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does it rain too much?


adayfornight

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It rains so often that once you have 2-3 water barrels your set for the game. For a game that asks how will you die? Water, a necessity for life. I believe is to easy to obtain. 

 

While rain itself is a threat to get you sick. I ask what about a drought or other types of dynamic weather? 

 

 

I remember playing before water barrels where implemented. It was so important and stressful to make the trip to the farm (to have well access). The fear of dehydration has been taken away since the rain barrels have been implemented. 

 

 

I'm not suggesting taking the rain barrels out. I just feel like some balancing needs to be done. 

 

My suggestion is to either make the rain barrels harder to craft: more materials or rare materials. making them pouris or something. i'm sure there are other good ideas floating around to solve this 

 

Secondly, Implement some dynamic weather like drought, snow or falling cats :P lol

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I could definitely get behind long periods of drought in the game. Snow would also be interesting at some point. I think having water evaporate from barrels would be helpful for balance as well.

 

However, I really don't think further arbitrarily making something fairly simple hard to craft is a good idea, though. Hopefully it can be balanced in the future by the above.

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Yeah I hope they find a balance in that too. I didn't even had to water once (except when seeding) during my last crop rotation (cabbage). The rain did all the work for me +  full rain barrels. I just ignored the fact that the water shut off doesn't properly work at the moment anyway. Rain seems to be nearly every day or every 2nd day at least, sometimes a few times a day for a short time. It needs to be lowered or we will have full rain barrels all the time. I once watered all the crops (12 "fields") with rain water, but I didn't even see a difference in the water barrel, it looked still full. I was using a small water barrel.

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thats allot of crops to water lol. 

The water shutting off doesn't even phase me either. once the barrels are up i feel no need to use a sink. Half the time i never know when the water even shuts off. 

 

Imagine the fear a drought would bring late game when the water is shut off. Do i water my plants (not knowing how much water is in the actual barrel) or do i drink it. 

 

Other weather changes would be great also. It may be to early for the PZ team to work on something like this. They have plenty to do as it is. 

 

How will you die? Not by dehydration lol. 

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Generally, if you have the materials and knowledge, it is quite easy to collect water in an urban setting. (This assumes that rain is pretty consistent.)

I personally would like dehydration to be a rare thing that only really happens if the player doesn't take the right measures to ensure a secure water supply.

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well i feel like the devs originally wanted the fear of having little water, that's why the water shuts off, thats also why there is maybe only 2 wells in the game (not sure on the count now). They may have changed their direction, i could be completely wrong. 

 

but as of now the rain is always consistent. the only thing that makes building a water barrel difficult is finding a hammer. 

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I do agree that collecting rain as drinking water is in fact pretty easy in real life. But it would at least be a nice feature and more realistic, if occasionally there wouldn't be any rain for 3-5 days so that you have to use up your rain barrels and that if you did not properly manage your water supplies, you get into trouble and may have to eat rotten watermelons or things like that :)

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I do agree that collecting rain as drinking water is in fact pretty easy in real life. But it would at least be a nice feature and more realistic, if occasionally there wouldn't be any rain for 3-5 days so that you have to use up your rain barrels and that if you did not properly manage your water supplies, you get into trouble and may have to eat rotten watermelons or things like that :)

 

Yes, agree with that, bit of drought would be interesting. 

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Water shut off on me on Day 0 with my Build 21 game.  Competely changed the aspect of how the game is played.  Filling bowls, pots & buckets with water can be as important as food or nails.  All the houses within easy walking distance have been exhausted.  I now have 7 garbage bag rain barrels in place, but I am really looking forward to the Carpentry 4 Barrels.

 

I can just go "set up" anywhere.  It used to be a fifty nails, axe, saw and hammer would seem me fortified and a few rains barrels in place.  Now they are fortified, but little more than "just in case" outposts.  I cannot survive some Zed siege if I have nothing to drink!

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Water shut off on me on Day 0 with my Build 21 game.  

 

Don't really like that, would be at least enough pressure for one day. Not to mention it would take a bit before the pumping stations are overrun due to their isolation. 

 

Might be changed when water is expanded a bit more. (Water towers, fire hydrants, ect.)

