Slight Overheating

[Enter the Wang]

Slight overheating is really debilitating. Without access to termites and a chemistry bench there is no reliable cure. Staying soaked and bedrest doesn't seem to help (chance of it worsening greater than recovery even if back on Island of Hope).

I do like this mechanic, but I think it needs some tweaking. Perhaps a better chance of recovery rather than worsening for the 1st stage so it can be managed without specialist equipment. The thirst increase for the 1st stage might also be a bit too high, but that's less of an issue than not being able to cure it.

[ApricotMigraine]

Heat strokes are pretty dangerous and can easily require hospitalisation. I find it appropriate that you need serious treatment or avoiding if entirely. I disagree that it needs any rebalancing, that just sounds like whining to make it easier to me.
Stay in the shadows, plan your moves, get some thermites and make overheating medicine. It takes more than a day on normal for overheating to become a serious issue and I usually run around with it and treat it before going to bed. I haven't fainted a single time this playthrough but I've been forced a few times to radically alter my plans in order to not die. One involved abandoning Copper Island to go back to Hope Island and make overheating medicine because I had no idea how bad it would get and did not want to risk it. Seems appropriate. The game forces you to adapt to different threats without breaking your balls too much, that's why I imagine it's so successful. It's Survival after all.

[Lord Skarra]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Enter the Wang:

Slight overheating is really debilitating. Without access to termites and a chemistry bench there is no reliable cure. Staying soaked and bedrest doesn't seem to help (chance of it worsening greater than recovery even if back on Island of Hope).

I do like this mechanic, but I think it needs some tweaking. Perhaps a better chance of recovery rather than worsening for the 1st stage so it can be managed without specialist equipment. The thirst increase for the 1st stage might also be a bit too high, but that's less of an issue than not being able to cure it.

STay OUt Of tHE Sun.

Did you not realize this mistake on the first island?
Termites are on the second island? how did you not find them?

[Enter the Wang]

People are writing about heatstroke with the benefit of hindsight and much of the commentary from the peanut gallery seems to be from people playing on lower difficulty settings.

My issue again is that when you are exposed to the heat mechanic there is no foreshadowing or in game learning curve of how to deal with it. You are unlikely to have a chemistry bench in the Buffalo region (or find the copper island chemistry bench) before first getting heatstroke. If you cannot fill your thirst bar to survive 12 hours of accelerated water drain (enough to get back to Island of Hope on the raft without having read the sailing manual) to craft heatstroke medicine, there is a very good chance you will die of thirst. This is the FIRST level of heatstroke that does this. Not the fourth, the first. This is not comparable to any of the other afflictions in terms of seriousness and is thus unbalanced.

Yes its easy to avoid heatstroke once you realise how serious it is. Yes its easy to take a dip once you know how it resets the overheating counter. Yes its easy to treat once you know where the termites are and how important it is to head back early to your Island of Hope base to craft formic acid before you start exploring the Buffalo region.

What it is not easy to do is get to Copper Island on the harder difficulty settings for the first time and avoid getting heatstroke AT ALL without having meta-knowledge. And once you get it, how likely is it that they will prioritise treatment of a level one malady above everything else?

When people got sunburned for the first time, did they drop everyone they were doing and immediately make a mad dash to search for tobacco, and wideleaves? No I'm pretty sure they did not. Well if they took the same approach to 'slight' overheating there is a good chance that would have killed them unless they were lucky enough to have the necessary water stockpiles.

Toxic gas is at least foreshadowed through found letters and you know that its serious by all the skeletons in certain areas in Windy Island. When the first level of overheating can kill you before you can treat it (due to the time & water it takes to get back to your chemistry bench) then the players need to know that they should prepare well before exploring the Buffalo region.

If the devs don't want to make level 1 overheating less deadly then they should also foreshadow it to let players know that this is a real threat (possibly with journals on the shipwreck talking about how important it is to stay cool, explore at night and stockpile medicine before exploring because they lost sailors before they figured it out).

[Dread Arkive]

Fun fact. Getting in the water actually makes sunburn more likely.

[thorpemark]

overheating got me today. I stripped off my leather outfit.. no help. I didn't realize swimming might help. But I began my first exploration off Island of Hope and quickly overheated, drank off the 30 units of fresh water I brought with me.. plus every coconut for miles... sad death spiral..

gonna use Norem's advice about avoiding the heat of the day somehow.

and get this noob move.. had no idea I had 11 points to use on perks until I read a wall on Copper Island and it prompted me about earning a point to use (whatever they call them.. ability points, etc)

[Skolnik]

i eventually had to use my buffalo potion i had found and was saving for a rainy day I love this game but it still needs a lot of tweeking

[WolfensRazor]

I only went out at night on Copper Island for the first week or so. Until I was able to construct better clothing. If you travel only at night you won't get sick. It's also a good idea to take a sleeping bag or portable tent with you there, that will protect you from the sun in an emergency.

