Seriously, we need to discuss Summer.

[T4T3RGR3NAD3R]

The El Tusko thing went off track and faded into nothingness, so I'm opening a new Summer discussion. We seriously need to figure out ways to improve Summer. The Dragonfly is available year-round, Summer has no unique creatures or resources, or any sort of risk vs reward factor aside from possibly a slightly faster honey formation rate, and it seems to me that overheating has been jacked up. My friends don't even find Summer fun. It is just burning and overheating. They wanted to skip it, but my brother, who was running the server, stopped trying, and then I never got him to open the server back up again. We need some kind of special resource or activity to engage in. Otherwise, Summer is just pure death with no redeeming value. At least Winter has Mactusk, Pengull eggs, and glaciers.

[AdamNZ]

Yeah definitely needs to be improved some how. Maybe another a different giant to roam the world. The problem is though that a giant that burns stuff down wouldnt be very fun to it would have to have some different mechanic. 

[Zackreaver]

I agree, I've made a post relating to this subject
http://forums.kleientertainment.com/topic/57991-summer-is-boring-how-about-something-to-hunt/

 

Summer is just boring.

[Arcita]

Personally whenever summer comes, I drop all of my plans and retreat to a little summer base. I don't want to visit anything important because I run the risk of it burning down, and I don't really want to fuel a dozen flingomatics to cover everything I want to preserve, but then again, there's no real reason to go anywhere outside of your summer base because everything is withered and flammable. I think this is the reason for summer's flatness: it confines you to a little bubble in which everything you care about is outside the bubble beyond your reach, and you're just left there counting the time until Autumn. Some inexperienced players might complain about summer's harshness, but I think this is similar to complaints about the supposed "impossibility" of dealing with hound attacks or whatever else; they just haven't yet reached a sufficient level of competency in DST.

So during summer, base-building is out of the question. You're confined to a little hobo summer base. I like that actually because it radically changes up the gameplay in that it unhinges you from your main base. Because of this, I think summer should be a season of exploration and scavenging. Of course at the moment there is no reason to explore in summer because everything withers away and burns. In fact, it'd be detrimental for newbies to explore because they'd just run out of resources. I think there should be summer-specific loot, crops, and enemies introduced. Maybe certain crops only can be found during summer, and it's kind of like a treasure hunt to find them all. Maybe there's some way to find trinkets during the summer, because there are like 30 or 40 of those now, and we're never going to have enough graves in a single world to amass them all. 

 

edit: how about a new type of summer-specific animal at the end of koalefant tracks (or maybe a new type of track entirely) that gives super cool loot? It's an extra challenge to go for it during summer, and it encourages exploration as well. 

 

A few people have suggested a baby or male dragonfly be summoned similar to the single-player dragonfly. I think this suggestion is brilliant. I also think that this baby dragonfly should drop something that will be beneficial to your fight against big momma DFly (actually, the scale mail would be pretty good, but maybe something additional?). 

 

edit: maybe this male/baby dragonfly drops something that you can use against big momma that makes an egg drop 100%

[Zinglon]

Sperm sac? Ewwww....

 

edit: maybe this male/baby dragonfly drops something that you can use against big momma that makes an egg drop 100%

 

[Arcita]

Sperm sac? Ewwww....

o_o I didn't really mean it like that. I was focused more on gameplay progression rather than biology. This is bringing back memories of the long-pig fiasco.

 

Maybe it can drop something that you can craft into a "de-scaler" that you can use on D-fly to pop off scales and larvae with a chance at an egg drop. Maybe some type of special bomb that you can throw at D-fly that makes her drop scales, larvae, and an egg.

[GiddyGuy]

o_o I didn't really mean it like that. I was focused more on gameplay progression rather than biology. This is bringing back memories of the long-pig fiasco.   Maybe it can drop something that you can craft into a "de-scaler" that you can use on D-fly to pop off scales and larvae with a chance at an egg drop. Maybe some type of special bomb that you can throw at D-fly that makes her drop scales, larvae, and an egg.

Sperm sac or Riot! 

 

 

[Machine Reaper]

Keep it real kids, Summer should have something like,Wheat/Corn instead of berries, Unique bugs that only come out in summer that are eatable such as crickets that are eatable BUT they eat all the saplings/grass that they come across and the whole withering thing should be removed and how about Mangos? Those are something that come out ONLY in summer in my country.

