suggestion Dogs, sleds & multiplayer in survival mode

[GrimmVenom1118]

I think it would be awesome to be able to find stray dogs (maybe 4-5 in the whole set of maps in survival mode) and the dog that lived in the abandoned dog house in one of the maps. When you're close to one, you'll hear barking.

The models and personalities for the dogs would be randomized so you never know which ones you'll find when you play. 

You'd need to earn their trust with a certain amount of canned dog food or meat and spend time around them when you find them; finding a dog would unlock leather collars & harnesses, bandanas made from cloth, beds made from hide or old sleeping bags, boots for their paws made from cloth or leather (decreases the chance of cracked paws) and the ability to name them! The limit would be however many are in the game (4-5 for this example) and they can die; if that happens, for every dog that passes away in your group, a new generated dog will appear somewhere in the game.

The dogs have a random set of traits that are: "Hunter" - Kills rabbits automatically, has a 65% chance to bring it instead of eating it; has a cool-down period after killing two rabbits. 

"Independent" - Most wild of the group. Will accept pets sometimes, warms a little slower than the rest, has a 68% chance of listening when not pulling the sled and will be off by itself most of the time but will establish a close bond with one other dog in the group and will be seen with it quite often; is a great tracker.

"Friendly" - Stays close to you and follows commands 95% of the time, is the most willing to bond with you and will keep you warm when you're sleeping.

"Leader" - Can rally the others to intimidate a bear or wolf -which works 70% of the time and hunt larger game as a pack but always takes 10-15% of the kill for itself and there's a 30% chance someone gets injured in standoffs and hunts.

"Guardian" - The only one who will go one on one with a wolf to protect you, has a 45% chance of winning unharmed, 25% of winning with injuries, 20% of it being a draw and a 10% chance of dying in the fight. It's odds can be increased in its favor by adding spikes made from scrap metal to the collar you make for it.

The final one is "Wise" - Will show the likelihood of success when hunting & facing off and will tell you what areas have danger through body language. Has a 15% chance to bring you a bag of chips, soda or jerky when your hunger is low..it's kinda the "Nanny Dog" in that way. 

 

Commands would be: 

"Stay" - For when you want to go somewhere alone, just don't be gone for more than 24 hours; there could be danger while you're away or they might come looking for you if you didn't leave enough food and water.

"Come" - When you're ready to go or there's danger you'd rather avoid.

"Go" - To activate their special trait; a "Leader" will rally the rest, an "Independent" will start to track, a "Wise" will show success % and "Guardian" will fight for you.

And "Break" They do idle things like lay down, groom, sniff about, sleep and play with sticks or each other if the individuals have a good bond; all within 30-40 feet of you. 

*Must be looking at the dog to give commands*

 

If you're on the sled the commands are: 

"Hike" (let's go),

"Gee" (turn right), 

"Haw" (turn left), 

"Easy" (slow down)

"Woah" (stop).

 All controlled via WASD or console controller but they do have a 10% chance of refusal if your bond isn't high enough or if they're new to your group. 

 

The 2nd thing goes with the dog idea; when you get 2 or more dogs and have a good relationship with them, it unlocks the blueprint for a sled! It'll be difficult to make but the perks would be moving faster and extra storage. You'll need harnesses to use it though! 

If a dog is "Wise" then they will slow the sled down on their own and whimper to show that there's danger in the area; it will stop whimpering and slowing down if you make them run through the area but be careful not to push them too hard; they'll get fatigued or crack their paws (each dog will have a 30% chance of either happening and a 7% chance of both happening; the only way all the dogs will have an affliction is if you don't slow down for a while) 

 

The last is multiplayer; co-op and online would be so much fun! Of course they'd probably have to add some type of building and farming mechanics to keep it interesting..just a little though, we don't want to lose the game in all the changes. The number of dogs would stay the same so you'd have to share the sled with your teammates (which would probably have a group max of 4 to keep the game challenging and avoid depleting resources too quickly).

