Nexus Clash

What it says on the tin. Tracking was envisioned as a B6 addition, but we've released it early so that players can experiment with the skill and give us some feedback about what works, what's broken, and how it feels with the rest of the game. Go ahead and do that here--it's a lot easier to reference when the devteam wants to go back and discuss what changes to make. Yes, we do read the Discord, but messages get lost, missed, or buried on there and are a lot harder to find later on. If you want to be heard, this is the space.

A few points:

• Being critical is fine, but please be constructive. We're a lot more likely to fix your frustrations if you give us an idea how.
• Being critical is fine, but please be polite. We may be devs, but we're also humans.
• Please try to keep suggestions realistic. Tweaking numbers, costs, prerequisites, descriptors, and details is a lot more accomplish-able than a massive system overhaul. If you're not sure what's realistic, ask! We know not everyone is a coder, and even code-literate folks can't know what the game's architecture is like.

Biggest initial criticism is that it's impossible to tell from a track who or what made the track. Without that you can't tell if it's worth following the track, which makes the skill of limited use. Arguing logic doesn't apply as we're potentially tracking people who fly, corner-step or similar. The Tracking choice drop down really should be adjusted to show angel/demon/transcended at the very least.

Next criticism, or perhaps suggestion, would apply to certain movement modes. Specifically Blink and Twisted Leap. As these modes skip intervening tiles they really should mess up (and therefore be immune to) Tracking.

I recently bought tracking on my voidwalker. Overall, i am very much quite enjoying the skill. I will say it benefits heavily from the low movement cost of my choice in class.

Faded/unfaded tracks:
It was a tad bit confusing at first but after a little use i was able to understand the meaning of the difference.

Maybe a bug:
Finding tracks inside a building seems to break the UI upon the step outside (caviot: im not 100% sure i wasnt chasing another VW) My only successes tracking so far have originated from tracking initiated by following a track left outside.

I am happy to report the UI works for following a trail inside and out of a multisquare building. Was fun, did enjoy the hunt on that one.

On the note of twisted leap/blink:
I recently caught a WM through tracking and it was quite apparent where the track led me. There were skipped squares, but the UI did not betray me.

Potential critique: the cost of the skill (with child) feels prohibitive for low level characters. It didnt break my build only b/c my VW is circle I

I've got a few questions:

1) I don't understand the faded vs not distinction. Is it just how old the tracks are, or something more?

2) Does the order of tracks matter or is it randomized? Are more recent tracks at the top/bottom?

3) Tracks and water or going inside seem confusing. Perhaps a message like "The tracks lead inside" or "The tracks lead into the water" would help provide some clarity. This makes tracking especially difficult in regions with lots of water (although, maybe that is intended for balancing).

4) I'm not clear how tracking works when someone takes a portal or beacon or otherwise dramatically teleports to a new location. Does that count as the trail ending? I often find tracks that just seem to end, and I'm not clear if I'm doing something wrong or if someone died or if they teleported away.

Generally I like tracking and think it's interesting. It certainly means you can get in touch with another character quickly, and I like the idea of a little wrinkle thrown into the hiding gameplay.

Suggestion/Issue:

For me one of the confusing things has been this scenario:
Pick up "Print Set 4"
Follow it to a square where no one is at, assume the person is gone/dead
Turn off that tracking
The tracking dropdown now lists "Print Set 1" and "Print Set 2"
Which one of those is the original Print Set 4 that I already exhausted ?

I feel like the prints need some sort of identifier beyond the number. "Huge, smoking footprints" for an IB, "sneaker tracks" for a mortal wearing sneakers? I don't know, just something to help it be more legible. I'd love a dropdown that said:

Prints - Large, Smoking, Ski Boots (an IB wearing Ski Boots)
Prints (faded) - Boots (a mortal wearing boots from longer than 8 hours ago)
Prints (faded) - Bare Feet (an eternal solider with no shoes on from longer than 8 hours ago)
Prints - Large, Beastly (a Revenant in Wolf Form)

I know this is a big tree of descriptors that may overwhelm this little skill. If not character-specific as above, just *something* that gives each set an identifier beyond a number (which resets within a new list)

Thank you!

The track descriptions could pull directly from the characters footwear slot, with class defaults for bare-ass no-funners.

It should pull as the track is made so that careful.footwear management can be used to cover one's path.

Grakmar wrote: ↑Thu Feb 27, 2025 8:28 pm I've got a few questions:

1) I don't understand the faded vs not distinction. Is it just how old the tracks are, or something more?

It's inside vs outside. Or unless i am quite MISLEAD.

Come ta think it, time might be a factor... But i swear every time I find an unfaded track its to a roughsleeper. Every time i find a faded track the target is indoors. I guess it could be confirmation biasisess. Did find one person outside through a faded track today, but the trail lead me through a purg portal and into the sewers.

***Correction. I was mislead.
Its totally just freshness (how recent). Inside/outside dont mater (vide infra, more playtesting)

A quick note: It would be nice to be able to ignore the trails of your factionmates.

Maybe call them "Familiar" tracks if they are same faction?

Id also like to note tracking seems to occasionally keep tracks of dead people that end abruptly (with no message). Most notably i found a set like this that led me through the centrum bay door and into the underground tunnels - only to find a corpse surrounded by crabs.

Another buggy thing: if the target is found inside a building, often after finding them. You can observe a set of tracks inside the building with the target - that once followed shows no tracking visuals and goes nowhere. This trail will offen persist after the target is eliminated.