Reindeer Of Steel

how many times have I given in to temptation and chased individual reindeer through MILES of territory, knowing I've already put several arrows in the bugger and it's seriously wounded or worse (surely I'll run it down in a minute or two..........). I mean how far can a real-life sleigh-puller run with 5-6 arrows in its carcass, no matter how poorly placed? it's gotta hurt after a while.

twice now I've encountered the little teasers in the wilderness far from home, then tracked them long enough for the landscape started to look familiar and suddenly I was walking through my own yard before continuing to track the critter several miles beyond the house, shooting an arrow or two as I get a chance. the last one went down with a sixth arrow in the knee (of all places) and died immediately. now I'm following another one along a similar route.

either I really suck as a hunter or these reindeer have buns of steel
(sorry guys, I really needed to rant a bit )

It might have been that one :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5HdrCBQtLQ

I've had the same problems...following the same animal for miles sticking a stack of arrows or javelins in it...and noticing it really doesn't seem to bleed out or get tired or even slow down overly much...

Aislinn, it's not your character but the current game mechanics that suck a bit. But I'm very, very happy to announce that in the next version issues like this will be history; animals will get tired from running and the limb injuries will slow them down significantly. According to my test runs all this will be balanced just perfectly - I promise. Just a little patience and you'll gain back the status of a true hunter that you are.

(As thinking of the pain factor on itself, I don't think an animal that is running for its' life wouldn't mind the pain at all.)

true, but I was thinking more that a limp or an arrow behind the foreleg might slow them a bit, making it marginally easier to catch up to them

To keep game balance you might want to consider a cooking skill check for carving the carcass of really big animals. Last time I did any dressing I nicked the bladder.

Yeah, those pesky deers running away with a bunch of arrows in them are an issue, and for me especially because the savegame inflates so much after an hour run. Now you've visited all those locations that you would never see again, until hopefully you chase some stupid bear through the same trail.

When should we expect the next release, Sami? I am dying to buy it!

too bad the game doesn't incorporate the real-life fact that you can run a reindeer down (if you're in shape for it) basically by not giving it a chance to stop and rest. Laplanders use a unit of distance measurement called a "poronkusema" which is how far a reindeer can walk during a drive without stopping - because they can't walk and pee at the same time. the maximum distance is generally 7.5km. I know for a fact that I've been chasing this latest reindeer a lot farther than that.

sometimes I wish I could F3 examine an animal I'm hunting and see a wound display similar to the character's own so I can get a better idea where the animal is hit most and what strikes are most effective. how closely does the game actually track the damage done to npc's and animals?

also, on this long hunt it would be nice if I could use a function button to call up a view of the wilderness map (preferably just the local portion of it) as maybe a pop-up screen that would go away after hitting esc or space key or something. I'm not asking for much, huh?

That's actually man's evolutionary advantages as an ancient hunter. Bipedalism allows us to move the same distance with far less energy expended and heat generated than a quadruped. Hunters find an animal and follow it as it flees, never letting it rest. Eventually the animal is too exhausted or overheated to flee or defend itself. Prior to effective ranged weapons, that was how you got fresh meat.

Works a lot better in our native arid environments, but even with the colder temperatures and superior cover the same mechanisms do apply.

I'm not quite sure if the chasing would work in average finnish forest. I'm not going to argue about it, I just don't remember reading anything about the techinque being used. Which of course doesn't mean much - maybe they used it but none of the historical accounts ever catched my eye.

Instead, there are somewhat similar ways of hunting which have been used in ancient Finland;

- hunters moving in a long chain, scaring the big animals and making them flee, and then directing them towards steep cliffs, making some animals to fall to their death. The downside; places suitable for this are rather rare, plus it takes a lot of hunters. And if the animals don't panic enough, they will realize the situation, turn around and charge towards the hunters.

- when the winter sees the first days of spring, it sometimes happens so that the snow gets soft and wet in the daytime when there is sunshine. Then in the coldness of the night it freezes, creating a thin layer of ice on the surface of the snow. On such conditions a hunter with decent skis can just glide on top of the snow, reaching astonishing speed with ease. Elks and wild reindeer are so heavy that their feet will break the thin layer of ice, forcing the animals to trudge in snow. And then it is fairly easy for a single hunter to chase down the animals.
(to implement this in the game we would need a bit more detailed weather engine. As, if the night is very cold, then the snow will freeze so solid that it possible to walk on it even without the skis. And then if the following day is warm again, those conditions are lost and the snow becomes so soft that even with skis one will just sink into it... Early hours are the precious time for hunter with skis and spear / bow)

This will be featured in the upcoming release, as fatigue rates for different animals are introduced. However, I'm still not quite sure for how long an average elk or reindeer can run before getting so tired that a man could catch it by running. If someone is able to find hard facts then it's easier to incorporate this in the game.

I think average top speed for elks is about 40-45 km/h, but for how long they can keep it up, that I don't know (yet). Even if an elk could keep a slower pace (say 25 km/h) for an hour it would still be unreachable for the vast majority of men.

Once more I'm happy to say that upcoming release features detailed injuries for NPCs/animals - it's as detailed as the system for the player character - and you're able to see if your game has a "seriously bleeding cut left hind leg".

Yes - and even if it takes some effort (and better weather generation) to implement this feature it has been such an important hunting method that we just need to have it done at some point.

On a side note - as talking about hunting - quite many bowhunters who hunt Elks do say that elks can (and usually will) run up to 150 - 300 yards (130-280 meters) even after the most perfect shot -> that being both lungs penetrated with a broadhead.

That sort of behavior I'd completely like to see. Instead of the animal just keeling over dead on the final shot, having it bolt away leaving some blood trail to follow.

sounds like the one that totaled my car two Christmases ago before getting up and limping into the woods, never to be found by the hunters called in to search for it ninja elk....