First of all i mention that food is a hardcore mechanic, its forces crew to move across in search of food, creating oportunities for traitors to take action when crew members leaving their post... it's forces crew to leave boat in search of food, adding hazardous circumstances for survive (even more if you travel in wilderness locations of company map, without stations nearby). It's another one weakness in boat, which cannot be fixed by smart logics systems and planning.
And after all, "submarine cook" profession exists! Google it if you doubt.
Below i describe how integrate it in game:
Metabolism:
Each player has his own metabolism in grade from 1 to 10. Where 1 is slow metabolism, 10 is fast.
Players with slow metabolism has lesser starvation rate, but their wounds healing very bad, they need to take more medicine for similar wounds in comparsion with member with normal one.
Players with high metabolism need to eat frequently, they bleeding regeneration very impressive (even can regenerate inner wounds?).
Players got random metabolism stat (?) but security ever has high one (8-10). [Yea for survive you need strong guard, but his good eater so be prepared to maintain them
]Diet:
Player can choose which diet he prefer
Herbivore (Vegan) - Consuming fruits, vegetables and seaweed gain 100% food nutrinity. Consuming meat gain 30% nutrinity and have chance to vomit, raw vegetables has less chance to apply negative status.
Mixed - Player can eat any (prepared) food, and gain 80% nutrinity from it.
Carnivore (Meat) - Player gain 100% food nutrinity from meat. Consuming vegetables gain 30% nutrinity and have chance to vomit. Eating raw meat has lesser chance to vomit.
[Explanation: In barotrauma already exists meat and seaweed, players will be forced to find food that they prefer. It's mean thay you need not only kill creatures, but also swim at reefs and find something edible, or if you long time not encounter creatures to get meat, carnivores will suffer. Fully one diet crew can cause lack of specified food type.]
Food types:
Meat - Meat from killed creatures (perhaps you need knife to get it)
Seaweed
Vegetables, Fruits - Can be bought on stations (or grow in hydroponics?)
Other - Protein bars, Saline (direct 100% nutrition without diet specific)
Nutrition and rot:
Every food has nutrition amount, depends for specific food. (like green bar in items)
Each type of food have their own rot rate, which applies to degrade food over time. The more food are degraded, then less nutrition it have.
When degrade fells for threshold, food consider as spoiled. It gains chance to apply vomit when consumed, also can poison person whom eats it... by corpse parasites for example.
When nutrition falls to 0, food counts as rotten.
Food can be stored in refrigerator (yes, its consumes power), which descrease rot rate (but not cancels it!).
Example of formula for rot each tick:
Remaining Food Nutrition = RFN - (Total nutrition * Rot rate) * (Refrigerator coefficient)
[1 if no refrigerator] [Refrigerator coefficient is float below 1 !]
[Explanation: When food are degrade over time, buying huge amount of food be waste of money (neither weapons ammo). Refrigerator become another usefull power-consuming dilemma.]
Cooking
Players can cook raw food at electric oven (huge power consumer). Player has their own Cooking skill, which improves with cooking.
Cooking skill allows to cook more various food with higher (full) nutrition. Not experienced player cooks dishes with lesser or even low nutrition.
Here we are - the Cook crew specialisation. And this guy will be welcomed not less than doc. (perhaps his can chop more raw meat from monsters)
Calories
When food are consumed, depends on diet, food nutrition will convert to calories.
Player loose calories by any activities: walking, repairing... e.t.c.
Run, Meelee fight, Manual swimming, Weapon crates carriage; got higher rate of calories consumption.
Calorie consumption rate depends on metabolism.
Calorie capacity can vary between players, higher metabolism have higher capacity.
Calorie capacity can progress as other stats (?)
[Here is high balance required part. Calories capacity need to be enough for typical ruin raid, but not for whole trip to end.]
Food consuming mechanic
Starving players got stomach growl at low threshold, crew members can hear that.
When player loose all calories, his fell unconscious. His can be restored using saline (its applies few nutrition), if his not be feeded, his die in few mins.
Players can force feed if applied person unconscious or handcuffed, either handcuffed player can't eat by himself.
Poison food (also rotten or spoiled with succes poison chance) will affect player negative status, or even continue to make it worse, till person vomit poisonous food.
Player can force vomit another unconscious or handcuffed person. Or force vomit himself.
Vomit mechanics obviously cause to loose calories.
Players has "Well fed" status when his receive higher regeneration rate and even can heal some inner wounds.
Possible strategy opportunities:
First of all, traitor playstyle became more variative: He can spoil food, or poison it, or even steal it
. Crew without food became emergency situation! (emergency situations is why we love barotrauma, doesn't it?)
Cook can bring food to crew members and gain access to some stricted areas.
Without kitchen and refrigerator, captain needs to plan path through stations where he can buy food supplies. Or buy more expensive long preservable food.
Food can be buyed on stations, but not at all. Some stations trade only specific type of food. Some are none at all.
Food in colony station be more cheaper than in mining or military stations.
This is concept how i see food system in barotrauma, and i think this game really needs it, and be fun mechanics. Feel free to share your opinions or vision about this.
P.S:
Don't add hydration mechanic - players will curse it.
Don't add vitamins mechanic - its very redudant.
Don't add poo mechanic - game became absurd then.