How important should food/ drinks be in the game?

ArchivedUser

From listening to older Q&A, it was said we can have INNs, and along with that you can cook food, maybe make drinks. What types will be based on the recipes you find or buy. Some of course will come with boss drops.

So I am just wondering how important should food/ drinks be in the game?

1. Will it be something you need to keep up your fighting levels.

2. Will it be a boost to your level.

3. If you don't eat will you lose energy?

4. Should food be one of those social only things?

5. If you drink something bad, should your health take a hit?

How do you see food/ drinks being used in the game?

ArchivedUser

I like survival games where hunger and thirst are separate large containers that are consumed to refill stamina/health/mana.  I understand that this is not a popular game style though so I figure they will go the classic route of food gives regen and buffs.

ArchivedUser

I think food should perhaps provide some sort of buff to stats or combat abilities as I have seen it do in a number of other games. I do wonder if food production in AOC may play a more important role in the development of a node, certain amounts of food need to be harvested or grown before certain buildings can be produced, say to feed workers etc. I know it has been referenced several times by Steve how free holds may be used for food production, that food has to be used for something more than just player characters.
Food production is an essential part of our lives so why not in AOC where crafting, harvesting, growing things is being presented as a pillar of the game. I don't mean to say we have to eat and drink to stay alive as player characters but that food may be needed to support the large NPC populations. Perhaps that may be too tedious or perhaps not.

ArchivedUser

No survival mechanics are confirmed. Food/drink that gives buff is confirmed. Food and drink will have noticeable effects, otherwise there are going to be a whole lot of disappointed future innkeepers who think they are going to corner the market and provide a bustling trade, only to have those dreams quashed when people just don't care about where they can buy certain food and drinks.

ArchivedUser

Beyond minor buffs/debuffs, I don't think they should matter.

ArchivedUser

I think they should be no more important than the fun they add to the game

ArchivedUser

I don't want to be restricted in the game when it comes to always having to eat or drink, Like how survival games are.

I do however like the idea of people habitually going to inns, taverns, and stopping to make campfires. That social environment sounds cozy and exciting.

So maybe there's a sweet spot in the middle where you don't have to eat food but eating/drinking and resting at a tavern/Inn will be beneficial. Depending on the level of tavern/Inn the better buff you get and they can help you resupply (Depending on what consumables are in the game that you need to restock on).

ArchivedUser

I think like most games food that give a boost to stats and help heal or rebuild mana pool would be nice and appropriate.   Also,  it might be nice if Inns did have a benefit such as a small percentage of  rested   experience gained after logging out in one or in a  home.  

We don't know how or where we will be resurrected after death. Perhaps we can have a choice to be bound near an Inn where we can rejuvenate through food or by entering the Inn for a short time such as in DDO. 

ArchivedUser

Minor bufs. But maybe taverns or inns owned by players that can serve special meals bound to the region that are fresh from the field. xD

ArchivedUser

Maybe have the fresher the ingredients/ stringer the cook the better the buff?

Also maybe try having the buffs do out of combat buff as well so people don't feel pressured to partake.
 Like say increased health regen by 10% while out of combat for 45 min for feasting at an Inn for 10min, Or since you have eaten properly your encumbrance of items is less  (I believe we will have weight limits for items to carry correct?)

These are just random ideas. 

ArchivedUser

Food and drink, since they will be made by players should also be unique in that, just like weapon crafting, the meal or drink could say, "Pork soup. Cooked by Chudyie" for example. Foods shouldn't be a simple sprite png of a slab of mutton, they should be items that we can create and give specfic buffs to depending on our skill and ingredients.

ArchivedUser

*Kalkaz likes this idea and as nodes his head in agreement*

ArchivedUser

My boy @PieGod is a wicked awesome baker 

ArchivedUser

I liked how in Grim Dawn, you had to find and eat food to restore the amount of HP you could recover. Basically you'd heal after avoiding damage for a time, but it would draw from a reservoir of stored energy that could only be replenished by picking up food. A system like that could help continually draw players back to towns to rest and recover before their next outing, as well as make food a constant necessity and make cooking skills very viable.

ArchivedUser

Kalkaz said:

I don't want to be restricted in the game when it comes to always having to eat or drink, Like how survival games are.

I do however like the idea of people habitually going to inns, taverns, and stopping to make campfires. That social environment sounds cozy and exciting.

So maybe there's a sweet spot in the middle where you don't have to eat food but eating/drinking and resting at a tavern/Inn will be beneficial. Depending on the level of tavern/Inn the better buff you get and they can help you resupply (Depending on what consumables are in the game that you need to restock on).

This. 

I also do not like to be survived on it. Inn and those beverages/foods should give both social activity and stat boost, or the more the players stays in one tavern, the more X and Y the players gets. 

ArchivedUser

I prefer that it's minor buffs.

