Harvest Wood Like You Harvest Meat

[Jebru]

I love this game. It's really well done, and we're still just in the sandbox mode. I mentioned this suggestion in a reply to another thread, but would like to expand on it a little more here.

I'd really like to be able to harvest wood like I harvest meat. When I come up to a limb, I'd like to be able to choose how many pieces I take, and what tool I use. That way I can balance my need for wood with my need to stay warm, or keep moving towards shelter for the night. This would allow various sizes of limbs, and potentially the chopping down of trees. You could have a time to chop the tree down, and once it's down, then you could choose how much to harvest from it.

[toebar]

the trees in game are a pretty tall order to take down with a hatchet... Still, I agree that IF you could take down a whole tree it would be a good idea to allow the player to choose how much to harvest from it..

For limbs I'm not sure its necessary-- if you want less than a branch, just keep moving and pick up sticks...

[crypticzero]

I love this game. It's really well done, and we're still just in the sandbox mode. I mentioned this suggestion in a reply to another thread, but would like to expand on it a little more here.

I'd really like to be able to harvest wood like I harvest meat. When I come up to a limb, I'd like to be able to choose how many pieces I take, and what tool I use. That way I can balance my need for wood with my need to stay warm, or keep moving towards shelter for the night. This would allow various sizes of limbs, and potentially the chopping down of trees. You could have a time to chop the tree down, and once it's down, then you could choose how much to harvest from it.

+1

[totorbanana]

You know, when you harvest wood, it just drops the items on the ground. You have a point though, it's a real pain in the *** to pick up all the wood pieces. It should take a long time to chop down a tree (because you're using a tiny hatchet). Have you ever tried it? It's REALLY hard.

[Dirmagnos]

Problem is not as much in using "tiny" hatchet, but the fact that trees are frozen, so it would be like cutting rock.

[crypticzero]

The other thing that I find sort of strange is that you cannot harvest the wood from the docks on Mystery Lake... can you?

[akodo1]

I think this is an excellent idea, have an interface just like collecting meat that goes log by log or for furniture reclaimed wood by reclaimed wood.

Regarding entire trees, you would need to fell the tree first. That could be something like crafting, there would be X amount of time (12 hours?) to chop the tree with your little hatchet until it fell. Then you'd be able to start getting logs from it.

I'd say have MOST trees immune from harvesting, but have some of the dead standing trees you see in places, those should be the ones that you can chop down.

It would also be an excellent reason to introduce a full sized felling ax, something you'd keep at your home base and only grab when you are going to chop down a tree.

[Jebru]

I think this is an excellent idea, have an interface just like collecting meat that goes log by log or for furniture reclaimed wood by reclaimed wood.

Regarding entire trees, you would need to fell the tree first. That could be something like crafting, there would be X amount of time (12 hours?) to chop the tree with your little hatchet until it fell. Then you'd be able to start getting logs from it.

I'd say have MOST trees immune from harvesting, but have some of the dead standing trees you see in places, those should be the ones that you can chop down.

It would also be an excellent reason to introduce a full sized felling ax, something you'd keep at your home base and only grab when you are going to chop down a tree.

I don't think you would need a full sized ax. But I like the idea of making it like crafting. Especially if you add in an extra qualifier that your hatchet has to be at a minimum condition (say, 90%) to make any progress on felling the tree. I realize it would take a long time; but if you were running low on firewood, and it was stormy, wouldn't you be trying to fell a tree rather than wandering around away from safety?

But the idea of felling the tree is secondary to me. The more important thing is to use the same interface for harvesting wood as you do meat. And with that, being able use your hacksaw if you want to, with less efficiency.

[SteveP]

On 2016-01-18 at 7:20 AM, Dirmagnos said:

Problem is not as much in using "tiny" hatchet, but the fact that trees are frozen, so it would be like cutting rock.

wood splits fine when frozen. Trees may not actually be frozen inside even though the temperature outside is below zero. Wood cells contain a natural antifreeze, methanol and other organic molecules. Once the tree is cut it may freeze and then becomes harder to buck but you would do that all at once. A dead tree is relatively dry and not an issue unless lying on the ground.

http://outdoorbasecamp.com/forum/threads/chopping-frozen-trees.9991/

[LucidFugue]

I love the proposal of making the harvesting mechanism similar to carcasses. A greater variety of limb sizes with the ability to harvest specified amounts of logs + tinder/bark that goes right into your pack. Harvesting furniture might be trickier. How do you take 2 reclaimed wood from a table and have it look no different? 

