Medved Taiga Revitalization

[signal dew]

Hello everyone! Here's where I'll be posting all of my ideas for really invigorating my favorite reserve, Medved Taiga. Currently, it is absolutely wonderful, sporting a solid species list:

• Western Capercaillie (Class 1)
• Siberian Musk Deer (Class 2)
• Eurasian Lynx (Class 3)
• Wild Boar (Class 5)
• Reindeer (Class 6)
• Gray Wolf (Class 6)
• Eurasian Brown Bear (Class 7)
• Moose (Class 8)

But, that being said there are still a few species that could be added to make it even more spectacular. I'll be posting random thoughts here as I do more research and I invite discussion from y'all too.

First, a bit about Medved Taiga. Of course, it is inspired by the harsh polar-subpolar forests of northern Russia, specifically those of the southern Yamal Peninsula - we know this due to the ingame presence of the Nenets People, and Indigenous group from this region (the Nenets Autonomous Okrug). This knowledge will influence my suggestions for this map.

(📸: Anna Nekhaeva)

My first suggestion is one I've sprinkled throughout the Feedback area - the relatively simple addition of the Siberian Roe Deer (Capreolus pygargus) [Class 3]. These deer are found in the northern parts of Eurasia, formerly from Ukraine to Manchuria but due to anthropogenic effects their range has slightly shrunk. However, they still present a unique hunting opportunity and especially for the Hunter looking to add more to their antlered collection. The Siberian Roe differs from their European cousin with thinner, taller, overall more dramatic antlers. I chose this species to help fill out the small-medium game selection of Medved Taiga, and to give a chance for this species to finally appear in a hunting title.

Siberian Weasel (Mustela sibirica) were actually already ingame long ago, as one of three options alongside a hare on Layton and a squirrel on Hirsch as "critters" that could be shot/killed but not claimed or taxidermied. I think it'd be fun to add them back in as an actual game animal, put into Class 1 of course. Much like the Siberian Musk Deer, they don't actually occur on the Kanin Peninsula but eh, maybe a little creative license can be taken to bring back these little weasels.

For a more "grounded" choice, the American Mink (Neogale vison) [Class 1] could be chosen instead. Despite their cute looks they've actually wrought ecological havoc in Eurasia where they aren't native, ourcompeting native predators (especially the Eurasian mink) and eating up native prey such as water voles, desmans, and other species. They were introduced from fur farms, and they seem like a great choice if the Siberian weasel isn't added. I've seen this species requested here and there in the community and I don't disagree they'd work well ingame!

Of course, you can't really bring up hunting mustelids without the largest of all, the Wolverine (Gulo gulo) [Class 2/3]. These are fearsome animals capable of chasing bears and wolves off their kills, and are considered one of the top boreal trophies for this reason. Plus, they are absolutely gorgeous animals and could maybe even bring a Wolverine Great One (it didn't let me tag the topic for some reason). I've seen this species requested relatively a lot and it'd be great to have them for sure. Possibly even as an aggressive species!

[eternal echo]

Considering some of the species on the map I think snow sheep would still make sense

[honest cedar]

Good list 😎

[signal dew]

Funny you say that because...

Admittedly, the Snow Sheep (Ovis nivicola) [Class 4/5] is more heavily associated with western Russia such as Kamchatka, but I think the literal snowy mountains of central Medved could graciously benefit from the addition of this incredible species sometimes known as the "Siberian Bighorn".

Side note... it's a tad sad how many pics of this species are hunted individuals... the peril of being a hunted species, I guess.

Something that surprised me was how much the Sable (Martes zibellina) [Class 2] appeared on hunting lists for Russia, and not just as a furbearer - they're a sort of marten and I know people have heavily requested them. I can't disagree! Maybe even introduce specific trees that act as "burrows" for them to flee into?

[eternal echo]

Yeah I'm thinking of the one in the west I forgot its name. Also the shot individuals is what a lot of animals especially bovids Share I see this especially with many asiatic bovids, such as argali or makhor

[signal dew]

Yeah I couldn't find what subspecies that is, so I just went with the species itself. I don't think a little bit of license hurt, within reason.

