Talk:Seasons/Summer/@comment-169.1.165.206-20161228140629/@comment-34406424-20161228171824

This is an interesting idea. A Summer only challenge would be harder for most people, but over time people would get used to it (like King of Winter). Imagine the strageties and exploits people could find if they just tried new things like this.

While many people think Winter is much easier than Summer, I believe that Summer is a very relaxed season. I have lasted whole Summers while in the caves. I have not tried caves survival during Winter though. All one needs is materials for at least 8-12 endothermic fires, an (optional) Ice Chester,  2 Thermal stones and a Floral Shirt, which can be made within the first few days of Summer, and lasts 15 days (which is the length of Summer).

Of course, cave gear is necessary for the cave survival. Or you could just stockpile food and camp out for the whole season, which is much less productive but safer. If you wanted to last years of constant Summer, flingos would be impossible to make (because they need ice), and with wildfires on the "most" setting, it would provide a challenge for even the most experienced players.

The only way I could think of surviving Summer for over an in-game year is by camping in a savannah. Beefalos will constantly drop manure, which can be used to put out fires without getting hurt, and used as fuel for your Endothermic Fire/Pit. Having a rockyland or caves entrance nearby is needed for constant nitre for Endothermic fires.

The only way I can think of making it through the first few days is by immediately finding boulders for nitre and gold, making a science machine, then prototyping an endothermic fire. If you don't have poop to extinguish your Science Machine (which has probably started smoldering by now), just hammer it down to get the most materials back before it burns.

Drying racks would be amazing in constant summer, drying meat in just a few days. Making drying racks would be easy with all the charcoal from burnt trees and structures. Making rabbit traps would be nice, if Rabbits were populating your Beefalo savannah. Just be careful your beefalos and rabbits don't spontaniously combust! In fact, rabbits would probably be your main food source, since other means like Berry Bushes and Farming are more risky and less productive if you have to waste all your Manure putting out all the bush fires.

Exploration would be hard but worth it, as important things can be found and your base will not burn while you are away. Take an endothermic fire pre-built, and a couple Thermal Stones. Important things to find would be the Desert, Grasslands with Frog ponds, the Pig Village, Spider Dens and Chester's Bone. The Desert would give you Cacti, which would be a food source and an important part of the Floral Shirt recipe. The frog ponds will not burn, and are a reliable food source, as long as you can make fishing rods. The Pig Village will burn, but at least the Pig King can still give you gold (which is important in summer survival). Spider Dens will be important in a few Summer survival recipes like the (most important) Floral Shirt, Fishing Rod, Tent, and (second most important) Siesta Lean-to.

Chester is useful for obvious reasons, and Ice Chester is even better, if you can make him. The only problem with Chester is that he will catch fire a lot, burning your base and wasting Manure. Ice Chester is worth it, because with two Thermal Stones you can constantly have one stone chilling inside him, while the other stone chills you. Switch stones when yours gets warm, and by then the other stone will be stone-cold. Ice Chester is also important because food spoils faster in Summer, and he will become a mobile Ice Box. Making an actual Ice Box might not even be necessary if Ice Chester can hold enough food to sustain you.

Overall, Summer survival could be a fun challenge to try, and while hard to start up in, would be fun to try to sustain yourself in. Sorry about going on and on about it, but this idea really interested me. Thanks for sharing your opinion about it!