Mental Status Bar

[Zenthi]

Just bought the game yesterday and just want to say to the developers that you are doing a fantastic job. Worth buying.

One thing I would love to hear, is all you other "Survivalists" input on a "mental status bar".

I would like too have that, to make the game a little bit harder and more realistic.

How I think it would work:

It would work the same as the other bars such as Cold, Hunger ect.

Decrease:

The Mental bar would decrease if you find items of more "value", get me right here. Such as Sewing kit and Repair tool. This "Nice to have" things...

Perhaps it would decrease in a sunny day and when your overall status on the other bars are low

Increase

The mental status would increase if you are staying out late at night, running around in a storm and not finding any "nice to have" items..

Give me your thoughts on this one!

Best regards

/Zenthi

EDIT:

Oh!

And I would also like to see a Flashlight and batteries in the game further on!..

Didn't want to create a new post just for that...

[macgyver77]

I was thinking about this as well, maybe a stat called "Spirit", so you should try and keep your spirits up.

I just got my third food poisoning in two days (from the same deer, so maybe he was sick), and resting that off I though that the character would be bored out of her mind. Maybe we could find some books, a deck of cards, a chess board...

Finding dead bodies would bring your spirits down, and searching them for stuff would also. But if you'd find something good, your spirits would go up again. This stat shouldn't be all that important, but for example when you spend several days indoors eating the same food every day, wind howling outside and nothing to do... The human condition is not just physical.

[Sioux]

Although a good sugestion, I'm not sure if I would like to take care of my guys mental health. I mean, for my own immersion I can understand that I have to take care of his fysical wellbeing. To me, when I play, it's almost like I am the survivor and its me thats in that snowstorm. But if my guy starts freeking out ingame because of his mental health, while I have high spirits at that moment IRL; then this would create a distance between myself and the character, I think.

I tell you, this game messes enough with my IRL mental health, lol. I truly feel desperate when lost in a blizzard and adrenaline flows though me during a wolf attack. I'd rather have these emotions translated to me by the situation, then by a progessbar ingame.

[macgyver77]

I understand your point, and that's why I said it shouldn't be too important. Maybe it could be worked out not as a separate stat, but still make boredom and loneliness affect you somehow. I'd just like to see more books in games, and for some other reason than just to add lore.

[Sioux]

I understand your point, and that's why I said it shouldn't be too important. Maybe it could be worked out not as a separate stat, but still make boredom and loneliness affect you somehow. I'd just like to see more books in games, and for some other reason than just to add lore.

Thats a good point. I would also like to see books and such, It would be nice if those items would have some sort of effect on the player; like a moraleboost which gives more stamina, or knowledge which reduces crafting time. I could live with that.

[Kelbert]

That dead corpse upstairs in the office always creeps me out.

You could give edible items "taste" values that would affect morale. So if you have been eating nothing but deer boogers all week, a nice candy bar would do wonders.

[levism84]

That dead corpse upstairs in the office always creeps me out.

You could give edible items "taste" values that would affect morale. So if you have been eating nothing but deer boogers all week, a nice candy bar would do wonders.

As a pen and paper gamer, it is hard for me not to constantly look at d20 Apocalypse for inspiration. You just described "cheer food" which had lesser nutritional value but higher trade value because it DID make you feel wonderful. It included candy bars, soda, beer, and any other luxury food no longer available in the world (can't normally be reproduced by the player). I believe it gave you a morale bonus (albeit a small one) for 12 hours after eating it.

Obviously, this is a purely mental bonus because when I eat a full-sized candy bar, I normally just get a sugar rush. However, if I am having a bad day, even a little fun-sized chocolate treat can make the rest of the time at work or school seem a little more sweet.

I know they are talking about introducing Willpower at some point, so I would be interested in basing something off of that.

[TarjaS]

You could give edible items "taste" values that would affect morale. So if you have been eating nothing but deer boogers all week, a nice candy bar would do wonders.

Good idea. I've currently got 3 cans of dog food, one of them in under 30% condition. That wouldn't improve anybody's mood, but a nice candy bar after washing down the dog food with plenty of water certainly would.

[Sunago]

If one would look at a RL situation then yes, keeping an eye on your mental health is a good idea. I'm sorta stealing this from the zombie-survival guide (feel free to shoot me) but in there they did say that if you are looking at a situation that lasts more than a week then you should introduce downtime for yourself...and anyone who is with you. Because it's actually dangerous to constantly be focused on survival alone and not allowing your mind some rest will just get you killed faster.

However, we aren't in a RL situation here and there is more than just realism to look at. you have gameplay value to look at too. If they would introduce another bar they would have to balance out with the rest as well and for us gamers it's another thing to keep an eye on. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, just saying that's the case.

Furthermore it stretches the gui a bit more, causing either everything becoming smaller to make it fit or smushing it in somehow in another way. You then have to look at work vs reward. How much work will it take to implement and how much of a joy will it give us if it's added. If you have things that take less or equal the work and give more 'reward' then those will be added first....causing things like this to most likely be shoved to the end of the line and eventually forgotten or discarded.

A better idea was the one mentioned before. Certain things that give bonuses because they 'boost morale'. or something like that. It's easier to put in, doesn't take up an extra bar and everyone loves hunts for little extra's. Plus then you get the decision 'do I get the bonus or the more filling food' kind of thing which adds another layer. In other words, less work for a greater reward.

Hell, it doesn't even have to be morale or mental health. Maybe Candy bars and soda's will give you a sugar rush that decreases the drop in your fatique for a few hours.

[levism84]

Or, because you have higher spirits, you gain a small bonus when foraging for wood and the like.

[Fearsclave]

I'd be inclined to call the mental health bar "Morale"; keeps with the realistic tone of the game.

And yes, morale is hugely important in survival situations.

There've been some hints that Will will be carrying a photo of his girlfriend and kids; maybe the devs have a morale mechanism planned for Story mode?

[robdoar]

I'd be inclined to call the mental health bar "Morale"; keeps with the realistic tone of the game.

And yes, morale is hugely important in survival situations.

There've been some hints that Will will be carrying a photo of his girlfriend and kids; maybe the devs have a morale mechanism planned for Story mode?

That will be captured in the Willpower aspect of the game.

The most important thing in a survival situation isn't water or shelter, but a positive mental outlook.

[levism84]

Logotherapy for the win!