Hydration & Hunger

Hydration System

• Hydration bar - This is a UI element that allows players to see their colonist’s current hydration. The bar decreases as the colonist becomes dehydrated, a natural occurrence that is sped up by heavy exertion. To replenish the bar the colonist will need to imbibe liquids. If the bar reaches 0 the colonist slowly loses health until they die or until the bar is refilled by re-hydrating.

• Consumables - In order to prevent untimely deaths, consumable items (such as water bottles) can be carried in the player’s inventory and used to restore hydration levels.

• Buff effects - The hydration system shares some crossover with the mechanics related to growing and preparing foodstuffs. Different types and higher qualities of drinks can provide benefits to colonists beyond merely increasing their hydration. For example: Cold beverages (e.g. cold water) provide heat resistance buffs, providing a colonist with better toleration of warmer areas.

  • To make a beverage cold, colonists have to place it in the freezer for a period of time.

  • In addition to drinks, soups and other hydrating dishes are included as part of the food system.

Hunger System

Similar to the hydration system, colonists will have a UI element dedicated to tracking their current hunger level.

• Hunger bar - This bar represents a colonist’s need to eat and as that need increases, the bar decreases. To prevent starvation, a colonist will need to consume foodstuffs.

• The colonist will begin to lose health once the bar hits 0 and will continue to do so until they eat something to replenish it.

The food system will also feature many different recipes. Colonists will be able to combine different ingredients to create new dishes, each of which will provide benefits to the colonist. For example:

• Soups - An excellent choice for high levels of nutrition and hydration, soups also increase a colonist’s resistance to low temperatures, allowing safer and longer exploration in cold zones or during the night.