Hunger, Thirst & Nutrition
Your character has three vital needs tracked by meters: Hunger, Thirst, and Nutrition. Additionally, they inform the game world if you are considered healthy, which helps determine your risk of falling ill when exposed to cold or other environmental hazards.
These meters are built as large, slow pools with their numerical values obscured to discourage fixation on optimization. Yellow states are just reminders, not emergencies, and you need to be starving or dehydrated for hours of play before you are at risk for Death.
Focus on common-sense survival and roleplay, and you'll be fine.
Hunger
Hunger represents the fullness value of the food you are eating, and subsequently how full your character feels after eating it. Some foods may be quite filling but offer little or even negative nutrition value, so players may have to make a choice between the short term or long term health of their character.
| Level | Effects |
|---|---|
| Well Fed | Satiated, but serves to inform you that you’ve eaten well and can go a good while before needing more. |
| Satiated | Small bonus to fatigue and resolve regeneration. |
| Hungry | Normal fatigue and resolve regeneration, but serves as a warning to prioritize finding food to eat soon. |
| Starving | After some time in this state, you will gain the dying condition. Failure to address (eating food) will result in your characters death. |
Thirst
Thirst represents the hydration of your character. Water is relatively plentiful in the form of snow, but must be melted and boiled to be potable, potentially using valuable resources to do so. Drinking non-potable water may increase the Illness level of your character. The most commonly available ways to increase your nutrition are with drinks, but so are the most common sources of Stimulants and Depressants- and your stomach can only hold so much liquid at a time.
| Level | Effects |
|---|---|
| Well Hydrated | Satiated, but serves to inform you can go a good while before needing another beverage. |
| Hydrated | Small bonus to fatigue and resolve regeneration. |
| Thirsty | Normal fatigue and resolve regeneration, but serves as a warning to prioritize finding hydration soon. |
| Dehydrated | After some time in this state, you will gain the dying condition. Failure to address (drinking a beverage) will result in your characters death. |
Nutrition
Nutrition measures the lasting impact of what you eat and drink. It changes more slowly than Hunger or Thirst, but it has the strongest influence on your overall health and ability to "bounce back" from an injury or illness without Medical intervention.
The game uses your Nutrition (alongside your Temperature) when deciding how quickly you naturally recover from injuries and illnesses. It is also a key factor in whether you are likely to contract sickness when exposed to harsh conditions.
| Level | Effects |
|---|---|
| Healthy | Same bonus to natural healing as Adequate, just signals you won't need to prioritize nutrition for a while. |
| Adequate | Small bonus to natural healing. |
| Emaciated | No bonus to natural healing. |
| Malnourished | No bonus to natural healing, high chance of contracting illness. |
While Offline
When offline, a players satiation on these meters will deteriorate slower and after 3 days offline pause entirely.