Hot springs and Thermal stone

[Temper225]

I was thinking about an outside source of heat other than clothing. And I thought of hot springs! You could get in and soak for a bit and come out warm and toasty! But wet. So cloths that are not water proof will be soaked which would make you colder, faster. So it's a pro con effect. You are freezing to death, you hop into a hot spring (maybe strip naked) and warm up, and you have a small boost of your stats until you begin to freeze to death faster!

Another idea I thought of came from the game "don't starve" which is a Thermal Stone!

You can place it very close to a fire (using the lantern placement mechanic) and pick it up some time later to get a decent warmth boost that dwindles slowly.

Tell me what you think

[SirGregory]

In a survival situation where the temperatures are in the negatives you generally don't want to get wet. It may be fine when you are in the hot springs, but when you are getting out the windchill would kill you. "Water proofing" only water proofs from the outside, it keeps fluffy stuff on the inside.

[Temper225]

But in drastic measures where you would be FREEZING TO DEATH, personally I would like to hop in a hot spring and warm up a bit before going back out in the cold.

[SirGregory]

This can go either way

[EternityTide]

I think you may have taken your inspiration from the Japanese Macaque? I agree that hot springs would indeed be an interesting game mechanic, however upon exiting the hot pools, the water on your skin would rapidly evaporate. this evaporation would absorb a lot of thermal energy from your body, plunging you into hypothermia and shock. The reasons the macaque can do this without dying is likely because of an adapted metabolism and a thick insulative coat.

not to shoot you down, but carrying a hot stone would likely burn your hands.

[SirGregory]

Yes, exactly what i thought^

But with the hot stone, you could wrap it up in cloth and it can be used to carry around as a warmth source.

[a-z-booka]

I was thinking about an outside source of heat other than clothing. And I thought of hot springs![..]

Well , it is an interesting idea, but I don't think that the game is really need something like that. Besides, how many hot springs are there in the Canadian taiga? I think the chance of finding one is low, though I'm not a geologist and not from Canada, so I can't really know.

[..] a Thermal Stone! You can place it close to a fire [..] pick it up later to get a decent warmth boost [..]

Also an interesting idea. Again, I don't think this is something the game desperately needs, but I would like to see it implemented.

[..] upon exiting the hot pools, the water on your skin would rapidly evaporate. this evaporation would absorb a lot of thermal energy from your body, plunging you into hypothermia and shock.

Indeed it will evaporate, but the evaporation speed is highly dependable on the air temperature and the wind speed. Also you'll be able to wipe yourself and get dressed before hypothermia will start.

You can place some cloth/blanket/towel/e.t.c. at the strand, quickly get out of the spring when got warmed up, grab the "towel" and get back in water holding towel above your head. Then you can slowly walk out again wiping yourself on the way. And if there is a wind, you can stay on the leeward side, so the hot and humid air above the spring will prevent quick evaporation.

If you were in a banya or a sauna, and then dived into a pool with cold water when the air temperature is ~ -15°C, you should know that it takes more than a minute to get hypothermia. Quick wiping taking ~30 seconds.

[..] but carrying a hot stone would likely burn your hands.

Of course it will if you place it too close to the fire. But as long as its temperature is lower than 200°C you can just take it wrapped in cloth.

[EternityTide]

This seems to be a tad technical for the existing game mechanics, A-z-booka

[SirGregory]

agree'd Tide.

[a-z-booka]

This seems to be a tad technical for the existing game mechanics, A-z-booka

I was talking from the reality perspective. Of course it would be too costly to implement, and I said I don't think the game needs it.

[SirGregory]

but, we gotta all remember, its the little details that make a game the best it can be

[elloco999]

Well, having been to a hot spring in Canada with sub-zero temperatures I can tell you you won't freeze to death when you get out. But you do need to get out of the cold asap. Having a building nearby is best, but drying off and putting dry clothes on will work as well. So that's for my RL experience.

But I don't think TLD needs hot springs. Although it would add a nice touch, it would need a lot of work to implement as there is nothing like this already and it would only be usable for this specific situation. It's simply not worth the time and effort.

The thermal stone idea is something that sounds more feasible and would also fit better in the game. Although I think a bottle of hot water would be more useful, as you can also drink the water. Drinking hot water could give an instant warmth bonus, while carrying the hot water bottle would give you a constant (although diminishing as the water cools) warmth bonus like clothes do.

[Temper225]

I do agree that it isn't worth it but as you said it would be a nice touch.

As of with the thermal stone, the heat from the stone would dwindle slower rather than a hot water bottle.

I wonder which would work better in a RL survival situation like in the long dark

[elloco999]

True, but you can also heat the water back up faster.

And to be honest, I don't want something that will keep warm for a long time. It would make things a bit too easy if you ask me. But maybe if the stone is a lot heavier than the water, that could off-set that aspect. It would be a choice you need to make: do I want to carry a heavy stone that will keep me warm longer but also hinder me more, or would I rather have a lighter water bottle that will keep me warm for a shorter period?

[CoureurDeBois]

I was thinking about an outside source of heat other than clothing. And I thought of hot springs![..]

Well , it is an interesting idea, but I don't think that the game is really need something like that. Besides, how many hot springs are there in the Canadian taiga? I think the chance of finding one is low, though I'm not a geologist and not from Canada, so I can't really know.

The west of Canada is a tectonically active area, and I know that Alaska is too, but I always imagined the game taking place in either the Yukon or NWT, and I don't think that volcanic activity extends very far into either of those areas.

I'd be interested in collecting hot water for warming yourself up, though. Like stuffing it in a bottle.

[elloco999]

I was thinking more along the lines of boiling water and carrying that still hot water with you.

[SirGregory]

But due to thermal dynamics the heat in the water would be lost very fast

[elloco999]

True, and I'm okay with that. I think starting at +2C and slowly dropping to +0C in about an hour would be just fine. It would be a great bonus for short trips outside.

[SirGregory]

Yes

[azuratte]

I would love this as an entirely new map. A map with a hot-spring in it. Now, it would be awesome because it would be a trap as much as it would be a blessing. A bunch have already figured out why liquid water and water vapour in the cold is bad but, in desperate time maybe you're just to dang cold and go for hanging around the hotspring. Okay now you've got a problem, you're warm but you're hungry and your travel distance is now cut to a quarter or more because you're damp or wet.

As for the thermal rocks, I think this would be a great addition but only as an easy access thing. Like, you find some rocks on the ground not frozen in place, you take them in to the cabin you're at and now you automatically get enabled "heat rocks for your bed". So each time you have a fire your bed is automatically now warm/hot for 2 hours or more while you sleep.

I would loathe having to click rocks, click fire, click add to fire, click time to heat up, click collect rocks, click bed, click add to bed, click sle.... son of a. I'd go insane.

[Temper225]

I would loathe having to click rocks, click fire, click add to fire, click time to heat up, click collect rocks, click bed, click add to bed, click sle.... son of a. I'd go insane.

I was thinking of picking up the rock, placing it next to the fire and waiting for the rock to heat up (color change?),

and the bed idea is amazing, so many times i go to sleep and i wake up still cold this is a great way to solve that.

[Burning Bridges]

I actually had this idea that it could be nice to discover a place with an old fashioned bathwater heater and make a hot bath. That or a Banya, Finnish sauna, or anyhting like that.

Of course that's completely irrelevant to gameplay right now but it's the kind of thought that comes when playing the game. How nice it would be to have a hot bath.

Perhaps it makes more sense with a hygiene features - wash yorself once in a while or you get punished with lice.

But much higher on the priority list should be hot beverages like coffee, tea, etc because they can be used as portable sources to warm up.