My Wish List

[Smeden]

So here goes.

The things I look at when developing a wish list is feasibility with the environment and tools available, realism and that is doesn't "break" the game.

1. Boar Spear/Spear: Easily made compared to the items being made in game now. Use the model for a Maple Sapling, double the height, make the curing time 3x the Maple Sapling curing time. Once cured, combine the Cured "name here" sapling, with a knife of at least 75% condition and 2 pieces of cured gut. Time to make, call it 3 hours.

Possible Uses: Carried cross body when equipped, like the rifle.

A. When crouched, the butt of the spear is in the ground with a foot on it(you won't see this), the tip is extended out in front of the player just like a torch or flare. If timed right, an animal(wolf or bear) could impale itself on the spear. If too early, the animal could just be scared off like with a flare or torch. If done too late, well, we already know what happens without the Boar Spear/Spear.

B. When standing, I can see two possibilities.

B(1). First as a short range thrown. Right Mouse button draws it back, like the bow and left mouse button throws. Optimal range call it 7-10m/10yds. Absolute max range 16-17m/20yds. Hits at max range would most likely result in injured animal running off with your spear.....

B(2). Second as a short range melee. Left mouse button thrusts the spear similar to the waving action of the torch. This seems like the more plausible and easily introduced into the game.

2. Ability to "Zero" or Sight the rifle: I'm not sure if it's an intended game mechanic or simply things are "off", but this rifle has very little consistency with it's shot placement. Put an option under the rifle actions for sighting. Have it cost 3 or 6 rounds. After that the rifle becomes more accurate.

3. Cleaning up: In the Pleasant Valley home the place is a mess. Remove the odd couch in the foyer and instead place a broom, dustpan, mop/bucket and trashcan. Have them usable and the action to be "clean up". When this is done, the mess in the house is gone. Broken cabinet doors are gone(reclaimed wood), tables and chairs are in proper place, drawers back in dressers(though not usable), all the banner trash upstairs and toys are off the floor and gone, pictures back on walls. Have it take 6 hours, produce a few pieces of reclaimed wood and scrap metal from the empty bed upstairs with no mattress(which would go away). This would be a one time event.

4. Increased ability: After spending more time in this environment surviving one would presumably get better at it and in better condition for it. After the first 30 days of survival increase the carry weight by 2.5kg. An additional 2.5kg after 60 days and 1.25kg for every 30 days after that up to 6 months(180 days total). So that would be an increase of 10kg total increase over 6 months of hard conditioning. This increase is amount carried also quantifies the learning of how to properly pack for weight distribution and placement in the pack for best center of gravity and less strain on the body.

5. Reduction in Curing times with Fire: I've tried running fires for days and found no difference in the curing times. Having constant heat over long periods of time should decrease the curing time for all things. Basically for every 8 hours of heated time, double the % cured normally during that time. So if you ran a fire in the living room for 24 hours with hides and gut in the living room, you would have the equivalent of 48 hours of curing performed on the hides and gut

6. Some folks have already mentioned compasses, would be nice, but keep in mind, Geomagnetic event. Compass might be worthless at best or give you a drastically wrong reading at worst.

7. Time passage without resting

Seems like a good start

[Boston123]

1) A spear would be literally the first thing I made, if I found myself in a TLD-type situation.

However, I disagree about throwing it. You probably won't do much damage with it in that fashion, and you just 1) pissed off the animal 2) lost your spear and 3) lost a knife blade. You're gonna have a bad time.

[fallenfox]

1. Yes! But I agree with Boston123, I don't think throwing it would be useful. I mean, there's already a bow.

2. I see what you mean, but maybe just have an aiming skill for the rifle and bow? That way you can practice with the bow, and get better at both. Maybe at paint to the games and paint a hay bale to practice archery on.

3. Lol, yeah, this has occurred to me too! That's my ideal home, so I'm frustrated by the mess too.

4. I'm not not sure that 40kg is realistic. In fact, 30kg is very generous to begin with. If anything I'd reduce to 25kg and work my way up to 30 or 32kg. I deal with the weight by carrying as little as possible when I go outside, once I get the bow I ditch the rifle unless I'm bear-hunting.

5. Yes. I was baffled by this too. Definitely a good idea IMHO.

6. The maps are too small for a compass I think. That said, in the mist they sure would be a life-saver.

7. Already happens...?

[Smeden]

The throwing of the spear was a "possible use", not a desired one and I did point out that at range it wouldn't really do much and you'd more than likely lose the spear. The more realistic action would be as a thrusting weapon.

As for time passage I meant a way to accelerate time without resting. Like you're in a barn during a storm and just want to wait for 2 hours without sleeping in a bedroll and degrading it.

[Everme233]

I'm sorry to disagree with you fallenfox, but as for #4 I would have to believe that a somewhat fit person would have no problem moving around in 30kg or even 40kg of equipment. I am not a very large person, about 75kg soaking wet, but during hunting season between all my clothing and gear including my rifle which all together weighs in at like 42kg, i can dead sprint 400 meters if I need to. Also I think it would be a cool feature to have an adrenaline rush when your character comes into contacts with wolves you would gain a 5 or 10% speed boost and your character breathes harder and shakes a bit. From my experience running into any type of predator, like mountain lions or bears, really makes you kick it into gear to get away. I don’t know how hard it would be to implement this, but I think it would be a very realistic feature.

