NPC When your pet's health reaches 0...

What happens to the equipment when the pet dies in lava?

 

Touche, you got me there. I don't know, I guess it would disappear similarly to how a regular character's items would disappear on mediumcore/hardcore mode of Terraria.

 

I'll go with E.

 

I'm gonna hit B, but with a touch of C, and even less of D.

I don't like the idea of permadeath right away if your pet reaches 0 hitpoints, but instead of only hauling them back to the spaceship, you quickly must run over and provide you're pet with a second wind. Once this second wind is given, they have a very low amount of hitpoints, and are unable to move/attack. They must be defended until they are safely returned to your ship by you carrying them back. Any pet that survives the whole thing without being incapacitated could be granted a bonus that extends their second wind time or maybe even raising their max hitpoints. This buff could be named something like 'Combat Wits'.

Pets that aren't given a second wind become incapacitated and lose some stats and bonuses they may have previously held (Like the mentioned "Combat Wit' buff). These incapacitated pets must still be carried back to your spaceship, or you may permanently lose them.

The idea behind my suggestion is that you get rewarded by taking a major risk and leaving yourself defenseless if you quickly care for your pet, but you losing much of it by neglecting it.
Pretty much risk-and-reward actions.

 

I like C because then you dont have to do all this annoying stuff

 

That's a good idea, but sometimes the game really screws you over. What if the pet was knocked into lava somehow? Would you be able to get to him and give him a second wind?

 

I didn't think about that one, it's a tough situation.
I'm stumped honestly, the closest thing I could say for this is you're pet would have to be fireproof in some way (maybe an accessory or pet armor of some sort, or naturally lavaproof?) and your player armor would have to be lavaproof as well to reach the pet.

If anything, when the pet gets incapacitated in lava, it could just instantly teleport back to your ship rather than have to be carried, an obvious example reference to this system could be like in Borderlands with the New-U Station where you are downed when your HP reaches zero, and if you don't receive a second wind you are reverted back to the nearest New-U Station.

 

I personally think that the cloning type option would be the best, but make it so the cloning technology has to be acquired in some moderately difficult way first, and even then cost resources to carry out the clone. That way the death of a beloved pet still has an impact and consequence, but with effort you can recover and get a worthy replacement.

 

For cloned pets I don't think they should be on the same level as tamed ones. The more clones you generate from a particular DNA batch decreases over-all effectiveness in stats by a percentage or even as far as their behavior degenerates to "crazy" or simply "passive". You might later research something to counteract or lessen the penalties, maybe re-new the DNA by grabbing some from the same species creature?

 

Well actually, the problem with cloning is too much of the same factor, a species as isolated as the ones in game might require some breeding among separate species. You have a great idea, but what if we changed it a bit and say you caught a fire lizard and took it's DNA, but after a while, as your lizards die, their DNA deteriorates after time, requiring new species to keep it cloning successfully. You could take other lizards from other planets and use it to create new, evolved creatures. Imagine a fire lizard combined with a frost lizard, and that created a creature that attacked with ice underwater and fire on land. Splicing the genome in that manner could use the RMG (Random Monster Generator) to create some interesting companions. Hell, you could evolve your own damn species and eventually perfect the DNA, resulting in the ultimate race of super lizards that require no more genes to to sustain itself AND can be used in any environment.

 

That is an awesome solution. It would also give incentive to keep looking collecting.

 

whoops I meant hit "E" for my answer. I like the E answer very very so *censored* bloody in *censored* time yes I like that idea.

 

Based on the options I was thinking of a left 4 dead kind of revival system. Using option 2 if your pet sustains enough damage ( for example 20/100 hp) it will "faint" or not move until you heal it. If the pet continues to receive damage it will either die ( 0/100 hp ) or ( item idea time ) if the pet has a teleportation collar it will be teleported back to your base and will join your side again when you return to it .

 

That could work. That would fall within the realm of a more personalized experience, as you would be able to sustain your pet and save it's life, rather than clone it. I like that you have mixed the options together, and your idea could definitely work! The only thing I would add is a 'bleed-out' timer, like in L4D, where there is a limited time to revive the pet before it dies/teleports. (Sorry to revisit this old, old, old, old, old thread, I have been very busy)