Kinda off-topic - Gameplay help needed

[Daenerys]

Hey everyone,
I realize this may not be the proper place to be asking these questions, but I was unable to find any still-functioning U7 forum, and no game-guides I consulted could deliver a straight enough answers. I'm sorry for disrupting the "good-order" of the forum, and would most appreciate it if you could direct me to the right place.

I was playing the Ultima series not long after I was learning to read, back in the late 80's. I can't recall why, but I stopped after playing U3 through U6, and never got to play the rest. I'm filling that gap now, starting with U7. However, there are some things I can't figure out.

1. As I understand, the hunger scale is 0-31. Where do i see how hungry each PC is, and just how much do I need to feed it?
2. Where do I see the current armor rating for each PC?
3. What does the little white circle (turning to gold when clicked) on the bottom right corner of the paperdoll sheet, do/mean?
4. Is it safe to store items inside containers (chests/crates/etc.)? Can I expect to find them when I return later, or does the game dispose of them after some time?

That's it for now. Thanks for your help.

[SepiaAndDust]

1. AFAIK, in-game, you cannot see your exact hunger score. You and your companions will begin bellyaching if they get too hungry: "I could use a little food.", "I must eat now!" Each type of food also has a Nutrition value--mutton, for instance, does more to quell hunger than do grapes.

2. Again, I don't think you can see your actual armor rating in-game. There are books that will tell you what each piece of armor is worth, and you have to add it up. The best armor, as always, is to stay out of range.

3. I think the halo shows who is being protected if you choose the "Protect" battle option for one of your companions. I never use it, so I'm not 100% sure.

4. It's generally safe to store items in random crates, chests, nightstands, drawers, ship's holds, barrels, bags, and backpacks. Occassionally, you may be accused of thievery when you try to recover the items, but they'll usually be there.


I envy you. I wish I could discover the world of U7 again for the first time.

[Ashish]

Yeah those circles seem to alter the way the AI functions during battle, but I'm not quite sure what each one does. A helpful one makes the character run away from battle.
This is my first time with U7 and I have no idea how to cast spells.

[drcode]

I recall setting weak party members to 'flee' until I could get their stats up. The halo, if I remember correctly, sets one party member to be protected by the others. I'm not sure how well this works in Exult (and I don't think it did all that much good in the original, either).

[TdI]

I think that in the original, the halo causes party members to attack enemies that are attacking the "haloed" person. I also believe that the original sometimes activates this on it's own, when a party member has close to zero health and shouts for help.

On point 4:
Stuff that is already part of the game world or that is put into your inventory is generally safe to leave anywhere on the gameworld. Even lying around somewhere in the wilderness. Where you have to be careful is with stuff generated by the game, like bread baked by the baker or money created by the games at "the house of games". That kind of stuff disappears if you move to far away.

[alagner]

That halo is used to turn on the 'protected mode' for a party member. He/she can do it automatically if heavily wounded. According to my Complete U7 Manual, one particular [or maybe more? I don't really want to dig in my drawer right now] member might be set to protect the one with active halo.

Wounded guy can also flee, dropping part of his stuff. To avoid this, use "flee" setting for combat, so the withdrawal does not involve losing posessions.