What new gameplay loops would you like to see?

[Josiah Gibbonson]

There's so many little gameplay loops in the game, yet enough is never enough! Besides the upcoming additions planned from the roadmap (Gemcutting, Quenching, Fishing, ect) what gameplay loops would you like to see added, or expanded upon?

 

I'd enjoy a butchering gameplay loop. Just take your prized game back to base, skin 'em, hang them out to dry, then chop them up for extra meat. (Less gore, no blood involved!)

 

Refurbishing broken clutter to restore it to it's former functionality would be great too. You could take back a bunch of broken junk to your base, then fix it up with glue, rope, twine, and other stuff. 

 

Expanding on clay forming would be amazing. Let us mix two different clay types to create unique patterns!

 

But what do you guys think would be a nice gameplay loop to add or expand upon further? I know beekeeping could use some tweaks...(From Golden Combs is amazing, don't get me wrong) 

 

 

 

 

[Maelstrom]

Personally, I'm looking forward to the alchemy/herbalism content.  All them mushrooms (especially the unhealthy/deadly ones) are currently going to waste.  Same with the alcoholic beverages AND flowers.

[TemplarGreen]

Brewing and fermenting. Could be used not only to make drinks but also healing items (spirits for sterilised bandages etc). Also Molotov cocktails would be nice aha

[Tom Cantine]

Textiles. Right now we have flax fibers that can just be crafted directly into twine and then linen in two steps, with no tool or workstation needed. I think it'd be interesting, though, to have spinning wheels, looms and such for the processing of cloth from flax and wool.

 

Fishing, of course. I'd like to see not just fishing poles for catching one fish at a time, but also a way to cast nets into a school of fish, or to lay lobster and crab pots. 

 

Glassblowing could be a thing.

 

[Maelstrom]

2 hours ago, TemplarGreen said:

Brewing and fermenting. Could be used not only to make drinks but also healing items (spirits for sterilised bandages etc). Also Molotov cocktails would be nice aha

"Sterilized" bandages are already in the game.  Needs Aqua Vitae which is distilled from other alcyhols.

[Ceepert]

Imo the Butchering mod should just be taken as it is in the game. Its perfect. Fits right in, makes it much more rewarding. Makes early game slightly more difficult, but rewards you with a bit more yield over time based on the materials used for the workstations.

But one thing I would love and I think would fit in is some sort of "Sanity" or "Morale" stat. The reason is for example the "optimal" way for food for a long time is just the same meal 2 meat 2 vegetables. Eating different things shouldnt just be cause of nutrition but eating the same food for a year is depressing. If not new stat to track is wanted it could affect the temporal stability. Im not that deep into the lore, but it could be the character getting more unstable as they go crazy?

[CastIronFabric]

In order of personal perference:

1. WaterWheels as part of the core game.

2. Diving Gear for late game. Maybe even be able to build an underwater base.

 

[CastIronFabric]

On 3/31/2025 at 2:19 PM, Maelstrom said:

Personally, I'm looking forward to the alchemy/herbalism content.  All them mushrooms (especially the unhealthy/deadly ones) are currently going to waste.  Same with the alcoholic beverages AND flowers.

There is a mod for all of that. 

I do agree it would be awesome to see that in the core game. I am currently playing with said mods for the first time but I have been so busy getting the basics done I have not yet dived into them.

[QueenGeeBee]

I play on a dedicated server my friend bought, so honestly any mods made vanilla would be lovely.

The system Im hoping for the most is alchemy, because I think it would be really fun to brew different potions and remedies, but I feel like it might not be fully useful without some expansion to the health/damage systems.

I would love if injuries/aliments were added and expanded upon, to give us a reason to make healing items. Maybe capping damage across the board, but have it so any damage taken above the arbitrary cap may result in an injury, like bleeding, or a fractured bone. Could add sickness from hypothermia or heatstroke too, just a few problems that can arise when you misplay and get hurt.

[Krähenwolf]

I'll probably be an outlier, but...woodworking. Making firewood and debarked logs with an axe at a chopping block, maybe boards with a saw as well; crafting a proper bench from it where to assemble and saw everything into furniture, shingles, and whatnot. Would also free up my memory from facts like "what orientation do the boards need to go in for stairs, and what way for slanted shingle roofs?" or "Did I need a hammer and an axe, or a hammer and chisel for debarked logs? And did I need a saw afterwards?".

