Wildlife diversity poll.

[Bjern]

What new wildlife would you like to see included? Please consider if there is a need for the animal, and what uses this animal would have.

 

Example: I think raccoons would make a nice fur hat.

[Bjern]

~ just realized that I forgot about squirrels, but probably not that important anyways.

[Bjern]

Bison or Musk ox: A tough animal to kill that is dangerous to hunt, but provides an especially warm pelt, and a ton of meat.

Mice: A very small animal that you can hunt for a small morsel of food, no useful pelt or anything else, making it not ideal, however a way to stave of starvation for a bit longer. These animals are usually plentiful, but would have a specific prey animal hunting them. I think Lynx/Bobcat would be a good choice for a niche animal here, that is hunted by wolves, yet hunts rabbits and mice.

Owls: I always hear them when I play, and it would be great to see at least one more bird in the game. These would provide another way to get feathers for arrows, and would hunt mice and rabbits.

Geese or Loons: Potentially geese or loons would make for a nice additional animal that one can try to hunt. Really hard to get them, but one can set traps, and perhaps use decoys to get the birds closer.

Seals: Along the coast this would be a an animal that is unique in the game. You could only find them in specific locations, and they would also be very difficult to hunt. They would provide a decent supply of fat and oil however, which could lead to candles and another source of lantern fuel. Walrus would be an interesting alternative, as I imagine they would be able to fight back.

Beavers: I see potential for beavers, yet not entirely sure where to go with it. Likely they would be helpful with gathering wood, and they do have a really nice pelt too. They also could theoretically change the environment over time, which would be interesting.

[Bjern]

Moose are more popular already than I thought that they would be...I know they are iconic animals of Canada, but what other reasons might there be here?

[JimmyPL56]

Hinterland has moose and cougars on the roadmap. I am open to adding any animals native to Western Canada that make sense and add reasonable value. Keep in mind many animals couldn't survive in this harsh environment. 

You don't mention Elk on the list, which I would like to see. Harder to bring down than deer, but more meat/guts/hide to harvest.

[JimmyPL56]

1 hour ago, Bjern said:

Moose are more popular already than I thought that they would be...I know they are iconic animals of Canada, but what other reasons might there be here?

Moose will be interesting because they aren't predators per se, but very dangerous to humans and can be aggressive...another animal to fear and feed from.

[Name62]

2 hours ago, Bjern said:

Moose are more popular already than I thought that they would be...I know they are iconic animals of Canada, but what other reasons might there be here?

Unique arrow heads/knife grips maybe from there long/thick antlers, there aggression and strength & them being territorial during mating season could make a unarmed encounter with them worse then a bear attack because they don't back down & will follow there assailant. 

[JimmyPL56]

It would be nice to enhance the bird mechanics. May even add a few more species, one of which you can hunt.

[larkvi]

Otters, because one of the best parts of the game is those moments when you suddenly look up, take a moment's respite from just surviving, and realize how beautiful the world is. Now, imagine there are otters sliding down the hillside into the creek, or trundling along the riverbank.

1:09 in the following video:

 

[Bjern]

What about porcupine? They would make for a new interesting prey animal - can those needles be used for anything?

[Bjern]

I get the feeling there's a good chance we will see foxes added at some point...

 

[Bjern]

Another potential for certain maps could be the seagull, which could provide eggs as a source of food along the coast. Seagull are an interesting food in survival situations. My ancestors survived Hunger Winter by eating seagulls (among other things), and because of this I have passed on knowledge of how to cook them. You have to remove the salt gland that is on top of the beak before cooking them, otherwise it spoils the meal - and since they provide only a small amount of meat, when you are starving you want to eat as much of it as possible. If you hunt and cook seagulls in the game, maybe you have to remove the salt gland first as well.

[ernestww]

Moose antler is better for crafting than deer as it is solid all the way through. Deer antler has a pithy centre.

[ernestww]

I would like to see the following:

Grouse - and a fowling arrow head relatively easy to craft - such as a blunt.  Or a sling-shot.  This would work on rabbits as well.

Half the deer, and Moose should be female, antlerless and slightly smaller.

The males should fight occasionally, the moose may fight to the death.

Moose and deer calls - found or craftable - for luring them in.  Perhaps available after achieving advanced hunting skills.

[AZHockeyNut]

more/different predators with differing behavior (attacking each other as well as us or hunting us down like the old bear does.)

foxes/mice that steal your stuff from you and don't offer much in return (mice) fox could let you make a hat though if you trap him.

moose are coming but I hope we can do more than just eat them. meaning I hope we can craft more things from them.

owls that steal your snared rabbits/foxes if you do not take them after X time passes. swooping down and taking them from the snare or from the field would be cool to see!

 

[JimmyPL56]

I know these are mentioned in the poll, but thinking more about it...

Now that coastal water has been added, how about some seals/sea lions in Desolation Point? Harvest blubber for food/fuel and fur for super waterproof clothing options. 

Another use for the hammer (clubbing)?

[Bjern]

Moose is way in the lead...This is interesting!

[Ruruwawa]

Fox!  I'd be happy to see them even as an environment critter, as crows are now.  Maybe a subtle warning of a nearby cougar, for example.

[Bjern]

3 minutes ago, Ruruwawa said:

Fox!  I'd be happy to see them even as an environment critter, as crows are now.  Maybe a subtle warning of a nearby cougar, for example.

I like that warning idea! You can watch the fox's reaction and know that something dangerous is coming. Also, perhaps they could be an omen for nearby food?

[Bjern]

On 1/14/2017 at 0:43 PM, Ruruwawa said:

 

[Bjern]

I saw the roadmap plans, and they plan to very soon by adding Moose and Cougars into the game! More long term they are also planning on including Horses as a domestic animal, and Grizzly Bears!

Hopefully some other animals are also being considered, but this is all I learnt so far.

[Bjern]

We also see Owl and Fox symbolizing two of the difficulty levels in the game, so these animals certainly come to mind while playing the game...

And since we often can hear owls during the game, it only makes sense that we would also see them on occasion. Both these animals would fit really well with the addition of a small animal that they would both hunt. We do have rabbits, but they could consider mice, or some other animal as well.

[Bjern]

Here's the current top 5 wildlife animals voted for that are not already being considered (such as the Moose and the Cougar, and diversity of Bears), and in order of popularity...

Red fox and/or Coyote
Lynx/Bobcat
Equal places: Beaver, Raccoon, Owl and/or other birds of prey

 

So regarding that first place animal choice, which is it that you prefer: Red foxes or Coyotes? Or perhaps you meant both equally?

[Bjern]

~ With the soon-to-be addition of the Cougar, I see a little less reason for the Lynx/Bobcat. Similarly, I'm seeing a little less reason for American bison and Musk ox with Moose in the plans. Don't get me wrong, I'd be happy to see even more variety of wildlife, but we do have to consider how much of a niche there is for the animal in question. There's little need for two or more animals to serve very similar to identical roles. We need to think of what makes adding this animal special? What unique feature or mechanic would it add to the game?

[selfless]

Bear in mind the Roadmap is Hinterland's Wish List.  Stuff they would like to work on.  And the times listed are what they think it would take to accomplish if they go ahead and work on them.  It is not a calendar of releases.  Example: Moose were on the roadmap when it was first posted last April.  They started working on them around August.  Signs now point to their being introduced to the game soon; about 6 months after work started. 

To date I know of no work being done on Cougars...