[WolfensRazor]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Enter the Wang:

People are writing about heatstroke with the benefit of hindsight and much of the commentary from the peanut gallery seems to be from people playing on lower difficulty settings.

My issue again is that when you are exposed to the heat mechanic there is no foreshadowing or in game learning curve of how to deal with it. You are unlikely to have a chemistry bench in the Buffalo region (or find the copper island chemistry bench) before first getting heatstroke. If you cannot fill your thirst bar to survive 12 hours of accelerated water drain (enough to get back to Island of Hope on the raft without having read the sailing manual) to craft heatstroke medicine, there is a very good chance you will die of thirst. This is the FIRST level of heatstroke that does this. Not the fourth, the first. This is not comparable to any of the other afflictions in terms of seriousness and is thus unbalanced.

Yes its easy to avoid heatstroke once you realise how serious it is. Yes its easy to take a dip once you know how it resets the overheating counter. Yes its easy to treat once you know where the termites are and how important it is to head back early to your Island of Hope base to craft formic acid before you start exploring the Buffalo region.

What it is not easy to do is get to Copper Island on the harder difficulty settings for the first time and avoid getting heatstroke AT ALL without having meta-knowledge. And once you get it, how likely is it that they will prioritise treatment of a level one malady above everything else?

When people got sunburned for the first time, did they drop everyone they were doing and immediately make a mad dash to search for tobacco, and wideleaves? No I'm pretty sure they did not. Well if they took the same approach to 'slight' overheating there is a good chance that would have killed them unless they were lucky enough to have the necessary water stockpiles.

Toxic gas is at least foreshadowed through found letters and you know that its serious by all the skeletons in certain areas in Windy Island. When the first level of overheating can kill you before you can treat it (due to the time & water it takes to get back to your chemistry bench) then the players need to know that they should prepare well before exploring the Buffalo region.

If the devs don't want to make level 1 overheating less deadly then they should also foreshadow it to let players know that this is a real threat (possibly with journals on the shipwreck talking about how important it is to stay cool, explore at night and stockpile medicine before exploring because they lost sailors before they figured it out).

I almost died the first time I went there on normal settings. Didn't understand the severity or how to cure it.

[WolfensRazor]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von thorpemark:

overheating got me today. I stripped off my leather outfit.. no help. I didn't realize swimming might help. But I began my first exploration off Island of Hope and quickly overheated, drank off the 30 units of fresh water I brought with me.. plus every coconut for miles... sad death spiral..

gonna use Norem's advice about avoiding the heat of the day somehow.

I thought the leather clothes protected from sun? I don't get heat stroke anymore on Copper Island while wearing them.

[thorpemark]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von WolfensRazor:

I thought the leather clothes protected from sun? I don't get heat stroke anymore on Copper Island while wearing them.

Oh.. I only said what this noob (me) tried in thinking the leather was the problem. Didn't realize it was the zone and the heat of midday. Did much better the next time but I still don't have enough resources (or the right resources) to set up a salt-water purifier. I'll get there but today I got stuck away from camp and had to hide from the sun in the shade of a stone mine opening. Too funny... getting more tired by the minute but know that is better than overheating.

[Klaynes]

lol I have overheated AND wind chill. WTF is this? I'm in a superposition of fu@%ed

[Arran]

I agree that level 1 overheating has too serious effect. Even flu/ food posioning starts increasing hunger at level 3 as I remember (tier 1 and 2 just lowers hunger bar). Even bleeding wound (tier 3) doesnt cause hp loss, only a bit lower stamina bar (although it may be bug, as description suggests player loses health with tier 3 wound).
Tier 1 overheating should stay in line with other affictions and just lower max bar of ie stamina.

On other hand I really liked adrenaline when I noticed how serious this affiction is - that is after emptying in 1 day all my water flasks. I gathered all fruits, shells and everything containing water, and just before return I eat all to fill water level to 100%. I survived back trip with like 10% hp left :) (game suggested Ill be fine without losing any hp, but I suppose it doesnt calculate affictions).
But that should happen when affiction gets worse, not at tier 1. And to make things interesting basic medicines shoudnt instantly cure - it should remove risk of affiction worsening, improve chance of recovery and may have small chance to cure instantly. But usually time should be needed for recovery to happen.

[Astrobia]

I'm a new player that's largely avoided spoilers from wikis and the forums and such up to now. Started playing on hard with whatever the mode that gives you 5 lives is called. Died about as many times as I found living water on the island of hope so I'd call that fairly balanced from a new player perspective.

