Food Quality: where it is and how we'd like it to be

[Waffleloffle]

food quality is a very strange little mechanic, currently. when it's negative, it makes itself apparent in food poisoning, which isn't destructive but IS very annoying, and when it's positive, it gives you a single extra line of text when you eat something. (it might do more? I have no idea if it does more)

at the start of next week, I plan to start on a rework of food quality and its effects, both to clean up a kinda crusty system and to facilitate further changes to food and cooking down the line. I have a fair number of potential consequences for negative food quality drafted, but I find myself struggling to think of any potential benefits to good food quality that aren't just an extension of the food buffs' time

so, what do people think about this very minor mechanic? how do you feel about the way it is now, and what sort of changes or QoL would you enjoy to see with it?

[RubberRats]

IIRC higher quality food has a longer buff duration and MIGHT also give increased healing. To repeat your points, neither of these are particularly noticeable effects.

As for better effects, I have a handful of ideas:
- High quality food gives stronger effects
- High quality food has a higher cap on maximum effect duration
- Very high quality food gives a buff that lasts indefinitely, or until it is replaced by a buff from a different food item
- High quality food contains rare/unique reagents not present in their normal counterparts
- High quality food gives unique/oddball effects like the ones from chicken eggs

I have no idea how many of these ideas can be considered quality, but I'm sure that something can be made from this.

[Kotlol]

The higher quality the more it refills your food gauge, but that's it.

The better effects start when botany grows amazing ingridents.
Just the other day I grew Garlili (Chili Garlic) with high potency.. and while it's spicy.. it somehow refilled my thrist metre to the max and kept it there for 5+ minutes.

I WAS BAFFLED! So yea look into how that worked and maybe you can extract some code.

[TDHooligan]

it's not really a big mechanic predominantly because all chefs follow the book, so there's not a huge reason to improve the system (besides having it there as a punishment for not following the book)

more of the strength is in the condiments etc.

[Waffleloffle]

it's not really a big mechanic predominantly because all chefs follow the book, so there's not a huge reason to improve the system (besides having it there as a punishment for not following the book)

I'd like to make cooking more fun and accessible for people who don't necessarily wanna pull up the wiki page, so I aim to redo the system to make it tied less to that. I think a big part of what makes cooking feel kinda bad right now is that there's so many exact variables you need to think about to make ANYTHING, and also memorizing arbitrary cook times isn't really fun in my experience

I'll have a look at what condiments actually do and maybe have them directly improve (or degrade) a food's quality if applied accordingly, but I'm really wondering what the mechanical benefit to these hoops are in the first place, y'know

[Kotlol]

it's not really a big mechanic predominantly because all chefs follow the book, so there's not a huge reason to improve the system (besides having it there as a punishment for not following the book)

I'd like to make cooking more fun and accessible for people who don't necessarily wanna pull up the wiki page, so I aim to redo the system to make it tied less to that. I think a big part of what makes cooking feel kinda bad right now is that there's so many exact variables you need to think about to make ANYTHING, and also memorizing arbitrary cook times isn't really fun in my experience

I'll have a look at what condiments actually do and maybe have them directly improve (or degrade) a food's quality if applied accordingly, but I'm really wondering what the mechanical benefit to these hoops are in the first place, y'know

My biggest complaint with cooking is that 90% of it is just throw it into the oven to get the desired results.

Only with sandwiches (wich are oven only)
And Soups (Atleast it's not oven based)
can you sorta customize it for fun.

I want to make banana panckes already but throwing some batter and banana's in a cooking pan and cooking it on the stove.

[Jakson]

Before we do anything with cooking we need to add an EATING MAX, I hate it when you cook this huge meal, and suddenly someone comes along and just eats the entire thing.

[Frank_Stein]

Before we do anything with cooking we need to add an EATING MAX, I hate it when you cook this huge meal, and suddenly someone comes along and just eats the entire thing.

I'd rather see it like a status effect gained after overeating, where you get a little sluggish and can no longer eat as quickly, maybe move a bit slower in general.

[Lord_earthfire]

And maybe explode you and your sorrounding if you REALLY overeat, noita-style.

[Jakson]

Before we do anything with cooking we need to add an EATING MAX, I hate it when you cook this huge meal, and suddenly someone comes along and just eats the entire thing.

I'd rather see it like a status effect gained after overeating, where you get a little sluggish and can no longer eat as quickly, maybe move a bit slower in general.

I'm convinced this still will not stop the clown from eating the entire bar

---

And maybe explode you and your sorrounding if you REALLY overeat, noita-style.

+1

[sarah.white]

Instead of just extending the duration of food buffs with positive food quality, you could introduce additional benefits, such as increased health regeneration, enhanced stamina recovery, or improved combat performance. This would incentivize players to seek out high-quality food and make it a more strategic aspect of gameplay. Imagine the potential of incorporating diverse in-game benefits with various food options. For instance, indulging in a delectable dish like Szechuan style chicken could not only extend the duration of buffs but also grant temporary boosts to combat performance, providing players with a strategic advantage during intense battles. This would add a new layer of excitement to the gameplay, encouraging players to explore different culinary delights within the virtual world.

[Silent Majority]

Before we do anything with cooking we need to add an EATING MAX, I hate it when you cook this huge meal, and suddenly someone comes along and just eats the entire thing.

I'd rather see it like a status effect gained after overeating, where you get a little sluggish and can no longer eat as quickly, maybe move a bit slower in general.

I like this but it'd take a lot of fiddling and work. As it currently stands a single cherry is more filling than a slice of pizza. A lolipop is more substantive than a donut. a baked potato is more filling than an entire cake, etc. There's a lot of just...almost randomness to food.