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Author Topic: Alien Artifact ID Scheme [semi-SPOILERS]  (Read 1910 times)

Kyzrati

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Alien Artifact ID Scheme [semi-SPOILERS]
« on: March 02, 2017, 11:59:38 PM »

So ever since they were introduced, Alien Artifacts showed their art but not their other stat details until identified, usually by using them. Art was a meta method one could rely on to identify one immediately on obtaining it. This was a temporary approach aimed at being a little more lenient when it came to learning which do what before actually using them. Then Scanalyzers became capable of at least identifying anything, so for Alpha 14 I finally removed that bit of meta--no art until they're identified, as with other parts. Of course with experience it's still possible to guess what some are via slot count or mass (though this isn't as reliable as art). And this change also brings to the forefront one of the Core Reset Matrix's many uses--to automatically identify all artifacts.

Now I think the ID situation here is about right, but maybe there is some desire or need to be able to distinguish unique unidentified artifacts from one another, in case you have duplicates? Duplicates aren't all that common, but do happen with a few items. One of the possibilities here would be to assign each unique artifact a random un-ID'ed name at the beginning of each run, e.g. AA04, AA07..., as we see with potions and scrolls in many roguelikes.

Any other ideas on this subject?
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Josh Ge, Developer - Dev Blog | @GridSageGames | Patreon

DDarkray

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Re: Alien Artifact ID Scheme [semi-SPOILERS]
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2017, 06:59:23 AM »

It would be nice to be able to differentiate the unidentified artifacts in some way. Otherwise, I wouldn't want to autosort!

Assigning them different numbers would work, but it might seem weird to see AA04 and AA07 without first seeing AA01. It would be better to assign them number only when you see it first, but I'm not sure if it's difficult to program like that.

Then Scanalyzers became capable of at least identifying anything

If a scanalyzer can do that, can component analysis suite do that too?
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Kyzrati

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Re: Alien Artifact ID Scheme [semi-SPOILERS]
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2017, 07:19:39 AM »

Oh right, of course, they could just be numbered in the order they were seen :P

Yes, that would be even more work to code (even just doing it randomly will be some work since it's not built to do that...), but it does sound like a better option. Actually though, it does remind me that such a system clashes with a bit of content already in the game.

The reason players have brought up the AA0# scheme in the first place is that one of the NPCs you meet (Zhirov) actually gives two of the artifacts such a designation at his terminals. So if this change were to be made, I'd probably have to have him use some other kind of designation of his own (it's just for lore purposes anyway, so that's not a huge deal).

If a scanalyzer can do that, can component analysis suite do that too?
No, that can only identify a regular prototype, but not alien tech. Lore-wise the latter can be identified at a Scanalyzer, however, because it's connected to the central system where sensitive info like that is available. (This is better from a gameplay perspective as well.)
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