Togglable Hunt

[a strange shadow]

I like that suggestion.

What happens when there are two or more sets of the same kind of tracks?

[Thunkkin]

I like that suggestion.

What happens when there are two or more sets of the same kind of tracks?

Track 2.humanoid?

[5 day lifespan]

Also, if you are going through an area full of greth, you should be able to tell, for instance, if one of them is wounded.  Not only from the blood trail, but also because of how it moves.  Hit it in the hindquarter, and now it's gait indicates that it is moving on three feet, with one print showing up lighter than the others.  For anyone who had tracked Ritikkis, this would be a god send.  I don't know if it is due to the high population of those buggers or if they are programmed to do so, but they ALWAYS seem to haul ass RIGHT for an area that has three of them in it, causing you to lose them.  It would make the hunt FAR better if you got back:
Less than an hour ago a swift strided insect headed north.
Less than an hour ago a swift strided insect headed south, with a limp

Rivulets of blood line the tracks.

This does not always occur, and seems to be dependent on the amount of damage taken and the creature involved.

[LoD]

I like that suggestion.

What happens when there are two or more sets of the same kind of tracks?

Track 2.humanoid?

This is what I'd probably suggest, since it would be the natural assumption on the part of the player.  The list returned when using "hunt" would be ordered in case of redundancy so that you could target 1.humanoid, 2.humanoid, 3.humanoid.  The main idea being that hunt would become a useful tool for gathering information while track would be a useful tool for processing/using that information.

-LoD

[Lizzie]

Allegria, books on tracking can contribute much to the roleplay of tracking in Armageddon. One thing they cannot do, however, is contribute to the implementation of code in a fantasy world. This is the problem whenever anyone brings up "realism." There is no such thing as "realism" in a fantasy game. I've actually seen people in other games refer to "realistic" roleplay of elves. Think on that a moment...

Right.

So - roleplay of tracking, is definitely something of interest to some people, and would be a pretty neat topic in the roleplaying discussion folder. However this is the code folder. So I'm not sure how or why books on real-life tracking would be relevant to the discussion of the code of the hunt skill.

[brytta.leofa]

There is no such thing as "realism" in a fantasy game.

Not so.  Elements that have direct parallels in real life should be assumed to work awfully darn similar to, well, real life.  Elements that are unreal (magick, elves, etc.) operate according to rules stated in the documentation, but the gaps are still likely to be informed by our experiences in the real world.

99% of everything in Zalanthas fits into the former category, not the latter.

[Lizzie]

Ah so that explains why you can eat 40 roots, and be just as full as eating three pieces of fruit. Or drinking two skins of water when you're thirsty, which is comparable to two -real life- gallons of water, won't explode your stomach. And this definitely explains why it takes less time to cook a mekillot steak, which is probably comparable to a rack of ribs, than it takes to mush a fist-sized ball of vegetation to squeeze out the water.

It also explains why I can get from one part of the planet to the other in less than a RL hour (which would be less than a game-day), and why I can fall almost 3/4 of a RL mile down a cliff and climb back out as long as I rest for 20 RL minutes (2 game-hours).

REALISM. Gotta love it.

[brytta.leofa]

Ah so that explains why you can eat 40 roots, and be just as full as eating three pieces of fruit. Or drinking two skins of water when you're thirsty, which is comparable to two -real life- gallons of water, won't explode your stomach.
...
REALISM. Gotta love it.

Complaining about the unrealism of parts of the code isn't really convincing me that we can't meaningfully discuss realism. 

[Lizzie]

My point, is that this game isn't realistic. I'm GLAD it isn't realistic. If I wanted realism, I wouldn't play a fantasy game. You don't have to fall, in Armageddon, you CAN involve magics. That's what makes it so much fun. And even if you fall, you CAN often climb back up again. You don't have to endure 2 broken legs, 2 broken arms, a broken back, and a major concussion. You -can- eat a tablet and INSTANTLY be cured of a poison that would otherwise kill you within seconds. You CAN drink 2 gallons of water in one clip without exploding your stomach. You CAN drink 2 bottles of brandy without having to have your liver flushed in the hospital.

You CAN do all these things that you CANNOT do in real life. You can do all these things, because the game is not realistic. And this is a good thing.

[Agent_137]

gah! I tried not to read your first few posts, lizzie, but now I feel compelled to respond:

How many times do we have to point out that just because we can't have PERFECT REALISM doesn't mean we don't enjoy SOME REALISM.

