Tinder plugs beyond Firestarting Level 2

[wilsonaka]

Quote

On 11/2/2018 at 7:53 AM, ManicManiac said:

I think items that are usable as tinder should just provide at least some kind of bonus for starting fires (even if only a very small one)...  Otherwise it becomes a completely wasted resource after we get our fire starting skill to level 3.
In a game like this, I don't think anything should be useless.  Right now, after level 3 tinder is only good for filling the pockets of corpses.

I think it's time to revisit this suggestion.  It's silly to me, being a person who has started many, many fires(in real life), to assume that one can achieve the same level of a successful fire without tinder.

I might suggest a few things: 

Different tinder have different bonuses to the base level fire-starting chance. (i.e. plugs at 4%, cattail heads at 3%, birch bark at 2%. Newsprint, papers at 3%, newspaper roll at 5%, cash at 7% [It's gotta be worth at least *something* ].
Different tinder could have an added bonus to the fire's initial temperature.
Tinder may be added to the fire for a small time bonus (1 min or so, for those wanting to grab a torch at 9m)

This game is very immersive, but if we're striving for realism, I think this is one particular dynamic that could use a little love.

Thoughts or criticism are welcome.

*edit* I just want to specify that Fire-starting 1 and 2 would not be affected since tinder is required at these levels.
 

Edited December 9, 2020 by wilsonaka
clarification, aesthetics.

[Avril]

Sure why not.

[Kranium]

IRL, tinder also has qualities correlated with insulation.

 

Just sayin'...

[Szpirit]

Or just simply reduce the chances by. 5% if the player is not using any tinder. (At lvl 3 and above)

Yeah i'm thinking about the same thing recently. The first feat to bring, or the first skill to achieve is the lvl3 firestarting. Sure it feels good to not have to mess around with tinders, but making the whole tinder section useless after is a bit too much... i think.

The another idea that should be fun and usefull is add the soo called "hobofire" to he game.
It can be crafted from an empty tin-can. Serves as a small stove, that can be placed indoors. It burns weaker, have only one cooking place, and can only be feed with sticks, OR u can use tinder as fuel to give it a few more minutes burning time. 

Edited December 13, 2020 by Szpirit

[Mr. 0]

Yes. And give us oppurtunity to use tinder as fuel (1 min of fire is enough) to get rid of abundance. 

[djanico]

Agree, tinder just seems like such a waste afterwards.  i think fire starting past level 3 should just start adding a small bonus to fire starting depending on which tinder you use (as you mentioned)

You could also add the ability to use multiple tinder plugs (2x 3x etc) to stack fire starting bonus. (with a % max cap) Would help allot with the newbie skills.  So say a 10% max cap is reached by adding 5 tinder plugs at skill 1,  4 at skill 2,  3 at skill 3.. etc etc. 

Edited December 15, 2020 by djanico

[wilsonaka]

16 minutes ago, djanico said:

Agree, tinder just seems like such a waste afterwards.  i think fire starting past level 3 should just start adding a small bonus to fire starting depending on which tinder you use (as you mentioned)

You could also add the ability to use multiple tinder plugs (2x 3x etc) to stack fire starting bonus. (with a % max cap) Would help allot with the newbie skills.  So say a 10% max cap is reached by adding 5 tinder plugs at skill 1,  4 at skill 2,  3 at skill 3.. etc etc. 

I respect your ideas, but may I offer a little bit of criticism?  The idea of Fire-starting 1 and 2 are that you're learning how to start fires, as it seems you've never really had to before.  Using more tinder plugs shouldn't make much of a difference because if you can't get the flame to ignite the fuel in the first place, more tinder shouldn't offset that chance and give you more skill. Plus, we already have accelerant in-game.

That being said: If we could break tinder down into kindling, we'd be talking about a better chance.

[Fragtzack]

 The current design of tinder plugs becoming worthless upon gaining a level in fire starting is a design flaw. Hinterlands did a lot of things right in this game, but Tinder Plugs is something that the designer/developers completely missed the mark on.

Even in real life, the most advanced fire starter human in the world would still get benefit from using a tinder plug. 

Tinder plug should still provide benefit (such as 3%)  after level 3 AND a new crafting recipe to make "Fire Logs" from tinder plugs. (Credit goes to another poster on forums for this idea).  

 

[Kranium]

1 hour ago, Fragtzack said:

 a new crafting recipe to make "Fire Logs" from tinder plugs.

I love this so much.

[UpUpAway95]

I really don't mind that they provide no benefit after Firestarting 2, but please let me throw the lot of them (tinder plugs, cat tail heads and newprint) onto a fire if I want to just dispose of them.  Optionally usuing them up one at a time as tinder is simply too slow to clean up in several places (particularly applies to masses of newsprint).

[dbmurph22]

On 12/13/2020 at 9:25 AM, Mr. 0 said:

Yes. And give us oppurtunity to use tinder as fuel (1 min of fire is enough) to get rid of abundance. 

This is what I’d like to see.  They can be used as fuel at any time as well as tinder, 1-2 mins apiece at 0.25 degrees. That would give them use after fire 3 and could add extra choices in early game too.

[wilsonaka]

On 12/9/2020 at 1:44 PM, wilsonaka said:

Tinder may be added to the fire for a small time bonus (1 min or so, for those wanting to grab a torch at 9m)
 

 

[dbmurph22]

9 hours ago, wilsonaka said:

 

Sorry, yeah you said as much in the OP.  I got lost in the weeds a bit reading the replies after reading your initial post forgetting the sources.

That said, I like the simplicity and cleanness of just having this added in exclusively rather than in addition to the other suggestions of different fire starting bonuses.

[mfuegemann]

I had the same thoughts about the use of tinder after fire making level 3. I would love some incentive to use tinder even then.
The bonus approach should work well: level 5 fire success rate 95% without tinder, 100% with tinder.

The option to add tinder to a burning fire for small duration gain and the new crafting suggestion to create a fire log are great too.