One of the things that I find quite awkward is that (e. g. during nighttime or an eclipse) you can run through bushes and the likes with a burning torch as if it were nothing.
So to make things more interesting (and at the same time force players to exercise caution with what they are doing), the torch should have the capability of setting things ablaze. This should happen rather quickly with bushes of any kind (or groups of flowers, etc.), take a bit longer with dead trees and should require quite some time with trees that are still alive. Also, if things are burning and there is more vegetation around, fire should spread depending on how resistant said plants are against fire, and if you are caught in a fire for whatever reason, you should take a continuous hit to your hp as long as you remain in the fire. This should then also be extended to any fires that you could accidentally walk into (campfires, etc.) without insta-killing you.
I have seen this mechanic in Far Cry Primal, and I have loved it, because you cannot just run around with a burning torch and expect things to remain unaffected. Granted, since I had started that game after I had begun with CE (and so got used to vegetation being immune to fire), it took me quite by surprise when the scrub suddenly started burning and the fire would also affect my character adversely.
It would definitely make this game more immersive and force the player to be cautious with what they are doing. If you risk burning things, expect to get burnt in return.
On the other hand how many movies have you seen where they didn’t catch everything on fire not saying I don’t like your idea. Both are about as unrealistic vs realistic like the idea. @Thianis
If you’re going for that level of realism, then placing wall torches near thatch/wooden ceilings and roof pieces should cause your base to catch on fire.
I would love for torches to burn things, but I don’t think all of the animations of a large bush fire would play out very well.
I think there is also a lot of potential for people to grief with it, intentionally burning resources and/or causing lower framerate.
Finally, you need to consider development time. How long would this take to implement and would the results be worth the effort? Unfortunately, I don’t think flammable flora would add much value to the game.
In a single player game like Far Cry Primal, you can get away with that kind of thing.
As I have stated, you’d better watch out what you are doing…
If you are placing a torch too close to flammables, it should depend on the material how quickly it’s set ablaze: Thatch, for example, should start burning rather quickly, but more sturdy wooden items should first start smoldering as a warning sign that something is amiss, but if that isn’t dealt with in a timely fashion, the entire thing catches fire (at first only one tile, but that should spread real soon).
You furthermore are going to make mistakes fresh into a game so you won’t lose an entire base if you misplaced a torch (usually your first construction would be lost this way, prompting you to be more cautious), and if it should be implemented, it should be enabled right away for newly started games only. An already running game should provide the option, but it should be disabled to prevent losing your base in case torches are placed too close to flammables so you can reposition them properly before enabling this feature.
An option to deal with this in multiplayer would be to add a preference for this kind of thing. If you fear this feature to be abused, you can disable it to prevent that.
As far as the resulting hit to performance is concerned, it would require some testing to see how far it’s affecting playability. Again, if things start to adversely affect the frame rate and responsiveness, make it an option to disable the feature.
It would be easier (and maybe more realistic too) if ATTACKING bushes with a Torch sets them ablaze.
Some bushes should be stronger than others (I expect frost lotus and highland bushes to be more resistant to fire) while desert ones should be set ablaze like nothing. And once one is set ablaze, surrounding ones will be too (since fire damages surrounding objects).
