Shelter 4 Sea and Sky

[TheAnzuGod]

I know while S3 is fresh out of the gate. It is way too early to be pondering over another sequel. But none the less i think it's a fun topic to discuss and speculate.

For Shelter 4 i'd like to bring up Seabirds, specifically Wandering Albatross, a bird known for spending a lot of time out at sea, only returning to land to breed and raise young.

In Shelter 4 the game is set on one of the subantarctic islands near New Zealand and Tasmania. And you will play as a female Albatross, obviously. You spend the game taking care of your two chicks from the time they were laid as eggs, to the time the fledge. In Shelter 4 there aren't many predatory threats to your young, however starvation is a big killer of young birds. So you will have to go out to sea, and hunt fish for yourself and your chicks.

Biomes / dangers / neighbors
1. Island.
The Island biome is the "hub" of Shelter 4. It is where your young are raised. And also serves as the prologue and tutorial to get the player used to being a bird and finding food, the island is mostly home to other nesting birds. But you can also find Little Blue Penguins and Seals. It is the safest place in the game for the adult bird. However Skuas hunt eggs and chicks. So you will need to watch for them.

Once the player finishes the Tutorial, the game then cuts to the mother bird as an adult incubating the eggs. And this serves as the first challenge. You have to sit on the eggs to keep them warm and safe from predators, and you can do so for the entirety of the incubation period if you so desire. But you can also go out to sea and hunt. Doing this builds up stamina so you can fly for longer and farther once the chicks hatch. This will also lessen the chance of predators spawning once on the nest. A healthy bird is a strong bird.

However in doing so, this puts the eggs at risk for getting cold, and has a higher chance of predators spawning. If the eggs hatch they will instantly cry out for food after a short cutscene. At this point the game truly begins.

2. The Shallows
The Shallows are a relatively peaceful area of the map, where you can find other sea birds, playful Hector's Dolphin, Southern Right Whales and your main source of food. Small schools of fish. You can find these fish by looking for large dark shadows below the surface. And you catch them by diving down on them from the sky. If you try and swim towards them the shadow will disappear. The Shallows are the safest place to find food as there are no predators. However there is a higher chance for your catch to be stolen by swifter birds. Once stolen you will have to go back out to sea and try again. Taking valuable time that could be spent feeding your young.

3. The Open Ocean
The Open Ocean is the most dangerous part of the map, but is the best place to get food without competition. It is also obviously the farthest away from your hungry chicks. Here you can find Brydes Whales, Antarctic Minkie Whales and the predatory Orca. Here your biggest predatory threat are the Orcas, like the fish they initially appear as dark shadows that can easily be confused for your prey. But to distinguish the Orcas and your food, look to see how many dark shadows there are. If there's one big shadow, it's fish. If there are many, they are Orcas. Besides Orcas, occasionally there can be violent storms that can get you lost, or worse knock you out of the sky if you stay too long.

These are my ideas for the potential Shelter 4 sequel. I hope this was atleast remotely interesting.

[Miko]

If foxes are a reasonable animal for a shelter game I'd love to see it in shelter 4. Maybe set it in the same place as shelter 1.

Level 1:
Place: Forest
Your a fox mother with four hungry fox cubs and a forest full of prey to hunt and scavenge. Hunters are indeed a danger in this forest though,which causes you and your family to move away from your den. In the last few minutes you spend in this level,A new feature is introduced: Stress. Your stress goes up when your near danger. At max stress,the players screen with go black and when you wake up,one of your babies will be gone or injured.

Level 2:
Place: City
Upon fleeing the forest,you and your family arrive in a busy city full of traffic and humans. The dangers in this level include cars,humans and pets like dogs. Your only source of food here is leftover food from bins and the odd rat. Stress will play an important role in level 2 since dangers are around every corner. Your best bet here is to get out as soon as possible.

Level 3:
Place: Forest from level 1
Dangers: Fire
Hungry and weak,you return to your first home only to find its now gone up in flames. You make your way through the fire and avoid smoke in this level. Though not as stressful as level 2,this level with challenge even the most skilled of players. Clouds of smoke will pass through this level. If you don't keep your cubs close,one will get lost in the smoke and die.

Level 4 (FINAL)
Place: Riverbank
After fleeing yet another dangerous area,You and your remaining cubs find yourselves on a riverbank. A thunderstorm starts raging and waves start growing in the river. You and your cubs must travel along the riverbank to safety. They'll be rare safe places where a skilled player can catch fish for their starving cubs. You will hear rushing water and thunder when a big wave is coming. You will need to rush away from the riverbank slightly and rapidly press C. C calls your cubs to you and alerts them of danger. If you fail to do so,One of your babies will be snatched away and swept downriver. At the end of the river,you will be faced with a bright green meadow with plenty of prey. Well done,you have completed the fourth instalment of shelter.

