Devlog: Cooking
Hello everyone!
Today the topic is Cooking, a mechanic that will play a significant role in both your adventures and the Caravan System.
Important note: the effects, prices, and availability of most existing foods will be rebalanced in Rags to Riches. The numbers you see on the screenshots are also subject to change.
Cooking can be split in two parts: Basic Actions and the cooking of dishes.
Basic Actions include Roasting and Meat Salting. Roasting is basically the Cooking of the current version of the game. In Rags to Riches it’ll be performed through a separate menu with an option to roast multiple ingredients at once rather than going through them one by one.
Salting requires any type of meat and a few handfuls of Salt. Once preserved, meat loses some of its nutritional value but can be stored indefinitely, which is quite convenient during prolonged expeditions or when you want to preserve the spoils of your hunt for later.
The preparation of actual dishes is more complex. First of all, you’ll need a recipe. Some basic recipes will be available to all characters from the beginning. The rest will have to be found, bought, or earned through high Reputation in settlements. For instance, reaching Respect in Osbrook will make it possible to purchase the secret of preparing Osbrook Bread Bowl Stew, in Mannshire - Mannshire Fair Salad, in Brynn - Harpy Omelette à la Brynn. For now, we’ve created 37 different recipes, but their total number might grow by the time Rags to Riches is out.
So, you’ve got the recipe, what’s next?
Firstly, you’ll need an open fire - any fireplace or campfire will do. Then you’ll have to place a pot on top of it. Tavern fireplaces and some campsites already have pots pre-installed, but you’ll need to bring one for any fires you start yourself. Although, not every recipe requires a pot - for instance, Hunter-Style Drumsticks or Meat Skewer can be cooked without it.
In order to prepare soups and some deserts (such as Fruit Soup or Flapjacks), you’ll need to fill your pot with water or milk. This can be done simply by pouring liquid from other vessels into it.
Once this part is over, you can start adding the ingredients. Most recipes allow a certain level of deviation: sometimes, they can be interpreted quite liberally - if you cook a Vegetable Salad, any “Vegetable” type ingredient will do. Other recipes might require a specific item, such as Garlic, Onion, or Leek. Keep in mind that the end result will always look the same and have the same effects regardless of the exact ingredients used - this is done for the sake of straightforwardness and more consistent visuals.
The numbers and stats you see are a placeholder and a subject to change.Still, there’s a caveat: some recipes have a place for optional Additives that will imbue dishes with extra effects. For example, Salt will double your dish’s expiration time, Butter will give it a bonus to Hunger Resistance, and more exotic variants (such as Jibean Spices, Nistrian Condiments, and Skadian Herbs) will provide a sizeable boost to Morale, Sanity, or Immunity.
All in all, dishes will differ not only in the amount of Hunger they sate but also many other aspects: they might reduce Fatigue, improve Morale, Sanity, or Immunity, grant bonus Experience Gain, increase some Resistances, and so on. On top of that, “Satiety” (the effect granted for overfilling your Hunger meter) will receive an additional stack and some other bonuses if you gain it by consuming an advanced dish.
Once you’re done cooking, food can be eaten directly from the pot. But if you want to leave it for later, you’ll need a suitable vessel. Obviously, soups require a deep bowl, but everything else can be placed on any plate (gold plates will work as well!). It’ll also be possible to place some dishes directly into your Inventory, such as loafs of Garlic Cheese Bread.
That’s all for now. Stay tuned for the next devlog, which will be focused on the second branch of the Caravan Upgrades!
