Freezing food / food condition

[Superego]

Food condition drops as you play - everyone knows that. But given the food currently in the game and the elements at play - the cold climate - food should really last a lot longer.

Canned food can last for years. As such I don't feel it's realistic for things such as the cans of pork & beans to degrade at all in the game. One exception would be if you've smashed the can to access it's contents without a can opener, or the can is only partially consumed once opened with a can opener - essentially once the can has been opened, then that particular item of food can start to degrade, and at a fairly quick rate too!

As for renewably (or almost renewable) food - venison and wolf meat - this too could last indefinitely. At 0°F (-18°C) or lower, steaks will keep for six to twelve months without losing much favour, and will atually keep indefinitely but the longer they're frozen the less tasty they'll be. And the temperatur eoutside in the game is often below freezing. Perhaps there could be an option to wrap venison or wolf meat in newspaper and then bury it in the snow - you'd need to mark or remember were you bury it. This would then cause the meat to freeze and keep until you need to retrieve and cook it. Maybe there could be a chance of a wolf finding it and eating it before you can retrieve it, though I'm not sure how much odor frozen meat would give off for a wolf to locate it via smell. Bottled water should also last indefinitely - though I've not noticed the condition of water in the game to drop below 100%.

It's already a challenge to find enough food to stay alive while contending with the elements and dangers of the wilderness, only for that food to possibly start in a poor condition and then be constantly degrading as the hours go by. It's not like the food in the game is highly perishable. And even for the food that is (the scavengeable meat), freezing could help.

Thoughts?

[madrepityu]

You're right about the cold climate and food lifetime.

However, the food situation are not as bad, imho. There are plenty of food out there. You don't have to own them, all at once. Just step by step.

If my venison would degrade slower if I keep it outside in the snow, now that would be awesome. And Fluffy could steal it sometimes. Maybe more Fluffys would show up around the Camp Office, if the player do it frequently.

[oversoul]

It's an obvious effort by the dev team to maintain the brutal survival difficulty, which some folks enjoy. But the life of canned goods in the game is simply false. Also, as for the game meat, I'm pretty sure you could hang it outside and it would last a long while.

Convince me how my slab of venison ribs would thaw and spoil if hung in the shade (say, against the north side of any structure in a Northern Hemisphere winter) and the outside air temp never peaked above 0C?

As a general rule, unopened home canned foods have a shelf life of one year and should be used before 2 years. Commercially canned foods should retain their best quality until the expiration code date on the can. This date is usually 2-5 years from the manufacture date. High acid foods usually have a shorter shelf life than low acid foods. For emergency storage, commercially canned foods in metal or jars will remain safe to consume as long as the seal has not been broken. (That is not to say the quality will be retained for that long). Foods “canned” in metal-Mylar®-type pouches will also have a best-if-used by date on them. The longest shelf life tested of this type of packaging has been 8-10 years (personal communication U.S. Military MRE’s). Therefore, storage for longer than 10 years is not recommended.

http://extension.usu.edu/foodstorage/htm/canned-goods

[dedevache]

Hi survivors! Hi developpers!

First : I love that game so much!!! Finally a game where survive takes all his real sense! No zombies or infected stuff.... a paradise in hell.

I also thought to the food conservation, particularly meat, that should be enhanced by stocking it outside.

First, I have tested it by:

- taking 3x 1kg venison at the same condition

and keeping:

- one in a cabinet of the Camp Office of ML, where it not freezing usually because of regular fires in it;

- one in a drawer of a fishing cabin (which is an opened space so a cold one, until you do not start a fire in it!);

- one outside, (next to the entrence of the cabin);

RESULT after 3 days: no difference in meat condition.... WEIRD!

After that I said: Hummmm... ok. (!), but finally I went there and I see that I'm alone!

I like the other idea I have read on this topic like burrying it and probability of steal by animals (wolves, bears or even crows..)

Stocking food in fishing cabins or Stocking food in the cars (maybe the ones in the shade to be more realistic) could improve conservation too, like a big fridge on wheels!

We could also have to built a little pantry for exemple, using "reclaimed wood" and "scrap metal".

I also strongly agree with the fact that canned food should last longer until it is not opened.

Moreover, bad condition food should have less calories and more risks to poison players, something like from 50% poison risk could start and increase with remaining degradation.

Think you to read and examine this post!

[Lamoi]

Definately storing raw meat outside in the snow should reduce its degrade time by at least 75% !!