Wildlife and potential traps for them, along with some gameplay suggestions :)

[callumcampbell]

Hey, 

Firstly, I'm on here so obviously I love your game and thank you so much for the time put into it. That being said I think there is a lot of potential additions lurking in the real world just waiting to be included that would both improve gameplay and expand the game further without changing the aesthetics of the gameplay.

As someone that lives in the Northern latitudes and have a cabin nearby I would first suggest the inclusion of mice that spawn in internal locations that contain food that you haven't been back to within the last day or something. An item to be created out of scrap metal and scrap wood would be a mouse trap, using tools in a workbench I would assume. This would greatly increase the realism as mice are a serious issue with regards to the long-term preservation of food and even clothing in locations that you do not visit on a regular basis. As they would increase the difficulty they could be a option when in sandbox mode for example...

Oh it's far as outdoor stashes of food or anything left on the trail I would suggest the spawning of a new type of potentially threatening animal, the wolverine. I everyone that lives far enough north knows that they are vicious gluttonous animals and a severe nuisance, especially in comparison to wolves or bears in most cases. A great part about them would be that it's actions would actually be much more in line with how it already act in nature, in comparison to the behaviours of the wolves for example (obviously I understand the need to have the wolves behave the way they do for gameplay reasons but why not introduce an animal whose natural behaviour you don't have to change and then I have a disclaimer for :P ). Wolverines are vicious and can even hypothetically kill an unarmed person quite easily. They also are a nuisance for breaking into caches if it's not built properly and scavenging whatever food they possibly can. Exact mechanics of how the wolverine would behave and the damage it could do would be a game play choice obviously, with the need to maintain a balance between challenging and downright impossible.  I STRONGLY think it would be a critical edition to both making it more realistic and challenging without breaking from the simplistic model of the world that makes the game so enjoyable.

Leaving clothing items in camps, if made out of leather or hides would also be vulnerable to damage caused by scavenging animals, another interesting way to make the game more difficult as time goes on.

As a way to deal with scavenging animals potentially being added my solution would be not just the mouse trap already suggested above but a predator trap for outdoors. I imagine that it could be a very rare item as they would be a metal trap, and would take a long time to set up outdoors, and requiring branches etc. Interestingly you could even utilize dead mice from mice traps as bait for such predator traps. In creating a pet predator trap could require a forge and work bench, giving the player away to utilize one without necessarily having to stumble upon it. 

Another real world item that could be incorporated to deal with outdoor storage would be utilizing the climbing rope, some cloth and an arrow to deploy a rope style cache, raised up in a tree... Perhaps not necessary with the stone caches but if it were possible that Wolverines could break into those having an alternative would in my mind be an advantageous expansion of gameplay without adulterating the things that make the game great and are critical to its style of game play. Energy requirements to lift however much is in the cache, either up or to lower it, would also play into the whole having to plan for things angle, like climbing...

Also, more of a sidetone, in my opinion torches are too easy to be had, and because of that they're treated as  totally disposable, even when they have potential left in them. A way to change the process slightly would be to require that torches be crafted from cloth, a stick and maybe a little oil. Adjusting someone can reach into a fire and pull out a torch that burns for more than a couple of seconds as they take it away from the fire is almost is unrealistic as the behaviour of the wolves with regards to comparing both to the real world though I would also say that's nitpicking to a certain level, but only done because I enjoyed the game so much...

 

Thank you for your time, and even if my suggestions are stupid I would love to understand why so that don't make similar ones in the future. Conversely if anything I've said has resonated I would love to continue discussing potential additions or incorporation into the next game. Either way hopefully hear from someone at hinterland…

 

Hopefully something I wrote has sparked some imagination, if not apologies for it being a bit long winded

[Leeanda]

I've often thought about wolverines in the game. Mainly to use as a hat! They are certainly vicious enough for this game😁

[Cranky]

I too would really like additional wildlife. Wolverines, badgers, fox, mice, mountain lions, seals or walrus (coastal regions). Animals breaking into cashes and cabins is a real life issue especially food reserves. 
 

I think those kinds of additions would greatly enrich the player’s experience.  It would create another level of difficulty and problem solving and beauty to TLD world. 

[k0s0ff]

You wake up, and mice have eaten your socks.

[Cranky]

A simple deadfall/pitfall trap could be a fun addition.
 

Player would only need 3 things. 
1. shovel to dig the hole.

2. sticks/branches to cover/mask the opening.

 3. bait (meat/intestine) to be put on the sticks.

To make it a bit more elaborate there could be sharpened sticks/spikes at the bottom. 

[callumcampbell]

So basically the consensus gathering is everyone agrees? Lol

[callumcampbell]

Considering that everyone that's commented on this so far as ingredients to Z Astic Lee I wonder what the best course of action is to bring it to the attention of the most suitable person...