Would love a Doggo...

[djanico]

[EDIT] Tweaking more ideas into it =D

Why not add a dog companion to the game? Would add a TON of immersion for me.

Doggo will be a random spawn in the game that will be hard to find and require some trekking to locate. For easy games (Pilgrim, voyager) he can be an early spawn. For harder modes (Stalker, Interloper) He is a late game spawn after X number of days.. (60? 90? 100+?) You can add an ingame cue from Mckenzie when the game spawns him into the world (Its so lonely out here... there's got to be someone out there)

He will be aggressive/apprehensive at first, so you must earn his trust with food items and patience. Once he is warmed up enough to you he will begin to follow you.. thus the relationship begins between man and Dog!

Doggo must warm up to you, the more time he spends with you and is properly maintained, the more loyal he becomes and offer more services (alerting, hunting, defending you, assisting you). You can add a new Skill tree for Doggo showing loyalty level and abilities gained after winning X levels of trust (The skilltree is hidden from view until you find him so as not to give it away)

• Doggo will add a warmth bonus when sleeping together,
• Fetch items for you, sticks etc.
• Can alert you of wolves and bears that are too close for comfort
• % Chance to intimidate a wolf away from you
• Can chase and hunt rabbits for you.
• Sniff/Track Deer with scent and lead the way.
• Help fight and stave wolves away from you faster.
• Provide companionship (huge imho =) 

Will require:

Properly Fed/Hydrated, must maintain good diet of meat and not reach starvation, prolong starvation on your doggo and he will either run away, or die (man that would kill me even if it was a game) So now you are basically hunting and surviving for two.

Properly Medicated, yes your dog can get injured, especially if he is at the max loyalty point of defending you from wolves. If badly injured he will need several days before he is up to par. (Wounded/ limping and whimpering animations should be included!) So take care of your Doggo! Like above, failure to attend to his medical needs can cost his life.. 

Doggo can get cold just like you,  Will need to watch his temperature as well, maybe adding a craftable doggo coat! To increase his body temp/endurance.

Needs entertainment!  Yes just like you, he WILL get bored. You will need to go outside and play fetch with him once in awhile! Create a dogstick from a log and go play fetch! Or create a rope from dried intestines and play tug of war.. Doing so will help gain his loyalty more, and will also add great immersion for your character as well.

 

 

Edited February 8, 2018 by djanico

[Pillock]

I got maximum Trust with Grey Mother. Gave her loads of tins of dogfood and raw meat to eat, and lots of sticks to play with. 

She made me play fetch.

[hozz1235]

Not a bad idea, but I'm afraid poor Fiddo wouldn't last long against the aggressive wildlife in the game. 

[cekivi]

2 hours ago, hozz1235 said:

Not a bad idea, but I'm afraid poor Fiddo wouldn't last long against the aggressive wildlife in the game. 

Doggo could always be inside a building. 

[Prestermatt]

What would happen to Doggo during the Aurora?

[cullam]

There's quite a long thread on here somewhere discussing ideas for how this could work. Personally, I think it would add a fantastic dimension to the game. Might give a lot more late game direction. Of course, it's a pretty challenging ask, from a development perspective. But It believe it would be a huge win for the game. 

[hozz1235]

40 minutes ago, cekivi said:

Doggo could always be inside a building. 

True, but that would prohibit most of the benefits originally asked.

[djanico]

5 hours ago, hozz1235 said:

Not a bad idea, but I'm afraid poor Fiddo wouldn't last long against the aggressive wildlife in the game. 

True if he was by himself alone, but you and him together as a team that's a whole different story.  Go find a Husky, Rott, German Shephard or a Doberman  and tell me you two wouldn't be a formidable team together?.  Intimidation goes a long way in nature

Besides lets be real, not like this is a real true wildlife simulator lol, So i don't see why Doggo wouldn't assist in deterring and attacking anything that's trying to eat you.  Big animals like the bear and the moose, obviously there's no chance there. Maybe a very very low % chance to scare away. Best he can do is bark fiercely and if it charges run away with tails between its legs. Or hell imagine the bear attack cut scene but this time your Doggo leaps on his shoulder biting fiercely and the bear swats him away like a bug severely injuring your doggo, (would be badass sorry! couldn't help myself lol)  But for wolves (the most common enemy)  I can see Doggo attempting to intimidate, deter and assist you if you are being jumped.

Edited February 7, 2018 by djanico

[djanico]

2 hours ago, Prestermatt said:

What would happen to Doggo during the Aurora?

Thats a good question!

A> nothing..

B>  Scared to go outside! If he is outside he will run to the nearest shelter and stay in there (paniced) until aurora goes away.

C> thoughts?

[Prestermatt]

19 minutes ago, djanico said:

C> thoughts?

Green, glowing eyes?  Turns feral?  I'm not sure why dogs wouldn't be affected like the wolves are. That could create an interesting dynamic and dilemma for the player.

