Lastly, i regained a bit of interest into Unturned, which made me think about different ideas i would like to see. And I noticed that one could greatly be worked upon, plants & trees.
As you know, currently, trees have only 1 purpose, to serve us to light our fire, and they are just pretty average at that. They are mostly identical and dont make the map stand out.
And with Unturned II being more PVE focused, I thought that more work put on plants could not be a bad idea.
For this topic, i’ll give some ideas on what use trees & plants could become in Unturned II.
Better plant depiction
- Currently in-game, plants are named as [name + number], and over time, we have seen a big amount of [Pine 1-9], [Maple 1-6] and other trees which are just numbers.
A necessary change for Unturned II is to have plants not be a retextured tree but to actually try to reflect a real life plant, a step toward that has been seen with Kuwait but I believe it could be taken further. As of right now, most maps have very generic trees which just dont feel unique at all and dont contribute to the atmosphere of the map at all either. A solution to that, would be to have different species of plants from the location the map tries to depict, it would at least add diversity to the environment and make those feel more natural.
Let’s admit we get to see a new Washington map, then, such a map should see similar species to those it has irl, such as [Western Hemlock Tree], [Douglas Fir] or [Lodgepole Pine] instead of the generic [Pine 1-9], and while it would indeed require more work, this would really improve the atmosphere of the map. And the same could be done for flowers, bushes, and etc…
And who know ? perhaps some maps could feature some sort of book item that depict & explain the local plant-life, which brings us to the next topic.
More varied use of plants products
Currently, plants have only 1 purpose, to be salvaged to obtain berries or to be slain to obtain generic wood logs whose only difference is the hp they provide to a structure, this is yet another thing that can be improved.
To continue with trees, i’ll take the example of log. In-game, logs should not just be a generic tool for construction, they could have much more uses than that, enters Wood statistics
- In-game, we have the generic Birch, Pine & Maple log, which have only 1 difference, their hp to build structure, this is something that could seen a big overhaul.
Now, with a new system, each wood types has statistics that depict how vulnerable they are to weather, how resistant they are or how easily they burn and for how long. In-game, a new Botanics skill could allow a player to read the statistic of wood in the description of the item, with a system akin to this :
(This example would depict how a player with a “botanics” skill could inspect wood, alternatively, a book on botanics could also be used.)
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COMBUSTION
Combustion : How easy it is for the player to start up a fire with this specific wood, sometimes even when wet or green
Sparks : How many sparks are emitted from the wood when it’s burning, can lead to accident but also help to start a fire, leaves are mostly used for that
Duration : How long the wood can burn which can be usefull on cold climates for example
Temperature : How hot the fire emitted is, which increase the yield of heat but can also help for crafting and cooking -
SHELTER
Resistance: How resistant the wood is to impacts and physical damages
Weather : How resistant the wood is to weather event like rain or wind and how fast it decays
The addition of a “Botanics” skill would help player to identify the best wood for some purposes, and since some maps will contain wood varieties that sometimes fit few of those categories, it can be used to artificially increase or dicrease the difficulty of a map, and make the challenge bigger to players.
Similar statistics could apply for all ressources and plants (although with different stats like poison for mushrooms or flower or conductivity for metals) if the respective skill is possessed or if a book is possessed.
Different products of plants
Currently, the player can obtain only 1 item from tree, logs and their derivative (and sometimes stuff like maple syrup which seems to grow already in a plastic bottle).
With the new system however, each tree (and plant) could bring stuff that could be used by the player, respectively Logs, Bark, Leaves,, Roots and many others items such as fruits, flowers, berries and products that could be used for various use like nutrition, medicine or to craft various stuff (Like paper for skilled players). Some other products could grow on trees like Moss which could be used to gain water easily.
Finally, maybe we could also obtain some seeds from different trees & plants that allows to (very slowly) grow our own garden or forest patch.
Plant growth
Another factory that should be taken into account is the ability to grow plants of any-kind as long as the player possesses the seeds. However, unless the current 3.0 system where plants can grow with just a plot, the system needs to be overhauled, and this is once again a detail where Unturned II could shine.
In-game, an easy way to model the needs of plants would be, in my opinion, a stats bar for plants, made of 4 parts which are the following :
In-game, an indicator (the circle) represent the optimal statistic to reach for a plant, the closer the cursor is to that optimal statistic, the faster growing and the most productive is the plant.
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Plant growth
Temperature : Temperature is the first important need of a plant, if the temperature is too hot, or too cold, the plant will die off. In-game, covering the plant with mulch or newspaper can be enough to protect it from cold while options to protect it from heat are more limited. An easy solution in-game to a problem is to use a plant from the very same climate of the map, it could last longer that way.
Water : Water is just as important as temperature, but easier to manage, it’s just a question of quantity and it can be taken care of even with a watering can
Light : Often in Unturned, many players were growing their crops inside of deep black rooms. In Unturned II, the plant will need an ideal amount of light, not enough and it wont grow, too much and it’ll die. The light indicator serve to the player to indicate how much light a plant need. And while the sun will usually provide enough light, such an indicator will mainly be useful for indoor farms that use artificial light to provide energy.
Fertiliser : Fertiliser is the last necessity of a plant, and just like water, is just dependant on quantity. Not enough fertiliser will make the growth longer and too much will reduce the production of the plant.
I lack knowledge on growth of plants so this part might seem incomplete, feel free to give advices to improve it. To sum up, most plants could be grown by the player, but each might take more or less time, the goal of this is to allow the player more control over the environment by allowing him to have more freedom with plants all while reflecting the difficulties that come with plant growth irl, albeit simplified in-game.
Conclusion
With this topic, I tried to bring some ideas on how plants could be improved in Unturned, taking the example of tree. This idea in particular is really one where Unturned II could shine in comparison to other games, it would also allow for an insanely more varied type of gameplay, allowing skilled players to live entirely off the land. Bringing many new crafts, way to obtain water & food, allowing to craft a more efficient campfire or a shelter that resists to Cat 5 hurricane or to start a fire on your neighbor’s wooden base.
Various examples of Use
- Extract tree bark to craft paper & cardboard
- Use birch wood (excellent to light a fire) with oak wood (for a long lasting campfire) to quickly get a warm campfire for the night.
- Use cedar wood to craft an high-quality shelter resistant to both physical impacts & to weather
- Boil the bark of Willow Tree to craft aspirin (and become a witch doctor)
- Use aloe-vera extracted from plants as a skin treatment (could help after you get out of those nettles)
- Chew mastic gum to clean the teeths and keep a good breath (maybe it’s going too far ?)
And much more, proof that we could find great use for trees and plants and that they are worth it and could expand the realm of possibilities in Unturned.
- I mostly agree with what has been suggested here
- I believe a few details could be changed and tweaked
- I mostly disagree with what you suggested here
- Null
0 voters
(And if such thing could eventually come on Unturned 3.0, it’d be nice too, although it would require some work ofc)
changes :
13.07.2021 ; Added part regarding growth