Item Spoilage: Why it's going to happen

[preiman]

Perhaps a special command to hide an object if you need it to stay, otherwise hidden objects still get cleaned up with everything else.

[Rias]

I'm thinking there could be a command to lengthen the janitor timer for hidden items you're aware of. So you can go back to check on your hidden barrel of emergency supplies and do something like secure barrel, and it'll reset the timer for that item before it gets taken by the janitor. You'd still have to maintain it by securing it fairly often (once every few days? Once a week? I need to mull that specific detail over), but it could be done. And then all those random/forgotten items will finally go away.

So, you'd hide, drop your barrel, then secure barrel to designate it as an item that should last a long time. That way we don't have all those arrows, iron shot, and other random junk items being automatically set to last a long time just because they're hidden.

I might also make it only work on items of a minimum size/weight. If you have a bunch of small items as part of your emergency stash, put them all in a chest, or a backpack, or a basket, or some other container.

[jilliana]

I would think that only certain types of things would fall under the "emergency stash" category. Otherwise, we'll still have the problem with people storing hundreds of blocks and branches in some spot.

[Vitello]

Could on character food keep? I'm afraid of getting a ravenous message in the middle of nowhere to find the food in my backpack spoiled.

Hunter caches could be like mine rooms, deteriorating over time if not maintained. Varmints, rot, Jaster.

[Jaster]

Hunter caches could be like mine rooms, deteriorating over time if not maintained. Varmints, rot, Jaster.

Honorable mention!

[TwistedAkai]

Could have hidden arrows and other items that are exceptionally numerous and also ICly light weight be "snatched up by animals" semi-randomly when they're not in a container.

[Kent]

I know some people get grumpy over the idea of food (and other perishable items) spoiling/despawning, complaining of inconvenience and over-realism. However, there's one very important reason we need it: There are obscene amounts of food stashed all over the game. I'm not sure why people are such packrats when it comes to food in particular, but the amount of food hidden or stored in containers is absolutely staggering.

Well, frankly, I have been waiting a long time for someone to fix the bug that prevents the market from purchasing cooked meats

That's not a common commodity item. You might try selling it at a pawnshop.

even though the market provides me with an appraisal price

After asking around a bit, you discover that the best price your cooked deer meat will fetch is 8 riln.

It would probably be much easier to code the bug fix for the market than to code in a deterioration system.

If people want to get better at cooking, they have to cook things. When the market won't buy those things, they pile up.


Another idea would be that that restaurants and diners and inns also have some interest in purchasing some foods, much the same way the infirmary purchases some herbs.

[Rithiel]

The market is not meant to purchase cooked items. The fact that they appraise is the bug.

[Rias]

I always take the market mechanic to be buying/selling common, bulk commodities, and I wouldn't consider cooked food to be one of those. The ingredients to cook with, yes - but once you've cooked something, you've already put all the pieces together. Same reason the market doesn't purchase crafted weapons, furniture, etc. I assume the people wandering the market take it for a basic materials market rather than a flea market - you go there to buy things that you can then use yourself to make something, rather than buying finished pieces (which is what specialized town shops are for - weapons shop, tailor, bakery, etc.). So people would go to the market to buy raw meat, spices, and seasonings which they would then use to cook their own food. If they wanted to buy ready-to-eat food, they'd hit a bakery, an inn, a diner, or some place that specifically sells ready-to-eat cooked foods.