[eternal echo]

I have a book on that but I don't wanna leave my bed rn so imma get back on the subspecies later

[signal dew]

It's been interesting to learn about possible bird hunting opportunities of the Kanin Peninsula - beyond the Western Capercaillie, of course!

My personal choice would be the Smew (Mergellus albellus) [Class 1]. These are a gorgeous species of merganser (a sort of diving duck) native to Eurasia and popular for bird hunters for a hopefully obvious reason - they're beautiful! I find duck hunting enjoyable and an easy way to clear out pressure. Though frozen, Medved has plenty of lakes to set up a decoy spread and it'd be nice to have some more diving duck species ingame for sure.

[eternal echo]

Haven't seen one in like 10 months up here, other interesting species that actually go a fair bit inland would be the Siberian scoter, spectacled eider and stellars eider. Taiga bean geese and red breasted geese to

[heady mist]

Also with this hopefully a remodel for musk deer. Especially since they share a model with roe deer

[signal dew]

Wanted to avoid the bean goose, was gonna post the Red breasted goose but maybe that's a spicy choice.

[eternal echo]

Kinda hard to get more info but the local subspecies is ovis nivicola borealis @signal dew

[signal dew]

Thank you so much for following up - that was my guess but I didn't know for sure. Thank you 😎

Another attractive duck species that could potentially be added to Medved would be Steller's Eider (Polysticta stelleri) [Class 1]. These ducks live throughout the Eurasian Arctic, and Medved would be the perfect place to put them. While Alaska or Greenland could have the other Eider species, Steller's is honestly a perfect choice for Medved Taiga.

[fallow path]

Snowshoe Hare & Siberian Arctic Fox

[eternal echo]

Ive only seen them once and only for a short minute so this is a species I really want to see again

[signal dew]

Wrong continent, and I'd reserve Mountain Hare for staying only on Revontuli

Arctic Fox should really only be on an upcoming Arctic reserve too.

[eternal echo]

Their fur colour would be tricky

[fallow path]

no Medved is placed in Siberia all these species are present.

[signal dew]

No, they are not. Snowshoe Hare are only found in North America.

[fallow path]

In Siberia, huntable game animals include: Siberian roe deer, elk (moose), brown bear, Siberian tiger (regulated hunting), wild boar, sable, fox, wolf, wolverine, snowshoe hare, ptarmigan, grouse, reindeer (depending on region and regulations), and occasionally musk deer; with specific species and hunting regulations varying depending on the exact location within Siberia.

[eternal echo]

Snowshoe hare range, their might be a translation error

[signal dew]

That's not true, lol. Snowshoe Hare are solely found in North America, where they are also known as Varying Hare. They would better fit on Yukon, Layton, or even SRP lol.

[fallow path]

The snowshoe hare is a mammal that lives in a wide range of habitats, including Russia and other parts of the world:

[signal dew]

Where are you pulling this misinformation?

[eternal echo]

Imma place my bet on chat gpt its the usual criminal

[fallow path]

look it up snowshoe hares are not exclusive to north america alone

[signal dew]

Yes they are, lol.

[eternal echo]

SOURCE!!!

[eternal echo]

It's actually fascinating how many people on this discord just ask chat gpt and don't even do not even check the information online but they usually not as stubborn and realize that they are wrong 😭

[fallow path]

Its available through google search I'll provide links

https://www.google.com/search?q=Siberian+huntable+game+list&sca_esv=ec7dc56685c11165&biw=1152&bih=575&sxsrf=ADLYWIJrsf1LGtn_eoVoL9lvlDEjKCLizw%3A1736622214055&ei=hsCCZ72LA-qdkPIPwoj98A4&ved=0ahUKEwi95rXxre6KAxXqDkQIHUJEH-4Q4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=Siberian+huntable+game+list&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiG1NpYmVyaWFuIGh1bnRhYmxlIGdhbWUgbGlzdDIFEAAY7wUyCBAAGIAEGKIEMgUQABjvBTIFEAAY7wUyCBAAGIAEGKIESO1NUI4QWN1LcAF4AZABAJgBeaABhgeqAQM2LjO4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgqgAqQHwgIKEAAYsAMY1gQYR8ICBBAjGCfCAggQIRigARjDBMICChAhGKABGMMEGAqYAwCIBgGQBgiSBwM1LjWgB6Ed&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