[Krähenwolf]

Edit: Sorry for double-posting, but I had more ideas on that and wanted to elaborate further. Also sorry for any grammatical mistakes, english is not my first language (as you could guess from the name). This might also already be in a mod, but I am not familiar with many mods.

You could make a chopping block by just holding right-click with an axe for about two seconds. For those worried about griefing, the block could check first if it has no block above it, and if it is not part of a tree. On the chopping block, you have two options: A: Create firewood or a debarked log with an axe, basically chopping the log along the lines like knapping, but a chop takes the whole line away. B: Create boards using a saw, with the same principle.

From the boards, you can then make a worktable. On this, like in a smithy, you put your raw material (Boards, in this case) down, select the recipe you want and then have to assemble the rest, like in a firepit or pit kiln. Of course, you could also borrow from knapping mechanics and make several items at once, to save time (like, 2x/4x/8x wooden shingles), which requires each step to have the amount of material you would need for that.

Come to think of that, a filter at the top would help organizing the crafting recipes. Otherwise, there would be far too many.

What do you think of that?

[-Glue-]

Oh god. I have so many ideas and things on my wishlist. Some I expect to be added. Others are already on the on the roadmap, and a few I don't think will ever be considered. I will keep my list short lol

+1 on the butchery. Love the idea of carrying your kill back home to process. That extra effort would mean animals would need to give more meat, or higher quality meat to make it worth while though. I also love the idea of being able to put the dead animals on the back of your mount for travel, similar to RDR2.

I would love to see more advanced leatherworking. Where you actually put the soaked hide on a stretcher and physically scrape it, instead of in the crafting grid. Plus whatever other processing could be added. I am not educated in real world leatherworking, but I am sure its not as simple as it is in game.

Alchemy/brewing to make potions would be amazing. It would require making glass containers, maybe with some sort of glass blowing mechanic. You could make glasses in different shapes and sizes, then adorn them with leather wraps, or string around the neck to make them more fancy. They could carry any fluid, and be placed for decoration, but the custom shapes are specifically so you can more easily distinguish between different mixes. You could brew something for healing, or removing an ailment. Anti-venom for if you get bitten by a venomous creature. Fortitude, for temporarily increasing your max health. Maybe even some more fantastical stuff, like water breathing, feather falling, or extra jump height. Really anything could be added!

An injury and disease system would be really interesting. Sprang your ankle? Craft a splint to boost its healing rate. Or hold a crutch in your off hand to increase your movement speed back to normal. No sprinting though! Accidentally pick up hot metal? Time to break out the aloe vera and gauze! Too cold for too long? Now you're sick! Make some soup or medicine to speed up the recovery! Eat rotten food? Now you got food poisoning! Have fun throwing up half of your meals for the next day or two!

Really anything that adds to the longer, and more immersive crafting prosses is great. I love how things that are simple in other games, are turned into a long process in VS. Its so much more rewarding, and makes the little things feel more important. Progression in this game feels amazing.
It also makes trade between players more of a natural choice. You either have to create a whole specific crafting setup, get all the materials, and spend the time making something. Or, you can go the person who already has everything, and ask for a commission in return for your own services. Yes, as a solo player it will be extra grindy, but I personally have no issue with that. The game is so cozy, and having more things to work towards adds more value to the time spent in the world.

[Josiah Gibbonson]

On 3/31/2025 at 3:19 PM, Maelstrom said:

Personally, I'm looking forward to the alchemy/herbalism content.  All them mushrooms (especially the unhealthy/deadly ones) are currently going to waste.  Same with the alcoholic beverages AND flowers.

I definitely have a desire to be a shroom dealer on the side

On 4/4/2025 at 2:19 PM, TemplarGreen said:

Brewing and fermenting. Could be used not only to make drinks but also healing items (spirits for sterilised bandages etc). Also Molotov cocktails would be nice aha

Yes, I must burn down the forest with molotov cocktails!!

 

On 4/4/2025 at 4:39 PM, Tom Cantine said:

Textiles. Right now we have flax fibers that can just be crafted directly into twine and then linen in two steps, with no tool or workstation needed. I think it'd be interesting, though, to have spinning wheels, looms and such for the processing of cloth from flax and wool.

 

Fishing, of course. I'd like to see not just fishing poles for catching one fish at a time, but also a way to cast nets into a school of fish, or to lay lobster and crab pots. 

 

Glassblowing could be a thing.

 

Just don't prick yourself on a pinwheel or you'll need a prince to wake you up.

