Despawn Cat Tail Heads when "Leave it" is Selected

[UpUpAway95]

This is a small change that would really cut down on the "litter" on some maps for me.  Once tinder is no longer required, I usually opt to leave the cat tail heads behind while harvesting the cat tail stocks.  The game currently then just drops them at the base of the plant and there they sit for the rest of the game unless I go to the extra trouble of collecting them all and deliberately storing them in a container or burning them up as tinder. 

Is it possible to make the cat tail heads specifically despawn when the "Leave it" option is selected while harvesting only while having them not despawn if dropped manually from the player's inventory (so that people could still drop them by their campfire sites to be used later as tinder if they so wish).

[Lexilogo]

I think it'd be a much, much better idea if Tinder was actually worth something after Firestarting lvl3, something everyone and their grandma has been demanding for years. (most likely as an extra fuel source) IMO, it would be preferable to ensure we don't have any items that we genuinely want to delete than just bandaid the problem with the ability to delete them.

 

Having a "Delete Item" function wouldn't be reasonable, though, and I don't see a reason why not. Just have a basic safety measure like making it a click and hold function to ensure people don't delete stuff on accident.

[UpUpAway95]

1 hour ago, Lexilogo said:

I think it'd be a much, much better idea if Tinder was actually worth something after Firestarting lvl3, something everyone and their grandma has been demanding for years. (most likely as an extra fuel source) IMO, it would be preferable to ensure we don't have any items that we genuinely want to delete than just bandaid the problem with the ability to delete them.

 

Having a "Delete Item" function wouldn't be reasonable, though, and I don't see a reason why not. Just have a basic safety measure like making it a click and hold function to ensure people don't delete stuff on accident.

I think the "safety" against accidentally "leaving it" is already there since one gets the choice to "take" the cat tail stalk first and must then change keys to "leave" the cat tail head.  I've accidentally taken heads I didn't want, but never have I left any that I wanted to take.  However, I'd be fine with your "delete" suggestion as well.  I do waffle on what I'd like to see be done about the tinder issue, but as it is, burning them without any benefit is at least better than having to burn them up as optional tinder one at a time.  I'd hate to see them revert to requiring them somehow.  The main reason I take the Firestarting feat is so that I don't have to carry tinder... keeping the weight out of my inventory.

[UTC-10]

I guess my problem is I do not see the litter as a problem. 

I have made alternate uses for cattail heads (and tinder plugs) to mark trails across the trackless ice sheets, paths of safe passage in areas of weak ice, marking cairns I have found so I know I had found them if I come across them later, and even that I visited a dwelling (pre-spray paint).   I have even taken to using tinder plugs anyway mostly for the role-playing when convenient. 

So this does not seem like a situation that justifies a specific mechanic to deal with it.  

[UpUpAway95]

1 minute ago, UTC-10 said:

I guess my problem is I do not see the litter as a problem. 

I have made alternate uses for cattail heads (and tinder plugs) to mark trails across the trackless ice sheets, paths of safe passage in areas of weak ice, marking cairns I have found so I know I had found them if I come across them later, and even that I visited a dwelling (pre-spray paint).   I have even taken to using tinder plugs anyway mostly for the role-playing when convenient. 

So this does not seem like a situation that justifies a specific mechanic to deal with it.  

I use them for those purposes as well... which is why I do "take" some.  Even so, I still have numerous ones left lying around the base of the plants in the zones that have lots of cat tails.  Since I don't want to cart them around between zones, I use regular tinder plugs in zones without cat tails (which are infinite because sticks are infinite).  Anyway, I guess I'll continue eventually picking them all up myself and stuffing them into a corpse somewhere.  No biggy.

[dbmurph22]

I support the suggestion of the original post as is.

[UpUpAway95]

I have an alternate suggestion... why not eliminate the 'Leave It" option from the "harvest" UI for cat tails, reshi mushrooms and rose hips.  Selecting "leave it" for any of these, just tosses the item on the ground at the base of the plant or tree.  The "harvest" action can always be stopped by lifting ones figure off the button before it makes a full circle and this leaves the item on the plant or tree... which is preferable to tossing it on the ground.  In the case of cat tails, the "harvest" action if allowed to complete the circle could just automatically add both the cat tail stalk and the cat tail head to the player's inventory... whereby, the player could decide where they want to drop a bunch of them together or store them in a container or otherwise use them however they want.  This change alone would shorten the "harvest" action considerably.