- you don't really feel the lack of it when you are killing a single mob
- but you do feel it helped when killing 300 mobs (you did it a bit faster with food)

ArchivedUser

I still think if your not well fed, maybe you don't heal as fast in that case, or your spells don't have that best punch to it. If your well fed then the damage you do is back to normal. Then you have the buffs, these would last for a short while, giving you that extra kick. I think no one would have an issue if it's setup like this. And it makes having an INN have more meaning in the game.

Oh and lets not forget it can be a save spot to log in and out quickly.

Plus add the good looking NPC barmaids that will serve up your food.

Win/ win on many levels.

ArchivedUser

It is nice to have small buffs, but I dislike food being mandatory for everything from PvP to Dungeons.

The buffs can still be nice if they only last 10-15 minutes and have a 1 hour cooldown. This way food won't be required for everything, as you will only be able to use one food item and just for a short burst.

This isn't Ashes of Gourmands after all.

ArchivedUser

@Granthor

After you consume food first 30 minutes you are lazy and move slower, then next 30 minutes you get an actual buff?

ArchivedUser

I'd prefer Alchemy and Cooking be used to slow attribute reduction.
Have "weak to strong" scales. Stumbling to Sure footed.
"Smart to dunce cap" scales. Unfailing to Hallucinating.

Cooking effecting more STR/STA/DEX than alchemy. Alchemy effecting more INT/WIS/CHR than cooking. However Alchemy having added benefits like adrenaline boosts effecting speed DEX STR. INT/WIS pots. But on a small scale, with side effects, like when you come down you come down hard.

Time wise, maybe 5-10 game days before lack of food significantly effects you. Diminishing attributes very slowly at first and more rapid as time goes by.

Cooks and alchemists playing the role. Cooked ham may be sufficient for low level character, but high level may need a ton or it may not effect their attribute scale at all. They could make things that drop attributes or kill you too. Foods that effect your attribute scale normally for your given level, while at the same level there be rare foods and potions, harder to acquire preparatory items and of greater value that slow attribute scale reduction.

I know, I know, Hell NOOOO!!!!
Anyhow, I just touched on the possibilities but this most likely will never happen.

But I had to say, I'd prefer there be a science based cooking alchemy attribute system.

ArchivedUser

From what we saw in the livestream that had a small snippet of food crafting in it, it looks like they are trying to give a logical reason to why a certain food would give a certain buff. Been awhile since I watched it, but I think it was the deer could sense/see limited future actions, so when turned into steaks gave a bonus to perception. After completing the quest that food item would be available at that inn, or you could keep for yourself. If that was the case, like most psychics, the deer couldn't see their own end coming. Every time I see a psychic with going out of business sign, I think "How did they not see that coming?" (old jokes are the best)

ArchivedUser

No swimming after food consumption! 

ArchivedUser

why eat food when you can eat souls 

ArchivedUser

It would be neat for players to have the ability to alter recipes in order to add certain buff or features to the consumable. In other words, a player could add more of ingredient X and forgo adding so much of ingredient Z, and this would alter the food/drink.

Maybe it would restore more health instead of mana, or maybe the consumable changes the buff duration or effect entirely. A player could design food more-or-less according to his/her needs or the needs of the party. 

What say ye all?

ArchivedUser

I would be against survival mechanics, meaning your character functions less effectively if you're not monitoring beverage/food consumption continually.

I like the idea of small buffs for a limited duration with a longer cool down.
I have other games I play for survival mechanics, this particular MMO I would like to not be one.

Custom recipes for the win!

ArchivedUser

Once again, they have confirmed NO SURVIVAL MECHANICS. I don't have the quote handy. Maybe @Lexmax will drop by with a knowledge bomb.

ArchivedUser

With the limit to world travel, having a major emphasis on food/drink in regards to stamina could be a major issue. I would like to see some decent buffs/regen to food and a healthy tier level so that with extreme difficulty food buffs can really make a difference. 

Otherwise just having a set recipe book where after a few weeks everyone can make the same thing with ease just adds another daily tedious job to make food/drink before going out and adventuring. 

Also remembering no global auction house could make food vendoring a profitable exchange in certain cities.

Maybe even something as fun as specific food/drink benefits to certain classes or races. Where even some food may have a nice buff but also a debuff depending on the class so you gain +10 magic atk/-10 phys def.

ArchivedUser

1. I want to be able to win a fair fight without food.

2. Yes it would be a buff for my level.

3. Why not a small debuff if you dont eat like 1time per 2/3 hours, but not more.

4. I don,t care, untill it's not that important.

5. No but a "drunk" vision could be fun.

ArchivedUser

Jaikant said:

3. Why not a small debuff if you dont eat like 1time per 2/3 hours, but not more.

Because it would be annoying as **** to have to think about that, specially in a game without fast travel, and you not having food with you.

ArchivedUser

I don't mind food for buffs but I hate having to empty my coffers for ultra expensive food to be competative.

ArchivedUser