Stamina and Breath Mechanics

[ShubiMaja]

 

I suggest we add 2 seperate systems : stamina, and breathing, both of which affect each other

for example:

stamina:
- lose by running
- lose by swimming / treading water
- gain by resting in a bed
- gain faster by drinking herbal teas
- gain faster by meditating

breath:
- lose by running out of stamina
- lose by swimming underwater
- lose faster by being at high altitudes
- gain by standing still 
- gain faster, the more stamina you have (scale breath gain by stamina)

This will create some of the following scenarios:
- running a marathon will cause you to run out of breath 
- running out breath from running (while having low stamina) will cause you regain breath more slowly, causing you to realistically need to stand still while panting as your stamina regains and your breath regain rate slowly scales up with your stamina
- hiking too high in the mountains can cause you to black out if you move too quickly (stamina affects breath regen)
- swimming too fast underwater will cause you to run out of air faster cause you to blackout more quickly. 

Edited December 2, 2023 by ShubiMaja

[Magnus]

At this point in the game, i do not think we need this.

Some future date when a lot more other stuff to allow us to survive better, is in. Then maybe.  as of now this is not an RPG or the like.  (would like it to be one some day)  example of things that are helping survive better, the longer days.  (the longer nights are ok too, but not as nice)  At least we can do more in a day.. travel further.

my 2 cents anyway

 

[redram]

I'm not sure I'm so into breath being used for anything other than suffocating.  Stamina I'm totally behind, and would add physical tasks like smithing and combat to the list of things that use it.

[Stroam]

I like the idea of responding to the world more. It makes it feel more alive. I have doubts though about some of the mechanics you mention enhancing gameplay. 

[Yukihira_S]

I really like the idea to add more survival mechanics.

If I can go a bit off-topic and express a thing that I have inside, I feel that among videogames the game plays are quite standard. One of the reasons behind the success of Minecraft was that for the first time you can play a game where you were free to do what you want. In short, Minecraft traded a slick graphic for something much more valuable: the freedom. 

Vintage Story is also free to become everything it wants and it can become a game focused on survival, careful pianification and team work and, beside this, introduce new, non standard mechanics for the aspect related to player and mobs status.

Of course we need stamina, as we need strength and agility which is the classic of RPG games but I think that many variables should influence them like:

- rest (the lack of sleeping should be punished) 

- nutrition (a correct nutrition help you to increase stats and gives you a bonus) 

- lifestyle (eg. if you spend your time showeling dirt you should develop strength but lost agility)

- temperature (have you ever thought that the player should take damage by cold? Well, I did. Also the idea that you need to find or craft warm clothes in order to explore cold zones could make the game more interesting) 

- affliction (instead of losing HP the player could suffer an injury or fall ill) 

[ShubiMaja]

On 9/12/2019 at 10:44 PM, Magnus said:

At this point in the game, i do not think we need this.

Some future date when a lot more other stuff to allow us to survive better, is in. Then maybe.  as of now this is not an RPG or the like.  (would like it to be one some day)  example of things that are helping survive better, the longer days.  (the longer nights are ok too, but not as nice)  At least we can do more in a day.. travel further.

my 2 cents anyway

I appreciate that there must be a careful balance between making things immersive and keeping the bar to entry low enough that people will actually play.

If the game is too difficult or brutal at the beginning then fewer people may want to play. So perhaps the breathing and stamina systems can be scaled down to the point where it is not a major hurdle that affects our lives in a brutal manner -- but rather a small nuisance that brings depth to our experience. 

You may never practically run out of breath while running. But if you run a *really* *really* long way for a *really* *really* long time, there will be realistic consequences for that. In this example, the idea is that your average player who doesnt run marathons for hours would never run into this hurdle.

*However*, if we are talking about mechanics that will only affect hardcore players, then I propose that we should introduce a skill system that rewards players for their efforts and allows them to mitigate the negative effects for a cost. In example, someone who in fact does run marathons every day, should find that their constant practice pays off, rewarding them with gradually larger amounts of breath and stamina.

This way:

- New players are barely affected and not turned off

- Active players are affected in a realistic and immersive way

- Active players are rewarded for their efforts and provided a way to mitigate the small amount that the mechanic affects them.

You may then say, well if the system will be scaled down so much and even granted a mitigation path what is the point of a system that so barely impacts my life? The answer is that subtle realistic features make all the difference when it comes to immersion, whether in regards to systems or graphics.

Its the reason why the game *feels* more immersive when leaves sway gently in the wind or the water laps lightly against the shore. These tweaks are not strictly necessary, but they subtly enhance the quality of the game's immersion. So too when it comes to systems. Its true that breathing is only truly necessary as a mechanic to simulate our respiration system (such as we do for hunger). But adding a slight connection between breathing and stamina for example is the kind of subtle feature that would make you feel just that much more involved and engaged in a living, breathing character, in a living breathing world. 

Edited December 2, 2023 by ShubiMaja

[ShubiMaja]

On 9/13/2019 at 11:54 AM, Yukihira_S said:

I really like the idea to add more survival mechanics.

If I can go a bit off-topic and express a thing that I have inside, I feel that among videogames the game plays are quite standard. One of the reasons behind the success of Minecraft was that for the first time you can play a game where you were free to do what you want. In short, Minecraft traded a slick graphic for something much more valuable: the freedom. 

Vintage Story is also free to become everything it wants and it can become a game focused on survival, careful pianification and team work and, beside this, introduce new, non standard mechanics for the aspect related to player and mobs status.

Of course we need stamina, as we need strength and agility which is the classic of RPG games but I think that many variables should influence them like:

- rest (the lack of sleeping should be punished) 

- nutrition (a correct nutrition help you to increase stats and gives you a bonus) 

- lifestyle (eg. if you spend your time showeling dirt you should develop strength but lost agility)

- temperature (have you ever thought that the player should take damage by cold? Well, I did. Also the idea that you need to find or craft warm clothes in order to explore cold zones could make the game more interesting) 

- affliction (instead of losing HP the player could suffer an injury or fall ill) 

I would love to see additional challenges and systems introduced into the world such as the ones you mentioned.

I believe that every new system we encounter increases the variety and depth of our potential experiences (or deaths )

[redram]

Stamina in relation to running might be a lot more tolerable if we had horses.

[Yukihira_S]

On 9/17/2019 at 6:12 AM, redram said:

Stamina in relation to running might be a lot more tolerable if we had horses.

I would be contented just with wheelbarrows and sledges to carry more rubbish when I wander around

Edited September 23, 2019 by Yukihira_S