In order for you to get the most out of Godzilla, you don't need to be a pro coder.  However, if your goal is to use Godzilla to augment your offense, you'll need to understand the basics of how it works, and know a little bit about what I call "tracker theory".

 

 

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Tracker Theory

 

The core principle of truly accurate affliction tracking is the use of probabilities.  The best way to describe this concept is by example.

Let's say, for example, that you're a Serpent, and you afflict your opponent with two afflictions, asthma and paralysis.
 

You prick Manu twice in rapid succession with your dirk.                      

    : [ast] [par]                                                             

 

Obviously, if they at kelp, you now know that they have only paralysis.  If they ate bloodroot, they only have asthma.

However, what if you afflict your opponent with asthma and clumsiness:

 

You prick Manu twice in rapid succession with your dirk.                      

    : [ast] [clu]                                                             

Now, if they eat a kelp, uncertainy has been created.  Without further information, you (and Godzilla) now know that there's exactly a 50% chance that they have either asthma or clumsiness.  The same exact thing would occur if they used several other curing methods (tree, shrugging, etc) that could cure either of the two afflictions.

So, in this example, you would see:

 

Manu eats a piece of kelp.                                                    

    : ast-50% clu-50%                                                         

 

At this point, if you used Godzilla's gz.prob( ) function to retrieve data on either asthma or clumsiness, you'd get '50' back from either.

Now lets say, for example, that your opponent smokes a pipe.  Needless to say, if they are smoking a pipe, we (and Godzilla) now know where that kelp "went" (towards curing asthma), thus we can now re-distribute the uncertainty from asthma back to other cures that it could have gone to, at the time it was attained.  In this (very simple) example, we would know that our opponent has a 100% chance of having clumsiness, and a 0% chance of having asthma. (note that 100% sure afflictions are displayed with white brackets)
 

Manu takes a long drag off his pipe.                                          

[GZ]: asthma removed.                                                         

     : [clu]                                                                  

 

 

Here's another example, which is a little more complex:

 

You rub some kalmia on an ornate steel rapier.                                
You rub some xentio on an ornate steel rapier.                                
Lightning-quick, you jab Daloc with an ornate steel rapier. (kalmia)          
Lightning-quick, you jab Daloc with an ornate steel rapier. (xentio)          
5000h, 4000m, 12262e, 13600w e-                                               

    : [ast] [clu]                                                             

                                                                              

Daloc eats a piece of kelp.                                                   

    : ast-50% clu-50%                                                         

                                                                              

                                                                              

You rub some vernalius on an ornate steel rapier.                             
You rub some curare on an ornate steel rapier.                                
Lightning-quick, you jab Daloc with an ornate steel rapier. (curare)          
Horror overcomes Daloc's face as his body stiffens into paralysis.            
Lightning-quick, you jab Daloc with an ornate steel rapier. (vernalius)       
5000h, 4000m, 12262e, 13600w e-                                               

    : [par] [wea] ast-50% clu-50%                                             

                                                                              

Daloc eats a bloodroot leaf.                                                  

    : [wea] ast-50% clu-50%                                                   

                                                                              

Daloc eats a piece of kelp.                                                   

    : wea-50% ast-25% clu-25%                                                 

                                                                              
                                                                              

Daloc eats a piece of kelp.                                                   

    : < fully cured >                                                         

 

 

Now, those numbers might seem confusing at first, but here's how it works:

It's all pretty clear up until after that bloodroot is eaten.  We know at that point, for sure, that they have weariness (because we just afflicted it), and we know from directly above it that they have a 50/50 chance of either asthma or clumsiness.

Now, another kelp is eaten.  It is key, at this point, to understand the difference between probablility, and actual afflictions.  Directly after that bloodroot is eaten, we are tracking probabilities of 3 afflictions, however, we actually know for sure that they only have two.  They either have one of the two combinations of afflictions:

1)   weariness and asthma

2)  weariness and clumsiness

 

Thus, when a kelp is eaten - we know that since they only have two afflictions, there's a 50% chance that it cured weariness.  The other possibility is that kelp cured the other affliction, whether it be clumsiness or asthma.  The 50% chance is divided evenly among the other two possibilities, resulting in probabilities of  50/25/25.

 

After the last kelp, simple logic tell you that they had to have cured all afflictions, because they started with four afflictions, and ate four cures.  Godzilla arrives at the same conclusion.

Uncertainty

After a single fight using Godzilla, you'll notice that things can get quite complex.  Indeed, Achaean combat is quite complex.  It's important to realize that with a little practice, you'll get quite comfortable reading Godzilla's default output (or whatever you choose to use).

One of the things that is likely to confuse someone new to affliction tracking theory is the concept of actual uncertainty.  Consider the following example:

1) You afflict a target with two afflictions:  asthma and darkshade.

 

2) Your opponent touches tree tattoo. ( odds are now 50/50 )

 

3) You afflict your target with asthma and clumsiness. 

 

In order of asthma / clumsiness / darkshade, odds are now at 100/100/50.  Did the initial tree tattoo cure asthma?  If so, then darkshade would still be afflicted.  If the initial tree cured darkshade, then darkshade would be cured.  Either way, asthma ends up at 100%.  Additional symptoms (a darkshade tic, expert diagnose, smoking) may become available, but without them, you simply cannot know exactly what happened.  At this point, it is possible that your opponent now has 3 afflictions.  It is also possible that he has 2.  This is an example of uncertainty, and it must be accepted as a basic reality of not just tracking theory, but of Achaean combat itself.
 

Some uncertainty is also generated from passive healing.  While it's relatively easy to track affliction probabilities, it is generally quite difficult (and in some cases, impossible) to know exactly when passive curing heals an affliction.  Thus, if an opponent using Panacea has 2 afflictions - you know that at any time between now and 10 seconds later that he has either 1 or 2 afflictions.  Indeed, you know that after exactly 10 seconds, he or she has exactly 1 affliction, and that in 20 seconds he is guaranteed to have 0.  However, during the interrum period, there is uncertainty.  For an opponent with one affliction, the probability that it will be cured by Panacea, for example, increases by 10% per second.  In other words, after 3 seconds, there is a 30% chance that the affliction was cured.  It is important to understand, however, that an opponent either has or does not actually have the affliction.  Since you cannot possibly know (without additional information) if the cure occurred - when making strategic decisions, the best thing you can do is use the exact mathematical probabilities to your advantage.  Godzilla provides these for you.

 

 

 

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