How To Improve Medved Taiga (new species, backfilling, & other improvements)

[wide abyss]

While the addition of wolves and capercaillies were a great step toward making Medved Taiga more interesting, I think it's safe to say that there's a lot of things that can be done to improve this old but beautiful Siberian map.

First, there are some older species on this map that really deserve a rework. Previously I've touched on how the Reindeer/Caribou and Siberian Musk Deer deserve a rework. Other people have made posts asking for Gray Wolves and Wild Boars to be reworked, which I think would also greatly improve Medved Taiga. All of these reworks would go a long way toward making this map better.

Second, we could use some backfilling! Two species that would definitely be perfect backfills on Medved are the Hazel Grouse and Black Grouse, which would definitely be a great way to give us more upland game birds to hunt on this map. The Taiga Bean Goose (almost identical to the Tundra Bean Goose on Revontuli) can also be added to Medved to give the map a waterfowl species. The Red Fox is another backfill option. All of these species are widespread across Siberia.

The Mountain Hare is a possible backfill species as well, although their currently rare "White" winter fur variation would need to become the common variant on Medved Taiga for the sake of immersion and realism. The Mountain Hare is also called the Tundra Hare, and giving the species this alternative name on Medved Taiga would definitely help to differentiate the Winter variant on Medved from the Summer variant on Revontuli. This would be a very unique way to incorporate this species onto Medved Taiga.

Third, Medved deserves some brand new animals as well. I think that the Siberian Roe Deer, Wolverine, Siberian Weasel, and Arctic Fox are all species that would fit really well on Medved Taiga. All of these species are widespread in Siberia.

Finally, it would just really add to the immersion if we'd be able to see the Aurora Borealis at night on Medved, the same way we can see it on Revontuli Coast.

Link to my post about a Reindeer/Caribou rework
https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1184642607196946482

Link to my post about a Siberian Musk Deer rework:
https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1197014102158086164

Links to two posts about a Gray Wolf remodel/rework
https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1142199088293626007
https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1114692251096989726

Link to a post about a Wild Boar rework:
https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1125130878813749309

Link to my post where I originally suggested adding the Northern Lights to both Yukon Valley and Medved Taiga
https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1118005070466928650

[dapper kiln]

Arctic Fox in Russia mainly stick to the coastal areas in Northern Russia so if they were added to Medved I would stick them to the areas along the northern coast of Medved but everything looks and sounds good as far as a Medved remake/improvement goes

[wide abyss]

Yeah that's basically what I was thinking. The Arctic Fox would mostly be along the northern coast and generally the far north of the map in general. Arctic Fox do live in the northern parts of the taiga so it would totally make sense to have them on Medved imo.

How To Make Medved Taiga Great (new species, backfilling, & other improvements)

Title of the original post has been changed to be more descriptive and easier to understand.

[wide abyss]

I'm going to give a description of each of the new species, with more general information and info that would affect gameplay.

First up is the Siberian Roe Deer. This is a different species from the Western or European Roe Deer that we currently have on Hirschfelden and Cuatro Colinas. Siberian Roe Deer have larger antlers with more branches than the European species, and are also significantly heavier than the European variety of Roe Deer.

The image of this species in the first post is one with its red summer coat. However, in the game the gray-brown and sometimes light gray winter coat would probably be the most common variant, because Medved is set in the Winter season. A special "red brown" fur variant would be uncommon (as seen on the taxidermied specimen in the third photo) and the Red variant could still potentially be included as a rare variant just for some extra variety. I don't know for certain, but I'm pretty sure that this species would probably have all of the rare variants that the European Roe Deer in the game currently have.

This species would be Class 3, as it is slightly smaller than the Axis Deer which is a Class 3 species in the game. It lives in forest and steppe environments, and it would primarily be found in the southern half of the map.

[wide abyss]

The Wolverine is a widespread species throughout the taiga and boreal forest regions of the northern hemisphere, along with alpine and arctic tundra. It is found in both Eurasia and North America, meaning that it could be added to both Yukon Valley and Medved Taiga. This species is the largest mustelid and has a reputation for being very ferocious and gluttonous.

This species would have a few common fur variants, including Brown (first image), Dark Brown (second image) and Red Brown (Third Image). There would also be several rares for them, like Melanistic, Albino, Pale, and Blonde. Despite their small size, they would be Class 3 species because of their ferocity and toughness.

This species would be found throughout all of Medved Taiga, although their population on the map would have a relatively low density.

