Unharved Food Does Not Spoil: Intended Or Exploited?

[the truthseeker]

We didn't do anything intentional...The dirty secret is that the food doesn't technically exist before you harvest it - it's just a hand wavy symbol swap to make it look like it's there. If I were to make it spoil, I'd probably make the pot spawn the food and toss it on the ground a day after the cooking is done, at which point the usual mechanisms would kick in.

 

 

The title pretty much says it, but the question is:

 

Unharvested Crock Pot and farm foods do not spoil. Was this an intentional developer game-play decision, or a side-effect of the game mechanics that users exploit to their advantage? I tried searching this but didn't find any additional info.

 

Edit: crud, checked my spelling for everything but the title, and that should have read Unharvested...please fix Moderators, thanks. 

 

@%1;

[zazori]

If you want an exact answer you should summon the devs,but in my opinion it's an huge mistake.HUGE mistake,it makes games too easy.

I mean,I can die and go back to full belly just by eating a meaty stew I left there 20 days ago.

Or I can simply build eight billion crock pots,put them all on my base and don't worry about'em until for some reason I want to eat one of them.Like if getting food was difficult.

[the truthseeker]

If you want an exact answer you should summon the devs,but in my opinion it's an huge mistake.HUGE mistake,it makes games too easy.

I mean,I can die and go back to full belly just by eating a meaty stew I left there 20 days ago.

Or I can simply build eight billion crock pots,put them all on my base and don't worry about'em until for some reason I want to eat one of them.Like if getting food was difficult.

Oooh oooh, what's the dev-summoning spell? I want them to come to my thread! 

 

And I'm jealous. If I get several hundreds of items in too compact a space my game begins to slow. You get to eight billion on your computer

[zazori]

Oooh oooh, what's the dev-summoning spell? I want them to come to my thread! 

 

And I'm jealous. If I get several hundreds of items in too compact a space my game begins to slow. You get to eight billion on your computer

You can use @JoeW,for example.I summoned him because it's the one I see it's on-line now.

...

 

It will be funny if someone tests how many crockpots  can fit in one map.

[psyk90913]

Whatever it is inteded or exploited it not OP, so nerf/fix it is unnecessary.
Because we really don't need much "never-spoiled until pick up" food. One to two per ice box and crock pot is enough to survive in game. Farming is just a waste of time.

[zazori]

Whatever it is inteded or exploited it not OP, so nerf/fix it is unnecessary.

Because we really don't need much "never-spoiled until pick up" food. One to two per ice box and crock pot is enough to survive in game. Farming is just a waste of time.

It's neccesary,because having iceboxes requieres a bit of dedcation,while you can build 10 crockpots,1 to be used regularly and the other 9 to store infinite food.

[psyk90913]

It's neccesary,because having iceboxes requieres a bit of dedcation,while you can build 10 crockpots,1 to be used regularly and the other 9 to store infinite food.

We can have a huge amount of crock pots act as one ice box slot, seem too OP etc.. but what's for? Is it really necessary since we actually store and eat a small to moderate amount of food then explore and experience the game?

[the truthseeker]

Well, trying to get the title fixed. 

 

I'm of mixed emotions on the current non-spoilage setup.

 

 

However, when I find gears (in time for winter) I often make two iceboxes: One for all the harvested fruits/veggies and one for the cooked/advanced recipes and (because I'm out of space in the first one by now) the meats harvested. 

[Warburner]

If I had to guess, it's a glitch that Klei will just end up keeping. But then again, the last updates are just bug fixes, so it might change. Whether people say it's op or not, it doesn't matter what we think. I'm sure everything for the rest of the game is already planned, and any new problems that show up will be dealt with as soon as possible

[Cynical Cynicist]

It'd be a bit too micro-managey if you had to account for that. You wouldn't be able to see the spoilage on the food that was cooked/dried, plus you would end up with an even LARGER excess of food. It also limits how much you can explore, because you won't have that reliable foundation of sustenance.

[Blucher]

It'd be a bit too micro-managey if you had to account for that. You wouldn't be able to see the spoilage on the food that was cooked/dried, plus you would end up with an even LARGER excess of food. It also limits how much you can explore, because you won't have that reliable foundation of sustenance.

 

I agree with that.  The game already tethers you fairly strongly to your base.  Food spoiling in farms and whatnot would just be another reason to sit around and wait near your base, rather than going out and exploring and doing stuff.

 

Besides, I have exactly one crock pot, two iceboxes, four farms, and eight drying racks in nearly every (mature) base I make.  I don't feel like I'm missing out by not having a field of crock pots handy.

 

Edit: I am biased though.  I think having food spoil was a bad idea in the first place.

[Crown_king]

intended

[Cynical Cynicist]

I agree with that.  The game already tethers you fairly strongly to your base.  Food spoiling in farms and whatnot would just be another reason to sit around and wait near your base, rather than going out and exploring and doing stuff.

 

Besides, I have exactly one crock pot, two iceboxes, four farms, and eight drying racks in nearly every (mature) base I make.  I don't feel like I'm missing out by not having a field of crock pots handy.

 

Edit: I am biased though.  I think having food spoil was a bad idea in the first place.

I have sort of a confession...

 

About 54 crockpots, 50+ drying racks...and yet I still have too much food in my 9 fridges...which sort of forces me to scoff down meaty stews regularly.

[Estel]

It's definitely a glitch/exploit - no idea, if they're going to fix it, but there is a nice mod by chromiumboy, that makes food left on crock pot (or even drying racks, after it dried) to start spoiling. for example, I have set up food on crockpots to spil as fast as one left on ground, but jerkys on drying rack only 50% of normal speed (for obvious reasons).

