intfiction.org

Background: I'm writing a survival/farming sim, and want to make sure I have as many bases covered as possible. The PC gets to choose equipment before setting off, and I'm sure I'm missing some things, both items and general strategies.

If you were going to be stranded for a long period of time on an island (or an abandoned planet, or whatever your preferred setting is), what would you want to take with you? In one scenario, you can only have what you can personally carry. In another, you've got whatever you want, within a reasonable budget (ie no helicoptors).

What general strategies might you base your equipment choices around?

Things you know about your environment ahead of time: it's temperate, with plenty of trees; it gets cold in the winter and hot in the summer, and it's currently early to mid spring.

Many thanks.

My answers are directly inspired by too much Dwarf Fortress.

Am I aiming to return to civilization any time soon? (Is there civilization to return to?) As in, should I be concerned with things like radios or flares or other means of getting people's attention?

I'm assuming that we're talking about some competent person instead of actual me. Actual me needs good stuff to read while he starves to death, and a Sub-Etha Sens-o-matic Electronic Thumb just on the offchance.

Early spring in that kind of climate seems like it means I could still freeze to death at night, so warm clothes and a sleeping bag. Am I confident that early on I'll be able to find enough fruit to keep me going? Probably not, so some freeze-driedish rations. Firestarting stuff, flint and steel and like that (not sure how much I can count on gathering, though I'm assuming tinder is OK). An axe and/or saw. If potability of water seems like a problem a, well, pot. Something to help me carry things -- a frame backpack with a belt (which also helps me get more stuff if I've only got what I can carry) and some kind of wagon or cart. If it's only what I can carry, I think I still want a collapsible barrow, like an umbrella stroller but with bigger wheels; it folds into easily portable size, but actual umbrella strollers are impossible to maneuver over uneven terrain. Bungee cords. If I can take more than what I carry, I guess some kind of pedicab for fast movement/heavy hauling. And since I'll probably need to do some hunting at first, definitely a sling, which is the only thing I can think of that won't run into ammo problems real fast. I'll still probably starve.

There are a few great books for this kind of stuff; one is Driftwood Valley, which would be for your take-as-much-as-you can scenario.

If you had to travel light, I would still take a rifle; plus sleeping bag, oilcloth/tarp, knife, axe, canteen, pot, rope, and a sewing needle/awl.

You're essentially SOL, but what can be done in that regard has already been done (ie your ship has sent up a distress beacon, etc.)

I'm hoping that eventually civilization will come to you, but considering I'm still trying to figure out the complexities of fire, I don't think you should hold your breath.



Heh. Well, not necessarily. You can, if you like, choose a more skilled character, and easy mode gives you some basic skills. There's some stuff to be worked out there, so that's all I feel comfortable saying at this point, since the skill breakdowns and their effects are kind of murky, and I'm not sure how much customization will be possible ahead of time.



Thanks; I'll check that one out.

How much would people appreciate a prepacked survival kit for a game like this?

Ha, well, I've been pretty impressed with what I've seen of your process so far.

Anyway, that pretty much renders moot my first thoughts, which were more or less along the lines of "how do I get out of here?!"



Hm, that would be one way to play, but I bet that just being put in a setting where you get to wander around and collect which supplies you think you'll want (a general store of some kind, perhaps) would be enough to jog people's thoughts in the right direction. It's a bit harder to pull ideas out of thin air ("I can bring whatever I want? Out of anything in the universe?") than to choose from a concrete list ("Rope! Oh yes, that'll be good. Eh, don't know if I'll need a 5-pound bag of thyme...").

I think the first thing I'd want would be some means of collecting/purifying water. Even a bucket, cup, and saran wrap might be better than nothing. Of course, the usual knives and needle/thread would be there, too (but I carry those in real life, so I barely even thought about needing to acquire them in-game).

A bunch. One of the things I almost listed was "A nice stack of printed-out FAQs on wilderness survival." Also, the player doesn't know exactly what you've implemented, so it's harder to tell what to take -- does not taking the pot mean -2 to your cooking skill or "You have died of dysentery"?

[UPDATE: I see that my thoughts are almost the exact opposites of tove's. But I've been impressed by what I've seen of your process, too. Like, your blog makes me think that this is going to be the awesomest thing ever.]

Thanks! (I edit out a lot of the embarrassing stuff, like "Day 435: Worked on implementing sleep. Basic functionality still escapes me. Left out a semi-colon at the end of a line four times today."



Oh, there will be lists. Yes, indeed. But what I want to avoid is the player going "But I want to try hunting!" and, despite this being a totally reasonable strategy, have no implementation or explanation for its absence. And speaking of that, look into my eyes. You don't want a rope . . . you don't need a rope . . . there is no reason for a rope . . .



Well, as long as it's helpful for someone. I'll add it to the list. And thanks for the kind words.

Oh, and water in general is not a concern for the player. Horrendously inaccurate, of course, but it didn't seem fun.

Man, I've got to find a way to communicate all this to the player at the very beginning of the game without an infodump, don't I?

Okay, what if I appended the help output if the player looks at something during this time? Theoretically, this would be the text that comes up if you type "help on [something]":



It's a lot of text; on the other hand, I'm a little hesitant to write two competing in-game reference guides. I could probably manage a list of categories that the player should try to cover, ie:

I am actually a huge fraud -- I've neither played Oregon Trail nor seen Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

Anyway, if I don't need ropes I guess I don't need bungee cords either. Snif.

[EDITED to use the serial mother-f'ing comma.]