please add a deadfall trap as a way to snag mammals

[jackattack]

I'm going to hazard a guess that the developers will avoid adding traps that can be described as "nasty" or "particularly cruel".

Just a hunch.

[Boston123]

I'm going to hazard a guess that the developers will avoid adding traps that can be described as "nasty" or "particularly cruel".

Just a hunch.

Why? In all actuality, the "nasty/particularly cruel traps" are more merciful than a trap that just snares an animals leg and suspends it, or cripples it and lets it starve/dehydrate to death, due to the fact that death comes swiftly and comparatively painlessly.

The whole point of trapping animals is to get enough food to survive. They are going to die. If the animal must die so that you must live, then at least give it the respect and mercy of a quick, clean death, either through suffocation or exsanguination.

[bethany]

Thanks for the feedback/info, everyone.

Bigger traps have been touched on a bit. We'll see what happens!

[Scyzara]

The whole point of trapping animals is to get enough food to survive. They are going to die. If the animal must die so that you must live, then at least give it the respect and mercy of a quick, clean death, either through suffocation or exsanguination.

I completely agree to this. At least very painful but nonlethal traps like the ones suggested by American Steel should imo definitely not be included. The same is true for classical bear traps - there is a very good reason why EU animal protection law and hunting law don't allow to use leghold traps under any circumstances. To be honest, I even dislike the current rabbit snares (they're forbidden here as well), but suffocation is probably a somehow acceptable means of killing under survival conditions.

I know it's quite arguable whether you would stick to high moral standarts in a real life survival situation, but TLD is still a game - I for one have no need for excessive cruelty here. I would probably even avoid using non-lethal traps like leghold traps if they were added.^^

The least cruel trap would probably be some kind of mechanism that breaks the neck of your prey instantly (like a conibear trap for small animals like rats or rabbits) or at least knocks the animal unconscious. Unfortunetely, I doubt that such large game traps can be created easily, if they exist at all. A deadfall trap with a really huge weight (maybe 200kg+) might work, but it's a bit questionable how our character should set up such a heavy trap.

[AmericanSteel]

I think the balance between what is acceptable in the game is something only the devs can address. For instance, cannibalism if off the table. We see a number of human-icicles and the devs have decided that we are not reliving the Donner Party disaster. Kind of like the have done in The Forrest. There has to be a line the hero of the story will not cross, unless they are not really a hero at all.

While I abhore the use of traps that lame an animal, they are simple techniques that work. All of the techniques I mentioned are known to be used by poachers in Africa. Some of the methods are also use to get bush meat in Central America, or at least we were trained to look out for them while I was there in the 90s. I mentioned them because they work. In the game we are surviving, the niceties of "civilization" have fallen aside. The player is left with their wits, tooth and claw.

It is a known fact that some people die in survival situations because they will not eat certain foods or not catch/kill animals. Their moral compass or their civilized taste buds simply prevent it. When you take the possibility of food off the table the chance of starving increases.

I look forward to seeing where the devs draw the line in the snow

[Boston123]

The whole point of trapping animals is to get enough food to survive. They are going to die. If the animal must die so that you must live, then at least give it the respect and mercy of a quick, clean death, either through suffocation or exsanguination.

I completely agree to this. At least very painful but nonlethal traps like the ones suggested by American Steel should imo definitely not be included. The same is true for classical bear traps - there is a very good reason why EU animal protection law and hunting law don't allow to use leghold traps under any circumstances. To be honest, I even dislike the current rabbit snares (they're forbidden here as well), but suffocation is probably a somehow acceptable means of killing under survival conditions.

I know it's quite arguable whether you would stick to high moral standarts in a real life survival situation, but TLD is still a game - I for one have no need for excessive cruelty here. I would probably even avoid using non-lethal traps like leghold traps if they were added.^^

The least cruel trap would probably be some kind of mechanism that breaks the neck of your prey instantly (like a conibear trap for small animals like rats or rabbits) or at least knocks the animal unconscious. Unfortunetely, I doubt that such large game traps can be created easily, if they exist at all. A deadfall trap with a really huge weight (maybe 200kg+) might work, but it's a bit questionable how our character should set up such a heavy trap.

In reality, the current in-game snares won't suffocate the animal, all they would really do is keep the animal trapped until it dies from exposure.

A twitch-up snare gives a much greater chance to kill the animal, due to suffocation, and it also (mostly) removes the possibility of predators taking the dead animal.

http://wildernessarena.com/food-water-s ... and-snares

The in-game snare is the "simple snare",

Large-game traps could be the deadfall, the bow-trap, and the spear trap. Harder to build, and requires A LOT more caution, but they are eminently capable of killing wolves and even bears

[toebar]

hmm.. I'd thought that a slip knot is used so when the rabbit gets its head through the noose it panics, tries to get free, and tightens the noose until it suffocates.

[Boston123]

hmm.. I'd thought that a slip knot is used so when the rabbit gets its head through the noose it panics, tries to get free, and tightens the noose until it suffocates.

Technically, yes. It is most effective when you use wire as the snare material, as once wire tightens on itself, it is very difficult to loosen. Which is why I carry wire in my survival kit, and have wound wire around the frame of my pack.

Gut, or other natural cordage, on the other hand, can and will "back up" on itself when the animal struggles, failing to suffocate the animal at best, and freeing it at worst.

Which is why I prefer the "twitch up". Even with natural cordage, the fact that the animal is 1) suspended under its own weight and 2) unable to get purchase on anything, means 1- it is much more likely to suffocate and 2 - much less likely to get free.

[Burning Bridges]

To traps. I think in rl they are scary and should be used only as a last measure. But in the game, yes bears and deer with traps sounds like the most logical thing.

I'm going to hazard a guess that the developers will avoid adding traps that can be described as "nasty" or "particularly cruel".

Just a hunch.

I would not put too much into this. I am sure people exist who would be on the fence, but they are probably abhorred enough by the game as it is = "much too cruel". On the other hand I also remember there were people here on this forum who are vegetarians in real life but have no problem eating meat in the game. This is how I would approach this too. I may be personally against a lot of things, but they dont hurt anyone in a computer game. In fact such games can always be very important tools to learn, like assuming I was against hunting, I think that playing a hunting game gives me a much better position (and credibility) to do something against it.