[hozz1235]

30 minutes ago, djanico said:

True if he was by himself alone, but you and him together as a team that's a whole different story.  Go find a Husky, Rott, German Shephard or a Doberman  and tell me you two wouldn't be a formidable team together?.  Intimidation goes a long way in nature

Besides lets be real, not like this is a real true wildlife simulator lol, So i don't see why Doggo wouldn't assist in deterring and attacking anything that's trying to eat you.  Big animals like the bear and the moose, obviously there's no chance there. Maybe a very very low % chance to scare away. Best he can do is bark fiercely and if it charges run away with tails between its legs. Or hell imagine the bear attack cut scene but this time your Doggo leaps on his shoulder biting fiercely and the bear swats him away like a bug severely injuring your doggo, (would be badass sorry! couldn't help myself lol)  But for wolves (the most common enemy)  I can see Doggo attempting to intimidate, deter and assist you if you are being jumped.

Well, HL has tried to make this as realistic as possible, so if they want to keep that goal, the dog would have to behave realistically as well.  Even a large dog is no match for a wolf.  I suppose if the dog was trained properly to not attack and hold back from combat, it might have a chance.  The cold would also be an issue - Husky, no problem but other dogs would freeze to death (unless you have a doggy-sleeping bag!) 

[djanico]

6 minutes ago, Prestermatt said:

Green, glowing eyes?  Turns feral?  I'm not sure why dogs wouldn't be affected like the wolves are. That could create an interesting dynamic and dilemma for the player.

AWESOME idea!! 

[djanico]

3 minutes ago, hozz1235 said:

Well, HL has tried to make this as realistic as possible, so if they want to keep that goal, the dog would have to behave realistically as well.  Even a large dog is no match for a wolf.  I suppose if the dog was trained properly to not attack and hold back from combat, it might have a chance.  The cold would also be an issue - Husky, no problem but other dogs would freeze to death (unless you have a doggy-sleeping bag!) 

True, but wolves don't go around attacking humans either, so there's a balance of realism and also a balance of gameplay. I love the idea of a doggy sleeping bag! lol and heck that's another good aspect! Doggo temp needs to be watched also! Maybe you can fabricate a Doggo sweater to keep him warmer! (adding a crafting idea)

[Prestermatt]

2 hours ago, djanico said:

True, but wolves don't go around attacking humans either, so there's a balance of realism and also a balance of gameplay. I love the idea of a doggy sleeping bag! lol and heck that's another good aspect! Doggo temp needs to be watched also! Maybe you can fabricate a Doggo sweater to keep him warmer! (adding a crafting idea)

If Hinterland adds deerskin doggie booties, I'm quitting the game. 

[cekivi]

23 hours ago, hozz1235 said:

True, but that would prohibit most of the benefits originally asked.

Not once you rescue doggo and bring them with you  

[Lulzes]

I registered on the forums just to add this suggestion. Late game (day 300+) gets pretty lonely and a dog would be an awesome companion.

I was thinking along the same lines, that you'd have to train your new friend and in return he would be a small help, fetching sticks and barking if he sensed danger. He wouldn't be much use in a fight, but his assistance could at least reduce the amount of time you get mauled (a small reduction in the chance of injury) although there would always be a chance he could get injured too. My idea was that as you fed/trained your dog, you would unlock special abilities such as stick fetching or warning barks - at the highest level of training your dog could help with hunting by stalking prey for you, e.g. locating prey (show the dog a deer hide and he'll sniff out more deer), driving deer towards you or catching rabbits. I love the OP's idea of your dog warming you up at night too!

Regarding the realism of a dog surviving, you could get around this by making the dog actually a wolf. It could be an albino (white) wolf that's not affected in the same way by the Aurora due to its genetic differences, so it's been driven out of its pack. When you find it, it's injured and starving, and although it growls at you it doesn't attack. If you drop some food it will eat it and start to follow you, but you'll still need to earn its trust so that you can treat its wounds (this may involve getting a few bites yourself).

[hozz1235]

Welcome, @Lulzes!

[djanico]

Still dream that the devs would add this....

[ManicManiac]

@djanico, I know...
but reasonably consistent with the lore of the game, even if we did find a dog... it would probably immediately try to eat our faces off due to the effects the aurora (in that carnivores animals are preternaturally aggressive and blood thirsty)  

[Addendum]
 Heck, I would even settle for being able to keep a rabbit for a pet.  Which is why I always thought it would be neat to be able to walk when holding said captured rabbit... then I could take it to the mountaineer's hut and let it loose inside  

Edited August 31, 2019 by ManicManiac

[piddy3825]

On 2/6/2018 at 6:44 PM, djanico said:

 

Why not add a dog companion to the game? Would add a TON of immersion for me.

 

who doesn't love a dog?  But better yet it's a wolf, now that's immersive!   

