Ultima VI Tile Graphics Identification Part 2

Thursday, December 17, 2020 at 11:45 AM

A bunch of Ultima 6 tile graphics arranged with letters next to each one for easy identification.

I compiled all these Ultima VI tile graphics for identification.

Yesterday's quiz was fun and helpful for my 3D modeling of U6 assets, though there are still some mysteries to solve! For example: what is underneath the beehive?

Beehive spoiler alert! I ended up modelling this, a stand with bee skeps on it. Skeps are like artificial woven beehives:

Two woven baskets sit inside an elevated wooden frame, and one basket has honecombs inside it.

Two woven baskets sit inside an elevated wooden frame, and one basket has honecombs inside it.

And ChatGPT-4o said:

"Bee skeps, the traditional woven domes used for beekeeping, have been mostly phased out in modern beekeeping because they are inefficient for honey production and make it harder to manage the health of a colony. They lack the movable frames found in modern hives, which allow for easier inspection, harvesting, and management of pests or diseases. Skeps require destroying part of the hive to harvest honey, which is disruptive for the bees.

That said, some people still use them for ornamental or historical purposes. For practical beekeeping, though, modern hives like the Langstroth design are far superior."

Other Ultima VI questions: Are those wood gear poles things just wood suspended in air by magic? What do the TREES look like from a side view? What's with that Jurassic Park fern?

C.G. said:

"I'm going to throw out some guesses:
E - Some kind of root vegetable. Potato maybe.
F - Zinnias.
I - Some kind of conifer tree. Maybe Spruce.
K - Some kind of deciduous tree. I'd say Oak.
As for the wood, that's easy: YEW. In fact better say those 'L' trees are Yew trees, else Ben won't have anything to work with.""

S.S. said:

"It probably isn't because they don't have those in Texas, but the Jurassic Park fern should be black fern (mamaku) or silver fern (ponga). They're beautiful, you won't regret it. We have them all over our garden."
A beautifil tall fern in a jungle.

A Black Tree Fern. Image Credit: Gerald W on Wikipedia.

Here's an example of what the sawmill may be referencing, also pointed out by C.G. Notice how in real life the blade is vertical, but in Ultima VI for readability it's flat so you can see its roundness from above, which always confused me because I didn't understand "readability" in graphics as a kid.

An antique sawmill with its disc-shaped blade.

Image Credit: Antique Fram Equipment on Facebook.

A Side Note About Anachromisms in Ultima VI

Also. This is an antique sawmill... but not a medieval one I'm sure. 'Manda Dee, one of the artists from Ultima VI, said on the UDIC facebook group that many objects were a mix of eras to get the most interesting things. For example, pirates from the 1700s, but also the milk jug, which is closer to Edwardian (circa 1900) than to medieval, as well as perhaps this sawmill, and other Renaissance influences. Arthur Claude Strachan's paintings even influenced the building design, and he was from the late 1800s. If I can find her quotes, I'llAddStuffHere.

Here's the original fb UDIC post.

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