[Bill Tarling]

I'm sorry to disagree with you fallenfox, but as for #4 I would have to believe that a somewhat fit person would have no problem moving around in 30kg or even 40kg of equipment. I am not a very large person, about 75kg soaking wet, but during hunting season between all my clothing and gear including my rifle which all together weighs in at like 42kg, i can dead sprint 400 meters if I need to. Also I think it would be a cool feature to have an adrenaline rush when your character comes into contacts with wolves you would gain a 5 or 10% speed boost and your character breathes harder and shakes a bit. From my experience running into any type of predator, like mountain lions or bears, really makes you kick it into gear to get away. I don’t know how hard it would be to implement this, but I think it would be a very realistic feature.

I'll have to disagree about it necessarily being actually realistic here...

Having grown up in a very similar area and condition like in the game, yes the locals can acclimatize to a point, but that's also given the fact that there is also a lot more comfort, regular meals, sleep, and (most importantly) they aren't actually running 10 to 20 km through snow in sub-freezing conditions carrying a fully loaded pack. In fact, you did everything possible at a slower steady pace, avoided jumping around, and had to carefully pick your travel paths.

The game can't really convey walking [or, for most players, marathon running] through deep or heavy snow because it would also bog down the players' travel and activity too much. In the earliest pre-alpha versions, they did have the speed tuned to a pretty accurate feel [at least from my perception having experienced it as part of normal routines getting around], but for most players it would have felt like they were going through molasses all the time - too slow for most of their game play.

In the pre-alpha, travel from the Trapper's home to the dam was at least a day and a half travel (in-game time) - quite reasonable considering the weight carried, and given the character would be travelling through a lot of knee and waist deep snow, winding up and down steep hills with just a few semi-plowed roads or tracks along the way. The trip is a few km long.

Now, again for gameplay reasons, the character can run (fully loaded) from the Trapper's homestead, travelling through Coastal Highway, and all the way to the far back corner of Pleasant Valley in about 6 in-game hours.

For an adrenaline rush, IRL yes you could/would get a [very] short possible burst of speed in an emergency - but it sure wouldn't be a long 400 meter dash given all the snow (it would mostly be about a few small hops through deep snow, or a short spurt along a freshly plowed road) when you've already been running almost non-stop fully loaded all day. As well (again IRL) you would not outrun those predators - the most you would be hoping for would be either a quick spot out of their sight before they detect you or ignore you, or someplace to help stand your ground easier.

The game isn't trying to be a simulator, so there is a lot of leeway and accepted gameplay adjustments used. I bring that up strictly as a reminder when using users bring up "but I could possibly do this in real life in optimal conditions" as part of their individual perception of "being very realistic"... in truth, quite often for different scenarios, it's not so much an idea for "realism", but rather for convenience or for variety [and there's nothing wrong with that].

Now, for gameplay usage - the concept is okay (and in earlier early access versions you could outrun the wolves), but it doesn't necessarily add much value. In fact, when players could simply run right past the wolves without much concern, it detracted any real sense of danger - and so it was adjusted back down to a more balanced level [with the player still having a slight advantage].

Granted there are times when you can still get caught off guard by surprise, but most of the time there are warning cues of wolves around. If near forest area, you can use the trees to help break line of sight a bit more to gain a little distance, or use rock and ledge areas for routes the wolves can't use. In clearings you can run, but it's actually more often productive to walk backwards (keeping the wolf in sight if it's still in stalking mode) - if you simply turn and walk/run [back to the wolf] they'll often gain ground on you in the game.

Personally, I also keep close watch of my fatigue level when travelling... I always try to make sure I have plenty of reserve in case a mad dash or long run is needed. Often I'll stop at smaller buildings when possible just to grab a quick 2-4 hours nap to make sure fatigue is kept down. I don't do it every day, just when I know I'll be doing a lot of travelling or heading for heavier predator areas. Always keep plenty of gas left in the tank for emergency so-to-speak.

And (while rarely used in very early versions, it works very well now) - dropping decoy food works very well, so you don't always need to panic and run...

[octavian]

And (while rarely used in very early versions, it works very well now) - dropping decoy food works very well, so you don't always need to panic and run...

I'll have to disagree. Nothing as immersive as wolves everywhere because you have a deer and wolf worth of meat in your backpack, walking with the swag and pressing the key when you hear the growl, leaving behind you a trail of wolves confused about life.

[Everme233]

Excuse my ignorance, but I am going to explain why I think that it is still a good idea to have a conditioning of your body in TLD. Now compare the walking and running speeds IN GAME. There is about a 100% increase in your speed when you press the key to run. Now, when I am walking about in 1 or 2 feet of snow, realistically I am walking at 2 or 3 clicks per hour (1 1/2 to 2 mph). Now if I double that, running at 5 or 6, it is possible for me to run at this speed with a large pack for a while before I lose my breath, but there isn't really a stanima feature to change your run speed based on how long you have been running. Also, the in-game clock is not a 1 to 1 ratio with real time, so there isn't really a reason why it should feel like you are walking. On a different point, I think it would be cool if they added cross country skis that you have to equip and unequip every tiem you enter/leave a structure.