How to Improve New England Mountains

[obsidian carbon]

First of all, I want to say that I don't hate this map. I love the fall colors and all of the animals on the map. However, I think there's some things that are clearly missing from this map and potential changes that would make it significantly better.

First, the Bobwhite Quails on the map are out of place. NEM is based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, which has no wild population of Bobwhite Quail as far as I know. The Bobwhite Quail on the map are found of the east side of the map. It would be very easy to remove the Bobwhites from these regions of the map and replace them with the American Woodcock, a much more common game bird species in New England that is around the same size.

Furthermore, I would like to see the Ruffed Grouse added to NEM, since this is a commonly hunted and widespread grouse species in New England, as well as the most widely distributed game bird in North America. It would probably live in the northern half of NEM, since the southern half has more farmland and less forest, and these grouse are more common in forested regions.

The next species I want to see added to NEM is the Groundhog (also known as the Woodchuck). This species lives throughout the Eastern United States in a variety of habitats, such as small woodlots, low-elevation forests, fields and pastures, and hedgerows. Many of these habitats are common throughout NEM, especially in the southern and eastern areas of the map. These little critters would live in burrows the same way that European Rabbits do.

One final species I want to see added to NEM is the Snowshoe Hare. Snowshoe Hares are another very common species in New England, a very widespread species in North America, and commonly hunted in New England. I think that the Eastern Cottontail Rabbits on New England should be moved to the south of the map, and the Snowshoe Hares should occupy the northern half (which is better habitat for the Hare than for the Cottontail).

[forest stream]

I Think That Perhaps Eastern Wolves As Well Could Work, Although I Am Unsure If You Can Hunt Them In New Hampshire Or Maine. Adding A New Predator Other Than Bobcats Could Just Add New Life To The Map.

[obsidian carbon]

I don't think there's any Eastern Wolf populations anywhere in New England, which means that they'd be another species that doesn't fit.

One more thing: I think it would also make a lot of sense if Canada Geese were backfilled to NEM since they're also pretty common in the region.

[forest stream]

Well There’s No Breeding Populations In New Hampshire Or Maine, But They Do Get Wanderers Coming In From New York And Vermont, Just Like How The Only Wolves In The Yamal Peninsula (Where Medved Is) Come From Wanderers In The South.

[obsidian carbon]

Yeah I just don't think wolves would make sense on NEM. Not to mention that wolves would spook other animals on the map, which would only make it even more difficult to hunt every other species on the map. I think that wouldn't make the map better at all.

[forest stream]

Eh, Your Probably Right. I Still Think It’s Stupid That Bobcats Can Spook Moose And Bears. Small Game And Even Deer Make Sense Since They’re Common Prey Of Large Bobcats, But A MOOSE?!

[obsidian carbon]

Yeah that's a very odd mechanic, hopefully the Bobcat spooking system gets changed at some point too.

[forest stream]

Yeah, Same With Mountain Lions And Pumas. They Shouldn’t Scare Bears, Nor Water Buffalo.

[obsidian carbon]

Yeah I agree.

[obsidian carbon]

Note on these new species: the Ruffed Grouse and Snowshoe Hare would also be on Yukon Valley and Layton (on Layton they'd be found in areas that don't have White-Tailed Jackrabbits)

[obsidian carbon]

bump

[formal bear]

Would Snowshoe Hare be in winter molt or summer molt? NEM has to be close to the start of winter,and it would make hunting them much easier.

[obsidian carbon]

The brown summer coat would probably be the most common one, but the white winter coat could be found as an uncommon variation (because some change color earlier than others)

[obsidian carbon]

One more species that could be added to NEM is the beautiful Wood Duck. This is a duck that could also be added to Mississippi Acres.

[obsidian carbon]

I've been doing some research to see what other new species can be added to NEM. I have a few more ideas in mind that I might post later today.

[frail lion]

there's no wolves in vermont either man

they used to live here but just like elk,caribou and mountain lions, they were hunted to extinction here a very long time ago

[grave tartan]

Glad I'm not the only one who wanted groundhogs on that map. All my friends called me crazy

[frail lion]

they're everywhere around here

and there's no bag limits or season for them

[grave tartan]

I almost hit them every day driving to work. Nobody hunts them and they are everywhere

[frail lion]

I trapped one last year

[obsidian carbon]

Another species that can be added to New England Mountains would be the Fisher, a common species in New Hampshire (where NEM is meant to be located).

The Fisher is a carnivorous mustelid native to New England and much of Canada. It is somewhere between the Marten and Wolverine in terms of size. They do climb trees but they wouldn't need to have this behavior in the game. They would probably be a Class 2 species and would be found all over the northern half of the map in forested areas.

