Advanced Crafting

[The_Materialist]

Hi there,

I have thought of this for a while and I think this will make the end game considerably more enjoyable and gives you a sense of achievement even at day 300 or 500. Because on what many of us can agree is that boredom in the late game is the biggest bummer on sandbox. 

 

I suggest furniture crafting. there are many pieces of furniture that are harvestable around in the world, so why not be able to craft them? Why? Because base costumization! Imagine beeing able to craft a gunrack and hang it on the wall so you can display your gun. There could also be a bow stand or a display case for the distress pistol. Several sizes of storage containers with the biggest one upto 30 kg of storage which can only be placed outside. This would make a safe and tidy way of storeing meat outside. Tables, shelves and simple chairs would add to the ambience of your home base and you could change your decore to your personal preference. 

The mechanic would be rather painfull to go through, so it is not a early game concern. The main source of material needed should be reclaimed wood, scrap metal, hides and guts. A gun rack should be around 20 hours and a outdoors container around 40 hours of crafting. So rather long crafting sessions would be needed to get one piece of furniture. The furniture can be place only once and then cannot be moved only broken down like regular furniture.

Here a lsit of suggested furniture with their use:

• clothes line to dry hides and guts with a capacity, so guts and hides do not lie all over the floor, this could also be used to make wet clothes dry quicker, indoors only,  (15 reclaimed wood or fir wood, 10 cured guts, can hold 10 kg of curing hides and guts, 35 hours)
• Shelves to put on the wall so you can arange your gear on eyes height, indoors and outdoors, (5 reclaimed wood, 5 hours)
• outdoor container 30kg, (25 reclaimed wood, 40 hours)
• indoor container 10 kg, (8 reclaimed wood, 12 hours)
• indoor wall case like emergency case but wooden 5kg, (4 reclaimed wood, 6 hours)
• bearskin carpet, indoors, (1 bearksin, 2 hours)
• bearskin chair, indoors, (25 reclaimed wood, 3 bearskin hides, 10 cloth, 50 hours)
• Wolfskin desk, indoors, (30 reclaimed wood, 5 bearskin hides, 60 hours)
• Simple chair, indoors, (5 reclaimed wood, 4 hours)
• Desk, indoors, (10 reclaimed wood, 8 hours)
• Shelve with 4  compartments, indoors and outdoors, (15 reclaimed wood, 12 hours)
• Shelve with 6 compartments, indoors and outdoors, (20 reclaimed wood, 20 hours)
• Stool, indoors and outdoors, (4 relcaimed wood, 3 hours)
• Trophies (deer, bear, wolf) to put on the wall, indoors, (1 hide and 2 fir wood, 5 hours)
• Melt water collector, collects water if sunny at a specific rate, outside, ( 5 deer hides, 5 guts, 20 reclaimed wood)
• Rabbit fur bed, indoors, (30 rabbit pelts, 40 relcaimed wood, 15 cloth, 30 guts, 100 hours)

This along with another suggestion of tidying up would add alot of late game amusement and give us purpose to cure those hides.

And one final request: let me sit on a chair.. honestly gameplay wise super unnecessary but imagine how cool that would look: You sitting inside the trappers cabin in your bear chair in front of a cosy fire looking at some hunting trophies and reading a good survival book.

 

Let me know what you think! I know this is not priority No.1 but I don't care about that. What the game makes so great to me is the struggle at first but then it is my OCD collect all the things and tidy my neat base until everything is collected and then chill and hunt bears for eternety. And exactly at this for eternety stage there is nothing to do. And that's why one should add base costumization, it should be hard and it should be labor intensive but worth something. You should feel a sence of achievement if you have crafted 4 outdoors containers and filled them with meat. You should feel proud if you sit in your bearskin chair looking at a bear throphy next to your perfectly clean gun on the gun rack. And then get out and get your face eaten by a wolf because you got to overconfident xD

 

I am very open to other suggestions and I know many people will find many reasons against the suggestions so let the discussion begin.

[nicko]

yeh i think craftable furniture / other objects has been mentioned a few times. I'm for it.  +1

[Fuarian]

Hell, I get bored early game because it's either too repetitive or easy. People tell me to constrain myself to user challenges but there's nothing actually forcing me to do it in game. This is a great idea! But it needs to go further!

We should be able to move (moslty) every single bit of clutter & furniture around. Moving around stuff like chairs, tables, crates, containers, useless junk, not so useless junk and other things in the same way items can be moved would be awesome. All you need is to constrain movement to a low speed when moving heavier objects. That along with what you proposed would be awesome. The more interactivity w/ the environment the better. 

[Rusty_Old_F250]

Agree'd x10

That's all i have to say

Sam

[KinoUnko]

I'm ambivalent... it is fitting for sandbox end game. It's really just man-hour limitation as it's quite a lot of content to create and test.

