Bay 12 Games Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

Author Topic: A few suggestions for animal people.  (Read 899 times)

oliverrook

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
A few suggestions for animal people.
« on: January 24, 2017, 08:03:23 pm »

Ok, so, I posted something similar to this in the adventure mode section ( sorry by the way, a bit new here ), and got pretty good responces why my initial ideaz wouldn't work. I do however, have a few more to share, that I've refined a bit for my current understanding of the game.
1. I feel like animal people should have a little more difference in their field of view and other senses. For instance, irl a fox can hear a soft footfall on damp ground from almost two football fields away. However, they also have rather bad vision during the day, and can't see much color, and can't tell red from green at all. This could be implemented by making it so they can hear sounds and conversations from farther away, but have reduced vision during the day, as well as have difficilty distinguishing things based on color, ie not being able to tell if an object is be red or green. Similarly, a bat that uses echolocation might be able to see or sense things around corners where they normally wouldn't.
2. In my previous post, I mentioned how flying squirrels couldn't glide. By this I meant they couldn't go across say a small stream or river without swimming. In addition, they couldn't avoid certain ground based traps. I feel like a system where an appropriate creature could go a certain distance avoiding certain obstacles that are in the way, provided there isn't something above them that they would bang their head on.
3. I feel like tail blades should be a thing.
4. I feel like creatures with venom should be able to have something they can use to siphon or inject it into for later use, such as selling it, or using it as weapon poison.
5. Similarly, I feel like creatures who have scales or feathers that are valuable could remove them at the stakes of them possibly needing to bandage or care for the wound, and use them in similar ways.
6. This is a bit more intense, but certain creatures, such as specific species of lizard, can regrow their tails. I'm not saying that it would be a good idea to go and loose it, however. I think that, if something happens to it, like it breaks or gets crushed, that cutting it off might be an option, as it would return over time.
7. Animal familiarity. I am NOT saying that a animal person should be able to just go up to their counter part like old friends. What I am saying is that animal people should have a certain affinity with nature based on the roles of their animal counter parts. Like for instace, wolves might be slighty more lenient with wolf men being near them, maybe giving them a block or so extra when deciding whether they're a threat or not. I also feel that animal people of the same race should get huge bonuses when taming their own animal kin, as they would know better than almost anyone what their species desires and dislikes, giving a huge advatage in the taming process.
8. Natural enemies. I feel that, even if they are civilised creatures, two animal people whose counterparts are natural enemies should have a bit of a harder time getting a long, if for no more reason then subconscious distaste, similar to humans for insects. They could get over this difference of course, but as an initial meeting, this would most likely come into play.
Logged

Sbcc

  • Bay Watcher
  • [MALFUNCTIONING]
    • View Profile
Re: A few suggestions for animal people.
« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2017, 10:15:26 pm »

Some of these ideas are very good, and some are just unreasonable, like the skinning yourself alive.
Logged
To the beer!

FantasticDorf

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: A few suggestions for animal people.
« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2017, 04:49:59 pm »

Ok, so, I posted something similar to this in the adventure mode section ( sorry by the way, a bit new here ), and got pretty good responces why my initial ideaz wouldn't work. I do however, have a few more to share, that I've refined a bit for my current understanding of the game.

~SNIP~

Thats a big'ol wall of text you got there buddy but lets take it apart. Im pleased you took my advice to bring it over to the suggestions forum, its the right place.

1. Colourblind dog men (all for it), vision is already affected in darkness so a opposite weakness to bright light/day isn't a bad idea, if it was inflicted partially with cavern adaption that'd make it much more detrimental to keep dwarves underground all the time (beside vomiting).

Smelling already exists (dwarves are better than dogs at smelling, could be changed), and hearing could be simulated by having damage done to your ear area to make you blind to tracking from noises/bad sneaking, if you are deaf & blind you'd literally have to feel your surroundings.

2. Always flying creatures (monarch butterfly men etc.) already don't touch the ground and can fly over floor obstacles using (<) & (>) if there is headroom, a ability like jumping to extend & glide like you describe without touching the floor sounds nice, but it shouldn't be TOO cheesy to avoid traps.

3. A tail with a edged 'club' or shape attack isn't unreasonable, depends on what the tail is attached to (a monstrous FB with a whip like tail for killing armoured dwarves?) obviously fantasy races get more advantage and opportunity to use this kind of thing.

4. Totally, milk yourself of venom (for a long cool-down of a week+) using a vial (a small glass handheld container for extracts) then pour it on, sounds good.

5. I would disagree with that, that'd be too easy for gathering material & quite unrealistic. (skin shedding isnt in the game)

6. That would be extreme tissue regeneration in a particular concentrated area, something like that exists already but in certain creatures it could be maxed out (axolotls and some salamanders can also regenerate parts) like you describe so you don't have to spend very much effort healing certain areas if you play a creature who can do that.

7. I like the idea of same animal neutrality, i dont think it should be guaranteed though (strike or act aggressive and they attack you like normal). Named creatures (from killing sentients or becoming historical) should always be hostile to you so you can go hunting them for quests.

8. That would probably be a [SPECIFIC_FOOD:SOMETHING] trait, say if a wolf had a [SPECIFIC_FOOD] of a caribou, a wolfman & a caribou-man should not get along because it is their natural predator - prey relationship they recognise, not that they can't be friends with effort but they just wierd each other out talking to one another.


So yeah, i think most of your ideas are pretty good when you take a moment to properly think about how they might fit into the future of the game.
Logged

Hinaichigo

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: A few suggestions for animal people.
« Reply #3 on: February 18, 2017, 01:47:46 pm »

I wonder what's going to happen with animal people though in the myth update. Maybe the lore generated then will make the relationship between them and normal animals more (more than the current lack of any exposition) clear.

Some of your suggestions would would probably become available with the ability to cut off your own finger, etc. which I believe is planned.
« Last Edit: February 18, 2017, 01:49:40 pm by Hinaichigo »
Logged