Ultima VII

[Alacroin]

Hi!
After seeing a lot of praise of ultima7 i decided to finaly give it a try. So far it seems like a mess. I know its not a "handholding" kinda RPG, but is there at least a way to distinguish weapons? So far i dont see any difference between a dagger, a sword and a pitchfork. I guess it must work in a logical way (sowrd>dagger ; bigger sword> sword) but still... The same problem with armor....
So a little help with the beginning, and a few tips would be really appreciated.

PS: I know its dead, but i like dead things. :wink:

 

[mirrorshades]

is there at least a way to distinguish weapons? So far i dont see any difference between a dagger, a sword and a pitchfork. I guess it must work in a logical way (sowrd>dagger ; bigger sword> sword) but still... The same problem with armor....

I think if you just click on it, it will tell you what the item is. You can't always go by how it looks on the screen, since this game is from before the "every single weapon and item must look distinct from each other one so people who can't read can still play the game" era.

Ultima 7 is great. Don't worry about whether or not it's "dead".

 

[Alacroin]

Thanks, but i meant their usefulness....how do i know witch eapon is better? Is it totaly logical, or there is a damage/speed stat i missed?

Oh, i don't worry about wther its "dead" or not, but i tought in case a certain "dumbfuck" would feel the need to inform me that it is "dead" and i shouldn't play "dead" games (R00fles!), i would make it clear, that i already know :D

 

[Romanian_Dude2005]

[Dr. Frankenstein]It's ALIVE, ALIVE, ALIVE!!![/Dr.F] Ultima7 will NEVER be DEAD!

 

[Jasede]

How about looking into the manual and using common sense? I know, this is very unusual to a modern gamer, but still...

 

[Nedrah]

When it comes to someone playing U7 for the first time, someone who does obviously have an internet connection, I get the strange feeling that "looking at the manual" might just be out of the question.

Whatever, just go with whatever weapon seems cool to you, it should work out ok, you'll usually know when you get something more uber than what you were currently carrying.

 

[MacBone]

Here you go: http://www.replacementdocs.com/download.php?view.966.

 

[mirrorshades]

Thanks, but i meant their usefulness....how do i know witch eapon is better? Is it totaly logical, or there is a damage/speed stat i missed?

It's pretty logical -- the bigger weapons tend to dish out more damage. Also, bows and crossbows can do ranged attacks, and I believe that polearms and such can attack at a longer reach (i.e. more than one square) and/or over barriers.

Oh, and Iolo will shoot you in the back. But I'm sure it's nothing personal.

 

[FrancoTAU]

The manual explains all of this. There are also books in the gameworld that tell you too

The game is wide open, but it does offer some hand holding along the main quest if one prefers. If you're completely lost, than just follow the trail of the murder suspects in Trinsic.

 

[denizsi]

Alacroin, just curious: how do you play it? Original game in dosbox etc, or through the engine remake, Exult?

 

[Alacroin]

Thanks for the help guys!
The manual dosen't seem to mention anything about weapon damage, or armor rating, so i guess its really just logical, so i think i'll just play without worrying about numbers!

denizsi:
At first i wanted to play it with Exult, though i was a bit worried when i looked at their homepage and saqw that its not really like the original. The combat is different, and the npc-s behave differently. So i tried it in dosbox and i certeanly saw a difference!! With exult i went in the house of the guy who sells ships, he was sitting at his desk, and thats it. In dosbox when i entered, he opened a window to let some light in, while he was in the other room, i droped his pen (or whatever) on the floor. When he came back he picked it up, put it back on the desk, and then sat down. It realy makes a difference (at least for me). But the problem is, in dosbox its quite slow. So i looked around a bit and found a fan-patch at http://members.iinet.net.au/~rsd/U7inWindows.html With it i can run it perfectly (so far) with VDMS in XP.

 

[denizsi]

You could use VMWare instead of DosBox. Check the links in this post of mine. You set up a virtual machine and install virtually any OS in it. If you have absolutely no wishes playing in DosBox (e.g. wish I could play this on real dos etc.), then you're probably set, but if not.. you should give it a try. Also, good to know that about Exult. I've been considering playing the game again lately and I was thinking Exult.

 

[WittyName]

Although I did enjoy Ultima VII the combat system never impressed me. It's pretty hard to die in any situation so your choice of weapon is fairly irrelevant. You basically hit 'c' for combat mode and your party kicks the crap out of the monsters.

 

[crufty]

Hmmm...My experience was that sparky was never long for this world, and in general, anything I could do to keep my party out of combat so much the better.

 

[Cthulhugoat]

Although I did enjoy Ultima VII the combat system never impressed me. It's pretty hard to die in any situation so your choice of weapon is fairly irrelevant. You basically hit 'c' for combat mode and your party kicks the crap out of the monsters.

Yep. The combat is pretty much a turn-off. Real-time sucks, it's a fucking mess.

 

[FrancoTAU]

http://www.mikesrpgcenter.com/ultima7a/weapons.html
http://www.mikesrpgcenter.com/ultima7a/armor.html

Spells out the armor and weapon ratings. It's a good source of other info too if you're looking to spoil things

 

[Binary]

The game is pretty easy altogether in terms of death: It's not easy to get killed, and the consequences are negligible. Therefore, don't worry much about armor and weapons and enjoy the world of Britannia

 

[Rosh]

Thanks for the help guys!
The manual dosen't seem to mention anything about weapon damage, or armor rating, so i guess its really just logical, so i think i'll just play without worrying about numbers!

Exactly as intended. Larger weapons are often slower, but do more damage, yet smaller weapons are faster and deal less damage. The same with armor. It's mostly logical, like the magic weapons, as well as some effects regarding blunt/edged weapons (yours to find out), but for the most part it's a "see what works for you" kind of game. You can go through the game with some farm equipment with deadly magics chanted into them (scythes and hoes, namely), or you can choose to be a falconer. Or try out a whip, something like that. You just have to figure out what weapons work best when, or best for your particular style of combat. I often did little but cast spells while my minions did the hacking up. If they died, I brought them back.

The later Ultimas were less about numbers and munchkinry than their predecessors, and more about world immersion, starting with Ultima IV.

I don't recall many blacksmiths in the world etching "4-12" on their swords and "1-6" on their daggers, but I could be wrong. :D