Add to this being fully customizable, + having other options - like, rate at which rabbit holes become over-farmed (and slows down spawning new rabits, until left alone for a few days), and you have nice "reality" boster (+ proof that it's doable, even if food on crockpot is just a graphic without actual object).

/Estel

// Edit

Even before using mod I've mentioned, I *never* used crockpots as a way of preserving food. It looks, sounds, and feels so silly, that I could as well enable <any> cheat, including godmode. That's not the point of survival game...

[Cynical Cynicist]

Creating challenges for yourself and using mods to do it...just isn't the same.

[FDru]

Edit: I am biased though.  I think having food spoil was a bad idea in the first place.

It was a brilliant idea. Here's the problem with food not spoiling: if the game was going to be balanced without food spoilage then they would need to make food scarce, and you would probably end up in situations where you die of starvation simply due to bad luck being unable to find any food (see "Sword of the Stars: The Pit" for a pretty good example of that kind of system). It's really bad for gameplay and makes players feel like they were cheated out of a fair chance to survive.

[Cynical Cynicist]

It was a brilliant idea. Here's the problem with food not spoiling: if the game was going to be balanced without food spoilage then they would need to make food scarce, and you would probably end up in situations where you die of starvation simply due to bad luck being unable to find any food (see "Sword of the Stars: The Pit" for a pretty good example of that kind of system). It's really bad for gameplay and makes players feel like they were cheated out of a fair chance to survive.

The major problem is how reliable your food sources are. People never leave their comfort zone (and considering the fact that this is a survival game, this makes sense) thus become bored after extended periods of inactivity. So spoilage really doesn't even matter. Of course, if you say add pests or plagues to one area, it's a pain in the ass to relocate all of your stuff (you can't carry structures, you gotta hammer down each one and gather more resources). That's not fun, it's a chore - another core problem inherit to survival games. You want "pure" survival? The game is not gonna be "fun." You want fun? The game is not going to be solely centered around "survival" then, reducing difficulty and weakening the atmosphere. Achieving this kind of a balance is impossible and someone will ALWAYS be unsatisfied. This applies to all games, but especially one of this nature I believe.

 

So, their priority should be to choose a side: a casual adventure game (mediocre, combat is easy and mechanics are simple, many games outshine it in this aspect) or a tedious, committed survival game (which, although isn't great, might actually be still better).

[lammaer]

It was a brilliant idea. Here's the problem with food not spoiling: if the game was going to be balanced without food spoilage then they would need to make food scarce, and you would probably end up in situations where you die of starvation simply due to bad luck being unable to find any food (see "Sword of the Stars: The Pit" for a pretty good example of that kind of system). It's really bad for gameplay and makes players feel like they were cheated out of a fair chance to survive.

 

Oh yeah....  I enjoy Dont starve very much and hate the Swots: Pit, exactly for the reason why you described above. It's purely luck based in what way you will die: either because you find no food or because you run out of weaponry/ammo. Actually NOTHING depends on the player, which made me angry on the game and left it - forewer...

[Blucher]

It was a brilliant idea. Here's the problem with food not spoiling: if the game was going to be balanced without food spoilage then they would need to make food scarce, and you would probably end up in situations where you die of starvation simply due to bad luck being unable to find any food (see "Sword of the Stars: The Pit" for a pretty good example of that kind of system). It's really bad for gameplay and makes players feel like they were cheated out of a fair chance to survive.

 

The challenge to secure a stable source of food is there regardless.  After that, it's just work to maintain.  I think food spoilage adds a tedious element to the game that limits the amount of time you can explore and do other things besides collecting food.  From what I've seen, most people get around this by having fields of crock pots, drying racks, and farms, and/or using the birdcage to recycle eggs.

 

Personally, I think the best solution would be an improved icebox that eliminated spoilage entirely.  I saw a suggestion like that in the other sub-forum recently, and it seems like a decent idea.

[TeoSS69]

Who cares? I have 20 bee boxes. I'll never starve.

[the truthseeker]

For the record, I often have (assuming I find gears in time before winter) two iceboxes, two crockpots (on a rare occasion three if in a large food situation before winter and have a lot of resources,) four to six drying racks (depending on if I am close or far to rabbits at my base,) Four Improved Farms, two to three Basic farms, and as many Bee Boxes as I can before my first winter. Sometimes I don't even have time to make the bee boxes in time before the winter (which is sad. I'm a honey ham convert as well. ) I don't view crock pots as a way to preserve food in winter as I often use them within several days (and can cook it if it were to spoil,) but am currently using the farm mechanic as an "emergency food storage" in winter if they choose not to make it spoil, but often use almost all farms for "emergency healing food when I am seriously injured.

 

Personally, I'd like it instead if I could hammer frozen ponds and get fish in winter, but so be it.  

[TeoSS69]

Farms are a waste before the first winter, i spend time making bee boxes.

[the truthseeker]

Farms are a waste before the first winter, i spend time making bee boxes.

 

Tell that to my dragonpies and pumpkin cookies! By first winter baybee! 

[TeoSS69]

Tell that to my dragonpies and pumpkin cookies! By first winter baybee! 

Tell that to my Meaty Stews and Honey Puoltices. By first winter baybee!

[the truthseeker]

Tell that to my Meaty Stews and Honey Puoltices. By first winter baybee!

 

Tell that to my dragonpies and pumpkin cookies! By first winter baybee! 

 

 

Okay, I will:

 

 

Pumpkin cookie, meet meaty stew. Meaty stew, pumpkin cookie.

 

Dragon pie, meet honey poultice, honey poultice, meet dragon pie. You two groups switch when you're done talking. Starting Topic: How rushing-in stupid Abigail is with enemies