Camp Defenses

[Barretts Privateer]

Alright, how many of us have gotten stuck outside overnight because of exhaustion, too much weight, or injury? Or perhaps you are just lost and it's just getting late? I myself have had this issue: I find shelter at the destroyed cabin by the clearcut, or at the tunnel collapse, or hunched up against a cliff. I build a fire, keep warm. But I dare not sleep for more than an hour at a time, or I fear Cujo will come to tear my neck out.

So, what have humans done for the longest time, ever since we discovered tools and fire, and long after we realized we were very low on the food chain at the time?

Spikes. Traps. And more. And in this day and age, maybe some very crude barbed wire. Like a fire, we could place these out and then craft them, then build them there. Of course, they would have a condition rating, and bears and wolves can break through them eventually. And later, you can break them down for reclaimed wood. Here are some ideas I've had for craftable defenses:

Spikes: 5x Reclaimed Wood-Sharpened sticks in a line, pointed outward to block any predators. Destructible by wildlife. Need hunting knife to craft.

Fence: 10x Reclaimed Wood, 5x Cured Gut- One-meter long fence meant to keep out wolves. More durable than spikes. Need hatchet/hacksaw to craft (Looks like this)

http://cdn.xl.thumbs.canstockphoto.com/canstock20393334.jpg

Barbed wire: 4x reclaimed wood, 2x wire (if we can get it added to the game), and 5x scrap metal-Basic barbed wire defense to keep out wolves and bears. Wolves sustain injury if they approach it. Bears can break through. Player sustains injury if they walk too close. Two x-shaped pieces of wood with wire strung between the two, crude barbs on them. Need tools to craft. More durable than other defenses.

There you have it. I was thinking about these the other day when I had no other option than to hole up in a bear cave for the night-used up my entire supply of flares and multiple torches, along with all my cloth and a fair amount of antibiotics and bandages. Oh, and a sewing kit.

Morale of the story is: DO NOT SLEEP IN BEAR DENS!

Also: DON'T GET CAUGHT OUTSIDE AT NIGHT! ;P

[Hesha]

Mmhmmm.... meh. You would have to be hauling those defences around with you, they would have to way a couple of kgs realistically and therefore no-one would ever bring them along.

Also, the locations you names are ridiculously close to the Camp Office. Even at maximum exhaustion there is no reason not to walk the rest of the way. And, if you can sleep an hour at a time, do just that. Sleep an hour and walk the rest of the way with the energy from that hour.

[Bill Tarling]

Going to take a lot of time, energy, and resources to chop everything down and then prep it for building... And good luck building anything solid when you'll have to find a way to gig into frozen ground.

As for protection or safety, don't expect much... Our 6 foot high side fence wall (which was fully built) can attest as to how little the wandering bear cared about it as it plowed right through. The bears here tend to get lazy and like to take shortcuts at times -- as our new neighbor also found out as well...

Fences, if added, would be more of a spring or fall thing when the ground is softer, and you can transport supplies around more (you definitely don't want to start hauling around logs in the winter). Perhaps it's something that will be looked at in the sequel.