bludz
a waffle is like a pancake with a syrup trap
Hello. I intended to make a post elsewhere, asking for PS to increment percentages on HP bars further (i.e. 12.5% instead of 13%), but I did some research and heard that the way it's done is part of the Percentage Clause and that the right place to take it would be the Policy Review forum. So I'm here to make a case for adding a decimal place to percentages.
"HP Percentage Clause - Whenever your opponent's pokemon's HP changes, you are told its percentage HP, rounded up to the nearest whole number, and then replacing 100% with 99% if it is not at maximum."
- Source (if there's a newer one I'm sorry but I looked and could not find it)
The idea of showing percentages rather than actual HP is that it prevents players from discovering their opponents' EV spreads easily, while still giving a better indicator than how much the HP bar moves (like in game mechanics). Adding a decimal place to the percentage value isn't going change much in this regard - this amount of extra information does not amount to a new variable which could allow you to discern EV spreads. This means there isn't really much of a downside, like giving too much information.
On the other hand, adding a decimal place could be very helpful for decision making. The time this comes most into play is with hazard damage. If PS shows an opponents' Pokemon as having 13% HP, there is no strong indication whether it can still live another switch-in to Stealth Rock or Spikes. However if its shown as 12.7% you will know it can switch in one more time. This still leaves the limitation of 12.5% being ambiguous, but you have a much stronger indication most of the time.
Given the nature of how the game is approached on PS! - damage calcs, percentage shown already - I don't see this as breaking from the norm very much. I could envision a counter-argument that claims some level of uncertainty is part of the game - but then why do we show percentages in the first place? Where is the line drawn? Personally I think having more granulated information just allows the players to make more informed decisions and can improve the level of play.
As a final point, I think 2 decimal places is not really necessary. Despite resistance to Stealth Rock doling out 6.25%, the information of 6.2% or 6.3% can qualify a strong guess (much moreso than 6%), especially if we know how the numbers will round.
Anyway, I'm curious to hear the thoughts of others on this.
"HP Percentage Clause - Whenever your opponent's pokemon's HP changes, you are told its percentage HP, rounded up to the nearest whole number, and then replacing 100% with 99% if it is not at maximum."
- Source (if there's a newer one I'm sorry but I looked and could not find it)
The idea of showing percentages rather than actual HP is that it prevents players from discovering their opponents' EV spreads easily, while still giving a better indicator than how much the HP bar moves (like in game mechanics). Adding a decimal place to the percentage value isn't going change much in this regard - this amount of extra information does not amount to a new variable which could allow you to discern EV spreads. This means there isn't really much of a downside, like giving too much information.
On the other hand, adding a decimal place could be very helpful for decision making. The time this comes most into play is with hazard damage. If PS shows an opponents' Pokemon as having 13% HP, there is no strong indication whether it can still live another switch-in to Stealth Rock or Spikes. However if its shown as 12.7% you will know it can switch in one more time. This still leaves the limitation of 12.5% being ambiguous, but you have a much stronger indication most of the time.
Given the nature of how the game is approached on PS! - damage calcs, percentage shown already - I don't see this as breaking from the norm very much. I could envision a counter-argument that claims some level of uncertainty is part of the game - but then why do we show percentages in the first place? Where is the line drawn? Personally I think having more granulated information just allows the players to make more informed decisions and can improve the level of play.
As a final point, I think 2 decimal places is not really necessary. Despite resistance to Stealth Rock doling out 6.25%, the information of 6.2% or 6.3% can qualify a strong guess (much moreso than 6%), especially if we know how the numbers will round.
Anyway, I'm curious to hear the thoughts of others on this.