This would also be a dangerous species, likely to go aggressive at close range, and would put up quite a fight despite their small size. Players would want to be extra cautious when a Wolverine is in the area.

On the other end of the spectrum from the Wolverine, we have the Siberian Weasel, one of the smaller mustelids. This tiny predator would be a Class 1 species. Found in the forests of the southern half of Medved Taiga, this species would have burrows that it lives in, which it emerges from at certain times of day, similar to the European Rabbits we currently have in the game. It would be found in the forests in the southern regions of Medved Taiga.

This species would have several variants. Brown (First image) and Light Brown (image 2) would be common variants, Red and Pale (third and fourth image respectively) would be uncommon. Not sure what rares would exist for them, although it does appear that melanistic weasels do exist in real life.

[wide abyss]

Finally we have the Arctic Fox, a polar species that lives throughout the Arctic Tundra and northern Taiga/boreal forest in North America and Eurasia. This would be a Class 2 species, like other foxes in the game. This small predator would be a shy and skittish species, inhabiting the northern regions of Medved Taiga but being most abundant along the northern coast.

Their common variant would be the White variation, with the Arctic Fox's iconic bright white fluffy coat that would give it perfect camouflage in the snowy landscape of Medved Taiga. An uncommon variant would be the Blue fur variant, the one that does not change color based on the seasons. Another uncommon would be Dark Blue, a slightly darker version of the blue variant. Since Medved Taiga is set in deep winter, the rare Molting variation (the transition between summer and winter coats) would be the only other fur variant that players can find.

[wide abyss]

The addition of snow accumulating on animals' fur would also be a great improvement to Medved Taiga.

#1181053623602520195 message

[wide abyss]

One more potential Wolverine fur variation would be one called Golden Brown, another common variation with a more light brown coloration, without the strawberry hue of the Red Brown.

[wide abyss]

And here's what the "Blonde" wolverine variation would look like.

[open ember]

I think pine marten would be a cooler addition than a weasel but that’s just my opinion

[wide abyss]

Pine Martens are not really a Siberian species, they'd make more sense as an addition to a European map.

[dapper kiln]

The closest thing to a pine marten in Siberia is the Sable, a related species highly valued for its fur

[wide abyss]

This cute little critter would be a neat addition to Medved, I wouldn't oppose it. I still think that the Siberian Weasel makes more sense though since they technically were on the map in the past (albeit as a non-huntable species).

honestly, the more I think about ways that Medved can be improved, the more I think we need a second Siberian map.

[open ember]

Didn’t realise that Siberia didn’t have pine martens

[wide abyss]

bumping this one back up

[foggy slate]

bump cuz i support your cause

[open ember]

Far east Russia with Kamchatka or ussuri brown bears would be cool

[wide abyss]

yeah that's true. A southern Siberia map with Siberian Ibex and Altai Wapiti (a Siberian variety of the North American Elk) would also be great

[open ember]

Hopefully we get one like that one day,I just really want wolverines in the game

[wide abyss]

yeah I understand that.

[coral socket]

The black billed capercaillie would be hella fire.
If they would do all that medved would become one of the best maps no need for a second winter forest if we get this!

[coral socket]

Let me introduce y'all to the black billed capercaillie

[thorn knoll]

That’s is essentially just the existing Capercaillie.

[dapper kiln]

The “existing” Capercaillies in the Game are Western Capercaillies
The main difference I can immediately see is the beak

[thorn knoll]

The Western Capercaillies already fill the role of Black-billed capercaillies on medved. Seems like a waste of development time to me….

[dapper kiln]

That is fair given how far east the Western goes and the two species frequently hybridize in places they meet

The Black-billed is also more adapted for open habitat as the Larch Forest they prefer are not as dense as the forest on Medved are

Range map of the Western Capercaillie

[sly ermine]

This specie lives in eastern Siberia as well as parts of northern Mongolia and China.

[thorn knoll]

The better fit would be the ptarmigans,whether it be willow or rock (preferably both).

[sly ermine]

Western capercaillie x Black Grouse (hybrid)

[coral socket]

The Siberian musk deer is also mostly in East siberia

[coral socket]

Also it's quit easy to program, just scale them down a little bit and change the beak colour bamm new species.
You also could make hybrid a rare plumage type

[thorn knoll]

I believe it says in one of the missions medved is in western Siberia🤷‍♂️

[coral socket]

I know but the animals say sometimes different stuff

Siberian musk deer are not where medved is set

The Lena pillars for example are found in eastern Siberia and are also found in medved

[brave quiver]

Also says there are no wolves in the area and that hasn't been changed.

