The "Ultima VIII Viewer" is a small utility used to browse all of the graphics used in Ultima 8. In addition it also allows the export of these graphics individually, by object, or as a total export to a bitmap(s). Each exported bitmap is accompanied by a text file that contains the size and offset information of the frame(s) contained in each bitmap.
Ultima VIII Viewer v0.9.0
Download: Ultima VIII Viewer.zip (23k)(Windows)
Description
The "Ultima VIII Viewer" is a small utility used to browse all of the graphics used in Ultima 8. In addition it also allows the export of these graphics individually, by object, or as a total export to a bitmap(s). Each exported bitmap is accompanied by a text file that contains the size and offset information of the frame(s) contained in each bitmap.
Known Issues
On a slower system, doing an "export all" can take some time. If the Ultima VIII Viewer window is covered up, and then uncovered before the export is done, the window will not redraw properly. The window will refresh properly as soon as the export is complete.
Loading U8Shapes.flx can take some time, since all indexing information for the graphics are loaded into memory.
When using the x2 Zoom, some of the objects end up being larger than the display window.
Object #792 doesn't display properly.
Notes
There currently isn't an installer. Just unzip into a directory and run the .exe.
I haven't provided any instructions on using the program, but it should be self explanitory.
You must have a copy of Ultima VIII installed in order to use this program. Please do not ask me for the .flx files that come with the game.
An "export all" on the U8Shapes.flx file will produce approximately 86MB worth of data.
Currently, I do not have any plans to continue development on this viewer. However, if there is enough interest and some good suggestions, I may just dust off the code and release a new version.
I also have a half finished Ultima VII viewer, and again, if there is enough interest it's possible I will put some time aside to finish it.
If there are any questions or suggestions use the "Contact" link on the left hand menu.