If I recall properly, the ability for rangers and druids to identify PC tracks was disabled due to people using it in Sanctuary to track their PvP targets around the city.
I think its a shame that this sweet ability was lost due to abuse! I suggest that it is reinstated, but with qualification that it can only be used in 'wilderness' areas and, moreover, a strict statement of parameters for its use from the DM team to avoid future laming of this otherwise sweet perk.
I like the idea as well, as long as it's not abused.
It's sort of like the names above the head thing. People will lame it, even unintentionally. Just look at how anyone with 2 ranger levels (for the wands, obviously) spams tracking whenever they go into an area. I almost never see a ranger or higher level druid do this when travelling with a group.
Seeing a "You notice human tracks far to the NE. (Aubrey Craddock)" and then saying "So, Craddock was just here!" Even though Craddock never went through that particular transition, and had taken an entirely different path. That is sort of the problem with tracking as it is now. There is no way to differentiate where an object came from /has been, essentially making you track something from footprints you wouldn't possibly be able to have seen, yet you do.
There are ways to add this in so a PC would only show up if they were literally being followed /going along the same path, but they would either put too much strain on the server, or make Johannes have a heart attack. Neither is desirable, I think!
Using the -name or -race parameters might help, but the same problem is there!
Well, I'm not so sure the PC's name comes up in the information. Obviously this is undesirable.
AFAIK As it is now, the name will show up depending on your roll vs the DC (Unless it was changed fairly recently, which I doubt!)
It used to tell you the PC name if you passed the DC.
I really miss this feature and would love to see it returned. And not just because I play a tracker. :P
I really miss this feature and would love to see it returned.
I'd be happy if tracking just showed PC's presences like NPC's. Names are not essential, and raise issues best left unraised.
Yeah. There are no player race monsters about other than Flayer Stargazers anyway, and to specifically follow one person you could always get a DM to let you do it. Just stopping PCs being invisible to tracking would be good.
I really miss the feature and would love to see it returned.
I will give this suggestion my eternal stamp of disapproval.
The problem is that tracking should not be radar. You should not be able to "track" someone if you are on the southern edge of the map and they just entered from the north.
I would be all for a system that allowed you to track the actual pathways of PCs, but that is impossible.
HOWEVER what I would like, and what I believe is possible, is a system for ranger PCs to go up to a transition, "track it," and through some complicated formula receive information about what PCs passed through the transition and when(to or fro).
Just another of those things pending a scripter with the time, inclination, energy, interest, talent to do it.
Disable names. Only have Race show up. (Male human)
(Female elf)
(Sexy, lithe, buxom halfling female.)
Quote from: Thomas_Not_very_wise;118898(Sexy, lithe, buxom halfling female.)
Cue the hordes of horny rangers with their ears to the ground.
Perhaps if it was added as a player tool where you click on somebody to begin tracking them, it would make more sense. You start following somebody out from the Ziggurat, and because you already know that set of footprints, you are able to follow it (their name will show up on your "tracking list").
This suggestion is not likely even possible anymore. Many of the maps have areas from a number of very very different locations within them. Quite a few tunnels and paths within the same map have no connecting point, and to be able to find signs of a person in these locations would be kinda poor. Already the actual NPC tracking fails in these situations.[INDENT] Ex. Someone on one side of the mountain in the tunnel tracks, and finds a person that they know to be on the middle trail of their map. This middle trail was somewhere near the bog. They now have information that is just plain OOC, that serves to offer no benefits to the IC.
[/INDENT]I did enjoy being able to use tracking to run into people while wandering the wilds before however, so I do understand why people enjoy the ability. However, this situation is not about the name that shows up in the PC tracking box--its about the fact that people could track someone who was never there.
I have watched trackers track people coming up from behind them IG before, maybe they didnt even mean to, they cannot always tell. I mean... how does that work?[INDENT] Ex. You are on the run, and you race into the wilds and hide in a corner and spam the track skill looking for signs of anyone else entering the area so that they can avoid them? Ohnoes Their footprints are coming up at us from behind! Prepare! Hide! lol!
[/INDENT]The whole concept loses some of its luster in these situations and its unavoidable that these situations would happen.
A possible solve is putting a cooldown time on tracking (30 - 60 seconds?). That way it cannot be spammed to emulate "radar" and would represent the time and concentration required.
Does that really solve the issue?