You could make an argument for transplants for the sake of biodiversity, or a slow natural migration taking shape. Either could be true, and we don't know an exact spot for the map so it could be close enough for natural migration to occur anyway

[coral socket]

What I'm saying is that black billed capercaillies are very easy to put into the game and would create some nice variety

[thorn knoll]

They wouldn’t add much at all because we already have their closest relative.

[coral socket]

We have willow and rock ptarmigan, they would at variety while also being very easy to put into the game

[brave quiver]

I'd like musk deer to get a makeover, its kinda just a roe deer with teeth rather than antlers right now

[marsh mason]

Map will be better.

[brave quiver]

Also, it bothers me a bit that roe deer does are just permanently in their summer coats, and it's mildly annoying. So if they come to Medved, i want them all to be dark colored

[coral socket]

They have to do Siberian roe deer for medver Couse they are nearly double the size

[brave quiver]

Yeah? I was just talking about coat color, nothing to do with the size of the animal

[coral socket]

I think I'd they did this species they'd use the winter coat Couse they did the same with seasonal coats for newer specie like Mountain hare or stuff like that.

[brave quiver]

They could update roe deer, they've worked a ton on red deer, so that the summer coat was more common in Cuatro (cuz weather there) and all dark on Medved

[coral socket]

Sounds good

[coral socket]

Make medved great again!!!

[coral socket]

What about adding waterfowl to the coast
-siberian scoter
-black scoter
-long tailed duck
-smew
-stellars eider
-king eider
-pacific eider
-spectacled eider
-red breasted goose

Would al be fitting nice waterfowl for the northern coast

[thorn knoll]

I don’t think Medved is coastal… at all.

[coral socket]

Many sea birds spend time in inland lakes and rivers tho, like harlequin duck.
This one is for stellars eider

[coral socket]

I looked it up turns out 2 of the species don't fly into the northern Siberian inland, so king and common eider of the list all other tho would be possible and I think even 3 would be very very good

[thorn knoll]

Stellars Eider is one of the few that would actually work.

[wide abyss]

bumping this one again

[foggy topaz]

wow

[wide abyss]

So I decided to do some research and found out that Red Foxes and Arctic Foxes have some overlap in their ranges in Siberia. So I think it would be a good idea to include both fox species on Medved, with the Red Foxes being mostly in the southern parts of the map (becoming less and less common further north) and Arctic Foxes in the far north of the map.

[marsh mason]

Yes

[wide abyss]

It's been a little while so I'm bumping this one back up again

[wide abyss]

bump for a better Medved

[odd valve]

love medved, would love to see this

[wide abyss]

bumping this back up again

I think I'll eventually make some potential range maps for these backfilled and new species on Medved, the same way that I did for my Yukon Valley suggestion

[wide abyss]

Speaking of which, I did some more exploration of Medved recently, partially to do a bit more research for this suggestion. In the process, I discovered this weird quirk of the map. There's actually an explorable area northeast of the "official" in-game map border, which extends about a kilometer northeast of the apparent map border (that the in-game map shows). On my game anyway, this area is populated with a lot of animals (including quite a few moose, reindeer and brown bears) that have need zones in this area, which can be found as far out as the point where the game force-respawns you back within the main map area (which is approximately where my marker is on the screenshot below).

I thought this was really interesting. What this discovery seems to show is: the playable map area that you can hunt in is actually quite a bit bigger (and more extensive) than the borders of the in-game map would seem to suggest. You can see this in the screenshot I have attached below, where the "map border" is the skinny line that extends across the lower parts of the image. As you can see, the little zone indicators for the zones I found go REALLY far beyond the line where the map border supposedly is.

This is either a mistake in terms of how the map's regions were mapped out (that presumably never got corrected in a later patch), or it means (potentially) that Medved was originally meant to be a bigger map. Either way, it's a very interesting little quirk of the map.

Do with this information whatever you want to do. If you want to investigate this area outside the map for yourself, you can access it by going to the outpost that is in the far northeast of the map, then head pretty much straight north to the place where the forest meets the open ice, then run northeast along that coast. Depending on your luck, you might actually have some cool trophy animals waiting for you up there, along with some undiscovered need zones that you might want to factor into any grinds that you're currently doing on Medved.

[ionic frigate]

Personally I enjoy the desolate feel of Medved. It's something that makes it stand out from the other maps and I worry it would lose that if it got more species. I wouldn't be totally opposed to the sable but wouldn't really want any more than that. We know we're getting another winter reserve, and maybe that'll end up satisfying people's desire for a more densely populated snow map.

