Realistic Torches

[EmperorPingu]

Ever IRL held more than 3 fully lit torches in one hand? Ever placed those flames into the convenient storage of your rucksack or reed basket? Ever learned how storing or simply holding naked flames of your torch makes them conveniently eternal until you place them on the ground when a timer of exactly 48 hours counts down until there expiration, by which point you could pick up that torch again resetting that timer and making it immortal once again?

Yeah I want realistic torches - even if it's just a mod (I'm sure most people wouldn't go for this).

Not too sure how best an idea like this would be handled but here's two possible implementations:

1. Give Torches a "freshness" in the same way food does
Would still allow many torches to be held and stackable - but the longevity of a torch would depend on it's stacks overall freshness (which can be compounded with other torches to determine it's shelf-life).

2. Treat Torches as Independent Objects
(My personal favourite) - treat Torches like the flamin hot burning things that they are... don't let lit torches stack, don't let them be stored in any other container other than the hand/hotbar, make sure they have a limited lifetime regardless of if they are stored or place or whatever. Keep 100% fresh unlit torches stackable to enable a practicle means to carry many torches for things like expeditions. Torch holders don't make torches permanent, but they do extend the lifetime of the torch by a significant amount. Make sure that the torches "fuel amount" is stored in memory so that you can't just extinguish the flame in water and expect to have a fully fueled torch all over again. If you put the torch in a reed basket, it burns the bloody basket. 

Don't get left in the dark - yes it will be grindy and annoying, but you're playing Vintage Story for a reason.

I rest my case.

[Vexxvididu]

I'm fine with torch holders working how they do and making the torch immortal, but do think early game torches shouldn't be magically infinite.  It's one of the few things that I think should be harder in this game.  I like the idea of having to refuel them with grass as others have suggested as well.

[LadyWYT]

I like it as an option(base game or modded; I would lean toward modded), but not as something enabled by default. It was one mechanic that drove me nuts about Valheim--any kind of light source had to be refueled. It does make sense, but if I'm building a large fancy base the last thing I want to be doing is spending most of my game time either refueling the light sources, or collecting fuel for said light sources.

[EmperorPingu]

Yeah that's fair - the game balance has to be addressed and what I'm suggesting isn't exactly forgiving. I suppose "one way around it" would be to incorperate gas or electricity for an infinite light source in the late game (gas by way of utilising pipes to connect to light sources, and electricity using the already existing mechanical power to generate current) - arguably that by itself is it's own nightmare fuel (which is why I'm all for it but it would take away from the medieval-esque survival experience).

[LadyWYT]

10 minutes ago, EmperorPingu said:

Yeah that's fair - the game balance has to be addressed and what I'm suggesting isn't exactly forgiving. I suppose "one way around it" would be to incorperate gas or electricity for an infinite light source in the late game (gas by way of utilising pipes to connect to light sources, and electricity using the already existing mechanical power to generate current) - arguably that by itself is it's own nightmare fuel (which is why I'm all for it but it would take away from the medieval-esque survival experience).

Gas lamps fit as a late game tech option, since there's already one such lighting system in the game already(the player just isn't allowed to build their own version) and it fits with a steampunk vibe. Electricity...no, I don't see that happening outside of mods, since that particular case leaves the realm of medieval steampunk and enters the realm of modern tech.

In the case of gas lighting though, I wouldn't make it an infinite light source. Rather, I would implement it in a fashion similar to the in-game example: fuel a boiler with coal, produce light as long as there's fuel...albeit with a much longer burn time than the one that currently exists. That way it's a late game lighting system that will require quite a lot of effort and resources to build, but will have significant benefits with relatively little maintenance.

[TJ Pepler]

Personally I would like to see the Spiderman effect gone from torches... how are they sticking to that cave wall???  I suggest combining one pitch with a torch and making sticky torches, and to follow that, torches go out when stored, only a torch in hand or placed can be lit.

[LadyWYT]

45 minutes ago, TJ Pepler said:

how are they sticking to that cave wall???

Well...if you shove a pointy object at a flat surface hard enough, the pointy object will stick.