RPG elements (Naturally evolve skills as you go)

[Taygheta]

Hey Guys,

First of all, if this has been opted before then sorry for adding a new thread on it.

What I wonder about is the possibility to get better (or worse) at stuff in the game.

Don't get me wrong! I'm NOT opting for a "point distribution system". But instead for a more realistic "learn / evolve as you go" system which simply allows you to get better (or worse) by (not)doing things.

Perhaps it is an idea to start off with lower "skills" than we have now (being able to carry 20kg at a time) and during the game slowly progress to be able to carry loads of 40kg... and yeah while that may sound a bit too much. If you were to live in the wild and you'd drag along loads of cr*p all the time (given that you live long enough) you'd defenitely become great at doing this.

Simply being able to get better at doing things during the game would be a huge motivator for me, getting me even as far that I'd leave the safety of my home to go for that run with backpack (which I should be able to put on and off) to keep my body (skills) in shape. Yeah, even if that would mean risking a bear/wolf attack.

Skills

• For example, if "stamina" stats were added to the game, and I would run a lot and far I'd get faster and be able to run further. (Yeah I know, we can run pretty much forever but this should also be "fixed")
  This should also work the other way around, so if I'd be one of those "bed huggers" who cling to their beds to get a high survival time, well...they'd get slow, weak and less able to run long distances.

• Same goes for "strength", carrying weight above your limit, after some time (given that you feed your body enough) your body will adapt to carry higher loads at a time (up to some limit ofc).
  Malnourishment already makes you weak, so treating your body well and training it well should offer benefits to give that extra motivation to go out there and be active.
  Anyway, slowly being able to carry bigger loads would compensate a bit for the more and more heavy clothing we craft and or HAVE to bring along.

• Also "stealth" skills would be fun to train. Fan of crouching and stalking your prey? I'm sure that in any "realistic" situation you'd (in time) discover better ways to do this and avoid scaring off your food..... or preventing to become it. This also brings me to the snapping sound of twigs on the ground if you don't tread carefully...(and by doing so scaring off prey).. perhaps also an idea to add?

• Then there is "Dexterity" (aiming, etc), after each dozen shots (bows and guns separate) your aim could / should improve. Simply gaining affinity with weapons and tools other than repair and fire making skills would be awesome to see in-game.
  Also, walking on roads and prepared routes is nice n easy, but tough terrain increases the risk of spraining an ankle. Perhaps that if done often enough. a slight reduced risk due to experience with tough terrain could work?

Disease

Not sure about this one... but, if I'd eat the same stuff over and over.... I'd get a pretty poor immune system.... Perhaps that eating varied could make one more resistant to diseases and or sickness. Thus again inviting / forcing me to wander out and hunt / forage for different kinds of foods (I'm thinking of more kinds of roots, berries, leaves, etc)

I hope I provided you guys with some ideas...and if I am one in a million with all this well then plz give it a go for the game

Happy hunting you all and "walk safe!"

Taygheta.

[simarson]

I very much like your thoughts. +1 from her

[PolarBear70]

In a way, there already is an evolving skills system... it just happens to be with respect to firebuilding and stuff like that. What the OP is suggesting is more of an evolution of physical attributes... which I agree would make the experience better. It makes sense that, as you exercise and move around and eat well, you get stronger. Opposite if you do not. Ditto with stamina. Learning how to be stealthier by practice would be interesting. All this sounds very "real" to me. After 100+ days living in the wilderness, you'd get better at doing the things you've been doing to survive.

The other idea about disease is interesting. I've always thought that while keeping your calorie count up would be important, a varied diet would also be important as well. If you eat deer/wolf/bear meat as a sole source of food, you're bound to get scurvy, amongst other issues. But I'm not sure how the devs would present this information to the player (a nutrition pie chart?), but it would be an interesting addition, and certainly make for some critical decisions concerning what food to eat. ("I'd like to save those pinnacle peaches for a while when I need to offset just eating bear meat..."). Also, then finding a bottle of multivitamins would be wonderful as well.

