exodus.voyd.net

The Exodus Project (exodus.voyd.net) is a fan-made project that provides upgrades for early Ultima games, with its documented work centering on Ultima 2 and Ultima 3. It is aimed at players who want improved visuals and gameplay in those older titles, and it distributes its releases through a download section alongside development blog posts. The site is a resource for people who already play or want to revisit early Ultima games and are looking for community-made enhancements.

What the project actually offers

The site's own posts describe specific upgrade features rather than a single unified patch. Documented examples include:

• Ultima 2 Upgrade v2.1 — a release announced on the site, with new features described across accompanying blog posts.
• CGA Composite Mode — a visual upgrade that changes how the original CGA graphics render. The project author explains that the alternating magenta-and-black water pixels appear as a smooth deep blue in composite mode, and reversing the pixel order produces the red used on town and castle brick tiles. This feature was originally planned for the next release and was carried over using an algorithm adapted from the Ultima 3 Upgrade.
• Stat Choice — a gameplay change letting the player choose which stat to upgrade. The site notes this is toggle-able via config, since it alters gameplay rather than audio or visuals.
• C64 Theme — a Commodore 64 visual theme, described as an unplanned feature built partly as a proof of concept for themes.
• Prices & Maxed Stats Bug — a post discussing a bug in Ultima 2 involving vendor prices as a player approaches maxed stats, where Charisma and Intelligence affect shop prices.

Who it is for

The project suits players who:

• Own or emulate early Ultima games and want to improve how they look or play.
• Are comfortable applying fan-made upgrades and adjusting configuration options (the stat-choice feature, for example, is toggled through config).
• Are interested in the development history and reasoning behind each change, which the blog posts cover in detail.

It is less relevant if you are looking for a general Ultima fan portal, a modern remake, or official support — the site's scope is upgrades for the early games.

How to use the site

1. Go to the download section to find the current upgrade releases (the site references Ultima 2 Upgrade v2.1 as a release available there).
2. Read the related blog posts for the features you care about, since each post explains what a feature changes and, in the case of Stat Choice, that it can be toggled via config.
3. Check the bug-related posts (such as the vendor prices and maxed stats discussion) if you encounter odd behavior in the original game.

The site does not present itself as a store; its content is organized around downloads and development notes. Pricing or access conditions beyond that are not stated in the available material, so treat availability as something to confirm on the download page itself.

A practical example

Suppose you are replaying Ultima 2 and find the original CGA water tiles hard to look at. The project's CGA Composite Mode post explains exactly why: those tiles were designed for composite display, where alternating magenta-and-black pixels blend into blue. Knowing this, you can decide whether the composite-mode upgrade addresses your complaint before downloading anything — which is the kind of decision the blog posts are written to support.

CGA Composite Mode is a graphics option in The Exodus Project's Ultima 2 Upgrade that reinterprets the game's original CGA pixel patterns so they display as smoother, more natural colors instead of harsh magenta-and-black. It targets players running the upgraded Ultima 2 who want the early graphics to look closer to how they appeared on composite monitors, rather than the blocky RGB output most modern displays produce. The feature was the main graphics goal behind the next release of the upgrade, and the project author reports it was completed by reusing an algorithm written for the Ultima 3 Upgrade.

Why the original CGA modes looked poor

The project author describes the CGA modes of Ultima 2 and 3 as "pretty horrible to look at" and names that as the primary motivation for starting the project roughly 20 years earlier. The key point is that these modes were never really intended to be viewed the way most people see them now. On the original hardware and displays, the same pixel patterns could resolve into different colors than a modern RGB rendering shows.

How composite mode changes the output

CGA Composite Mode works by blending alternating pixel patterns into a single perceived hue. The project's own example uses the water tiles:

• Water: alternating magenta-and-black pixels appear as a smooth, deep blue.
• Brick tiles in towns and castles: alternating the pixels in the opposite order (black then magenta) produces the red used on those tiles.

So the mode does not add new artwork. It changes how existing alternating pixel sequences are interpreted, which is why the same tile data can yield blue water and red brick depending on pixel order.

A concrete way to think about it

Take a water tile made of alternating magenta and black pixels. Under a straight RGB reading, you see the alternation as noise or a harsh pattern. Under composite interpretation, the alternation averages into a deep blue. Reverse the order to black-then-magenta and the same averaging logic yields red. That is the mechanism the upgrade relies on.

Where it fits in the upgrade

CGA Composite Mode is a visual upgrade, distinct from gameplay changes in the same release. For comparison, the same Ultima 2 Upgrade version also adds:

The Stat Choice feature is explicitly described as toggle-able through configuration, which tells you the upgrade separates gameplay toggles from visual ones. The CGA Composite Mode is presented as the headline visual feature of that release.

