Tracking

[Kinaed]

With regards to plague's query - I would probably refund the skill if we settle on it being the way it is. The bug fix was a quick solution to something we'd thought was overlooked, not an attempt to nerf knights hunting mages, for example.

That said, if it's useless as a wilderness skill and is really only valuable for people chasing each other, maybe we do need to re-assess that. Skills should be valuable as there is a cost to obtaining them. We just don't want them to be unrealistic or so powerful that they become an automatic 'checkmate'. Ideas are certainly welcome.

[Taunya]

Logically speaking, however, how does someone track someone else on a bustling Roman street without literally following them in line of sight?

Like some people have noted, it doesn't necessarily have to be literal tracks, but involve questioning people on the streets. Though if they're bleeding, that should be able to be followed. As a coded concept it was rejected, but scent hounds could be an explanation as well.

[LANS]

We primarily announce all changes in the MOTD, and we always have. You can also check changes with HELP NEWS (or HELP CHANGES MMMYYYY, ie HELP CHANGES MAR2020), but otherwise I don't think it's reasonable to say that Staff were being secret squirrel because someone didn't read the MOTD where we've announced changes since 2006.

With regards to this, as previously mentioned, the change was a bug fix because the original spec explicitly said that tracking was supposed to error on city streets. I'm happy to discuss alternatives, what's good and bad for the game, what we need to do, etc, but please keep the accusatory stuff out of the discussion.

You are right, my apologies. I spoke out of line.

Like some people have noted, it doesn't necessarily have to be literal tracks, but involve questioning people on the streets. Though if they're bleeding, that should be able to be followed. As a coded concept it was rejected, but scent hounds could be an explanation as well.

This is a good concept. Perhaps refluff it as being more abstract.

But yes, tracking in the wilderness is usually not useful unless you are following, say, a mage out of some suspicious place into some other, with the aggravant that animals usually completely wipe all other tracks within a RL day or two. As this almost universally means following them back to the city, unfortunately the thing becomes moot.

[galaxgal]

I'm in favor of some kind of city-tracking ability allowed into place. The grid is huge, walking takes time, and trying to find guys with vastly expanded movement options in it is difficult and sometimes tedious. The simple meta-nature of how a MUD needs to work by design also works in the favor of anyone trying to hide from authorities.

A consideration to be made with re-flavoring Tracking is that (last I was aware), there are various mage utilities that modify or even completely remove their tracking information, with the flavor assumption that the Tracking is about physical evidence. If it became an investigative act, then a lot of these spell effects (and possibly others) may call for re-assessment.

I almost wonder if there should be two skills, a 'wilderness survival' tracking and an urban tracking-equivalent, like 'Investigation', and exiting Tracking players could request to move or split their skill ranks accordingly?

This would not solve the problem of the former reportedly not being very useful for its intended purpose, but it could help soothe disconnects in theme/flavor.

[Kinaed]

I think we need a change to this overall, but for now we'll just revert it to work in the city and consider other options later. Sorry for the inconvenience.

[Taunya]

Thanks Kin!

Tossing this idea in as well: wet, bleeding, and blood&gored could have a chance to leave trackable signs indoors as well with a tracking overhaul. Wet would fade quickly on its own, but bleeding/gore would require cleaning. The cleaning could tie into my broom/mop idea that was approved a while back.

[Kinaed]

Just a quick update for where we're at now:

- We have reverted to the old tracking.
- We are fixing track cover so that it works, period.
- We are adjusting the chance that someone leaves tracks from 100% to 75% with modifiers for different sector types and weather patterns. They'll get a bonus when it's raining, but a negative hit when it's drenching/blizzard, etc.

[Inertia]

What's the next step? Can we help? Brainstorming and whatnot?

Feel free to direct me to the right thread if this isn't it, but I couldn't find another!

Some ideas for balancing tracking:

• Have city rooms hold fewer tracks.

• Let people change their gait for extra mv, success dependent on tracking ranks/luck/whatever factors make sense. Possible failures can leave extra info about "their gait seems uneven" or something to that effect.

• I feel like at least right now, a separate tracking skill for outdoors use is too niche, so maybe add an option for track list to specify human or animal tracks in a room? track list [human|animal], could show you the current list with only the numbers that are one or the other.