[eternal echo]

Sure I wanna see a scientific search that says that snowshoe hares (lepus Americans) are native anywhere

[fallow path]

https://www.google.com/search?q=russia+snowshoe+hares&sca_esv=ec7dc56685c11165&biw=1152&bih=575&sxsrf=ADLYWIIv4ll4pSeYr_-LmY24RFPY-G-LnQ%3A1736623022879&ei=rsOCZ4CxNcafkPIP5raRqQ8&ved=0ahUKEwiAwIzzsO6KAxXGD0QIHWZbJPUQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=russia+snowshoe+hares&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiFXJ1c3NpYSBzbm93c2hvZSBoYXJlczIGEAAYCBgeMgsQABiABBiGAxiKBTILEAAYgAQYhgMYigUyCxAAGIAEGIYDGIoFMgsQABiABBiGAxiKBTILEAAYgAQYhgMYigUyBRAAGO8FMggQABiABBiiBDIIEAAYgAQYogQyCBAAGIAEGKIESPtjUKwXWJRhcAV4AZABAJgBoAGgAYIKqgEEMTAuM7gBA8gBAPgBAZgCEaAC5AnCAgoQABiwAxjWBBhHwgIEECMYJ8ICBxAAGIAEGA3CAggQABgHGAgYHsICBhAAGA0YHsICCBAhGKABGMMEmAMAiAYBkAYIkgcEMTMuNKAH5VM&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

[signal dew]

THAT'S LITERALLY THE GOOGLE AI LOL

[plain sinew]

Arctic hare are the Siberian species.

[eternal echo]

I said it!

[signal dew]

Ye, which I assume like you agree there are some species I'd reserve for a different map - Barnacle Geese were another one for me.

[eternal echo]

My brother sometimes not accepting that you are loosing an argument is you loosing more just accept that you where wrong and it's fine and use reliable sources

[fallow path]

ok I see why they also go by arctic hares as a general group

[plain sinew]

Yamal. Not Kanin. As stated in the missions

[signal dew]

Wait what? That actually makes it even easier

[eternal echo]

No they are two distinct species lepus Americanus and lepus arcticus

[fallow path]

not what I mean.

[signal dew]

That's because what you mean is wrong.

[eternal echo]

What do you mean

[plain sinew]

I’m not to sure where you heard Siberian tiger hunting is legal unless you’re referring to poaching

[signal dew]

It was literally the Google AI answer he posted above lol

[fallow path]

ok 1st of all yes I was wrong with snowshoes so quit being hostile. 2nd artcic hares are also used loosly for hares that live in arctic conditions

[signal dew]

He literally wasn't being hostile though?

[eternal echo]

Fair thank you for admitting, I'm sorry if I came over as hostile I see how that might happen, do you have a credible source for hares living in Arctic conditions Beeing called snowshoe hares?

[fallow path]

its fine I wanted a chance to admit it without being critisized 😅 so no worries.

[plain sinew]

Everyone calm down please

[eternal echo]

The 4 distinct and related species of Arctic hare in the genus lepus of the subgenuses lepus and Poecilolagus within the genus lepus are usually refered to as Arctic hares. The 4 species are the Arctic hare, the Alaskan hare, snowshoe hare and mountain hare

[eternal echo]

I can see how she was perceived as hostile especially with multiple people critizising something at the same time, to be fair tho he was wrong but still

@fallow path see nothing of this as a personal stack please I'm just wanting to spread correct and scientific information and wanna encourage the use of credible sources -:)

[signal dew]

Nah, bioliteracy is important. It's okay to be wrong, it's not okay to dig in and especially not to use AI answers.

[plain sinew]

I think it’s fine to use AI, responsibly with research.

Ai isn’t perfect just yet.

