What do you really think about *identify* in variants?

[PaulBlay]

Thanks. I think the biggest win in developing the Unangband system was instant pseudo-id (borrowed in part from Sangband). That hints strongly that something might be worth experimenting with further

I wonder about having an "Appraise" skill that allows you to know the approximate value an object would have if it was fully identified.

[PowerDiver]

Anyway, I'm not convinced that *ID* is annoying enough to remove vs the excitement of thinking 'cool an elvenkind! what's it's random resist?'

I just realized why we disagree about excitement. My progression is (1) find out it has IGNORE_ACID with an acidball, then (2) wield it and the stealth bonus tells me it is elvenkind and only after that (3) id the thing.

[Jude]

In Zangband and I guess Z+, there are stores that will tell *ID* things for you for a fairly hefty price. I don't mind that; I like not knowing everything about an item right off the bat.

[Pete Mack]

I just realized why we disagree about excitement. My progression is (1) find out it has IGNORE_ACID with an acidball, then (2) wield it and the stealth bonus tells me it is elvenkind and only after that (3) id the thing.

I agree, more or less. I'd rather see ordinary ID be less common (but not nearly as uncommon as *ID*), and be only available for a significant price (or, better, available only in short stacks) in the stores.
This presupposes Eddie's ID-by-use patch, as well as short and strong, psuedo-ID. (With V's current model for sticky-curses, the values average, magical, cursed, and excellent are sufficient.)


All this means that I can't vote in the poll. I both hate *Identify*, and like having to do extra work to ID things.

[Malak Darkhunter]

I wonder about having an "Appraise" skill that allows you to know the approximate value an object would have if it was fully identified.

I am more in favor of a ( Lore) skill, that would increase with player level and experience, to provide a better means of identification for artifacts and heavily cursed items. Leave psdo-id for the common items, and a greater skill like a lore skill for players to identify the more important stuff. Provides a kind of balance, I don't like *ID*, but I think it is now a little to easy to identify magical artifacts, seems like there needs to be something more needed to be able to identify them.

[Nerdanel]

I voted that I don't feel strongly either way. Anyway, I think the real problem isn't *Identify* but that there are too many things to identify, which spoils the fun.

In Zothiqband I took a three-fold approach to identify:
- Skill-based auto-ID. For example players who put points into fighting skills will learn to identify weapons and armor just by walking over them.
- Aggressive reduction in the Too Much Junk problem. Dungeons now have much fewer items of much higher quality. Go deep enough and {average} items disappear entirely. Go still deeper and {good} and {cursed} vanish too.
- For the rest, Identify and *Identify* are still there, but not overly rare in comparison to the need.

There hasn't been much balancing done yet, but I think I might have found a good middle way.