A new structure

[octavian]

Responding to a topic I got the idea for a new kind of hunting blind, or, structure of some sort. An open structure like the hunting blind with little protection from the elements but with a small cupboard or metal box - some shape or form of minimal storage - and a place to make a fire like the fishing hut. Perhaps, with a cracked roof so you can look at the stars, even a bed, why not.

So basically something like the lookout, but smaller, just big enough to fit a bed, a cupboard/box and a stove, with no windows/balcony, no door, and a cracked roof. If it would be elevated to some degree, higher than the usual hunting blind and more akin to the lookout it would be even better, so you don't snipe wildlife from ground level but have to do it from high up through the trees.

A good place for it would be the pocket between tunnel collapse, Dave’s and medical bunker D, that general area is awesome while at the same time, I feel, underutilized, but the wildlife that inhabits that general area should be looked at a bit if this structure would be added there.

I could go deeper into the justification for a structure like this existing but I doubt it would be of any use to anyone so I’ll just leave it at simply stating my wish.

[Maninpants]

+1

I like the sound of this structure. It would add variety and sounds like it could provide quite a nice refuge provided that fire gets lit

I'd also like to see some type of structure up in the trees (a tree-house but more grown up!)

[jackattack]

A "ruined lookout" might be a neat feature for a future map, but I think the current maps are pretty much set.

I'm picturing a tower that has been struck by a deadfall, so the roof and one corner are destroyed, but the stove is (damaged but?) still usable. The fallen tree might even be the way you get in.

Or, for irony, the lookout tower might be a burned ruin, with noisy stairs, and only the stove and a metal container left inside. (Bonus if they add lots of scorched/ruined loot as scenery at the top.)

[octavian]

I'd also like to see some type of structure up in the trees (a tree-house but more grown up!)

Well, this could be it. I see no reason why it can't be up a tree except the game has no ladders and hence no ladder mechanic. But if the level designer can whip up some magic, step-like objects in a spiral around the tree or whatever, with an invisible wall-slope-thing on top of them, it could work, I see no reason it would not.

I'm picturing a tower that has been struck by a deadfall, so the roof and one corner are destroyed, but the stove is (damaged but?) still usable. The fallen tree might even be the way you get in.

+1

Just imagine what could be done if all interiors were part of the map instead of inhabiting their own tiny tiny dimension.

[Maninpants]

jackattack wrote:I'm picturing a tower that has been struck by a deadfall, so the roof and one corner are destroyed, but the stove is (damaged but?) still usable. The fallen tree might even be the way you get in.

+1

I can imagine that looking pretty atmospheric and yea I reckon it would be easily usable still. Cool idea about how to get in too. That just got me thinking if we get some zones with those gigantic trees and we could make a refuge inside of them!

except the game has no ladders and hence no ladder mechanic

Funny enough there was another thread talking about climbing. I see no reason as to why we can't get a message that says 'click here to climb/enter', the screen goes black and then you are inside. Magic!

And yes....

Just imagine what could be done if all interiors were part of the map instead of inhabiting their own tiny tiny dimension

This would just be brilliant if most/all of the interious were not instanced and were more like the Forestry Lookout/Abandoned Watchtower (actually part of the game world). If those two can be part of this game world then surely others can be too?!!

[octavian]

Funny enough there was another thread talking about climbing. I see no reason as to why we can't get a message that says 'click here to climb/enter', the screen goes black and then you are inside. Magic!

That would be worse than simply walking which is completely possible, there is no reason for a press here to whatever type loading screen, they can make it so you can walk all the way, no problem.

This would just be brilliant if most/all of the interious were not instanced and were more like the Forestry Lookout/Abandoned Watchtower (actually part of the game world). If those two can be part of this game world then surely others can be too?!!

Well, just adding an extra one to ML, and have maybe one or two or three on each map, yes, it can be done. All? No. Otherwise they would have simply made them like that from the start. They either had no interest to do that, Unity simply can't handle it, or some occult reason.

There have been hints here and there about how the game is CPU bound outside, large number of objects, blap blap blap, stuff like that.

Well, I've been playing games for, what, 25 years now? And the issue is that if you move outside all objects that are inside the interiors the game would run poorly? What, a couple of boxes, drawers and items? But I can run Witcher 3 just fine. And a million other games with orders of magnitude more objects at any single time on the map, regardless if they have instanced locations too. Even Skyrim, it does have instanced interiors, but the map, it's huge compared to what, tiny tiny ML? :lol: So maybe it's something a small studio simply cannot optimize, or the limitations of Unity, I don't know.

The bigger problem is, I don't know if you noticed this, but, a cabin for example, is a tiny tiny thing on the outside, and a couple of times bigger on the inside. Even if they could, from a technical standpoint, move everything outside, all structures would have to become a couple of times bigger. So you would have, for example, a massive camp office compared to how it is now, three, four times bigger. Because that's simply its actual volume on the inside, and there would no longer be a way for the inside volume to be different that the outside volume, obviously.

Even if my idea gets added, the structure would be massive by comparison with others, bigger than a cabin on the outside, even if smaller than a cabin on the inside. In fact, even an already existing hunting blind is about the same size as a cabin is on the outside. :?

So everything would basically explode, the maps would be extremely weird, the scale of everything would be off, way worse than it is now, everything pretty much would have to be redone. This is also true for any and all games chameleon Bethesda ever did, Fallout series, Elder Scrolls series, so, who knows, maybe they have in their team someone who worked for Bethesda. :lol:

But see, nobody cares if you can look out the window in Skyrim. But in TLD... :?

