I'm not hungry anymore, but now I'm bored!

[Neighbor]

Most of this stuff is what I'd call "quality of life" changes, but hey, I think they're good ideas.

One thing I constantly found myself saying is "It would be neat if I could drag this deer back to camp." Building on that, I see an opportunity for more realistic gameplay, as well as a risk/reward sort of thing. Sure, you could cut off a few steaks and leave the rest for the wolves if you're in a real hurry. But if you invested the time, resources, and calories to drag it back to camp, *and* hang it up so the wolves can't get to it, you could have upwards of 150 pounds of frozen meat hanging up right outside your door.

Another big thing is downtime. After the hectic search for shelter is over, and you've gathered up all the resources in the area, there isn't much to do besides chop wood, hunt/cook your food, and sleep. My poor PC didn't have a crossword to fill out, a magazine to read, and even after turning *two* convenience stores and countless vehicles upside down, not a single cigarette! Around day 30 I even caught myself beginning to ask "what's the point of surviving if I have nothing to do?" To that end, I propose adding things to do in one's downtime in order to maintain morale and health. Another thing I found myself thinking as I repaired my socks (again) was "Man, my feet must stink. Jeez, I haven't bathed, *or* brushed my teeth, in over two weeks!" Something as simple as having the PC washing their clothes and maintaining their hygiene would do wonders for immersion, as well as provide something to fill the hours. This could serve a functional purpose as well, being unwashed does put you at a higher risk for disease and infection...

[caverdude]

we should had crafting lye soap using bear tallow and ashes.

[Scyzara]

I very much support any kind of timesink activity other than sleeping. Regardless, what exactly it is - reading books, knitting socks/a scarf, even washing my clothes. I'm not sure whether a hygiene bar would add a lot to the game, though.

I know it's a very important aspect of RL survival, but people constantly suggest new bars (sweating, hygiene, weight, sanity, strength, etc.) and I don't believe that it's good for TLD to turn into a "manage 10 bars" (like in the Sims) kind of game.

[Amateur Bushcrafter]

Chances are they will install this, they already have a 'minigame' of some sort where you have to hack your way into safes.

[bburton31]

I kind of agree with this, in the meantime I posted my challenge which helps me out of this situation a bit

viewtopic.php?f=58&t=5029

[Greavette]

I really do love the game and play it all the time, but I'm really set up now and have just stopped playing. I'm on here looking for inspiration. When there is nothing to be afraid of anymore, i.e. starving, freezing, etc. there's no excitement. They really need to add something, I don't know what, to make it fun to play in mid game. I really think they should have tracking game. That would certainly give me something to do instead of just going to the spawn points, chasing a wolf into a deer and the cutting wood to cook the meat.....which is the only thing I do now. When I run out of ammo, things will start to get exciting again, but with over 40 rounds scattered throughout the different areas, I'll be able to do this for a long time. I need a better reason to keep playing.

[Raphael van Lierop]

Thanks for the feedback! This is definitely something we've been thinking about!

[Boston123]

In an actual wilderness survival situation, keeping yourself mentally occupied is "almost" as important as keeping yourself warm, dry, and fed/hydrated, especially in a long-term situation. If all you do is eat, sleep, and tend to a fire, boredom can set in very quickly, and you soon start to brood on and comprehend the seriousness of the situation. BAD THING. A major part of surviving is maintaining the "will to survive", as it were, and being bored/scared is a good way for that willpower to "degrade"

I carry several (small) books in my backpack, just for that situation, and can usually find something to keep me occupied when that fails (make cordage, maintain equipment, etc etc etc).

EDIT: I've pretty much stopped playing, because ... well, there is pretty much nothing to do. 'Surviving for Survivals sake" is rather boring to me, and I would really like it if we could get some sort of goal/project to work on, as we would have in an actual survival situation.

[AmericanSteel]

In an actual wilderness survival situation, keeping yourself mentally occupied is "almost" as important as keeping yourself warm, dry, and fed/hydrated, especially in a long-term situation. If all you do is eat, sleep, and tend to a fire, boredom can set in very quickly, and you soon start to brood on and comprehend the seriousness of the situation. BAD THING. A major part of surviving is maintaining the "will to survive", as it were, and being bored/scared is a good way for that willpower to "degrade"

I carry several (small) books in my backpack, just for that situation, and can usually find something to keep me occupied when that fails (make cordage, maintain equipment, etc etc etc).

EDIT: I've pretty much stopped playing, because ... well, there is pretty much nothing to do. 'Surviving for Survivals sake" is rather boring to me, and I would really like it if we could get some sort of goal/project to work on, as we would have in an actual survival situation.

This strikes a chord with me. It is also the reason why I wish we have the ability to make shelters of various types. Starting out making a wigwam or lean-to, building off what the environment gives us. Then progressively improving our position. Hanging food up in trees away from camp so bears will not be attracted, making barricades to keep out animals, building smokers to preserve your meat, maintaining larger traps to snag larger game, etc. We could then test out the techniques in a new zone, like a Hidden Valley or the Forgotten Forrest. Maybe a few open shelters, like a hunting blinds or caves, but nothing beyond. The player would then have to "make due" with what forage and kill. You start to get to comfortable and the game could have a "malevolent AI" up the ante: widow maker falls through your shelter, wolverine comes through and sprays musk on your meat, bears comes in and tears up your camp, etc.

[Boston123]

Granted, in a "real life" survival situation, there is A LOT of things to do, where as in-game you can get a decent amount of "free time".

Maintaining your shelter and gathering firewood is the big ones. There is an old saying about camping and fires: "gather as much wood as you think will get you through the night, then go and gather 3 times as much". I would like to see some more in-depth "wood-gathering" mechanics, as opposed to the current "open menu, click button" thing we have going on. Actually going out to a tree or bush and gathering the wood would be "interesting", as well as promote the characters moving from place to place in the world (use up all the available wood in one location, you have to move on), as well as allowing for more "immersive" usage of the knife and hatchet (You break limbs and wood off trees/bushes with your bare hands, while the knife/hatchet allow for more effective gathering)

[Boston123]

Granted, in a "real life" survival situation, there is A LOT of things to do, where as in-game you can get a decent amount of "free time".

Maintaining your shelter and gathering firewood is the big ones. There is an old saying about camping and fires: "gather as much wood as you think will get you through the night, then go and gather 3 times as much". I would like to see some more in-depth "wood-gathering" mechanics, as opposed to the current "open menu, click button" thing we have going on. Actually going out to a tree or bush and gathering the wood would be "interesting", as well as promote the characters moving from place to place in the world (use up all the available wood in one location, you have to move on), as well as allowing for more "immersive" usage of the knife and hatchet (You break limbs and wood off trees/bushes with your bare hands, while the knife/hatchet allow for more effective gathering)