Kelvin

Kelvin portrait

Kelvin is a prominent companion in Sons of The Forest. He is a highly trained soldier, identified by his code name Kelvin emblazoned on his vest. Initially, he accompanied the protagonist on a mission to locate a missing billionaire family. However, a helicopter crash left Kelvin with brain damage, resulting in deafness and muteness. As a result, he relies on written communication via the player's notepad. Despite his disability, Kelvin provides invaluable assistance to the player, helping with various tasks, such as constructing camps.

History

Kelvin was a PuffCorp mercenary who was part of the tactical team sent to find the Puffton family, on board the same helicopter in which Jack Holt was transported. As their helicopter crashed, Kelvin would be the only survivor aside from Jack to have survived the accident, but not without suffering what seems to have been a severe brain injury. Along with making him both deaf and mute, his cognitive level seemed to have regressed back to that of a child, rendering him mostly sheepish and defenseless. Despite this, Kelvin shows to be a dependable, loyal partner to Jack Holt, still being able to carry orders such as gathering resources or finishing structures.

Should Kelvin survive his stay on the Island, he will join Jack, Tim Leblanc (or just Timmy) and possibly Virginia inside the Cube, sheltered from its mutagen effects. If the player choses to leave the Island, Kelvin will be rescued and taken back to the mainland. In the prologue, Kelvin is shown in the brain injury ward of a hospital, innocently playing with building blocks.

Appearance

Kelvin's default attire consists of a Tactical Jacket and a vest bearing his name, with the added functionality of a GPS tracker that displays a blue K on the GPS interface. Utilizing the "Take Item" command allows the player to change Kelvin's outfit using items found throughout the game. However, it should be noted that this appears to be purely cosmetic and does not impact his temperature regulation or overall performance.

Behavior

As a result of the injuries he sustained during the helicopter crash, Kelvin has lost his ability to hear and speak, making it necessary to issue commands to him through a visual medium such as a notepad. The player has the option to customize the specifics of the commands issued to Kelvin, such as the type and quantity of materials to be gathered.

Kelvin's keen senses allow him to spot enemies from a distance, and he will alert the player by pointing to their location. This is only possible if Kelvin has a direct line of sight with the cannibal due to his deafness. Kelvin, currently, is not capable of engaging in combat. If a combat situation arises, he might retreat, only returning once all enemies have been defeated, or the player has distanced them enough. While Kelvin can be incapacitated by enemies for a brief period, they do not possess the ability to kill him. The player can choose to revive Kelvin when he is down, though he will also naturally recover on his own after a short time. When fatigued, Kelvin will periodically rest by lying down before continuing his work. Kelvin will drink from nearby fresh water sources and feed on wild berry bushes or player structures.

Like Virginia, Kelvin's affinity can be improved, but it does not affect his behavior.

Gameplay

Giving a command

Due to his injuries, the protagonist must communicate with Kelvin via a notepad to issue commands. Commands are either general orders or specific requests. Once a command his issued, Kelvin will take a look at the note, nod, and skitter off to perform the task.

At present, there are eight known commands that can be issued to Kelvin.

• Take Item
• Follow Me
• Get --> (berries, fish, sticks, rocks, stones, arrows, radio, or logs) --> (fill holder, drop here, give to me or follow me)
• Build --> (Fire, Shelter, Finish structure or Clear Shelter)
• Stay --> (Here, At Shelter, or Hidden)
• Take a break
• Maintain base
• Clear --> (5-10-20 meters)

Location

After the helicopter crash, Kelvin may be found in the immediate vicinity of the helicopter, writhing on the ground.

You will have to approach him and help him get up so he can cooperate with you.

Trivia

• The developers compared Virginia and Kelvin to the behavior of cats and dogs, saying that Kelvin was similar to a "lovable and obedient dog."
• Kelvin can be presumed to be his call sign rather than his real name, considering the man sitting next to him in the helicopter cutscene has a nametag with the word "Fisheye."