[Dirmagnos]

11 hours ago, SteveP said:

wood splits fine when frozen. Trees may not actually be frozen inside even though the temperature outside is below zero. Wood cells contain a natural antifreeze, methanol and other organic molecules. Once the tree is cut it may freeze and then becomes harder to buck but you would do that all at once. A dead tree is relatively dry and not an issue unless lying on the ground.

http://outdoorbasecamp.com/forum/threads/chopping-frozen-trees.9991/

That forum thread actually adds to my point.

[SteveP]

40 minutes ago, Dirmagnos said:

That forum thread actually adds to my point.

You actually said the trees were frozen. They don't.

http://sciencequestionswithsurprisinganswers.org/mobile/2014/01/15/why-dont-trees-freeze-and-burst-in-the-winter-like-cold-pipes/

http://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/do-tree-stems-freeze-in-winter

I've cut enough Christmas trees!

When conditions become extreme, the trees cannot survive: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_line

I guess my ancillary point is that there can be a lot of opinions in a forum and you might have to read a bit to find the useful information. You know the trope about opinions: everybody's got one.

[Dirmagnos]

One of the aftereffects of the Event was significant drop in temperatures. While trees do normally survive winters without problem, and adapt to them(locally), i seriously doubt that they would "magically" adapt to sudden temperature shift in LD.

Yes, trees do have a form on natural antifreeze and liquid circulation, but during extremely cold winters they do pop, even in areas that they are native 2. So its not some magical solution or answer to every problem.

[vancopower]

Yes gathering wood is a challenge in TLD, and I would like to stay that way. It is a part of  the resource management and I hate to say it but we already had similar  mechanic in TLD early versions and it was boring you could go outside spent hour gather 1 firewood go inside warm up repeat it was not so good. It will be too much overpowered and it will require tons of re-balancing issues. Also the "free" sticks will not have any purpose if wood gathering is easy. So - 1 from me.

[Drazon]

Nice point from vancopower. It's true that it's adding certain excitement that you have to take the risk if you can manage the process, and it can turn out to start a new 'adventure' of it's own; such as when you are finished your campfire has burned out and you are few notches from freezing, since a sudden storm caught you. Or you are wondering far away from any building and _every_single_time of gathering wood becomes "Do I make it or not"-event. It's integral part of the game that contributes to the excitement - while sometimes feeling clumsy, I admit. But I'd vote for solid now.

[elloco999]

15 hours ago, Dirmagnos said:

One of the aftereffects of the Event was significant drop in temperatures. While trees do normally survive winters without problem, and adapt to them(locally), i seriously doubt that they would "magically" adapt to sudden temperature shift in LD.

How do you figure the Event dropped the temperatures significantly? The temperatures in TLD are perfectly normal winter temperatures in the part of Canada the game takes place. And yes in TLD it is winter all the time even if you live for over a 1000 days, but that is because TLD takes place in the winter so no seasonal change was implemented. TLD 2 if it will ever be made will probably take place in the spring, or at least this was the devs intention once.

[Dirmagnos]

1 hour ago, elloco999 said:

How do you figure the Event dropped the temperatures significantly? The temperatures in TLD are perfectly normal winter temperatures in the part of Canada the game takes place. And yes in TLD it is winter all the time even if you live for over a 1000 days, but that is because TLD takes place in the winter so no seasonal change was implemented. TLD 2 if it will ever be made will probably take place in the spring, or at least this was the devs intention once.

I dont know exactly where in Canada game takes place, its just general thought, but i seriously doubt that fairly common -50C at night is a norm even for N Canada. Unless were far past Arctic Circle. But house design in the game doesnt really support that theory, most of them seem to be build for rather moderate climate.