Basic needings

[kilozombie]

Bathing and tooth-brushing are not necessary either way. They can sometimes be good but in a zombie apocalypse they’re time-wasters and open you up to get eaten.

I’ve not heard of any other survival sim that has it, and most are more realistic than Cataclysm.

[xxrogxx]

yes, I’m sorry about the “shut up”, anyway my idea is giving more chance to take disease i know isnt the BEST IDEA but more ways to get a disease it will be awesome, not only FOOD POISONING

[ejseto]

Bathing and tooth-brushing are not necessary either way.

Perhaps not necessary in a “real” zombie apocalypse, but I could see the use of including things we would normally consider luxuries in such desperate situations. After all, morale is pretty important to character growth in the game. Also, zombies do have a sense of smell. The player’s scent could be changed to be a variable quantity based on activity, last bath time, etc. Any water source could be used for a makeshift “sponge-bath” that would reset the player’s scent, but only using a bathtub would give a morale bonus. There’s value in adding bathing that adding excretion doesn’t have. Excretion, as a game play mechanic, wouldn’t really be any different than eating or drinking, and doesn’t add anything interesting in terms of game play; it’s just a chore you have to perform every so often. Bathing on the other hand fits in well with 2 mechanics already in the game, scent and morale. It’s also a lifestyle choice with benefits and drawbacks, as opposed to ingestion and excretion, which are absolutely necessary for life and not optional.

In fact, the very fact that bathing is not absolutely necessary to sustain life is a reason FOR adding it to the game, not a reason against it. Choices, and the attendant consequences, are always a good thing.

[Pthalocy]

Interesting point: Bathing gets dirt off of you, yes. But if you have cuts and scrapes as is very very common in this game, and the water isn’t BOILED, all of it, then you risk introducing disease through the bath water itself.

Sure you can boil water to make it clean in-game, but think of how much energy that takes. After using up so many resources to make it safe you would want to drink it instead since that will actually keep you alive longer than a bath will.

It is possible, but it is very wasteful of resources.

[iceball3]

[quote=“Pthalocy, post:13, topic:1419”]Interesting point: Bathing gets dirt off of you, yes. But if you have cuts and scrapes as is very very common in this game, and the water isn’t BOILED, all of it, then you risk introducing disease through the bath water itself.

Sure you can boil water to make it clean in-game, but think of how much energy that takes. After using up so many resources to make it safe you would want to drink it instead since that will actually keep you alive longer than a bath will.

It is possible, but it is very wasteful of resources.[/quote]Can’t you just chlorinate the water for this purpouse instead?

[deadmerits]

While bathing would have minimal effect from the smell perspective, given how much more likely it is to be heard or seen, it should/could have a nice moral effect to have a warm shower or bath, possibly fueled by a gas heater. The negatives of which would be the exposed part, chance of attack or being surrounded while you are enjoying a luxury you haven’t had for a while and don’t know when you’ll have it again.

[Pthalocy]

Can't you just chlorinate the water for this purpose instead?

Okay, that’s actually a really good point and I don’t quite have a comeback for that one.

Tangential thoughts: I would want to look up the amount of chlorine required to make water safe for bathing in just to see how far a gallon of bleach can go.[size=7pt] (swimming pools use more since it evaporates over time and generally adding more people means adding more crap what needs disinfecting.)[/size] Not sure if the bath water would also be considered drinkable, since it would be really easy to pour in too much bleach and render the thing not-so-great for your insides.

[ejseto]

[quote=“Pthalocy, post:13, topic:1419”]Interesting point: Bathing gets dirt off of you, yes. But if you have cuts and scrapes as is very very common in this game, and the water isn’t BOILED, all of it, then you risk introducing disease through the bath water itself.

Sure you can boil water to make it clean in-game, but think of how much energy that takes. After using up so many resources to make it safe you would want to drink it instead since that will actually keep you alive longer than a bath will.

It is possible, but it is very wasteful of resources.[/quote]

I don’t see why that would be so wasteful. There’s wood EVERYWHERE, and nobody to complain if you bust down their doors and furniture to get it. Based on the number of zombies vs. the number of NPCs I tend to encounter, it would seem Earth’s population has dropped less than 0.1% of what it was before. Resources are abundant. If YOU were actually in a zombie apocalypse, assuming you weren’t constantly running for your life, wouldn’t you take a bath sometimes? Fill an oil drum or some such with water and place it over a fire, let it boil and cool, instant hobo bath. Not very luxurious, but, assuming you’re not in any immediate danger, it’s preferable to being unwashed for weeks. They could also add a shower as a car part that would run off a tank of clean water, heated by the vehicle’s fuel source.