[eternal echo]

I think Beeing kind and more respectful can increase how somebody is accepting to learn and I see how I was not making clear that me critizising him was not a personal attack

[fallow path]

No I understand & I agree. Most of the time my sources arent spotty info. However all my searches call siberian hares arctic hares as I'm led to believe its used loosly to define them even though wiki says otherwise.

[cunning plume]

from time to time it's hard to find information on the creatures if we don't have the right information (the basics) to guide us (otherwise if there is a land bird like the capercaillie and which is there I won't say not no)

[plain sinew]

And on top of all that… the rabbits that would most likely inhabit the region medved is set in would likely be mtn hare. Not Arctic hare or Snowshoe hare

[eternal echo]

Yeah it's a grade tool to get a vague expectation but shouldnt be used without checking the info with credible sources

[fallow path]

But in any case I'm trying to find the legitament hare that resides there, bc I agree Medved as is is infact missing ecology & frankly eurasian lynx & artic fox aren't just eating musk/roe deer

[eternal echo]

Lagomophs/hares technically but I'm pretty sure you know that

[plain sinew]

Not important

[eternal echo]

Fair also everybody keep in mind that I love discussions I'm even in a discussion club irl. Especially when I'm in the right like that raptors and birds of prey are not synonymous holy shh!

[fallow path]

lepus timidus -Siberian Snow Hare

[signal dew]

That's literally Mountain Hare, which I've already expressed I don't want, plus this isn't about backfilling it's about new species.

[eternal echo]

I've never heard about them Beeing called that what's the source?

[fallow path]

why? It would address the ecology more accurately esp. given Eurasian Lynx. I'm not disagreeing with the other species in the slightest.

[eternal echo]

What is your source for them to be called Siberian snowshoe hare?

[fallow path]

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Siberian snow hare

[signal dew]

That's a wild source 💀

I wanna ask THEIR reasoning for using that lol

[eternal echo]

Especially if you consider that it says Siberian snow hare and not Siberian snowshoe hare. Because I've heard mountain hare beeing referred as snow hare

[fallow path]

tomato tomoto reference is my guess bc Idk either. But let me ask you this sincerely are you guys against having hares in medved? I'm not asking to be snarky or rude I'm asking genuinely. The reason I feel we should is bc I feel if your going to release a reserve they need proper ecology. If predators are added they should also include its prey.

[eternal echo]

Idk the role of lagomorphs in that specific local ecosystem, I wouldnt be against it but I day that having a hare on Medved would have some challenges especially with the mountain hare. What predator preys on hares that is present on medved

[signal dew]

Eurasian Lynx, but they're more generalist and also would eat the musk deer and suggested roe, plus capercaillie and young reindeer even

[fallow path]

Eurasian lynx, fox, wolves, owls authentically in siberia. Bare in mind I'm expecting EW to likely backfill as they appear. Wolverines & likely a fox.

[eternal echo]

"Among the recorded prey items for the species are hares, rabbits, marmots, squirrels, dormice, muskrats, martens, grouse, red foxes, wild boar, chamois, young moose, roe deer, red deer, reindeer and other ungulates."
-wikipedia

This would include multiple species present in Medved you also have to consider that this is a hunting game and probably none of the map ecosystems would be working. Owls mostly pray on smaller species that wouldn't make sense to hunt, so do fox, wolves and Lynx both predate multiple species that are found in Medved but I'm all for having multiple species relying on each other in the same areas like snowshoe hares and Canada lynx

[fallow path]

Thats all I'm implying all our reserves are based on ecology......more or less and lets be honest hunting white hares in the snow would be tricky & enjoyable. But I will agree alot of reserves are missing alot of Game that makes the region less empty SP is one that its great but very off n feels wrong without roe deer at the very least.

[eternal echo]

Yeah, but how would white hares be made because those would be mountain hares and white is rare for them but yeah I agree totally that would be enjoyable

[fallow path]

albinos are rare however eye color & tone shade play a factor this also applies to inner ear pigments.

