Ranger Archive
Thread: Area Track needs a rework
Area track checks for creatures nearby but this is a mistake because the way SWG's works is that it spawns creatures around players. I was playing on shadowfire server on talus earlier today I was the only person on the planet (according to search) and area track would only find creatures that I caused to spawn around me in viewing distance, totally ruining the point of tracking down creatures that I was searching for.
How it needs to work in my opinion is first of all it checks area track like now and then after you do that you can do a further more indepth track if you can't find the creatures you're searching for. When you do the indepth track this will check the local spawn tables and you'll be able to select a creature from the list and this will cause it to spawn those creatures like how missions terms spawn lairs. As you get higher level you'll be able to select tougher creatures right up to krayt dragons at master ranger, but obviously you'd only be able to find them where they are normally allowed to spawn. As you progress through the area track you should be able to use this same method to spawn lairs and baby creatures. This would actually make rangers tracking tree very useful among groups of hunting partys either looking for XP or resources and CH's who wanted baby creatures.
I know I don't post on this forum but I hope your correspondent might be able to mention this in his progress report to the devs.
Obi007 wrote:
Area track checks for creatures nearby but this is a mistake because the way SWG's works is that it spawns creatures around players. I was playing on shadowfire server on talus earlier today I was the only person on the planet (according to search) and area track would only find creatures that I caused to spawn around me in viewing distance, totally ruining the point of tracking down creatures that I was searching for.
Pet peeve of many rangers here, including me. You track, see nothing, then 100m later you stumble onto a fresh lair.
How it needs to work in my opinion is first of all it checks area track like now and then after you do that you can do a further more indepth track if you can't find the creatures you're searching for. When you do the indepth track this will check the local spawn tables and you'll be able to select a creature from the list and this will cause it to spawn those creatures like how missions terms spawn lairs.
Interesting. We are supposed to be getting /track, where we can select what we want to track, get waypoints, and have a potential of failing (i.e., a nice surprise at the waypoint). I wonder if this would, in essence, be what you are talking about -- spawning the creatures.
As you get higher level you'll be able to select tougher creatures right up to krayt dragons at master ranger, but obviously you'd only be able to find them where they are normally allowed to spawn. As you progress through the area track you should be able to use this same method to spawn lairs and baby creatures. This would actually make rangers tracking tree very useful among groups of hunting partys either looking for XP or resources and CH's who wanted baby creatures.
Would this make Rangers a bit too powerful? The ability to spawn Krayts, etc, might not be received too well... Then again, this might be what will happen when the skill comes in. I know a lot of people want an update on /Track -- when are we getting it? can we get more details.
I know I don't post on this forum but I hope your correspondent might be able to mention this in his progress report to the devs.
Our correspondent
Pretty interesting concept. I'll mull that one over as I drink more coffee. You can see a lot of ranger feedback on areatrack in N'Raas' state of the profession thread. I'd recommend reading that -- in general, rangers seems to be idea-people.
-- Elysa Kamekazi, Master Ranger & many other things
"We are supposed to be getting /track, where we can select what we want to track, get waypoints, and have a potential of failing (i.e., a nice surprise at the waypoint). I wonder if this would, in essence, be what you are talking about -- spawning the creatures."
That is the impression I got from reading the /track description from the Correspondent Response.
- /track would allow you to choose a creature type, and it would then spawn an appropiate lair (much like mission terminals, but without the cash payout).
But until we receive more information on how it will work, I'm just speculating.
The track skill does sound like the sort of thing I was looking for, I just could never see them being able to improve area track very much because of the limits in the way area track worked and the way SWG's creates mobs.
I would like though if they could somehow link the track skill in with the spawn tables and maybe make it possible for rangers to examine those spawn tables. One thing that disappoints me with SWG's is the cool things that are hidden from us, like for example names of different areas on the map which I believe all have their own spawn tables for different creatures.
I wouldn't want rangers to be spawning creatures where they usually don't appear, for example the rangers should only be able to find mountian dewbacks in mountains where they spawn naturally anyway.
As for the chance to spawn krayts I'm not sure if that would be too powerful for a master ranger after all its quite a large amount of skill points. Perhaps you should have a limit to only being able to track one down every day, my above point would still apply you would only be able to track them down in areas they have a high chance of spawning.
I'll have a read of some other ranger threads now, good luck with the ranger issues I would like to gain some more ranger skills but the track tree at the moment is quite a let down.
"I wouldn't want rangers to be spawning creatures where they usually don't appear"
That very issue was described in the description of /track.
- I suspect that is why the command is taking far longer to implement than the simple /areatrack command.