Detection text is still using the old "needs 3 Intel"

[Nomad]

When choosing which Captain to get info on, they start at 33% (no Intel) and the first piece gives 66%.
The second piece makes the Captain 100% detected.

Rackets start at 33% too when given the option to gain more Intel.

I assume this is just a quick workaround to change from requiring 3 down to 2.

[Daithi]

That's how it should work, as you guessed, a quick way to adjust intel. May keep it though, as we've talked about the possibility of a longer game option, and setting starting intel to 0% would be a really easy way to add this.

[Nomad]

Re: Longer game option.
Yeah... good plan.

We start at 33% intel on everyone because we know who the players are.  =)  That's why we're going out there to chase them down.

[ushas]

Why is knowing initially their names desired?
Anyway, it feels somehow confusing starting at 33% detection...

What about:
   Detection =  int( 100 x [ Number_Of_Pieces_Collected / Number_Of_Pieces_Needed ] ) %,
where Number_Of_Pieces_Needed is a constant set by the game configuration at start.
If 2 pieces needed, then progression goes: 0%, 50%, 100%
If 3 pieces needed, then progression goes: 0%, 33%, 66%, 100%
If 4 pieces needed, then progression goes: 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%
etc...

Then each personal information has a threshold above which unlocks.
It only requires that the amount of personal info-pieces is at least the same as the max possible number of intel-pieces.

Besides, is there any reason why it has to be so unified? Seems only name & place has gameplay meaning.
If the rest is fluff... why not to give guys a little bit of personality?

Revealed info can be of all sorts (not always the same type, eg. eyes). The whole thing to be a string (aka "Smaragdine eyes" instead of eyes: "Smaragdine"). To make it less predictable, there can be an array of strings (personal tidbits) available on each threshold. Then content of thresholds for each person is semi-randomly assigned at the start. -> only if easy to do.

For example, in one of the games where the requirement is set at 3 intel pieces:
  1st lieutenant might have gradually revealed the following info:
      1. name (>15%), haircut (>30%),
      2. distance between 1st cervical and 5th lumbar vertebrae in cm (>45%), favorite socks puppet (>60%),
      3. number of fingers (>75%), the last known location/district (>90%)
  2nd lieutenant: 
      1. name (>15%), self-assigned nickname (>30%),
      2. amount of sugar he puts into his coffee in grams (>45%), favorite carpet pattern (>60%),
      3. number of facebook friends (>75%), the last known location (>90%)

Stuff that makes hating or not hating easier (emotion->remembers). Who wouldn't want to kill sugar with coffee drinkers?

Additionally, there are two zones of information: invariable (say everything <=70%) and variable (>70%).
So once you find all the stuff below 70%, it stays. People don't change their biometrics or habits so easily, after all. However, intel between 100% and 70% is subjected to deterioration (but won't go under 70%). If you don't act fast (eg. within 2 days), the district isn't valid (not listed on city/gangscapes) anymore. Then you need to hunt that last piece of intel again. And, yeah, if you're stupid to let it drop way down to 70%, next time the 2nd lieutenant will have more facebook friends. So watch out! (i.e. would be neat to have info in the variable zone countable and dec/increase with each iteration)

And, least but not last, let me express criticism that showing detection percentages is very inhuman!  (and redundant)
Hide those % numbers from interrogation and gangscape -> suddenly players are paying attention to names of enemies.

So, what do you think?

[Daithi]

It would be a good way to inject a little humour into the game

Concerning detection %, the current way of starting at 33% detection offers a one line solution to increasing the amount of intel needed to complete, which has a certain beauty and merit...

[ushas]

Concerning detection %, the current way of starting at 33% detection offers a one line solution to increasing the amount of intel needed to complete

1 intel piece needed --> starts at 66% progression
2 intel piece needed --> starts at 33% progression
3 intel piece needed --> starts at 0% progression
4 intel piece needed --> starts at -33% progression

Eventually:
Detection =  int( 100 x [ Number_Of_Pieces_Collected / Number_Of_Pieces_Needed ] ) %
Now it always shows starting at 0% progression regardless the amount of intel needed to complete.

[Daithi]

Will keep in mind. Unfortunately, the solution you are suggesting wouldn't just be a matter of adding one line of code. I really wish it was That would work for displaying the detection progress, but there's more to finding the gang leaders than displaying progress.

[ushas]

Have I ever said differetly? The point is exactly only about how it's easy to display the detection progress to players in different form. Not more not less. They don't care about magical constants acrobacy under the hood. The easiest is not display % at all, of course...

[Daithi]

My mistake. I was talking (and thinking) about setting the initial amount of intel required to find.

[ushas]

Can imagine you have a lot to consider and, naturally, I can't know the code.

In case 3 is hardcoded and you track number of pieces uncovered (thus may start at 1), it can be inferred from the game settings. So for a standard game both intel needed as well collected are used 1 point lower when displaying, for a long game unchanged.