Not knowing what to expect I massively over prepared before heading to the buffalo region. Went with enough dried food and water to last a month and building supplies to immediately drop a dock and shack with tipi, water distiller etc. Wasn't expecting the next region to be divided into 4 but I'm cool with it. Loot the Santa Maria, get told to go to the copper island. Sail to red island, oh this is the wrong one? Moving on. Oh cool that one has something spinning on it, windy island and without even landing on it I'm getting wind chill, definitely moving on.

Arrive at copper island at sunset. Land by the shipwreck, go diving and get the toolset (now soaked), use the box in the half of the ship on land to store some stuff from the Santa Maria so I'm not overloaded while I look around for the best place to build the dock and set up camp. Hopefully can quickly spot the Spanish camp I'm supposed to be looking for. Find some coffee, the cannonball tree (harvest one of those to get the materials studied). Get attacked by spiders, avoid poisoning and can finally complete the powdered snake/spiders thing I've been drying all those rattles for. Investigate if the buffaloes are aggressive.

Eventually I climb the nearest cartographers tree and get ready to map the place as the sun comes up. There's a bed in it? Neat I can rest the last two hours until morning and get my fatigue up. Oh a book? A cartography book? Well obviously I want to read that before I map incase the perk improves the result (the first of the many disappointments about to unfold).

So standing up the top of the cartographers tree, as a matter of habit I move into the shade before triggering a 6.4 hour reading process as soon as the sun rises. No taking damage, well of course, all my fatigue is gone, long interactions do that... Wait... I'm out of water to? Oh okay, no time for mapping, back down the tree to get that other cannon ball. Eat that, thirst sorted, now to start moving back to my boat for it's better bed... I'm dying of dehydration again before I get there? Before I get 10 feet?

It's at this point I open my statuses and discover I have level 2 heat stroke. A disease I can't treat, didn't know existed, probably shouldn't have contracted. To recap, that nap I took before sunset? No healing bonus because of the soaked status from shipwreck diving. I had full sun protection on. I was in the shade (I can only most generously presume in the 6 hours of reading the sun moved so I was out of it then kept moving until I was back in it). There is no way I could have anticipated the horror that followed as a months worth of water basically turned to sand in my mouth in mere hours.

It's honestly kind of funny. But what bothers me about heat stroke isn't that it exists or needs to be managed. It's just how lazy it is. My immersion was already kind of broken when the wind gave you the flu... A disease you can only catch from other people... Of which I've yet to meet one since the ship wrecked. A mild pneumonia would make sense (and no, they didn't used to call that the flu too, it was known as winter fever). But whatever I can see hypothermia is also potentially a future mechanic I'll have to deal with from bed stats. They wanted a companion disease and they named it wrong, so what, it's a common mistake.

But now having dealt with heatstroke it feels more like the couldn't be arsed. Forget the flu not spreading like flu... Heatstroke doesn't behave at all like heatstroke. Yes you could conceivably contract it in 6 hours, to severity that could hospitalise you yes... But by the games description that would be level 5. Level 2, or moderate heatstroke shouldn't banshee cry destined to slowly kill over 30 hours as you drink all the water in the Nile.

At first certain mechanics in the game bothered me. A chance to burn myself while cooking because I'm tired? Irritating. A chance to cut myself picking coconuts off a tree? Also annoying. However, there is depth to that and I like the challenge and planning it introduces. A chance to cut myself while forming a clay pot because it's dark? Okay that one is just stupid and we start to see where a good mechanic becomes a bad one by just being repeated ad hoc without rhyme or reason.

And that's where we are at with heat stroke. It's just a clone of every other disease with identical mechanics lazily copy and pasted. It doesn't at all represent the disease it's named after. Heat stroke doesn't get worse after you leave the heat. It doesn't make you need to drink 10 times as much water, and drinking water actually treats it. Most nonsensical of all...

Treating heatstroke with termites is like treating hypothermia with ice cream. Heat stroke causes acidosis, which you treat by consuming a base like bicarb soda... Not flipping formic acid which will make it worse. Is the game trying to encourage people to kill themselves? Never try this in real life. How did the devs even come up with this? F-- grade survival simulation right there.

Anyway shoving my face full of moss (I was already dehydrated, what did I have to lose?) and sleeping in the Santa Maria's ship beds with improved disease recovery chance eventually stabilised me from a nonsensical drama the game shouldn't have cast me into.

In summary, first impressions from new player: Decent and fun game foundation, gets lazy and nonsensical after the introduction and what looks like in depth survival mechanics turn out to be smoke and mirrors to give the illusion of in depth survival mechanics as they later devolve into mindless slap dash padding later on.

Good start, lots of room to improve. Devs, please keep working on it.

[Cougarific]

Yes, the game uses game mechanics to push you to craft new armor sets and new treatments.

Everybody overheats on their first visit to Copper island. Then they craft the next armor set and some overheating treatments and it stops being a problem.

[MTZIGG]

SEAWEED is your friend