Request for comments: Object Information screen

[Aerick]

I've hacked up an "Object Information" screen for my own enjoyment and wanted opinions on it. The basic function is that you hit the O key(by default) and are given a green target cursor which you use to select an object. Then a gump(window) pops up and displays various information about the object such as name, shape number, weight, item type(Weapon, Armor, Ammo, or "Other") as well as type-dependant info such as damage, range, protection, etc.

My reason for making this was the fact that there's no decent way of knowing how "good" weapons/armor are. I figured I'd keep the info pretty basic so as not to make it too "cheaty". So what are everyone else's thoughts on this?

[Dominus]

I think the reson why that was not done before is because this function is given by Exult Studio.

[marzo]

While I think that this would detract too much from the original games: they clearly intended to not make this information available in-game. This is probably because you (the player) are supposed to be the avatar, and this is the sort of thing you wouldn't know in real life: you have to try out the weapons and see which one is better for yourself. In my humble opinion, of course.

I would think that making a mod where you can use magic (or some knowledgeable NPCs) to determine what a weapon can do (in terms of powers) would be much better. In any case, showing exact damage/armor would be right out; but giving a non-numerical value (adjectives) for it might work (yes, I know that there is a book that does this; this doesn't mean I think it is a good idea).

[Aerick]

dom: My thought was to give access to the info to the average gamer, ES is a bit overkill if all you want is to get a bit of info on an item.

marzo: I was actually considering making a book mod of sorts, something like a compendium of all weapons and armor similar to the crappy book that already exists. Instead I figured a popup would be more useful. I agree with your reasoning though which is why I wanted to ask around.

One note though: What do you guys think about adding an option in the gameplay menu to enable "Show Weight" when you click on an object to get the name? Basically it would just display "Two-Handed Sword"like usual when you click on it but also display "10.0 stones" below the text. That was one of the few things I disliked about U7 vs U6, you no longer were told how much an item weighed without picking it up. Obviously this isn't a big thing though, just an idea.

[Dominus]

I have no real opinion on this

[Wizardry Dragon]

Dom lies. We know his opinion is clearly 'RTFM'

Cheers,
Wizardry Dragon

[Aerick]

Well, I'll write the code anyway since it's trivial. If others do want it, I can submit a patch.

[Peter Olafson]

I'd love to see it. I'm still working on my guide to Ultima VII and this would certainly help!

Peter