I took these pictures from nearby pines in my zone. I’m in a southern province of Argentina and currently it’s summertime. As I stated earlier, Idk how climate and seasons in other regions and in which time of the year would affect pines in order to look like this. So it’s up to a deeper reasoning based on everyone else’s knowledge about their own living zones.
Purpose and reasoning
This is mainly a suggestion for looks and aesthetics. Regardless, pine cones could still fall out from pine trees naturally over time, when impacted (amount of items fallen proportional to impact strength) and all when chopped down, whenever there are pinecones available in the branches.
As an alternative for in case it impacts too hard on performance, it could be made so pines keep their leaves and pinecones aren’t visible, yet still obtainable up to a default yet variable limit. This could stay as a setting for low tier PC’s rather than by default and same principles can be applied to fruit trees if added to the game.
What are pinecones for anyway?
Those can be used as fuel for fireplaces and campfires, like in Don’t Starve series. Another potential use would be for using them as smokey projectiles; lit them in fire (alternatively covering them in fuel beforehand) and throw those away, as an improvised source for providing smoke cover and/or clearing out buildings by making their inhabitants suffocate with smoke.
Disclaimer: ofc I made this up but c'mon, say it wouldn't be a nice improvisation to have.
I hope you guys liked this simple and modest post. Let me know your thoughts.
Liked the whole idea. Yes to everything
Pinecones but keep leaves as default. Caring about performance
No pinecones. Apply principles only to fruit trees
I don’t see the sense in pinecones, they are very ineffective as fuel for campfires.
I would suggest them only as decoration for pines, but not as individual item.
Most pines have edible nuts inside the pinecones. Could just be a simple food source. The cones do make good fire boosters, don’t burn great themselves but help a young fire get itself going. The needles burn hot and quick. Pine needle tea is high in vitamin C which boosts the immune system and helps with colds. Also once heard that mosquitoes dislike the smell of pine, so if we get something like getting bit by skeeters at night or in swamps could maybe have that.
What kind of pines are those? I have pines at my place, like ten massive ones, they all keep most of their needles during the winter, save for some that fall to the ground and die, making a brown mess the mushrooms flourish in, (Possible game-mechanic?), or just clog the gutters. Also have a line of young spruces on a field, who again don’t lose their needles. Never heard of an evergreen that loses it’s needles. Also assuming by “leaves” you meant needles, if they have leaves they aren’t pines.
Pretty interesting facts, I like all of them and hope to see those applications in game as well.
Well, that’s the thing, I took the pictures just a few days ago and we’re currently in summer. Not sure what kind of pine is it, but if it has pinecones as we can see, then surely it’s a pine. And yeah, with leaves I meant the needles, though these ones I captured on camera didn’t have any, so I assumed it was because of the season, thus I got the inspiration for making the post.
Iirc lots of trees have cones that aren’t related to pines. But yeah if they also have needles i’m sure it is. Post a pick of the cones and needles sometime so maybe i can get some research done. xp
Like i said i’ve never seen an evergreen that sheds all it’s needles, especially during the cold months. But who knows.
Not all conifers (Any cone-bearing tree is a conifer.) are evergreens, however, and a few species of conifers are actually deciduous trees that lose their leaves in the fall and winter months.
Found this on the subject from a quick Google, so guess i was wrong. Wish it listed the trees that actually do this, but too lazy to do any more googling.
Oof didn’t see you mentioned it’s summer where you live. xd
No clue then, are you sure you didn’t have some massive storm that blew them all off or something? According to that quote i found it says
And i’m not sure if they mean the trees that do this have leaves, not needles, or if “leaves” means leaves or needles, and plus it says they only do it during winter.
It’s a pretty windy and semi-desertic region, so I guess that could’ve helped. Winds are real strong sometimes, and by this season, sometimes days are hot af without a single cloud in the sky.
I’m sure that they meant the needles, referring to them as “leaves” just like I did, since pine needles are nothing but a different type of tree leaves.
who knows.