Herd Any Good Names? (Help us name the elk herds!)

[Dinoman9877]

Wanted to post this here since on Youtube it got kind of buried, but it would be interesting to see names that were thematic as well, particularly in the bull herds and possibly spike herds, or the mix of both.

Some examples could be like:
The Brawling Bull Herd
The Bugling Bull Herd
The Rattling Antlers Herd
The Branchhead herd

And for Spikes you could have:
The Greenhorn Herd
The Youngblood Herd
The Fraternity Herd

For the large and small family herds, that becomes harder, because there's only so many ways you can stress that it's a family unit. For the small ones you could maybe use names like:
The Creche Herd
The Nursery Herd

But for the larger ones, you may want to go with something less thematic and more generalized or grandiose. Personally, I like Loach's idea for names based on members of expeditions to Yellowstone.

Alternatively, you could use the names of the four (or six if you wish to include the extinct ones as well) American subspecies for some of the herds. I know Rocky Mountain Elk are the only ones living in Yellowstone, but it would be an interesting naming scheme.

And finally, maybe you could call one "The Buzza Herd", and maybe give the lead bull a unique look and Tim can compose a small piece that only plays in their presence. Could also make it possible to be the largest of the herds. Would be a nice way to immortalize him in the game for the beautiful soundtrack he's given to the game.

[Frodo1]

I must say, I agree with Beanz. Rather than naming the herds, perhaps it would be better to simply hint at their composition? It doesn't seem to matter as much which specific herd you're going after as much as it matters what the composition of the herd is. You could go after any of the larger herds and there would be little difference between them, but there is a great deal of difference between a bull herd and a mixed herd. I would consider just using the identifier "elk herd" and then bullet points as to what kind of elk you can smell could be placed below that? Of course if you see a herd and all it says is "bull elk", then you'll know it's a bull herd and you can treat it accordingly. But if you see "bull elk", "cow elk", "spike elk", and "elk calf" all in the same herd, then you'll know what your options are.
You could also potentially update this during the game, i.e. in the rare event that a player managed to deplete a herd of one sort of elk you could remove that type from the list. That could give the player context clues as to what herds they may have hunted from excessively, and that way they'd know which herds they probably shouldn't return to if they're looking for a specific type of elk.

[Dinoman9877]

I must say, I agree with Beanz. Rather than naming the herds, perhaps it would be better to simply hint at their composition? It doesn't seem to matter as much which specific herd you're going after as much as it matters what the composition of the herd is. You could go after any of the larger herds and there would be little difference between them, but there is a great deal of difference between a bull herd and a mixed herd. I would consider just using the identifier "elk herd" and then bullet points as to what kind of elk you can smell could be placed below that? Of course if you see a herd and all it says is "bull elk", then you'll know it's a bull herd and you can treat it accordingly. But if you see "bull elk", "cow elk", "spike elk", and "elk calf" all in the same herd, then you'll know what your options are.
You could also potentially update this during the game, i.e. in the rare event that a player managed to deplete a herd of one sort of elk you could remove that type from the list. That could give the player context clues as to what herds they may have hunted from excessively, and that way they'd know which herds they probably shouldn't return to if they're looking for a specific type of elk.

Well, why not do both?

Maybe it could be done so that it shows the name of the herd and its composition, so that way you know precisely which herd you're hunting, how much you're hunting from them, and if there's any of the elk type you want to go after still left in that herd.

[Loach]

//Edit//

From what I remember seeing in the beta testing video, there was a scent profile for a cougar that was just labeled "Cougar" for a while, but when it was closer, it said "Male Cougar".

Depending on how the team wants to name the elk herds, they could maybe give them names ("Yellow Elk Herd"), but then when you get close enough the scent spores turn to footprints, it will tell you the composition of the herd. That way the game is still encouraging you to use scents more curiously, but you don't have to get close for the herd to spawn on your screen before deciding if it's worth your time.

[Brinnadaze]

I've always liked obscure words, for example, words in Latin or Greek. However, I feel like it needs to tie in with the theme of the national park.
My ideas for naming the elk herds are the titles of the historic nomadic Native American tribes that inhabited Wyoming (where most of Yellowstone is situated).
These include the Arapaho, Arikaka, Bannock, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Sioux, Ute etc. Although, the names of the elk herds could also just be of Native American tongue.

I love this idea, but we have to be careful as to not offend anyone by using Indigenous names. Some would consider it a form of cultural appropriation. I can't speak for Indigenous people, but I figured I'd at least point this out.

I saw that you already have herd names in the technical dashboard or what ever that is and I think those would work just don't revel if it is a bull herd or not. I do think that another way you could name them would be by there environment and diet becuase that would be what a wolf smell such as the willow herd or the douglas-fir herd or the sagebrush herd, but those are just suggestions. All and all it looks good. Lowering the stranger wolf population would be a good idea. 30 or less seems like a good idea and the packs in the area such as the Lamar Canyon are small, only five individuals.