[Miloch]

I’m sure some of the more expensive RVs have built in showers (never stayed in one). Also they have camping showers. Basically just a bladder you hang off a tree limb. As for hygiene being important… Definitely. I was soldier for almost 11 years and I spent plenty of time out in the “field” (aka away from civilization). You start to stink pretty quickly without a bath/shower. Especially with no deodorant. This would have game effects pretty quickly as raiding town at night would become problematic when the zombies can smell you from a mile away… Also hygiene helps prevent disease of course. Then of course, moral would up considerably after a hot/warm shower. You try going for several days without a shower and see how you feel after being able to take one.

[Nopkar]

Basic bodily functions: I don’t think so.

basically that’s getting into the realm of nit-picking and just disgusting facets of the game. I understand the premise but honestly, gameplay wise, what does it really offer? It really subtracts more than it adds in most cases.

+1 for trying

Bathing: THIS is a suggestion that’s been talked about I think and most of the problems have been reiterated here in this thread as well. It’s easy to build a small fire, warm a drum of water suspended a few feet in the air and run a hose and shower head off of it to take a nice warm shower using gravity and some scraps.

is this needed? nope. stand out in the rain or something, use the soap then. but as a luxury item I vote it in with a huge morale boost that gives diminishing returns the more you use it. maybe once every 4-5 days for optimum morale boost?

the goal here is to add a feature to the game that increases gameplay, not one that forces players into a disgusting corner every few hours >…>

complexity is nice and is inherit in roguelikes but having a cascade effect where it ultimately kills my character because I forgot to dig a hole and do my business… no thank you.

[iceball3]

[quote=“Pthalocy, post:16, topic:1419”]

Can’t you just chlorinate the water for this purpose instead?

Okay, that’s actually a really good point and I don’t quite have a comeback for that one.[/quote]
Having those words addressed to me feel like pure euphoria. Thank you. X3

[halberdsturgeon]

I’m pretty happy to be able to say that I’ve never played a roguelike which required me to simulate the four minutes per day I spend using a toilet.

[Pthalocy]

iceball3: Heh heh, savour that. I don’t like arguing to win.

[kevin.granade]

Bathing might be something that gets added, partially for scent reduction (since monsters track you by that, which will have even more effect once stealth is in) and partially for the morale thing.

The others range from “not interesting enough” to “hell no”.

[Miloch]

I tend to agree with Kevin about this. Though I would like for us to be able to gather water from sources other than toilets.

[KA101]

Recommended water sources (note: purification/boiling still necessary)

1. the Funnel. Deploy it outside during rain, then have containers on your person and examine/don’t disarm/specify to fill them. Theoretically rainwater gathered this way is the safest non-Clean water available, at 1/10 chance for poisoning and guaranteed low-intensity poisoning if it happens.
2. Mansion swimming pool.
3. Isolated lakes (clumps of River tiles, rather than a River).
4. Riverbank (Dangerous, thanks to swamp spawns on the outskirts.)

Hoping that helps.

[iceball3]

[quote=“KA101, post:25, topic:1419”]Recommended water sources (note: purification/boiling still necessary)

1. the Funnel. Deploy it outside during rain, then have containers on your person and examine/don’t disarm/specify to fill them. Theoretically rainwater gathered this way is the safest non-Clean water available, at 1/10 chance for poisoning and guaranteed low-intensity poisoning if it happens.
2. Mansion swimming pool.
3. Isolated lakes (clumps of River tiles, rather than a River).
4. Riverbank (Dangerous, thanks to swamp spawns on the outskirts.)

Hoping that helps[/quote]getting poisoned from bathing in it seems to make little sense given that such sources are generally bathed in irl with low repricussions. i can see a murky pool being more gross than riverbanks. nevertheless, to get any poison at all implies that the simple act of swimming through it will leave you poisoned.
especially the funnel water. if acid rain gets in then just checking whether it is acidic or not should be sufficient enough.

[kilozombie]

People who bathe in rivers for fun often aren’t covered in zombie scratches and bites. AFAIK that would be a bad thing, and Cataclysm water is even dirtier and more polluted.

[Tripsky]

especially the funnel water. if acid rain gets in then just checking whether it is acidic or not should be sufficient enough.

fills barrel with acid rain. begins putting NPC/zombie corpses into it

if bathing gets implemented for scent reasons, does that mean we will also get soap/deodorant/the ability to shave armpits?

[iceball3]

[quote=“kilozombie, post:27, topic:1419”]People who bathe in rivers for fun often aren’t covered in zombie scratches and bites. AFAIK that would be a bad thing, and Cataclysm water is even dirtier and more polluted.[/quote]Well assuming it is around Hudson River On A Bad Day levels all the time, then boiling it wont make it safe to drink, you’d literally need to re-condensate it or filter, the former of which would either lots of energy or time.
Even then, you’d get chemical burns from it, which would just deal very slight damage all over, realistically.