Brace Yourself: Winter is Coming


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So I read a suggestion somewhere about introducing seasons to the game, and that got me thinking it would be cool to have to survive in snowy conditions. This could either be done through cycling seasons every X days, or by adding snowy areas to the map. Maybe the player has to progress through increasingly cold and barren terrain to escape from the island?Effects of winter / snowy climates:- Lack of food/supplies: The herds and crows migrate, animals hibernate, grass and berry bushes are sparse or don't regrow, trees die. Let's hope you hoarded enough supplies through the summer or from more fertile islands, if you want to survive. Frozen water prevents fishing/boat travel/etc.- Longer nights, shorter days: Maybe some new predators too (wolves? Abominable snowmen?)- Shelter: You won't survive the night without at least a tent or hut, maybe a nice beefalo coat to keep you warm. Maybe fire is needed for warmth as well as light.Why I think this would be a good idea:Currently, the early game is challenging as you focus on survival - requiring anything more, like shelter, at this stage could make the opening too difficult. But in the mid-late game, survival is never really a concern once you're set up with armour and plenty of food. Having the threat of winter looming, or needing to prepare an expedition to frozen wastelands, would keep you on your toes and force you to think ahead, stockpiling food and building supplies. It would add a new difficulty spike and fresh gameplay challenges where they're needed - in the mid-late game - while not making the opening any more difficult.Also, I think the art would look really cool. (Frozen oceans, bleak snow-covered landscapes, snow storms...)Just some thoughts.~ Squiggles

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I like the idea too. If they can't make seasons, then I am all for just snowy terrains, with possible new animals (kill a wolf, make warm coat so you don't freeze your monkey behind OR give him a couple of morsels and have him follow you and perhaps even hunt with you!), maybe new plants, that survive the cold? After all, this isn't an ordinary place, there would likely be something out there.

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I wanted to make thread almost exactly same! But thanks god I know that there is something like "search button".

Anyway I love the idea of food cumulation during the winter preparation. There wont be berries, farms, birds, rabbits. Just beefalos ghosts and spiders. The only way of new food will be cooking monster meat in crockpot! Summer would last for 30 days and winter for 15!

Another thing I came up with are the Footsteps maybe you could track some rare animals that are even in the winter awake.. and you will follow those footsteps until you find one. It could take day, or whole week. So it is up to you if you gonna leave your safe camp without food or go out in the wild.

I dont like idea of cold. That would need another meter. But maybe more wood to keep the fire burning?

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So I read a suggestion somewhere about introducing seasons to the game, and that got me thinking it would be cool to have to survive in snowy conditions. This could either be done through cycling seasons every X days, or by adding snowy areas to the map. Maybe the player has to progress through increasingly cold and barren terrain to escape from the island?

Yes, as you mentioned both seasons and snowy island biomes have been suggested, but it's always worth talking about again (until either one is actually implemented in the game). In another thread I suggested that every season in the game, including winter, last 30 days, for a 120-day year.

- Lack of food/supplies: The herds and crows migrate, animals hibernate, grass and berry bushes are sparse or don't regrow, trees die. Let's hope you hoarded enough supplies through the summer or from more fertile islands, if you want to survive. Frozen water prevents fishing/boat travel/etc.

I wouldn't see the need to migrate animals, however I would like to see fewer birds and rabbits spawning during winter, reducing the food source they once provided. It was also suggested that berries no longer grow, which I agreed with, and grass not grow either. I sort of supported the grass not growing, except when it came to another suggestion I had about beefalo needing to eat grass to survive. I would leave the tree cycle alone, just to be on the safe side since wood is so essential to survival.

I do like your idea about ice freezing over ponds to prevent fishing. I never thought about that one and I agree it makes sense. As for boats/rafts, if those were included as a means of travelling between islands then, no, I would disagree with ice preventing it as the assumption here is that the waters between the islands would be open sea and the waves would prevent thick ice from forming (based on the fact that there are seasons and it isn't the arctic).

Still, it would be somewhat interesting to have ice connecting all the islands...

- Longer nights, shorter days: Maybe some new predators too (wolves? Abominable snowmen?)

Well hounds will Soon be introduced, so we may not need wolves. However a winter/cold-based monster might be interesting, especially if it only spawns during the winter season.

- Shelter: You won't survive the night without at least a tent or hut, maybe a nice beefalo coat to keep you warm. Maybe fire is needed for warmth as well as light.

This goes back to another suggestion, namely that if we had a gauge for stamina (or warmth), that was negatively impacted by either the weather or cold. If included then this would work, however I would say a good fire should be enough to stay warm (at least for now), but the moment the player leaves its warmth their stamina should begin to slowly drop, unless they have something to keep them warm (i.e. beefalo jacket, as you suggested).

Currently, the early game is challenging as you focus on survival - requiring anything more, like shelter, at this stage could make the opening too difficult. But in the mid-late game, survival is never really a concern once you're set up with armour and plenty of food. Having the threat of winter looming, or needing to prepare an expedition to frozen wastelands, would keep you on your toes and force you to think ahead, stockpiling food and building supplies. It would add a new difficulty spike and fresh gameplay challenges where they're needed - in the mid-late game - while not making the opening any more difficult.

True, and this is one of the main reasons why seasons were suggested in the past. Everyone can relate to the fact that winter creates a harsh environment, especially in a survival situation. Every player would therefore "get the hint" that things are probably going to be rough for them without even being told and start taking precautions. That's why this idea is so much in the spirit of the game.

Anyway I love the idea of food cumulation during the winter preparation. There wont be berries, farms, birds, rabbits. Just beefalos ghosts and spiders. The only way of new food will be cooking monster meat in crockpot! Summer would last for 30 days and winter for 15!

I wonder about the spiders... how would the cold affect them? Maybe they would stay inside their nests during the winter, unless you came "a knocking"? As for food I would say players could hunt beefalo, rabbits/birds (but to a lesser degree of success, namely traps being empty even after a day), spiders, pig men (!), and maybe hounds. Berry bushes, crops (all types), wild carrots, and flowers (and therefore butterflies), and honey (from bee hives) would all disappear during winter. Players would really need to rely on the food store to survive for the long run.

Another thing I came up with are the Footsteps maybe you could track some rare animals that are even in the winter awake.. and you will follow those footsteps until you find one. It could take day, or whole week. So it is up to you if you gonna leave your safe camp without food or go out in the wild.

Interesting, but I think most animals that leave tracks would still be fairly easy to locate regardless. I mean, I never have trouble finding beefalo or rabbit holes.

I dont like idea of cold. That would need another meter. But maybe more wood to keep the fire burning?

Yup. The best would be for a stamina gauge, as that could be dual-purpose when it comes to generic fatigue as well, and not just warmth. Currently the game tracks fatigue by emptying your stomach faster when performing physically intensive activities (i.e. chopping down trees), but in stamina were tracked it would impact that gauge instead and let your stomach empty normally (i.e. at a constant rate).
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