learning without spoilers

[PowerDiver]

If it was up to me, in the current framework, I'd say that once you learn *any* flag, and sometimes to_hit/to_dam/to_ac when necessary, jewelry should become aware. It's too annoying to have to learn every single flag. One flag is all I think I need to identify any ring or amulet. You might ask about amulet of resist lightning versus resistance, but I have never found an amulet of resistance before resist lightning.

Is this too extreme? Is it any different from learning CCW from hp restore without being forced to learn that it neutralizes poison as well?

I know that I'm too much of a zealot to have any idea about the difference between reasonable versus radical on this issue.

I've been playing a bit with learning jewelry from any single flag. So far, I have noticed a couple of possible problems.

ring of teleportation aware from +2 speed -- I'd be 99% sure anyway, but just maybe it should stay hidden until you teleport.

ring of the mouse aware from dex mod -- this one is troubling. I probably should require learning attack and defence plusses as well as a flag, but that seems overly annoying when e.g. learning a ring of FF.

[Magnate]

I've been playing a bit with learning jewelry from any single flag. So far, I have noticed a couple of possible problems.

ring of teleportation aware from +2 speed -- I'd be 99% sure anyway, but just maybe it should stay hidden until you teleport.

ring of the mouse aware from dex mod -- this one is troubling. I probably should require learning attack and defence plusses as well as a flag, but that seems overly annoying when e.g. learning a ring of FF.

This is all greatly troubling and a tedious faff. Here's a radical solution: make pseudo totally ID the item, then it's just a matter of time in the pack. Warriors are fastest, then rogues, paladins, priests, rangers, mages. If you don't want to wait, you can use ID. If you want to complicate things, reverse the order for devices (so that mages sense them fastest and warriors slowest).

Just a thought. It seems impossible to make ID-by-use work non-tediously without torturing common sense.

[PowerDiver]

Just a thought. It seems impossible to make ID-by-use work non-tediously without torturing common sense.

I cannot make it work perfectly without spoilers, but I bet I can get something 90%-95% with simple rules. I just realized that FF comes out under the "if you know all attributes, get id" so I can check jewelry as (know_all) || (know_any && know_plusses).

Getting to rune-based may be a long undertaking, so we need something at least moderately good in the meantime.

[buzzkill]

How about putting pseudo-skill on the character screen. I switch class/race combos often and don't ever remember which classes/races have what. A single line on the Character Screen will do it, "Pseudo-ID : strong/slow". Easy to implement, and it couldn't hurt anything. Great for newbs who don't read the help files.

My other idea: I'd still like to see it made into a skill that improves with CL, and is relative to both the native depth of the item and the item type.

[Donald Jonker]

How about putting pseudo-skill on the character screen. I switch class/race combos often and don't ever remember which classes/races have what. A single line on the Character Screen will do it, "Pseudo-ID : strong/slow". Easy to implement, and it couldn't hurt anything. Great for newbs who don't read the help files.

AFAIK, all classes get strong pseudo ID, of similar speed.

My other idea: I'd still like to see it made into a skill that improves with CL, and is relative to both the native depth of the item and the item type.

*gag*

This returns us to pre-3.1. Requesting slower pseudo-ID is an act of masochism that I'll never understand.

edit: If anything it should be made faster or instantaneous.