The building mechanics would have to be a cabin of some sort, a teepee, primitive furniture made from lumber, sticks hide and cloth (like chairs, tables, bunks & regular beds and storage cabinets), stone fireplace, a shovel to dig up rocks, dirt and a small chance of scrap metal, dog houses to leave the dogs at base or pick which ones you want take or leave at the moment, and slightly advanced furniture if you have enough hide, cloth, leather and metal scraps. 

The farming mechanics would be small. Like window planters of berries and pots with fruits & vegetables set in a warm environment and by a window. You could find seeds in truck-beds, floorboards, houses, the abandoned convenience store and by trash cans. 

Edited November 20, 2023 by GrimmVenom1118
Spelling error

[James Hickok]

As much as i admire your thought and that you spent some time to come up with that i really dont like the idea of a NPC companion i any game. 

Using sleds to travel faster is a no go IMO as well. It is very close to fast travel mechanic which i hate and it killed Starfield for me. 

On the side note i had first snow where i live yesterday and it was quite a lot of it - heavy, wet. I took my dog for a walk in the snow and just outside my house there was a big rabbit near the fence. It started off like bugatti Veyron and my dog went instantly for it. Honestly i dont know what dog can catch a rabbit in the snow - seems impossible. The rabbit was super fast. Super. 

If the company would take time and resources to implement another 3d models in game i would really like to see more animals to hunt (like foxes, birds, badger...) + more item variants and new clothing/ new survival mechanics. 

[Leeanda]

There have been a lot of requests for companions and multiplayer and they've always caused a lot of disagreement...  personally I'd love to be able to play with my friends when I can,it sounds like fun ..but primarily it's about being alone and I find it relaxing that way..

I don't know about dogs and sled though, it sounds like a lot of work ..  but I have to admit that I was tempted by the fox mod available ,it's very sweet and doesn't require any upkeep.. 

As @James Hickok said though, you've obviously put a lot of thought and time into it and I admire you for that.. 

And welcome to the forum 😊

Edited November 20, 2023 by Leeanda

[ManicManiac]

For those who like the idea of sled dogs, animal companions, cold cold weather, and survival gameplay... you might perhaps like:
The Red Lantern — Timberline Studio

Suffice to say... I don't really think I'd like it in my TLD survival sandbox... but as its own game I think it works just fine.

[ManicManiac]

Another one that feels like it "borrows" a lot of ideas for TLD (while still going its own way):
Kona on Steam (steampowered.com)

Edited November 20, 2023 by ManicManiac

[ManicManiac]

Another one good for an animal companion:
Among Trees on Steam (steampowered.com)

But it's worth noting... this was an early access game but seems that it was eventually abandoned (so no further updates are expected)... however, in its current state, the features that is has does feel more-or-less complete.

Again... it seems that the developers are no longer working on the game... so for those who look at it, know that what's there now is all the game is going to be.

Notable features: Animal companion, base "building"/expansion (though this happens in just one predetermined location, later in game there is an option to build a greenhouse addon to your base where you can garden... (there are more but I won't spoil it for those who might just like to explore).

Again... things that I think that work well as their own game.

[GrimmVenom1118]

4 hours ago, Leeanda said:

There have been a lot of requests for companions and multiplayer and they've always caused a lot of disagreement...  personally I'd love to be able to play with my friends when I can,it sounds like fun ..but primarily it's about being alone and I find it relaxing that way..

I don't know about dogs and sled though, it sounds like a lot of work ..  but I have to admit that I was tempted by the fox mod available ,it's very sweet and doesn't require any upkeep.. 

As @James Hickok said though, you've obviously put a lot of thought and time into it and I admire you for that.. 

And welcome to the forum 😊

Thank you! It was mostly about it being really lonely in survival mode. I put so much thought into it because it is survival and all the animals are surviving too. So they'd definitely have skills to reflect how harsh the environment is. I can understand why people don't like the sled or dog idea. But it's not like a cheat..in this scenario, the dogs would need rest, warmth, food and water after a certain distance of pulling you and it would get shorter as you add more items (the weight increases). Having a dog or multiple would be a hard challenge with a couple perks..just like in real life; except you have to hunt to care for them, melt snow, make beds to keep them warm and keep your relationship up so they don't leave you hanging.

