Please don't add falconry

[Xanton]

So I've noticed that falconry is something the devs are interested in and have included on the survey. While I appreciate this might seem an attractive idea, I think people have a lot of misconceptions about falconry. As somebody with a lot of experience working and hunting with birds of prey, I can tell you that this will not create interesting gameplay. At best it would be a minigame.

The truth of it is that in real life, the bird does all the work. The role of the falconer is primarily in the training and preparation of the bird, flushing out the desired game, dispatching prey, and selecting a location and overall strategy. Strategy may just includes the start location of the hunt, according to wind direction, topography, most likely location of prey etc...

I've been on hunts with harris hawks where we've arrived, released the bird into a nearby tree and before we've even had the chance to get out the ferrets, she's already caught a rabbit. For this kind of hunting, the skill is in the knowledge and dedication of the falconer over the months and years leading up to the hunt. You could have just basic experience with falconry and take out an experienced and well-trained bird and it will likely catch something, provided you're in a good location and the weather is right.

I don't see how this could be implemented into a game in a way that would be rewarding. At best it would be a visual spectacle that's completely luck-based... at worst it would be some horrible minigame where you have to actually control the bird. Unlike shooting, the reward for falconry is all in the training of the birds and enjoyment of seeing them hunt.

My advise is to not waste your time with this. There's a reason there's never been any falconry games... and where falconry has cropped up, it's always been a side-activity or minigame.

[Dizzy]

+1

[❄️The Last Frontier 😊]

If it was implemented right I would not mind this feature personally!

[Evil Ways]

What? how about they fix what we got first. Holy Crap. How about they take the trashcan lids off that have been ductaped to my hunters feet first.

Personally I think Steam needs to list this game as Early Access Beta.

[❄️The Last Frontier 😊]

Originally posted by EvilWays:

What? how about they fix what we got first. Holy Crap. How about they take the trashcan lids off that have been ductaped to my hunters feet first.

Personally I think Steam needs to list this game as Early Access Beta.

I agree bugs need to be top priority but when time is right I personally wouldn't mind seeing this feature added but I never said it should be top priority over fixing bugs!

[Kulavak]

You forgot to mention the flaming hoops you have to jump through from a paperwork standpoint to keep birds of prey in captivity. I agree with you - I feel the same way about misconceptions about "catch and release" hunting in the form of tranquilizers. Skips over waaaay too much crap, and gives people very wrong ideas about it.

[Kasiornis]

Well, it can be implemented as semi-supportive feature in capturing and killing critters like rabbits and lesser birds, but me personally cannot imagine walking around days and nights with a bird (who will make sounds and stuff, wasting my bush ninja skills) just for some small game. If it can't hunt bison - why do I need it then?

It can be, as well as fishing, can be added in the end of dev road as mini-game with some cosmetic rewards. But not now, when we need more locations and animals and TROPHY LODGE.

[Xanton]

Originally posted by buckskinmare:

You forgot to mention the flaming hoops you have to jump through from a paperwork standpoint to keep birds of prey in captivity. I agree with you - I feel the same way about misconceptions about "catch and release" hunting in the form of tranquilizers. Skips over waaaay too much crap, and gives people very wrong ideas about it.

With regards to hoops, there aren't too many tbh. In the UK at least. I think in the USA it's quite regulated, which is odd because most species in the USA are less regulated than in the UK. It's certainly illegal in the UK to capture any wild birds of prey, due to the wildlife and conservation act. But here, as long as the bird is bred in captivity, you're free to keep it in captivity regardless of the species; however, you need a license to hunt with it.

But yeh, it's not a sport where you can just skip over stuff. The actual hunting is just a tiny part of falconry. Most of the real work (other than getting out of bed on a cold foggy morning in november) is done at home. The hunting is just a bird of prey doing it's thing. The falconer is only there to release and retrieve the bird, and to ethically dispatch prey. Inbetween that, the bird is basically free to do whatever it wants. It picks its trees... it picks its prey and chases it on its own terms etc.

[Xanton]

Originally posted by Freshwater Shrimp:

I'd rather shoot the birds tbh

Why EW didn't have bird species on release, i will never understand.

[NuCkEnFuTs]

I think people would stop playing once they figured out just how many hours are spent training. Before you could even think about hunting with a falcon. Of course the game would have this time line condensed.

[Xanton]

Originally posted by NuCkEnFuTs:

I think people would stop playing once they figured out just how many hours are spent training. Before you could even think about hunting with a falcon. Of course the game would have this time line condensed.

Well most of the training isn't even particularly exciting from a video game perspective anyway. It's more of a taming process than a training one. Getting the bird to a stage where it's comfortable being handled by a human, and where it has a strong enough association between the falconer and it's food supply that it will return after a hunt. Everything else is an out-of-the-box feature with birds of prey ^^... It's not a particularly difficult process. It's more about time and dedication.

[MasterLingChi]

Originally posted by EvilWays:

What? how about they fix what we got first. Holy Crap. How about they take the trashcan lids off that have been ductaped to my hunters feet first.

Personally I think Steam needs to list this game as Early Access Beta.

Agree!

[Kulavak]

Originally posted by Xanton:

Originally posted by buckskinmare:

You forgot to mention the flaming hoops you have to jump through from a paperwork standpoint to keep birds of prey in captivity. I agree with you - I feel the same way about misconceptions about "catch and release" hunting in the form of tranquilizers. Skips over waaaay too much crap, and gives people very wrong ideas about it.

With regards to hoops, there aren't too many tbh. In the UK at least. I think in the USA it's quite regulated, which is odd because most species in the USA are less regulated than in the UK. It's certainly illegal in the UK to capture any wild birds of prey, due to the wildlife and conservation act. But here, as long as the bird is bred in captivity, you're free to keep it in captivity regardless of the species; however, you need a license to hunt with it.

But yeh, it's not a sport where you can just skip over stuff. The actual hunting is just a tiny part of falconry. Most of the real work (other than getting out of bed on a cold foggy morning in november) is done at home. The hunting is just a bird of prey doing it's thing. The falconer is only there to release and retrieve the bird, and to ethically dispatch prey. Inbetween that, the bird is basically free to do whatever it wants. It picks its trees... it picks its prey and chases it on its own terms etc.

I'd argue Europes laws are less regulatory. Here in the US, you may not keep native birds of prey at all in captivity without special permits even if they were bred in a captive facility. You need special permits per the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to even be able to have study-skins or feathers. As a falconer, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has a right to inspect you at any time and may revoke your falconry license at will, and sieze your birds. If that isn't regulated hard, I don't know what is. Even when I worked for Fish and Game we were not allowed to keep dead raptors or feathers without very special permits. Rehab facilities needed to have the same licenses as falconers.

[NuCkEnFuTs]

Originally posted by Xanton:

Originally posted by NuCkEnFuTs:

I think people would stop playing once they figured out just how many hours are spent training. Before you could even think about hunting with a falcon. Of course the game would have this time line condensed.

Well most of the training isn't even particularly exciting from a video game perspective anyway. It's more of a taming process than a training one. Getting the bird to a stage where it's comfortable being handled by a human, and where it has a strong enough association between the falconer and it's food supply that it will return after a hunt. Everything else is an out-of-the-box feature with birds of prey ^^... It's not a particularly difficult process. It's more about time and dedication.

My Dad use to breed birds "Amazons", (not falcons) and had many other species, best to handle from birth that's for sure. much easier.