[AmericanSteel]

We can live off of a high fat/high protein diet. However, we do need some nutrients. We can get a lot of those from eating organ meat and making bone broth. However, there are some things we just can't get out of a kill. Rose Hip has a lot of vitamin C, so there is one source. You can also find a lot of other nutrients in other winter trees.

Something to read...

http://inhabitat.com/how-to-prepare-uni ... ter-trees/

Here is a good read along those lines:

https://books.google.com/books?id=oDmZ4 ... ia&f=false

[Shanti]

+1 to this idea. I would love to see our character change and get better at things we do. I especially love the idea that we start off dependent on resources left behind in the beginning of the game, and eventually become self-sufficient.

[Taygheta]

In a way, there already is an evolving skills system... it just happens to be with respect to firebuilding and stuff like that. What the OP is suggesting is more of an evolution of physical attributes... which I agree would make the experience better. It makes sense that, as you exercise and move around and eat well, you get stronger. Opposite if you do not. Ditto with stamina. Learning how to be stealthier by practice would be interesting. All this sounds very "real" to me. After 100+ days living in the wilderness, you'd get better at doing the things you've been doing to survive.

The other idea about disease is interesting. I've always thought that while keeping your calorie count up would be important, a varied diet would also be important as well. If you eat deer/wolf/bear meat as a sole source of food, you're bound to get scurvy, amongst other issues. But I'm not sure how the devs would present this information to the player (a nutrition pie chart?), but it would be an interesting addition, and certainly make for some critical decisions concerning what food to eat. ("I'd like to save those pinnacle peaches for a while when I need to offset just eating bear meat..."). Also, then finding a bottle of multivitamins would be wonderful as well.

That's what I meant right there, there already is an evolving system, but not with the general movement / actions. (Running a lot / not enough makes you faster / slow)

The whole idea behind all of this is the development of your character, you are actually building on yourself if this were to be implemented. Something which is self regulating, prevents OP builds (since it will / should be difficult if not impossible to be the best at everything) and enhances the reward for the player for being allive for such a long time.

On top of all this. since we have to forage more and more and carry more and more (clothing, food ingredients) it is "natural" we'd get beefier and more capable to carry all our sh*t around.

When it comes to the disease part. it could be brought to the player as the moment arrives; Your get bitten by a wolf, and if you are healthy and eat varied you have a slight chance of your body being capable to fight off the infection leaving you with the task to stop the bleeding... this all ofc only works well if injuries last a tad longer, continue to influence your overall performance for some time, and....since the risk of an attack is higher, wolves might be a tad more rare...or move around in packs, which could really ruin your day.

Also, If I were to be healthy (fully "resistant") I might get sick for a shorter time when for example drinking dirty water, old food. So yeah for sure I'll get sick...my body will just deal with it faster...so after food poisoning I might need only 6 or 7 hours of rest in stead of 10. And that is what I mean with presenting the advantages as the situation comes.

It would sort of be like in real life....when you eat well and train well you actually don't notice anything..... It's when you DON'T take care of yourself that you start to notice the DISadvantages.

[Taygheta]

Also, the dev's already told us that the books will play a bigger role in the future, so It would be a nice idea to only be able to see certain herbs / hunt certain prey / make certain traps (get recipes / plans) after you have read the books.

"player finds book, reads through herb section and where to find it, game now highlights the herb which would otherwise not show / or be unmarked)"

Also, this leaves the dev's with the option to let us start off with different skill sets --> read difficulty settings....

Lower difficulty = player starts off with basic "herbal" knowledge and warm clothing

Medium difficulty = player starts off with minimal "herbal" knowledge and at most poor clothing

High difficulty = city boy / girl was basically tossed out of a driving car and has to tame the wilderness with the knowledge of a brick, an injury from the crash and summer clothing in a northern Canadian blizzard.

[Aelaera]

+1.