Animal husbandry

[CedricO]

The title pretty much says it all. I just found myself thinking "what if i could actually breed muffalo". Why not add animal handling to the game? Where instead of making a growing area you make a herd area. A zone that auto places fence blueprints along the edges. Where you can breed/tame certain types of animal. Perhaps even give some of them some animal traits like "stubborn". And give some colonists a trait similar to green thumb where they become happy near animals. Thought ide throw it out there. Or a trait like "animal friend" that allows some colonists with that trait to have a "pet". Like a pet boar/squirrel and stuff that helps that colonist fight.

[Mihsan]

100% will be in RimWorld because "Western vibe of Firefly" (not the same w/o cowboys, right?).

Anyway I support this idea. Also would be awesome to have rideable horses.

[CedricO]

I want a bloodthirsty muffalo to trample all over my hated enemies ..... the mechanoids .... *raises fist to sky* damn you mechanoidss!!!!!!!

[FridayBiology]

Please don't let Tynan read this, could you imagine if we had trample damage.

... Psychic wave event ... everything fine though Alpha Muffalo are stampeding through your freezer ...

Psycotic Alpha Muffalo vs Scyther would be cool to see though

[shade88]

100% will be in RimWorld because "Western vibe of Firefly" (not the same w/o cowboys, right?).

Anyway I support this idea. Also would be awesome to have rideable horses.

I want a bloodthirsty muffalo to trample all over my hated enemies ..... the mechanoids .... *raises fist to sky* damn you mechanoidss!!!!!!!

Please don't let Tynan read this, could you imagine if we had trample damage.

... Psychic wave event ... everything fine though Alpha Muffalo are stampeding through your freezer ...

Psycotic Alpha Muffalo vs Scyther would be cool to see though

Putting those ideas together, you get rideable, breedable muffalos that inflict trample damage on mechanoids. Sounds pretty awesome.

[Johnny Masters]

just a single step before riding sandworms $_$



but i digress...

[CedricO]

i support he above image... *gazes at screen in awe* .... nice

[Vexare]

Sandworms aside, I definitely support the addition of animal farming. There could be the additional risk of one of them going berserk on you the way wild ones do which could really wreak havoc if you're keeping your animal pens inside your colony compound!

[Kegereneku]

You know... I might be assassinated for that but I don't think Animal husbandry would bring something good to the game.

Not many animal have a "fast" reproductive cycle, and I kind of like SEEING the seasons pass.
I know, the plant also grow too fast but they do abstract the seasons. Don't tell me it would be the same with animals I'm just pointing out that birthing/killing, birthing/killing the animal as if it is another machine (to me) wreck havoc in the already tenuous feeling of survival.

Just HERDING animals that come across the map (luring them with a potato/berry/herd food) so as to have a emergency supply would be enough, I rarely ever make them hunt because it can ask to travel far in thick snow. But gathering the occasional big herd be killed as I see fit would definitely.

Bunny of course would be the exception... THEY can reproduce a lot.
This whole feature isn't in my top 10 of most wanted anyway.

[tommytom]

You know... I might be assassinated for that but I don't think Animal husbandry would bring something good to the game.

Not many animal have a "fast" reproductive cycle, and I kind of like SEEING the seasons pass.
I know, the plant also grow too fast but they do abstract the seasons. Don't tell me it would be the same with animals I'm just pointing out that birthing/killing, birthing/killing the animal as if it is another machine (to me) wreck havoc in the already tenuous feeling of survival.

Just HERDING animals that come across the map (luring them with a potato/berry/herd food) so as to have a emergency supply would be enough, I rarely ever make them hunt because it can ask to travel far in thick snow. But gathering the occasional big herd be killed as I see fit would definitely.

Bunny of course would be the exception... THEY can reproduce a lot.
This whole feature isn't in my top 10 of most wanted anyway.

I completely agree. But then I disagree. You could "fix" such problems. I think you are thinking of just throwing it in and letting it run.