[GrimmVenom1118]

2 hours ago, ManicManiac said:

For those who like the idea of sled dogs, animal companions, cold cold weather, and survival gameplay... you might perhaps like:
The Red Lantern — Timberline Studio

Suffice to say... I don't really think I'd like it in my TLD survival sandbox... but as its own game I think it works just fine.

I love that game!! It just bugs and there's not a ton of freedom as to where you can go. Perhaps the dogs and sled could be a DLC so those who don't want it can still have the game the way they like?

Edited November 20, 2023 by GrimmVenom1118
Spelling error

[ManicManiac]

On 10/18/2023 at 10:17 AM, ManicManiac said:

I'll be brief and succinct with this one (since I don't have a lot of time today to elaborate).

The lore indicates they've all gotten hyper-aggressive since the first flare, and I'd argue that even if we managed to "befriend" a wolf or a dog (both canines and both of course carnivorous)... as soon as an aurora would flare up, then our furry friend would likely just go berserk and be a hostile threat to our life.

I don't mind the idea of being able to befriend herbivores since by and large they are not hostile (the notable exception of course is the Moose) and do not seem affected first flare or the subsequent auroras (as least not that we know of since they tend to be gone at night already anyway).

I think the only thing similar I've ever asked for, was the ability to walk while holding a captured rabbit... and that was just so I could then release it in another location (like inside the Mountaineer's Hut 🤭).

In general though... while I can appreciate the idea, I'm not sure that I'm in favor of animal companions... much for the same reason I don't like the idea of Human NPCs in my Survival Sandbox.  I think it undermines the feeling of isolation.

The fact that all of wildlife on Great Bear Island is either hostile or fearful of our survivor means we are the outsider... the intruder.   That ultimately our survivor will have to live, struggle, and eventually die alone, with nature being at best indifferent of whether we are even there or not (and at worst actively seeking to devour us).

On 8/30/2019 at 8:07 PM, ManicManiac said:

but reasonably consistent with the lore of the game, even if we did find a dog... it would probably immediately try to eat our faces off due to the effects the aurora (in that carnivorous animals are preternaturally aggressive and blood thirsty)  

On 9/10/2019 at 4:31 PM, ManicManiac said:

It's a neat idea, it really is... I just don't know that it would fit with the lore of the game very well.  I've had this subject on my wish lists before (a while back).  The conversation sort of came to the realization that dogs are carnivores, so they would most likely just turn hyper-aggressive like the other carnivores in the game.  Making this particular type of animal companion somewhere in between "extremely dangerous" and "just not possible under the circumstances."

@GrimmVenom1118
I certainly respect the creativity and thought put into the idea... but considering the lore, it feels like a carnivorous animal companion would only really ever be a threat to our survivor's life.

Of course, it is a fictional game... so anything the developers want to be cannon; they certainly can.

Edited November 20, 2023 by ManicManiac

[Leeanda]

There's always hope that more dlcs will come out later .... 🤞

[GrimmVenom1118]

16 minutes ago, ManicManiac said:

@GrimmVenom1118
I certainly respect the creativity and thought put into the idea... but considering the lore, it feels like a carnivorous animal companion would only really ever be a threat to our survivor's life.

Of course, it is a fictional game... so anything the developers want to be cannon; they certainly can.

I mean, the danger of being eaten by a friend would just be another risk of having more than yourself to think about. I get your point though, and thanks for your opinions..it's always fun to see how people see things and take things in. I think the danger or treat of an Aurora happening and needing to find a safe place to get away from your dogs would be a very interesting challenge though. I totally see why people don't like the idea though! It would be really hard to make and not many people would like it. I love the game how it is and will still play; this was just something I thought would be cool and as for the co-op thing, I'd love to share this game with my partner

[ManicManiac]

@GrimmVenom1118

I'm not meaning to be critical of your ideas, per se... just offering my thoughts and perspective.