[obsidian carbon]

The North American Beaver and Virginia Opossum are also possible species for NEM. Beavers would probably be found along the main river, while opossums would probably be found in the southern half of the map, the way raccoons are currently.

Here's a picture of the opossum

[fossil niche]

Grey Squirrel

[obsidian carbon]

If they can find a way to make Squirrels work with tree-climbing mechanics, then I would 100% support adding them. Only problem is that currently tree-climbing is not possible in the game and we have no way of knowing if it ever will be made possible.

[fossil niche]

But why do they need tree climbing mechanics? They don't. There's been hunting games in the past with squirrels, they're perfectly fine running around on the forest floor... none the bird species land in trees, so why do the squirrels need to climb them?..

Squirrels are one of the most popular (and first)animals people usually hunt. Limiting the game and not making something simply based on a climbing mechanic is pretty lame.

[untold bone]

I'm more than sure there would be a wave of complaints if they added squirrels that don't climb trees.

[fossil niche]

With that logic, then the Raccoons should also climb trees and mostly come out at night. Because I don't think I've ever seen a Raccoon run past me during the day while deer hunting like they do in game..

There's A LOT of unrealistic things the animals do in game, but no one complains..

Also, they can make an animation of a Raccoon climbing out of a trashcan but they can't figure out how to make a squirrel climbing on something even if it's not the trees.. OK

[untold bone]

Trash cans are objects with manually placed hitpoints, they are static on the map, they are not part of the render like the trees that are procedurally generated every time you enter the map..
In the same way that we don't have Beavers because they can't swim, we don't have squirrels because they can't climb.

(Although with the new water changes introduced with the Labrador it could be possible).

[fossil niche]

Yes, that's why I'm saying instead of climbing trees, they can add an object for the squirrels to climb.. like the raccoon.

Hint the 'figure out how to make a squirrel climbing on something even if it's not the trees..' part

[amber crater]

Give us our KING

[obsidian carbon]

yes we really ought to have the woodcock in the game

[cobalt ruin]

Why didn't the developers bring in these proposed animals when the New England map was published? 🤷🏻‍♂️

[forest stream]

They Were Working On Emerald Coast And Simply Wanted To Put Out A Map So That People Wouldn’t Complain As They Are Right Now.

[untold bone]

In reality NEM has the same or even more work than other maps, the recreation, setting and immersion is perfect, Appalachia is a region that has always been on the development, order and survey list since 2018, however there two problems with the map...

-Bad release time, this reserve had to be released before Mississippi so that it would present not only new animals, but also allow Mississippi to add the Waterfowl Rework and give another focus to the map...

-Lack of theme, history and iconic places in the region, the Appalachians are full of history not only about the beginnings of the US but also about the indigenous peoples and their relationship with hunting and the environment, without all of this it feels empty and incomplete...

A while ago I made this thread to highlight the development of the design team a little more, although the reserve has these problems it does not detract from the work done
https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1186507788780838922

However, I agree that adding small game hunting of its iconic species would give a lot of value to the reserve, added to a Missions pack as had been proposed in some threads..
If there is a perfect map to add to the American Woodcock and Beavers, it is undoubtedly NEW.
It has the perfect separation of trees, forest floor and fallen leaves (which improve the sound of animal footsteps) for Woodcocks, Also the main river is perfect for Beavers since it has a huge extension, perfect width for dams and already has flooded areas in some parts of the river that coincide perfectly with the artificial habitats created by the Beaver dams.
👌🏼👌🏼

[obsidian carbon]

Well said.

[amber crater]

Woodcock are also -super tiny- and would benefit from an additional firearm: the .410

[obsidian carbon]

Yep, that would be a great new shotgun to have in the game.

[frail lion]

spruce grouse are endangered here

[forest stream]

I Believe It’s Actually Listed As “Threatened” Under Maine Legislation, But Either Way They Cannot Be Hunted There.

[frail lion]

exactly

[obsidian carbon]

huh, someone had told me that they could be hunted there. I guess I should've looked it up before taking that person's word for it.

[chilly knot]

Bro I want woodcock so much they are super fun to hunt and they just look cute and sound cute and I just wanna see them in game so much ❤️❤️

[obsidian carbon]

yeah they're very unique and interesting little birds

[cobalt ruin]

The policy of COTW seems to lean towards creating animal models as efficiently as possible, favoring a copy-and-paste approach. When they released the New England map, it felt justified that the developers scrapped what they had just created due to the absence of typical animals mentioned earlier, such as the American Woodcock and Ruffed Grouse. The lack of these species left me speechless. Honestly, I don't have high expectations for the COTW development team. This is just my critique.

