Skinning Animals in .47

[Katana67 2907]

Oddly enough, I've been trying to go melee weapon-less for a while now. Which is sort of dumb, as it's only because I don't like where they've chosen to have our weapons stored (i.e. on the right side of the avatar's back). Something that just constantly bothers me about having a Machete essentially lodged in one's shoulder, or floating behind one's head.

 

Definitely proving difficult, as the never-ending train of zombies that comes after I fire my weapon does get old (hence why I don't have any ammo for my AK-101 right now).

 

As to the skinning of animals bit, I don't think I've been hunting yet. I just haven't had the need to, with the copious amount of food/drink available elsewhere. I don't see hunting being part of my routine (which I'd love) unless it's made more attractive via decreasing the amount of edible food that drops as loot. But that's a balance discussion.

 

That and any of the crafted bits (specifically backpacks and pouches) that you get from skinning are similarly outclassed by the widely available, and superior in terms of carry capacity, backpacks.

[hombrecz 832]

What? You can sharpen knives with stones?

 

Yup man, but as nettles said, only badly damaged and it goes up only to damaged :(.

Worn would have been so much better.

 

Also pitty that sks bayonet or M4 one do not work for cutting animals.

But those things should be fixed at some point I believe.

 

Few times all I found was fully looted towns with no food, so hunting a cow or wild animal was a good thing.

I just wish cooking took like 5 minutes, not 8-10 or how it is now.

Edited August 3, 2014 by Hombre

[nettles 396]

Something that just constantly bothers me about having a Machete essentially lodged in one's shoulder, or floating behind one's head.

 

Hhhhhehehehaha, yeah, that is a trip... Hacksaws appear to be the worst in that regard.

 

 

As to the skinning of animals bit, I don't think I've been hunting yet. I just haven't had the need to, with the copious amount of food/drink available elsewhere. I don't see hunting being part of my routine (which I'd love) unless it's made more attractive via decreasing the amount of edible food that drops as loot. But that's a balance discussion.

 

You're definitely right about there being too much food available.  Hunting and gathering would be way more feasible if, like you said, there weren't copious amounts of food.  Now that loot respawns, there's really not much reason to sink a bolt into a boar.

 

I digress.  

 

Hopefully they will soon allow us to skin with most reasonable blades and add combat knives back into areas we can actually loot right now.  

[Exorade 214]

Also you can only make the bigger makeshift courier bag and packpack from boar leather.

I don't see why cow and deer wouldn't do the trick.  :(

[pilgrim* 3514]

also been unable to skin with the m4 bayonet tried twice 

 

M4 bayonet used to work before 0.47. I had one then, still have it - it wore down quickly when skinning so you had to sharpen it back up. Since 0.47 it does not work.

Also SKS bayonet does not work for skinning.

 

My bad luck - I have not found a kitchen knife since animals were introduced. Passed by 1 machete but did not keep it.

 

Knives, axes, machetes you can sharpen back up to "damaged" status, but if they fall to "ruined" status you can't sharpen them. When you use a damaged knife or axe it will fall to "badly damaged" after one use (usually) so you have to sharpen it back up straight away. Use it twice and you wreck it. This means your knife is always "damaged" at best, so you only ever get 50-60% of meat. Carry a stone with you (also use it to make fireplace, recover it afterwards).

 

Camping gas cookers are not working ATM, as far as I know.

Fishing is easy.

Edited August 8, 2014 by pilgrim

[slippery gypsy 107]

M4 bayonet used to work before 0.47. I had one then, still have it - it wore down quickly when skinning so you had to sharpen it back up. Since 0.47 it does not work.

Also SKS bayonet does not work for skinning.

 

My bad luck - I have not found a kitchen knife since animals were introduced. Passed by 1 machete but did not keep it.

 

Knives, axes, machetes you can sharpen back up to "damaged" status, but if they fall to "ruined" status you can't sharpen them. When you use a damaged knife or axe it will fall to "badly damaged" after one use (usually) so you have to sharpen it back up straight away. Use it twice and you wreck it. This means your knife is always "damaged" at best, so you only ever get 50-60% of meat. Carry a stone with you (also use it to make fireplace, recover it afterwards).

 

Camping gas cookers are not working ATM, as far as I know.

