Trees falling "live" during blizards hazard

[Loboloco]

Walking between zones I got caught in a storm. Even though you can hear branches and trees falling...you never see them. Can not this be another peril to surviving storms. Falling branches or the occasional tree toppling over in you path as you try and get to safety. Might not be to hard to implement I think. 

 

What do you folks think?

 

[alone sniper]

Good idea!!
+1!

[Raf109]

Very interesting, but how exactly would it impact the gameplay?

[Wastelander]

2 minutes ago, Raf109 said:

Very interesting, but how exactly would it impact the gameplay?

It would mostly look cool. Then there's also the possibility of getting hit by something, although I'd make that highly unlikely and not an insta-death because that would suck.

[Raf109]

Just now, Wastelander said:

Then there's also the possibility of getting hit by something, although I'd make that highly unlikely and not an insta-death because that would suck.

Yeah, I would imagine.

It would be nice to walk outside your house after a blizzard to find a couple of fallen trees here and there.

[Loboloco]

8 minutes ago, Raf109 said:

Very interesting, but how exactly would it impact the gameplay?

I think a branch falling on your head or landing at your feet could have consequences. Vision issues or a severe "sprain" of sorts...sprained wrists while avoiding the tree branch etc etc. Another injury possibility . Heck even if it doesn't injure you..a cedar...birch....or other falling in front of you would add to the drama.

[Wastelander]

Just now, Raf109 said:

Yeah, I would imagine.

It would be nice to walk outside your house after a blizzard to find a couple of fallen trees here and there.

Well, birches mostly. Coniferous trees root pretty deep so they're hard to uproot. However, you'd eventually run out of birches if that was implemented.

[Loboloco]

4 minutes ago, Wastelander said:

Well, birches mostly. Coniferous trees root pretty deep so they're hard to uproot. However, you'd eventually run out of birches if that was implemented.

.....I think an occasional falling tree shouldn't impact tree population. Have you counted the trees in the game? Branches "fall" around us all the time "off screen" and yet the trees seem well populated with them.

[Wastelander]

Just now, Loboloco said:

.....I think an occasional falling tree shouldn't impact tree population. Have you counted the trees in the game? Branches "fall" around us all the time "off screen" and yet the trees seem well populated with them.

Well, if they don't "spawn" in my immediate area it doesn't break immersion I suppose. 

[Raf109]

4 minutes ago, Loboloco said:

.....I think an occasional falling tree shouldn't impact tree population. Have you counted the trees in the game? Branches "fall" around us all the time "off screen" and yet the trees seem well populated with them.

 

It's not like we harvest wood from trees at this state of the game anyways.

[Loboloco]

1 minute ago, Wastelander said:

Well, if they don't "spawn" in my immediate area it doesn't break immersion I suppose. 

Exactly. the game can keep the tree population to a certain amount and spawn a tree or branch set to fall only in storms and out of sight as we get closer to the designated space.

[Hiemalis]

16 hours ago, Wastelander said:

It would mostly look cool. Then there's also the possibility of getting hit by something, although I'd make that highly unlikely and not an insta-death because that would suck.

Can you imagine? Absolutely lost in the middle of a blizzard, being chased by a wolf, and then a branch falls and dislocates your shoulder, adding insult to the injury (or would it be the other way around?). I love it. We're a bunch of masochists, aren't we?

Ideally, I'd prefer the harvestable wood pieces to degrade over time, starting as a full fallen tree, deteriorating to several limbs and assorted pieces, then branches, then sticks. The game already tracks the location of each single stick. I don't know how much it would impact to track each item's deterioration state as well.

15 hours ago, Wastelander said:

Well, birches mostly. Coniferous trees root pretty deep so they're hard to uproot. However, you'd eventually run out of birches if that was implemented.

Since it would be a rare occurrence, I don't think the game needs to remove a tree whenever it spawns a fallen one. It's not like we would notice anyway, as long as it happens in a sufficiently tree-populated area.

[Wastelander]

^ Yes, all of the above.

[cekivi]

5 hours ago, Wastelander said:

Well, birches mostly. Coniferous trees root pretty deep so they're hard to uproot. However, you'd eventually run out of birches if that was implemented.

Depends on the species. Some coniferous trees have very shallow root systems (like black spruce). Since we're dealing with firs and cedar though you're probably right.

[danicusrex]

19 hours ago, cekivi said:

Depends on the species. Some coniferous trees have very shallow root systems (like black spruce). Since we're dealing with firs and cedar though you're probably right.

We just had a windstorm here in NH that brought down multiple 100 year old conifers near my house (I think they're white pines). It's rare to have them come down like that, but not unheard of. 

 

[MarrowStone]

Good idea, i used to be afraid of the widowmakers and deadfalls when i first played the game because i thought they "wood" fall on me.

One thing though, we cant just make the tree falling event an rng. That would make the event sadistic and unfair. Certain conditions and warnings would have to be in place to give the player a chance to avoid the hazard. 

Imo these would be maybe the player commenting on how unsteady they seem, or loud cracking noises before it happens, and make the trees not be healthy and notibly dangerous, like the deadfalls.

[Dirmagnos]

No, just no. First of all it would cause all trees in game to fall eventually in long games, returning to same premises, all sound and nothing falling(eg whats the point). Not to mention breaking whole premises of fallen branches and occasional logs(if there are no standing trees, then from where all those branches are coming from). And second, it would require ton of additional scripting and system resources to process all that - where what falls under what angle and do it do it not block any critical area(imagine it falling in front of only exit of house youre in), etc.

[MarrowStone]

1 hour ago, Dirmagnos said:

No, just no. First of all it would cause all trees in game to fall eventually in long games, returning to same premises, all sound and nothing falling(eg whats the point). Not to mention breaking whole premises of fallen branches and occasional logs(if there are no standing trees, then from where all those branches are coming from). And second, it would require ton of additional scripting and system resources to process all that - where what falls under what angle and do it do it not block any critical area(imagine it falling in front of only exit of house youre in), etc.

Thats why i think it should be only certain trees, like those deadfalls.

[SteveP]

Widow-makers! A very real hazard in any forest especially the BC or Canadian Boreal forest. It's a relatively simple addition that could add to the random hazard factor to make end game play less rote.