They can still have a (albeit slower) radar, and putting a timer on it doesn't much change the fact that they can track what isn't there yet, or what never passed this way. Being able to see people coming at you from the other side of the map cannot be justified through tracking.
Well, it could represent the ranger's ability to detect variations in the vibe of the wilds.
Small furry animals running away from over here, birds going suddenly silent over there.
It doesn't justify knowing who's there, but it's fair enough if they can tell that someone is.
An open forest? Maybe. Plains, possibly. Long winding caves? No. Windblasted mountain tops?no. Through thick mist, rain, or sands? No. And even assuming some things could give signs. Orcs and giants are common enough to throw you off. NPC tracking is a different story, but PC tracking doesn't really work well enough to get around the downsides, IMO. Anyway I'll stop ranting I think my point is made. I really liked howlands trans tracking, but don't expect it anytime soon.
Or, as Howland suggested, [maybe possible?] that when a character with ranger/druid levels goes through a transition, they make an auto-track on PC's, which are probably removed after a certain amount of time.
In wilderness areas, anyways.
Such as:
'Cruzel the Curious just passed here 10 seconds ago,' or whatever the amount of time.
Probably a lot more generic too, such as races instead.
More like:
'A set of human-sized tracks have been spotted. By the freshness of them, you can tell that they have been here about 2 minutes.'
I wonder what the training ground transition would do in such a case?
Orjust make the most commonly traversed transitions to well traveled to identify any one track. ...
I will go out on a limb here, and say that if I walk 5 miles through the woods, the best tracker in the world could not identify me by my tracks, even if he knew me and what type of boots I wore. He would know someone walked through the woods, nothing more. Also, in anything less than perfect conditions, before I was found, he would lose my tracks.
Obviously, under certain conditions, a human wearing 50 pounds of armor will make a deeper track than one wearing leathers, but that could not be narrowed down to a certain PC.
Doesn't make sense that a ranger could identify the tracks of PC's.
The ranger would know a human passed through, not what your name was!
When I meant 'tracking PCs', I meant simply the ability for PCs to come up on the tracking information as 'human' or 'elf', etc.
Another thought I had which might solve some of the issues regarding tracking is some manner of timer on tracking. Which is to say, a Ranger must spend a certain amount of time in an area before he can track PCs properly, perhaps even as long as an hour (5 mins IRL). ICly, this would demonstrate the Ranger pursuing different tracks and taking his time to closely examine the spoor. OOCly, it would definitly cut down on the 'PvP radar' issue.
The transition thing Howland suggested is also a nice idea.
Needs more Arkov. :(
Quote from: Caddies;119049When I meant 'tracking PCs', I meant simply the ability for PCs to come up on the tracking information as 'human' or 'elf', etc.
Another thought I had which might solve some of the issues regarding tracking is some manner of timer on tracking. Which is to say, a Ranger must spend a certain amount of time in an area before he can track PCs properly, perhaps even as long as an hour (5 mins IRL). ICly, this would demonstrate the Ranger pursuing different tracks and taking his time to closely examine the spoor. OOCly, it would definitly cut down on the 'PvP radar' issue.
This I like.
Having to spend 5 minutes in an area is alright for a detailed analysis, but a good tracker should be able to follow a trail, once found, very quickly.
Considering the fact that a character can AT once a minute or so, it would make tracking next to useless anyway.
I've seen systems that use the transition thing and it is fairly amazing. It would tell you who passed through, and which way (of the transition) they went and also how long ago, all depending on the area type. Add in the custom weather to this, with rain reducing the time you can see that someone went through and this would be awesome.
Also, a method to track 'humans' or such would be nice too.
It could be possible to create an Area Of Effect effect/object with custom enter and exit scripts, on-demand every time a "/c track location" command is given (destroying the ranger's previously-created AOE); every time a non-DM creature passes the AOE it logs the entering an exiting direction, plus the race; racial information is lost every 20 minutes, or 10 minutes if it's raining, or 30 minutes if it's snowing; the tracks are lost completely after 40/20/60. When the ranger comes back they can "/c check tracks" and get a log like:
"There are some old tracks coming from the south, heading north.
There are some human tracks coming from the east, heading north.
There are some elven tracks coming from the east, heading north.
There are some human tracks from from the east, heading north.
There are some elven tracks coming from the north, heading east."
