Smoke from fire.

[Shinobie]

More of a cosmetic then game play, but smoke from the chimney from the building if you have a fire in the fireplace if you view it from outside.

[elloco999]

And not just from a chimney, but also from campfires. If you have a good fire going and it isn't too windy, you should even be able to see the smoke rising above the tree tops.

[cekivi]

Remember that the colour and quantity of smoke depends a lot on the quality of wood you're burning. Dry hardwood in a fireplace should have very little (if any smoke). Green sticks and punky logs will have lots.

Still, I agree that it would be a nice cosmetic addition. And perhaps even a way to generate a useful landmark if you leave a fire lit and go out. You can follow the smoke back if it was a clear day.

[Lesnik]

As Cekivi identified, that gameplay would support evergreen logs and boughs; good way to get smoke markers up. This may be of most value for signalling rather than orienting oneself (the boughs burn very quickly and the smoke tapers off equally fast without someone feeding fresh boughs onto the fire) and that gameplay would tie best into the story mode moreso than sandbox.

[elloco999]

Remember that the colour and quantity of smoke depends a lot on the quality of wood you're burning. Dry hardwood in a fireplace should have very little (if any smoke). Green sticks and punky logs will have lots.

True, but then the wood in TLD isn't hardwood that has been dried for 2 years, it comes from freshly fallen tree limbs that have been lying in the snow since they fell. So it's safe to assume that a fire made with those logs would smoke enough for it to be visible (although maybe not over long distances).

[toebar]

Remember that the colour and quantity of smoke depends a lot on the quality of wood you're burning. Dry hardwood in a fireplace should have very little (if any smoke). Green sticks and punky logs will have lots.

True, but then the wood in TLD isn't hardwood that has been dried for 2 years, it comes from freshly fallen tree limbs that have been lying in the snow since they fell. So it's safe to assume that a fire made with those logs would smoke enough for it to be visible (although maybe not over long distances).

True that it isn't dried hardwood. But, I suspect the reason the branches fall is that they are dead-- so they're likely also fairly dry. Snow won't wet these branches as they lay there, as it's sufficiently cold to prevent this.

Still, I agree that smoke would be a great addition. Even under the best conditions, many fires show some degree of smoke-- especially if you're building a fire on snow (which makes the fire prone to some smoldering)