[eternal echo]

Yes but they also have the wintering type so a thing they could do is splitting it up in mountain hare (winter) and mountain hare (summer) to make it make sense

[fallow path]

that too 😅 Though this would be great to see with all our species esp. to see pelt differences between the climates. All EW would have to do is floof existing models for the most part. This would be really good on the coyotes.

[fallow path]

Sorry I forgot to reply here I do agree with you about the roe being added. Wolverines for sure. Idk if weasells would get added. If they did I'm going to hold EW to release Fisher Cats to US & Canadian reserves. Make no mistake Medved is my fav. reserve as well with New England as my 2nd & Medved defn. needs TLC both in Species & Population balance. Wolves esp. need help given how broken they are on Medved specifically.

[signal dew]

What do you mean "broken"

[fallow path]

They are heavily bugged. They teleport, freeze in place without moving, they also frame skip while running if they run at all. Its not just my solo its been like that even in multiplayer on xbox. They used to remain frozen in the howling pose awhile back but I think they fixed that. All game used to surface clip alot as well where they move with no animation while stuck on the ground.

Savanna had a similar issue where game were stuck half way in the ground being unclaimable but Savanna got alot of fixes over the years and runs great but Medved is still plagued with bugs 😭

If I could share video clips to EW I would but being on console I cant share the clips to them. But I have been reporting it.

[heady mist]

they fixed that

[fallow path]

I've done reinstalls, cleared cache, & restarting both the game & console it didnt fix it. Only thing I havn't done was restart a new game and I really dont want to given my progress after I was forced to due to srp's launch bug with the trail cams (which was fixed later).

[fallow path]

I thought they did as well but apparently not 🥺 It sucks bc I love Medved. I'm sure PC is running way better but xbox needs more fixes in general, but out of all the reserves Medved is the most bugged for me. Which is odd since Rancho is heavily bugged for my wife but works fine on mine with pheasants.

[fallow path]

But overall Medved does run better after the tent update. But EW should investigate further to resolve the pathing issue with a population recap with a reset prior & after adding new species in hopes the new snow reserve delivers what we hope for. I'm usually not a fan of backfills but several reserves would benefit having additional game within the staged location/region. In this case I do full heartedly agree Wolverines, Siberian Roe Deer, Snow Hare (Winter-Mtn Hare), Arctic Fox, Siberian Bighorn, Sable, & Smew duck, would fill Medved with 15 huntable Species total over the current 8 we have now.

It would be an awesome refresher to bring more life to Medved.

[plain sinew]

I’d rather a whole new map for the bighorn species. There’s like 4.

[fallow path]

I do agree they need reworked and it would line up better as a new entry for the development in a new reserve.

[plain sinew]

They’d also need an entirely different model from RM bighorn

[heady mist]

they need an different model for almost everything

[fallow path]

Theres alot of scaling in general that has to be revisited as well, but given what we have they should get a model rework as well as an ai update. EW has a long road ahead to get CotW up to par from their counterparts thats for sure. But atleast they kicked it up a knotch. An if I recall correctly they managed to get more staff so we should see some big things this year or at least I hope so given the big hype during their winter announcment.

[eternal echo]

Subspecies

[plain sinew]

Rm bighorn and the many Siberian sheep species are not the same species though. That’s the point I’m making

[fallow path]

Even so the species FP mentioned would still be great adds to Medved, I just added the Hare & Fox to better tie the ecology not to mention hunting camouflaged game would bring alot of really fun challenges & hunts. Esp. if the development team applies the predator behaviors to their ai.

[eternal echo]

But 4 bighorn species?

[plain sinew]

They don’t really fit on medved either… it’s a plateau with a one giant cliff cutting the whole map in half. Medved would need real mountains

[eternal echo]

Fair, but ibex (I mean that the ibex on cuatro don't have proper mountains)

[plain sinew]

Ibex would make even less sense

[eternal echo]

@plain sinew

[plain sinew]

And that is my biggest pet peave about cuatro. Why the hell would YOU want to make the problem worse?

