Rune-based ID - yes or no?

[Nick]

The rune-based ID feature branch has been out for a while now, and there's been a lot of discussion in the associated thread, most of which (in my biased viewpoint) has been in favour.

I would like to add rune-based ID to the current master branch, which will (eventually) become version 4.1. Before I do, and because this change hasn't been universally acclaimed, I'd like some indication of what proportion of people think it's a good idea, and what proportion prefer the 4.0 ID system.

So please vote for the system you prefer. I would also greatly appreciate comments explaining why, especially from people voting for the old system, because if this major piece of work is going to go unused I'd like to have good reasons.

[Derakon]

I voted in favor, because I feel that there is nothing interesting in requiring a character to identify things that aren't actually new to them.

[tprice]

I voted in favor because i found in my testing i enjoyed the new version of the ID Minigame much more interesting than the old one. for more details see my comments in the main RuneID thread.

[Nomad]

I vote wholeheartedly for rune-based ID. I've just got to the depth in my current game where I'm clearing greater vaults, and the rune-based system is vastly better for dealing with items in the later game - unwanted equipment disappears seamlessly on walkover, awkward items like Robes of Permanence that I always used to miss because they were indistinguishable from basic {excellent} robes are now insta-ID'd, the old 'find something to drop from your full pack so you can pick up the floor item to get pseudo so it will auto-squelch' juggling act is completely gone, and it's generally just so much less painful to sort through items now.

I also discovered, after the Trap/door feature branch was introduced, that it was an incredibly un-fun hassle going back to the old system - I didn't appreciate until then what an improvement it is even in the early game to be able to see the basic bonuses on low-level weapons and armour on walkover instead of having to carry a big stack of stuff around for an age and then test it in combat. And even negative/useless early game items become more fun to find thanks to the opportunity to learn a rune from them. I find I'm dutifully playing one test game of each new update to the Traps/doors branch and then running back to play another half dozen games in the Rune-ID branch because it's so much more enjoyable to play.

[calris]

I vote in favour - Rune ID definitely feels 'right'. However I think there a few tweaks that, while not necessary would improve gameplay slightly:

• Activation should be an additional Rune - It's a bit frustrating to find a Ring that you have identified the base Rune for, but still don't know what it is, and there is not {??} to indicate you have anything more to learn (I'm talking about rings of Ice, Fire, Acid, etc.)
• It's a bit odd walking over objects that you have set up to ignore and they just disappear when you step on them because you know all the Runes. I know it will make the dungeons very sparse, but it adds to the excitement that you finally see something you don't know everything about
• I'm not liking that scrolls, potions, wands, staves, rods, etc. ID when you activate them no matter what the effect (Wand of confuse monster when no monster was hit). And forcing the player to either use a potion, or sell/give it to a shop is a bit of a backward step. When you hit depths that you start finding scrolls of Acquirement and *Acquirement* is going to lead to some heart sinking moments. Maybe split Identify into 'Identify Rune' and 'Identify' so we have Identify for potions, scrolls, etc.

[AnonymousHero]

Originally Posted by calris

And forcing the player to either use a potion, or sell/give it to a shop is a bit of a backward step.

It's possible to be 100% safe when use-ID'ing potions and there's literally no downside to doing that these days (since !Exp was changed).

EDIT: Actually, this isn't strictly true. There's a slight downside to getting early !Exp... if you get stat drained.

[calris]

Originally Posted by AnonymousHero

It's possible to be 100% safe when use-ID'ing potions and there's literally no downside to doing that these days (since !Exp was changed).

Indeed, but finding a scroll of Acquirement and reading it in town is going to be very frustrating.

Also, potions that increase on stat and decrease another can have pretty bad consequences - If you're unlucky enough to have a couple hit your primary stat (Int for mages for example) it can be a bit frustrating

[AnonymousHero]

Originally Posted by calris

Indeed, but finding a scroll of Acquirement and reading it in town is going to be very frustrating.

I don't think I mentioned scrolls?

Scrolls can actually also be identified safely in the dungeon (assuming you've dilligently identified the early scrolls which can be dangerous later on), and I find that Acquirement is not worth keeping until later levels.

Originally Posted by calris

Also, potions that increase on stat and decrease another can have pretty bad consequences - If you're unlucky enough to have a couple hit your primary stat (Int for mages for example) it can be a bit frustrating

Sure, but it's hardly game-breaking -- just a minor annoyance. Plus, it does require quite a lot of bad luck... as in: there's about a 4% chance of that happening for two successive potions. (In practice it's slightly higher, but I've made some simpliying assumptions for the calculation.)

[calris]

Originally Posted by AnonymousHero

I find that Acquirement is not worth keeping until later levels.

Exactly - If you find one early on, you want to stash it until later

Sure, but it's hardly game-breaking -- just a minor annoyance

As I said, nothing I suggested was necessary - I'm happy to vote for Rune ID despite these quibbles that I have. I would rather see Rune ID with these quibbles than the old ID system

[spara]

What others said. More testing and little polishing is all it needs. Personally I would like ID scrolls to be a bit more common and heavy armor should not have enchant armor runes on them. Same thing with acid producing negative enchantment on armor. But that's just tiny details.

Recently I have died twice on ID by use. First one was an unlucky poison bottle with a virgin ranger. It was the first potion I found from the dungeon and I stupidly did not buy any cure from town. Lesson learned . The other death was an unIDd staff of summoning that I activated with a warrior. I was cocky and felt invulnerable so I activated it when I was out of escapes and away from stairs. It summoned some fast OOD monsters that took care of the character in a few rounds. Again, lesson learned and a story to tell.