No one wants to get 2-4 muffalo and a few seasons later they have 100 of them (cat-splosion in Dawrf Fortess!) and rotting carcasses everywhere. Also, no one really wants to micro-manage them where they have to individually pick what to slaughter. You don't do the same thing for growing plants do you? No, they grow full size, get cut, get replaced. You could do the same for animal husbandy. Add a fenced-in area (or just a "pasture" zone with no fences/walls) and you pick something similar to crafting tables where you "keep 4 and slaughter rest". If you have played "Banished", you could see how well this can do. You could even have similar "blight" issues where your animals can all get sick and die. Possibly even spread it to colonist (OH NO! SWINE FLU!). Although, animals would probably have to have their genders removed (not genitals... they can keep those, just don't say they have a gender) and you could basically "keep 2, slaughter rest" for minimal or "keep 10, slaughter rest" for optimal meat/milk/leather output but will take much longer to get up and running and can get wiped out from disease before it even becomes productive.

Edit:
Considering the work required, I don't think this is really a good feature. I would much rather see more fruitful stuff implemented. Animals come in enough as it is and are only needed for "fine meals" if you can get a proper farm going. It would work well with a "meatlover/vegitarian" trait and requiring fine meals to be used for more than a temporary mood enhancer (I'd like to see them as a mood fixer from bad moods from bland foods).

[Kegereneku]

Note : I wrote a pretty big answer then a sudden refresh ate it, I wish this forum had a autosave, I had to rewrite it

You got me dead wrong.

Treating the animals like plants like you suggest is precisely what would ruin the ambiance (if you use undefined quantity like "output" or "slaughter the rest" you are on the wrong track). Regardless if it's 1 self-replicating living nutritive-paste-slimes or 20 gendered bunny in 1x1 cages.

Micro-management is precisely what we need here, because that what we are dealing with. In my last tundra game with 12 colonist I used to hunt around two big animal per season and only once I wanted regular fine meal. It's not enough to wipe out herd, but it's too much for credible reproductive cycle.
You can have animal that copulate if you want but I don't see the point since hunting is more efficient for small population.

YET, just being able to drive a small herd in fences so one can take his pick with ease would be interesting, especially if there's other perk that come with it, including from other "unrelated" feature.
Ex : imagine if there was event where other tribes or predator would come on your map to hunt "your" herds, then having a pasture zone would "protect them".

In short I think we should be discussing the very opposite of "breeding" : Keeping the animal alive like it is (amusingly problematic) to replace.
Finding features that make keeping animals, single or in herd ALIVE useful and wanted.

Exemple with your own compost/fertilizer-suggestion : Feces as a fertilizer could be used as a resources to make more efficient farm-floor differently than the electric-fertilizer. It would be low-cost (no-metal), ideal to farm before having the research and so ideal for game start. However since it take TIME you wouldn't kill that specific animal.
Another random example : some kind of mechanism allowing a colonist to use an elk/mufallo as a pack beast...or else.

ALL THIS to explain why I think animal husbandry wouldn't bring anything good. Easy animal reproduction even look like a bad thing for me. It cheapen life !

[Vexare]

I would be ok with 'herding' wild roaming packs of animals too, that could work just as well as breeding them and take less coding (maybe) to work. The problem right now is the dead of winter, the muffalo or elk herd is at the far extreme end of the map and my colonists are inefficiently going back and forth to shoot them one at a time. There needs to be a better system that's believable.

[tommytom]

Note : I wrote a pretty big answer then a sudden refresh ate it, I wish this forum had a autosave, I had to rewrite it

You got me dead wrong.

Treating the animals like plants like you suggest is precisely what would ruin the ambiance (if you use undefined quantity like "output" or "slaughter the rest" you are on the wrong track). Regardless if it's 1 self-replicating living nutritive-paste-slimes or 20 gendered bunny in 1x1 cages.

Micro-management is precisely what we need here, because that what we are dealing with. In my last tundra game with 12 colonist I used to hunt around two big animal per season and only once I wanted regular fine meal. It's not enough to wipe out herd, but it's too much for credible reproductive cycle.
You can have animal that copulate if you want but I don't see the point since hunting is more efficient for small population.

