Intro
As some of you already know, I'm the one responsible for coding animal domestication.
It's a quite special task, because it is long expected by many and also has top priority, because of Linda Powers raffle wish - it has broken our long discussion impasse and we were finally able to finish main part of the discussion and start with details.
There is lots of work to be done to have it working, but a few days ago I started and I'm progressing well. I'll show you some secrets about how it will work and, of course, some screenshots, to be sure you trust me.
Main idea
Main objective was to make animals something more than dead objects. For me especially important was breeding and herding (pack-based), for the other most important were possibility to transport, pet and give them a happy life.
It looked like it's a problem impossible to solve, because carrying and weight is thing exclusive for objects (as you learned upon recent conversion of clothes) and it would be hard to distinguish actions possible for animals and control their population if they would be objects. It looked like a dead end, but it didn't force us to radically simplify the system. We were all waiting for that so long that I'm sure making animals just portable machines isn't what players are waiting for.After some discussions and many ideas, I decided to proceed with quite risky idea - merge both systems to use their advantages and avoid their flaws. It meant two times more work, but when goal is clear then way must be found
How can it work?
First of all, take a look on new animals page. It's almost ready, so you can expect it will look like that:
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There are some predefined actions which can be available for domesticated animals (milking, shearing, collecting) but not all of them for all types of animals. There's also "separate from a pack" button if you want to pick one animal from a pack and treat it individually (as an object) to move it etc. For (some) wild animals there's option "Taming" which is to get domesticated animal.
I'll try to tame ocelot, so I selected that animal, then "taming" and pressed continue. Now there's a work to do.
Taming project is similar to any else, can require specific tools etc. hovewer, there are some differences: there can be only one animal of a type tamed at the same time, project can be successful or fail (there are animals easier and harder to tame, so don't give up after first try). If animal will not become friendly then it can even attack you.
This time we were lucky:
Events wrote:Project Taming ocelot has been finished successfully.
It means I have a new animal of new type - that ocelot looks quite friendly. It stays on the objects page next to his new friend - domesticated horse - which was tamed earlier.
hunger level will be visible in the future
There's not much to do now. I can pet that animal (smile icon) or join it with a pack (arrow). These icons are just placeholders. Final ones are undecided, but it's still fun to pet ocelot. I can also try to pick it up (but it's a bit too heavy) or drag (which isn't easy either). Let's see...
Hmm, my pet is hungry, but I can't do anything with that, because feeding animals is not implemented yet. It will be presented in another preview.
Afterword
Well, it doesn't look like much, but it was quite hard to make it work. Beginning is usually the hardest part, so you can expect more progress (and previews) soon. There will be revealed information about things not mentioned here: animal raw production process, population limits, feeding animals, butchery and possible other uses. Please, do not ask about these things now, because I'll not be able to give proper answers. Also remember that some things are not final.
Short Q&A:
Q: Will it be possible to tame every species of animal?
A: No. Every domesticated type is separate from wild one and it's for RD to decide which animals are domesticable and what are their parameters.
Q: Will it be possible to hunt animal in object form?
A: No and that's one of the reasons why we go with dual system. Animals on objects page are always healthy (I know problems regarding that but I also know how to deal with them). It's only possible to hunt domesticated animals in packs.
Q: Will it be possible to tame ocelot in the real game? It looks so friendly! Please, please, pleaseeee...
A: Probably not, domestication system isn't made for that kind of animal. But I'm not the (only) one to make such decisions.
Q: Will it be possible to separate animals from a pack and steal them immediately?
A: Yes, but maybe it'll be possible to build additional structures (like locked fences) to make it harder. But, you know, it's owner's work to stop the thief. Other thing goes with newspawns, but they have no vehicles and it's not possible to hurt even small animals immediately. It can be also decided that action requires special tools like a harness. Your chickens will be safe.
Q: Are wild and domesticated types of the same species independent?
A: Basically yes, but there can be some rare situations where one depends on another. They'll be provided in another preview.
Q: Are new domesticated animals born in the way it works for the wild ones?
A: Yes, but reproduction chance will be based on some more factors.
Q: What about animal mounts as alternative for cars? It wasn't mentioned anywhere.
A: It wasn't because it's not planned in first revision of the system. It's big enough without add-ons. But it's something what I really want, so don't worry.
EDIT: Q&A section will be expanded eventually.
