VSJohn Posted August 19, 2025 Report Posted August 19, 2025 Metals & Tools Update I would like to propose my ideas for a visual and functional update to metals and tools that I have had in my mind for a while. Its quite a big and complex set of changes but I feel like it could really add a lot to the game given how much metals and tools are at the core of gameplay. Some suggestions may be impractical and values/names/methods are conceptual and the final implementation would likely be different. Interested to see everyone's thoughts and what you would want/change instead Problem & Goals Problem: Metals currently read like flat textures, tools lack personal identity, and condition/maintenance don’t create meaningful decisions. Goals Metals look like metals (physically readable, material identity preserved). Post‑stone age tools become modular (rod / binding / head) and feel personal and upgradeable. Metal condition/processing matters but remains manageable (low-friction upkeep, no chores). Guiding Principles State drives visuals: Visual layers are functions of material, processing, and condition. No one-off textures per state. Few, legible stats: Players should be able read a tool at a glance and understand its condition (Speed, Damage/Sharpness, Durability, Wear, Oxidation). Shallow interactions, meaningful outcomes: Upkeep actions are quick; choices (e.g., oil vs. polish) have distinct trade-offs. Data‑driven content: Materials, parts, growth rates, and thresholds authored in data driven manor. Config & presets: Server config can scale the entire system from “off” → “chill” → “hardcore” Each element of wear and management can be turned off via config. Systems Material Appearance System (MAS) — layered shading for metals (PBR core, heat tint, anisotropy, patina(oxidation)/rust overlays). Tool Composition System (TCS) — single composite tool assembled from rod, binding, head. Condition & Maintenance System (CMS) — oxidation/rust and wear; effects on performance; upkeep loop. Workstations & Mechanical Loop (WML) — bench, quench tub, grindstone, whetstone, polishing wheel; mechanical power integration. 1. Material Appearance System (MAS) Purpose: Make metals read as metals across held items and placed blocks. Layers [Rendered layers resulting in final visual] PBR core: base metalness/roughness + metal type. [This affects the base visuals of the material, ideally to keep the visual identity of the game a “realistic" PBR approach should not be done here. Metals PBR features should be done in a subtle way still showing the base texture primarily just adding that additional flair to make the metals look like metals] Heat tint: subtle spectral tint based on peak heat and quench medium (air / water / oil / brine). [Applies a visual tint the material based on peak heat during processing and quenching method] Optional anisotropy layer: brushed vs. cast look. [Unnecessary but would be a welcome feature] Condition overlays: oxidation/rust/patina that grow in edge/cavity‑biased regions. [Final layer applies wear through a procedural mask for rusting/oxidation] Tuneable shader parameters (per material) baseRoughness, baseMetalness, anisotropy (0–1), tintCurve (by temp), patinaCurve (by oxidation), patinaHue, rustIntensity Inputs Material profile (per metal): base look, tint curve, patina/rust growth tendencies. Process history: last peak heat, cool rate, quench medium. Condition state: oxidation percentage and wear indicator. Author masks: where edges/cavities/scratches are likely. Outputs Final appearance for items/blocks; consistent across inventory, world, and first person. Art deliverables Per‑metal profiles (swatches, tint ramps, patina hues) with min/max intensity specs. 2 Tool Composition System (TCS) Purpose: Turn tools into persistent, upgradable objects with identity. Concept Rod (persistent): identity + small handling buffs; visual personality; never breaks. Binding (consumable over swaps): defines how many head swaps/repairs before replacement; minor durability modifier. Head (wear part): core stats; wears and can break; smeltable for partial return. Assembly Flow Place parts on Tool Smithing Bench. Live preview shows final stats Assemble → single composite tool item that carries part IDs and state. “Replace head” consumes a binding durability (swap) Stats model (conceptual) Base stats come from the head tier (e.g., bronze vs. steel), This is the only part of the tool that wears and breaks. Small amounts of material can be recovered from a broken tool head. Rod applies small multipliers to base stats (Mostly just visual layer, does not break) Binding applies small multipliers to base stats (Higher quality binds allow for more tool head swaps or repairs before break). Additional Considerations Legacy tools auto‑migrate to a default rod/binding with equivalent stats. Players can articulate preferences (“this is my pick”) via rod looks and small buffs. Swap & repair loops feel faster than crafting a wholly new tool. 3 Condition & Maintenance System (CMS) Purpose: Tie visual condition to performance in a simple, controllable way. Tracked states Oxidation / Rust (0–100%): Applies % based negatives to tools durability and sharpness from 0-100% chance/reduction. For durability 0% oxidation/rust means tools will always take 1 durability on use 100% means tools will have a 100% chance of using 2 durability each use. The higher the % of oxidation/rust the faster a tools wear will increase on use Factors that affect oxidation/rust: rain/humidity/time increase, being indoor/in dry areas decrease the speed of oxidation/rust. Can apply oil/wax to slow down the effect. Wear (0–100%): The tools wear lows its effectiveness wear increases every time the tool is used and is scaled by the oxidation/rust %. It affects the tools damage and mining speed down to a configurable maximum. E.g. max damage/speed at wear 100% might be 50% of the tools maximum Wear is managed by sharping tools with whetstones and grindstones Environment influences Rain/humidity accelerate oxidation; indoors/sealed storage slow it Update cadence is infrequent (e.g., hourly in‑game for items, every few hours for placed blocks) to control cost. Maintenance actions Whetstone: inventory-based wear maintenance. Can return a tools wear to 15% (fast, common) Additionally removes a small amount of oxidation/rust. Grindstone: fully restores wear. Can return a tools wear to 0% Additionally removes small amount of oxidation/rust. Wire brush: fast rust/oxidation removal in inventory (~85%) with a small trade off (removes small amount of durability). Polishing wheel: complete oxidation removal; benefits from mechanical power. Oil/Wax: Halves Oxidation accumulation on tool parts. Vinegar bath: Additional method to passively remove oxidation/rust from parts. Considerations Floors and caps ensure neglected tools remain usable (e.g., speed floor ~50%, damage floor ~60%; oxidation penalty capped ~35%). Config: toggle on and off wear features Tool maintenance should be quick and easy once setup is complete Balancing: players should not be required to keep tools pristine, doing so just makes the tools better and more efficient (Plus visuals) a poorly kept tool should remain perfectly acceptable for use 4 Workstations & Mechanical Loop (WML) Purpose: Give clear, distinct roles to placeable stations; integrate with mechanical power. Stations Tool Smithing Bench: assembly, head swap, and stat preview. Quench Tub: selects medium (water/oil/brine) for temper bonuses and heat‑tint visuals. Grindstone: restores wear; faster with mechanical power. Polishing Wheel: deep clean oxidation; mechanical power speeds throughput. Whetstone / Wire Brush / Oil Rag: portable upkeep tools for the field. Considerations Each station’s purpose is obvious and non‑overlapping; no station feels mandatory for early progression.
Entaris Posted August 20, 2025 Report Posted August 20, 2025 (edited) Toolsmith. Edited August 20, 2025 by Entaris
Apocalypse_Andy Posted August 23, 2025 Report Posted August 23, 2025 My thoughts: This sounds like it would do for tools what Expanded Foods and ACA do for foods. If they do introduce more complexity like this, I hope it would always be an option to turn off in settings, because everyone enjoys different levels of complexity for different parts of a game.
Recommended Posts