TheUltiM8Guy Posted July 14 Report Posted July 14 I recently saw Tyrone post a sneak peek of what looks like upcoming mounts in Vintage Story (picture attached to the post). I've had similar ideas for a while, so I wanted to share my thoughts. Picture posted by Tyrone on official Vintage Story Discord server. My guess is that Treasure Hunter traders in different climates will sell different mounts. Based on the screenshot, I'd imagine something like: Warm – Zebra (I know there are no Zebras in the screenshot, that's my idea that is developed further in the post), Temperate – Horse, Cool – Elk, Icy – Moose, Hot – Camel. The screenshot only shows four mounts, so the zebra is just my suggestion to fill the warm climate niche. I also remember Tyrone mentioning in an interview that he'd like to encourage players to explore different parts of their worlds. Having climate-specific mounts with unique advantages could be another incentive to travel without making it mandatory. Tier 1 - Zebra (Warm climate) In my experience, warm climates are among the easiest to survive in. Many crops can grow year-round, berries are always available, fishing is convenient because the ground never freezes, and flax can be grown throughout the year. Description A wild animal that has only recently begun to be domesticated. While not as dependable as other mounts, it's still much faster than traveling on foot. Traits Cannot carry two players. Limited to small saddlebags. The idea is that the easiest climate provides the most basic mount. Tier 2 - Horse (Temperate climate) Temperate climates feel like the "standard" Vintage Story experience. Winters interrupt farming but also help preserve food, making them relatively forgiving overall. Description Horses have served as the most common form of transport for generations. Their long history alongside people has made them reliable companions for both travel and trade. Traits Can carry two players with a cushion. Can equip either: Small saddlebags and allow carrying a passenger, or Medium saddlebags without allowing to carry a passenger. The horse would be a versatile, middle-of-the-road option. Tier 3 - Elk (Cool climate) Cool climates have shorter growing seasons, poorer farmland, and, in my experience, make it harder to establish agriculture early on. Description Sámi relied on elk to transport goods across taigas' landscapes where horses struggled. Traits Carries two players. Can use medium saddlebags even with a passenger. Ignores movement penalties from snow (if mounts are ever affected by them). Tier 3 - Camel (Hot climate) Hot climates present different challenges. High temperatures make farming more difficult, but wildlife is plentiful enough, so food is usually less of an issue. Description Bred for life in the desert, camels can travel long distances while carrying heavy loads with relatively little maintenance. Traits Carries two players. Can use medium saddlebags even with a passenger. Ignores movement penalties on sand (if such a mechanic were ever added). Tier 4 - Moose (Icy climate) In my experience, icy regions are the most difficult places to survive. Farming is extremely limited, useful plants are scarce, and the environment itself is dangerous. Description Some Sámi ventured even further north, where they depended on powerful moose to transport supplies across frozen wilderness where few other animals could thrive. Traits Carries two players. Can equip large saddlebags. Ignores snow movement penalties. Small, medium and large animals will flee when Tamed Moose is nearby. (Since brown and polar bears yield huge hides, I consider them to be huge animals, not scared of a player on a Tamed Moose). I know some of these mechanics don't currently exist (different saddlebag sizes, sand movement penalties, etc.), and I haven't spent equal time living in every climate. This is mostly a concept for how mounts could encourage exploration without making it mandatory. Same for descriptions, I do realize there is nowhere in game mentioned about "Sámi venturing further north", it's just a concept from my head. I also thought about Moose being able to carry large lantern, but I'm slightly worried it could make Moose stand out as way better than other mounts. If you start in a warm climate, a zebra would be perfectly adequate. But players who enjoy building mobile bases or transporting large amounts of cargo would have another reason to travel across the world in search of better mounts. Also, I have an idea for different types of saddlebags: Small saddlebags - made from flax, could use two linen bags on the sides of a mount as a texture, Medium saddlebags - made from leather, same texture as leather saddlebags, Large saddlebags, made from sturdy leather, same texture as sturdy leather saddlebags. 3
LadyWYT Posted July 14 Report Posted July 14 Personally, I'd rather see a donkey than a zebra. Realistically speaking...zebras aren't particularly nice, whereas donkeys have been trusty working animals for thousands of years. Donkeys are suitable for warmer climates, and can also be crossbred with horses to produce mules, which are another familiar, very useful working animal. Though in fairness, exact realism isn't as important in this case; plausibly realistic is more fitting for Vintage Story(hence why we can have elk as mounts). Elephants would also be a good exotic mount for warmer climates. Dangerous to hunt, but perhaps easier to "tame" due to higher intelligence, and able to essentially function as a terrestrial sailboat in terms of humanoid passengers and cargo. Assuming that some mounts could have limited combat abilities, the elephant would be a prime choice for that kind of role. Ostriches or emus would be a rather goofy and not very useful mount, but still quite fun. Water buffalo would work very well for warmer climates, and while they might not be that fast on land, they could be quite fast in the water. If I'm not mistaken, some of the warmer, marshier regions of the world will use them as mounts for precisely this reason(Malaysia and Brazil both have had police officers with buffalo mounts). Bison or oxen would be good choices for drier or cooler climates. Bears, of course, would be a pretty funny mount. That would also mean cute little baby bears, which means potentially needing to deal with angry mama bears. Not that there's anything wrong with zebras, exactly. Just that a zebra doesn't really have as much utility and isn't quite as interesting visually, aside from the stripes. 7