[eternal echo]

Fair as well, I do not know enough about snow sheep to judge if they'd fit on Medved but people want Dall sheep in Yukon which has a similar level of (accessible) mountain areas

[plain sinew]

I also vehemently disagree with the addition of Dall sheep on Yukon

[eternal echo]

Very fair I'm neutral at both

[fallow path]

@plain sinew actually might have a point here. Based on my findings reviewing the 1000+ species russia has it would probably be more beneficial for EW to get a location Central or East of the country given the vast diversity & options. I for one would welcome the thought given the assortment.

[eternal echo]

Yes the far east of Russia needs stuff I'm talking some controversial species butostly sable, reindeer, waterfowl, Baikal teal, sibirean grouse, black billed capercaillie, siberian roe deer and possibly even Siberian tiger and Amur leopard?

[plain sinew]

Russia can support 3+ more maps

[fallow path]

Agree there given the climate biomes

[plain sinew]

I mean… not really

[eternal echo]

?

[fallow path]

I dont mind controversial within reason. EW has been doing well enough with tying them into the Narrative explaining why & how where I cant get upset given an authentic scenario. Except Snows that 1 I didn't expect &/or understand why EW made them huntable.

[plain sinew]

a secondary Siberian map doesn’t need any “controversial species”. It can sustain itself just fine

[eternal echo]

Yeah fair I said they were interesting for me mainly it's birds (like almost always)

[plain sinew]

There’s also the fact of If we get too many “controversial” species they’ll feel less special

[eternal echo]

Fair, what controversial species would you count as valid?

For me it's basically any bovid because they feel game-like, okapis, jaguars, tigers, seals (some people can't this as controversial) and stuff like elephants and rhinos of limits are any insanely rare species stiff that just doesn't match game animals like penguins for example and any ape (baboons are monkeys not apes!)

[plain sinew]

Things that are hunted irl but have certain stigmas to their name (elephants, rhinos, etc)

[eternal echo]

Ye so would you say that tiger and snow leopard are valid?

Another question do you think that species that are hunted somewhere should be huntable in areas where they age very rare or illegal, ferruginous duck, black grouse, bison in Germany. Spruce grouse on NEM or swans on rev? @plain sinew

[plain sinew]

Depends. I’d prefer tigers stay off a Siberian map.

There’s also only 25 Amur leopards in the Wild

[fallow path]

I agree given they are in Nepal & the source material in the narrative.

[signal dew]

There's over 100 lol, but theyre not valid for this game

[signal dew]

I concur, but I don't know if that'll happen

[eternal echo]

I see a second Siberian map on the other hand there's a bunch of reserves and parks I'd rather get before so eh, mongolia, Central Asia, Iran, Arabia, multiple in Africa, the high Arctic, may be BC, central or south America and that's just the reserves and many more parks as well, I could see a park in Siberia featuring Many cool waterfowl species like Siberian scoter, spectacled eider, smew, stellars eider, Baikal teal, falcated duck, mandarin duck, swan goose and many others but also upland birds like woodcock, Siberian grouse, daurian patrdige or black billed capercaillie

[fallow path]

I do see this being possible since it appears EW will be releasing 2 reserves a year, most likely after SP I'm going to guess 1 main & 1 Park a year. If this holds true I wont complain provided they feel natural. SP feels too artificial with no pigs or deer 😧

[eternal echo]

Eh you don't see pigs or deer irl everywhere to so areas without large game are realistic

[fallow path]

its Germany at the very least Roe Deer. And I dont recall a single trip I've been on where I didn't see deer 😂

[eternal echo]

From the car sure but like I've been on many day time bird trips in Schleswig Holstein without seeing big game but seeing tons of small game so it's justified.

[fallow path]

wasn't talkin about from a car, at any camp I've been on. But gated reserves and hunt clubs for birds yes your less likely to see big game so I get your point but even so they should've added more upland or furbearers instead of just 6 & a ton of waterfowl.

[eternal echo]

I agree more furbearears would have made sense completely I just sont see big game fitting into it the whole idea of the park is that you can fully concentrate on the high small game populations but more different birds and mall mammals should've been added

[fallow path]

I got the concept but given its represented location even a local in the discord said it felt off not having Roe in it & technically C:3 is still sm game. I refuse to acknowledge EW's logic with the pointer where C2-5 is medium game is beyond wrong 😓 But the point stands it still feels really off given the land/aquatic ratio.

