What the Ultima 2 Upgrade Includes

The Ultima 2 Upgrade is a fan-made enhancement for the original Ultima II, released by The Exodus Project in version 2.1 (announced June 15, 2018). It bundles visual improvements, optional gameplay changes, and a bug fix, and the gameplay changes can be switched on or off through a configuration setting. It is intended for players who want to revisit the early Ultima games with cleaner graphics and some quality-of-life options rather than the untouched original presentation.

Visual and audio changes

CGA Composite Mode

The project's author describes the original CGA graphics of Ultima II and Ultima III as "pretty horrible to look at" and names that as the main motivation for starting the project roughly 20 years earlier. The key point is that those graphics were not meant to be viewed on raw CGA output. In CGA Composite mode, alternating magenta-and-black pixels in water tiles render as a smooth deep blue; reversing the pixel order produces the red used on town and castle brick tiles. This mode was the headline feature planned for the release and was completed by reusing an algorithm written for the Ultima 3 Upgrade.

C64 Theme

A Commodore 64 theme was added somewhat spontaneously, described as "a bit of fun" and a proof of concept for testing themes. It is a cosmetic option, not a gameplay change.

Gameplay options

Choosing which stat to upgrade

The upgrade adds a feature letting the player pick which stat to raise, framed as a gameplay improvement rather than an audio/visual one. Because it changes how the game plays, it is toggle-able via config — so players who prefer the original stat-gain behavior can turn it off.

Bug fix: vendor prices and maxed stats

The project documents a bug in Ultima II involving shop prices as a player approaches maxed stats. Both Charisma and Intelligence are supposed to lower vendor prices at higher values, but the original game's handling breaks down near the stat cap. The upgrade addresses this.

What to expect

If you want the original look and rules exactly as they were, the config toggle lets you keep the gameplay changes off while still benefiting from the visual work. If you are playing Ultima II for the first time or returning after years, the composite mode alone meaningfully changes how readable the world is.