Candles (2 types)

[hipsu555]

Hey,

I think it would be awesome if you add candles to the game. Maybe 2 types of them, one are real wax-candles you can find in the world and the other ones you can craft from animal fat. It would add a nice ambience the the game. Candles shouldnt be really bright (maybe like a matchstick) but last really long so that you can place several ones in your base for a nice look and feeling.

It always wondered me why something like this in not already in the game. If I think about a survival situation in real life (like no electricity for a long time) one of the things you want to have are candles. They cant get defective like a flashlight or need fresh batterys and last really long. Farther they have a little warmth-bonus (tealight/small candles have arround 40-50 Watts).

Greetings from Germany and sorry for my broken English (:

[SneakySquid]

Great Idea

[Mroz4k]

Hello, there.

I have always liked the idea of candles, and like you, and quite a number of other people around, I believe they would fit into the game quite well lore-wise. Even before the Aurora incident, electricity on Great Bear would be unreliable - prone to go out if, lets say, a cable gets torn over by a fallen tree. Or a blizzard comes in and causes a blackout. So I think it is safe to assume that locals would stockpile candles in case the electricity goes out.

But I also understand why they arent in the game. Think about it - a candle, especially craftable one, would make it easy to keep indoor fires burning for a long time with very little of tradeoff in the case of supplies. It would esentially become a way to preserve fire and save matches, something that is ultimatedly a limited and valuable resource in the game.

I like your idea, though I dont think there has to be two kinds of candles - just one kind, which can be both found in loot, or crafted using animal parts. But I fully understand if the Devs dont want to add it because it would upset the balance of the game.

[nicko]

I think a lot of gamers have been asking for candles. So I can say for certain HT have been looking into those. future update .

[Morrick]

In one of the past issues of the Milton Mailbag, @Raphael van Lierop replied to another member who asked about candles. He said:

Quote

For Candles...we run into issues of how to visualize candle status and we have to track potentially dozens or hundreds of candle "states" in the world which is tricky.

I would love to have candles, too. Who knows, maybe in the future these issues will be hopefully sorted out...

[BareSkin]

On 11/10/2018 at 6:50 AM, Mroz4k said:

It would essentially become a way to preserve fire and save matches, something that is ultimatedly a limited and valuable resource in the game.

It saves matches for when you don't move. A TLD player not moving is a dead one, or retired. A candle will also be really valuable, don't worry. Given you'd have to use a recycled can, some oil, some cloth/gut... That would just be a craftable Lantern, but only for indoors and with much more duration (and no heat). Not the kind of thing you would let burn stupidly IMO Plus that would feel really nice to be able to read/craft at night instead of running to get exhausted, for the sake of immersion.

The implementation might be difficult be I'd hardly see TLD continue forever with no candles, from a "Lore" point of view. Like, really, you find rifles but not candles? If I was really dropped in Canadian wilderness, there's one that I would expect to find easier than the other!

[Morrick]

1 hour ago, BareSkin said:

Like, really, you find rifles but not candles?

Agreed. Also: you find matches but not lighters? Not even those disposable ones you can't refill?

[BareSkin]

29 minutes ago, Morrick said:

Agreed. Also: you find matches but not lighters? Not even those disposable ones you can't refill?

Not a big deal to me since on ignition we have a lot of options, and namely my favorite item the Magnifying Lens. But keeping the fire is something else. I'd love, on late game, if we could light a fire with the sun in the evening and keep a candle to light up a torch later in the night, you know, when it's so cold in Mountaineer's Hut

[Mroz4k]

I sure wish we could get candles. I dont even need to have em to light up my base (though in a way, it would be kinda nice, being able to have some light inside). Having a tin can, a cloth/fishing line/cured gut and animal fat aint that expensive of a recipe for what would esentially be a way to keep fire burning. Not that I would want it to be expensive "crafting" wise. I like the idea of keeping it simple more, actually. 
My way of making a candle? Take a fishing line and wrap it in a solidified animal fat. Pull a cured gut over it, let it rest till it solidifies completely. Now, cut it into candles as long as you want them to last.

The lighter is not in the game for balance reasons, IMO. Non-refilable ones wouldnt be a problem in my opinion. Problem is most people want to see a Zippo type of lighter. Dont have an issue with them either - as long as it takes Accelerant to refill em, I would consider them balanced.
Not really suprised about the lighters lore-wise, though. Something to consider here - the lighter is made of metal. Metal expands in cold. So, for all intentions and purposes, lighters would be very unreliable in the cold weather. Which is why you would see matches more often then lighters either way. Matches are more primitive, but you can generally light them even if your fingers are frozen stiff. There is even a "survival" trick/rule of thumb - always keep a match or two sticking out of the box at your home in these cold conditions. So, in case you come back with frostbitten or frozen stiff fingers and need to get a fire going, you can grab the match in your teeth and use it to light a fire and get yourself warm. If you had a lighter in that sort of situation, you would likely freeze to death.

And you can never have enough ways to light a fire . I am just glad that it seems people are starting to ease on requiring friction fire. I honestly hope I never get to see it in TLD - friction fire is hard, even in the best of conditions and with the damn firewood in TLD, there would hardly ever by good conditions for it. (better would be to have forgeable flint and steel if you ask me  )

You know how I would personally fashion a "lantern fuel/fish oil powered "lighter"? I would take a storm lantern, strip it of the upper metal handle and the glass, protecting the flame... and voila! You should have a pretty heavy improvised lantern fuel powered lighter. Course that is likely never going to get into the game, as it would be painfully unbalanced way to light fires up.