Pet System

[Riou1231]

So I've been thinking... Why not add pets to the game?

Here are the different ideas I have for pets.

Dogs - They can move at about the running speed of the average hearthling, they can deal a good amount of damage in battle and are loyal to the bitter end.

Cats - They speed through the world at twice the sprinting speed of the average hearthling, but are incredibly weak in battle, they are fast and silent.

Parrot - They can fly at about the sprinting speed of the average hearthling, they are next to useless in combat but if put in a cage can be taught to tell messages. It takes 6 in-game hours to train a Parrot to talk, and 3 in-game hours to replace his/her speech.

Messenger Hawk - They can fly at the speed of the average boat making them extremely fast, they are also used in combat from time to time, but most of the time they are used to send messages from one place to the other.

And here's their different diets.

Dogs - Will eat any type of meat, fish, or baked goods. Will not eat anything that is a vegetable, or seeds.

Cats - Will eat any type of meat, fish, baked goods, or milk. Will not eat anything that is a vegetable, or seeds.

Parrot - Dines solely on seeds of any type.

Messenger Hawk - Will feed on meat, fish, or seeds. Will not eat baked goods or vegetables.

How they breed.

Dogs - You need an adult male [1 in-game month old] and an adult female [1 in-game month old]. If you leave them in the same room [needs to be in a house] there is a chance that they'll... You know, and in 15 in-game days the female will give birth to either a baby male, or a baby female.

Cats - Same as the dogs.

Parrot - If you leave an adult male, and adult female in an enlarged cage for about a day or two [real life time] the female will lay 1 egg-5 eggs. In about 10 in-game days the eggs will hatch and depending on your nature/industry they will either live, or die.

Messenger Hawk - Works just like the Parrot's.

How they are acquired.

Dogs and Cats - At the beginning of the game they will be given the choice to either adopt a puppy, or a kitten. They can also choose not to adopt one. In about 20 in-game days the puppy, or kitten will turn to a fully grown adult

Parrot - Every tree gets a "Search for parrot eggs" option, out of 100 trees only one of them will have a parrot egg. After the parrot egg is incubated in a makeshift nest made from 3 straw for 5 days, the baby parrot will hatch. The baby parrot will turn into a fully fledged adult in 15 in-game days.

Messenger Hawk - These are the rare ones, If you see a nest in a tree through it's sprite, it is a Hawk's nest, the parents will be there 90% of the time. If the Mother Hawk is there, she will fend you off and deal 10 SHP damage to you, and if you've already been climbing the tree you'll lose more SHP depending on the height of the tree. If the Father Hawk is there he will deal 15 SHP damage to you, and if both are there they will deal a combined 25 SHP damage to you. If your survival skill is high enough you can fend them off and take one of their eggs. After being incubated in a makeshift nest made from 5 straw for about 6 days, the baby hawk will hatch. In this time you must train it to be either a messenger, or a fighter. Depending on what you do to it, it's behavior will change and so will it's usefulness. After 17 in-game days it will turn into a fully fledged Messenger Hawk, or a Fighter Hawk.

Other notes.

Dogs can be used to sniff out scents.

Cats may be used to slip past small gaps without being noticed and fetching a small object.

Parrots can give messages.

Messenger Hawks can carry small items along with the message, something light such as string, wool, silk filament, etc.

Pets need to eat at least 1 time every 2 in-game days. If they don't eat for 2 days, they will grow weaker, if they don't eat for 4 days, they will not be able to move, if they don't eat for 6 days and further, they will die of starvation.

Pets can also drown, so it's best to keep them out of the water.

As pets do what they were meant to do they gain more experience and eventually level up, here is the HP formula for dogs, cats, parrots and hawks respectively. Level * 30, Level * 15, Level * 10, Level * 20

When your pet dies a runestone will appear where they died, saying, "Here lies "Pet Name" the "Species" who died of "Starvation/Drowning/Battle Wounds". If your pet died drowning a runestone will appear near the shore they died, alternatively you can dig up their body and make them a grave at your house, IF they haven't been eaten or decomposed.

You can tell your pets to stay inside your claim and protect it from intruders. If your pets [excluding parrots] finds an intruder, they will either, bark, hiss, or screech at the intruder and then initiate combat. If your pet is successful it will knock out the intruder, if not... Well then, your pet dies.

If you don't have room for the babies or just don't have the time for them, you can put them up for sale in your vending stalls, trade them, give them to a friend, or just set them free into the wild.

If you don't keep your pet on a leash or a cage, they might escape and leave you.

If your pet doesn't eat in about 2 days, it will break free from it's leash and go scavenge for food it can eat, most of the time your pet won't have wandered far, but sometimes they will manage to get extremely far.

You can butcher your pet, or their babies for their meat, bones, fur, or feathers.

As your pet levels up they will grow stronger and learn to fend for themselves.

[McGriddles]

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

[sabinati]

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

[springyb]

Don't be like that, the idea was fairly decently thought out compared to other pet ideas.

[Riou1231]

Don't be like that, the idea was fairly decently thought out compared to other pet ideas.

Thank you, I'm glad your not like those other mindless bastards who don't even bother to read it and just tell me it's bad.

[ImpalerWrG]

Wild Parrots eat fruit as well as seeds and pet parrots can eat just about anything a human can other then meat.

[giftiger_wunsch]

I like the idea of having guard dogs, but other pets... no. Also, bear in mind that this would be a pretty big update in terms of both the graphics and programming involved to implement it.

[Potjeh]

Why do parrots have multiple offspring and cats and dogs don't?

Anyway, I totally want a cat. Maybe we could construct evil lairs, and petting white cats in them would give a shitton of Wyrd?

[giftiger_wunsch]

Why do parrots have multiple offspring and cats and dogs don't?

Anyway, I totally want a cat. Maybe we could construct evil lairs, and petting white cats in them would give a shitton of Wyrd?

While you're sitting there petting your cat, we'll be outside your evil lair constructing a brick wall around the entrance

[Bonsoy]

Wolves can be the wild version of dogs! And cats can be........ something.