[odd valve]

What do you think about something like the Siberian Roe deer being added but with a low population density to maintain that desolate atmosphere ?

[ionic frigate]

I think there are definitely interesting possibilities for using the limited population systems they developed for Sundarpatan on other reserves. But adding a second small species of deer to Medved and a second species of roe deer to the game isn't something I see as worth it. A limited pop of roe deer on Salzwiesen on the other hand could be interesting. And sable on Medved would be unique as the first mustelid in the game which would open the door for things like pine marten on European maps or fishers on NEM.

[odd valve]

OK ok I see. I definitely think limited populations is a promising feature in some aspects. As for Sable, I think that'd be cool introducing the mustelids into the game

[wide abyss]

going to be posting some potential range maps for the species I want to see added to Medved

[wide abyss]

Potential Black Grouse range map

Potential Hazel Grouse range map

Potential Red Fox range map - the Red Fox would inhabit the southern regions, while the Arctic Fox would be found further north

Potential Tundra Hare range map - this would be the winter fur variation of the Mountain Hare that is already in the game

[wide abyss]

Potential Arctic Fox range map

Potential Siberian Weasel Range map

Potential range map for the Siberian Roe Deer

Potential Wolverine range map - they would be found all across Medved Taiga but with a low population density. Their total population would be about 20-30 Wolverines across the entire map.

If any waterfowl species are added they would have to be limited to the northern coast because almost all of the other water on the map is frozen

[wide abyss]

I think a rework for the Eurasian Lynx would also be a great improvement to Medved Taiga
https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1323703520851136624

[wide abyss]

bumping this again because it's been a little while

[brave quiver]

Bump

[tidal roost]

Would be fire

[wide abyss]

Bump for Wolverines in Medved Taiga

[wide abyss]

Bump for Arctic Foxes on Medved Taiga

[wide abyss]

bump

[toxic ermine]

Weasel so small. Nobody hunt on it with a rifle.

[cinder fable]

They used to have weasels in the game. Plus, irl people hunt Weasels with .22 rifles fairly often.

[dapper kiln]

I remember those little weasels, there also used to be squirrels on Layton Lakes and Hirschfelden

[cinder fable]

And there were some Rabbits on Layton that were considered “critters” until they were removed when the Jackrabbits were added.

[wide abyss]

I honestly think weasels, pine martens etc. would be really great additions to the maps, small animals like that would really help to make the game world feel more alive

[toxic ermine]

Weasels were huntable?

[wide abyss]

I think you could shoot them but they weren't claimable, but I'm not sure since that was before I started playing the game

[coral socket]

Yeah idk either, only started in 2019, but I guess so

[wide abyss]

I hope that the new dynamic snow that we've seen in some screenshots of the new map will also be added to Medved

[wide abyss]

still really hoping for this 🤞

[wide abyss]

How To Improve Medved Taiga (new species, backfilling, & other improvements)

[wide abyss]

bumping this back up again

[wide abyss]

bump for the Siberian Roe Deer

[wide abyss]

bump for a better Siberian hunting experience

[wide abyss]

bump again

[half kelp]

i dont really think red fox should be here. and roe deer is similar to musk deer but still nice

[wide abyss]

when it comes to the Red Fox, it's just a potential backfilling option, because there are many Red Foxes throughout most of Russia. The roe deer in the game currently only look similar to the musk deer because the musk deer in the game currently is just a downsized roe deer model. If the Musk Deer gets a rework to look more like an actual Siberian musk deer, the two wouldn't look too similar at all.

this is what real Siberian Musk Deer look like.

[wary ridge]

I’d love red fox on the map since it would be cool to hunt them during winter on a European map (ik it’s not really Europe but still it works for me). But if there’s some other type of small canid you could add instead i’d be more for that

[wide abyss]

we could also have the Arctic Fox in the northernmost parts of Medved since there are some in the northern parts of Siberia. It's a bit of a stretch but they could make them fit.

[wary ridge]

Yeah sure they could work

[old cairn]

artic fox sounds fire

[wide abyss]

I really think that the Arctic Fox would fit in quite well on Medved.

[sly ermine]

Yes. In Medved-Taiga where reindeer live.

[sly ermine]

Yes, in Medved-Taiga in a wide range.

The Sable (Martes zibellina) needs to be added to Medved-Taiga.

[sly ermine]

They should add the mountain hare because this animal appears in the image.

Ringed Seal (Pusa hispida)