Things to do in your Downtime in game

[iZeedy]

I thought of puzzles, this way they could make it so that the pictures were interchangeable, and randomize the pieces easier. I would think as long as there is a flat surface in your shelter you could lay the puzzle down and click on and off of it whenever you like, and maybe on the side of the screen when you are looking at the puzzle have a scroll function to scroll through the pieces then click and place it where you want. And also I thought of maybe having an in game camera and making a photo book to look at while sitting around. I'm just thinking of things I do while up at my cabin in the middle of the woods. I would really like it if I could go do stuff while my food was cooking or my ice was melting on the stove instead of wasting an hour just waiting for water to boil, like maybe take a powernap or do a puzzle

[BearyManilowe]

Some of these responses are great and all but I think we're getting into too much "tedious" behaviors. The joy of this game for me is that it's survival but it's not a sim, it's still a game. I enjoy the exploration aspect and I'd like things that create a greater sense of environment for me. I get that we're in the middle of nowhere but the exploration is more, run through some woods, find random corpse for no reason, a couple deer, a few rabbits, and the off wolf or three. I'd like to see more impending doom, maybe a couple more things to discover, maybe a one-off other survivor that's hostile or friendly. Most of my "down time" is spent exploring because I'm not a huge fan of playing a game to sit inside and wait for some hide to cure.

I personally can't wait for this game to be post alpha and I really hope there's more to it than what we're seeing now. Survivalist behavior loses it's flair when you become so complacent that you need to kill your downtime.

[iZeedy]

I thought of a mode where instead of the littler wolves we have now, one bigger more relentless wolf, but some people thought that was a bad idea. A mode where an impending doom was following you all the time, so you would have to be on the move all the time. It would be cool to have it so that he was like a boss and had a health meter or something to indicate how much damage you've done to him. When he is close you can hear his blood curdling howl every so often. That to me is impending doom, and would make for a very intense game. I would also like to see windows become clear so you can see outside for any danger.

[SteveP]

Keeping logs or records is a very useful survival habit.

Typewriter, I'll say it as much as I have to

You're suggesting adding a type writer object to the game? Why not just add the potential to type into the existing log? or add more useful data to the log such as calories, kills, finds etc.

[Aelaera]

Down time activities would be great! Even if it's something as simple as being able to physically keep a diary (whether it's for role playing story immersion or to keep notes about areas, storage locations, etc) or more complicated like actually forming a true base in which you can actually add crude improvements (I saw in another forum that someone suggested wolves and bears on Stalker difficulty are able to break into your home- so this would apply largely to something like this). The improvements could be things like wooden panels over the windows, fixing breaks in the roof, making chairs to sit in if there are none, even adding sharpened stick fences to guard your yard from doggy intruders. I know someone in this thread suggested card games, you could end up playing solitaire or if preferred, you can simply select an increment of time in which you'll play for (15-30-45-1hr) and I think any down time activities should improve morale once that bar is added into the game. Maybe games or toys like cards, Rubik's cube or whatever would increase morale slightly, but you wouldn't lose much fatigue, and actual improvements or work that shows would give a large morale increase, but your fatigue would drop. I've spent many storms with a lot of energy inside my base and nothing to do but sleep for six hours.

[octavian]

You're suggesting adding a type writer object to the game? Why not just add the potential to type into the existing log? or add more useful data to the log such as calories, kills, finds etc.

For immersion.

[Random Fires]

These days, I generally harvest stuff to pass time in the events of blizzards, remaining day light or waiting for that bear to die. I don't find myself idle or sleeping to pass time till late game.

I think more place-able objects would fill some of this time, but a couple of mini games would be a great addition once your player has established a base. Plus, a small level of scavenger hunt could be introduced. Finding the items for these mini game ideas. Of course, keep in mind, if introduced, the first complaint will be,"I'm starving while playing solitare." Lol, death while making a map... nothings safe.

[bethany]

Keeping logs or records is a very useful survival habit.

Typewriter, I'll say it as much as I have to

You're suggesting adding a type writer object to the game? Why not just add the potential to type into the existing log? or add more useful data to the log such as calories, kills, finds etc.

Immersion would be my guess (type on typewriter --> text transfers to log) =)

I like it either way!