There is an age old balance between Realism and Playability. Both are important to a successful game but they always counter each other. The question is always "how do I make this realistic, believable, but still FUN?"

I submit that LOD's suggestion, as usual, strikes a perfect balance between the two.

[LoD]

My point, is that this game isn't realistic.

Well, you seem to be defining "realism" as an absolute rather than as a component that can vary.  A truer statement would be that the game isn't completely realistic, or that the game has both realistic and unrealistic elements.

I see realism more as an ingredient to the game, like a carrot.  If I'm eating vegetable soup, sometimes my spoon has a carrot.  Sometimes it's doesn't.  Does that mean that the soup doesn't have carrots?  Not at all -- it just means that the soup has been blended to provide me with a variety of flavors that the designers have found to provide the best overall experience.

Armageddon is the same way.  The Staff members have blended elements of realism and playability together to create the best possible playing experience, not the most realistic or the most playable one.  There are elements of both inherent in the finished product, and I consider it perfectly normal and appropriate to debate the advantages or disadvantages of realism at every level of the game.  It co-exists with unrealistic elements, and it's that balance that we often discuss here on the forums.

So, while it may not be completely realistic for a character to use the "hunt" skill mechanic compared to how people hunt animals on Earth, that isn't to say that it can't benefit from or hold any realistic qualities whatsoever.  Tracks fade over time, just as they do in a realistic environment like Earth.  Tracks appear different based on what made them, just as they do in a realistic environment like Earth.  Tracks are harder to see in sandstorms or in completely darkness, just as they are in a realistic environment like Earth.

It's probably best to consider both realism-based and playability-based ideas, suggestions, and content.  The end result may not be different, but it will at least have been more broadly explored.

-LoD

[Lizzie]

I think most of you are confusing realism with believability. A fantasy game isn't, and shouldn't, be realistic. It should be believable. You should be capable of putting realism ASIDE...and believing what you experience in spite of the fact - not because of the fact - that it is unrealistic.

Going from that assumption, I agree. Believability is very important, and should not be replaced by playability. Realism, however, needs to be abandoned, with great abandon, and has no place in a fantasy game.

[Riev]

*raising his hand*

Who here remembers when this thread was about a Hunt skill, or a change thereof?

[spicemustflow]

HI I AM VERY NEW HERE.AND THIS WEBSITE IS INTERESTING

yeah, what she said

[RogueGunslinger]

Ah so that explains why you can eat 40 roots, and be just as full as eating three pieces of fruit. Or drinking two skins of water when you're thirsty, which is comparable to two -real life- gallons of water, won't explode your stomach.
...
REALISM. Gotta love it.

Isn't what you just said the reason why the more realistically we try to parallel fantasy and reality the better?

Realism makes the game more believable. Unless you think that drinking two skins of water and eating 40 roots is believable...

[Rhyden]

Love the idea. My additional ideas have already been said.

Make the difficulty of maintaining the trail correlate to how fast you're moving. Run = hardest, walk = neutral, sneak = easier.

Perhaps allow it to toggle after you are a pro (certain %)?

[Delstro]

I like the idea, but I don't want an enitely new command to do it. Preferably, I'd prefer hunt work a lot like watch, with stun drain.

Hunt lets you see the mass amount of trails left behind.
Hunt 1.humanoid lets you follow the first trail, Hunt 2.humanoid lets you follow the second, and so on and so on.

[IAmJacksOpinion]

You say potato, I say Flame-tardo... Now shut up before this gets moved to the "Philosophy" board. 

Track would be a good command.

I say command, not skill because I see absolutely no reason for there to be a separate skill for Tracking and Hunting, as it's basically the same thing with different levels of concentration. Track would just be a command that runs off the Hunt skill, and allows one set of tracks to be concentrated on.

As a note, I would like to add that it would be pretty interesting if, instead of simply LOSING the trail on a failure, a crit-failure in a room with other similar tracks could result in a feedback of the wrong trail, sending you in the incorrect direction entirely. Props to whoever mentioned "All the other tracks" in the 9 square miles that each room is commonly referenced to take up.

As far as city hunt goes - IDK. I never used to use it in the city cause I thought it was twinkish. (Except in the rinth. Everyone knows the rinth is just a giant Arena, and not an ACTUAL play area.) But now that it's its own skill, I haven't branched it. Does it show up the same way as desert hunt?