Goal

Add a lightweight system that lets players track promising animals over time and return to harvest them when they are close to their maximum age.

The feature would function like a hunting watchlist. Tracked animals would appear in a list ordered by how close they are to reaching the end of their lifespan.

This creates a new long-term gameplay loop around scouting, herd knowledge, and trophy management while reducing the incentive to repeatedly sleep through multiple in-game days.

Player Flow

1. The player spots a promising animal with binoculars.
2. While aiming at the animal, the player presses a dedicated Track Animal key.
3. A small notification appears: Tracking [Animal Name] progress
4. The animal is added to the player's Trophy Tracking list.
5. The list is accessed from a new button in the bottom-left area of the Map screen.
6. Selecting the button opens a sidebar while keeping the map visible and fully interactive.
7. Each tracked animal is represented by a compact card showing:
   • Species
   • Age / maximum age
   • Fitness
   • Current trophy rating
   • Habitat / biome
   • Estimated remaining lifespan
8. Animals are automatically ordered by remaining lifespan, with animals closest to dying shown first.
9. Clicking an animal's card centers the map on its herd and highlights the herd icon.
10. If the player has already discovered the herd's need zones, those locations are displayed normally so the player can plan the hunt.

Discovery Requirement

An animal can only be tracked if its herd has already been discovered.

The existing herd-discovery rule can be reused:

At least one herd need zone discovered → herd icon appears on the map → animals belonging to that herd can be tracked.

If the herd has not yet been discovered, the Track Animal action should be unavailable.

This keeps scouting relevant and prevents the system from revealing information the player has not earned.

Why This Improves Gameplay

1. Prevents promising trophies from being forgotten

Players frequently encounter high-fitness young or mature animals that could eventually become excellent trophies.

At the moment, there is no practical way to remember every promising animal, its herd, and when it might be worth hunting.

The tracking list turns these encounters into future objectives instead of lost opportunities.

2. Reduces sleep-spamming

When players find a high-fitness animal that is not yet old enough, the optimal strategy can become:

place a tent → sleep repeatedly → check the animal → repeat until it reaches peak trophy potential.

This works mechanically, but it bypasses much of the hunting game.

With a tracking system, the player can mark the animal, leave the area, hunt other species, complete missions, manage populations, explore, or improve habitats, then return naturally when that animal becomes a priority.

3. Creates a persistent hunting objective

The list gives players something meaningful to check whenever they open the map:

Which of my tracked animals is approaching the end of its life?

That creates a rotating set of self-generated hunting objectives based entirely on animals the player personally discovered.

Instead of waiting for the game to provide another activity, the player's own scouting creates future hunts.

Design Principle

The system should organize information the player has already earned, not reveal hidden animals.

The player must:

find the animal → identify its potential → discover its herd → choose to track it → return later and hunt it.

The feature does not guarantee a trophy or reveal the animal's exact location. It simply helps the player maintain awareness of promising animals and reconnect them with their known herd.

This would make long-term trophy hunting more deliberate while encouraging players to spend the animal's remaining lifetime actually playing the game instead of sleeping through it.

Disclaimer: Image created with ChatGPT, text edited with ChatGPT.