Re: CF: more on identify

[James Cameron <cameron@stl.dec.com>]

Scott Wedel wrote:
> A much easier way of improving identify would be to change from a fixed
> price regardless of the number of items of that type (which implies
> that first item is identified and player identifies the rest which thus
> implies that player could from then on identify that item).

Yes, I agree.  Multi-stage identification.

I would imagine that some cursed items might have some clearly apparent
benefit (Speed+40) but a set of costs (Stat-2), and I would imagine that
removing the curse would probably "break" their benefits and costs.

Praying may also occasionally grant identification "stages"

I'm wondering why a shop should identify the item when sold.  This
doesn't seem "natural."

Should an NPC character come out, hover over it, take it into a back
room, and then come out and update the stock on the "shelves?"  Or just
let it sit, unidentified?

Objects have a flag "identified", globally effective, which works as if
someone has attached a user manual to the object.  You can drop an
object and another player can pick it up and it is already identified. 
This is also counter-intuitive.  Identification knowledge should be
local to the player.

I know, that would be hard to structure in memory.  ;-)

-- 
James Cameron                                      (cameron@stl.dec.com)

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"Specialisation is for insects." -- Robert Heinlein.
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