[eternal echo]

Man i don't think it's that bad or that deep

[fallow path]

its not the point I'm getting at is that if EW keeps making park reserves I'd like to see more balance.

[eternal echo]

I think parks just might not be you thing then because eth entire idea is having small game, and I fan live with that I can emerge myself in the map without seeing large game, so can I without non game birds who are literally everywhere irl so Idk why that matters if you want a larger spectrum may be opt for the larger reserves

[fallow path]

You miss understood me, I'm fine with dedicated reserves as long as theirs a variety as I mentioned it would have been nice to have roe for the sake of ecology. However given its birds/sm game dedicated it would've made more sense if EW provided more Furbearers & Upland. My fuss with SP specifically was bc they made it too focused on waterfowl when they should've focused on upland given the pointer on the same release day. It was a missed oppertunity on their part. But on the other hand it does have more red fox & pheasants making it easier to hunt them.

[eternal echo]

Yeah I think more new species in general

[fallow path]

I am an immersive player & I hunt as I would IRL. Which is why I play this game bc the narrative is nostalgic to my Zoology years in the field as well as my interest to hunt in general.

[fallow path]

I defn. agree backfills when needed isn't bad but they rely on it too much & hardly add new species as a whole 😞 The community has pointed out all sorts of species that could've been added on pretty much every reserve release. I will agree with Jaxy that I would rather get alot of new species over backfills. However after SP it does open the doors to what Jaxy wanted with a gated reserve with introduced game so the concept has merit. Even a tiny 10 reserve is on the table so its not a bad deal overall.

[eternal echo]

That's not what I said

[fallow path]

i know it wasn't my reply blended together 😅 I agree with you more new species in general is ideal or rather much needed. Then I went on to talk about how EW focuses & relies on Backfills too often. My brain was moving faster then my messaging.

[signal dew]

Yeah agreed!

[signal dew]

The Siberian Grouse (Falcipennis falcipennis) [Class 1] is a one-of-a-kind gamebird native to the Russian Far East, but like a lot of the animals that'll be on this list and the ingame Siberian Musk Deer, we'll take a bit of liberty. I'm quite fond of how cute this little guy is, and it'd be neat to have a multi-mount with them and Revontuli's Hazel Grouse.

[eternal echo]

Yeah! They are related to franklins and spruce grouse but also Chinese and hazel grouse

[winged flame]

Bump

[hoary warren]

Medved is tied with Hirschfelden for my favourite reserve in CotW. Honestly, I own every DLC but I usually only play these two outside of new releases.

I’d definitely appreciate some new species added as it has always slightly lacked the diversity of the newer maps.

I should note that, despite the presence of the Nenets people on the reserve, Medved really is an anachronistic take on all of Siberia. This is evidenced by the inclusion of Siberian musk deer which are only really found from the Baikal area to the Russian Far East, quite far from the polar regions of Siberia and much, much further than the Western Siberian setting that the appearance of the Nenets peoples would imply.

Species such as snow sheep wouldn’t be too far out of place with this in mind, honestly even Altai Ibex, Manchurian sika or Manchurian wapiti wouldn’t be that far fetched as musk deer are really only found as far North as Southern Yakutia IRL.

[plain sinew]

Ok but medved lacks the mountains that the areas in and around Yakutia have though…

[hoary warren]

If you are dead set on a West Siberian setting, I’d advocate to stretch a little further East into the Taymyr Peninsula and Putorana Plateau and include Putorana snow sheep (the most westerly subspecies, though they are fully protected IRL) and musk oxen which can be found in pretty healthy numbers throughout the area.

Yakutia is really huge, a very large portion of it is taiga just like that found on Medved. The only issue is a lack of mountainous habitat on Medved to faithfully include snow sheep, if that’s what you meant.

[plain sinew]

I’d prefer Kamchatka. The species list is even better!

[hoary warren]

Kamchatka would be a dream come true, though I also really love the Ussuri region. Both are a toss up for me.