On the other hand it's treading well into ARK territory, far too much grind for my taste. I'd rather have more regions to explore than investing so much into a home base. Also seems kind of pointless to chop down furniture for reclaimed wood, only to use it all for making more furniture. Why not just drape bear skin over an existing couch and call it done.

[Athoen]

Good idea

[The_Materialist]

2 hours ago, KinoUnko said:

On the other hand it's treading well into ARK territory, far too much grind for my taste. I'd rather have more regions to explore than investing so much into a home base. Also seems kind of pointless to chop down furniture for reclaimed wood, only to use it all for making more furniture. Why not just drape bear skin over an existing couch and call it done.

I am know that hinterland has to prioratize resources and yes you are rigth it gets a little into ARK territory (which I do not play, I only watch neebs gameing so I am familiar with the concepts). But I think a little more base customization will not hurt. I think this would add a favour for those preppers who like to prepp with style  if you know what I mean ;-) It gives me a reason to cure the 27th rabbit pelt and the 16th deer hide and not just take the meat and leave the rest outside to rot in the snow.

[The_Materialist]

13 hours ago, Fuarian said:

We should be able to move (moslty) every single bit of clutter & furniture around

Yess please! I like the junk for imersion reasons, but hell do I hate that stuff in my main base.. Thats why I don't live in the camp office anymore. As someone called it: "Day after a party"-feeling really annoys me.

[StrayCat]

Well, the feeling I have is that by crafting comfort furnitures, TLD would slide from a harsh -conditions survival game, to a sims-like game "choose the curtains color". That's not "survival" anymore.

[The_Materialist]

28 minutes ago, StrayCat said:

to a sims-like game "choose the curtains color".

xD I love your comparison.

 

Well you would need to balance that out. I think the survival aspect is very cool, but long therm what really kills you is boredom. So there are several types of players and how they tackle this issue. My personal preference is to be the prepper type of guy. I hord all key items in one location and make trips to other regions to explore and the get more ressources I could not find otherwise. Then stack the supplies neatly and take nice pictures of them =). I love the trappers cabin fever feeling. It gives me a sence of achievement. I venture only out when the risk is worth it. because ultimately the goal is to survive. Whatever keeps you engaged and challenged supports the purpose of surviving as long as you can. 

[StrayCat]

Just now, The_Materialist said:

I think the survival aspect is very cool, but long therm what really kills you is boredom.

I agree 1000%. In fact, what you're explaining is the same feeling that made me wonder and suggest this : http://www.hinterlandforums.com/forums/topic/17459-slower-respawn-of-resources/

I'd rather keep TLD a 100% survival game than developping into "managing an ordinary routine life".  What I prefer about TLD is the first days, when you strive with nothing in a hostile enviroennement. Nothing's better than hearing a growl behind you when you know you have nothing but a single flare/torch to defend, or hesitating to eat these last pinnacle peaches / beef jerky you have left !

[Prestermatt]

5 hours ago, KinoUnko said:

On the other hand it's treading well into ARK territory, far too much grind for my taste. I'd rather have more regions to explore than investing so much into a home base.

This.

[KinoUnko]

6 hours ago, The_Materialist said:

I am know that hinterland has to prioratize resources and yes you are rigth it gets a little into ARK territory (which I do not play, I only watch neebs gameing so I am familiar with the concepts). But I think a little more base customization will not hurt. I think this would add a favour for those preppers who like to prepp with style  if you know what I mean ;-) It gives me a reason to cure the 27th rabbit pelt and the 16th deer hide and not just take the meat and leave the rest outside to rot in the snow.

Yeah for sure, I agree. Some ability to move things around indoors would be welcomed. right overturned furniture, move chairs out of the way, drag fire barrel to a more convenient location, etc. as well as some customization ability.

I think it's inevitable that some kind of routine sets in and one gets bored, whether it's bare survival or interior decoration. Even if there is continued addition of regions it would become more or less the same over and over, trek, loot, hunt, repeat. being able to switch between the two ends of the spectrum would extended the playing life to TLD.

[Mroz4k]

Ugh, no, not this again. I am absolutely against the idea of it. I don't mind the simple things like a gun or bow rack, or some small baskets or birch bark boxes to help with storage, but anything more elaborate sounds to me like a waste of time and resources. And I hate the idea of the base building - it is a horrible mechanic from similar survival games which has always, ALWAYS broke the immersion in those games. I don't want another bullshit Forest game where you get to fell trees and super-simply build cabins and furniture and god knows what. I want the game more realistic and immersive.

What would make more sense is you, finding the furniture you like elsewhere, and then transporting it to your own base.

I get that eventually, this would be possible, but I feel like it does not fit the game theme at all.

