Alcohol And Cold Survival


GreenBeing

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I started talking about this in another thread, but decided that it really merited its own header. I was wondering what the survival benefits, if any, of alcohol would be. Here are some interesting effects I dug up and how they might affect game mechanics:

Hypothermia: "Longer exposure to colder environmental situations has, particularly with addition of strenuous exercise, revealed enhanced heat loss." [1] "Increased loss of heat through the skin due to dilated skin arteries." [2] 

Frostbite: "Alcohol drinking results in widening of the arteries and thus increased blood flow in the skin, hands, fingers and toes which warms them. In one study the finger skin temperature increased 30 minutes after drinking alcohol and was still increased at 60 minutes. In another study, after about 4 drinks the skin temperature in fingers increased by 2.4 °C and in toes by 3.4 °C in average. According to Granberg, P.O., from Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden, “alcohol may have some positive properties in freezing alcohol injuries”, but there are no known studies that would confirm that." [2] So this might be an interesting trade off between hypothermia and frostbite risk.

Cabin Fever: Every source that I found, unsurprisingly, says that alcohol should not be used to treat depression. I wonder though...From my anecdotal experiences, a well-timed drinking bout can allow you to relax when you otherwise would not be able to. I am sure that this effect has diminishing returns, and ultimately would prove to be harmful to your mental state. But if used sparingly, maybe there is a benefit? Needs more research. :)

Motor Skills: I am guessing that your projectile aiming would lower as your confidence raised... That actually would be a pretty funny mechanic: your in-game aiming improved (less sway, etc..), but your real accuracy decreases.

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1 hour ago, hozz1235 said:

I already suffer from this - after a night of drinking and playing TLD, I log in the next day and say to myself, "How the hell did I get here, and who left this bear carcass outside my door!?" :o

Oh man, you just brought back so many memories. I have GOT to drunk play the long dark again! :D

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But, as for the topic. I don't know much about the survival benefit of alcohol. it'd definitely make your blood thinner and make you bleed a lot more a lot faster - so I wouldn't be drunk wrestling any wolves!

Still, I'd like alcohol to be a thing in this game. for those lonely nights by the fire, my character reminiscing about his past, singing a little song as the lights flicker from the aurora...

I mean. the prop is already there. you see Jeremiah break out the ol dusty bottle, and Will is obviously a daytime alcoholic, according to Astrid. You can even see a bottle on his desk in the first cutscene. can't see any reason they haven't added it yet. it's a rated t game, sure, but rated t games are allowed to have tobacco and alcohol reference.

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I would say alcohol could have some interesting effects in the game. I definitely think drinking too much could cause staggering and interfere with your ability to hunt . Also hand to hand combat versus a wolf could get a minor bump up with say a small amount of liquor then suffer a combat penalty if too much is consumed. You could get a minor boost in pain relief but then suffer hangover effect including dehydration. 

I think it could be used to combat Cabin Fever though so drinking alcohol could be used to treat it. 

The other thing alcohol could be used as an antiseptic as well as a fire starter depending on the alcohol content :) 

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11 hours ago, Ahatch said:

The other thing alcohol could be used as an antiseptic as well as a fire starter depending on the alcohol content :) 

It is like a magic elixir! I think that the most interesting trade off to me would be helping with frostbite but hurting core temp and hypothermia. I like survival choices like that.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I guess that another interesting aspect of alcohol (especially spirits) is its low freezing point. This would make another interesting survival trade-off with other in-game liquids if they ever decide to implement liquid freezing. Here is a table I found:

The Freezing Temperatures of Alcohol
Type ABV Freezing Point Notes and Examples
Beer 3-10% -2 C (28 F) Not recommended for the freezer beyond a quick chill.
Wine 8-14% -5 C (23 F) More than an hour or two in the freezer and your are putting the wine at risk.
40 Proof Liquor 20% -7 C (22 F) Includes many low-proof liqueurs like Irish cream. If left in a really cold freezer too long, these may get slushy, but this is rare.
64 Proof Liquor 32% -23 C (-10 F) A liqueur like amaretto and a flavored whiskey like Fireballwould fall in this range. These should be okay in the freezer.
80 Proof Liquor 40% -27 C (-17 F) Includes most standard base liquors like gin, vodka, whiskey, etc. You're clear for the freezer!

 

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Alcohol will dilates the peripheral blood vessels near your skin, so more blood and heat flow to them and you'll feel warm, but this also mean that heat was taken away from the core of your body... your core body will lose heat very fast especially in a cold environment.... a deadly combination if not in a warm shelter.

 As for game mechanic, may be it'll boost the temperature up for a while then temperature will plummet... give your character a bit more time before you reach your warm shelter, but if you don't reach in time... good luck.

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1 minute ago, weixing said:

As for game mechanic, may be it'll boost the temperature up for a while then temperature will plummet... give your character a bit more time before you reach your warm shelter, but if you don't reach in time... good luck.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

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