Throwing knifes

[Temper225]

A new mechanic to the game that I think would be interesting , would love to see some opinions.

[Trandor]

Wouldn't be for me, I'd prefer a bow or crossbow. Ninja-ing wolves... not my style.

[autonomous]

buy some throwing knives from amazon for 20 bucks and go in your back yard and practice till you can reliably get the pointy end to stick. Now imagine that you got it to stick in a wolf who is angry at you because throwing knifes aren't an effective way to kill game. He might die of infection in a week but your going to get eaten first. A spear or bow would be better.

[EternityTide]

^ this.

I have mentioned a bayonet-style setup with the rifle and hunting knife before, as this would be useful in close combat.

Crossbows would make sense since some hunters/trappers prefer them due to the silent nature of the crossbow versus the gun.

[a-z-booka]

buy some throwing knives [..] and go in your back yard and practice [..] A spear or bow would be better.

[..] a bayonet-style setup with the rifle and hunting knife [..] useful in close combat. Crossbows would make sense since some hunters/trappers prefer them due the silent nature [..]

I absolutely agree.

[elloco999]

I don't like the idea of throwing knives myself. And I doubt you could throw a knife hard enough to do much damage to a wolf or deer, much less kill it.

Nor do I like the bayonet idea. It just about impossible to fasten a knife to a rifle that has no mount for such an accessory. It would be hard to just fasten it in such a way that you don't hit it when you shoot with the rifle while still protruding enough to be able to use it as a weapon. And when you use it as a weapon, the forces applied to it will be huge. You just can't improvise a secure way of mounting a knife to a weapon. Using duck tape isn't going to work. Finally, it would mess up the guns balance.

I do think it should be possible to use the knife and hatchet as defensive weapons when attacked. And I also like the idea of bows and or crossbows.

[EternityTide]

FYI, archery is nowhere near as easy as it looks. And their is no way that a traditional bow that has been left out in that kind of cold would survive, it would become too brittle. Plus, who says the draw weight of the bow will be right for Will Mackenzie?

It might be a 20lb bow and he'd snap it, or it might be an 8olb bow and he wouldn't be able to draw it.

and nevermind whether he'll be able to find the correct length arrows for the bow. Manufacturing arrows is difficult as hell as well, you need specialist tools to make decent ones that fly straight.

[SirGregory]

Concidering the guy can barly start a fire with matches, tinder and wood... I don't think he has the mental capacity to throw a knife to save his life, even is he is given a map and a flash light he still couldn't find his as in the dark.

[elloco999]

FYI, archery is nowhere near as easy as it looks. And their is no way that a traditional bow that has been left out in that kind of cold would survive, it would become too brittle. Plus, who says the draw weight of the bow will be right for Will Mackenzie?

It might be a 20lb bow and he'd snap it, or it might be an 8olb bow and he wouldn't be able to draw it.

and nevermind whether he'll be able to find the correct length arrows for the bow. Manufacturing arrows is difficult as hell as well, you need specialist tools to make decent ones that fly straight.

I have actually shot bows and arrows before, so yeah I know it's not very easy. But hitting a deer with a hunting rifle is also something you need to learn how to do first... For gameplay reasons we could assume the character has at least some proficiency with shooting a bow, just like he's able to shoot the rifle.

Would a bow that's been left inside a cabin also get brittle that fast?

[SirGregory]

EXACLT

[EternityTide]

Firing a rifle and shooting a bow are two different skillsets. With a rifle, it's much more simple than a bow. Plus, if you haven't noticed, the interior temperature of most cabins is around +2 to -3. Most experts agree that a bow should be stored between 10 and 20 degrees Celsius, otherwise they lose their flex and elasticity, and the bowstring will also degenerate.

[elloco999]

I never said they were the same skill or that they are of equal difficulty. Just that for gameplay purposes we could assume that Will knows how to shoot a bow as well...

I've never seen an other temperature then -1C inside (v1.38) and I would assume that's not ideal for a bow, but I doubt they would loose their flex within a few days or even weeks. I never considered the start of the game to be months or years after the disaster, so a bow that was stored inside in a container should be in a not too bad condition.