The second stage of hunting should message others in the room

[cinrean]

So the way hunting works is

1. hunt
2. hunt (animal)

Right now the first step messages the room

(name) starts quietly searching the area, frequently stooping low to search for tracks.

But when they start the second step, the only message is (IMO inaccurately)

(name) stops hunting.

Because they've stopped 'generally' hunting... but it doesn't show they've started focusing on tracking one specific animal.

When hanging out with someone hunting or trying to show them how to hunt this means never quite being sure if they're still hunting or not, without explicitly going "hey so are you still hunting or are we just standing around". It would be nice to get something like:

When they do <hunt deer> e.g.

(name) stops hunting. - I understand this string probably needs to stay because that initial action is ending.
(name) starts a narrow search of the area, following a specific set of tracks.

(or something)

[Squeak]

Not dismissing the idea at all (frankly, I never knew those messages actually echoed to the room), but I feel like the first "hunt" command should be changed to "track" and require a general ability point. Have it tie into the current track - to see who or what's gone through a room - and THEN you must hide to follow the tracks you've picked out. Or point them out to someone out who can then hunt them.

I don't know how track worked before, but something like:
>track
>You start quietly searching the area, frequently stooping low to search for tracks.
RT: 20 seconds.
And depending on perception (and training it as well), you'd get a list of things that have been through the room recently, or pulls from the huntables table for that area. Something like:

You discover some oval-shaped paw prints with four pads and claws belonging to a coyote, distinctive hand-shaped prints belonging to a raccoon, a set of long and short paw prints belonging to a rabbit, the bisected, pointed hoof prints of a deer, and an arched horse-shoe shaped print of a horse.

These can then be hunted (if animals) or followed if human or horse. Or pointed out to someone else so they can hunt it. The rest can continue on the same, I think.


I'm sure it being tied to an ability point will have no small amounts of naysayers, but look. Hunting is the easiest manner in which someone can quickly accumulate riln with little effort or danger, assuming a modicum of skills. It's been awhile since I ran the numbers, but the last time I checked a single deer was worth about 2000 riln and took right around 15 minutes from leaving Shadgard's canyon, hunting, killing, skinning, butchering, and cooking the meat. Nowhere else that I'm aware of has that return on investment and that's AFTER the meat count on deer and elk was halved.

[Rias]

Didn't feel changelog-worthy, but moving from generalized hunting to specific animal hunting phase no longer sends the "You stop hunting/<Person> stops hunting" message. Anyone else in the location who is aware of the hunter's hiding spot will instead see (for example): Muldoon appears to find some tracks he's particularly interested in and starts following them.

[artus]

Ooo I looove this change! Makes hunting party easier without a need to use sounds to signal.