 

 

[UpUpAway95]

A wolfdog (wolf/husky cross)... I'm game if designed to spawn later in the game (after at least 100 or 150 days of survival).  I think it would add an interesting fresh element to an older save to alleviate the "boredom" zone and encourage late game exploration to find where it is the dog has spawned on your map.  He/she could be shy and avoid allowing the player to actually make contact with them until tracked across several maps by the player.  The player could be required to get close enough to feed it on multiple occasions before trust is established enough that the wolfdog would roam with the player... never truly your pet though... companionship would be on his terms and he might disappear from time to time for a few days as well.

The benefit of his being with you could be the result of his marking a territory around your camp causing predators to keep their distance.  This benefit would disappear during the periods he wanders off to do his own thing.

Edited August 31, 2019 by UpUpAway95

[djanico]

Correct UpUpAway95, should be a late game spawn, and he can be anywhere in Bear island, thus forcing you on the epic journey to find him. I would love to see a skill tree for him however and be able to train him.

**Thoughts on Aurora vs your Doggo**

The aurora should also affect your dog/wolf pet as well. turning him savage. If you are sleeping while the aurora hits, your Doggo begins to bark furiously waking you up.  To counter his rage:

1> add the flashlight in the survival mode (Flashlight spawns near the dogs spawnpoint?) That way you can ward him off temporarily by flashing it towards your dog. Make the flashlight have a very high battery drain so its not OP against wolves outside.  Way i see it,  you will have to leave your enclave to avoid getting mauled by him. (adds a survival challenge to aurora nights forcing you to temp relocate away from your Dog).

Also make Doggo extremely fatigued when its over, forcing him to rest and recover the next day.

2> Add another shroom ingame that has a tranquilizing effect that affects wolves/doggo.  You will have to prepare the game meat with the shroom to create "poisoned meat". Dropping the meat as a decoy will knock out your pet for several hours.  Once awake your dog will be "sick" from the shroom and will require rest (maybe meds also?) Basically your Doggo is out for the count the next day as he rests/recover.

[ManicManiac]

@djanico
It's a neat idea, it really is... I just don't think it would fit with the lore of the game very well.  I've had this subject on my wish lists before (a while back).  The conversation sort of came to the realization that dogs are carnivores, so they would most likely just turn hyper-aggressive like the other carnivores in the game.  Making this particular type of animal companion somewhere in between "extremely dangerous" and "just not possible under the circumstances."   

[djanico]

1 hour ago, ManicManiac said:

@djanico
It's a neat idea, it really is... I just don't think it would fit with the lore of the game very well.  I've had this subject on my wish lists before (a while back).  The conversation sort of came to the realization that dogs are carnivores, so they would most likely just turn hyper-aggressive like the other carnivores in the game.  Making this particular type of animal companion somewhere in between "extremely dangerous" and "just not possible under the circumstances."   

I can see both sides of the sword on this.. however this is in the end a "game to entertain" and one of the biggest complaints most players have in survival mode is how boring the dynamics get after 150+ days played. This is were a dev's would need to get creative.  Per my idea.. why not add an "albino" Dog/wolf that somehow is not affected? an anomaly of sorts. That would fit the lore of the game no?  

If this game can have "Ghost Bears" (Wintermute) that was almost unkillable, why couldn't this be possible?  Call it a "Ghost wolf" then or some sort lol.  In the end, even the devs clearly stated this isnt a "true survival simulator", its a game first and foremost. Make an exception, add said exception and breathe a little life in the endgame survival mode.

Edited September 10, 2019 by djanico

[UpUpAway95]

2 hours ago, djanico said:

Correct UpUpAway95, should be a late game spawn, and he can be anywhere in Bear island, thus forcing you on the epic journey to find him. I would love to see a skill tree for him however and be able to train him.

**Thoughts on Aurora vs your Doggo**

The aurora should also affect your dog/wolf pet as well. turning him savage. If you are sleeping while the aurora hits, your Doggo begins to bark furiously waking you up.  To counter his rage:

1> add the flashlight in the survival mode (Flashlight spawns near the dogs spawnpoint?) That way you can ward him off temporarily by flashing it towards your dog. Make the flashlight have a very high battery drain so its not OP against wolves outside.  Way i see it,  you will have to leave your enclave to avoid getting mauled by him. (adds a survival challenge to aurora nights forcing you to temp relocate away from your Dog).

Also make Doggo extremely fatigued when its over, forcing him to rest and recover the next day.

2> Add another shroom ingame that has a tranquilizing effect that affects wolves/doggo.  You will have to prepare the game meat with the shroom to create "poisoned meat". Dropping the meat as a decoy will knock out your pet for several hours.  Once awake your dog will be "sick" from the shroom and will require rest (maybe meds also?) Basically your Doggo is out for the count the next day as he rests/recover.

Not in favor of the mushroom idea or the thought of feeding a dog poisoned meat at any time.