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I know this may sound stupid but looking at the present and to how many factories there are worldwide and the pollution affecting the rainwater why not just make the water potentially poisonous? I honestly dont know i saw this thought it is a good idea but wanted to elaborate I guess.

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There's not enough pollution in Kentucky for them to have any real safety issues with the rainwater.

 

China maybe.

All the fires caused by the whole "end of the world" thing could lead to elevated levels of acid rain but even then, not enough to cause short term health problems. 

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I don't think the game should be balanced just for the sake of balancing. RJ has said that the weather is done after the weather report of 2011 or something similar, with some randomizing, so it is realistic in that sense. I do agree that there should be some dry seasons from time to time, but not to balance but to create challenges and realistic variety.

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I don't think the game should be balanced just for the sake of balancing. RJ has said that the weather is done after the weather report of 2011 or something similar, with some randomizing, so it is realistic in that sense. I do agree that there should be some dry seasons from time to time, but not to balance but to create challenges and realistic variety.

 

Yes, definitely, that's what I say. Realism before balance unless its game breaking.

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Aye, completely agree. Thing is, though, parts of the southeast get drought all the time. Probably 2-3 years out of each decade have noticeable drought periods. However, if RJ only pulled from one year, that might not reflect that and may not be an accurate representation of their weather at all.

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Aye, completely agree. Thing is, though, parts of the southeast get drought all the time. Probably 2-3 years out of each decade have noticeable drought periods. However, if RJ only pulled from one year, that might not reflect that and may not be an accurate representation of their weather at all.

 

Come to Australia, where fluffy bears will claw your eyes out and rain is so rare you get fines for using sprinklers. 

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Down south you can get fined for using sprinklers, too, during drought periods.

 

I think that is an over generalization.  I know in some areas they do and in some areas they do not.  AND it does not have to be "down south."  When I lived in Colorado Springs in the 90s, some areas fined if you used sprinklers more than X number of days or after Y in the morning.  If you had a drip irrigation system, you could use it anytime you wanted.  They could not see the water usage and so could not fine the home owner.  However, the community had to partol it... not like they had "Lawn Cops" to spare looking for violators.  Down where I live now, they have never fined for water usage and I have lived here for 15 years.  However, I do know of some municipalities that do fine.  Our local water board does look at water running off roofs and people using rain barrels as stealing from the watershed (they called ME out on this).  I actually have four 55 gallon "blue" food service drums to collect rain water.  I use it on a drip system to water my flower beds and herb garden running down the side of my driveway.  I let my kids use temper paints and use their hands as stems/flowers on the blue barrel.  Really cute... all my neighbors loved it.  Some water meter reader took offense and wrote me up.  I told them to pound sand.  They took me to court and I won.  It was not like I was diverting the run off into a personal pond of 10,000 gallon cistern.  The local water authority appealed it and I ran them into the ground with local social media.  Made them look like thugs with jackboots.  They backed off with the negative press though I have been "warned!" 

 

I think it all depends on the local Water Board, County practicies and the availablity of water.  Right now Northern Alabama is fighing with its state neighbors on water rights from rivers.  If you put a damn on a river in one state and the river all but dries up, the subsequent state loses that water that was coming down.  So, who'es water is it?!

 

I think Dallas, TX had the best idea of just putting in their own lakes to be self sufficient (they created three lakes ages ago and are creating another two right now).  Other communities did not want to spend their monies on water and now are suing to use Dallas County's water, even though they did not prepair for it.  The Dallas Mayor said it best, "The Ant that works in the summer, can live in the winter.  The Ant that plays in the summer... starves."  The state courts did not agree with the Dallas Mayor BUT they did agree the areas that did not prepair could not use the water at equal rates.  They have to pay absorbant water rates, with a portion going into a coffer to secure their own water.  Dallas Co is using their portion to help fund their new lake creation.

 

I think if we need to look at the water practices in the actual game area and then draw the conculsions.  Some how I doubt an area as small as the game is looking at water usage in any way, shape or form.

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My point was solely that southern states have periods of drought- you're reading far too much into what I said. They do (and that's just a fact) thus, having droughts in the game is indeed realistic, contrasting the previous statements that droughts shouldn't be added just for gameplay reason- it's both realistic and benefits gameplay.

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