Identification system

The identification system presents information about encountered entities on Roger's heads-up display, or HUD. It uses Zile City's serial-number system to identify robots and androids. When ordinary identification fails, it can generate a label from the encounter's context.

City identifiers

A normal readout combines a class designation with a numerical serial. It may also include an individual's name. These fields help distinguish designed categories from personal identities as Roger meets machines and people across the city.

The exact method by which the display obtains and matches its data remains unspecified. A contextual label is not necessarily a name supplied by the individual, nor does a failed match establish a new robot class.

Proposed interface behavior

A developing interface would place a small readout beside a targeted enemy. It is unsettled whether that happens on every targeting action or only when something unfamiliar appears.

Another proposal adds automatic overclocking on a first encounter, giving the player time to read the information. Functional descriptions could identify a machine's ordinary task, such as cargo lifting or steel smelting. The precise triggers and final presentation remain in development.