Pigs could use a new purpose now that horses are going to be an improved steed. Here's an idea: what if pigs became Minecraft's self-replenishing wild game? They'd be able to breed on their own so wild populations can replenish themselves without the player's help, ideal for casual hunting.
Here's how it would work.
When two pigs are close by and standing on grass, they will occasionally will enter love mode and produce a baby, without being fed by the player. Before they do this the game will check how many pigs are nearby, and only let them breed if the local population isn't too high. The limit would be pretty small, around 4-5 pigs maximum. This population limit would only stop wild breeding, player induced breeding can happen regardless of the pig population if you want a massive pig herd on your farm. And to not render farming pointless, wild breeding would be a fairly rare occurrence, much slower than feeding pigs to breed them, so a lazy player can't really rely on it as a daily food source unless they cover a lot of ground to check in on several wild herds.
This system means that as long as you spare two pigs in a wild herd, if those chunks are occasionally loaded so the pigs have a chance to breed, eventually there will be a 4-5 pig herd there again without the player having to do anything. That means a responsible hunter can sustainably kill a pig or two every now and then without eradicating the herd.
In real life pigs are notoriously self-sufficient scavengers, and are an invasive species in many parts of the world. So it makes sense they would be the one animal able to breed on its own, but at a slower rate.
I think it should also be applied to other animals at even slower rates. It's bothersome that all livestock have decided that they are pandas ever since the Adventure Update. Pandas in Minecraft, indeed.
I Support ed the idea of animals breeding automatically for a long time. It's really annoying to go hunting and kill every cow in your area to survive long enough to build an efficient farm, then realise you killed all the cows.
It might be interesting if pigs occasionally wandered off from their group, so if two meet by chance encounter they can start a new herd in a different location.
Here's how it would work.
When two pigs are close by and standing on grass, they will occasionally will enter love mode and produce a baby, without being fed by the player. Before they do this the game will check how many pigs are nearby, and only let them breed if the local population isn't too high. The limit would be pretty small, around 4-5 pigs maximum. This population limit would only stop wild breeding, player induced breeding can happen regardless of the pig population if you want a massive pig herd on your farm. And to not render farming pointless, wild breeding would be a fairly rare occurrence, much slower than feeding pigs to breed them, so a lazy player can't really rely on it as a daily food source unless they cover a lot of ground to check in on several wild herds.
This system means that as long as you spare two pigs in a wild herd, if those chunks are occasionally loaded so the pigs have a chance to breed, eventually there will be a 4-5 pig herd there again without the player having to do anything. That means a responsible hunter can sustainably kill a pig or two every now and then without eradicating the herd.
In real life pigs are notoriously self-sufficient scavengers, and are an invasive species in many parts of the world. So it makes sense they would be the one animal able to breed on its own, but at a slower rate.
Mostly moved on. May check back a few times a year.
It might be interesting if pigs occasionally wandered off from their group, so if two meet by chance encounter they can start a new herd in a different location.