picking wood and snow : not realistic

As my previous posts were misunderstood, here's a clearer one :

By now, to harvest wood or snow, we magically invokate it out of thin air, instead of going and pick it up.

This is illogical to me so I didn't find out how to collect it in the game.

As we have to go and find a corpse to harvest meat, we should have to go and find a tree to harvest wood.

hope this helps.

It would also free up a slot in the game panel.

Yup

+ you'd have to find a way to carry the snow without it melting on your clothes

I can see the development complications on this, as it's been handled in a pretty non-realistic way (the idea of cutting down trees for wood) in other games.

I'd love a more involved mini-game or action required for collecting wood and water, but as it is now I don't mind too much how the current mechanics work.

I can see the development complications on this, as it's been handled in a pretty non-realistic way (the idea of cutting down trees for wood) in other games.

I'd love a more involved mini-game or action required for collecting wood and water, but as it is now I don't mind too much how the current mechanics work.

I do see OP's point, but I agree with WhiskeyJack on both counts-- unrealistic in other games. and I don't mind how it is now. There are realistically only so many mundane tasks you can incorporate.. This isn't to say I object to changes-- I believe changes done well could work

Thing is, we have just a hatchet. Cutting down a full tree with it would not be more realistic than the current mechanic. (and could a tree falling even be included in the game engine? I can't answer that..) So, we're then looking for low branches... or branches on fallen trees; neither of which are currently that plentiful.

At least, something should be done to check if the player is actually near a tree (when outside):

Actually, if I am in the middle of the lake in CostalHighway, I can harvest wood... this is absolutely not realistic at all

At least, something should be done to check if the player is actually near a tree (when outside):

Actually, if I am in the middle of the lake in CostalHighway, I can harvest wood... this is absolutely not realistic at all

I certainly agree with that.

But there is something more.

I only played the game myself since the current foraging menu is in place, but watched let's plays when there still was the mechanism of completely random foraging.

I like the choice of different wood qualities, but knowing exactly how long it will take to get what I need seems a little weird. (besides having the same "chance of success" all around)

Ideal would be to have even another choice.

Whether to gather a certain amount (as is), but NOT knowing exactly how long it will take. (in the middle of the forest and probably close to a nearby fall tree it would be fast, out on the ice it will take "for ever")

Or, like it was in the earlier version(s), search for a certain time and find more or less depending on the surroundings. (a bit like fishing is at the moment (v0.200))

I am OK with the current snow interface. I didn't notice a situation jet where it would no be plausible to go (out) and collect a bit of snow to melt on your fire.

Both of these items could involve game play that is boring and repetitive, Some may say they are that now but at least the are quick and flow smoothly in the game. I like the way they are presented to us now, but proximity and chance or time or success in foraging could be a fun game mechanic.

Foraging for Wood could be made into something actionable. Wood branches could be found on trees which would have to then be removed, potentially with a tool or not. That action would take time, so it could go from a "spinning clock" activity to a "time bar filling" activity. You would have to locate these low-hanging branches, much like you have to find rose hips or mushrooms. The time it takes to collect the wood would depend upon your tools or lack thereof. The kind of wood you got depended upon the tree you got the wood from. Inside, you could break apart any freestanding furniture to make reclaimed wood in a similar fashion. The problem is, this would be one more thing that would require persistence in the game world.

Melting Snow is the action in game that "collects snow and melts it". Right now, it handles a person collecting the snow around them (or going out the door and collecting it immediately outside the building), bringing it back in, and melting it (presumably in a pot). If instead snow could be collected, then there would be a "snow" inventory item that you could collect anywhere outside and carry with you. Like water, it could be carried in a bottle or other container for use later. Then you would melt snow into water over a fire, and boil the water as before.

Something that always made me wonder, though, is that melting snow and boiling water aren't activities I would classify as "must watch" activities. Right now, you melt snow and it runs a clock. You boil water and it runs a clock. If I had snow, and I put it into a pot on the hot stove, I could do other things while I'm waiting for the snow to melt and water to boil. And the game could indicate to me when the snow melted (by showing the snow pooling into water and disappearing) and when the water is boiled (by showing steam rising from the pot). You could have the water boiling in a "basin" (those objects you find in certain places-- there's definitely one on one of the workbenches in the gas station in CH...). Maybe every stove could have a basin that you could add snow or water to, and collect from. Also, if you ignored the snow you put in the basin and forgot to collect it after it boiled for a while, it could boil off, and then you'd have to start over again.

I'm not sure this is something that the devs want to explore right now. It sounds great on paper (or monitor pixels, as it were) but the implementation and player feedback from it (if it's not something new players can figure out easily enough, for instance) could make it unfeasible.

Just my two cents.

Edit: for the record, I'm okay with leaving the interface as is, and letting the clock run for these tasks. But if there was an interest in making them non-"clock running" tasks, these are just some ideas I had.

The above ideas are excellent suggestions....I want those in the game!

And what about all those water bottles were just magically supplied with? I'd like to see a system for storing and carrying water that requires a container with limited capacity, needing to be refilled frequently. The game gets a lot trickier if you can only store 3 L of water at a time...