Horses [POLL]

[Boston123]

I vote no.

Much like most "survival skills", horseback riding and affiliated skills (care, tack, etc) are something you have to learn. Have the average person hop on horseback and ride around for a couple of hours, then have them try to walk: it won't be pretty. Get the tack and other gear mounted wrong on the horse, and you can cause the animal pain. Don't take care of the animal properly, and it can get lamed/injured. Not to mention the food requirements.

And, like every other survival skill, you don't want to have to learn "in the bush". In a survival situation, if you get bucked off the horse and get injured, you are done.

I would much rather have a sled or a wagon. Or, in warmer weather, a bicycle. Bikes are the most "energy efficient" vehicle known to man. For the same amount of energy expenditure as walking, you can coast along at 15-20 miles per hour. You can strap hundreds of lbs of gear to the frame of a bike. If it breaks, you can improvise almost every part on the bike from wood or rope, or just grab a new one.

Most "survival games" ignore bikes for some reason. They probably aren't cool enough, so the devs go for cars and horses instead. I prefer "boring but practical" instead.

[hauteecolerider]

2 hours ago, Boston123 said:

Much like most "survival skills", horseback riding and affiliated skills (care, tack, etc) are something you have to learn. Have the average person hop on horseback and ride around for a couple of hours, then have them try to walk: it won't be pretty. Get the tack and other gear mounted wrong on the horse, and you can cause the animal pain. Don't take care of the animal properly, and it can get lamed/injured. Not to mention the food requirements.

 

This is why the thought of having a horse in this particular game doesn't appeal to me at all. It's much harder to ride/care/feed/maintain a horse than it is to clean/shoot a gun. As someone who has done both, I would choose the gun over the horse in a survival situation. And this is coming from someone who's crazy about horses for the past forty plus years.

OTOH, I'm curious to see how Hinterland implements horses, if they do. I'm sure it would just fit right into the style and vision of the game.

[Gallowsknight]

I'd rather a dog before a horse. With his own condition bar and food/water/sleep/warmth requiements. So the two of us might be able to chase off a wolf if we're in good condition. He could run down rabbits and track deer.

[Wastelander]

On 25.6.2016 at 1:14 AM, Boston123 said:

Most "survival games" ignore bikes for some reason. They probably aren't cool enough, so the devs go for cars and horses instead. I prefer "boring but practical" instead.

This. Bikes are incredibly useful. I think the only time I've seen a work of fiction properly use them was in Stephen King's The Stand. Awesome novel and also awesome movie adaptation btw. Bikes also don't need food/fuel, and modern tires patch up holes all by themselves. You can also do wheelies when you're bored, fun way to alleviate cabin fever

However, I'm going with the flow here - if Hinterland do introduce horses, I'm intrigued how they'll do it. If it's done realistically, it would be an immensively useful and fun addition. If it's not, players will probably hate it - it's a huge risk, but one I would respect Hinterland for taking it, no matter the outcome. Remember, we're still in Alpha, and when something doesn't work it can still be cut.

[Docterrok]

On 4/11/2016 at 3:55 PM, djb204 said:

The movie Jeremiah Johnson is about surviving in the cold winter mountains, just like The Long Dark. Horses are used in this movie.

Horses are now part of the roadmap. If it does make its way into the game, it would/could add a fresh new elements to gameplay. 

- horses can get spooked by Cougars or wolves and buck you off. But, horses have a tendency to return home, so you might find your horse at your camp. Though you will be walking.

- horses can carry gear for you to lighten the weight on your backpack.

- horses need to eat, drink, and rest too. Not to mention kept warm during freezing temperatures. But horses know how to survive on their own if they need to. But, in order for them to do this, they can't be locked in a barn or fenced off area.

- horses can't climb up or down steep terrain, so safe paths will need to be taken.

- you could find yourself waking up in the middle of the night and running out to save your horse from a wolf pack.

- crafting saddle, reins, horse shoes, etc, will be a cool feature.

- would you put a bullet in your horse's head to escape a hungry grizzly? I think I would. The horse would ditch me if it gets the or a chance.

Wherher or not a horse would buck you after shooting the rifle from horseback would depend on the horse and his/her current mental state... Calm/nervous, etc

i love this movie! 

[SteveP]

Here's an interesting poll that hasn't had much discussion lately. Thought I would bump it for anyone who has not yet had the chance to read it through and add comments.

[Thurman Merman]

At first, I was wary of horses.  Thought it might be gimmicky.  But, after spending about 4 hours of real life time moving everything from ML to CH, then on my last trip, deciding that (despite the extra storage and on-site wood, cloth and metal in the Townsite) I probably should have moved everything from CH to ML because the weather is much nicer, I definitely want a pack animal.

I've got around 200kg of good loot in the Quonset - I'm not moving until I get a horse or mule or at least a really big dog.

[SteveP]

On 8/18/2016 at 7:33 AM, Thurman Merman said:

At first, I was wary of horses.  Thought it might be gimmicky.  But, after spending about 4 hours of real life time moving everything from ML to CH, then on my last trip, deciding that (despite the extra storage and on-site wood, cloth and metal in the Townsite) I probably should have moved everything from CH to ML because the weather is much nicer, I definitely want a pack animal.

I've got around 200kg of good loot in the Quonset - I'm not moving until I get a horse or mule or at least a really big dog.

A bonus of having a horse is that it would introduce a whole plethora of new risks for you and horse. It's certainly a tall order so I can see why it wasn't in recent releases. I'm still hopeful for some kind of transportation vehicle like a sled to transport fire wood. I'm ok without a horse in this game: 1) wolves would take them down using the pack hunt approach 2) humans would eat them too. They'd have to be feral in order to survive but perhaps a small group could defend itself effectively against the wolves especially if there were a place that favoured them environmentally. Maybe next season? I suppose one could always tame and ride a moose!

[InsaneWithAnger]

I do not like the idea of horses. How would they fit into the game? They could be for fast travel or as pack animals. I do not like either idea. Fast travel isn't needed and would make the world feel smaller. And instead of managing a pack animal, build a wagon or tow sled instead.

Incorporating horses poses a huge design challenge and would likely break many things. They would make escaping from predators too easy, and doing many activities like checking animal traps and resource gathering too easy as well. How would you feed them? Let them run loose looking for grass only to never return again? What if your character is starving and needs to kill the horse for food? Would losing your one horse to predators or injury or starvation be so punishing that you would quit that game save?

[Doc Feral]

On 11/1/2017 at 6:00 PM, InsaneWithAnger said:

They would make escaping from predators too easy, and doing many activities like checking animal traps and resource gathering too easy as well. How would you feed them? Let them run loose looking for grass only to never return again? What if your character is starving and needs to kill the horse for food?

I think horses would be so noisy and smelly that predators would run at you like it's Black Friday at the mall. And I'm not sure a horse would be so effective at outrunning wolves while it sinks in snow and they run on it. Are we sure ice thick enough for a human to walk on would work for a horse? And moving underground?

Steaks for me.

 

[Cr41g]

I can barely manage to look after and feed myself never mind a 500 kg horse..