weekend.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanIntroThe Dark Unknown, from The Dark Unknown soundtrackNew Followers & Ultima DragonsWe have a new follower on Podbean this week: ZTrigger (a podcast about gaming...and books).And we are also happy to welcome several new members to the Ultima Dragons Facebook group, including: Loren, Shane, Terry, Myke, Norrin

Spam Spam Spam Humbug looks at making the transition from being a game consumer to being a game creator.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanIntroUltima 6 Intro - Can't Remove the Pain (Acid Usagi Remix) - Trance Edit by Acid UsagiNew Followers & Ultima DragonsNew on Podbean this week, we welcome A Day in the Life of a Crazy Cat Lady, couchop, The Podcast Show with Anthony Dalesandro, and WtFD --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message

Let's take a look at the emergence of Justice as a virtue in Western thought.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanPreviously, we established the premise that Justice is giving right operation to others (or, if you prefer, giving to each person what is their legitimate due), that rights are the object of Justice, and that (in keeping with the understanding that Justice flows outward unto a multitude) we should understand rights as being things had by others, rather than simply considering them as things which we possess ourselves.This isn't — or shouldn't — be a particularly novel notion, and it isn't something that I invented out of whole cloth for the sake of making a point. This view of what Justice i --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message

How did the turn-based & real-time mechanics of the various Ultimas make the games better, or possibly worse?Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanIntroUltima 6 Intro - Can't Remove the Pain (Acid Usagi Remix) - Trance Edit by Acid UsagiNew Followers & Ultima DragonsNew followers on Podbean this week are: mattrix (his first episode is a sound check, and some thoughts on Fallout 4), budyartigue, perfectworde, kuangjianke625

A meditation on the Virtue of Justice.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanIt being Advent, I find myself moved once more to muse upon matters philosophical, examining the Eight Virtues of the Ultima series and comparing these against real-world philosophy and theology. This year, I'd like to focus on the Virtue of Justice, which I don't think I've given much attention to in years past.Thomist theologian James Chastek wrote — or shared; it's not clear — a parable on his blog some years back:A certain Queen was --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message

Spam Spam Spam Humbug chats with members of the Ultima Online team.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanIntroCreation Theme, from the Ultima Online soundtrackPodcast Topic(s)This week, as a way of belatedly marking the 18th anniversary of Ultima Online (which actually happened back in September), Spam Spam Spam Humbug is pleased to welcome members of the Ultima Online development team from Broadsword Online Games.The Past: Who's Who & StoriesEach member of the group from Broadsword introduces themselves, and tells us a bit about how long they've been with Ultima Online. They also share their favouri --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message

Joe Garrity returns to Spam Spam Spam Humbug to discuss the recent DMCA exemption that was granted to benefit game preservationists.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanIntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMixNew Patrons & Shout-OutsThere are a couple shout-outs we'd like to give to backers of the Ultima Codex. First up, Chris increased his Patreon pledge a little while ago, so thank you very much for that.And then, just recently, Matthew somehow found an old donation link on the Codex...and it still worked! So he sent in a few dollars, along with a little note. He writes: “Thanks for maintainin --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message

WtF Dragon, Gradilla Dragon, and Chlorthos Dragon discuss the generic nature of Ultima's Britannia as compared to other, more fleshed-out RPG settings.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanIntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMixPodcast TopicsWe are joined this evening by Chlorthos Dragon — and we learn how to pronounce that, actually — to discuss a topic of his suggestion: the generic nature and “feel” of Britannia versus the more fleshed-out settings of other RPGs.[Chlorthos] I listen to Mission Log, a Star Trek podcast. In one episode, they discussed how Star Trek's settin --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message

When you back a crowdfunded project — on Kickstarter or elsehwere — exactly what does that mean? What's the nature of your pledge, and what is the nature of your relationship with the developer thereafter?Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanIntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMixPodcast Topic(s)This episode is mostly off the cuff, so the show notes aren't as comprehensive.What is a Kickstarter/crowdfunding pledge? What does it entitle the pledge-giver to, and what relationship d --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message

