preserve and no id

[PowerDiver]

I think we agree but why do you need {special} on pickup? What's wrong with breaking preserve on {special} and only marking {special} on pseudo, wield, ?ID, [k]ill?

I don't need it at all, and I didn't present it as part of the solution. It's just a consistency thing. If the descriptions of artifacts are accurate, they should be obvious on pickup.

Before you said something like "make it into inventory", which would be my preferred solution if people agreed with my viewpoint above, but now you're essentially changing to "when noticed as artifact" [which is what I intended to propose]. That is an OK solution, but not quite as good IMO.

[Marble Dice]

I don't need it at all, and I didn't present it as part of the solution. It's just a consistency thing. If the descriptions of artifacts are accurate, they should be obvious on pickup.

Ah, I see. If artifacts were sensed on pickup, then I would want to pickup every item I came across to see if it's an artifact. However, currently I should attempt to destroy every item I leave behind to make sure it's not an artifact. How would auto-sense-artifact work with squelch great? If you pick up an normal item, would it automatically be marked not an artifact and squelched?

Before you said something like "make it into inventory", which would be my preferred solution if people agreed with my viewpoint above, but now you're essentially changing to "when noticed as artifact" [which is what I intended to propose]. That is an OK solution, but not quite as good IMO.

I believe you refer to this statement:

Basically I think if you can determine an item in your inventory is an artifact, then it shouldn't regenerate. I thought preserve was about savings those artifacts that spawned but you didn't encounter, so if it reaches your inventory then preserve mode should no longer apply.

By it, I meant to imply my viewpoint was "when noticed as artifact." I dropped it from the second sentence because sensing artifacts usually requires the item was in your inventory at some point. That was confusing and an abuse of the logical converse, so my bad. I like either solution though - your proposed, or your ideal.

[Pete Mack]

For completeness, there are four potential ways to recognize something as an artifact:
* pseudoid
Item is {special} or {terrible}
* attempted destroy
You attempt to destroy an object (in inventory or on the floor) and it becomes
{indestructible}. (Similarly for priest Orb of Draining on cursed artifact)
* Inspection
You see a leather shield shield emblazoned with a multitude of creatures unseen for ages, around which a mystic balance lies.
* observation
You see a 4d5 Longsword that glows in the dark.

Of these, the first two are essentially bug fixes, while #3 is ID on pickup (or walk over) is probably a good idea.

The 4th can be a real pain --artifacts may be IDed on detection.
ToME works that way with sufficiently high ID skill; suddenly you are effectively playing in non-preserve mode.