Alternate Seasons

[ajb1978]

This post is inspired by this lovely 45 degree day (114F)...bleh.  So this is a total hypothetical, but say the game supported all four seasons.  Obviously we know how winter would behave, because...well..that's what we have.  But what changes do you think Spring, Summer, and Autumn would bring?  This isn't a wish list item by any means, I just like to think about stuff like this for the sake of thinking about it.

My thoughts:

Spring: Ambient temps may be above freezing during the day, dipping below freezing at night.  Wetness becomes a major concern, and thawing would mean more weak ice, possibly rendering Jackrabbit Island and Misanthrope's Homestead inaccessible without using the boats.  On days where the ambient temperature is above freezing, wet clothing never freezes, and you can dry out clothing by walking around outside, or dropping it on the ground.  However your temperature sub-condition can still drop to zero, presenting you with Hypothermia Risk, although you do not suffer freezing damage.  Paved areas (and icy areas in general) become treacherous with an increased chance of falling and spraining something, due to the layer of ice that builds up from the freeze/thaw day and night cycle.  Some of the snow starts to melt, revealing the grass and dirt underneath.  On dark nights, this creates areas where the ground is essentially pure black, and you can't necessarily see what's right in front of you.  Some areas become particularly muddy, slowing you way down as you slog through the mire.

Summer: The most profound changes to gameplay.  Travel at night is dangerous, as the snow is all gone.  Unless you're in an open field under a full moon, everything is nearly pitch black.  The moonlight helps in the open, but thick foliage in the forests presents some extremely hazardous hiking conditions.  Predators can detect you easily, but you don't see them until they're on top of you.  Avoid forests at night!  Cold is no longer a concern.  Now, your battle is with insects, sunburn, and heatstroke.  This turns the temperature gauge on its head, to where keeping it as low as possible is preferred.  If your Feels Like is 25C or above, you start to get warmer.  Although the wind still helps to cool you down, Heat Index is now a thing: humid days make your Feels Like go up.  The higher the Feels Like, the quicker you overheat.  If it fills up completely, you are afflicted with Heat Exhaustion, which results in your Thirst decreasing twice as fast, and an automatic scent line due to your profuse sweating.  Left untreated, after 2 hours it escalates to Heat Stroke, which results in your Fatigue decreasing twice as fast, and 20% condition loss per hour.  Cooling off can be done by spending time indoors, passing time in the shade, or by going for a swim.  You can also sacrifice 1L of water by dumping it over your head, to take a small chunk out of your heat meter.  Lowering your temperature below maximum halts Heat Stroke damage, although you must keep it from maxing out for 4 consecutive hours, while avoiding Dehydration to cure it.  Walking around with little on means you overheat slower, however exposed skin is at risk for sunburn similar to frostbite, although sunburn damage can be healed with time.  You can no longer "melt snow".  You must now gather water from a source, be it a pond or stream, and then it must be filtered and boiled.  (Necessitating the crafting of a filter using a recycled can, sand, stones, charcoal, and cloth.)   You can also sterilize this crudely filtered water by leaving it outside for a total of 48 daylight hours (UV sterilization).  Also, certain areas become hotspots for insect swarms, particularly in the Muskeg.  Insect swarms cause 2% condition loss per hour per area of uncovered skin, as a result of stings and bites.  This also carries with it a risk of contracting a general sickness that slowly damages condition, but heals naturally over time.  Water is now warm enough that you can swim, provided you are not encumbered.  Wearing wet clothing keeps you cool longer, at the expense of additional weight.  You can now also fish anywhere there is water and your feet are touching the ground.  Rivers, lakes, ponds, the coast--the world is your oyster.  Natural medicine, cat tails, and saplings respawn.  The ice fishing huts and all they contained have broken through the ice, and are forever lost.  This would necessitate some kind of ice fishing overhaul, allowing you to bust a hole anywhere for the following winter.  Beachcombing becomes incredibly easy, as items literally wash up on the beach now, to be safely grabbed.  Better stock up on those "nonrenewables" before winter....

Autumn: Similar to Spring, temps may be above freezing during the day, and below freezing at night.  All the leaves on the ground mean you make more noise than usual when traveling through the forest, causing wildlife to sense your presence from twice as far away when not crouched.  Also, as everything is trying to fatten up for the winter, predators are a little more aggressive than normal, but all animals have more meat on them than in other seasons.  Otherwise, pretty much identical to Spring.

[Khan_Drichthyes]

Two words:  Aurora Mosquitoes 😋

[ajb1978]

3 hours ago, rancid0 said:

great idea! you put alot of thought into this, i've had a similar idea of hinterland adding a warmer wetter region to the game where we'd get thunderstorms instead of blizzards which is less ambitious but would probably be easier to implement.   

I don't think any of this would be anything short of impossible to implement at this point.  The Long Dark is a great game, but one written with a very specific environment in mind. And all of this...well...it would basically require an entirely new game.  

But it'd be pretty damn cool if it existed

 

1 hour ago, Khan_Drichthyes said:

Two words:  Aurora Mosquitoes 😋

I...no.  No.  No.  No man. No.  Hell no. No.  NO.
NO.
No. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
No.

[Guest jeffpeng]

14 hours ago, ajb1978 said:

it would basically require an entirely new game.  

That's what I thought. Having TLD experience seasons would lift it an entire level over what it is now, but I doubt Unity can even do that.

14 hours ago, ajb1978 said:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

No god! Please, no! NOOOO!

[Khan_Drichthyes]

22 hours ago, ajb1978 said:

I...no.  No.  No.  No man. No.  Hell no. No.  NO.
NO.
No. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
No.

Would you prefer Aurora Bees?🤪

Actually, the Aurora Mosquitoes wouldn't be so bad if you had a hanging bug zapper.  I imagine the Aurora powering it, allowing you to hold it like a lantern.

 

[JujuBear]

On 7/20/2019 at 11:03 AM, ajb1978 said:

it would basically require an entirely new game.

Yup, think how much more content we could have if it expanded like that...hypothetically of course. I especially find your idea for a Summer setting particularly interesting. The Long Dark but like a Summer version and not any less annoying than the Winter one trying to stay warm haha

Edited July 23, 2019 by JujuBear