YET, just being able to drive a small herd in fences so one can take his pick with ease would be interesting, especially if there's other perk that come with it, including from other "unrelated" feature.
Ex : imagine if there was event where other tribes or predator would come on your map to hunt "your" herds, then having a pasture zone would "protect them".

In short I think we should be discussing the very opposite of "breeding" : Keeping the animal alive like it is (amusingly problematic) to replace.
Finding features that make keeping animals, single or in herd ALIVE useful and wanted.

Exemple with your own compost/fertilizer-suggestion : Feces as a fertilizer could be used as a resources to make more efficient farm-floor differently than the electric-fertilizer. It would be low-cost (no-metal), ideal to farm before having the research and so ideal for game start. However since it take TIME you wouldn't kill that specific animal.
Another random example : some kind of mechanism allowing a colonist to use an elk/mufallo as a pack beast...or else.

ALL THIS to explain why I think animal husbandry wouldn't bring anything good. Easy animal reproduction even look like a bad thing for me. It cheapen life !

Well, a cheap implementation would be walls that are just fences (no protection, just can't walk over them) and the ability to get them to come in. Maybe just make them like to eat plants you have harvested. This would allow you to make a small stockpile to attract them or simply give you a reason to defend your crops. Otherwise, a specific crafted item or "trap". Maybe just a trough that works like nutrient paste dispenser either via hopper or directly (like stockpile zone).

Like you said, it would be a cheap/nice start. Later, things like fertilizer/manure could be implemented and it already has a starting point.

The only catch is a door that can stay open or closed (looks like switches are being implemented soon or have been?), but that might break combat allowing flanking from dumb ai taking quickest route and getting trapped (giant incinerator anyone?). Maybe either a fence that only opens one-way for animals and both ways for people (almost like child safety things).

Even cheaper still would just be the "feeder" that just attracts them and they eat the food. Pretty wasteful if you don't take advantage somehow though. Seems silly to use food to get food, though you do get leathers, which are pretty worthless unless your colony is poor and you are taking in more colonists than you can cloth and can't afford trading for clothes.

[Kegereneku]

Well, if we are to suggest how it could work...

I too imagine a "herd zone" like you described, now wall, animal just don't get out (I can't imagine a door system outside a physical wall which would make it needlessly complicated)

Giving order to "Herd animal" would dispatch a colonist to go to the animal(s), make it follow him (using food maybe ?) to the field. If the field is too small the animal will try to get out, and even if you built impassable wall an animal that run away cannot "do the stuff" you brought in for.

Herding animal would use the colonist Warden/social skills, higher it is... the less time it take to get the animal to follow ? The more animal you can get to follow ? (like how a hauler take things then check if there's another one close by)

Feeding the animals : The herd field could work like any other growing zone, a grow/work is done on one/few cases of field and herb grow. That or you farm a NEW PLANT that is then "hauled" to the field so animal feed automatically, allowing to keep the animal outside, food farm inside.

What to get of the Animal ?
- Manure / fertilizer to make "farm floor" which is more efficient than normal soil.
- An emergency reserve of meat.
- Hauling ? (following a colonist and carrying two more unstackable things as if they could stack)
- Mount ?
-
I have no other idea for the moment, in any case it must offset the cost of feeding the animal during winter. (maybe it do wonder to grow devilstrand ?)

[JimmyAgnt007]

People might be over-thinking the doors.  Ever been to a farm?  Giant gates that you can bring a lot of animals through.  nothing complex.  people can open it, animals cant because they dont know how to use them.  or if they do they are really taking their sweet time and we are all doomed.

how does this work in game?  as long as a gate or fence exists, then the 'captured' animal AI wont cross it.  animals arnt considered captured until they are inside.

as long as it is on soil they will eat the grass, maybe Tynan can fill us in on if the wild animals eat the grass already.  they produce manure that we can use to make 'rich soil' areas. or refine for some other purpose.  maybe we can feed them other crops to change what we can make from manure, like biological factories.  There would be a limit on how many can fit in an area and when they reproduce over that limit the oldest is selected for butchering.