Comfort system

[runnybabbit]

With a new status effect system on the roadmap, how likely do we think we'll see some sort of 'comfort' mechanic added for buffs and resistances from warm fires and well-furnished homes?

I've seen this done well before in places like Valheim and always thought it was amazing for cosy gameplay.

 

I love the thought of stopping travel in the night, not because of weather or high rift activity, but just because there's an incentive to sit around a fire and trade stories... or just stare into the coals. 

Edited Saturday at 12:44 PM by runnybabbit

[LadyWYT]

I could see it happening. Perhaps not as Valheim does it though, as Valheim ties it to decoration a little too much. Granted, well-built and well-furnished homes are more comfortable than barebones ones, but I think decor should really be up to player preference. Besides, I think most players prefer a base that is at least well-organized with some basic decoration, so I would say most players already have incentive to decorate.

The better incentive, I think, is probably just to let the weather affect the player a little more. The player decided to work all day in the rain? Probably going to catch a cold, unless they wear protective clothing and take a break or two inside to dry off and warm up. The player wore heavy furs in the jungle/desert? Time for some heatstroke! If the player didn't build insulated rooms in their dwelling, they'll want to light a few fires when the weather turns cold, lest they chill down too much. Eating certain foods could probably influence certain things as well, aside from just hot food helping the player resist the cold. For example, eating dairy might help the player recover from broken bones more quickly, while eating light meals like porridge or vegetable soup might alleviate the effects of internal distress.

[Emeal]

Gamers will hate it, but having to take care of your character (yourself) might be an uncomfortable part of a Survival game. aka what do you mean food isnt enough?

But its entirely realistic, I could easily see Vintage Story go down a route like Stardew Vally were you have X amount of energy a day.

But a nice way to help players who want to do a lot is add in comforts like, doing your work in a warm place, with proper clothes, going to bed and getting sleep.
These comforts would reduce the energy requirements to do work.

Example: If you want to dig clay near a river, digging while not standing IN the water and getting cold is more efficient for you.

[LadyWYT]

7 hours ago, Emeal said:

Example: If you want to dig clay near a river, digging while not standing IN the water and getting cold is more efficient for you.

It's also less wear and tear on your clothing if you don't wade around in the water. I tend to go wading quite a lot in the game and my boots are usually the first article of clothing to wear out.

[Tabbot95]

I'd like to see some "roleplaying" bits in terms of descriptions of things too small or "scent, feel and taste-based"..

 

this might incentivize diffusions/extracts for liquor (potentially medical but not necessarily).

it would also give a reason to grow multiple vegetables.

[PineReseen]

I don't think buffs for well-furnished homes are a good idea. That seems way too arbitrary for a game such as this, perhaps it'd be better for an RPG or something of that kind, where your character could have preferences for decoration. (On another note, having limited energy doesn't sound like a great idea either, that just seems like it's arbitrarily punishing the player for doing anything.)

Although, if we were to stretch the definition of "comfort" a wee bit, keeping your temperature within an acceptable range (So for example, lighter clothes in warm times, warmer clothes in -20 degree weather) to for example, lose less hunger, I'd consider a good idea. Maybe staying wet for too long could also have negative consequences. Perhaps keeping your rooms cold/warm enough could also have benefits, maybe through that "keeping your temperature in a range" mechanic.

I think disease/condition effects that @LadyWYT mentioned would fit pretty nicely too, so for staying in extreme temperatures you'd get hyperthermia/hypothermia, which could even kill you.

Maybe sleeping could impact the player too? For example, you'd get a faster running speed after sleeping for some time (Or you could run slower after not sleeping enough, it could be the same thing if you adjust the base running speed).

[LadyWYT]

4 hours ago, PineReseen said:

Maybe sleeping could impact the player too?

I absolutely expect sleep, or lack thereof, to impact players when the status effect system arrives. I also expect a lot of salt to come with sleep requirements as well. 

 

5 hours ago, Tabbot95 said:

it would also give a reason to grow multiple vegetables.

There already is a reason: variety. I think most players enjoy having a variety of things to grow, as well as cook with. They might all offer the same nutrition, yes, but eating nothing but turnips for vegetable nutrition does get old after a while. And of course, the new fennel and licorice crops can be used to make stinkbait for fishing, which is necessary for catching certain types of fish.

I also don't think it's a bad thing if players decide they want to min-max and grow nothing but turnips and flax.

