Mice and House Cats

[The Feng Hunter]

Hey there!

Now that dry ingredients (ie, grains) have become a reality for those of Great Bear, I feel like a whole chain of other mechanics could follow — starting with Mice.

My thinking is that large caches of grain — flour bags and containers of oats — would serve as the primary attractant for Mice. Over time, the Mice would be able to chip away at your dry food stores if they’re not secured properly (inside a cupboard, for instance). This chipping away could contribute as an initial investment for the second part of this idea, coming later in the post.

Base builders and single-region players have an explicit advantage in-game over nomadic players, insofar as their food supplies are both *massive* and *safe* — especially now, post-Frontier Cooking. Ruined food is still both edible and with nutritional value — meaning the Ruined mechanic may need an overhaul — handcuffing how much pressure one can place on a homesteader. A good and effective way to keep up pressure on those players would, therefore, be to introduce a mechanic that could chip away at the food stuff.

The counterplay to this would be the inclusion of a House Cat. But unlike other resources in TLD, House Cats could only come to you first … after the rodents appear and a water dish is left filled.

(Important note: after the initial investment of [xx] kilos grain to attract Mice, the food stuff would no longer dwindle, provided the House Cat counterplay offered below is used!)

We know house cats came into humans’ lives during the first major settlement building period — and it’s long been suspected that this is how they came into our orbit, through pest control.

Cool thing about this is the House Cat could be an autonomous entity you can leave behind at your base for a week or so … because it will have Mice to hunt for food on its own. (You’d still need to leave water out for the House Cat or it’ll leave the base and pursue its own interests.)

The good thing is, once a house cat would come into play and the stronger the bond with it, the faster it will come back to your base after you return from your latest adventure.

The House Cat would be designed to be as low maintenance as possible, with the sole things needed for its survival and presence in the game being: a solid base with food stuffs, and fresh water.

You could neither kill nor eat the House Cat, and if it’s a mechanic with which you’d rather not engage, then simply don’t leave out a water dish — House Cats only interact with your Survivor if their presence is rewarded for it.

Having a House Cat could also lessen the impact of Cabin Fever, and maybe even provide an additional +1°C temperature when sleeping in your bed/bedroll. 

Edited September 10 by The Feng Hunter
Minor grammatical issues

[Cyclone35]

I like the idea of mice & rats being in the game. I small rodent you could catch for meat, not as nutritious as a rabbit, but edible for a hardcore survival game. Plus leaving food in a storage compartment for too long (especially rotten meat & fish) can attract some rats to try and steal and contaminate your food supply. Would encourage the player to check up on their home base to ensure their supplies don't get ruined overtime.

[K3V038]

I like the idea of rats or mice, but I would pass up on the cat

[GuardianCreature]

i hope their huge, like the Norwegian forest cat or a Maine Coon, something big and fluffy that purrs a lot, though a hairless cat in a sweater showing up would be really funny

[The Feng Hunter]

On 9/13/2024 at 11:27 AM, GuardianCreature said:

i hope their huge, like the Norwegian forest cat or a Maine Coon, something big and fluffy that purrs a lot, though a hairless cat in a sweater showing up would be really funny

I’m definitely thinking Maine Coon, but that hairless cat in a sweater has me DYING. 😻