Suggestion for using saws to craft planks.

[BoogieBrando]

Alright first ever forum post (and that's in general) so sorry if I've missed some sort of general rule or courtesy, but I can't be the only one who enjoys the complexity of the early game stages to progress towards getting your first copper saw, only to find out that you can instantly make an insane amount of planks just by clicking a bunch in the 3x3 crafting table which kinda causes a buzzkill. Apologies in advance if this exact topic has popped up before or numerous times, and if so then feel free to delete.

I'm aware that woodworking and doing away with the 3x3 system is intended in a future update, and I'm not sure if this has been recommended before, however I would personally just like to spew out my idea for appreciating my hard earned planks more.

 

Similar to the claybuilding/knapping/smithing mechanic, you would use the saw to cut into your full block of wood that you have placed down. As a result you would chip away at your block in either of these fashions (depending what is more immersive and/or less tedious) by crouching and right-clicking to enter edit mode with the saw equipped;

- Clicking once to slice a cross-section out of the block, dividing the boards.

- Clicking once to remove a row of voxels with the intent of removing a full cross-section (a sawing noise would play for each click)

- Holding down click and dragging across the cross-sections to immitate a sawing motion

Obviously you would do this multiple times until you have it all cut out into individual boards from the one block of wood, and you would get the amount of planks you had carved out while the rest goes to wasteage (or as woodchippings which can be used for other intended updates like mushroom farming or farming in general). This way you advance from wooden blocks to having planks with a consequence of losing some of that original mass resulting in less planks, but (i guess) a better sense of gratitude towards your efforts as opposed to clicking in a crafting table and, in an instant, mass producing factory new planks ready for use.

Alternatively this system can also be used to make firewood or other wood structure blocks/items by selecting from a list of "carpentry recipes" open once using a woodcutting tool on a block of wood and following the guided grid.

 

Now code-wise I am completely illiterate; so I don't know if this is an easy task that nobody knows of, or an incredibly difficult task that everyone's already thought of and I'm just clueless AND late to the bandwagon. I imagine it wouldn't be too difficult seeing as these mechanics already exist in the game and don't exactly require much fundamental reworking of the present mechanics.

Anyway, to end it off; thoughts? Is this a good idea? Is this dumb? Is there something I didn't consider? Is this something everyone was aware about? Just wanted to toss in my two cents on how I personally feel about, yes, using saws to craft planks (and other applications of this function).

[Maelstrom]

5 hours ago, BoogieBrando said:

Alright first ever forum post (and that's in general) so sorry if I've missed some sort of general rule or courtesy,

No worries.  We'll just mock you and bring it up endlessly.

Just kidding.  Don't worry about it.  The intent of the devs is to do away with grid crafting completely.  What that looks like regarding making planks is speculative but you give a good idea.  If you have the desire you could create a mod to do what you suggest.    (YAY!  smileys are fixed!)

[SongOfRuth]

I always thought it would be cool to only be able to do relatively rough planks with the saw and require a saw mill type affair for better quality and quantity.

[Hells Razer]

Check out In Dappled Groves. It might not be exactly what you want and Vinter Nacht's mods tend to be a bit on they grindy side (for my taste) so buyer beware, but it should be close.

For that matter check out all his other mods too! They are really good for doing what they set out to do. Also they are pretty customizable through config files.

Edited April 29, 2023 by Hells Razer

[BoogieBrando]

13 hours ago, SongOfRuth said:

I always thought it would be cool to only be able to do relatively rough planks with the saw and require a saw mill type affair for better quality and quantity.

It may be a little convoluted having different types of planks, but if it weren't the case then having "Rough Planks" and "Refined Planks" could work well for visual aesthetics/general progression. Like rough planks visually being covered in bark and are irregular shapes when used to make something like a "Rough Plank Wall" or "Cut Log Wall" etc (being more like primitive shelters that use logging and woodcutting for walls), and refined planks being used for your more typical "Wooden Planks Block" you often see. Would also be nice seeing the evolution in woodworking in the eventual carpentry update. Ah that just raised another little pet peeve of mine; having perfect wooden plank blocks in a primitive setting early on haha.

 

14 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

No worries.  We'll just mock you and bring it up endlessly.

Just kidding.  Don't worry about it.  The intent of the devs is to do away with grid crafting completely.  What that looks like regarding making planks is speculative but you give a good idea.  If you have the desire you could create a mod to do what you suggest.    (YAY!  smileys are fixed!)

Thanks! But man I wish I could mod, I've attempted a few times in the past, not just with VS but with other games, and I can't wrap my head around programming even if my life depended on it.

[BoogieBrando]

25 minutes ago, Hells Razer said:

Check out In Dappled Groves. It might not be exactly what you want and Vinter Nacht's mods tend to be a bit on they grindy side (for my taste) so buyer beware, but it should be close.

For that matter check out all his other mods too! They are really good for doing what they set out to do. Also they are pretty customizable through config files.

Sweet thanks, I'll check it out!