 

In all seriousness, I need sheep shearing in my life! And glass blowing sounds amazing. Like chiseling, BUT FOR GLASS! I wanna make glass figurines. 

 

Fishing is definitely a must. I need something relaxing to do that isn't mixing stuff in a smol pan.

On 4/5/2025 at 9:07 AM, Ceepert said:

Imo the Butchering mod should just be taken as it is in the game. Its perfect. Fits right in, makes it much more rewarding. Makes early game slightly more difficult, but rewards you with a bit more yield over time based on the materials used for the workstations.

But one thing I would love and I think would fit in is some sort of "Sanity" or "Morale" stat. The reason is for example the "optimal" way for food for a long time is just the same meal 2 meat 2 vegetables. Eating different things shouldnt just be cause of nutrition but eating the same food for a year is depressing. If not new stat to track is wanted it could affect the temporal stability. Im not that deep into the lore, but it could be the character getting more unstable as they go crazy?

After all, what's a horror game without losing your sanity? If it gets too low, you could start seeing your hunger bar and health bar wrong, and phantom drifters/animals could appear only you see.  Creepy!

On 4/5/2025 at 9:25 AM, CastIronFabric said:

In order of personal perference:

1. WaterWheels as part of the core game.

2. Diving Gear for late game. Maybe even be able to build an underwater base.

 

Subnautica x vintage story, the crossover we never knew we needed

12 hours ago, QueenGeeBee said:

I play on a dedicated server my friend bought, so honestly any mods made vanilla would be lovely.

The system Im hoping for the most is alchemy, because I think it would be really fun to brew different potions and remedies, but I feel like it might not be fully useful without some expansion to the health/damage systems.

I would love if injuries/aliments were added and expanded upon, to give us a reason to make healing items. Maybe capping damage across the board, but have it so any damage taken above the arbitrary cap may result in an injury, like bleeding, or a fractured bone. Could add sickness from hypothermia or heatstroke too, just a few problems that can arise when you misplay and get hurt.

Yes! I wanna die of heat in the desert like I nearly freeze in the artic areas. I don't think the game does that in desert areas similar to artic areas already...kind of odd without the parallel.

8 hours ago, Krähenwolf said:

Edit: Sorry for double-posting, but I had more ideas on that and wanted to elaborate further. Also sorry for any grammatical mistakes, english is not my first language (as you could guess from the name). This might also already be in a mod, but I am not familiar with many mods.

You could make a chopping block by just holding right-click with an axe for about two seconds. For those worried about griefing, the block could check first if it has no block above it, and if it is not part of a tree. On the chopping block, you have two options: A: Create firewood or a debarked log with an axe, basically chopping the log along the lines like knapping, but a chop takes the whole line away. B: Create boards using a saw, with the same principle.

From the boards, you can then make a worktable. On this, like in a smithy, you put your raw material (Boards, in this case) down, select the recipe you want and then have to assemble the rest, like in a firepit or pit kiln. Of course, you could also borrow from knapping mechanics and make several items at once, to save time (like, 2x/4x/8x wooden shingles), which requires each step to have the amount of material you would need for that.

Come to think of that, a filter at the top would help organizing the crafting recipes. Otherwise, there would be far too many.

What do you think of that?

Getting valhiem/crafting table vibes with this one. But any alternative to the current 3x3 grid would be infinitely more immersive- but of course complex and difficult. I wonder if you hit the nail on the head with how it should be implemented? I love this idea! Maybe you'd have to learn recipies over time so its not overwhelming.

 

On a side note, imagine if we could physically throw the food into the cooking pot intead of doing it from a GUI.

7 hours ago, -Glue- said:

The game is so cozy, and having more things to work towards adds more value to the time spent in the world.

The more immersive this game becomes the better. I have a hard time enjoying minecraft after playing this. Bring on the good times!!

