Click on windows indoors to get outdoor weather status

[XAlaskan_420X]

This is one more idea of mine that I forgot to add in. I like it because it is simple, or so it seems (I know nothing about how programming or the processes involved in implementing these ideas). But the idea is this: When your indoors you would be able to click on a window and get a reading of the weather outside ("Visibility %, snowing, not snowing, light wind strong wind") so long as there is daylight coming through the windows signifying that it is bright enough outside that the character would be able to see the status of the weather, you can click on the window and get a reading.

Now you might be thinking "why not just go outside and see for yourself if whether or not there is good visibility". Well because I can't tell you how many times I have went through 2 loading screens (once going out to find it to be too foggy for a safe travel and another going back in). It does get a little annoying going the 2 loading screens just to check the weather, if your like me and you do it a lot. So to eliminate that slight annoyance I thought why not add a little feature to where you can get a vague reading of the weather without going out by simply clicking on the window. I find it immersive and I think it would fit the game well. 

Another thought is "well, you can simply hear if the wind is strong outside" - While this is true, the status of the wind ("light wind", "strong wind") would just be thrown in simply because if you do this, then you might as well do it all the way (How does the wind "look", how does the visibility "look" ect), the main "need" for the weather status reading via window would be for the foggyness (visibility) which you can't really tell unless going outside.

Now, I believe if there was to be such a feature, then the decriptions should be vague, like visibility percentage would the nearest 10 (50%, 60%), wind would just say "light", "strong" and maybe even "very strong" which could instead be called "wind storm" or "blizzard". and "snowing" would just display if it is snowing ❄. Like it shouldn't say for an example 67% wind, that is way to accurate you have to keep in mind this is a character, not a barometer or whatever that tool is that measures wind pressure. Because it is a human character, I think it should say something that a human might say like "a bit of wind". 

Let me know what you guys think. 

 

[UTC-10]

I wouldn't mind having a capacity to click on a window and get some verbal response from the avatar about what the outside weather looks like, but then I can imagine that such a function would build an expectation that the weather is now fixed for the moment rather than varying randomly over time.  A source for complaints.

I remember walking to the Camp Office with the sun shining in a clear sky, stepping inside to grab something with the intent of starting a fire with a magnifying lens, then when I exit to do what I wanted the sky was now overcast with the sun a bright spot behind the clouds. All in the space of a few minutes. 

 

[XAlaskan_420X]

29 minutes ago, UTC-10 said:

I wouldn't mind having a capacity to click on a window and get some verbal response from the avatar about what the outside weather looks like, but then I can imagine that such a function would build an expectation that the weather is now fixed for the moment rather than varying randomly over time.  A source for complaints.

I remember walking to the Camp Office with the sun shining in a clear sky, stepping inside to grab something with the intent of starting a fire with a magnifying lens, then when I exit to do what I wanted the sky was now overcast with the sun a bright spot behind the clouds. All in the space of a few minutes. 

 

Do you have weather variability set on high? It sounds like you might have weather variability on high or very high. I have been playing around with weather variability (trying to get my perfect survival game), and I found that even high was too high for me, the weather would change too often so I put it on medium.

[Mroz4k]

Not often I get to see a very unique idea emerge here on the forums. There were similar suggestions to this one but that one was unrealistic, as instead of focusing on "reading" the weather, someone once suggested windows to be opaque and the doors to be partly.openable so you would see whats right there outside, to make sure wolf was not right at your doorstep... (which couldnt really work, because while indoors, you are loaded into a completely different "region" then is outside. Thats said, with the audio clues we hear about the weather outside, it makes sense that the game can recognize the condition of the weather outside even from the inside.

I dont think this needs to be limited to only "when there is enough light outside" - and I fully support this idea. However, Id disagree with the detailed level of information you would be getting per your suggestion. This game is minimalistic in almost everything - even the HUD changed several times to reflect that  So to suddenly be able to collect such detailed information would not only be unbalanced, but it would also feel out-of-the-place in this othervise minimalistic game. UTC has a good idea with it, being more like a verbal comment of the player that would give you a hint as what to expect, stepping outside.

1 hour ago, UTC-10 said:

such a function would build an expectation that the weather is now fixed for the moment rather than varying randomly over time.  A source for complaints.

I dont think thats really what would happen. TLD in its whole nature is not a game of stable situations. Weather is always changing. And I believe that naturally, players would feel that is the case, because they are used to it from the game, that weather can change at a whim in a moment´s notice. And, in the end, inspection from the window is not something that would give you detailed, precise information, but more of a guess. And guesses are usually off from reality by a little bit.

