Trail Signs and Wood scorching

[Terosism]

Multiple types of trail signs would greatly improve navigation of caves and wilderness (especially if you dont play with a map). (and also add to immersion)

There should be 2 types of marks:

• carved, easy to do, a bit harder to spot (with knife not chisel)
• colored marks, requires a bit more resources (maybe more dye alternatives should be added) (discord pointed out this is apparently already possible with chalk and charcoal, would nice if we could get a few more alternative colored marks, maybe using flowers or other naturally colored objects) (as an addition, charcoal and chalk should maybe be able to be crafted into smaller pieces made for writing with a durability of their own, maybe even the possibility of creating makeshift chalkboards)
• wood scorching (only on wooden materials, done either with a very heated metal tool or very simple and innacurate done with a torch) (this can also be used in builds similar to chiseling).

Edit addition: Wood scorching should work in a gradient fashion. The longer you interact with a voxel, the more scorched the wood should get. Maybe lightly scorching the surface of cut wood would have the effect shown in the second photo. Lightning strikes that hit wooden blocks could cause certain scorching patterns on them that span over multiple blocks.

Edited June 29, 2023 by Terosism

[Thorfinn]

One of the traditional trail markers was blazes, where one took a swing at a tree to skin away the bark. It was very clear not only that there was a path marked there, but also when it was laid, and in what direction it was pointed.

That would actually work pretty well, IMO. At least it gives a reason to carry an axe in the early game.

Software-wise, it would require a few different bark textures for each tree, plus when whomever enters the chunk, his 'puter properly ages the blaze.

Edited June 29, 2023 by Thorfinn

[Terosism]

41 minutes ago, Thorfinn said:

One of the traditional trail markers was blazes, where one took a swing at a tree to skin away the bark. It was very clear not only that there was a path marked there, but also when it was laid, and in what direction it was pointed.

That would actually work pretty well, IMO. At least it gives a reason to carry an axe in the early game.

Software-wise, it would require a few different bark textures for each tree, plus when whomever enters the chunk, his 'puter properly ages the blaze.

Aging would be a interesting mechanic as it would mean that if you dont remake your marks every lets say 2-3 years ingame (betters tools leave longer, practically permanent marks slightly faster, while flint tools would take slightly more to leave marks and have more durability damage, but not too much then it would simply be a very annoying mechanic),  years you eventually risk them disappearing (most of the time they shouldnt disappear, just become much harder to spot) and getting lost.

Painted marks should probably just be permanent as it would be really annoying otherwise (and paints should have a good process of manufacturing, hard to get it started but afterwards you should have good amounts to last you forever, similar to finding iron). Chalk/charcoal marks should require reapplying from time to time (very rarely and should be quick enough to be done while just passing by)

Maybe walking over the same grass blocks many times if you have a very frequent route could also cause path blocks to replace grass blocks in a gradient fashion, but they shouldnt be square as that wouldnt be a nice aesthetic they should blend in with the surrounding dirt/grass blocks, kind of like painting a texture on top of the blocks.

Edited June 29, 2023 by Terosism