Hunger warning cue insufficient

Greetings!

I've looked around the forums, and I've only found this mentioned a handful of times. I find it needs a bit more attention. I realize it seems like a minor issue, however it's an annoying problem I face often... almost to the point of madness.

I like the new hunger system. I really do! However, I find the warning cue totally insufficient.

I cannot count the many times I died simply because I didn't hear (or see) the hunger warning cue. The warning sound the system makes is too low (quiet). Also, the hunger bar is so tiny that any visual indication that you're about to die is missed. I realize that the Devs don't want to make the warning cue too annoying, but I firmly believe it should be much more obvious. By the very least, it could be more visually obvious. The reason why I feel this needed is because as soon as the hunger meter goes down to 0%, you DIE. You don't suddenly start walking/running slow with stomach growling. The system doesn't start to drain your life bar (HP) after hunger reaches 0%, nor does it impede energy regeneration. You just DIE immediately. With the ultimate threat to player progression, shouldn't there be a more dire warning cue?

Here's my usual scenario. I often play Starbound with my computer sound set to +50%. I play with my speakers when I'm not in a multiplayer session with my buddies (of course, headset when in multiplayer). It's summer, like an oven in my room, the exhaust fan is buzzing. Outside, cars are whizzing past (fairly loud). People walk around, sometimes they barge in for a word with me. And, as much as I like Starbound's OST, I usually set game music to 0% and blast my own music in the background (after hearing the game's OST for the 1000th time you get a little tired of it, hehe). I'm walking around Glitch town, and then suddenly POOF! I'm dead. I realize, "Oh, right... hunger." And then, I go bananas. You just can't catch that warning cue (sound)!

Apologies for sounding a little annoyed, but I really believe this could be improved.

How do you, the community, feel about this? This ever happen to you?

-EInH

 

Never happened to me. Do you have your volume turned up? I have no problems hearing the hunger warning sound. With the fact that it constantly plays nonstop I don't see how you can't hear it.

 

well if you turn off the sound, you won't hear the sound. the problem is you, not the hunger system.

 

I think you misread, (in Starbound) my sound is at +50% and my music is at 0%.

 

sarcastic: oh geez it's like you you couldn't have anything else that might be louder than the alarm, the devs must have screwed up since they totally said to blare your nickelback albums and you'd still hear the alarm just fine, why is this happening i have no idea

 

you're obviously trolling or joking.

I am in full agreement with the OP. there should be a more obvious VISUAL warning as well.

 

Completely agree with OP.

I have a small child, and I need to listen out for mischief just in case my wife or step son does not prevent him from his apparent goal of exploring the world with reckless abandon. Kids these days might not understand, but mothers and fathers out there will know that you can never have enough ears when it comes to toddlers.

Besides, in character I would imagine that "the hunger pangs of starvation" would pretty much dominate my attention. I mean, I don't really know what part of the world you guys and girls live in, but here in Midwest US, we don't exactly have people who are walking along one day, and drop dead because they didn't realize that they were starving to death. (possibly because we are generally a very hearty people & not in a healthy way, but I digress...)

 

I don't play with hunger, but I can understand from the pov of my friends who do, maybe someone could make a mod that makes it more apparent, or the game could have a feature implemented in the options to make it more apparent that your about to die from hunger? xD or you can carry a bed around and when your gonna go afk, just plop the bed down and nap in it, you don't get hungry while in a bed/tent, that is usaully what my friends do, but I guess that does not solve all the issues, maybe there could be a special sound slider just for the hunger sound, so you can just set it higher or so.

 

I agree with EinH as I am unable to notice it as well without all his listed distractions. I feel that there should at least be a warning symbol that appears over the characters head, so as to be a large visible signal. Perhaps physically becoming slower: energy, jump and speed.

 

Oh, and here i was playing chicken with the bar thinking it was a debuff that occurs, huh.

I remember with other mechanics like temperature they came with a visual effect, that will definitely get a person to notice. Barring that, parhaps the beeping needs to go faster the closer it gets to 0.

 

Literally never had this problem. Maybe turn the sound louder?

 

Adjust in-game sound, sound of your music, use "Sound Equalization" settings in your PC, the sound of whatever VOIP you are using, the sound of individual people on that VOIP, the physical speaker volume knob if you're using one, overall sound in PC, really there's so many variables you can adjust here.

But really if your external music is 10 times louder than something that's that important, it's kind of on you. You're going to have the adjust what with your living arrangement.