[Zer0pig316]

1. Alchemy/Herbalism - mostly because brewing feels like a unfinished gameplay loop right now. I made a nice set-up and brewed dozens of jugs of cider, wine, and whiskey before realizing there wasn't much to do with it besides drink it.....*hiccup*

2. More late-game automation - Maybe a machine press that stamps hot plates into arrowheads, chain, and scale etc. or if textiles comes into play, that could be automated too

3. Something that will use the 3,000,000 feathers I have 

[Deaderpan]

fishing and poaching

the lakes in the game are kinda just used for only traveling at the moment, so it would be great to place and maintain different types of traps for different creatures that may or may not be in season. i also think it would be cool if some lakes did and didnt have certain creatures in them so you'd have to find a lake which contains the fishing opportunities you want.

rabbits shouldnt just spawn out of nowhere, there should be rabbit warrens that they pop in and out of so you can actually identify a good spot to place down rabbit traps.

and snare traps that if a larger animal steps on, traps them in place so they cant run off at full speed like they do now

basically, as much as i love Grug maxing (chasing everything down with spears), id also enjoy evolving past it

[Thorfinn]

Loops? Not a whole lot springs to mind. Fleshing out more uses for in-game stuff, and more efficient (automated) ways of doing current stuff springs to mind, but I'm good with all that waiting until the engine is finished. An example is leather. You scrounge and save every hide until you get your backpacks, then let the hides rot. At least until iron. And then again briefly save them when you get to steel.

But if you mostly avoid combat, might as well stick with cloth armor, and rather than worrying about sturdy leather, mining bags generally fill that need very well.

Of what's on the roadmap, metalworking, herbs/brewing, mechanical stuff and status effects. Maybe woodworking if it's more than just cosmetic.

Edited April 12, 2025 by Thorfinn

[Wondiws98]

Hygiene, oil and soap making. Infections and wound treatment.

[Arasine]

So many good ideas in this thread. I want all of them in game! 

I personally would love a way to trap and transport the mobs, to be able to make a mad scientist tower with caged mobs that could be studied over time to gain lore bonuses and maybe other perks (learn Drifter language?).

 

[Lanceleoghauni]

I'll go with water wheels and expand it further. I want there to be more water and fluid manipulation mechanics. Plumbing and irrigation systems that allow for functionality without being able to move source blocks. I have no issue with creating source blocks I just like having options.

Glassblowing is a big one, which kind of goes with fluid manipulation. I'd like vanilla long term storage options for alcohol, with a bit more capacity than the barrels have.

I'll second or third or however many diagetic woodcutting. I'm generally in favor of removing things from the 3x3 crafting grid whenever possible.

[Raelyn]

I would personally love being able to find and repair stuff in ruins to then sell back to traders, maybe we can like repair the item and they can introduce some mechanic where you can clean them so they look nice. I would so enjoy spelunking for treasure to clean and repair to sell to traders.

My gf and I spent days getting stuff for glue because we found some cool ruins, running back and forth trying to be quick so the glue doesn't harden, only to find out, the stuff we were repairing was still useless after repair and it simply gave you a decorative (basically) block. 

[TamTroll]

as someone who likes to explore and wander the world, I'd like to see more Temperature and Weather effects.

- Consequences for getting too hot, clothes and actions to cool down

- The ability to read the temperature in a given area, room, structure, or environment rather then just "outside", Like okay it's -24c outside, but what's the temperature inside my house? i want my house to be warm. Let me insulate it to keep it warm when it's cold outside, or keep it cool when it's hot outside. Maybe being in Shadow is slightly cooler then in sunlight, you get colder as you go down caves, etc.

- Ability to cool down a Cellar with Ice for longer preserving times, or heat up the house with a fire and heating vents or something

-Heavy storms that can actually damage and/or severely hinder you, your activities, and possibly your structures, forcing you to hunker down and seek secure shelter in order to survive. Things like heavy snowstorms, sandstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, that kind of thing. Perhaps these could do things like shake sticks off of trees and pull rocks out of the ground, refreshing stick and rock placement on the ground, or even reveal new ore veins by pulling new native ore samples up onto the surface.

- Some method of deterring or preventing animal spawns in spesific locations, possibly for spesific animals. I'd rather not build up a whole base only to find out a Bear spawns inside it every 30 days or so.

[CastIronFabric]

On 4/5/2025 at 8:36 PM, QueenGeeBee said:

I play on a dedicated server my friend bought, so honestly any mods made vanilla would be lovely.

The system Im hoping for the most is alchemy, because I think it would be really fun to brew different potions and remedies, but I feel like it might not be fully useful without some expansion to the health/damage systems.

I would love if injuries/aliments were added and expanded upon, to give us a reason to make healing items. Maybe capping damage across the board, but have it so any damage taken above the arbitrary cap may result in an injury, like bleeding, or a fractured bone. Could add sickness from hypothermia or heatstroke too, just a few problems that can arise when you misplay and get hurt.

I do approve of the Alchemy mod very much. it even allows for early game access to the potions in the form of editable.