Making dried meats/jerky

[Cranky]

I’ve done a search using a few different phrases and couldn’t find this topic, tho I’m sure it’s already been discussed. 
 

The ability to dry our own meats would be a nice addition. With crafting/curing branches and pelts already being an integral part of the game, adding dried meats seems like a realistic idea for this setting.  Salt would be the only item needed to be added since we already have field dressing and cook books. 
 

I’m sure some will say it’s not needed or that it will make the game easier. I think it adds to the realism of the situation, gives players another item to craft, and helpful for those of us who like to be constantly on the move instead of setting up shop in a regions central location. 
 

Additionally this would be nice when taking down moose or bear since there is soooo much meat that goes to waste (for me anyways). 

Edited January 20, 2021 by Cranky

[Derek0311]

Salt is no necessary for jerky but yeah whether salted, smoked, or dried, meat preservation is an important part of survival.  Even if it’s been said before, no reason not to say it again.

[UTC-10]

Food preservation - salting, drying, smoking, etc. - has been suggested a lot.  I expect that for the purposes of story mode (the focus of TLD), which nominally covers only a period of a few weeks at worst, compared to survival mode where durations can be for thousands of days, the devs have decided it is not worth implementing at this time.  There are probably a host of food preservation techniques that could be introduced into the game but, as always, the implementation is up to the discretion of the devs.  They have to do the work, after all. 

[Lexilogo]

Meat preservation is definitely a feature I want to see implemented, but it needs to come as a thoughtfully-instituted substitute for the current Cooking Level 5 "leave the food on the floor" method of meat preservation.

It's not about just making things "realistic" but about making Cooking Level 5 less mandatory to grind out (though parasites are still gonna be a thing) and more importantly making food decay an actual relevant mechanic.

 

Don't Starve is a very different survival game from TLD, but I remember when proper food decay was first implemented into its beta, and how dramatically that changes a survival game for the better. It really helps when your food supplies, instead of being something that will consistently grow as long as you put the work in, has extra pressures put on it.

Of course, food preservation systems should exist to allow players to have long-term food storage and even the aforementioned Don't Starve has systems like that. It's IMO pretty crucial to have some kind of steady pressure on your food stockpile, though.

[ManicManiac]

I'll weigh in on this topic by echoing some of what I've mentioned in several threads in the past:

On 10/6/2020 at 9:27 PM, ManicManiac said:

I mean, once we get to Cooking - Level 5 we can eat cooked food with impunity anyway, so at that point meat can already be considered (in effect) preserved indefinitely anyway.

I'm fine with just role-playing it a little.  I keep raw meat "frozen" outside, and I only cook it when I need it.  This way nothing really goes to waste.
(Since we can cook 0% raw meat and getting the +50% condition bonus... for me this generally the best way to go.  Also, with Cooking Level 5, we can just sort of role-play that part of the level 5 advantages as also preparing for food preservation - helping to account the "iron stomach" effect)

 

On 2/20/2020 at 11:49 PM, ManicManiac said:

preserving food (particularly meats) is a topic that does come up often, however considering everything that's already in place and the various ways we can use (or choose to look at) them... I just don't see curing meats as being all that necessary.  Though I do agree that it might be a nice touch... but for all intents and purposes the functions are already there (so to speak).

 

On 2/24/2020 at 3:16 AM, ManicManiac said:

Add salt and self-made jerky:
I think it might be a nice touch, but considering what's already in play I really don't see a need for this.  I get that your whole point is that you don't seem to like how this was implemented, but I think just looking at it a little differently is a lot easier than Hinterland changing the game to suit individual tastes.

I don't see a need to have a system for preserving food when the current set up already provides the same effect, and I don't think it's such a critical issue to warrant overhauling the systems again to add this particular facet when the current effect is the essentially present.  Again though, I can agree that it would be a nice touch... but one that I can live without.