Fishing is easy.

i will let everyone know soon as gas cookers are working been waiting for that they work but insta burn and sometimes still do the stupid horizontal animation ...im wondering if the red hot pan will somehow play into the game later 

[pilgrim* 3514]

i will let everyone know soon as gas cookers are working been waiting for that they work but insta burn and sometimes still do the stupid horizontal animation ...im wondering if the red hot pan will somehow play into the game later 

 

thanx for that

at the moment I'm still looking for a damn knife, or at least a machete

- one good thing I found out while looking, is that the SKS bayonet is good for killing zombies (like a straight punch)

.. M4 bayonet (is nice looking, like a big bush knife) works too for fighting.

Pitchfork is good against zombies, but you are not going to carry a pitchfork all the time just to find worms, you always need an axe in survival.

[slippery gypsy 107]

my stable toon has a splitting axe in the pack and pick axe on the back just like the gas cooker i will post up soon as you can upgrade the fire with stones too

[nettles 396]

Dutch ovens, tents, gas lamps-  building camps is going to be so fun. 

[pilgrim* 3514]

(I guess this should be a suggestion)

 

The big problem with hunting at the moment is as follows :

- same whatever blade you use, machete or kitchen knife..

 

1 ) After skinning only 3 or 4 times, your blade will decay down to Badly Damaged (even if it was Pristine when you found it)

At Badly Damaged you have to sharpen it with a stone, but it only sharpens up to Damaged. And then you must resharpen every time you use it.

If you use Badly Damaged 1 or 2 more times, it falls to Ruined and you can't sharpen it any more, it's useless.

So until you find another edged weapon you will always have a Damaged blade for hunting, at best.

 

2 ) A Damaged blade will give you only 21-25% meat on each steak.

This means you need 4 or 5 steaks cut with your Damaged blade to equal 1 full 100% steak

 

This is too low food value to make steaks worth eating, always, considering you also have to build fire and cook..

You need five steaks (5 storage spaces) for 1 'meal'. The nourishment of 2 cans is always better than this.

 

To make hunting worthwhile

Blades must sharpen back up to WORN condition

Edited August 23, 2014 by pilgrim

[LeeVanSpliff 156]

To make hunting worthwhile

Blades must sharpen back up to WORN condition

Or the skinning/quartering should be changed so that less meat is lost for a damaged blade.

[pilgrim* 3514]

Or the skinning/quartering should be changed so that less meat is lost for a damaged blade.

 

Yes cool, but there is also the time factor. The blades detriorate too rapidly

So - not realistic at all, AND no possibility of finding a replacement edged weapon, you would spend all your time looking for a blade if you tried, and would not be able to hunt (hunting is already time consuming, you just wouldnt have time to do it, and if normal spawn was reduced so hunting was more important, number of blade spawns would be reduced too, and it is already small)

 

Also - for myself, I'm offended that I carry an old RUSTY blade around (the Damaged blade pic). In fact if I sharpened a blade IRL it would be Worn, but it would be sharp and NOT rusty, for sure. So I thought a better image of a sharpened blade would be good

 

A suggestion: As your blade decays, it goes down to Damaged, which can be the same rusty picture, but if you sharpen it , it should move up to "Worn (sharpened)" with a picture of a used sharpened blade. This is the blade as it goes UP from Damaged. As it goes DOWN from Pristine to Worn, the Worn pic should remain the same, so you only get "sharpened" as you move back up .. hmm ? Would be nice for hunters.

 

But mainly, I don't want to carry a rusty old blade that needs attention every time I use it, and also looses 75-80% of the meat I cut

(worse than opening a can with a screwdriver)

- and LOOKS still rusted and crap even after I sharpen it with hunter's care and attention.

IRL I can sharpen a blade up to Worn, and it will be worn but shiny and SHARP, and (as you say) I should not loose more than 40_50% of the meat.. and IRL much less than that.

 

But yes, the effort and time and equipment required for hunting should be better balanced against collecting cans.. and not just by reducing the number of cans..

Edited August 12, 2014 by pilgrim

[LeeVanSpliff 156]

The blades detriorate too rapidly

Aye I agree. It's not like the deer is made from tungsten.

I was thinking a bit more about this whole blade damage thing, and I guess that it's quite possible that BI will introduce some other sharpening tools that'll work better than the rocks, like get the blade up to worn.