Yes to tiny, easy stuff of sticks, bark and cured guts for utilitarian use, like boxes, weapon racks and such. No to anything that would involve more carpentry. Let's face it, would any of you actually try to build a table if you were stuck in such situation? I doubt it. Unless it was your intention to stay there till the day you die, like Dick Pronneeke.

[Timber Wolf]

I completely agree with @Mroz4k.  And why would we ever need to build cabins?  There are already loads of shelters in the game.

[nicko]

who said building cabins @Timber Wolf?

OP was about crafting some types of furniture, which most agree on. What well who knows, basic chair, coffee table maybe a chess board?

I presume this wish list would be low priority atm. even maybe a world environment mod in future.

but if people are getting board (pun) sitting out weather or whatever they look for something else to do.

Hobbies Maybe? I think I suggested carving chess pieces before, lot to craft if you have time

[Timber Wolf]

1 minute ago, nicko said:

who said building cabins @Timber Wolf?

OP was about crafting some types of furniture, which most agree on.

OP didn't, but @Mroz4k mentioned it, when referencing The Forest.

I'm just generally against the idea of adding more crafting to the game, especially structures.  I don't really see the need for more stuff. 

The only item I would like to see is some sort of craftable headgear, so that all parts of the body can still be covered after running out of man-made clothing.

[nicko]

10 minutes ago, Timber Wolf said:

OP didn't, but @Mroz4k mentioned it, when referencing The Forest.

I'm just generally against the idea of adding more crafting to the game, especially structures.  I don't really see the need for more stuff. 

The only item I would like to see is some sort of craftable headgear, so that all parts of the body can still be covered after running out of man-made clothing.

Sure I agree I would also prefer the devs add the more useful survival items first, then when time permits add more fun craftable items.

and these optional craftable items would be up to you to use, or not with no effects either way. well maybe a wellbeing +1 bonus or something.

[Mroz4k]

What would you need a coffee table or even a chessboard for?

I don't think this is a good idea, and I doubt it will ever make it into the game as I highly doubt it is something Hinterland envisioned for the game. So no stress.

This is probably a good idea for a mod once the mod support gets into the game.

[JAFO]

11 hours ago, Mroz4k said:

What would you need ... a chessboard for?

<chuckles> Absolutely! Anyone who's ever tried playing both sides of a chess game can tell you, it's boring as hell.. Because you always know exactly what the other side is up to.

[Wade]

I can understand some peoples aversion to adding a bunch of furniture you can craft, but lets be honest....  The current crafting system is lacking at best.  At the very least they need to get off their keister and allow more fur crafting.  Crafting IMO is holding back the long term playability of sandbox.  Who isn't bored after 100-200 days?  There is nothing to strive for in sandbox other than crafting some meager fur clothes and count them; one, two, three things at a forge.  Content is what this game is lacking.  Unfortunately their idea of adding an "update", is passing off a basically useless mapping system as content.

[KinoUnko]

More crafting doesn't necessarily equal to more long term playability. All other survival games I've played have far more crafting options than TLD numbers wise, but when you scratch below their surface, their crafting system is just more gradations without more depth. they all involve some variation of gathering one kind of resource, converting it to another kind of resource, before you can make something. 5 wood for 1 plank, 4 rock for 1 stone block, 10 planks + 5 stone blocks for some structure or upgrade. but wait you have to craft gizmo to convert wood into plank, then another whizbang to convert rock into stone block. Some people enjoy that type of play, I'm not one of those people, and I don't think that style of play fits TLD. I played ARK for about 100 hrs, its crafting system is absolutely massive, at least order of magnitude greater than TLD. Yet I have logged 3 times that many hours in TLD easy.

[Wade]

Ultimately, they need to add more customization to sandbox settings to allow for people to customize the sandbox experience.  I would be willing to trade off the meager crafting system if it meant there were more maps.  Perhaps enough you could do a random mix and match map system.  More content in the form of maps, crafting, or something to strive for in sandbox would be nice though.

[KinoUnko]

true, true. There are 3 more episodes in Wintermute, though no telling how long it will take to get them all released, I suspect in a year at the most. It's hard to keep interest up in the game if there's too much time between episodes. I guess they could go the other route and release the other 3 episodes as single update, in that case we might have a while to wait.

Looks like Milton, aka Mountain Town, will be unlocked in Sandbox in the near future. I expect there will be 2 or 3 more regions for Sandbox, with 1 or 2 transition regions after all of Wintermute episodes are released.

There's a lot more to sandbox I expect. It's just that Raph's focus is Wintermute experience, so whatever new stuff comes along, we'll see it in Wintermute first before Survival mode.

[Wade]

"A year at most"

That is laughable.  I enjoy your optimism though.  You are probably right about the content being released with the episodes though.  Gives them the ol' two for one update.  If the episodes are done in a years time, you can have my least dusty can of Pinnacle Peaches.  Although game mechanics tell me they won't be called dusty anymore when its all said and done.