[Ice Hole]

One of my classroom memories was when the teacher asked the class how the weather is predicted.  The class answers were all over the target and ranged from: barometer, thermometer, wind vane, radar, airplanes, computer prediction models based on satellite observation, weather forecaster reporter, leaves turning upside down, granny's knee acting up.  None was satisfying the teacher, he was getting a look of disappointment on his face.  I plainly spoke up and said 'look out a window'.  Turns out that is exactly the answer the teacher was waiting for because after my remark the discussion and lesson went forward.   

 

 

[Mroz4k]

3 hours ago, Ice Hole said:

One of my classroom memories was when the teacher asked the class how the weather is predicted.  The class answers were all over the target and ranged from: barometer, thermometer, wind vane, radar, airplanes, computer prediction models based on satellite observation, weather forecaster reporter, leaves turning upside down, granny's knee acting up.  None was satisfying the teacher, he was getting a look of disappointment on his face.  I plainly spoke up and said 'look out a window'.  Turns out that is exactly the answer the teacher was waiting for because after my remark the discussion and lesson went forward.   

 

 

Nothing sums up the essence of "survival" as well as this story. That is: the simpliest way is often the most effective.

[Guest kristaok]

What about just doing something like; making the Windows change a tad to reflect what's going on instead of directly telling you how the weather is? For instance if it's a blizzard the windows could be icey, if it's clear the windows are clear, if it's foggy the windows are fogged, etc. etc.... just an idea... Not saying I don't like the OP's.  I usually just listen to see what's going on outside, but I agree having to go outside and load up the region is a pain especially if it's storming, then I have to go inside and sleep through the storm, rinse and repeat. 

[ThePancakeLady]

Eh, I am not in favor of this idea. If we could clean the frost off of glass to see outside, sure. We'd have to look and see, and the weather could change before we got out the door, like it already does, lol. But touching the glass and having it tell me what the weather is like, like a super-connected Nest Smart Home... just doesn't fit the setting and flavor of the game for me.  I vote "No".

[XAlaskan_420X]

11 hours ago, ThePancakeLady said:

Eh, I am not in favor of this idea. If we could clean the frost off of glass to see outside, sure. We'd have to look and see, and the weather could change before we got out the door, like it already does, lol. But touching the glass and having it tell me what the weather is like, like a super-connected Nest Smart Home... just doesn't fit the setting and flavor of the game for me.  I vote "No".

I'd be in favor of an ability to look out the window if it can be done. Really I just want a way to know if it's good visibility before going out, so I don't have to go through a loading screen to find it to be too foggy, then go back in with another loading screen to sleep. If I could know that it is too foggy outside, then I would just stay inside and sleep and not have to go through the 2 loading screens. I mean its not really that big of an problem for me, I am probably making it sound more of a problem than it is.
But I would love some feature with the windows in regards to checking the weather, what ever that may be. I also realize that there could be many many different ways of doing it. It could be a verbal comment from the character, or it could be symbols (☀️🌤️🌥️🌨️🌫️), then there is stats which was my first idea but now I think I like the idea of character verbal comment or symbols (or both). and then there is the scenario of looking through the window which would tell you everything that you may want to know, which I would love equally or more so. There is probably other things that could be done with the window in regards to checking weather that I am missing.
Oh and then I had an idea of being able to nail a cloth or hide over the window to make the room a few degrees warmer, but then you wouldn't be able to see the window to tell if it is sunny or if there is aurora lights, so that would come with a down side and I guess you would have to make nails out of scrap metal for that, or find a box of nails. 

[Mroz4k]

I dont think that cleaning the windows or making them transparent really is an option, the indoor locations are all basically zones of their own, unlike cars which are just an outdoors shelter. While cars are the part of the "outside" region, indoor options have their own loading screen and own zone. For them to have the option to open the door or check what is going on outside, they would have to be all part of the "outside" zone. That said, if the weather outside is a blizzard, you hear howling in the indoors too, which means that even in these indoor locations there is something that keeps the track of the outside weather.

Its not even possible for the houses to be a part of that outdoor region, because most of the indoor locations are bigger on the inside then they are on the outside. Not to mention that getting indoors also triggers game saves and other different mechanics that require transitions.
 