[Balthasar250]

I use tinder and cat tails and charcoal as markers, so despawning would hinder how I use them

[RegentRelic]

I don't think that they should auto despawn at the very least.

[dbmurph22]

Yeah, if they are being used for marking and other tasks then, probably they should be as is.  Maybe it will give those who don't like them scattered on the ground an extra thing they can do and find a container.

[Lexilogo]

10 hours ago, dbmurph22 said:

Yeah, if they are being used for marking and other tasks then, probably they should be as is.  Maybe it will give those who don't like them scattered on the ground an extra thing they can do and find a container.

I really disagree with this line of thinking because any item could be used for this purpose, it doesn't need to be inherently useless for other purposes to make this use possible. Most notably Stones, Charcoal, Sticks, or spray paint.

If Tinder was made burnable, Cat Tail Heads and Tinder Plugs would probably still be used for marking, by whomever uses them for that purpose, it'd just be that their default use would be burning them as a way to make micro-adjustments to fire times.

[Balthasar250]

however, there was this other suggestion I've been making about candles or ember cans. if we add pine wax to the game and use tinder as wick with a can. that could use up our over stock of tinder.

[UpUpAway95]

15 hours ago, dbmurph22 said:

Yeah, if they are being used for marking and other tasks then, probably they should be as is.  Maybe it will give those who don't like them scattered on the ground an extra thing they can do and find a container.

If they are beng used for marking, then the player is not selecting the "leave it" option in the UI.  They have to "take it" in order to move them to the place they want to use them as markers.  My suggestion ONLY applies when the "leave it" option is selected.

Edited January 13, 2021 by UpUpAway95

[UpUpAway95]

2 hours ago, TheRealPestilence said:

So in order to please you, the picky person, we, the not picky people will have to specifically preserve cat tails we don't want now in order to maybe have them later?

No, it's a suggestion and I said upfront it was a "small change."  However, if the cat tails are being used as markers, it is a fact (not an opinion) that the player has to take them into their inventory to use them that way.  Players wanting to use cat tails as markers are unlikely to select "leave it."  My alternate suggestion of eliminating the 'leave it" option altogether would speed up the process of collecting them by one click (actually 2 clicks - one to view the cat tail head separately and another to "take it/leave it."  I'd be perfectly happy either way.  That way, people wanting to "leave it" can simply either drop the item manually right there or, to leave it both the stalk and the head on the plant itself, opt to cancel out of the "harvest" before the circle completes.  This would also prevent that accidental dropping of both reshi's and rose hip.  Reshi's are easy to spot in the snow... rose hips, not so much.

Edited January 13, 2021 by UpUpAway95

[ManicManiac]

I've given this topic space to breath...  I'll chime in on it now.

I don't think that the game should try to interpret the player's intention... just because a player opts to leave it doesn't necessarily indicate a "useless" item in every case.  Some times it just means we want to leave something where it is rather than pick it up.

Again, I don't think the game should be trying to determine player intention.  If the player doesn't want to leave cattails head littered all over... then I'd suggest taking them and putting them some place else.   I mean, it's not like they are particularly heavy...

I believe this game should remain focused on player choice... not the game making choices for the player.

**Note for all those who apparently can't tolerate other people's opinions...
I'm not going to argue with people about it, I'm stating my opinion because I have a right to.  I don't care if folks don't like my opinion, I am still expressing it.  If certain people don't care for my opinion, feel free to ignore it... because I'm not going to be drawn into more of those people's hostilities; only for them to then try and blame me for their poor conduct in the face of a differing opinion.   

Edited January 13, 2021 by ManicManiac

[dbmurph22]

On 1/13/2021 at 4:14 AM, Lexilogo said:

I really disagree with this line of thinking because any item could be used for this purpose, it doesn't need to be inherently useless for other purposes to make this use possible. Most notably Stones, Charcoal, Sticks, or spray paint.