Kamchatka probably wins though since they have snow sheep lol

[plain sinew]

Both are very much doable.

[hoary warren]

My only issue with Medved is that EW may think one Siberian reserve is enough when you realistically can have at least two due to the massive area it covers. Maybe one day 🤞

With this in mind I vote for musk oxen on Medved and save some of the more Eastern species for a future Kamchatka reserve.

[plain sinew]

Even then… Muskox don’t really live where medved is set, not anymore atleast

[hoary warren]

But then nether are musk deer, by a long shot. Musk oxen are a relative stones throw in comparison. Again in saying that, wild boar don’t live particularly far North in Siberia either, though they are spreading that way due to climate change.

[pulsar schooner]

We can always hope for a Canadian Arctic Reserve, afterall Canada has most of the world's muskox population located in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories

[plain sinew]

Musk deer are slightly less egregious than Muskox. I don’t want to make the problem worse

[hoary warren]

The Yamal Peninsula is one of the Northern most points in Russia outside of the Taymyr peninsula. I agree though, no need to make it worse.

[plain sinew]

I’d even take one of the many seal species over Muskox.

Given the fact that the Nenet’s and their lifestyle is an ever present theme throughout the story of the map.

[hoary warren]

If anyone here is active on the Way of the Hunter discord, I have a much too overly detailed species list for several potential Siberian reserves where I kept the various Siberian species mostly limited to their IRL ranges with some slight exceptions:

https://discord.com/channels/961392142482292817/1207219587934986240

[pulsar schooner]

There are 5 species that could work including Ringed Seals, Harbor Seals, Bearded Seals, Harp Seals and Grey Seals

[hoary warren]

How active are seal hunts in Siberia IRL?? I never thought of them for some reason. Might even add them to my WotH suggestion, they would be great additions.

[plain sinew]

To my knowledge, not very active. Russia banned them iirc but to hell with it, we got tigers

[hoary warren]

lol true 😂 seal hunting is really unique and I think I’d enjoy it for the animal behaviours and hunting mechanics themselves. I’d love to see them. I really wish we had a small boat to burn around in, would be fun on any Arctic reserve. Especially to hunt seals out of.

[eternal echo]

Unpopular opinion but seals would fit very great on revontuli but also on salzwiesen park

[plain sinew]

That’s not unpopular

[hoary warren]

I was massively disappointed that a Finnish reserve in CotW and WotH both lacked seals. I thought most people shared my views, though not too sure.

[eternal echo]

Eh in my experience but it's gotten more popular over the years especially the last year. You could say it's more controversial then unpopular

[hoary warren]

I think MooseDragons Whiterime Ridge idea really popularised the idea of seal hunting in CotW. Especially walruses, they would be cool af

[eternal echo]

Yeah mostly because seal hunting is most popular when it's done by inuit people, I've heard so mang people Beeing so anti of fennoscandians doing it but if an indigenous person does it it's okay (no 2spirit hate just showing dubble standards) it is important that deal hunting is regulated of course don't want japanese monk seal happening again

[hoary warren]

I think most people would find seals much less controversial than tigers honestly since they are hunted to a limited extent IRL.

Since the inclusion of tigers, adding any kind of species has seemed a lot less of a issue as you can’t really get much more controversial than a charismatic and beloved, massively endangered species like the tiger.

[eternal echo]

I think apes, most birds and extremely rare animals are the ones would be hated

[hoary warren]

lol yeah I can see many people having a problem with monkeys and the like. Still see an odd number of toucans and other such species popping up on Amazonian recommendations which I guess is controversial enough on its own. I think most of the community has moved on from the seal bias by now.

[signal dew]

Been throwing this one back and forth, but as one of the prettiest waterfowl and they are hunted in some places - I present the Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis) [Class 1]. They migrate to southeastern Europe during winter, but their heavy association with where Medved Taiga is located would make them perfect. Plus, a wonderful pop of color into our lodges too.

[eternal echo]

The wonderful pop of colour would be very good in the snow, they contrast great with medveds soroundings, sometimes they come to my area but haven't been lucky yet