 

There are many things in summer that haven't been thought up of properly, Winter has a lot more unique things in it, White Kola/Bunnies, Mac Tusk, Penguins, Deerclops, Frozen Ponds, Azure Birds.

 

All summer has is Withering, Over-heating and Wildfires, Dragonfly (not any more) and Fire hounds...

[GiddyGuy]

Unique bugs that only come out in summer that are eatable such as crickets that are eatable

But will there be more bugs that are eatable cause if they ain't eatable...Riot! 

[Arcita]

such as crickets that are eatable BUT they eat all the saplings/grass that they come across

I like the idea of locust swarms developing and taking all of your food if you don't control the cricket population. 

[Machine Reaper]

I like the idea of locust swarms developing and taking all of your food if you don't control the cricket population. 

 

Similar to the frog rain, and they act as meat 0.5...

[T4T3RGR3NAD3R]

Fire hounds...

 

Not even. Fall has them too.

[1v0]

I survive the summer in caves you can roam there free without the heat getting to you . But yea summer is really boring on the surface ...

[T4T3RGR3NAD3R]

I have no problem with having to huddle around your base, but not to such a degree as in Summer's current state. Winter is cool because you can prepare with a regular koalaphant beforehand or a winter koalaphant during. Summer has that, except there's no wild chase after a mysterious creature or anything. It's just resource collection. After that, it's just huddling by the endo fire. Winter has animals that you can risk seeking out. Summer has nothing.

[bountygiver]

Because of how crappy Summer is, I think you should always need a caves base and live the whole season in caves.

[TemporaryMan]

Caves bases will be more viable when the servers are synched.  Right now the caves reset independent of the overworld and could easily wipe your base while you're away.

[osmRhodey]

I'm pretty old with the game and I really have to agree with the main topic and other notions.

There's nothing to look forward to with summer. I honestly just want it over. I mean it's cool but you just dread it. Winter is more fun and has so much more to offer and look forward to. Eyebrella, ice, cane, mctusk hat, etc. Spring is, okay? I think just overall both RoG seasons need gentle touches.(Fall maybe but that's getting all off topic)

 

Sure there are cactus flowers but they barely last at all.

 

Talking of track beasts there could be the possibility of a fire variant Vwarg?

Maybe something happens to the swamp with the merms or tentacles? Maybe tentacles start respawning in the swamp biome during this season?

I actually kind of think the bug idea would be intriguing, some type of locust that appears as grasshoppers in early autumn and late spring and become locusts in the peak of summer.

I had thought of bugs before with moths, the irritating night variant of the butterfly. With the moth you could plant evil flowers and they'd fly near your light radius, but be wary of leaving any clothing items out or anything like that or you'll find the durability drastically reduced.

 

The withering effect still partially bothers me, mostly because there is absolutely no safe zone for plants and sometimes they never come back.  But that aside it's more that even withered, the non-renewables can just burst into flames and there goes like half the world, you're not getting it back.

Maybe have the world spawned plants, they can wither, not burn or have a less likely chance to catch, something, because without some way of protecting or getting back such items you're just left with nothing.

I can deal with mostly sticking to a set area but seeing as that's over a span of a while you'll want to go out and get something else running that risk. It's cool mechanically but can simply drag on, especially since the giant is now just there forever.

Maybe mini-bosses for all of the seasons would be good.  (eg. Winter=McTusk  Autumn=Headless Horseman thing  Spring=Plant Beast?  Summer=Bug Beast?)(All offer a perk for/from that season to help and assist)

 

But what's there to get to help during the other seasons??? I'm actually amazed there's no summer item to really just assist against winter or fall or anything. Or why there doesn't seem to be something greater(feather aside) that you can get in spring to increase chances of plants staying okay or whatever. Blue gem protected ground?? Something to do with rain??

 

I don't know. There are a lot of thoughts for a lot of things.

Lots of things that could be tweaked to increase both survivability and gameplay enjoyment, because in the end it's just a game. If you can't enjoy it then that's not good for the devs.

[GuyNamedChris]

Idk, the whole 'El Tusko' thing isn't hooking to me, the walrus camps do need something during summer though. People go camping mostly in the summer right? How about having either MacTusk or a new walrus themed mob based around camping and living in a big tent?(Made up of Walrus, Son Walrus and 2 fire hounds.) The drop can be played around with, but for now, how about a special cloth to craft said tent. Here's what makes this tent so special, it has 15(?) uses, is fireproof, and can be slept in by multiple players!(3-6?) That's just my idea though.

