Wildlife, Ecosystems, and Travelers

[Pipyui]

Watching the Rezzed video and hearing talk of creatures that are meant to fit seamlessly within their environments got me to thinking - if the room exists for such polish, I would also like to see more wildlife scattered around, maybe even hints at ecosystems existing.  Simple things like birds flying above/between trees, fish (maybe jumping upstream), the rare dive of a bird of prey to catch a fish in a river, or a fisherman leisurely casting a rod in the shade, skittish deer with faun, occasional trade caravans traveling or camping by the roads, bees and butterflies floating about, rodents scattering into bushes on your party's approach.

 

These little things are not uncommon in RPGs, but I always appreciate the little extra touches thrown in to help immerse me in a world teeming with life and (in the case of traveling caravans) economy.  While they may seem insignificant, I feel they can be important to creating a living, organic landscape, and would love to see such things taken the extra step in Project Eternity.

 

Such are my thoughts anyway.  What about the community's?

Edited June 22, 2013 by Pipyui

[SunBroSolaire]

This stuff would be great, if they can fit it in. The trade caravans and random travelers in New Vegas made the world feel more alive and gave an explanation for the merchant's frequent restocks. Finding bear caves and hunting deer were some of the funnest parts of Skyrim. And of course, the wolves in Arcanum :D. 

 

If they have time, I'd love to see this stuff, but I guess I would put it as a lower priority.

[JFSOCC]

Well I don't think your thread is going to get much discussion, I think everyone is on the same side here.

[Sacred_Path]

One of Josh's tweets mentioned ambient sounds. So while you may not see a dozen squirrels at one time, the environments will seem alive.

Edited June 24, 2013 by Sacred_Path

[Lysen]

Don't make wolves always hostile to the player please) I am really tired of this cliche.

[Lephys]

One of Josh's tweets mentioned ambient sounds. So while you may not see a dozen squirrels at one time, the environments will seem alive.

Well, we could just rename this thread "Ambient Sights."

[Sheikh]

All the stuff mentioned must be fairly rare/occasional, otherwise it will look like fairytale land.

[LadyCrimson]

Pigeons in the park, squirrels in a tree, a rabbit running across the path, housecat sitting in a cottage's yard. These sorts of things would please me. I won't cry if they're not there, and I don't want them every five feet, but ... yes, they would please me.

 

And yeah...wolves/general animals that are instant enemies as soon as they sight you from across the way - I could do without that. Maybe if you're real close to an actual den or something, but unless they're devil wolves sent out by the Evil God to harvest a daily quota of souls, it'd be nice if most of the time they didn't attack unless you attack first. Or something.

[Nonek]

I really can't count the times that my old hound has woken up from snoozing on my slippered feet, to look at me in puzzlements as i've dispatched yet another dozen or so wolves. I think it's the realistically recorded dying yips that upset him so, and i've got to admit I feel a bit like that well known butcher Lara Croft as she hunts down the worlds few remaining endangered species.

 

Bit distasteful considering how few recorded wolf attacks on mankind have ever occured

[Lephys]

... What if the wolves have SOUL MAGIC? O_O!

 

Really, though, they should probably only really stand their ground/fight you when you're wandering into an area they would likely try to protect, like a fresh kill/feast, or their lair/wolf-cub nursery.

 

Sure, SOMEtimes you might come across some hungry, hungry wolves, whose desperation for food overrules any other instincts for the moment. Still, though... especially in a game where random wolf kills won't really necessarily gain you anything, it'd be nice to see them either avoid conflict all-together, or to use "I'm going to try to drive you away from this delicious food" tactics, in which, beyond a certain threshold, they finally just say "okay, this isn't working, and it's likely I can't take on these creatures and live. Let's just go, even though I don't want to."

 

Even ANIMALS do that to each other. Bear vs. wolves. T-rex versus Raptors (of course, raptors ALWAYS win that one...).

 

In seriousness, though, self-preservation is one of the most powerful instincts common to pretty much all natural things. It's far more potent than other-depreservation. Let's put it that way.

Edited June 27, 2013 by Lephys

[rjshae]

The Witcher did a nice job with some of the ambient stuff. Not sure this project has the budget for that type of miscellanea though. Maybe it's something the modders can add in later?

[sarkthas]

I think polish like that is something some modders will try to do, regardless of how nice the vanilla game is. There's always some extra detail you could add, not that there's anything wrong with thinking like that though.

[Pipyui]

Yes, not all wolves, tigers, bears, should be hostile unless provoked (or otherwise desperate) - forgot to mention that one.

 

And of course, the modders!  How could I forget about them?  Considering that being (if all goes well) modder-friendly was a solid factor driving my backing of this project.

 

I don't need birds clouding my vision and rodents harrying my steps.  In fact, if some elements are rare enough to surprise and dazzle me after many hours of playing, I'll be delighted.  I was just hoping that with all of the emphasis that Obsidian is putting into turning the static environs of IE into more dynamic wonderlands in PE, that I'd see a few birds, insects, rodents, predators on the prowl (though not necessarily for human(-esque) meat).

Edited June 27, 2013 by Pipyui

[Lephys]

I don't need birds clouding my vision and rodents harrying my steps.  In fact, if some elements are rare enough to surprise and dazzle me after many hours of playing, I'll be delighted.  I was just hoping that with all of the emphasis that Obsidian is putting into turning the static environs of IE into more dynamic wonderlands in PE, that I'd see a few birds, insects, rodents, predators on the prowl (though not necessarily for human(-esque) meat).

*Nod*. Signs of life are a part of the atmosphere, just like the complete absence of such ambient signs of life is a huge part of the atmosphere of a game like Fallout.