As far as I'm aware, a thread such as this doesn't exist in the suggestion forums. I searched for various terms throughout the suggestions forum and nothing seemed to come up. So I apologise if something like this already exists! Disclaimer: This post is highly detailed and very expansive, it may take quite a lot of effort to read and fully digest. I've spent a lot of time writing it up and I would appreciate it if this thread was kept to the original subject matter; bear this in mind if you're going to respond. If you want more detail on something, I'll happily oblige. Ramblings and my opinion: One primary issue I have with the game currently is your susceptibility to the elements, or lack, thereof. Stand outside on a cold planet, and eventually you'll die from exposure to these 'elements'. In fact, even when deep underground or inside a very well-built house, you will die. Wander around on a hot, desert planet and you'll remain entirely comfortable. While I feel there'd be issues with hot planets eventually killing you due to their high heat (i.e, clothing to make you feel colder doesn't exactly make sense), there probably are ways to make it work; I'll explain these below. That being said, I do feel that an expansive exposure system should be implemented...In fact, I see it as something that's pretty important. If there's a system that exists which can have you freeze to death, why shouldn't it be expanded upon? Suggestions: Alright, with that all out of the way, this is a summary of what I think. Shelter: You've just arrived at a cold planet, it's freezing and your temperature is dropping fast, you dig a small hole, cover it up, set up a campfire and wait for a snowstorm to subside. The storm passes, but it's still freezing. You emerge from your hovel, quickly set up a small cabin and build a furnace. Thick walls surround you as you slowly expand your cosy little safe-haven. Basically, shelter should protect you from the elements - Whether you're on a hot world or a cold one, if you've built a house, dug a hole underground or are mining, this cover should provide some level of safety. See below for an elaborate description on how I think shelter would work. Heating & Cooling: Obviously, even if you're sheltered from a storm, you're still going to be cold without something there to keep you warm. Placing something simple like a camp-fire will provide warmth for a small room, and eventually, as the heat spreads, it'll provide a sufficient level of heat for a larger room. However, building too big a room will be inefficient, eventually heat will no longer be able to spread and in fact, if the room is too big and you're too far from the heat source, you'll be nearly as cold as you would be outside (have you ever tried heating up a hangar?). Same applies if you're on a hot planet. I did see that ventilation items exist. These could work like heat-sources, except provide colder air instead. See below for an elaborate description on how I think heating & cooling should work. Weather: Snowstorms, rainstorms, wind and any other weather effect should create colder weather. You'll freeze quicker in a blizzard than you will on a clear day. Also, when there's terrible weather, your heat sources should have less of an effect when outside. This gives way to a tactical form of survival, instead of simply being able to place down a camp fire during a snowstorm to prevent yourself dying from the cold, you would have to seek shelter, or at the very least, dig a hole. Water: Though this isn't an entirely necessary feature and may be a bit too realistic for some, I thought I should include it just for the sake of covering all ground. When wet, the effects of exposure affect you far greater than they do when you're dry. When you're exposed to the elements and also soaking, even a slight breeze of wind will give you chills. Jumping into a pool of water would be as beneficial on a hot planet as it would be deadly on a cold one. Items: Finally, items. You've built a large house and you're trying to heat or cool down more than one room, to do so, you'll need some form piping or something else to connect a heat or cooling source to other places around your house. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shelter: Shelter should take into account the following things: - Walls - Ceilings - Background walls The key behind a successful shelter is to have it sealed from the elements, ensuring there are no holes or missing blocks. A house with one or two missing blocks will lose some heat, a house where there are no walls will not be able to contain heat. Simple stuff, you get the idea. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Heating & Cooling: Heating & Cooling should take into account the following things: - The width of walls - I - The depth of ceilings - I - Wall and ceiling materials - II - The material of the background walls - II - Windows - III I - It makes sense that the thicker the house, the better it is at containing or repelling high or low temperatures. However, at a certain point, your beautiful achievement in the world of Starbound architecture becomes less "Michelangelo Approved!" and more "Thick-skinned crap-shack." I feel that the best compromise would be to ensure that 2-block thickness is as good as things can get. It would mean that anything above a thickness of two blocks would be down to the choice of the player, and not a forced limitation. On a planet that's either slightly above average or slightly below average temperature, a thickness of 1-block all around will do fine. This changes on planets with severe temperatures, where you will need to build thicker walls with better insulation (see below). II - The material of a building should have an effect on the efficiency of that building. Different blocks should have different insulation properties, listed as follows: 0 = Little to no insulation. 1 = Medium levels of insulation. 2 = High levels of insulation. I don't have a concise list of which blocks are available so I'll just list a few examples for now: 0 (Little to no insulation) - Leaves, glass, open doors, etc.. 1 (Medium levels of insulation) - Dirt, cobblestone, sandstone, dry sand, fine sand, closed doors, etc.. (naturally occurring blocks) 2 (High levels of insulation) - Cobblestone bricks, sandstone bricks, steel blocks, heavy stone bricks, etc.. (player-made blocks) I think that heavy-duty blocks (e.g, obsidian, blaststone...) should maybe have an insulation level of 2? Also, perhaps not all player-made blocks should grant an insulation level of 2, either. What if you mix and match block-types? Perhaps you add a 1 to a 2? You might say: Well that creates an insulation level of 3, of course! But, this wouldn't make sense when you combine 2 blocks at level 1 insulation, as two of them would then be equal to one level 2 block. Here's how I think it should work: 0 + 1 or 1 = Insulation Level 1. 0 + 2 or 2 = Insulation Level 2. 1 + 1 = Insulation Level 3. 1 + 2 = Insulation Level 4. 2 + 2 = Insulation Level 5. III - Windows can do two things: leak heat, and let heat in. Having uncovered window panes will cause your den to lose heat (on a cold planet), and will let in too much heat (on a warm planet). Blinds, curtains and other forms of window cover would allow for you to open your blinds during the day to let in any sunlight, but close them at night to contain heat (vice versa on a scorched wasteland). This would be a nice way to increase player customization while also keeping things practical. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Items: I personally don't like having to place a furnace in each room that I'm working in. Though I'd prefer to live on a colder planet, it's just not worth it currently. My house ends up looking terrible due to having fireplaces everywhere. My suggestion to change this is to allow heat and cooling sources to be connected around a building, employing an iteration of the wiring system that's already in place, that being: You have a tool that can connect various objects, you can only see these connections when the object is in use. Instead of it being a wiring tool that you use, how about a "Piping Tool" or "Insulation Tool," which would allow you to connect a heat or cold source to something that can project heat or cold. Same idea, just a different tool. Heat Sources: Stone Furnace, Heart Forge, Medieval Glitch Furnace, (others?) - Connections: Radiator, Old Radiator Cold Sources: Air Conditioner (doesn't exist (?)) - Connections: Barred Vent, Bunker Vent, Air Vent Oh. Also, lava should make you warm. So should being on fire. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OK. I'm done for now. This is all I've got currently. I've thought about each thing extensively and if I've overlooked anything, or you want to add something for consideration, feel free to share! P.S, Check out my other suggestions: Hotels and Tavern-keeping! Crouching Speeds up Stamina Regain!
Yes! I am sick of the current radial heating system. Heat energy expands through a well-insulated house, not through walls next to a campfire...
Wow you did go into quite a bit of detail with this one. This is the best suggestion concerning this topic I've heard so far actually and I was just thinking my last play through that being in water on a really cold planet should probably make me colder than I was, so you aren't alone there bud.
I'm guessing that expansion through walls will be pretty resource intensive or difficult to implement, but I'll settle for everything else! Also, yeah, quite a bit of detail....I felt a warning was wholly necessary. Yeah, the water thing would be cool also, but that was an after-thought, I felt it was necessary to include but again, that may also be difficult to implement, though I have no idea.