Update History

Version	Changes
Full Game release	After player sleeps Kelvin will be found also sleeping somewhere nearby
Full Game release	Virginia & Kelvin will now wear outfits you’ve given them in cutscenes
Full Game release	Renamed Kelvin ‘take item’ order to ‘take clothing’
Full Game release	Kelvin can now walk over logs ( also fixes pushing them through terrain )
Patch 15	Added new Kelvin abilities and animations for: maintain base, sharpen walls and repair structures
Patch 15	Increased Kelvin energy recover while resting
Patch 15	Fixed Kelvin popping into a standing react if he was hit while sitting down
Patch 13	Kelvin can now retrieve nearby spears
Patch 13	Fixed Kelvin not being able to cut Arbutus trees, which could stop his progress in getting logs
Patch 13	Fixed Kelvin notepad icon left active when other player starts interacting with him
Patch 13	Disable notepad on Kelvin while mid-air, which previously froze player in mid-air
Patch 12	Implemented more Kelvin emotes : Nod, Thumbs up, Confused, Shake Head, Hit Head, No, Happy, Sad (If player quickly nods at Kelvin he will nod back)
Patch 12	Virginia will now laugh if she sees an animal hit a spring trap or a full health Kelvin get hit with a small rock
Patch 12	Kelvin will now react to animal heads
Patch 12	Kelvin Finish Structure order will no longer stop after one structure, will now finish everything he can before completing order
Patch 11	In rare case of actors found in invalid position on load, they will be removed or restored to a fixed position (for Kelvin and Virginia)
Patch 10	Added some new emotes for Kelvin
Patch 10	Fixed Kelvin able to pass outside of enclosed walls to get fish
Patch 09	Kelvin should now be able to find stones when player is not around
Patch 08 - Hotfix 4	Fixed Kelvin sometimes not collecting sticks
Patch 08	Virginia and Kelvin can now swim if they end up in deep enough water
Patch 08	Kelvin will visually refuse an order that requires trees if none are nearby
Patch 07	Kelvin can now finish building stone fireplaces
Patch 07	Fix "Take Item" Kelvin order causing player to try to equip previous item before opening grab bag
Patch 07	Fixed Kelvin sometimes able to get pickups far out of reach
Patch 06	Kelvin can now pickup stones
Patch 06	Kelvin can now fill the log sled with sticks, rocks, and stones
Patch 06	Fixed Kelvin unable to pickup and drop arrows
Patch 05	New Kelvin commands added to reset traps, fill log sleds and fill drying racks with fish
Patch 05	Kelvin will now choose another tree to chop if a tree structure is placed on it
Patch 05	Kelvin's order will complete with the thumbs up if there are no more Arrows/Bolts, Berries, or Radios to retrieve and drop
Patch 05	Kelvin will now have berries in his hand when eating them. On fishing will have fish on initial grab
Patch 05	Fixed Kelvin radios deactivating when moved far from original location, and fixed carry positioning visuals for multiplayer clients
Patch 05	Kelvin will no longer pickup broken radios
Patch 05	Fixed Kelvin when moved far away from tree target unable to find another tree to clear automatically
Patch 05	Kelvin Finish Structure command; Fixed some issues with counting logs needed. If he's holding unused items they will now be dropped on ground
Patch 05	Fixed a case where Kelvin stood carrying a single log instead of placing it then cutting a tree
Patch 05	Fixed Kelvin getting stuck if the holder he was filling was removed or destroyed. Now he will drop the item and complete the order
Patch 05	Fixed Kelvin trying and failing to fill item holders that are far above the ground
Patch 04 - Hotfix 1	Fixed Kelvin having two GPS trackers
Patch 04	Kelvin can now carry 2 logs at a time!
Patch 04	Kelvin can now finish building shelves
Patch 04	Fixed Kelvin carry radio position
Patch 04	Fixed multiplayer clients not seeing Kelvin carried arrows properly
Patch 04	Fixed multiplayer clients sometimes doing first note long animation on first interact with Kelvin
Patch 04	Fixed a case where clients could see and interact with a "ghost" Kelvin not at his real position
Patch 04	Fix for Virginia or Kelvin sometimes getting stuck in sitting animation
Patch 03	Kelvin "return to shelter" command will also return to hunting shelters and beds
Patch 03	Kelvin can now pick up all types of arrows, visibly carry them, and drop the proper type of arrow
Patch 03	Fixed Kelvin not stopping trying to fill holder that player put final item in
Patch 02	Fixed Kelvin being able to burn to death from fires
Patch 01 - Hotfix 2	Fixing more cases of Kelvin being able to cut down tree houses
Patch 01	Kelvin catch fish order will end after a time
Patch 01	Fixed Kelvin cutting down trees with player structures attached
Patch 01	Fixed Kelvin dropping radios destroying the radio