If Tinder was made burnable, Cat Tail Heads and Tinder Plugs would probably still be used for marking, by whomever uses them for that purpose, it'd just be that their default use would be burning them as a way to make micro-adjustments to fire times.

Okay, sure.  But we are making people change for what benefit - I thought the OP suggestion was nice, but not vital.  Also, by making the other substitutes you suggest to be for this use, it has an unknown further effect on each individual's gameplay.  Maybe they are relying on them for other things.  Good ideas are good reasons to alter player behavior and this is a nice suggestion, but again, it's not vital. I was in favor of it, if it otherwise affected nothing.

On 1/13/2021 at 8:53 AM, UpUpAway95 said:

If they are beng used for marking, then the player is not selecting the "leave it" option in the UI.  They have to "take it" in order to move them to the place they want to use them as markers.  My suggestion ONLY applies when the "leave it" option is selected.

Good point, but maybe they are using them as markers when leaving, too.  Not sure.   It's a good way to know the areas you've traversed at any rate.

 

[UpUpAway95]

35 minutes ago, dbmurph22 said:

Okay, sure.  But we are making people change for what benefit - I thought the OP suggestion was nice, but not vital.  Also, by making the other substitutes you suggest to be for this use, it has an unknown further effect on each individual's gameplay.  Maybe they are relying on them for other things.  Good ideas are good reasons to alter player behavior and this is a nice suggestion, but again, it's not vital. I was in favor of it, if it otherwise affected nothing.

Good point, but maybe they are using them as markers when leaving, too.  Not sure.   It's a good way to know the areas you've traversed at any rate.

 

Then my alternative works... saves everyone 2 clicks by eliminating the 'take it" or "leave it" choice... and then the people who want to use them as markers can still select them to drop them from their inventory.  Perhaps it could even activate with something similar to the drop decoy function.  This would save time not only for cat tails,  but also when harvesting reshi mushrooms and rose hips (which, let's face it, no one would be inclined to drop them after they harvest them to use them as a marker because they are too valuable as teas).  I'm also willing to bet that almost no one selects "leave it" when harvesting reshi mushrooms and rose hips now... and they almost certainly don't expect them to get dropped onto the ground if they do happen to select "leave it."  Most likely, they think they are canceling the harvest command and expect the reshi mushroom or rose hip to stay on the plant.

Edited January 14, 2021 by UpUpAway95

[one_shurbbery]

On 1/11/2021 at 9:56 AM, UpUpAway95 said:

This is a small change that would really cut down on the "litter" on some maps for me.  Once tinder is no longer required, I usually opt to leave the cat tail heads behind while harvesting the cat tail stocks.  The game currently then just drops them at the base of the plant and there they sit for the rest of the game unless I go to the extra trouble of collecting them all and deliberately storing them in a container or burning them up as tinder. 

Is it possible to make the cat tail heads specifically despawn when the "Leave it" option is selected while harvesting only while having them not despawn if dropped manually from the player's inventory (so that people could still drop them by their campfire sites to be used later as tinder if they so wish).

Something I've been hoping for is for cattail heads to be used in crafting, mainly as added insulation. Maybe the down could be used to modify socks to increase there warmth rating. Cattail down could be something required for the bearskin bedroll, instead of cloth. 

[Stinky socks]

Can you smoke them, like a cigar? Maybe some healing, or not, properties from inhaling them when they burn. 

I'd really like to see them used in fire just like sticks. Same goes for stack of papers and other recyclable garbage around houses.

Do they burn like fire or just smkoe?

[UpUpAway95]

On 3/10/2021 at 8:27 PM, one_shurbbery said:

Something I've been hoping for is for cattail heads to be used in crafting, mainly as added insulation. Maybe the down could be used to modify socks to increase there warmth rating. Cattail down could be something required for the bearskin bedroll, instead of cloth. 

I'm not sure how "prickly" the fluff that comes out of cattail heads is.  I suspect it doesn't stand up well as insulation when it has been wet... but it's an idea.  It would be nice if they had an additional use, for sure.