Using this information, a tracker might deduce that two humans and an elf came from the east and turned north at the spot the tracker wanted to return to and check, and that the elf came back this way within the last 20 minutes.
It would be possible for people who have reasonably guessed that an area is being tracked (or fear that they might be tracked) to criss-cross an area a bunch of times to make the tracked area spammy and hard to deduce.
DCs could conceivably be added to take Stealth Mode into account and adjust whether or not a creature gets added to the log.
Note: This wouldn't be limited to just transitions, then. One could set up tracking at a major crossroads, or at the end of a bridge, on a beach, etc.
That sounds pretty amazing ScottyB.
I would definitely love to see something of the sort implemented. Ranger tracking is an incredible skill and shouldn't be pass up on!
I might be reading it wrong, but does that mean that a ranger would have to get to a location before and after their target to track them?
ScottyB's Suggestion would require you to be in the area previously, BEFORE the PCs/NPCS you wanted to track.
I think Both Howl and ScottyB's suggestions have merit tbh.
Why not add both?
Because the transition version would be hell to implement.
I don't see what's wrong with a ranger having to become familiar with the area they want to later track, BTW.
Because if they can only track one area at a time, and need to pre-setup the tracking beforehand, it would be too much of a bother to use the system at all unless you KNOW someone is going through that area. It doesn't really count as tracking if solely implemented like this TBH. I can see the AoE potentially giving more information(?) because the ranger/druid is more familiar with the pre-setup area, but being able to tell who passed through the area as they transit would make sense to me.
I could see a limit for the AoE being set at 1/area, but not 1 per PC, otherwise it is too impractical and doesn't allow for tracking across areas anyways.
The AoE would be a lot harder to implement than the transition, TBH. The transition would require some doing, but I do think that a tracker PC who is entering an area should at least get some input as to who/what had been through recently.
Okay, I'm a bit confused.
Are we saying, a ranger can walk around through multiple maps, checking for tracks and getting familiar with the areas, then later come back to these locations (even if they've been halfway across the isle) and see what's passed recently?
OR
Are we saying a ranger must enter an area, set up a single tracking AoE, they can come back and see what's changed? (but they can only have one AoE up at any one time?)
I mean, I kinda like both ideas. So long as it doesnt replace the current NPC tracking. The NPC tracking allows you to get an idea about the area, since NPCS dont move--they just randomly appear. Plus it gives you an idea of whats active this time of day/area/etc.
However, I really like both the transition concept, if scriptable. AND ScottyB's depending on how functional we can make it.
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I wouldnt mind having a AoE permanent in multiple area's to record the information, and the /c track check against the area's datebase for recent information. But I think it would be cool if these werent personal for each ranger, but a standard constant of the map.
The AOEs are about the size of a tile and would be located precisely where the ranger "familiarizes" themself. Thus, they cannot be a "constant" of every area. Initializing that would be crazy.
They also would not have database connectivity. These creations are too temporary to be worth that hassle.
This would be very easy to finish if I felt like sitting in NWScript for an hour or two. It's basically like creating a custom spell, "cast" by a voice command (like Detect Evil or the current tracking). The spell (command) does one thing: create an AreaOfEffect object with an enter and an exit script. Enter: report or begin log. Exit: finish log. "Logs" are just a series of numbered local variables stored on the AOE, with delays to degrade the accuracy of the logs.
A limit of 1 per area would actually be simpler to implement than 1 module-wide; in addition to being more useful.
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Me and Cruzel are proposing two entirely independent and non-interchangable modes of tracking; they could coexist as they would be entirely separate from one another. However, this would give us a total of three tracking systems.
One tile is horrendously small, though! It would be fairly simple to run a location check every 3 rounds or so for maybe 30-42 seconds AFTER the PC has started 'familiarizing themselves' with a patch of ground, allowing us to create a rectangular 'path' the the tracker has examined!
Seriously, one tile is far too small to make this worthwhile!
I for one like premise of Scotty's Idea but not all of how he proposes to implement it tbh!
And I don't really think having three separate tracking systems would not be too much of an issue, because the transition one could probably be more of a small add-on to the current transit setup!
One tile is big enough for an intersection.
But completely terrible in wide open WILDERNESS areas.
Allowing a path or multiple tiles per area thus -creating- their 'path' would be much more feasable!
A ranger should be able to follow a trail.
If the person they're tracking happens to avoid their tile then they are screwed.