The Case for Air Conditioning and Realistic Cooling (make interior temperatures matter)

[Addica]

Zomboid lacks realistic ways to deal with heat in the summer.

Winter is a serious event, if you don't manage to get some form of heating you will freeze; This makes sense in a realistic survival game.
Summers, however, are easy by comparison, as long as your house has power you're good, most houses don't get too hot inside anyways. 
I think however the inclusion of cooling systems is a much-needed addition to the game if we want to realistically depict surviving in a zombie apocalypse.
Heat-Stroke is a serious thing and is a big part of managing one's survival in the summer, especially if there are zombies about.

Entering an apartment building and climbing 8 floors during a heatwave when the power is off,
would be absolutely brutal for example, many people would struggle and would need to plan for that. 

 

Imagine just how hot and humid these rooms would be when it's 30 °C (86 °F) and there's no power.

I also think this feature is important because it affects map design, and the longer we wait on implementing realistic interior heating/cooling, the more work mappers will need to do when it is to be implemented down the line. 

I've attempted to find the code that deals with interior temperatures but it seems to be hard-coded into the game, so this is something that can't be easily modded in;
Thus I must appeal to the Indie-Stone gods.
Here's why I think cooling is a huge missing piece of zomboid's mechanics.

Historical Precedent

Before the widespread adoption of air-conditioners in the early 1900s, finding cooling was a huge part of daily life in the summer.
Many buildings often got too hot for staying in long term and had to be designed to allow a considerable draft or have other ways of passive cooling.

Because summers could get quite hot, people would spend particularly hot or humid days outdoors, at pools, in shaded parks, and at beaches. 
They would have to dress lightly for the season, and plan activities accordingly if the weather was too difficult. 

Electric fans helped some buildings keep a moderate draft, helping interior temperatures some, but it wasn't until AC that our behaviors towards indoor spaces changed completely. 

Now people could stay indoors all summer without worrying about overwhelming heat or humidity, and they didn't have to dress as lightly.

Proposal 

Zomboid needs a realistic interior temperature system, no more magic interior temperatures (although a sandbox option should be there). 
and with it should allow for the addition of ways to deal with heat.

Basic ways I think it could be done is by adding items such as:

• Fans
  • Standing
  • Desk
  • Ceiling
• Air Conditioners
  • Window
  • Centralized (Outdoor unit)
• DIY Evaporative Coolers (Swamp Coolers)

 

Some of these systems rely on lower humidity and so high humidity can be a dangerous phenomenon.
Fans and especially evaporative coolers are less effective the more humid it is.

Air Conditioners remove humidity from the air as well as cool it, however, they are a bit loud and require electricity.

Also maybe outdoor temperatures could use areas (such as forest, deepforest, etc) to determine local temperature,
making areas with lots of trees, or areas near water, cooler than urban areas or open fields. 

I hope this gets attention because dealing with heat in the summer is a big element of a realistic survival game that we are just lacking at the moment. 
Any thoughts?
 

Edited August 15, 2023 by Addica

[PoshRocketeer]

So uh, who said we need realistic temperatures?

[Addica]

I mean the game goes through enough effort to simulate a whole semi-realistic metabolic calorie system; The game even tracks humidity already in the ClimateManager.
Having realistic temperatures fits the vibe that the game is going for I suppose. We already basically have a realistic temperature system, it just hasn't been implemented for buildings yet pretty much.
Tbh I think the Devs intended to make this feature at some point and just have been focused on other things.

The option *not* to have those settings should be available, but players who want a realistic experience would benefit from this mechanic I feel.

There are players that bring up air conditioning on discord, steam, and reddit discussions  
So it is something people would appreciate I think.

Edited August 16, 2023 by Addica
Photo links didn't work, removed for clarity

[PoshRocketeer]

16 hours ago, Addica said:

I mean the game goes through enough effort to simulate a whole semi-realistic metabolic calorie system; The game even tracks humidity already in the ClimateManager.
Having realistic temperatures fits the vibe that the game is going for I suppose. We already basically have a realistic temperature system, it just hasn't been implemented for buildings yet pretty much.
Tbh I think the Devs intended to make this feature at some point and just have been focused on other things.

The option *not* to have those settings should be available, but players who want a realistic experience would benefit from this mechanic I feel.

There are players that bring up air conditioning on discord, steam, and reddit discussions  
So it is something people would appreciate I think.

Air conditioning is cool, but going ridiculously in-depth to the point of having to do math just to determine whether or not you can reliably climb up a few sets of stairs without croaking is very much not

[Addica]

15 hours ago, PoshRocketeer said:

Air conditioning is cool, but going ridiculously in-depth to the point of having to do math just to determine whether or not you can reliably climb up a few sets of stairs without croaking is very much not

Who says you need to do math?? I'm just suggesting that trying to carry 50+ pounds of loot out of a building while it's sweltering hot out should rightfully be difficult. 
Again though, I think there should be an option to toggle it. 

A proper interior temp system would also allow for things like walk-in freezers maybe which could be cool.
It also is more things for people trying to level electronics to interact with.