better sprain physics

[sir ice]

What if taking 1 painkiller when you sprain a wrist allows you to hold a weapon, but not too steadily, that would be cool, right? maybe taking 1 painkiller for a ankle would allow you to not limp, but still not run.

[EternityTide]

I'd prefer the chance of a sprained ankle being amplified if you run over a branch sticking out of the snow. You'd have a 20% chance of tripping and falling (filling your cold meter by a quarter, because now you are covered in snow) and a 25% chance of spraining your ankle, so ⅕ x ¼ = 1/20 chance of spraining an ankle if you run over a branch

[octavian]

I wish you could get high on painkillers. So if you plan to cover a lot of ground, fast, especially if your planned route has vertical parts, you could just take 6 pills and do it in a medicated daze, a kind of mechanic for a window of time in which you cannot sprain anything.

[EternityTide]

"get high on painkillers" pull the other one, it's got bells on it.

As far as I can tell, the painkillers would likely be Tylenol (thank you, Dresden Files, for educating me on North American medication brands) which is marketed as Paracetamol in my country.

Now if you want to try and get high on paracetamol, be my guest, but even small overdoses on the stuff can be fatal. Ibuprofen doesn't really work like that either, as it's an NSAID, which does little more than decrease inflammation.

Now whilst you could get high on something like Morphine... it's more likely to send you to sleep than actually help in any way. Most of the chemical compounds you can get "high" on are opiates, which send you to sleep more than make you capable of trekking across the arctic.

[octavian]

Again, I'm talking from a gameplay perspective

If you want realism argue me this, getting two sprained ankles, taking four pills, and immediately start running again, with a 30 kg backpack on your back plus your own weight, mashing down on them. I figure your ankles are going to have a really bad day if you do that.

[AmericanSteel]

I agree the sprained ankle/wrist mechanic is just off base. I don't mind it happening. However, I think taking 2 pills does not equal Rest, Ice, Compression & Elevation (RICE) for days. Based on the current game mechanic, drinking a hot cup of joe should cure hypothermia.

The sprained ankle mechanic is ok (no running) but the player is not under any pain (besides audible complaints) while using the foot. There should be some sort of penalty for using it, like -5% health every hour of use. I think the player would need to construct a splint (say 4 sticks and two cloth or 4 sticks and a gut). This would stop the occurrence of the pain penalty with movement. Lastly I would say minimal use for a week. So you could walk, but not run.

The sprained wrist mechanic is ok (no using a weapon) but the player is not under any pain (besides audible complaints) while out and about. I think the player would need to construct a splint (see above). I would also say minimal use for a week. So you could gather materials, sew, cook, craft and break branches but no wood cutting or using a ranged weapon. Lastly a player with a sprained wrist suffers a 10% penalty when attacking wolves in melee.

Taking pain medicine/herbal tea would allow the player to forgo the pain penalty for movement and allow them to use a tool. However doing so reset the healing clock. If if you were out in the woods and sprained your ankle, taking the pills to get you over the hump and back home would be ideal. Once you were home and in a splint, they would be better off. I would also like to add that ever 2 days of no activity (no going outdoors) would give a bonus healing day. So a player could come out of the order in 5 days of resting. This would reward players who stocked up while players who had to scramble for resources would suffer the full effect.

[octavian]

@AmericanSteel: Well, ice/snow is readily available, and as far as compression, maybe a new kind of bandages could be introduced, you guessed it, compression bandages. So there would be a difference between a piece of cloth you just wrap around a part of your body and a bandage purposely made to be a bandage. While you can compress with a piece of cloth just fine, again, I'm talking about gameplay, vary your resources and expand on the first-aid mechanics.

[AmericanSteel]

@AmericanSteel: Well, ice/snow is readily available, and as far as compression, maybe a new kind of bandages could be introduced, you guessed it, compression bandages. So there would be a difference between a piece of cloth you just wrap around a part of your body and a bandage purposely made to be a bandage. While you can compress with a piece of cloth just fine, again, I'm talking about gameplay, vary your resources and expand on the first-aid mechanics.

While RICE is essential, immobilizing and supporting cannot be understated. I don't think we are going to find ACE style bandages out in the woods, but you could re purpose something as simple as the red scarf to do the trick. The other point, wraps and splints should not be a one shot items. They would be impacted by the weather like a piece of clothing. They could eventually wear out, and then just be harvested.

* Wrap - 2 cloths + sewing kit

* Splint - 4 sticks + (2 clothes or 1 gut)

[elloco999]

If sprained ankles/ wrists are going to take that much time to heal properly, the rate at which they happen should be severely reduced. I'm on day 37/38 or so and I've sprained my ankle at least 5 times, more like 6-7 times I think, and my wrist once. Not being able to run for a week each time would mean I would not be able to run at all.

I'm not against making sprained ankles/ wrists a more serious condition but only if the chance of them happening is lowered.

[AmericanSteel]

If sprained ankles/ wrists are going to take that much time to heal properly, the rate at which they happen should be severely reduced. I'm on day 37/38 or so and I've sprained my ankle at least 5 times, more like 6-7 times I think, and my wrist once. Not being able to run for a week each time would mean I would not be able to run at all.

I'm not against making sprained ankles/ wrists a more serious condition but only if the chance of them happening is lowered.

I don't have a problem with them happening during a wolf attack, especially a sprained wrist (all that thrashing about). However, I have been hit with the sprain at the same location using the high path toward the dam on ML. If you hold a weapon and go do this particular slope, you get a sprained wrist. I mean every time. If you don't hold a weapon it does not happen as often. I do think they happen to often BUT I think it is due to a lack of choice. It is a boolean activity. Do X. If result is Y you get Z result. There is only one choice for the result.

I think the devs need to add in a few more fall injuries that are simply hits to health. For instance, if I run on the ice taking a tumble should not be unheard of. If I hit my head, it should ring my bell for certain. If I am running down a slope, I don't have to get a sprain I just may take a bad fall.

* Fell on the ice, bruising 5% Damage

* Fell on the ice, sprained wrist (current rule)

* Fell on the ice, hit your head 10% Damage (maybe some blurry vision for a few minutes and/or ringing in your ears)

* Fell on the ice, hit your head hard, 15% Damage + concussion (think on how bad that would be)

* Fell Down Hill, bruising 5% Damage

* Fell Down Hill, Sprained Ankle (current rule)

* Major Fall Down the Hill (actually move the model down the hill), 10% Damage

* Major Fall Down the Hill, Pulled a back muscle, 15% Damage (think on how bad that would be)