idea

[Ares]

Hi. U7 has been one of my favorite games for a loooong time, however there were always some things that annoyed me(such as combat, and how un-informative it is) I see that in the newer versions of exult, a lot of features have been added, and with the latest version, almost all the little things that annoyed me are fixed. However, there is atleast two things that still annoy me and I think it would be a good idea to implement: viewing weapons and armors stats (damage,armor effectiveness,weight), and seeing how hurt npcs are (i know this was sort of added).

There should be a relatively easy way to see how good weapons are, like clicking on them or something, and when you look at npcs, you should see their health any time, not just in combat.

Thanks for the Exult team and contributers. Hopefully you will consider these for the next version.

[~]|[~]

That would be a good idea. Its been awhile since I've played U7&SI but I'm sure there are books in the game that contain the stats of weapons, not sure about armour though.
In my case, the only thing stopping me from replaying Ultima in Exult is the incorrect spell functions, but its only a matter of time before they are fixed as well.

[dag]

PLEASE let us not forget that some people like to play the games in the
(almost) original way (like i did a while ago). so in my opinion all the cool
new stuff should always be implemented as an _option_.

[Oblivious]

I agree with Dag. Besides, Ares, this is Ultima, not a Squaresoft game.

[Ares]

I know some people would like to play it like the original game, and as an option is what i meant (should have mentioned it). Exult is doing good, and its getting better, but it isnt perfect yet. And I know its ultima - it can still be improved though.

[SB-X]

Some of us like Squaresoft games (Square-Enix?) AND Ultima, even as different as they are.

[drcode]

These are pretty good suggestions. And yes, if we add them, they'll be an option (like most everything else).

[Oblivious]

"Some of us like Squaresoft games (Square-Enix?) AND Ultima, even as different as they are."

Actually, I greatly enjoy them too, I just don't really want to see Exult turned into an Ultima/Enix/Square hybrid.

[painful]

It has nothing to do with squaresoft. Ultima is an rpg, these are rpg features. Just because you find them similar to another game that used them doesn't mean Exult would be mimicking it. It just means Exult would be implementing an rpg feature into an rpg game to broaden it's range of abilities.

[Dominus]

Now that dosbox runs the original Ultima 7 I don't have any misgivings in doing with Exult stuff that strays too far away from the original.

[Skutarth]

Well, can you slap your hand on things in real life and see how well they work? No. Well, at least most of us can't. Anyway, the point is that there should be a BOOK added (if there isn't already) that tells of the stats of weapons and armor, as ~]|[~ said. That could easily be done with Exult Studio. The approximate stones of weight of each could easily be found out by picking them up and dropping them, and doing the math with your current vs. maximum stones counts.

Now on to about the life bars. It's a good idea in my eyes, but I think that one thing you mentioned should be ammended. I think that it should be customizable about seeing their health at all times. I think if you want that, the great Exult programmers could make it so you could be able to customize it so they had floating health and/or magic bars over their heads. In my opinion, it would be better to have another option to show life bars on the top of the screen with their health and magic such as the ones on the bottom of the screen for your party.

Thanks to all who read to me rambling on.

[Iceshard-]

How about something like in Ultima Underworld. When they are in the top 1/3rd of their life, womthing shows green. 1/3 - 2/3, yellow, and last stretch: red. No annoying numbers, but this kind of general information, imo, would be easy to tell for an actually fighter in combat, to see how many bloody gashes and scorch wounds they have...

[Oblivious]

Actually, Iceshard, I think blue-yellow-red would be better.

[SB-X]

Maybe instead of precise high-resolution health bar, have a 3-5 level gradient bar that gives you a general idea of their health. This is the same as what Iceshard says except you also have the bar decreasing in size (red is shortest, green or blue longest)

[Colourless]

It's a nice idea having a gradient bar, BUT remember Exult uses palettized colour, so you are sort of really restricted in what you can do.

[Oblivious]

"the point is that there should be a BOOK added (if there isn't already) that tells of the stats of weapons and armor"

*Points you to 'Veteran's Guide to Weapons and Armor'*

There's a couple items not listed in there, though one can easily find the stats for such items in the Exult documents and on various online sites.

[drcode]

Personally, I'd like weapons and armour to have a range of capabilities, and to have ways to improve an individual item, such as spells or NPC's with special skills. But that would have to be a whole new game.

[Ares]

"Well, can you slap your hand on things in real life and see how well they work? No. Well, at least most of us can't."

Sure, that would be appropriate if the game is based solely on realism. Games are about fun, which in some cases, can be a result of realism (such as in first person shooters), but games like ultima, super-realistic isnt always better.

The idea of having a color-coded health bar is pretty good IMO. Also as Skutarth said, having it customizable would be the the best. Thanks for all the responses.