[river sun]

Ill choose a more radical republican name for this like "make new Hampshire great again!"

[cobalt ruin]

Wilson's snipe (Gallinago delicata)

[obsidian carbon]

I love these little birds, so unique looking.

[river sun]

I do to, I need them so bad so I include them where I can

[obsidian carbon]

You know, I was thinking about changing one of these "How to make x map better" suggestions to say "how to make (insert map name here) great again", just for fun and to make it a bit different. But that just raises too many questions imo, like, "when was this map great?" and "when did it stop being great?" etc.

I want to make these sorts of suggestions as straightforward and easy to understand as possible, so a confusing title like that is probably not the best idea, in my opinion.

[river sun]

I get it it was more of a joke

[obsidian carbon]

Maybe I'll change my SRP suggestion to say "How to Make Silver Ridge Peaks Great Again" because there was a clear time when a majority of the community thought that SRP was a truly amazing map (specifically when it first came out). Back then everyone was going crazy over it, but now it doesn't seem to be as popular anymore, so I guess you can say that we need to make it great again.

How to Improve New England Mountains

[river sun]

Srp definitely needs an update!

[obsidian carbon]

oh for sure

[river sun]

The only maps needing one more are medved and vurhonga, I could live without a nem, Mississippi or te awaroa update but maps like the base ones and some of the old maps need one so hard!

[frigid stirrup]

Here is my take on ways to Improve Vurhonga: https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1171201469177925653

It started out as me laying out evidence (from the in game codex) for Vurhonga being in South Africa

[river sun]

I've read thru it tho I think vurhonga would need a whole remake to make the map on lvl with the last maps

[quaint pond]

There is one tree model on New England that is really poor and not even properly done. Am not even sure it even exists in reality...I should know because I live in the North East and never had seen them.
Think everyone knows which ones I speak of...the ones that look like jagged pine trees without no branches that stick up straight like a unshaved spear at the top but has some branches at the trunks base. Its totally not natural and breaks my immersion at times. I know I have seen trees similar but those ones normally have branches that space out all the way up.
Also more usable trees for tree stands on the map would be nice.

[river sun]

Imma bump this back up also I made an extra post for woodcock as they are the number #1 requested species for NEM.
https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1247287176438354132

[primal bone]

I don’t want geese mainly because the honking annoys me😂

[primal bone]

I want you to know the wood duck can be added to every map where there is water in North America and certain European maps.

[river sun]

Really wood ducks in Europe?

[primal bone]

They are in Europe

Just not in the large numbers that we have here in the states but they exist there. The reason though that they aren’t common is because they are not native.

[misty mauve]

me personally, I absolutely despise this map because it brought only a little new content and after so much anticipation for a new african or an asian map we got a hirschfelden with layton lake animals

will never understand how it got chosen over an africa 2.0, south american rainforests, asian rainforests, the arctic etc.

[river sun]

They could have done new animals but not one if they did like 3 kinds of squirrels the map would have a completely different view by the community

[misty mauve]

I feel like squirrel species being the main topic of a new map would make me hate it even more ☠️☠️

[true kestrel]

I think the Canadian Lynx Could be a pretty unique choice for New England Mountains since I don’t think we have seen the Canada Lynx in either of “The Hunter” Games

[obsidian carbon]

Canada Lynx would fit in better on Yukon Valley.

[river sun]

Or SRP or Layton

[orchid tendon]

I've been visiting my grandparents in New Hampshire for a while now- I've seen several skunks, an opossum, and a fisher. It'd be so cool to be able to hunt them in game

[chilly knot]

Grouse are a very popular species and I don't think there is a single American grouse in game yet so it would be amazing to see these instead of alot of old species off all tje old maps

[cobalt ruin]

And American Woodcock

[chilly knot]

Yeah I hunt woodcock irl so it would be amazing to see them in game

[true kestrel]

Canadian Lynx and Snowshoe Hare

[broken harbor]

I wouldn't be able to harvest the woodcock if they added it's little dance as an animation

https://tenor.com/view/vibing-silhouette-shadow-bird-dancing-gif-16250067

[visual crypt]

we absolutely need the ruffed grouse, woodcock, and snowshoe hare as someone from new england, bobwhites aren’t even close to as prominent as any of those 3 species

[wild oar]

as i am a native of and still currently live in NH i can confirm that bobwhites still live in NH...we even have a season from Oct1 to Dec 31 for quail hunting. all i ask of people is please do your homework before making a fool of yourself like this. also please no on the canadian lynx as it is very much endangered in NH

[frigid stirrup]

We have Snow Leopard, Bengal Tiger, Barasingha Deer and Indian Blackbuck on a Reserve set in Nepal. All 4 species listed are currently illegal to hunt in Nepal (Though a proposal for reopening the tiger hunt was proposed only a year or two ago)

[river sun]

I read about a nepalise snow leopard hunt

[frigid stirrup]

How recently are we talking? Last 10 Years? 20?