3 minutes ago, GrimmVenom1118 said:

the danger of being eaten by a friend would just be another risk of having more than yourself to think about.

That's a fair point.

3 minutes ago, GrimmVenom1118 said:

just something I thought would be cool

And they are indeed cool and interesting ideas.

4 minutes ago, GrimmVenom1118 said:

I'd love to share this game with my partner

I think a lot of people would feel the same.
I think that the biggest hurdle with co-op for this game is the time compression mechanics:

On 2/15/2020 at 11:33 PM, ManicManiac said:

The idea has certainly been proposed and discussed very often and in a variety of ways... however almost none of them never really consider what I think is the main problem.  The mechanics of this game in particular make Coop/Multiplayer kind of a "no go."  Simply put... the thing that would be the biggest challenge is the fact that there are many mechanics (that help form the foundation of the game play) that utilize "time compression."  When you have situations that mess with "time" it becomes a problem with multiple players interacting in the same space.

For example... if you have two players and one is out chopping wood (that compresses 45 min - 1 hour of time) then the other player either has to also accelerate or they get "out of sync" so to speak.  If one is spending 5 hours fishing (that is normally compressed), what happens then?  Does the fishing then go in real time?  In other words because this game is filled with mechanics that compress time (sleeping, "passing time"/"wait 'till ready", harvesting, fishing, breaking things down, using the forge, crafting, milling, and so on) then you can't really have two or more players interacting and still keep them synchronized in terms of the time of day... you'd have to force everything to happen in "normal game time" - which for some long tasks, I think, would really suck.

I hope my examples help to illustrate why I don't think coop/multiplayer would not work in this game just from the standpoint of fundamental mechanics.

 

 

[GrimmVenom1118]

6 minutes ago, ManicManiac said:

@GrimmVenom1118

I'm not meaning to be critical of your ideas, per se... just offering my thoughts and perspective.

That's a fair point.

And they are indeed cool and interesting ideas.

I think a lot of people would feel the same.
I think that the biggest hurdle with co-op for this game is the time compression mechanics:

 

 

That's a really good point! I forgot about the time compression..I guess the other players would have to do the time passing with you but that means they'd have to stop what they're doing. I didn't take your opinions critically! I don't think you're being rude or harsh, just offering perspective which is why I posted n the first place; to see what others thought of it. Thank you for your time and point of view! I hope you have a great day get to where you need to go safely! 

[ManicManiac]

@GrimmVenom1118
So far, I think the most fun and interesting ways to have a shared experience with TLD:

1. A "Double-Blind" Run - in this case, each participant plays a session (perhaps one game day), and then "hands it off" to the next person.  The idea is that the next person has no idea where they might be or what gear and supplies they have to work with...  and each participant takes turns playing (for example) one game day at a time, and it sort of becomes a relay-style survival experience.

2. Two or more people can be playing on their own, but via discord (or even playing the same room if that's feasible) the players all get to communicate with each other while sharing their survival adventures together.  (sort of in the same way the Neebs Gaming did for their TLD series).

Edited November 20, 2023 by ManicManiac

[conanjaguar]

On 10/18/2023 at 11:56 AM, conanjaguar said:

I don’t think this would work with existing creatures, except maybe rabbits and/or ptarmigans. As @ManicManiac said, the carnivores are hyper-aggressive and would sooner tear you limb from limb than go for the juicy steak you dropped as a decoy.

However - and this is a bit of a stretch - what if there were domestic animals? Like a dog who’s owner died, and he’s wandering around Coastal Highway; a cat who scavenges off wolf kills in Milton… such animals could very well “miss” humans caring for and loving them and be able to fight off the influence of the Event. Again, it’s a long shot, but I’m no animal psychologist .

The subject of pets has always been a “hot” topic, but here’s my two cents ^^.