Actually within the first week of Starbound's release I saw someone post a coding method that allowed Starbound's engine to calculate the distance between a heat source and a wall, allowing heat to bounce off of the wall and gradient into open areas. Essentially this would make it so that heat travels into areas near the source, but not penetrate walls and doors. This would also cause exposure (such as an open door) to pull away from the strength of the heat gradient and reduce the heat in the house. I am 100% sure we will see an in depth system for heating and insulation in the future, especially thanks to the modding communities and people like you with good, in-depth ideas.
This is definitely a great idea! I have been thinking about this too. I hope they implement this idea soon!
Seriously? So it's an absolute possibility? That sounds absolutely incredible...If you could find the original thread, I'd love to see it! I feel that certain objects should have varying degrees of exposure, as you've said there for example that doors cause the loss of heat, but I feel there should be more than just doors that cause the loss of heat. Also, thank you very much! That's a lovely thing to say! Or something similar...I feel this encapsulates all that I feel is necessary. I haven't really been able to think of much else to add...
I think this is a great suggestion. Just to add something on there as an idea, perhaps overheating could cause hallucinating or slowdown with less damage?
I just spent a half hour looking for it, but it was posted probably 5 days after release and there are were so many topics then. I'm sure we'll hear about heating improvements soon™.
Yeah, de-buffs would be a good thing to implement in extreme cold/hot weather, but surely cold weather would cause slowness if anything. No idea what heat would cause though... Well! You tried, thanks for looking. I hope you're right!
All this bother over shelters and housing only matters for the planet surface, which is like 2% of any planet. No matter how nasty a cold environment is, it can be permanently conquered by building heat sources. It will never be that big an obstacle and that's okay because Starbound needs low level obstacles. If you want a real eco hazard, start by thinking about things you can't beat with a campfire.
Shelter is still relevant under the surface of a planet. Visit a cold planet and you'll notice that your cold will deplete no matter what level of depth you're in. Sure, you can build heat sources, but it's a pretty unappealing way to overcome the current system. You end up having 5 fireplaces per each room, you need to build one every 6 blocks or so...If you like that aesthetic, then sure, different strokes different folks; each to their own. I personally don't like it and I feel it's a pretty broken way to overcome something. No matter where you are in the world, heating and cold-air typically involves one source (depending on the size of the building), then connections to that source. It wouldn't be too technical an obstacle to overcome. If you want to live on a cold planet, you should be prepared to live on that cold planet. The game should give you immersion; live on a cold planet? You'll be cold if you don't prepare. Setting up fires both restricts what I can put in a building and my own immersion. And as for the clothes you can wear that keep you warm, this is also a restriction. I want to choose my armour no matter where I am, understandable though if I have to put on the Hoth-suit when travelling outdoors, but surely not in the comfort of my own home! If you don't think it's a good idea, what do you suggest would be a "low level" obstacle? Also, sure, but adding things that can't be beaten by a camp-fire would be taking a step into the much too overly-realistic. I merely think that: cold is cold. Hot is hot. You should be able to repel both temperature extremes. I thought about it at work today...When you're cold, you move slowly. Despite the fact that movement is what makes you warmer, you still move slowly. Work was very warm today, and I realised that heat makes you drowsy and induces relaxation. What if cold temperatures gave a slowness de-buff, whilst hot temperatures depleted your stamina slowly? I know they're two similar things, but there's a good divide there.
Well, I guess that works too. Maybe heating could be slowed by eating or drinking certain things, such as ice cream, those whiskey flasks we always find in chests, and maybe a way to collect, possibly purify water?
Cool! Yeah! Good thinking man, that'd be very cool. Perhaps also jumping into pools of water on hot planets would rid you of that de-buff.
They would probably make it so less water appeared on the hot planets. However, it would be nice to purify water with, say, Iodine or something? (yes, the old "Hunger Games" stuff)