Maybe it's just me. It has to be. Otherwise the simple idea, move everything outside, find a way, would get +1 from literally everybody reading it. But since that's not the case, it's a bad idea, or at least players don't care or don't want all interiors to be like the lookout. Simple as that.

[Maninpants]

The bigger problem is, I don't know if you noticed this, but, a cabin for example, is a tiny tiny thing on the outside, and a couple of times bigger on the inside. Even if they could, from a technical standpoint, move everything outside, all structures would have to become a couple of times bigger

Yup I have noticed this and it's a shame as one becomes a little bit detached from the glorious outside world that Hinterland Studio hath given uthuth (lol) once you walk inside. It's a shame we can't get live video feed pasted onto the windows and if not, then, I think people have suggested it before, but how about some type of 'video screenshot' that can be pasted onto the windows...

Hopefully this makes sense - imagine you are at the camp office looking toward the lake, you take a 30 second video and then paste it onto the windows that best fits so this would be the windows inside the camp office under the stairs by those wooden bits (major grammar failure!). Another example would be the opposite side looking toward the rail tracks etc etc (although that would be from a different angle as the only windows on that side are upstairs just behind the burner) but it's the same idea.

There could be a few variations that would match the game time (early AM/PM, late AM/PM), conditions and also if wildlife is present.

As these buildings are instanced then maybe this opens up more CPU that could be targeted toward said systems? I wouldn't know as I'm not a programmer! If it did work then it could be applied to all buildings.

The live video feed would be the best of course and non-instanced buildings would be even better!!

Hopefully something is planned as it would add big time to the 'INside game' game. Redoing it like you said (everything inside made ouside and then redoing the models etc) would also be brilliant but as you pointed out there are limitations etc and its a lot of work for maybe what is soemething that isn't actually broken just like my (and others) idea.

I know that Forestry Lookout and Abandoned Watchtower are a walk and a half and also pretty cold... but what a view!!!! 8-)

[nicko]

The bigger problem is, I don't know if you noticed this, but, a cabin for example, is a tiny tiny thing on the outside, and a couple of times bigger on the inside. Even if they could, from a technical standpoint, move everything outside, all structures would have to become a couple of times bigger

Yup I have noticed this and it's a shame as one becomes a little bit detached from the glorious outside world that Hinterland Studio hath given uthuth (lol) once you walk inside. It's a shame we can't get live video feed pasted onto the windows and if not, then, I think people have suggested it before, but how about some type of 'video screenshot' that can be pasted onto the windows...

Hopefully this makes sense - imagine you are at the camp office looking toward the lake, you take a 30 second video and then paste it onto the windows that best fits so this would be the windows inside the camp office under the stairs by those wooden bits (major grammar failure!). Another example would be the opposite side looking toward the rail tracks etc etc (although that would be from a different angle as the only windows on that side are upstairs just behind the burner) but it's the same idea.

There could be a few variations that would match the game time (early AM/PM, late AM/PM), conditions and also if wildlife is present.

As these buildings are instanced then maybe this opens up more CPU that could be targeted toward said systems? I wouldn't know as I'm not a programmer! If it did work then it could be applied to all buildings.

The live video feed would be the best of course and non-instanced buildings would be even better!!

Hopefully something is planned as it would add big time to the 'INside game' game. Redoing it like you said (everything inside made ouside and then redoing the models etc) would also be brilliant but as you pointed out there are limitations etc and its a lot of work for maybe what is soemething that isn't actually broken just like my (and others) idea.

I know that Forestry Lookout and Abandoned Watchtower are a walk and a half and also pretty cold... but what a view!!!! 8-)

I think this issue has been fixed since alpha v258

[octavian]

I think this issue has been fixed since alpha v258

What issue are you talking about? The inside/outside difference in volume? No, it was not. It's not an issue in that sense, it's by design.

Tiny cabin.

[spoil]

[AmericanSteel]

I was not sure about this until the "Ruined Lookout" was posted. +1

Then I got to thinking about logging. Loggers usually put up lines to pull felled trees off steep hills. Right now the logs are loaded down below. What if the devs cleared out a section of trees up a steep hill and put wench up there. The loggers would drag the felled logs down to the bottom of the hill to be stacked. Put some sort of command shack up top that was partially destroyed by the wench/tree falling over. Have a desk, maybe a few file cabinets (some knocked over) and a stove. This same scenario could also been done on a hill that has yet to be cleared. They were setting up operations when the sky fell. Either of these give give a view over a pristine area, a cleared area or anywhere in between. It would also make sense for the location as ongoing logging operations were present before the fall.

[nicko]

I think this issue has been fixed since alpha v258

What issue are you talking about? The inside/outside difference in volume? No, it was not. It's not an issue in that sense, it's by design.

Tiny cabin.

[spoil][attachment=3]volumea.jpg[/attachment][/spoil]

Not so tiny same cabin on the inside.

[spoil][attachment=2]volumeb.jpg[/attachment][/spoil]

Window height on the outside.

[spoil][attachment=1]volumec.jpg[/attachment][/spoil]

Same window on the inside.

[spoil][attachment=0]volumed.jpg[/attachment][/spoil]

There isn't even any point in arguing, it's obvious to everyone the volumes are different.

the Tardis, yeah I guess some buildings seem a lot larger on the inside than out. Hopefully that can be fixed?

[octavian]

the Tardis, yeah I guess some buildings seem a lot larger on the inside than out. Hopefully that can be fixed?

I doubt it, I said why I don't think it can be "fixed". Again, it's by design, so "fixing" it is misrepresenting it