Item name colours

[Grimm]

Is there one place I can go to find out what the various item name colour codings mean?

[galehar]

Yes there is: The source code!
Joke aside, this question comes very often. Let's try to answer it, and then maybe we'll make a sticky thread. Or even better, we'll add the info to the game documentation.

weapon colour in stats area:
Bow : blue
crossbow: lightblue
sling : brown

stones, sling bullets, large rocks: brown
arrows : blue
needles : white
bolt : lightblue
darts : cyan
javelin : red
throwing net : darkgrey

short blades : cyan
long blades : lightcyan
axes : dark grey
M&F : light grey
polearms : red
staves : green

in inventory screen:
god hates : red
emergency: yellow
good : cyan
dangerous : magenta
bad: red
useless : dark grey

[Grimm]

Well I'll be. I had assumed that the colours in the stats area indicated some sort of usefulness, as they do in the inv screen.

[zasvid]

...and I always wondered why every god hates javelins.

[galehar]

the weapon colours in the stats area make sense for console players, because it's the glyph colour when the item is on the ground and they are used to it. For tiles players, it's just confusing.

[jpeg]

the weapon colours in the stats area make sense for console players, because it's the glyph colour when the item is on the ground and they are used to it. For tiles players, it's just confusing.

Would it be more confusing if we use different colour schemes for console and tiles?

[galehar]

the weapon colours in the stats area make sense for console players, because it's the glyph colour when the item is on the ground and they are used to it. For tiles players, it's just confusing.

Would it be more confusing if we use different colour schemes for console and tiles?

Possibly. What's really confusing is that the same item is displayed in different colours depending on which menu you're looking at it. We'll have to ask console players if there's actually any value in using the base item colour in the stats area. If there isn't, then I suggest the stats area (and the % screen) use the same colours as the inventory.

[dpeg]

I once made a proposal (sorry no time to dig it up from the wiki right now, but I can if you're interested) to use colours in the Weapon/Quiver slot better: for ego rather than weapon type.

[Kate]

Possibly. What's really confusing is that the same item is displayed in different colours depending on which menu you're looking at it. We'll have to ask console players if there's actually any value in using the base item colour in the stats area. If there isn't, then I suggest the stats area (and the % screen) use the same colours as the inventory.

Console players frequently comment about this in IRC as well ("why is my wielded weapon grey/red/whatever? does that mean it's a bad weapon to use?"). I don't think glyph colour should have anything to do with it, would be much clearer if it used the same colours as the inventory everywhere.