Suggestion [Rethought]: Make Beefalo your mount.

[theboneknight]

Anyone who has read my last thread about making Beefalo your mount should know that one thing that I've noticed on many of my worlds is that the best food sources, mining grounds and pig villages are almost always quite a long journey away, this always makes me hesitant to go out to that spot in case I have to camp over night on the journey.

To solve this, I propose that once baby Beefalo are added, a saddle could also be added to the game to be unlocked in the Alchemy Engine. I imagine that it would require 4 rope, 5 pig skin and 2 gold nuggets (For the little metal things where you place your feet while riding.) and after creation you would be able to saddle up a Beefalo to ride around the map at about 1.5 or 1.75 times your normal movement speed.

But obviously you can't just try to saddle up a fully grown Beefalo and expect it to let you ride on its back! This is where the baby Beefalo is necessary. You would have to feed the baby a grass tuft (Or more if you think 1 is too easy) in order to tame it, then you would have to wait for it to grow up in order to place the saddle on it.

Of course you may need a place to store your baby Beefalo when its growing up? Or else it might wonder off somewhere or be attacked by hounds. For this problem, I suggest a new structure to be added. Nothing too extravagant, just a wooden pole with a piece of rope attached to it where you can tie your new friend up to in order to keep it safe from harm.

I would imagine the pole to require 1 log (For the pole.), 2 rope (For the, well, the rope.) and 3 or 4 cut stone (For the base of the pole.) This recipe would also need to be unlocked at the alchemy engine.

Once the Beefalo has grown up after maybe 7 to 10 days (Please feel free to discuss this time if you consider it to be too long or too short!) you could unattach it from the pole and saddle up! But maybe you think that this is too simple, too easy. Or maybe you don't actually want to ride a Beefalo (Where is your soul? ).

Let me answer these two points in turn:

To make it harder I suggest that hounds try to hunt you down whilst riding your Beefalo at sunset and at night the "Scary Monster" still tries to kill you. This will force most players to dismount at sunset and walk the rest of the way, their Beefalo following them or to set up camp quickly.

As for not wanting to ride a Beefalo, I suggest that another item could be created to be equipped instead of the saddle, a 9-slot Beefalo backpack, effectively a moving chest that follows you when untied from the pole and rope. I would want the recipe for this to include a fair amount of grass (Maybe 6) for weaving, 4 twigs to hold it up and 2 rope to attach it to your furry companion.

This could also be useful for that tricky "Backpack or Logsuit" choice that many people complain about (Personally I like the choice as it adds more of a risk to adventuring.) but it could also be used as even more storage space if you have both the backpack and the Beefalo Pack equiped.

Another idea that was suggested in my last thread was to have a logsuit for the Beefalo, making it able to take more damage before you have to dismount and kill the attacker. So for this I propose that the an item known as the Battle Saddle (Or something similar.) could be added to the game. Its recipe would require a normal saddle, 4 rope and 10 logs. (Beefalo are big remember.) This item would allow you to ride your Beefalo and act as armour for it.

Finally, in order to make this suggestion sound less over powered, you should only be able to tame a maximum of one or two Beefalo so that players can't just have a convoy of moving chests following them, you shouldn't be abble to use the powerful Beefalo attack (Or the "Beefalo Beatdown" as I like to call it.) and trying to take away a baby Beefalo should somehow anger the herd/pack.

Thanks for reading,

Please give me your ideas in the form of a reply in this thread!

I hope this idea gets noticed!

[mobius187]

To solve this, I propose that once baby Beefalo are added, a saddle could also be added to the game to be unlocked in the Alchemy Engine. I imagine that it would require 4 rope, 5 pig skin and 2 gold nuggets (For the little metal things where you place your feet while riding.) and after creation you would be able to saddle up a Beefalo to ride around the map at about 1.5 or 1.75 times your normal movement speed.

Hmmm. I'm sure I've seen something like this suggestion before, because the word you're looking for is "stirrups". I recall thinking: "Why do we need gold stirrups" the last time I saw this crafting formula. Anyway, it's not a major issue.

But obviously you can't just try to saddle up a fully grown Beefalo and expect it to let you ride on its back! This is where the baby Beefalo is necessary. You would have to feed the baby a grass tuft (Or more if you think 1 is too easy) in order to tame it, then you would have to wait for it to grow up in order to place the saddle on it.

Hmmm... offering food to a baby to lure it away with you? I'm sure there's a PSA idea here. However I believe it will probably be much harder than this, as once baby beefalo are introduced the AI for adult beefalo may likewise be updated. My guess is that approaching baby beefalo will result in being savagely mauled by the parents.

To this end, I suggest the beefalo hat may need to play a role in this process. Wearing the hat would disguise you as a "baby beefalo", which in turn would allow you get get close enough to a real baby beefalo. As for how to lure it... grass may be a good idea. Another is a craftable item, grass + rope + stick... or a "grass lure", similar to the proverbial carrot-on-a-stick. Maybe you equip it in the hand slot and baby beefalo will follow you and nibble on it (reducing its durability %). Then again this would make it a one-shot item with no other real purpose... so maybe just plain grass is best.

My only question is how do we transition a baby beefalo from wild animal to "pet" status? With the hound suggestion it was the collar. Maybe something similar here? Maybe the same invention (i.e. a collar) so it can be a multi-purpose invention (for hounds and baby beefalo)?

