Weaker wilderness animals

Slaidh · Post by **Slaidh** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:02 pm

Can we get some weaker animals added to the wilderness that can be butchered for meat? I'd like to butcher my own meat for food rather than eat pansy town food, but the wilderness seems pretty empty of wildlife except around Shadgard, and there most of the stuff is too hard for newer characters to take down. I almost got killed by a coyote, and I'm not even trying to attack a bison.

Plains: groundhogs, prairie dogs, moles, gophers, woodchucks, ferrets, rabbits, foxes, badgers, raccoons, skunks, stray pigs (not boars!)

Forests: fawn, hedgehogs, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, foxes, raccoons, badgers, skunks

I guess the problem is, most of these would run away if they saw you, like deer do, which makes them hard to hunt for food because you get so hungry chasing them. But I think if you just made at least some of them have no perception skill then it would be possible for new people to hide and sneak up on them. If the smaller ones could be easily taken down in one hit it would be useful for hunters to hunt their own food without nearly dying of starvation just chasing it down. The beavers near Corvus work well in this regard. It could also be good for beginning skinners and leatherworkers.

Reynard · Post by **Reynard** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 10:31 pm

What's the verb? "Hunt"? Do that while stealthed in the wilderness.

=9

Kiyaani · Post by **Kiyaani** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 1:00 am

You can also fish

]

But I wouldn't mind a few new animals out and about.

Post by **Lun** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 7:51 am

You forgot armadillo (Plains)

Alexander · Post by **Alexander** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 8:22 am

I would enjoy seeing the wilderness become more populated with wildlife.

KianTheArcher · Post by **KianTheArcher** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:30 am

[quote=Reynard]What's the verb? "Hunt"? Do that while stealthed in the wilderness.

=9[/quote]

Well, the thing is, it can still be difficult for newer characters to kill the creatures spawned by the "hunt" command. So smaller game would be appreciated in that sense.

Post by **Rias** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 11:57 am

Ooo, maybe I can sick Selene on this!

Reynard · Post by **Reynard** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 12:00 pm

[quote=KianTheArcher]Well, the thing is, it can still be difficult for newer characters to kill the creatures spawned by the "hunt" command. So smaller game would be appreciated in that sense.[/quote]
I know how painful it is almost always getting deer when that low skilled (trust me, I do), but turkeys are pretty easy to beat, aren't they?

KianTheArcher · Post by **KianTheArcher** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 12:05 pm

Turkeys are fairly easy, yes. But that doesn't change the fact that 1.)It'd be nice if the wilderness had wildlife and 2.)It's still difficult to hunt the current wildlife. Even when Kian ambushes them, Pheasants have a defensive value of around 600. And animals naturally have a high perception score.

Selene · Post by **Selene** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 3:18 pm

This was on my list of things to get done, but I'll make it a much higher priority! Expect to see some new animals and an extended hunting range soon.

Skjotur · Post by **Skjotur** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 10:51 pm

More wilderness animals in general would be great. Whenever I go up north, I have to pack a lot of food for the trip. Toward the south, there's usually something to hunt nearby that I can cook. The north generally feels empty and lifeless compared to the south.

Kiyaani · Post by **Kiyaani** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 7:13 am

I've noticed that too, Skjotur. Seems like the northern forests were left barren and I always get the message saying there's nothing to hunt. At least around the outpost.

Post by **Rias** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 8:35 am

Selene's been working away on huntable and cookable not-so-dangerous wildlife, so this should be remedied soon!

KianTheArcher · Post by **KianTheArcher** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 8:44 am

[quote=Kiyaani]I've noticed that too, Skjotur. Seems like the northern forests were left barren and I always get the message saying there's nothing to hunt. At least around the outpost.[/quote]

That's actually true southwest of Shadgard as well. Or was the last time I checked at least.

Reynard · Post by **Reynard** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 10:02 am

[quote=Kiyaani]Seems like the northern forests were left barren[/quote]
=3c

Slaidh · Post by **Slaidh** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 9:37 am

Just a little bump on this. No meat to be found anywhere in the wild outside the Shadgard area makes a sad canim!

KianTheArcher · Post by **KianTheArcher** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 2:19 pm

It'd be nice if you could hunt turtles in swamp areas, since there's swamp in the wilderness now. Maybe with a rare chance to spawn a large and aggressive snapping turtle.

Skjotur · Post by **Skjotur** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 11:33 pm

There are more creatures about, for those who don't know. There are still some areas without anything to hunt but around Mistral Lake, for instance, there are things like foxes, deer, and gophers.

Vertebrate · Post by **Vertebrate** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:12 am

I am a hunter from Oregon, and even with high-powered rifles, hunting is not easy! The time it is easiest is when the animals become accustomed to people being in their area, or when they are in the rut. Further, one shot kills with medieval weapons are extremely difficult without excellent stealth (you have to get really close in, even with modern compound bows, and you have to be an expert archer for consistent lung/heart hits). Lastly, tracking and calling game is a skill that is developed over years of practice.

Trapping is a better way to feed yourself in the wild. Hunting costs too much energy and the return on investment is much lower than trapping. But hunting is definitely one way to feed yourself.

As an anecdote, today's deer will pay absolutely no attention to hunters pointing large guns at them from only a few feet away if the hunter is on top of a horse. They just don't get it. I'm talking like 10 feet. In the open. After they watched you ride up to them from a mile away. It's illegal in many states.