I like the idea of naming the elk herds after their diets, and "The Sagebrush Herd" does have a nice ring to it, though I disagree with not identifying bull elk herds -- surely, a wolf would be able to sense the difference between a cow-dominated herd versus a bull-dominated herd, so I would argue the Player should be able to, too. But I do agree with lowering the stranger wolf population. Love the game so far!

[8900]

I must say, I agree with Beanz. Rather than naming the herds, perhaps it would be better to simply hint at their composition? It doesn't seem to matter as much which specific herd you're going after as much as it matters what the composition of the herd is. You could go after any of the larger herds and there would be little difference between them, but there is a great deal of difference between a bull herd and a mixed herd. I would consider just using the identifier "elk herd" and then bullet points as to what kind of elk you can smell could be placed below that? Of course if you see a herd and all it says is "bull elk", then you'll know it's a bull herd and you can treat it accordingly. But if you see "bull elk", "cow elk", "spike elk", and "elk calf" all in the same herd, then you'll know what your options are.
You could also potentially update this during the game, i.e. in the rare event that a player managed to deplete a herd of one sort of elk you could remove that type from the list. That could give the player context clues as to what herds they may have hunted from excessively, and that way they'd know which herds they probably shouldn't return to if they're looking for a specific type of elk.

This is a brilliant idea. It would also be cool if you did this in a more subtle way-for example, an all-bull herd would be named after trees, a mixed herd would be named after land formations, a family herd after plants, etc. That way you could identify the herd composition without detracting from the surprise of it all. When a play finds say the "River Herd" for the first time, they won't know what they're up against, but after a few hunts they start to notice a pattern and then it's a matter of game exploration and discovery, which I think WolfQuest 3 is going to be very good at.

[LunaWolf4]

someone posted the idea to name the herds after native american tribes, and to be honest, I think that it would be a good idea. It would give beautiful and individual names and also they would just sound cool when you say it lol.

[Zawki]

I like the idea of scent trails telling which type of elk makes up the majority of the herd.

When it comes to herd names, the best I can think of at the moment are these:

• Hoofen herd

• Antlerik herd

• Ungulatous herd

Basically just fun elk-related names.

[Draugr]

I love this idea, but we have to be careful as to not offend anyone by using Indigenous names. Some would consider it a form of cultural appropriation. I can't speak for Indigenous people, but I figured I'd at least point this out.

I see where you are coming from. I thought that because the elk symbolizes endurance and patience among their culture, that it resonated with the experience of the wolf. However, I do get your point and think that it is respectful.

@TheBeanzLover that could be something. Perhaps the herd names worked when you are a farther distance (older scents, thus more unclear) and after you got a certain range closer, the info will become more clear. That way you aren't getting detailed info immediately, but won't be disappointed when you find them only to see they aren't what you're looking for?

Either way with so many herds basic names would be nice. If they're all in a decently close proximity like the video says, the names can help you see which herd you have identified as having say, cows and calves, and which are only bulls.

I second this. The elk herds don't really need names, but more specific identifiers to distinguish between them. I like the mentioned idea of scents becoming more detailed once you get closer, so the player has time to process and decide whether or not they want to pursue the herd if it isn't exactly what they're looking for.

[LamarWolf]

//Edit//

From what I remember seeing in the beta testing video, there was a scent profile for a cougar that was just labeled "Cougar" for a while, but when it was closer, it said "Male Cougar".

Depending on how the team wants to name the elk herds, they could maybe give them names ("Yellow Elk Herd"), but then when you get close enough the scent spores turn to footprints, it will tell you the composition of the herd. That way the game is still encouraging you to use scents more curiously, but you don't have to get close for the herd to spawn on your screen before deciding if it's worth your time.

I have to agree, because a wolf can't smell mingled smells of elk until it gets closer and then they can tell go through the smells and tell if it is a bull herd or if it is manly cow elk or spikes.

I agree with Beanz too but you couldn't smell a sick individual from far away you have to get closer. For a sick individual you could make the tracks and spores from that animal slightly green and the oder around the body could be slightly green too. If the wolf finds anything general about the elk herd's smell such as diet or habitat a wolf could smell it from farer away but composition of the herd and if there are any sick individuals a wolf wold smell that as it got closer to the herd.

[Asaiah]

Here are some names! I think names related to Yellowstone or elk in general are good. I do like the idea of naming the herds based on identifiers, but simple names would suffice too imo.

