On Starbound's Systems - Part I: Hunger

I think this game has huge potential, but some of its core systems seem poorly implemented. Of course this is beta, but what better time to bring these concerns up?
I start today with Hunger.

Hunger
Issues: It's at best an anti-AFK tool; at worst, the bane of all large construction processes (which require time for block placement, removal and design deliberation). Hunting, farming and cooking are all interesting systems, but when hunger is so binary (you are fine until you are dead), you are not really thinking about it until it's almost a problem, and then you probably will not be prepared.

A solution: A possible solution would be twofold - it would need to make hunger relevant and make hunger manageable (that is, something that doesn't punish people who go take care of a crying baby or a dog on fire).

Making it relevant
A solution to relevancy would involve tying hunger to another problematic system: health regeneration. Beds and bandages are not exactly efficient (burgers do a much better job at healing), but since hunger is somewhat flawed, a possible solution would be making your health regeneration scale with hunger levels.
Additionally, to make it less daunting but still a factor to keep in mind if you are building, hunger should slow swing speed and reduce block placement range, but only when really low.

For example:

• With hunger above 75%: Beds regenerate 25% health per 2 seconds, bandages regenerate a total of 30% health, other sources of healing increased by 25%.
• With hunger between 50% and 75%: Beds regenerate 15% health per 2 seconds, bandages regenerate a total of 30% health.
• With hunger between 25% and 50%: Beds regenerate 5% health per 2 seconds, bandages regenerate a total of 20% health, other sources of healing reduced by 25%.
• With hunger below 25%: Beds regenerate 1% health per 2 seconds, bandages regenerate a total of 10% health, other sources of healing reduced by 50%. Penalties to swing speed and block placement range.

This would make hunger affect your scouting, questing and spelunking ability, as sustained damage is harder to recuperate from. It does not, however, affect you that much if you are building.

Of course, this would mean removing death by hunger.

Making it manageable
This is simpler: make hunger tick down when moving, swinging or placing blocks, and let people AFK in peace.

On food buffs
Interesting concept but it seems poorly implemented as well. I think these buffs should be:
- Mutually exclusive.
- Long-lasting.
- Narrow in focus.
- Provide NO healing.
This way, there's a specialty food for each situation - and it removes the role of burgers as the ultimate healing item.

For example:
- Eating a Burger: sates X% of hunger and provides a 1 hour buff that increases mining speed. Doesn't stack with other food buffs.
- Eating a Roast Dinner: sates X% hunger and provides a 1 hour buff that increases movement speed. Doesn't stack with other food buffs.
- Eating Sushi: sates X% of hunger and provides a 1 hour buff that reduces damage dealt to the character. Doesn't stack with other food buffs.
And so on and so forth.

 

If I'm standing in a line, doing nothing but wait I still get hungry. You know what I'm saying?

But agree with your hunger x Hearth Reg system,

 

Eh... regen should be very slow. Bandages and a bed still need a purpose. Because raw alien meat is a dime a dozen easy to get once a steel bow or hunting knife have been acquired, no one really should be starving... ever. Additionally, special foods can be choked down for their buffs despite the character being full. Requiring some hunger before one can eat food is an okay approach I guess, but I really hate short lived buffs.

There's a potential way to make the hunger system practical, but this is going to be a personal opinion.

Foods beyond "cooked alien meat" are intended to provide buffs, and wouldn't you know it, there are 10 pips on the hunger bar. Instead of providing a very temporary buff on consumption, the buff's time limit should be tied into the hunger bar. Eat a food that increases jump height, and for each pip filled this way jump height is increased by X% per pip, and it stays this way until say maybe 2 bars of hunger are lost, removing a pip of the buff. In this way, a player can increase their jump height a maximum of [100%] or they can mix and match buffs for a balanced diet. However, there are two conditions: Only 10 pips worth of buffs may be active on the character, so the oldest pips are replaced with newer pips, and the bonuses only apply when the character is actually hungry.

*Jump height is just an example buff.

 

An interesting idea:
Add a Statis field item or somesuch. You drop it on the ground and use it, you become effectively not there.
Consider it a placed pause button.

First Tier of the item just pauses hunger, you still may grow cold and die, or get attacked and die.
Second tier of the item pauses hunger and cold, but enemys can still damage you.
Third tier of the item removes you, even enemys will phase through your space.

All tiers will pop you back in if another player mines the object (so it isnt a pvp immunity tool).

This would be a way to give an emergency pause button, especially if you are just playing solo anyhow. It is an alternative to option 2 on making hunger more managable.

 

Log off, perhaps?
Going AFK in a bed supposedly freezes your hunger. Build a quick dirt cage and you can pause at pretty much any time.

 

UPDATED MAIN THREAD WITH FOOD BUFF IDEAS.

I think you musst have misread my post -- I said that being full should make bandages and beds provide higher regeneration -- making them MORE useful in higher tiers of content.

Interesting idea, should also stop health regeneration so its not a Get Out of Jail Free Card.

 

now if bandages and beds heal you at a higher percentage rate when you're full vs. running on empty it would be easier to accept.

 

There's always an official Creative Mode like in Minecraft, too. Survival Mode for the people who want things like a hunger system to keep track of and Creative Mode for the builders.

 

I have to agree that hunger as it is now is lackluster and your idea is a valid and acceptable measure to improve hunger mechanics.

 

Why play half the game? I'd rather play the survival game when I'm off gathering materials, but switching into a less EAT OR DIE based game when I'm in a walled off area constructing makes more sense to me -- plus, having the ability to go AFK on a pinch also helps.

 

I'm okay with hunger draining at a set rate, as long as they add a pause function for afk. But I agree, hunter could be tied to health regen and it'd make it much more important than just "EAT OR DIE". The same could be accomplished by adding some type of "well fed" buff that boosts regen when you're at the top two bars of hunger.

 

I hate it when hunger kills me while I'm saving dogs on fire.

 

I think the hunger system is pretty good, many foods do heal, and I never starve. I have made 2 vegetarians...you can easily play without farming or with out meat....it is your choice to play how you want. I really like games where I can do what ever crazy thing I decide and still be able to have fun.

 

I love everything you have to say here, and support this completely.

 

Maybe a full hunger bar can improve stats, not just health regen. For example: 100% full health bar grants small buffs in attack, mining speed, movement speed, or maybe even jumping height. anything less wouldn't have any buffs, and less than 50% hunger can have debuffs in those stats. I also thing that having an empty health bar shouldn't result in instant death, but should just leave you with some really bad stats. 30-40% lower strength, speed, mining speed, etc.

 

The problem with this approach is that you are encouraged to eat EVERY SECOND to maintain 100% health.

Also, lower run speed while hungry makes it harder to go make yourself some food.

 

The Lower stats shouldn't occur until you're at or almost at no food, and there is nothing wrong with keeping yourself full on hunger, that's what I do.

 

Seems somewhat unrealistic, but yeah, I proposed basically this on the OP!

 

If you're at a stage to create a large scale building you should have enough food to last you through it at the very least.

 

You've clearly never done it.