@Tanthalas: I know, but still. It would be a change, right? It's just that I've gotten so used to names like 'Boots of Stealth' in the current of +10 years...
To be fair though, cheetah's paws sounds a lot cooler than boots of speed.
@Tanthalas: No, no! I apologise if this might seem to be the case. I might have worded my comment poorly in that case. I just don't think any alteration to the current names of the items is neccessary. That's all.
For "conventional" magical weapons, I'd prefer the simple bonus specification. It's cool to read that my staff+3 was called "Aule's Staff", but for me it's just a regular staff+3 with no specific power, and I can read tis lore in the description.
For unique magical items, though, it would be fine to add their specific names, but I'd like if the bonus would be specified anyway in the title; something like: "Daystar, long sword+2".
This would grant the faculty to judge at first sight (just by reading the title) if a weapon is unique (and thus has special abilities) or if it is a "regular" magical weapon, with no special abilities beside its enchantment bonus.
I am in favor of the change but I can see how some would not be.
I like the change because when a fighter picks up a magic sword and uses it, he knows that one is more powerful then another, but he has no concept of a +1 enchantment or a +2 enchantment, these are things that exist for the player, not for the character.
I can also see the point from another player's perspective though, some people don't care about the role playing aspect for the items, because they either don't care about role playing, or don't attribute item's to their role playing experience, and would rather not have to look at the item description to know what an item does.
Even BG I has so many magical weapons out there that it'd get bit overwhelming if every single Sword+1 out there had some pompous name or another.
That said, I much like named equipment and related descriptions. Such are right at home on piece of equipment that has stats and value to complement the alleged peculiarity!
It might be worth noting that not all magic items have a proper name: Some of them are just "Short Sword +2" in their description as well, and would not be touched.
I didn't like the way magic items in BG1 were named, assigning the specific names that are mentioned in the description would improve things. It's the small things like that make a product seem really polished.
A generic enchanted weapon is just a Longsword +2, in description it is said that it bears no special markings or carvings identifying it's creator or such... And named weapons are of course Unique. There are Plenty. Say, Staff of Shielding is not called Staff of Shielding +3, instead you examine it to see it's details.
Personally, I think anything +2 and above should have a history and a story...
So, in an ideal world I would
Keep low magic items like Long Sword +1 with a rudimentary 'This item has been well crafted and has magic enchantments placed upon it. But by who or for why it is unknown' etc...
Rename any +2 items and above to the story descriptor name BUT keep the +2 in the name (maybe wise with things like Carsomyr having a +4 and +6 version of themselves.
Lastly, name changes for non-unique items like boots of speed, change to the descriptor so that it makes the reader aware that 'sets of' were made... so that the uniqness the descriptor is describing is lost (you managed to stumble on this item, maybe another one is close by? idea)
I understand that Paws of the Cheetah and worn whispers need to be implemented as Boots of Speed are different in BG1 and BG2?
This is ideal world speaking AND my personal pref. Very aware that what is possible is a very different thing Keep up the good work!
Regarding "Paws of the Cheetah" and similar items:
These are items that are actually described in the game's manual, which makes them recognizable relics to be acquired. Calling the Boots of Speed "Paws of the Cheetah" can make the player think, "Whoa, hey, I found it!" I see that as a good thing. Although I personally like the name "Boots of Speed" better, it's almost certainly not what a merchant or a lore expert would call them. "Oh, these are boots that make you faster. And I know from my vast knowledge and experience that they are called Boots of Speed! Except that their real name is Paws of the Cheetah. But let's go on calling them Boots of Speed, because why not."
When you go to a magic items shop, the shopkeep isn't going to put on the tag, "Boots of Speed", because every merchant in the city has Boots of Speed, and what's so special about these? Calling them by their real name, "Paws of the Cheetah", makes them more mysterious and therefore more appealing to potential buyers. The name is slightly ambiguous, which (rightly) encourages the consumer to look more closely at it, read its history, and find out its exact effects. When was the last time you saw a merchant in a fairy tale offer Jack "Beans that Grow a Giant Beanstalk into the Clouds"? Never, of course. The merchant calls them "Magic Beans", specifically because it's ambiguous.
Varscona's come up a couple of times, noted for being not unique in BG2. For me, this means that the BG2 version of the weapon needs to be reworked with a new description (that either references the original weapon or marks it as a generic +2 sword with no special history)--or the original Varscona needs to be transported to Amn as is (complete with its own .bam and everything).
I'd like to have the unique items' names appear in the name text along with the enchantment level (when it applies) but only if there is only one copy of that item in the game world. Like @Aosaw already suggested, 'unique' items that appear more than once in the game world should be reworked.
@Aosaw - "Paws of the Cheetah" is part of the description of the Boots of Speed, not the actual item name in BG1. Also, they are not unique in BG1 - you can get one pair off Drasus outside the Cloakwood mines and another pair if you kill Lothander. Also, you can get at least a few pairs of the same boots in BG2.
As for actual unique items, do you want the Cloak of the Wolf to be called "Relair's Mistake"? Seems kind of a silly item name - I would prefer to keep that in the description. Also, it seems a bit inconsistent to have a cloak of protection +1 called Cloak of Protection +1 but a cloak of protection +2 called The Spirit's Shield.
