Smoke from campfires/kilns/etc causing harm in enclosed spaces if not ventilated

[TheManIsGoaded]

This was a pet peeve of mine when playing the game that really took away from the immersion. I'd create a campfire while underground in a small hole with no ventilation and be completely fine. If the smoke somehow filled up enclosed spaces and caused damage over time if not ventilated, it'd add to the immersion significantly.

[Facethief]

While the Idea is fine, I think it would be just as good if a screen fog or “haze” particles simply appeared in an enclosed area with a fire or torches (and maybe to a lesser extent candles or lanterns), simply to provide atmosphere, since having a fire in an enclosed space is critical for cold weather.

[UnholyEvangelist]

1 hour ago, Facethief said:

While the Idea is fine, I think it would be just as good if a screen fog or “haze” particles simply appeared in an enclosed area with a fire or torches (and maybe to a lesser extent candles or lanterns), simply to provide atmosphere, since having a fire in an enclosed space is critical for cold weather.

Yeah I like that idea where being around a fire with no ventilation should create a haze, as having it kill you would be more frustrating than immersive. 

[Altimely]

On 6/8/2025 at 12:46 PM, UnholyEvangelist said:

Yeah I like that idea where being around a fire with no ventilation should create a haze, as having it kill you would be more frustrating than immersive. 

It could be something small like damage taken from standing in hail, but also understand not wanting to take damage from something like smoke. The 'ouch' sound character's make startles me if I'm not expecting it.

Anyway, I also want smoke to be a mechanic the player either has to mitigate (or use to smoke raw foods?). It's one of the small things that increases immersion and was something I loved about Valheim.

[Facethief]

1 hour ago, Altimely said:

It could be something small like damage taken from standing in hail, but also understand not wanting to take damage from something like smoke. The 'ouch' sound character's make startles me if I'm not expecting it.

If they wanted to be realistic, you’d pass out and then take damage, but that’d be even worse.

1 hour ago, Altimely said:

Anyway, I also want smoke to be a mechanic the player either has to mitigate (or use to smoke raw foods?). It's one of the small things that increases immersion and was something I loved about Valheim.

Smoking foods would be cool, especially in an immersive way like this. Say a campfire produces X volume of smoke, and a room needs Y smoke concentration to work as a smoker. This idea is actually really good, I think it could probably be made as a mod that piggybacks on the smoke suffocation mod (which exists btw).

[Thorfinn]

Bigger ask than you might think at first blush. The way warmth works is that in order to be considered an indoor space, it has to be entirely enclosed. I'm guessing you could add a block that is considered ventilation but is also considered solid for defining a room, but at that point, why? Why not just assume that any construction technique that would be applicable to medieval times is not airtight? Cobblestone was notoriously leaky if you don't replaster often. Log construction was even worse unless you chinked the gaps between the logs. 

[LadyWYT]

1 hour ago, Thorfinn said:

The way warmth works is that in order to be considered an indoor space, it has to be entirely enclosed. I'm guessing you could add a block that is considered ventilation but is also considered solid for defining a room, but at that point, why?

I think there was a proper chimney block that was recently added, that is considered airtight but will let smoke escape. So I'm not sure that bit is an issue.

 

1 hour ago, Thorfinn said:

Why not just assume that any construction technique that would be applicable to medieval times is not airtight? Cobblestone was notoriously leaky if you don't replaster often. Log construction was even worse unless you chinked the gaps between the logs. 

Logical questions that follow if smoke damage is added for realism. 

Personally, I'm not a fan of mechanics like this. I didn't enjoy it in Valheim, and I doubt I'd enjoy such things here. While it's maybe not the most realistic thing ever, it's nice to be able to build the fireplace however I'd like, in a way that looks functional, but not actually have to worry about engineering it to make sure the room won't get smoky.

[Chrondeath]

I really liked how Valheim's smoke mechanics required me to incorporate some kind of chimney or smoke solution into my builds.  If there's no mechanical reason for me to build something like a chimney, I end up either not building it or feeling a little disappointed that there was no purpose if I do.

I feel like cellars are a similar existing nudge.  If food preservation and cellars hadn't been a mechanic, I probably would have ended up with all my food stored in a pile of chests in my main room, as usually happen in my minecraft bases.

I have a semi-related desire to see fire safety apply to more things than pit kilns; I kind of wish that the standard campfire required a little preparation (maybe an opportunity for the tutorial to teach new players about packed dirt and rammed earth), leading to a mechanical need for fireplaces (though preferably paired with it being easier to recover from screwing up a fire--maybe limited spread, or converting blocks to "scorched" variants instead of destroying things).

[7embre]

10 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

I think there was a proper chimney block that was recently added, that is considered airtight but will let smoke escape. So I'm not sure that bit is an issue.

Yep. And I hate the fact that it enables smoking state only if firepit is seven (or less) blocks below it. Most multistory builds will exceed this height.

I find Valheim's smoke mechanic simplistic enough, and it indeed does create some fun situations. In VS however smoke only goes upwards, with no way to guide it from multiple firepits into a singular chimney. I'd love to see it in VS at some point, but some tweaks to smoke must be in order, as it will drastically change the way I and others build (even though I always tend to build with a chimney in mind, and, well, around it) 

[Calo-Mari]

 I really want a system like this in vintage story as I find it to be something that would fit right in with the rest of the games realistic survival. But I do see how it could get annoying for people who want to build in whatever way they want. I suggest that it could be an optional feature that’s toggleable like how cave ins and falling soil are. 

[Lugh Crow-Slave]

On 6/8/2025 at 12:46 PM, UnholyEvangelist said:

Yeah I like that idea where being around a fire with no ventilation should create a haze, as having it kill you would be more frustrating than immersive. 

Not really, this mechanic is was sold me on vailhiem. There aren't a whole lot of instances in vintage I can think of where you really, really need a fire in a tight space. 

 

The bigger issue I see with both haze and suffocating is how the games room system works. I don't know how you'd have it check that a room is closed and have it vented without dedicated chimney or vent blocks and that feels like it would be too restrictive. Otherwise you're going to have a hard time heating rooms in winter.