Campfires not supposed to keep you from freezing to death?

So this is something that has happened to me several times since the new patch was released. Unsure of whether or not this is working as intended or not. Can only assume that it has something to do with this note: "Rebalanced fire heat radius and fuel type efficiency to make outdoor fires more useful."

Issue is best highlighted here - http://www.twitch.tv/kraelman/b/645511077?t=2h9m21s

Also here, take note of the status screen at 1:23:31 - http://www.twitch.tv/kraelman/b/645347211?t=1h23m5s

Basically outdoor campfires are essentially a moot point now in windy/blizzard conditions, even when the fire and the player are sheltered. Which is a bit counter-intuitive in my opinion... as the only time most people will start an outdoor fire(for warmth) is if they are in a blizzard or wind+fog condition and can't find their way to shelter.

I've noticed this change as well - almost froze accidentally inside an ice fishing hut in coastal highway while I melted some snow. Thank goodness I noticed it just in time.

If the ambient air temperature drops extraordinary low (like -45°C or less) during a blizzard, the fire apparently can't compensate for the full temperature difference any more. It increases the air temperature inside the hut (in comparison to the air temperature outside) by 20°C and that's it.

Guess it's needless to say that I'm not particularly happy about this change, even if it may increase realism.

If it's not a bug but by design, the reason for the change is probably that many people requested the environment (e.g. cold) to be a bigger threat compared to wolves. Now we got both - bullet-dodging wolves AND lethal blizzards. Hope those guys are at least happy now.^^

Took two screenshots that show the issue.

Well, you can't expect, that one small stove will heat you enough during such harsh conditions.

Interesting. I have never experienced outside temperatures that low. Or maybe I have and was sleeping soundly in a hut without noticing. So it seems that your stove gave you +20°C when standing right next to it. What kind of fuel were you using at that moment? I remember it read in the description of firelogs that they burn for a longer time, but do not give off much heat. I would be interested to know whether there also is a heat difference between Cedar and Fir. It could be that Cedar as the faster-burning wood gives off more heat. But in general, I think that the rare possibility of a blizzard so cold that it would even "get" you in a fishing hut is quite exciting. Makes the game more interesting.

And... nice row of water bottles there. :lol:

I was using fir firewood, haven't used anything else since my firemaking skill reached 100. But (for the sake of both Hotzn and science!) I'll try to start a fire with cedar the next time. ;p

PS: This gorgeous bottle track saved my life at least four times now! Praised be Elloco for the tip.

Well, you can't expect, that one small stove will heat you enough during such harsh conditions.

Sure it should, depending on the wind conditions.

If they get that stove CRANKING, then the heat it puts out will bounce off the walls, the floor (ice is actually rather reflective", and the ceiling. And, if they were able to cover the door with something, then they would almost be entirely protected from the cold: defended from the wind via the building, and protected from the cold via the fire. Put something on the floor, like a door from one of the cabinets, and you should be good.

Case in point: I once stayed inside a three sides cabin-like structure, called an "Adirondack", in the middle of February. It got down to -20 degrees F outside, and we had a decently-sized fire out in front of the shelter. It was 50-60 degrees F inside the shelter.

Allright, I tried starting a fire during a blizzard at night with both reclaimed wood and cedar in the meantime. Hotzn was right that the fuel influences the temperature bonus.

Reclaimed wood based fires increase the air temperature by 12°C, cedar based fires by 15 °C. Interestingly, adding a single piece of fir firewood to a cedar or reclaimed wood based fire increases the temperature bonus to +20°C.

Unfortunately, +20°C seems to be the maximum regardless how many pieces of fir firewood you add to your fire.

In cases when 1 fire doesn't provide enough warmth to keep you from freezing, start more fires! 2 fires provide more warmth than 1. This isn't a new thing either, it has worked this way for many versions already.

In TLD you can only make 1 type of campfire. In reality you would build a larger fire to keep you warmer rather than start another fire. A larger fire would of course burn more fuel in the same time.

Allright, I tried starting a fire during a blizzard at night with both reclaimed wood and cedar in the meantime. Hotzn was right that the fuel influences the temperature bonus.

Reclaimed wood based fires increase the air temperature by 12°C, cedar based fires by 15 °C. Interestingly, adding a single piece of fir firewood to a cedar or reclaimed wood based fire increases the temperature bonus to +20°C.

Unfortunately, +20°C seems to be the maximum regardless how many pieces of fir firewood you add to your fire.

Cool, I didn't know that different fuel types had different warmth bonuses. I haven't used fir since they changed the forage times for cedar to 20 min. I thought cedar was the better option since the time to harvest to the burn time is equal (20:60 / 30:90) but the weight of cedar is only .5kg so it's weight to burn time ration is higher. This makes fir the more valuable wood again, at least for survival in the cold situations (for cooking the warmth bonus doesn't matter).

I would expect cedar to have the higher warmth bonus though, as soft woods usually give of more heat. But that would also mean that there is really no reason to use fir anymore, so it's probably better to give fir the higher warmth bonus, gameplay wise.

In cases when 1 fire doesn't provide enough warmth to keep you from freezing, start more fires! 2 fires provide more warmth than 1. This isn't a new thing either, it has worked this way for many versions already.

Good to know if you're caught in a cave during a blizzard, thanks for sharing.