4 hours ago, PineReseen said:

I don't think buffs for well-furnished homes are a good idea. That seems way too arbitrary for a game such as this, perhaps it'd be better for an RPG or something of that kind, where your character could have preferences for decoration. (On another note, having limited energy doesn't sound like a great idea either, that just seems like it's arbitrarily punishing the player for doing anything.)

Pretty much. There's not necessarily anything wrong with giving direct benefits/drawbacks to doing specific things in the game, but the stricter certain requirements are the less freedom the player has when it comes to choosing how to play the game. 

To nitpick Valheim's implementation of the concept a bit more--the main flaw there is it encourages players to shove a bunch of things into an arbitrary space(which tends to be quite small) in order to get a buff. The idea, of course, is to decorate the base nicely, but the game doesn't really account for how the items are placed; it just cares that they're placed in the appropriate space. Thus it's possible to just pile a bunch of stuff around in a very ugly fashion, that shouldn't at all qualify as a comfortable environment, but still get the comfort boost. Likewise, it's possible to build something rather cozy and aesthetically pleasing, but get a suboptimal bonus due to having the "wrong" stuff or having things too spread out.

Basically, I want to put a bear pelt on my floor because it looks nice. I don't want to be putting bear pelts on the floor just because it will give my character +2 cold resistance for 10 minutes after being in that room for a little while.

[runnybabbit]

5 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

To nitpick Valheim's implementation of the concept a bit more--the main flaw there is it encourages players to shove a bunch of things into an arbitrary space(which tends to be quite small) in order to get a buff.

Valheim ties comfort very directly to progression but not sure that would work as well in VS. I would also expect the implementation to be a bit more limited to a handful of things and minor effects. Since VS has so many furniture options already, (near-infinite with chiseling) I don't think it's likely we'd see buffs from things like tables and chairs, but maybe more like some hanging herbs, an open fire and a rug could give a small buff to healing rate and some minor disease and cold resistance.

 

10 hours ago, PineReseen said:

Although, if we were to stretch the definition of "comfort" a wee bit, keeping your temperature within an acceptable range (So for example, lighter clothes in warm times, warmer clothes in -20 degree weather) to for example, lose less hunger, I'd consider a good idea. Maybe staying wet for too long could also have negative consequences. Perhaps keeping your rooms cold/warm enough could also have benefits, maybe through that "keeping your temperature in a range" mechanic.

I think you're right that a blanket 'comfort' status effect may not fit as well as specific conditions. In that vein maybe the buffs mentioned before could be specific to certain elements, so disease resistance t the herbs, cold resistance to the rug etc. 

(Completely random side note here, but exposure of one's skin to the infrared waves in firelight actually has beneficial effects for healing both physically and psychologically. For the physical side, apart from the warmth value and neurological signals that calm a stressed body, -allowing for activation of immune system in cell repair, - 3000nm light itself does all sorts of amazing things due to it's effects on fluid dyamics and absorption capacity in a hydrophillic capillary, measured by a thing called zeta potential. Anyway, light therapy of some sort has been used for ages in all sorts of applications to treat things with varying but usually at least moderate effectiveness.)

 

5 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

Basically, I want to put a bear pelt on my floor because it looks nice. I don't want to be putting bear pelts on the floor just because it will give my character +2 cold resistance for 10 minutes after being in that room for a little while.

Yes but imagine if you put it because it looks nice *and* gives you a small boost. Wouldn't it be nice? 

[Bumber]

7 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

I absolutely expect sleep, or lack thereof, to impact players when the status effect system arrives. I also expect a lot of salt to come with sleep requirements as well.

Well, considering it's the most boring stat imaginable, and tedious in a multiplayer game.

[CannelleYT]

23 hours ago, Emeal said:

Les joueurs détesteront cela, mais devoir prendre soin de votre personnage (vous-même) pourrait être une partie inconfortable d'un jeu Survie. alias commentaire ça la nourriture ne suffit pas ?

Mais c'est tout à fait réaliste, Je pouvais facilement voir Vintage Story emprunter un itinéraire comme Stardew Vally si vous aviez X quantité d'énergie par jour.

Mais une bonne fait d'aider les joueurs qui veulent faire beaucoup est d'ajouter du confort, comme faire son travail dans un endroit chaud, avec des choses appropriées, se coucher et dormir.
Ces conforts réduiraient les besoins énergétiques pour effectuer des travaux.

Exemple : Si vous souhaitez creuser de l'argile près d'une rivière, creuser sans rester dans l'eau et avoir froid est plus efficacité pour vous.

I find Stardew Valley awful partly because of this system. A game being realistic is fine, but too much realism is boring.

Edited 4 minutes ago by CannelleYT