Animal Information Thread + Poll (A17 Updated)

[MultiDavid]

I am pretty sure that capybaras cannot, as I have never seen one in testing nor A12. As for the intelligence, I have done it on the basis of their capabilities, i.e Advanced = All, Intermediate = Obedience and Release etc.

Well, yes, but i have 3 tamed boars and all i can train them on is the ''master'' thing and release :O

The capybaras were in the jungle, if i recall correctly.

[LouisTBR]

It must be something in the new update, but it wasn't mentioned in the changelog. As for the capybaras, thanks for the info. If there's one place I don't play in it's the jungle!

[TLHeart]

I am pretty sure that capybaras cannot, as I have never seen one in testing nor A12. As for the intelligence, I have done it on the basis of their capabilities, i.e Advanced = All, Intermediate = Obedience and Release etc.

Well, yes, but i have 3 tamed boars and all i can train them on is the ''master'' thing and release :O

The capybaras were in the jungle, if i recall correctly.

wild boars are advanced intelligence, and can be trained for everything. Now if the are juvenile boars they can not be trained to haul or rescue, until they become adults. It is a size limit.

[MultiDavid]

I am pretty sure that capybaras cannot, as I have never seen one in testing nor A12. As for the intelligence, I have done it on the basis of their capabilities, i.e Advanced = All, Intermediate = Obedience and Release etc.

Well, yes, but i have 3 tamed boars and all i can train them on is the ''master'' thing and release :O

The capybaras were in the jungle, if i recall correctly.

wild boars are advanced intelligence, and can be trained for everything. Now if the are juvenile boars they can not be trained to haul or rescue, until they become adults. It is a size limit.

Hmm... i see, i need to recheck their sizes then.

[LouisTBR]

I AM STARTING THE NEW UPDATES NOW - TEMPERATURE RESISTANCE - TO ENTER NEXT WEEK'S DRAW, PLEASE SUGGEST DOWN BELOW AND HOPE YOU WIN!

[MultiDavid]

Bumping this because it is usefull.

( also, i want market value per age if possible )

[A Friend]

I found Live Cobra farms to be a very nice source of income.

In a Tundra biome, I bought a bunch of cobra eggs from a trader and tamed those who managed to survive the cold. I let them grow for a year and every month or so, they give me 5-9 baby cobras that I sell for 48-55 silvers each on the market.

[LouisTBR]

Really? Interesting... I don't play on the rainforest map any more (no particular reason), so I won't have experienced this. Still, any source of income is worth it!

[LouisTBR]

Hi everyone, shameless self-promotion here! Just wanted to bring this topic back up to hopefully resolve some issues that people may have been experiencing. Also, I may begin the update process again 

[LouisTBR]

Bumping this because it is usefull.

( also, i want market value per age if possible )

Oh, interesting. I will try to make this happen 

[mokonasakura]

Personally I don't like any of them, the idea is cool but not executed in a good way. You don't want to keep pets for food for the "time you need food" because they will eat 10x the amount that they will give you if ever you reach that time. You don't want them for attackers because until you get a hoard of them they are useless and getting more colonists that can actually help out instead of just eat food would be much more beneficial. Then there is hauling, not even half of the animals are able to do it and the ones that can will just sometimes when they feel like it, do it.

[TLHeart]

Add in that the nuzzle mechanic is broken and the pets never give any joy to the colonist.

[LouisTBR]

Personally I don't like any of them, the idea is cool but not executed in a good way. You don't want to keep pets for food for the "time you need food" because they will eat 10x the amount that they will give you if ever you reach that time. You don't want them for attackers because until you get a hoard of them they are useless and getting more colonists that can actually help out instead of just eat food would be much more beneficial. Then there is hauling, not even half of the animals are able to do it and the ones that can will just sometimes when they feel like it, do it.

Well, this is an interesting yet true view on the system. I personally keep pets for the fun of it, and I am rarely (if ever) in a situation of starvation... I don't personally agree with the 10x food idea, as you said 'when you need it', meaning that it is a source of food in hard times, and fine to consume food in crop-rich times.

[LouisTBR]

Will do, TL...

[Limdood]

i haven't actually checked the investment/return on domestic animals.  Namely chicken, cows, pigs - it sure SEEMS like chickens eat way more than they give, but i've yet to do a very detailed analysis. 

For cows, i'd keep them if they give milk often AND if the milk can be used in place of meat in fine/lavish meals (cruelty-free lavish meals! - or just not having to worry about hunting...).

I DO tame some animals for combat.  I tame boomalopes and boomrats for combat if i have a good enough tamer.  I keep them in out-of-the-way areas with small food supplies i wouldn't be devastated by losing.  I keep them out of the way of raids (no master) until trained in release.  Then i only use them against tribals.  Launching 3 boomalopes at the 1-square-size ball of 50 melee tribals....mwahahaha!  If i have amazing tamers, i also consider taming wargs and rhinos for combat.  Elephants feel like they eat too much and train too slowly to be useful.

The keys to animals in combat:
1) you need a lot.  Not to be effective, but to ever repeat the tactic.  You need to be able to lose some or all of the attacking animals and still have a breeding stock.
2) you need to micromanage areas and masters.  It isn't too bad to manage areas...takes some setup time before hand, but once set up, its easy.  Its the masters that are a pain.  You can't actually set a master (or none) until the animal gets obedience.  I'd love to be able to set master a)faster, and b)right away.  As it is, i have to constantly check the animals tab until an animal successfully trains that obedience skill....this is frustrating for cobras, squirrels, boomalopes, boomrats, rhinos, boars, and wargs, which make good fighting animals - since you're always looking at around a 50% or lower training chance. 
3) pick and choose when to fight.  Animals should be set to no master until fully trained AND a suitable threat emerges.  You don't want your animals running into combat alongside your colonists when they can't be released, or against like 5 shielded melee pirates, it isn't worth the losses.  Animals do well vs. mechanoids (they give the colonists a chance to all get in range and open up on centipedes, rather than sniper-only) and tribals (specifically exploding melee or absorbing arrowfire).  They can be used vs. ranged pirate raids, since watching a pirate chuck a grenade at a squirrel already meleeing his buddy is good fun.  This can let you pick off the best equipped pirates, and can absorb the rocket launcher shots.
4) Don't get too attached.  They'll die, and get mutilated (btw, its how i learned a jawless, stomachless, noseless, eyeless husky could still eat and live).  They'll fare about the same as shieldless, naked colonists running headlong at your opposition with clubs.  But with any luck, they'll save your colonists a few gunshot wounds and explosions in the process.