3 hours ago, XAlaskan_420X said:

Oh and then I had an idea of being able to nail a cloth or hide over the window to make the room a few degrees warmer,

Not entirely sure if that would help, or in fact actually made things worse because you could punch a hole through the wall, damaging the isolation properties of it. Most of the houses in the game are basically just a thin wooden structures, which is probably why they are so cold on the inside in the first place. Also I am guessing Hinterland are not really that huge fans of the ability to "fix" up houses to be better, seems they made houses with different level of ruin to balance out what is and is not an ideal base.

But your point about the having to go through two loading screens just to get an idea of what the weather is like outside is very valid. And the game has many subtle ways to read into - weather changes, animal behaviour, etc - would be nice if this became a new one, too.

Something that comes to mind now are cave entrances. I just realized that you can often indicate what sort of weather it is outside based on the color of the entrance. If its bright white, its bright and shiny outside, green would usually indicate fog, orange indicates sunrise or sunset, dark purplish-black that its night. Im sure aurora also has their own color, I bet, just cant remember if I even had a chance to see that.

[Ice Hole]

5 hours ago, Mroz4k said:

Something that comes to mind now are cave entrances. I just realized that you can often indicate what sort of weather it is outside based on the color of the entrance.

That is true. Inspect the Winding River Cave.  The area has an opening on the roof and the sun does shine in directly.  Too bad Maggy does not work.

Maybe coincidence but a few steps afterwards exiting the cave the weather was exactly the same.

[VolkZayets]

I like the idea of being able to predict what weather is coming before embarking on something like a hunt or longer journey. How about a barometer on the walls of certain bigger houses, camp office, etc? Barometer reacts on atmospheric pressure, so not electronic (and therefore not impacted by geomag/aurora). Sailors have only been using barometers for a few centuries now...just an idea.

[XAlaskan_420X]

5 hours ago, VolkZayets said:

I like the idea of being able to predict what weather is coming before embarking on something like a hunt or longer journey. How about a barometer on the walls of certain bigger houses, camp office, etc? Barometer reacts on atmospheric pressure, so not electronic (and therefore not impacted by geomag/aurora). Sailors have only been using barometers for a few centuries now...just an idea.

I like it. It can predict short term weather forecasting too. Oh you know where that would probably fit in the most is the half sunken sip in Desolation point and the Light House too. and maybe the Camp office in Mystery Lake.

I just thought of this, what do you guys think of a rooster weather vane that follows the direction of the wind? It could be useful but could also be for aesthetic purpose. It could be on top of the camp office, trappers cabin in Mystery Lake or farmhouse in Pleasant Valley. I think it would fit the farmhouse the most. If I was growing an orchard, I think I would want to know the wind direction.

[ThePancakeLady]

1 hour ago, XAlaskan_420X said:

I just thought of this, what do you guys think of a rooster weather vane that follows the direction of the wind? It could be useful but could also be for aesthetic purpose. It could be on top of the camp office, trappers cabin in Mystery Lake or farmhouse in Pleasant Valley. I think it would fit the farmhouse the most. If I was growing an orchard, I think I would want to know the wind direction.

Aesthetically pleasing, perhaps. There is or was a weather vane on the barn in PV already, it just did not move with the wind. It's been suggested a few times in the past, i believe. But... what is the gameplay significance? It looks cool, but is a whole  lot of art and coding work to make it function well in game, may cause performance issues for those of us with older or lower-end rigs, and how does it help? Our winds change direction and velocity at the blink of an a eye in this game,. So... you look at it, it says the wind is coming from the NE, blowing SW. By the time you get 100 meters away from the barn, it is now coming from the S, blowing due N. It would look awesome, but really has no benefit to gameplay. Barometers, maybe. But... do you know how to read one? Does our survivor? I have a barometer on my wall, at my house. None of us know how to read it, or figure out what it might be telling us. It just looks "cool" and antique-ish. It has a storm glass with blue-green water in it too, and it is wrong 50% of the time, according to the instructions for using it, that we could find online. Sailors and old time forecasters used them... everyone who is a sailor who used one or an old-time weather forecaster... raise your hand, please? 

 

Nothing personal, but it makes little sense to spend a ton of time to create the art and coding for either, with very limited significance or importance for gameplay. My opinions, feel free to disagree. But as a programmer and coder for decades now, I would not willingly take on a project for either with the amount of work they require, for the very limited payout on my end (or a studio's end). Can it be done? Sure. Of course it can. it just makes no sense, time-wise or financially IMHO.