Of course you may need a place to store your baby Beefalo when its growing up? Or else it might wonder off somewhere or be attacked by hounds. For this problem, I suggest a new structure to be added. Nothing too extravagant, just a wooden pole with a piece of rope attached to it where you can tie your new friend up to in order to keep it safe from harm.

I would imagine the pole to require 1 log (For the pole.), 2 rope (For the, well, the rope.) and 3 or 4 cut stone (For the base of the pole.) This recipe would also need to be unlocked at the alchemy engine.

Mmm, maybe. But I think we should consolidate our ideas. If we opt for the collar then the baby beefalo AI could mirror the smallbird's AI in terms of how it follows you around.

Once the Beefalo has grown up after maybe 7 to 10 days (Please feel free to discuss this time if you consider it to be too long or too short!) you could unattach it from the pole and saddle up! But maybe you think that this is too simple, too easy. Or maybe you don't actually want to ride a Beefalo (Where is your soul? ).

That time period seems a bit too short. I suggest at least one season should pass, or 30 days (using the "season duration" I've previously suggested). That way you'll need to invest the time caring for the baby beefalo and not get a quick payoff. Not to mention it increases the odds the baby beefalo may perish... yet another risk.

Let me answer these two points in turn:

To make it harder I suggest that hounds try to hunt you down whilst riding your Beefalo at sunset and at night the "Scary Monster" still tries to kill you. This will force most players to dismount at sunset and walk the rest of the way, their Beefalo following them or to set up camp quickly.

I don't think the hounds need to be anymore annoyed with you just because you have a beefalo. I know in the past I've suggested they startle the beefalo if you're riding it, thus causing you to become knocked off, but even that may not be essential. However you would definitely need to build a fire at night... why? Because beefalo sleep at night, so your mount will stop moving and fall asleep too. Unless you want to leave him behind you'll need to setup camp.

As for not wanting to ride a Beefalo, I suggest that another item could be created to be equipped instead of the saddle, a 9-slot Beefalo backpack, effectively a moving chest that follows you when untied from the pole and rope. I would want the recipe for this to include a fair amount of grass (Maybe 6) for weaving, 4 twigs to hold it up and 2 rope to attach it to your furry companion.

This could also be useful for that tricky "Backpack or Logsuit" choice that many people complain about (Personally I like the choice as it adds more of a risk to adventuring.) but it could also be used as even more storage space if you have both the backpack and the Beefalo Pack equiped.

Another idea that was suggested in my last thread was to have a logsuit for the Beefalo, making it able to take more damage before you have to dismount and kill the attacker. So for this I propose that the an item known as the Battle Saddle (Or something similar.) could be added to the game. Its recipe would require a normal saddle, 4 rope and 10 logs. (Beefalo are big remember.) This item would allow you to ride your Beefalo and act as armour for it.

Well I certainly have no issue with turning the beefalo into a pack animal. Not sure about the armor... but then that just matters on the gameplay dynamic, is the beefalo a pet that fights for/with you or just to defend itself?

Finally, in order to make this suggestion sound less over powered, you should only be able to tame a maximum of one or two Beefalo so that players can't just have a convoy of moving chests following them, you shouldn't be abble to use the powerful Beefalo attack (Or the "Beefalo Beatdown" as I like to call it.) and trying to take away a baby Beefalo should somehow anger the herd/pack.

I'm of the opinion that each player should only have one beefalo. Similar to the suggestion I made for pet hounds, only one per player. The flip side is maybe you just need to balance this againt feeding them. I mean, they would need food (i.e. grass). If a beefalo needs, say 8-12 grass per day then that's a minor issue... multiple that with multiple beefalo mounts and you're in trouble.

As before, I suggest that if you cannot feed your beefalo mount(s) it will become hungry and slowly starve. It should indicate when it's almost at its limit as a warning, but if ignored (or the player has no grass) then the beefalo should discard all its trappings (i.e. saddle, chest, armor, ect) and run off... becoming a wild beefalo again.

[theboneknight]

1. Golden stirrups because gold looks pimp.

2. Collar is a good idea or a bow on the horn.

3. The armour would just give it more health and it only attacks in self defense.

4. 30 days seems like a long time, maybe 20?

[mobius187]

1. Golden stirrups because gold looks pimp.

It's hard to argue that logic.

2. Collar is a good idea or a bow on the horn.

Both are good ideas. Maybe your choice defines whether the beefalo is a male or female.

3. The armour would just give it more health and it only attacks in self defense.

Fair enough.

4. 30 days seems like a long time, maybe 20?

Well I think it should depend on the duration of a season. It would feel more significant if you moved between seasons during yourbonding with the baby beefalo, whether it's just Spring to Summer, or maybe Autumn to Winter... a part of me almost wanted to suggest that it take an entire year... but I think the baby beefalo would probably die along the way with that many days (i.e. 120 Days) and it would seem like a lost investment that never paid off... so yeah, that's why I didn't suggest it.

[theboneknight]

You see you mention bonding with the Beefalo in its child state although I think that travelling with or on the Beefalo would make the player feel more attached to it and want to protect it, having it as a baby for too long may annoy the player and make them think that it's not worth protecting it.

[kazinsser]

I would love this. 20-30 days seems fair enough for the baby beefalo to mature.

[theboneknight]

I think its just because I'm impatient... Lol

Yeah now I think about it, it does seem fair enough