[UpUpAway95]

2 hours ago, ManicManiac said:

I'll weigh in on this topic by echoing some of what I've mentioned in several threads in the past:

I agree overall, but this could be added without adding salt and without revamping the entire system...  We already cure hides without salt just by throwing them on the floor.  The same could be done for meat simply by relabeling any raw meat that is dropped indoors as Meat (x% cured).  If it reaches 100% cured before it reaches 0% condition, it becomes "dried meat" or "jerky."  If the player drops raw meat indoors and the curing process starts, the player would not be able to cook that meat.  That is, the player would have to wait until the meat is completely cured in order to be able to eat it.   This meat could retain a small chance to give the player food poisoning (say, the same as meat that is 50% condition), but would otherwise be edible and not lose further condition nor could it ever be cooked.  Cooked meat and raw meat left outdoors would stay exactly the same as it is currently.  Since, as you say, one can already cook 0% meat to 50% condition and, at cooking 5, eat ruined meat, this change would be effectively neutral to the current balance of food in the game.

Edited January 21, 2021 by UpUpAway95

[RegentRelic]

I think that meat shouldn't functionally last for ever and then add a preserving method. There are just so many interesting decisions that the current system nullifies once you know how it works. Such as deciding to try and save some of your long lasting foods for an emergency, having to time hunts based of your supplies, where to store food, what too hunt. Actually I think I will just make my own topic talking about a revamp to the spoilage system so, for here I will just say, yes. Edit: I got distracted so maybe not or at least not today.

Edited January 22, 2021 by RegentRelic

[UpUpAway95]

12 hours ago, RegentRelic said:

I think that meat shouldn't functionally last for ever and then add a preserving method. There are just so many interesting decisions that the current system nullifies once you know how it works. Such as deciding to try and save some of your long lasting foods for an emergency, having to time hunts based of your supplies, where to store food, what too hunt. Actually I think I will just make my own topic talking about a revamp to the spoilage system so, for here I will just say, yes. Edit: I got distracted so maybe not or at least not today.

As I stated above, the curing of meat could be added in away that is neutral to the current game's balance.  I'm not saying that I agree with the balance of the current game.  I think that Cooking Level 5 should not make players immune to food poisoning, but rather significantly lower the risk but leaving at least a 1% chance in all cases.  Anything that is "ruined" should then have a 100% chance of causing food poisoning... meaning that even players with Level 5 cooking would get food poisoning from eating ruined food items.  The same should hold true for parasite risk.  There should always be a small increase to the risk when eating bear or wolf meat regardless of cooking level.  It should just be significantly reduced at cooking level 5.

Another neutral option would be to make cured meat continue to lose condition at the same rate as cooked meat stored outdoors until it too becomes ruined and only edible with Cooking 5.  This rationale would be supported because packaged jerky already also loses condition in the game and there is no reason to believe that homemade jerky would last longer than packaged jerky.

If the curing process starts using raw meat (as described above), I would also suggest that jerky made from bear or wolf meat should retain it's ability to give the player parasites at a higher risk since it is technically not cooked and this risk should continue even after Cooking Level 5 is reached.  This would make the curing of wolf or bear meat a less desired option than cooking it outright.

Another alternative is to having the curing process only start after the meat is cooked and is dropped indoors rather than outdoors.  It could also be limited such that curing only progresses when the meat is dropped beside a lit stove or campfire... and it would be possible for the meat to continue to lose condition until it is completely cured.  The condition of the jerky could be then locked at whatever point the meat condition had deteriorated to when the curing process completed with all the same risks for giving the player food poisoning and parasites as are currently in the game.

My basic point was that salt does not have to be added to the game since we already have an in-game process to cure hides without it.  It makes no sense IRL, but it would be consistent with the current "reality" inside the game.

[Old Hermit]

This is not neccessary, simply because the current system is all wrong. Otherwise, would be amazing.

I mean, i think is not right to someone put a piece of rotten meat (0%) on a fire, and then eat it as if had no problem. Furthermore, when u r an experienced chef, u not even need to cook it, just eat it as it is. No problem.

Makes no sense to me.

 

In this matter, a revamp would not be only cool. It is needed already (IMHO).

My little contribution about the Cooking level 5 issue: Now u are immune to food poisoning etc, at the expense of a 10%, for example, of calories value (u just learned to remove the most ruined parts). I imagine it doesn't breaks the mechanics so much, and gives a minor counterweight.