Battle Axe +2: "Battle Axe of Mauletar" Boots of Speed: "The Paws of the Cheetah" Bracers of Defense AC 6: "Bracers to the Death" Cloak of the Wolf: "Relair's Mistake" Gauntlets of Dexterity: "The Brawling Hands" Girdle of Bluntness: "Destroyer of the Hills" Helm of Defense: "Gift of Peace" Light Crossbow of Speed: "The Army Scythe" Plate Mail +1: "Fallorain's Plate" Ring of Protection +1: "Ring of the Princes"
If that's not supposed to be the item's name, I don't know what is. In fact, it's specifically noted (in the manual) that the Ring of the Princes is not unique and there are others of its kind.
@Aosaw - the non-quotational part is the item name; the part in quotes is part of the description (followed by more descriptive text). I do like the way the so-called "Ring of the Princes" was handled. Since it is certainly not unique (nor does the description imply it was) it should retain the name "Ring of Protection +1" with the "Ring of the Princes" appellation falling under item description text.
Edit: @Demivrgvs - the apocalypse must be nigh if we agree on something. :P
Even if there are several items which are the same they should be displayed by a name if they have one: I will likely quickly remember the names and their abilites gameplay-wise. And lore-wise, items can have a story/be special even if more than one of them were produced (say a wizard created several special stealth boots for his assasin-friends).
If the item has a name, then I think it should be labeled as such within the game. For a start, it makes my inventory look more exciting. I didn't even know half of these items had names, and wearing 'Worn Whispers' on your feet is far cooler than wearing some mere 'Boots of Stealth'.
Comments
Just mentioned it because it looked like you thought we were making new names for items.
For unique magical items, though, it would be fine to add their specific names, but I'd like if the bonus would be specified anyway in the title; something like: "Daystar, long sword+2".
This would grant the faculty to judge at first sight (just by reading the title) if a weapon is unique (and thus has special abilities) or if it is a "regular" magical weapon, with no special abilities beside its enchantment bonus.
I like the change because when a fighter picks up a magic sword and uses it, he knows that one is more powerful then another, but he has no concept of a +1 enchantment or a +2 enchantment, these are things that exist for the player, not for the character.
I can also see the point from another player's perspective though, some people don't care about the role playing aspect for the items, because they either don't care about role playing, or don't attribute item's to their role playing experience, and would rather not have to look at the item description to know what an item does.
That said, I much like named equipment and related descriptions. Such are right at home on piece of equipment that has stats and value to complement the alleged peculiarity!
I want the item stats to appear before the item history on the item description.
Even better, two separate dialogs, one for the stats and one for the history!
A generic enchanted weapon is just a Longsword +2, in description it is said that it bears no special markings or carvings identifying it's creator or such...
And named weapons are of course Unique. There are Plenty. Say, Staff of Shielding is not called Staff of Shielding +3, instead you examine it to see it's details.
So, in an ideal world I would
Keep low magic items like Long Sword +1 with a rudimentary 'This item has been well crafted and has magic enchantments placed upon it. But by who or for why it is unknown' etc...
Rename any +2 items and above to the story descriptor name BUT keep the +2 in the name (maybe wise with things like Carsomyr having a +4 and +6 version of themselves.
Lastly, name changes for non-unique items like boots of speed, change to the descriptor so that it makes the reader aware that 'sets of' were made... so that the uniqness the descriptor is describing is lost (you managed to stumble on this item, maybe another one is close by? idea)
I understand that Paws of the Cheetah and worn whispers need to be implemented as Boots of Speed are different in BG1 and BG2?
This is ideal world speaking AND my personal pref. Very aware that what is possible is a very different thing
These are items that are actually described in the game's manual, which makes them recognizable relics to be acquired. Calling the Boots of Speed "Paws of the Cheetah" can make the player think, "Whoa, hey, I found it!" I see that as a good thing. Although I personally like the name "Boots of Speed" better, it's almost certainly not what a merchant or a lore expert would call them. "Oh, these are boots that make you faster. And I know from my vast knowledge and experience that they are called Boots of Speed! Except that their real name is Paws of the Cheetah. But let's go on calling them Boots of Speed, because why not."
When you go to a magic items shop, the shopkeep isn't going to put on the tag, "Boots of Speed", because every merchant in the city has Boots of Speed, and what's so special about these? Calling them by their real name, "Paws of the Cheetah", makes them more mysterious and therefore more appealing to potential buyers. The name is slightly ambiguous, which (rightly) encourages the consumer to look more closely at it, read its history, and find out its exact effects. When was the last time you saw a merchant in a fairy tale offer Jack "Beans that Grow a Giant Beanstalk into the Clouds"? Never, of course. The merchant calls them "Magic Beans", specifically because it's ambiguous.
Varscona's come up a couple of times, noted for being not unique in BG2. For me, this means that the BG2 version of the weapon needs to be reworked with a new description (that either references the original weapon or marks it as a generic +2 sword with no special history)--or the original Varscona needs to be transported to Amn as is (complete with its own .bam and everything).
As for actual unique items, do you want the Cloak of the Wolf to be called "Relair's Mistake"? Seems kind of a silly item name - I would prefer to keep that in the description. Also, it seems a bit inconsistent to have a cloak of protection +1 called Cloak of Protection +1 but a cloak of protection +2 called The Spirit's Shield.
Edit: @Demivrgvs - the apocalypse must be nigh if we agree on something. :P