TheUltiM8Guy Posted July 14 Author Report Posted July 14 5 minutes ago, LadyWYT said: Personally, I'd rather see a donkey than a zebra. Realistically speaking...zebras aren't particularly nice, whereas donkeys have been trusty working animals for thousands of years. Donkeys are suitable for warmer climates, and can also be crossbred with horses to produce mules, which are another familiar, very useful working animal. Though in fairness, exact realism isn't as important in this case; plausibly realistic is more fitting for Vintage Story(hence why we can have elk as mounts). Elephants would also be a good exotic mount for warmer climates. Dangerous to hunt, but perhaps easier to "tame" due to higher intelligence, and able to essentially function as a terrestrial sailboat in terms of humanoid passengers and cargo. Assuming that some mounts could have limited combat abilities, the elephant would be a prime choice for that kind of role. Ostriches or emus would be a rather goofy and not very useful mount, but still quite fun. Water buffalo would work very well for warmer climates, and while they might not be that fast on land, they could be quite fast in the water. If I'm not mistaken, some of the warmer, marshier regions of the world will use them as mounts for precisely this reason(Malaysia and Brazil both have had police officers with buffalo mounts). Bison or oxen would be good choices for drier or cooler climates. Bears, of course, would be a pretty funny mount. That would also mean cute little baby bears, which means potentially needing to deal with angry mama bears. Not that there's anything wrong with zebras, exactly. Just that a zebra doesn't really have as much utility and isn't quite as interesting visually, aside from the stripes. Yeah, I know zebras are not the best mounts irl, I just thought they fitted the warm climate, and since we have an elk as a mount, zebra would not be too much "out of place". Though my guess is that we got an elk as a mount first because elks were already in game and had animations, sounds etc. The animals you listed sound cool, but do you have any idea how to balance them? Maybe those could be "exotic mounts", that is mounts that cannot be bought, must be caught and tamed, and in return they provide huge buffs. For example, taming an elephant would allow huge storage space and up to three passengers, or as you said, water buffalos would be slower on land but faster in water. Ostriches, while goofy, could have zero storage space but be relatively fast...though for me ostriches as mounts would be too goofy. And not sure if by "zebras not having much utility" you meant irl or what I presented in my post, but I thought that since warm climate is the easiest in my experience, zebras would be "the least efficient" from other mounts in the post. The main idea is, the harsher the climate, the better the mount.
LadyWYT Posted July 15 Report Posted July 15 2 hours ago, TheUltiM8Guy said: The animals you listed sound cool, but do you have any idea how to balance them? Maybe those could be "exotic mounts", that is mounts that cannot be bought, must be caught and tamed, and in return they provide huge buffs. For example, taming an elephant would allow huge storage space and up to three passengers, or as you said, water buffalos would be slower on land but faster in water. Ostriches, while goofy, could have zero storage space but be relatively fast...though for me ostriches as mounts would be too goofy. To a certain extent, a mount that's exotic is special enough. Take the ostrich, for example. They're small, so they're not suited to carrying both passengers and cargo. They might be fast by themselves, but perhaps not so much while carrying a passenger, or they might be able to sprint in a short burst of speed but tire quickly and need rest before more serious travel. Exotic mounts I would expect to be animals that typically can't be purchased and are very climate-specific(and thus hard to find). Sometimes they might be incredibly useful, like the elephant, or useful for specific types of terrain(like the water buffalo), but overall exotic mounts are mostly a vanity item. At least in my opinion. An elephant might be very useful but the player isn't necessarily going to want/be able to go to the effort of finding, taming, and caring for one. Another balancing factor that I think has perhaps been overlooked--cosmetics. A huge mount like an elephant will have much more expensive cosmetics than a smaller creature. Exotic mounts might be neat to own, but might not have many cosmetic options available(if they have them at all) since...well, they're not a common mount and thus don't have as many accessories designed for them. 2 hours ago, TheUltiM8Guy said: The main idea is, the harsher the climate, the better the mount. I'm not sure I like this idea. It's not terrible, exactly, but I don't think it's necessarily a good thing to give players the notion that to get the "best mount in the game" they have to go to a very specific, very harsh climate to get it. Sure, the player should be able to go to a climate like that and find an exotic beast for the bragging rights, if they so choose, but I think most mounts should probably serve in the same role the elk does now, or the role the horse has served throughout history. Easy enough to acquire, lots of accessory options, can carry you plus a friend, and can carry a decent amount of stuff as well. As a side note, having a more readily accessible creature to catch and tame as a mount is a really nice early game goal. I've been toying around with the concept via mods, and while it can mean a later start on the first story chapter, it leads to a better experience since the player now has a better travel option, as well as a better way to haul all their treasure back to their base. I know that it's already possible to acquire an elk in this fashion, but the problem with the elk is that they are limited on where they spawn and thus generally rather hard to find. 2 hours ago, TheUltiM8Guy said: And not sure if by "zebras not having much utility" you meant irl or what I presented in my post, but I thought that since warm climate is the easiest in my experience, zebras would be "the least efficient" from other mounts in the post. Somewhat both. IRL I'm not as worried about, since they're large enough to plausibly serve as a smaller mount, and there's something to be said for style points. I wouldn't mind seeing them in the game as mounts(or just as ambient wildlife), but I think there are more interesting options that could be added first. The only thing they really have going for them is the stripes. 4
Cornvus Posted July 15 Report Posted July 15 21 hours ago, LadyWYT said: Personally, I'd rather see a donkey than a zebra. Have to agree. There's plenty of color and pattern flavor in domestic donkeys to be played with for people's customization desires, and the inclusion of the donkey over the zebra as a mount allows for the easy lay up of humanity's favorite creation: the mule. Though I'll also agree as an equus genus lover in general, I'd just like to see zebra in my savannas eventually.
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