[XAlaskan_420X]

1 hour ago, ThePancakeLady said:

Aesthetically pleasing, perhaps. There is or was a weathervane on the barn in PV already, it just did not move with the wind. It's been suggested a few times in the past, i believe. But... what is the gameplay significance? It looks cool, but is a whole  lot of art and coding work to make it function well in game, may cause performance issues for those of us with older or lower-end rigs, and how does it help? Our winds change direction and velocity at the blink of an a eye in this game,. So... you look at it, it says the wind is coming from the NE, blowing SW. By the time you get 100 meters away from the barn, it is now coming from the S, blowing due N. It would look awesome, but really has no benefit to gameplay. Barometers, maybe. But... do you know how to read one? Does our survivor? I have a barometer on my wall, at my house. None of us know how to read it, or figure out what it might be telling us. It just looks "cool" and antique-ish. It has a storm glass with blue-green water in it too, and it is wrong 50% of the time, according to the instructions for using it, that we could find online. Sailors and old time forecasters used them... everyone who is a sailor who used one or an old-time weather forecaster... raise your hand, please? 

Nothing personal, but it makes little sense to spend a ton of time to create the art and coding for wither, with very limited significance or importance for gameplay. My opinions, feel free to disagree. But as a programmer and coder for decades now, I would not willingly take on a project for either with the amount of work they require, for the very limited payout on my end (or a studio's end). Can it be done? Sure. Of course it can. it just makes no sense, time-wise or financially IMHO.

I like to get a programmers perspective on these ideas, so thank you for that. I actually set the wind change on medium to make it change direction less. But your right, the payout would be very minimal for a functioning weather vane. I am not a programmer, so often assume that these things would be easy to add in, which could be far from true.
Yeah I have no idea how to use a barometer to be honest. I might want to get one for my gardening eventually though  but for now I usually rely on weather.com . 

[Ice Hole]

12 hours ago, ThePancakeLady said:

Barometers, maybe. But... do you know how to read one?

Low pressure generally indicates rain.  High pressure indicates sunshine.  Large change in pressure means greater chance of severe storm.

I made a post on old timey weather houses

Barometer and primitive weather forecasting thread.

 

 

 

[ThePancakeLady]

5 minutes ago, Ice Hole said:

Low pressure generally indicates rain.  High pressure indicates sunshine.  Large change in pressure means greater chance of severe storm.

I made a post on old timey weather houses

Barometer and primitive weather forecasting thread.

 

 

 

The Weather Forecasting Stone is an awesome idea.

 

They may even use such things in Canada. The "old-timey" German weather house... not so sure they would be common enough to be found all over a remote island off the North-Western coast of Canada. Lol, and most of us "modern" folk rely on TV news forecasts or The Weather Channel, weather services on a computer, or on a cell phone. Or we go outdoors. :p 

The fact that y the thread you linked to is 2 1/2 years old. tells me only that the idea has been brought up before, seen by a hinterland staffer, and not implemented into the game, for reasons know only to Hinterland. But it does not seem like something that is going to suddenly happen. when we have audio, and the ability to just go outside. Again. do you know the % of people who understand how a barometer works, and how to read it? You know how to, I do not. Why would I, wen I can look at my cell phone, and get a detailed forecast for the next 7 days at the push of one button on the screen?  Our survivors are from the Mainland, city folks. They are just as likely as I am to k never have bothered looking up how barometers worked as I or my family have been, because... we had ways to have someone tells us at the click of a remote or push of a button, Kinda the point of the game, IMHO... showing us how reliant we have become on "modern technology", and how lost we may be if and when it all goes kaput. Just like my love of the bola as a weapon. Just because I am familiar with it, have made several in my lifetime, and know how to use it... not too many other folks would have that knowledge or skill.

I get the idea, I just do not see it as a great benefit to gameplay, or as really being something that would be commonly found or understood in modern Canada.  But the Stone... that makes perfect sense. Because you have to go outside to see it.

[ajb1978]

This is sort of on topic, sort of not, but a couple decades ago I had this pocket weather forecasting guide.  It was a series of cards you insert into a sleeve, with little windows cut out that indicators would show through.  You selected a card based on your geographic location in North America, then look at what kinds of clouds are in the sky, and what direction the wind is coming from.  You would slide the card out of the sleeve until the indicator showing through the window would match the cloud cover and wind direction, and that would tell you what kind of weather to expect within the next 24 hours.  We took it camping all the time, and it was never wrong.  Never.

Imagine if weather patterns in TLD could be predicted like this.  Like oh, wind coming from the southwest, stratocumulus clouds in the sky, tomorrow should be mostly clear.  I have no expectations that this will be a thing, but it would be neat!