Helgraf Dragon joins us for an episode, and we learn a bit about him and his freaky avatar.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on Podbean IntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix New Followers & Ultima DragonsWe're happy to welcome a few new followers on Podbean this week: wholelotofgamingwithiic, Housebound Podcasts (which seems to talk about the latest news and rumours pertaining to superhero movies and television shows), and shoebie23.And in the Ultima Dragons Facebook group, we welco --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message

WtFD muses about the task of introducing his kids to computer games. Also, Spam Spam Spam Humbug crossed the 100,000 listens threshold this week, so thank you for listening.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanIntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMixNew Patrons & Shout-OutsA big thanks to Neil, who recently adjusted (upward, just so we're clear) his Patreon pledge in support of the Ultima Codex.And I'd like to give a --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message

Spam Spam Spam Humbug sits down with Colby Young and Gord Moran of IronOak Games to discuss For The King, and its beginnings in The Black Gate Board Game.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanIntroTeaser Trailer Score, from the For The King soundtrackNew Followers & Ultima DragonsSpam Spam Spam Humbug has a couple new followers on Podbean this week: amoten and brionna123.As well, a few more people have joined the Ultima Dragons groups on Facebook and Google+; welcome to Rodrigo (who also joined the Google+ group), Collin, and Martin, and SPLUT! to all.Podcast Topic(s --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message

Withstand the Fury Dragon looks back at Ultima Forever a bit after the one-year anniversary of its shutdown.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanIntroCome With Me, Stranger, from the Ultima Forever soundtrackNew Patrons & Shout-OutsWe have a couple new patrons on Patreon this week: Chris Hopkins and Johnny Wood are our newest backers. Thank you, Chris and Johnny; your support will help keep the Ultima Codex going, and helps bring us closer to being able to upgrade its hosting. And upgraded hosting means more RAM, more processing power, and more storage space to host files for all of the awesome Ultima fan --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message

Ultima 4 was released thirty years ago, if you can believe that. As such, the SSSH crew discuss the game, its legacy, and whether or not modern gamers can handle it.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanIntroWander, by David Arnold, from the Ultima 4 soundtrackNew Followers & Ultima DragonsWe have a new follower on Podbean this week: ploy812. Welcome, and we --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message

An examination of games which have over- or under-delivered on promises made early in development.Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanIntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMixNew Patrons & Shout-OutsFirstly, I'd like to send some thanks in the direction of Dominus, from the Exult team, who recently backed the Ultima Codex on Patreon! To those of you who've been in the Ultima fan project scene for a while, Dom needs no introduction; those of you who don't know him might be interested to know that he's the caretaker of the Exult project (the cross- --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message

How does the Ultima series handle masculinity and femininity? How are certain characters — or even the Virtues — portrayed as masculine/feminine?Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Stitcher | Subscribe on PodbeanIntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMixPodcast Topic(s)[Ken] So this is kind of a big deal, as episodes go, because this is the first episode for which the topic has been determined via an outside suggestion. You'll recall, back in Episode 14, before we got to talking about New Project Britannia, we gave a shout-out to Juliet (a friend of Linguistic --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message

How much prominence does combat need to have in an RPG? How necessary should combat be to progressing through — or passing — the game? And is there something “lesser” about including an “easy” difficulty setting?Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on StitcherIntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix

The response to the announcement of New Project Britannia has been overwhelming, so let's talk a bit about what the project needs and where we want to see it go.IntroUltima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMixNew Patrons & Shout-OutsI want to give a shout-out to Josh Nielsen, a.k.a. Joshontheweb (you can find him on Twitter: @joshontheweb). He's a long-time Ultima fan, and a long-time fan of the Codex as well; we've been mutual follows on Twitter for a few years now. And it turns out that he's actually working on Zencastr. Josh and I had a really engaging discussion on Twitter about Zencastr and some of the features that would turn it into a powerful podcasting platform, and it's cool that in addition to being passionate about all things audio ( --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ssshpodcast/message