Gameplay Basics


 * "George Hodgson: I'm not a captain. I'm not made of that."
 * "Cornelius Hickey: You can be whatever you need to be now. Survival is a nasty piece of business. But we do what we have to do. We reconfigure. We reinvent. We rearrange."

The basic goal of Dread Hunger is to provide coal for the boiler to get the ship moving, sail to the other end of the map, and break through the ice blocking the journey forward. This is a simple task made difficult by the basic needs of food and warmth, the most inhospitable conditions found on the planet, and one or two cannibals looking to turn you and your crewmen into dinner.

The Ship
The Ship's maintenance is composed of two things; coal and sticks. Coal will allow your ship to move forward (assuming someone is able to helm it), and sticks will repair any damage dealt to the hull if your helmsman lacks a Navigator, skill, or both. The more coal you put in the boiler, the longer your ship can venture for without having to refuel. If your ship sinks, there is no hope of finding the Passage or returning home.

The Crew
Up to eight crewmembers will take part on this voyage, each requiring food and warmth. Food can be acquired through hunting animals and cooking the harvested meat at a stove (or eaten raw if you are truly desperate), and warmth through a multitude of facilities; the stove, the boiler, various fireplaces found on the map. However, both cooking and warmth require the use of fuel (coal, sticks, blubber, etc.). In addition to their physical requirements, crewmen can get agitated, stressed, and paranoid. Careful not to take a musket to the back for behaving suspiciously.

The Great White Nothing
Outside your ship is a vast, desolate, frozen wasteland. Initially, it may seem a beautiful and austere place; a winter wonderland. But, those feelings of awe and fascination of the unknown are quickly snuffed out by the reality of the situation. Wolves roam wild in search of food. The waters of the ocean can freeze a man solid in under a minute. A blizzard approaches in only a few short days, when not even your strongest fire will keep you warm enough to survive all while a great sheet of ice blocks your ships path. As a great Arctic Explorer once said, "This place wants us dead." You should do your best not to dawdle here too long.

The Unseen Hunger
Your ship lacks fuel and is half sunk into the sea, you and your crewmates are starving, and the literal air you breathe tries to strike you dead with each inhalation. I would not call you a fool if you thought things couldn't get any worse. However, I regret to contradict that notion. There are rumors that some among the crew are not quite right; Thralls. Whispers in the dark, ominous chanting carried by the wind, tales of a ravenous hunger only quelled by the consumption of human flesh. There is a darkness in your fellow crewmen that will undo even your best intentions. Stay on your guard.