[river sun]

No long time ago like 30-40, nothing that's still legal just found it interesting

[frigid stirrup]

I do recall a snow leopard hunt from Mongolia from almost 40 years ago under a special permit that is no longer given out (Based on the article being written in 2017 it would have been in the late 80s)

[river sun]

I only know that it was by Knut Bellinger in nepal it was one of two from the 400 trophy's he didn't get the other Beeing the makhor, he didn't shoot it after sighting the cat because he didn't want to

[frigid stirrup]

I just looked him up, seems like he did a fair bit of hunting

[river sun]

Yeah he's my favorite big game hunter tbh, he's like a chill guy and not one of those luxury 5star I measure every millimeter of my trophy's guys

There's a CD where he tells all his storys but I'm not buying one in soon to be 2k25

[obsidian carbon]

bumping this back up again

[obsidian carbon]

bump again

[obsidian carbon]

another bump

[visual zephyr]

Bump

[cobalt ruin]

Fill it with these animals.

Northern Appalachian Mountains

Southern Appalachian Mountains

[cobalt ruin]

Northern bobwhite stays, and it just needs to be redistributed in open areas like grasslands and farmland so that other birds, such as the American woodcock and the ruffed grouse, can occupy forested areas.

[mortal hill]

Awesome idea, wouldn’t mind more realism to my favorite map

[obsidian carbon]

I mean I'd be okay with that I guess, I just think that the woodcock would have been a better inclusion from the beginning rather than the bobwhite quail

[obsidian carbon]

bump for a better NEM

[obsidian carbon]

The Wood Duck that was added with Askiy Ridge would be a really great addition to New England Mountains

[vagrant nacelle]

Possums would be a cool new species

[mortal hill]

Yeah actually the would

[obsidian carbon]

Here, I mentioned the fact that the Virginia Opossum would be a good addition to this map, along with the North American Beaver that we now have on Askiy Ridge. Do I expect them to actually add beavers to the map? Not really, but I think that they would still be a good addition regardless.

[mortal hill]

I feel like they’d have to redo the map for that and i don’t think that’s happening. I would however like more small game to the map with more variety, because new englad is a good map but it has no uniqe species

[obsidian carbon]

yeah, that's why I said that I don't expect them to actually add Beavers to the map. But the Opossum is definitely a possibility.

[mortal hill]

They should add other quails too, make it like the american revontouli

[river sun]

There are no other grouse in new hampshire but woodcocks, spruce grouse and ruffed grouse

[obsidian carbon]

by the way, this is an older thread so the original post isn't exactly formatted the way that I'd format it if I was making this today. If I was making it now, I would have laid out a more extensive list of potential backfills and potential new species, and then post the information about each of them in the thread itself. Still, I think it gives you a decent idea of what they could have done with this map (and still can do if they're willing to give it some more love and attention)

[river sun]

That Is okay I forgive you, can't you update it?

[obsidian carbon]

as far as I know, you can't add new photos to an existing forum post (what I mean is the original post, not the thread), which I'd want to do if I were to reformat it. So for now it's just gonna continue to exist as it did when I first made it.

[river sun]

Oh yeah

[obsidian carbon]

by the way, if anyone else wants to make their own New England improvements/ideas thread like this one, but with a different species list, you can go ahead and give it a shot. If it's done well, I'll post a link to it in here.

[river sun]

Fuq yeah

[obsidian carbon]

you could even use some of my animal ideas in this thread for inspiration, it's a pretty old post so I don't mind lol

[river sun]

Does this slide?
https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1389002850436382871

[obsidian carbon]

lol, not what I meant but it's fine

[river sun]

https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1389007356553199646

[obsidian carbon]

nicely done, you get the stamp of approval from me 👍

[obsidian carbon]

I just found this video of a woodcock "dancing" and it really made my day, it makes me want them in COTW even more than I already did.

https://youtu.be/Q_3aSmceqNE?si=cZRMhXV_DdgukOsV

idk whether they would include that behavior in the game but it would be pretty funny if they did

[plain trail]

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