Aspen
Bentgrass, Bitterroot, Blacktail, Blue Spruce, Buckwheat
Caldera, Cascade, Casper, Cheyenne, Cottonwood
Dunraven, Douglas Fir
Engelmann, Everts
Firefall, Firehole, Fireweed, Folsom
Gibbon, Glacial Erratic, Great Basin
Hillstep
Jackson, Jasper, Junction, Juniper
Lamar, Lodgepole, Lowland
Madison, Mammoth
Paintbrush
Rosebud
Sagebrush, Sheridan
Upland
Velvet
Waapiti, Washburn, Whitebark, White Knife

[Hazelflower]

What if each player had the chance, when they find a herd of elk to give the group a name to their own preferences? It would be like how you name your mate and pups. And if you didn't want to name the herd it would just be called elk herd or bull herd or so on.

[Loach]

Very very long post. I am so sorry, I couldn't make it any smaller @__@ it might also sound a bit jumbled since I spent a long time trying to trim it, rip.

After thinking about it for a while, the solution for singling out and tracking down a single herd may not be to name the herds themselves, but perhaps to just make it much easier to keep track of that herd you are tracking.

In the Stranger Danger video, Dave brings up a picture of the map to show the grid of the territories for the stranger wolves. In the panel with the legend for the map symbols and the wolf pack color names, there were some icons that were labeled “add custom marker”. We have not been told what this function is for yet, or if it is still within the game, but my best guess is that it’s so you can mark something on the map so you can easily find it again, since the game area is now so big.

Would it be possible for the players to open a panel while in scent view, that lists a bunch of little symbols (like ★), and then use that to ‘flag’ the scent currently in the scent panel so that you won’t get confused with scents of similar animals if you come across them? And that flag will always stay on that scent until you remove it or all the animals in that group are dead.

I do still think it’d be nice to name the elk herds, though. Elk herds can reach sizes that are quite large, so I like the idea of the flocks, while spread around, belong to a larger overall ‘herd’. Putting several flocks under a name will make it feel like the flocks aren’t totally isolated from one another and are just spread around. You could also create implied behaviors with the names, such as having a different named bull elk group hanging near a larger flock of a totally different name, since they are likely hanging around to challenge the bull that’s in the larger flock.

From what the video showed, the viewport has 27 or so flocks of elk, and the orbs on the map had marked 17 of them. Seeing this it looks like the flocks will be randomly selected every playthrough, like with how the main wolf packs might be different each game. Having flocks or groups of flocks share a name can be helpful with this, since as people go through the game, and go into multiple playthroughs, they will learn in time which flocks will likely have which herd (much like how people became familiar with things in the original game), and they can share their knowledge of the different herds and flocks in multiplayer games.

I also kind of feel like having the information be vague is fair, after thinking about it. After all, the game wants you to use scent view, and to follow and investigate things with it, so not having all the details right away and discovering what’s at the source seems a major part of it. I think it would be nice if the feedback told you something more once it switches to footprints, though, maybe even cycle through the members of the herd instead of displaying them all at once or just listing one (tab switches through cow, calf, spike for larger herds as you follow the tracks, just says bull elk if it’s a bachelor group), but the floating scents should stay vague so it encourages you to find out what they are instead of just broadcasting it to you out the gate.

[Dinoman9877]

I think a simple solution to all of the problems would be to assign different amounts of information to difficulty settings. At the easiest difficulties, basically everything is given to you, the name of the herd, it's composition, etc.

At the hardest difficulty, all you may be able to get would be the name and how far that herd is. Suddenly you have to get close enough to see them to get the information you need.

Most ideally, maybe there could be separate settings for a custom difficulty. You may not want to have to deal with the pups needing be fed every five seconds and starving to death like in Bring It On difficulty, but don't want to be spoiled on the composition of an elk herd your tracking either. In this way, not only can all the conditions be satisfied, the experience can be fine tuned to how the player wants it.

[mistya7]

18 Herd Names: (after wildflowers as others suggested)
For Cow and family herds (I like the idea of having the diffrent types of herds having a pattern so bull herds after trees and family herds after flowers maybe and having the names in their latin or greek form would be cool too)
Here are some flower herd ideas:
1. Woodland Herd
2. Glacier Lily Herd
3. Stonecrop Herd
4. Prairies Smoke Herd
5. Wild Rose Herd
6. Phacella Herd
7. Sagebrush Herd
8. Mountain Larkspur Herd
9. Bitterroot Herd

Ideas for Bull Herds (as trees)
1. Blue Spruce Herd
2. Sulbapine Fir Herd
3. Whitebark Herd
4. Douglas Fir Herd


Other Names I like (some from other players):
-Sage herd
-Willow herd
-Thicket herd
- Stone herd
- Silver creek herd
- Firebrush herd
- White fire herd

I really liked the herd names that were Native American names as well