A little bit Lighter Now

[Entaris]

I think, with solving the Riddle of Steel and repairing teleporters to travel halfway across the planet in the blink of an eye, then delving foreign caverns using our night vision, waterbreathing helmets...

We should be able to invent a pocket lighter, right?

To elaborate:

It would give us a use for Brass. Possibly an array of decorative metals?

Produces light when "on"  but cannot remain "on" underwater

Lights fires

Small form factor could make it a hotkey rather than taking slots

Edited August 26, 2025 by Entaris
elaboration

[LadyWYT]

2 hours ago, Entaris said:

We should be able to invent a pocket lighter, right?

Technically we already have one--the pocket torch! 

 

2 hours ago, Entaris said:

It would give us a use for Brass. Possibly an array of decorative metals?

Produces light when "on"  but cannot remain "on" underwater

Lights fires

And now for the serious answer...it would make for a nice little Jonas gizmo, or it could just be a simple flint and steel. In the case of the latter, it operates similar to the firestarter we have already, but requires iron+ as a crafting material and has a higher chance of sparking a fire and much higher durability as a result.

In the case of a Jonas gizmo...either it never breaks and just uses temporal gears to refuel it every once in a while. Or...perhaps it's not a firestarter at all, but a Jonas torch--that is, a flashlight. Produces a lot of light(light reaches further than a lantern but is concentrated wherever you point it), in exchange for fueling it with a temporal gear every once in a while. Has a much longer life and is cheaper to craft than the night vision helmet, in order to give it a useful niche instead of being redundant.

2 hours ago, Entaris said:

Small form factor could make it a hotkey rather than taking slots

I would still make it take a slot. A longer-lived firestarter is still situational, and not something you'd really need to carry on you, unless traveling. And in the case of traveling, you can just stash it in your saddlebags and retrieve it as needed. In the event it's a proper lightsource(like a flashlight), then you'll need to carry it like a lantern when you're using it...in which case, you can just use it in your off-hand instead of an actual hotbar slot.

[Entaris]

2 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

Technically we already have one--the pocket torch! 

Yes, which takes a slot and will extinguish until externally lit again if submerged.

2 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

And now for the serious answer...it would make for a nice little Jonas gizmo, or it could just be a simple flint and steel. In the case of the latter, it operates similar to the firestarter we have already, but requires iron+ as a crafting material and has a higher chance of sparking a fire and much higher durability as a result.

I don't see why there can't be two: One that's as simple as a trench lighter or a Zippo and one that's Jonas-y.

None of the light sources have durabilities, though? Seems kind of needless. I suppose maybe fuel? Fill it with fat/oil every once in a while.

The point is to have a reusable, unobtrusive light/fire source that doesn't take forever to light, isn't as effected by weather conditions etc

2 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

In the case of a Jonas gizmo...either it never breaks and just uses temporal gears to refuel it every once in a while. Or...perhaps it's not a firestarter at all, but a Jonas torch--that is, a flashlight. Produces a lot of light(light reaches further than a lantern but is concentrated wherever you point it), in exchange for fueling it with a temporal gear every once in a while. Has a much longer life and is cheaper to craft than the night vision helmet, in order to give it a useful niche instead of being redundant.

I would still make it take a slot. A longer-lived firestarter is still situational, and not something you'd really need to carry on you, unless traveling. And in the case of traveling, you can just stash it in your saddlebags and retrieve it as needed. In the event it's a proper lightsource(like a flashlight), then you'll need to carry it like a lantern when you're using it...in which case, you can just use it in your off-hand instead of an actual hotbar slot.

You're trying to gamify this too much.

I just want a lighter, man. And it's not above our accessible tech levels.

Stick it in a pocket, use the "wearable light source" button to on/off it or whatever.

Great in an emergency, out of the way when you don't need it and doesn't dump with your gubbins on death.

[Koobze]

This is a fantastic idea, I want to be able to make a collection of zippo lighters in different metals. I want to chisel art into my zippos. I want to have a wall of zippos on display, alongside my collection of pipes. I want to brew a pot of tea and sit in my library, sipping my tea, puffing at my pipe and admiring my zippo collection.