Vitamin Bar suggestion

[Caudill 2]

Hey folks, maybe I don't fully understand the current system, but it seems a bit complex for new players.  I thought I'd offer a suggestion that would keep the concept intact, whcih I like, whlle simplifying the system for new players and perhaps for the design and dev teams.

Why not have simple bars that can be empty, giving a debuff or overfilled, giving a debuff? 

I think going over could even possibly be removed, especially since it is painful in colder climates to keep up enough calories while being careful not to overdose on some vitamins.  I think in real life, most vitamin overdoses are simply excreted with little harm.  Is there enough gain from this design to warrant the current complexity level?  I think we all have our darling ideas that wefall in love with, but I wonder if this one couldn't be made better by being stroipped down quite a bit.

 

Proposed system:

- Simple 100 points vitamin bars for A, B, C and D

- Eating the correct food keeps the bar from reaaching zero by some vitamin richness amount

- Allows for quality of foods to come into play in a more intuitive way.  Foods may say "Vitamin C - Rich, Average or Poor", giving 5, 10 or 20 points to the bar of 100 C vitamins

- Current feats could be modified to improve the bars in an intuitive way. Ex: "Hardiness increases vitamin bars by 10".  This give a bigger range to keep from the floor and ceiling in a simple way.

 

What do you guys think?  I think this keeps the survival aspect, while simplifying it enough that players could focus on being pirates, rather than dieticians.  It's simple enough for new players who will understand that empty bars are bad.  Advanced players can increase the size of their bars, cook better food that provides more nutrition and generally pay less attention to this part of the game, allowing them to get on with pirating!

 

 

 

[ZeroSkills 12]

How about removing it? It adds nothing to the game and just makes the eating system convoluted.

[Hary0n 10]

I actually don't see any problems with current way. Adding this "rich, poor" stuff would make it even more complex and complicated.

Just keep it all in the middle or above, easy and nice.

Try to eat all the ingredients together as they seems to give a buff to each other and fills you better.

Crafted food is even better and stays fresh longer. 

Vitamins system is a bit too harsh but is it really complicated?

[SoloHan88 23]

I think it just needs removed. It's literally my least favorite feature. The food needs to be adjusted too. I shouldn't need to eat 500 times a day.

Edited December 28, 2018 by SoloHan88

[ZeroSkills 12]

Is this a pirate game or a dietary simulator?

[Caudill 2]

I think it seerves a purpose in the flavor of being a pirate game, as scurvy is associated with pirates.  Perhaps more descriptive anesm would better communicate this with players.  For example, when C reaches the bottom, you get the "Scurvy" debuff and a message that tells you that you need vitamin C.  A warning at 20% could let players know that if they don't find some C soon, they will develop scurvy.  Perhaps having them all be a slow death is also not the best solution.  Maybe scurvy could result in 20% lower combat damage and a slight 10% movement debuff.  After an hour, you die from it.  That might give player smore a of a chance to fix the problem, rather than just bleeeding out slopwly, as many are doing now.  I think it's a bit too punishing now, especially for new players.  The vitamin debuffs could stack to become a real problem, but just one vitamin deficiency should probably not be a game-ending problem.  Scurvy take s a long time to kill a man, especially a tough salty dog!

From Wikipedia:

Scurvy

Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C. Early symptoms include weakness, feeling tired, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding from the skin may occur. As scurvy worsens there can be poor wound healing, personality changes, and finally death from infection or bleeding.

Edited December 28, 2018 by Caudill

[ZeroSkills 12]

All they did was take swamp fever and make it more annoying.

[Caudill 2]

It sounds like some players think it is unecessary and some don't think it's too complicated, even though the one above sounds unsure exactly how they influence each other. Heh!  I am also unsuire how the "equilibirum" of nutrients works and while wondering about it, it occurred to me that this complex a nutrition system might not be adding much of value to the experience of this game.  It certainly is a detractor for many players.  Anyone in a starter zone will see how many are not pleased with the current system.  A simpler system might please players who aren't especially enamored by it, while giving those who like it some satisfaction of managing another set of values for survival.

[Caudill 2]

I like the idea of minor debuffs that stack to create a real problem, so I'll run with it and add Rickets, which is a vitamin D deficiency.

When your D level reaches zero in the proposed system, you get the "Rickets" debuff and get -%20 to intellect, which is of little importance in the early game.  In addition, your muscle spasms make aiming difficult and cause your aim reticule to jerk around, making spear throwing and shooting a bit more difficult. (There is probably already some kind of library for bloom on cone of fire in the game.)  You get a 1 hour timer, as with scurvy that will kill you outright if you don't get some D vitamins within an hour of game time.

You usually catch fish by stabbing with javelins, so this should not punish new players too severely, but later game shooting and magic (INT debuff) would be more affected.

 

From WIkipedia:

Rickets is a condition that results in weak or soft bones in children. Symptoms include bowed legs, stunted growth, bone pain, large forehead, and trouble sleeping. Complications may include bone fractures, muscle spasms, an abnormally curved spine, or intellectual disability.

[Caudill 2]

Vitamin A deficiency (no snappy name available):

Players who don't get enough vitamin A will be given a one hour death timer.  In addition, visibility at night is reduced by half unless a torch is lit or near a fire or other light source.  This is to simulate night blindness.  In addition, all vision will become slightly blurry periodically for a few seconds, approximately once per minute. A full screen blur effect should be cheap on machine resources.

Link to reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_A_deficiency

 

Vitamin B deficiency (Beriberi):

At zero B, players get the "Beriberi" debuff.  Players who don't get enough vitamin B will also be given a one hour death timer as a hard enforcement of the vitamin system. Beriberi causes -20% intellect, -10% movement speed, diarrhea and vomiting.  When stacked with the other movement impairments and deficiencies, this presents a real problem!  Each one should not be a game-ending position, unless left unattended for an hour.  In conjunction with other deficiencies, players could be punished severely for not attending at all to nutrition.  

Link to reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiamine_deficiency#Beriberi

[ZeroSkills 12]

Might as well throw in cancer and leprosy while we're at it.

[Caudill 2]

That's actually not a bad idea!  Maybe there would be leper colonies where you could get leprosy and you can only be cured by advanced medicine skills or a priest. Hah!

 

Cancer means you pretty much just die.

[Caudill 2]

Has anyone suggested other ways to simplify the nutrition system?  It seems overly complex for many players for the gain in enjoyment from managing such a system.