[T4T3RGR3NAD3R]

Idk, the whole 'El Tusko' thing isn't hooking to me, the walrus camps do need something during summer though. People go camping mostly in the summer right? How about having either MacTusk or a new walrus themed mob based around camping and living in a big tent?(Made up of Walrus, Son Walrus and 2 fire hounds.) The drop can be played around with, but for now, how about a special cloth to craft said tent. Here's what makes this tent so special, it has 15(?) uses, is fireproof, and can be slept in by multiple players!(3-6?) That's just my idea though.

 

Mactusk drops a weapon, a hat for the current season, and a cane for all seasons. Whatever the summer variant might be should drop some kind of hat that helps with sanity and Summer. And I'm just saying, the sombrero is a good candidate for that, even if it's a completely different creature altogether. Maybe a Keffiyeh? Some manner of stereotypical Arabian walrus? I figure that it should come from a hot part of the world. And before we go nuts talking about stereotypes like in the last thread, I never said it was an accurate representation. Mactusk is a stereotype too.

[GuyNamedChris]

Mactusk drops a weapon, a hat for the current season, and a cane for all seasons. Whatever the summer variant might be should drop some kind of hat that helps with sanity and Summer. And I'm just saying, the sombrero is a good candidate for that, even if it's a completely different creature altogether. Maybe a Keffiyeh? Some manner of stereotypical Arabian walrus? I figure that it should come from a hot part of the world. And before we go nuts talking about stereotypes like in the last thread, I never said it was an accurate representation. Mactusk is a stereotype too.

I think that MacTusk was pushing it just a bit with stereotypes. I believe that having another might spark a bit of unwanted controversy. Camping however, is a worldwide summer activity! For the drops however, how about the tent cloth in my other post, the winter MacTusk blow darts/(fire darts?) and instead of a Tam o' Shanter clone, the cloth can make a fireproof hiking pack (6-8 slot backpack) that gives you about a summer frest's cooling rate.

[ThaumicParrot]

I agree that summer is boring. Maybe blue-footed boobies (teehee) could fly down during the summer, to mirror pengulls in winter? They could make nests in places, but instead of many small eggs like pengulls, they would all protect one big egg. That egg, if successfully stolen, could be used to make an eggshell: A hat that you could hide in like a bush hat, except you'd also have 85% defense while hiding. Also they could add a few skins for different creatures like they do in winter, such as:

- reddish-orange rabbits

- Parakeets instead of normal birds

Also, I like the idea of something new to hunt, maybe a Hippoala?

[T4T3RGR3NAD3R]

I agree that summer is boring. Maybe blue-footed boobies (teehee) could fly down during the summer, to mirror pengulls in winter? They could make nests in places, but instead of many small eggs like pengulls, they would all protect one big egg. That egg, if successfully stolen, could be used to make an eggshell: A hat that you could hide in like a bush hat, except you'd also have 85% defense while hiding. Also they could add a few skins for different creatures like they do in winter, such as:

- reddish-orange rabbits

- Parakeets instead of normal birds

Also, I like the idea of something new to hunt, maybe a Hippoala?

 

Hippopotamouse. 'Nuff said.

[GiddyGuy]

how about a special cloth to craft said tent. Here's what makes this tent so special, it has 15(?) uses, is fireproof, and can be slept in by multiple players!(3-6?)

Oh that means Wilson can have alone time with Willow, Wendy, Wickerbottom, Wigfrid, and Wolfgang all at the same time.

[RalphKastro]

Buzzards attacking your crops sounds nice to me.

 

 

 

to mirror pengulls

I'd prefer if things were the least mirroring possible. If summer just transforms into reskinned Winter, then might as well not play summer(although, I mostly don't anyway.)

 

Edit: well, all of this is stupid because I misunderstood the post...

anyway, the Bigg Egg idea sounds cool, but I fail to see why someone would choose that helmet over the shelmet or the Wig.

maybe make it refreshing a la Melon Hat?

[T4T3RGR3NAD3R]

 

Buzzards attacking your crops sounds nice to me.

 

 

 

I'd prefer if things were the least mirroring possible. If summer just transforms into reskinned Winter, then might as well not play summer(although, I mostly don't anyway.)

 

 

I don't want mirroring either, but it would be better than the current state of summer. I would also love buzzards to do more.