Hello, all! This is my first forum post, so excuse me if this seems a tad off beat. I recently contracted a kind of food poisoning because I drank about two liters of water from a brook at the bottom of a ravine. I'd had some before, but I think the reason I have problems is because I drank so much. Usually I drink about five gulps. This inspired me to talk about changing the way food poisoning is done, so I wanted to make a few points on how I think it should work instead.
Food poisoning doesn't occur instantly: I drank those two liters of water on Saturday and today it is Tuesday, and I feel miserable. I started having problems Monday evening. So I think that if you eat, say, a half-kilogram of raw venison, you'll start suffering in two to three days, with no warning. This would make it a lot scarier, being so unprecedented, and make it a more crippling affliction. It would also change the game for people like me, whom are often living safely and can just take two and call in the morning.
Vomiting: Anyone who's ever had food poisoning knows that one of the worst parts is the vomiting. While I think it would be difficult to implement into the game, with animations and whatnot, it would add an extra challenge: dehydration. When one vomits, they expel lots of their water store, so they have to keep drinking in order to manage an equilibrium. I think when the character vomits, they should lose a fourth or a fifth of their hydration meter. Adding such a disgusting element to the game could add to a darker outlook on survival. Being lost and having to fend for yourself in the wilderness is a traumatizing experience, and I never get that message when playing the game. There could also be certain actions that warrant a vomit chance. Repulsive events such a gutting animals, finding corpses, contracting stomach parasites, and so on should give the character a vomiting chance. This could also include eating, to a certain extent, and you would lose every single calorie you would have gained from eating what you just had eaten.
Degree of severity: The degree of food poisoning often depends on how much bad stuff you eat or drink. If this mechanic were added into the game, there should be levels of severity depending on how much was consumed. Perhaps five or something. They would vary in the time you are afflicted, how weak you become, and how often you vomit.
Those are all the notes I have. If you wish to add to this list, request elaboration, or present an argument, feel free! Thanks for reading!
