Alarm Clock and Compass

[Potarus]

2 new items that would add a bit of realism.

Alarm Clock, a common item in houses and cabins, is required to set an exact amount of time to sleep like you can now. Without it your character will sleep for a set amount of time depending on how tired you are, eg if you sleep while you are exhuasted you will likely wake up fully rested or almost fully rested. When you have an alarm clock you can set how many hours you want to sleep exactly like you can now. Can also be used to know exactly what time it is.

Compass self explanitory, points north.

[nicko]

the magnetic shift broke compasses (afaik) and how would an alarm clock work with no power unless you found a new battery? and further most why do you want an alarm clock, not like you have an appointment to go to or something? got to get up and go to work in 6 hours else my boss will sack me!

[MueckE]

For a compass, just drop something on the ground. (game bug?)

I can see how an alarmclock could be useful, like the idea.

@nicko Archiologists have recently discovered that ancient civilizations, like their grandparents once were part of, actually used mechanic clocks.

[EternityTide]

1 hour ago, nicko said:

 how would an alarm clock work with no power unless you found a new battery? 

I once stayed in a B&B where all the rooms had honest to goodness, 1940s style mechanical alarm clocks, the kind that you wound up every evening before bed. It ticked like the blazes all through the night, but once you get used to the sound, it can be quite restful. That is, of course, until the clock reaches 7am.

Mechanical clocks have existed for well over a thousand years, but the transition to electric clocks is relatively recent. In a remote place like north Canada, something that doesn't rely upon batteries, which need frequent replacement, would be invaluable.

[MueckE]

lol eternatytide

are you related to nicko?

[Dirmagnos]

3 hours ago, nicko said:

the magnetic shift broke compasses (afaik) and how would an alarm clock work with no power unless you found a new battery? and further most why do you want an alarm clock, not like you have an appointment to go to or something? got to get up and go to work in 6 hours else my boss will sack me!

Again with this. How exactly did Event broke compasses, can you explain that to me ? Compass points along magnetic field lines, for it to completely stop working those lines must be either extremely weak or gone altogether, as no more Earths magnetic field. Its such a simple piece of hardware that anything less wont do. Sure, right now there is a serious design flaw that makes all dropped objects pointing in the same direction, but i hope it will be fixed at some point.

And there are mechanical clocks. They have nothing to do with electricity. Alarm clock would add to immersion imo. Most people are rarely that conditioned that they can wake up or sleep for set period of time at will. It would go a long way for controlled time management, instead of just randomly sleeping in because player is tired or sick.

[EternityTide]

1 hour ago, Dirmagnos said:

Again with this. How exactly did Event broke compasses, can you explain that to me ? Compass points along magnetic field lines, for it to completely stop working those lines must be either extremely weak or gone altogether, as no more Earths magnetic field. Its such a simple piece of hardware that anything less wont do. 

We are all operating under the assumption that the geomagnetic event is a solar storm of enormous magnitude, however it could just as well be a polar reversal, which would render the Earth unprotected from solar storms.

During a reversal, the Earth's magnetic field resembles this:

Try following those magnetic field lines. with a compass.

[Ape88]

The compass would be a good idea if we knew exactly what the geomagnetic event that causes issues in our game is. However, we really don't know at this point. Like others have said, a compass would be worse than useless if we're talking a polar reversal but it could be workable if the event is solar in nature. 

However on the topic of alarm clocks, considering few of the cabins, houses, and trailers in game have fireplaces, I get the feeling that an alarm clock would be hard to find. I mean, you would think that the houses would use natural gas for cooking seeing as many of them seem to have tanks of some sort of gas near them and that we would be able to use the stoves to at least cook food and boil water if not as a source of warmth. It has become rarer to see mechanical alarm clocks anymore, though I clearly remember how annoying they were and how I would lie awake at night wishing the room was quieter so that i might be able to sleep and there would be that annoying little tick tick and they weren't perfect. Over time it didn't ring as well or it would try to go off but it wouldn't work and all we would hear is a little clink. I'm also not sure how they would be useful as the only important thing to us is how much daylight we have.

[Dirmagnos]

22 hours ago, EternityTide said:

We are all operating under the assumption that the geomagnetic event is a solar storm of enormous magnitude, however it could just as well be a polar reversal, which would render the Earth unprotected from solar storms.

During a reversal, the Earth's magnetic field resembles this:

Try following those magnetic field lines. with a compass.

This events takes few thousands years and that picture represents field state over that whole period. It would take years to have any significant effect on compass and even then magnetic lines would point somewhere, for periods of time that are measured in decades, making compass still usable. Poles move all the time.

[EternityTide]

So, the trick to forcing you to research stuff and actually get you to inform yourself is to throw you a red herring that is close enough to the truth for you to doubt your lay-knowledge, but not so advanced that you dismiss it as hokum. Interesting. I think I'll use this technique again, the next time you start stating your opinion as fact.

With regards a compass, I personally feel that they are unnecessary, but I would like Hinterland studios to fix the damned sunrise/sunset directions. The only application for compasses is in heavy fog and blizzard conditions, in both cases you should find shelter and batten down the hatches until the weather clears, rather than trying to Robert Falcon Scott your way through it.

[Gaboris]

Okay-okay you know what? You know WHAT? I'm in. I'm FREAKING IN! Give us a compass. Let's have one in the game, BUT... It'll be useless. It'll frantically change directions after a few steps and every single time the player just LOOKS at it our character'll repeat the phrase: "Just like all electronics these are also useless now."
Every. Single. TIME! No exceptions and no changes. The exact same monotonous comment every time they try to use the compass.

I'm dead serious by now.
I'm almost crying over how new guys are constantly asking for things they can't possibly get just because they don't take the time to read the basic lore of the game. So PLEASE. I'll fall to my knees and pledge my allegiance to the all mighty bear god of the valley  if that's what it takes, but please let's settle this already.

[Dirmagnos]

20 hours ago, EternityTide said:

So, the trick to forcing you to research stuff and actually get you to inform yourself is to throw you a red herring that is close enough to the truth for you to doubt your lay-knowledge, but not so advanced that you dismiss it as hokum. Interesting. I think I'll use this technique again, the next time you start stating your opinion as fact.

I have no idea what youre talking about, but keep on patting yourself on the shoulder for a well done job if it helps you to feel good.

[Dirmagnos]

15 hours ago, Gaboris said:

Okay-okay you know what? You know WHAT? I'm in. I'm FREAKING IN! Give us a compass. Let's have one in the game, BUT... It'll be useless. It'll frantically change directions after a few steps and every single time the player just LOOKS at it our character'll repeat the phrase: "Just like all electronics these are also useless now."
Every. Single. TIME! No exceptions and no changes. The exact same monotonous comment every time they try to use the compass.

I'm dead serious by now.
I'm almost crying over how new guys are constantly asking for things they can't possibly get just because they don't take the time to read the basic lore of the game. So PLEASE. I'll fall to my knees and pledge my allegiance to the all mighty bear god of the valley  if that's what it takes, but please let's settle this already.

Have you even read what was written in this thread be4 posting this ? There is absolutely no reason for compass not to work, yet some ppl keep on claiming that it would be useless with absolutely nothing to support such claim.

[alone sniper]

On 9/9/2016 at 7:18 PM, Potarus said:

Alarm Clock, a common item in houses and cabins, is required to set an exact amount of time to sleep like you can now

+ ∞ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

It is one of the best idea i have ever seen !!!!