Achievements:
Flee the forest (Complete level 1)
BANG! (Encounter a hunter for the first time)
Long grass (Shelter in a grassy den)
City of doom (Complete level 2)
Whose a good doggy? (Watch a small dog fetch a bone)
Beep beep- SCREECH (One of your cubs get ran over by a car)
For me? (Steal a humans food)
Smoky senses (Complete level 3)
Up in flames (See a tree catch on fire)
Dark wind (One of your cubs died in smoke)
Safe or not safe? (Hide behind a burning tree)
Rushing waters (Complete level 4)
A green feeling (Complete the game)
Thunder at a cost (Thunder strikes the ground near you)
Down,down,down we go (One of your cubs got swept downriver)
Fishy food (Catch a fish)

[mewag3]

Shelter 4: Hunter and Hunted

i think maybe coyotes, if anyone plays WolfQuest Anniversary Edition coyotes are pretty annoying and in general coyotes are pretty under ratted of the three main canids of north America, so it would be cool to see it from their perspective.

In Shelter 4 the game is set in Elk Island National Park, A.B, Canada. You are a mother coyote with her pack of three consisting of your mate and two surviving pups from the year before, you and your family will have to raise your litter of 6-3 pups. there are three dens to choose one in each biome/habitat, one in the forest in the crevice of tree roots, one in the plains that you will have to dig, and one in a rock crevice in the rock fields. it will be similar to Shelter 2,
There are lots of dangers not just from predators (expect foxes) but also from large ungulates such as Bison, Elk, and Moose.
The Main prey will be Hares, voles/mice, birds(water fowl, quail, sparrow to robin sized birds in the forest, and bird eggs/chicks/fledglings that fell out of the nest) , fish, insects, berries, carrion, and in the summer young mule deer and elk.

Dangers/areas

The Forest is a safer place with small prey berries and fir trees and poplar trees, though there are bears/black bears, and cougars and wolves(uncommon) foxes, and mule deer. it has a den.

The plains is the Main focus of the Game has Quail, Hares and voles, (with insects and berries) its very open and grassy (hence its name) most of the animals you encounter are here, there is and road that goes though, the den is close-ish to it and is a safe den from most predators like bears and wolves but eagles are a big danger in the Plains,
non prey/predators are Bison, Elk, Moose, Wolves, Grizzly bears(uncommon), Foxes, mule deer, eagles, And cougars(rare).

The rock Fields are a sub area with Hares and voles it might be the most Dangerous area as obstacles make it hard to hunt and avoid Predators there is a den here but it is the hardest, eagles are the biggest threat.

The Marsh is the most bountiful area with water fowl, muskrats, and fish its a safe-ish Area with mule deer, elk, bears wolves, foxes and eagles. carcass a quite common.


You can go to a wolf den and kill their pups but is very very dangerous.
eagles cannot kill you but obvious threat to your pups.

Achievements:

Conning Smarts (finish the game)
Wolf Pack Rising (finish the game without losing any pups)
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner (hunt a quail for your pups)
Street Smarts (spend most of your time raising your pups near the road)
Life In The Bush (spend most of your time raising your pups in the forest)
Fisher (hunt a fish for your pups)
Semi Aquatic Life (finish the game in the marsh)
Monster (lose a pup to a bear)
A Lift to Heaven (lose a pup to a eagle)
Our Worst Enemy ( lose a pup to wolves)
Take That Back (go to a wolf den and kill a wolf pup without dying)
If it's Too Big Find The smaller Version (hunt a mule deer fawn or elk calf)

[MihaiF]

I would do something a little bit unconventional. I would do sabretooth tigers, with snowy landscapes and sunny landscapes. You may ask where is the danger, if sabretooth tigers are on top of the foodchain. Well, while the sabretooth mom is a like a living tank, the cubs could be weak, and things like direwolves, cave bears, angry mamooths could be a danger to them.

[AriDoesThings]

i dunno, but i would love some kinda scavenger that would like to eat the leftovers from bigger, more formidable predators. maybe hyenas or coyotes?

[dukegrimm]

Not sure, but I'm going to put something out there. For every Shelter game, there's been a kind of mothering theme. In Shelter 1, it's a more linear game where you go through a specific set of narrative and challenges until the game is complete. For Shelter 2, it's more of an adventurous and exploitative game where you can do a lot more and have very different experiences; for example, you can go to different areas (the map is very large), have different skins, face different predators (Mountains DLC), etc. In Shelter 3, it's about choice—would you rather take this path or that path? So Shelter 4 might be something different. I'm not sure what, but I'm definitely excited!

[Ally]

I really hope we do get a Shelter 4. A lot of the staff were let go recently, so they're in some rough waters right now for developing games.

I just hope they can find the motivation and passion again to give us more for the Shelter series. Something bird related WOULD be pretty cool. Maybe penguins? Or the iconic hawk?

Or maybe like a pod of whales or dolphins if they go aquatic. It has to be something that fits the family and motherhood theme they have going on.