What to expect if you try it

• You need the Ultima 2 Upgrade itself. The mode ships as part of the upgrade release, available from the project's download section, not as a standalone patch.
• Expect color changes, not new graphics. Water becomes deep blue and town/castle brick becomes red; the underlying tiles are the same.
• It is aimed at the CGA-era look. If you are comparing against the raw CGA output, composite mode is the intended "correct" presentation the author had in mind.

The project page does not state pricing or login requirements for downloads, so check the download section directly for access details.

Yes—at least for the change the site documents most clearly. The Ultima 2 Upgrade's Stat Choice feature, which lets the player pick which stat to raise, is toggle-able via config. The project's author describes it as a gameplay improvement rather than an audio/visual upgrade, and that distinction is why it can be switched off: players who want a more original experience can keep the presentation upgrades while declining the rule change.

What the Stat Choice toggle does

In the standard Ultima 2 stat-gain flow, the game decides how your character advances. The upgrade adds an option for the player to choose the stat instead. According to the project's release notes for version 2.1, this is explicitly framed as a gameplay improvement and "as such is toggle-able via config."

That gives you three practical configurations:

The middle row is the one the toggle exists for: you keep the enhanced look and sound but restore the original advancement behavior.

Why the distinction matters

The Exodus Project is built around upgrades for early Ultima games, and its author separates two kinds of changes:

• Audio/visual upgrades — presentation work such as the CGA Composite Mode, which reinterprets the original CGA color output so water tiles read as smooth deep blue and town brickwork reads red, rather than the harsh magenta-and-black patterns.
• Gameplay improvements — rule or flow changes such as Stat Choice, which alter how the game plays rather than how it looks.

Only the second category raises the "is this still the original game?" question, which is why the config toggle is attached there. If your goal is to experience Ultima 2 as it originally played while still avoiding the visual strain of raw CGA, turning off Stat Choice is the setting to look for.

How to apply it

1. Install the Ultima 2 Upgrade from the project's download section (the v2.1 release is the documented version).
2. Locate the configuration file or config menu referenced by the upgrade—the site states the feature is controlled "via config" but does not publish the exact file path or key name in the material summarized here.
3. Disable the Stat Choice option and save.
4. Launch the game and confirm behavior at the point where stat gains occur (the hotel clerk sequence is the context the author discusses in the related posts). If you are still prompted to choose a stat, the toggle did not take effect.

Common snags

• Version mismatch: Stat Choice arrived with the v2.1 release. An older build will not expose the option.
• Assuming all changes are toggle-able: The site only documents the config toggle for Stat Choice. Do not assume the CGA Composite Mode or the C64 theme are controlled the same way; treat each feature's documentation separately.
• Confusing theme with gameplay: The Commodore 64 theme is a visual proof-of-concept, not a rules change, so it does not affect the original gameplay question.

Related fixes worth knowing

The same release cycle addressed a bug involving vendor prices as a player approaches maxed stats: both Charisma and Intelligence are supposed to lower shop prices at higher values, and the original game mishandles this near the cap. If you are toggling Stat Choice off to preserve original behavior, decide separately whether you want bug fixes like this one applied—they correct faulty behavior rather than change design intent, which is a different trade-off from the stat-gain option.

For the exact config entry name and file location, check the download package's documentation and the project's release posts, since the site's summary pages describe the feature's existence and toggle-ability but not the literal setting.

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.

The latest Ultima 2 Upgrade release mentioned on The Exodus Project is version 2.1, and the site directs visitors to its download section to get it. The project page itself is a blog-style changelog: it announces v2.1 and links to individual posts explaining each new feature, so the download section is the place to go for the files while the posts are where you learn what changed.

What the v2.1 release adds

The announcement post lists several new features and links to a write-up for each:

The CGA Composite feature was the project's original motivation—the author describes the stock CGA modes of Ultima 2 and 3 as "pretty horrible to look at" and notes the mode was never intended to be viewed that way. The implementation reuses the algorithm written for the Ultima 3 Upgrade.

How to get it

1. Go to The Exodus Project site (exodus.voyd.net).
2. Open the download section referenced in the v2.1 announcement.
3. Grab the Ultima 2 Upgrade package there.
4. Read the linked blog posts for the v2.1 features if you want details before installing—particularly the Stat Choice toggle if you prefer the original stat behavior.

The site does not state pricing or login requirements for the download in the material available, so check the download section itself for any terms before installing.

Who this is for

This is for players running early Ultima games—specifically Ultima 2—who want improved visuals and optional gameplay fixes on top of the original release. If you only care about the graphics, CGA Composite Mode is the headline change; if you want the original rules untouched, leave the Stat Choice option off in the config.