AlteOgre

Building with readily available, unprocessed, cobble stones is as old as mankind's need for shelter. So is building with lumber, aka harvested wood. Obtaining timber however, is a different ball game. VS offers a decent set of mechanics to simulate that imo. If you'd really want to make a point about the game being unbalanced wrt building realism, you could argue about the lack of required constructive support for blocks made from cobble stones that can be magically applied in gravity defying arches and roofs. Building with lumber could indeed be expanded upon a bit and this has been suggested a few times before, a.o. in this thread. Btw, do note that this does not relate to the topic of this thread.

Eh, so, not if the net time for a player to break an entire block (this lasts a perceivable duration already atm!) is hardly or not affected and it only takes two consecutive actions of aiming and hitting to clear one block instead of one. In that case this concept idea will make mining much more immersive without it leading to unacceptable inconvenience and without it affecting the 'grindy' feel. If you'd then add the (small) chance of getting drops upon breaking rock blocks in agreement with the prospecting mathematics, the inclination for players to just mine long tunnels will be discouraged and they may be encouraged to use local prospecting instead, exactly as intended with the first post. Let the implications of my proposals in the post above sink in for a bit and then reconsider the 3 quotes above.

I'd also like to see a more immersive method to clear rocks and this proposal provides a very nice direction. I pondered about this for a bit and I think I may be able to add some concrete ideas on how to get this implemented and more acceptable for all who may oppose this. First, indeed define just two ways of interacting: 'chopping hits' (the same action used to now break an entire block, but with reduced impact volume, so a series of hits, but with reduced time span to adjust for reduced impact volume, see below) and 'heavy swings' as proposed above (which could be simulated by a few slower, but harder strikes). And second, restrict the number of 'break lines' from bare rock to a very limited number, as to ensure we get optimal immersion at minimal extra cost. Think 'chop off a face, edge or corner' versus break the core / remainders of an entire block. Dividing a block of rock for the purpose of breaking it with a pick or prospecting pick (see below), could be done by defining a limited number of functional actions which will result in breaking of 27 possible block parts (predefined chisel areas) that can be affected by a single action (either chopping hit or heavy swing): The 8 corner parts, each being 8x8x8 pixels in size and upon breaking they give a 'default chance' to drop a single piece of rock (the 'default chance' being equal to current chance for full block divided by 64 (= 4x4x4)). The 12 central edge parts, each being 8x8x16 pixels in size and and upon breaking they give a double default chance to drop a single piece of rock. The 6 central face parts, each being 8x16x16 pixels in size and upon breaking they give a quadruple default chance to drop a single piece of rock. The core part, being 16x16x16 pixels in size and upon breaking, which will only be possible with a heavy swing, and upon breaking this gives an octuple default chance to drop a single piece of rock. Either chopping hits or heavy swings will result in more than one part dropping, dependent on where the hit is aimed at. This results in these 4 functional actions: 1. Chopping hits with a pick on a corner will result in dropping of the corner part and 3 edge parts connected to it, resulting in a 7-fold default chance of dropping a piece of rock. 2. Chopping hits with a pick on an edge will result in dropping of the edge part, the central face part connected to the face where the pick aims at, and the 2 corner parts connected to it, resulting in a 13-fold default chance of dropping a piece of rock. 3. Chopping hits with a pick on a face will result in dropping of all 9 parts of that part of the block, resulting in a 16-fold default chance of dropping a piece of rock. Chopping hits on a corner, edge or face part with already part of the neighbouring parts removed will simply result in less parts being broken. 4. Heavy swings will be able to break the core part of a rock and results in dropping the core related drops. To keep it simple, this will also result in breaking and dropping of all other remaining connected parts. Note that with this proposal, either breaking a face or an edge of a rock block will already result in exposing the core, so players will only need to chop off a face or edge and then take heavy swings at the core to clear an entire block and harvest its drops while the time that takes isn't longer than it is now. This could be combined with the code needed to achieve part of this proposal by @Quentin Preik. The prospecting pick can then be used in a more immersive manner as well. Taking a sample will become either the result of hitting a corner, edge or face. Those picks should ofc not be effective in breaking the core of a block btw. As this will require increased usage of picks, durability adjustments will be needed. It may be worthwhile to make durability loss also a 'chance function' in dependency of the volume of rock broken, using the same maths as used for the drop calculation. To make this immersive way of mining more acceptable, and even more immersive, a chance of ore nuggets dropping from each face and core part breaking could be added, using the same maths as used for the drops of pieces of rocks and for the prospecting. This is proposed in this thread and the notion was triggered by @Omega Haxors himself. Finally, I expect that with the reduction of the number of 'parts' (predefined chisel areas) and the available time the game has to calculate the effect of the possible block interactions (during the player interaction sequence), the impact of this on game performance should be limited. Of course, it could be made more sophisticated by making all described block parts drop individually and successively, but that will come at the cost of player convenience, as they will have to re-aim their pick each time a part is broken and dropped.

Proposal Introduce a small chance of a nugget dropping upon mining any block of rock, with the actual chance and nature of nuggets to drop being dependent on an area 'prospecting result' around that 'one sample block'. Option Combine this with this proposal by @Omega Haxors to achieve a more immersive mining experience by making the use of a prospecting pick result in chopping off a face of a rock. The code required for implementation of this, kinda related, proposal by @Quentin Preik to assist easier chiseling may come in very handy to achieve this. Source Discord #suggestions channel: trigger + post + option.

No way man. The forced night experience is an essential part of the game. Prepare during the day to ensure you can survive the night. Whether that be by torch lit running through the wilderness on scarce provisions to explore in early game or find some resources to bring home, by hunting or by clay forming, cooking and establishing a base with some basic materials you collected during the day. Really. That is the game. Home page quote: "... uncompromising wilderness survival ...". That speaks volumes tbh.

Very nice, fitting addition to the game. A useful application of excess berries as well, especially with seasons coming. Brine is not vinegar ofc, and it may be nice if they would both get different purposes instead of them being interchangeable. Imagine them being specifically used to add to the shelf life of various food types and combined application resulting in the maximum shelf life, dependent on the type of food, and sealing ofc. Hope this mechanic will be part of the vanilla game some day.

Very nice concept! But ... eh ... why the physical appearance of a light image reflective mirror? What's light reflective on a temporal gear? Calling it a 'temporal compass' and giving it a corresponding appearance might make it a little more fitting to the theme imo.

That is a type of option that will only emphasize the differences between the single and multi player experience. I'd personally rather continue with the present system than such artificial 'fixes' to a specific inconvenience (aimed at food decay). But on the other hand, it might just be an 'acceptable' alternative, possibly dependent on the way seasons will be implemented. Still curious to hear Tyron's view on any options btw. What happened on your server isn't unique. More server owners have seen new players join their friends or gamer community server because 'VS is such a cool game, come join and try it out' ... to then leave after a number of unfortunate events / moments of early game frustration caused by the different impact time dependent mechanics have on the server experience when compared to single player. The main issue is that the multiplayer experience is much less predictable because of this and many more 'casual' players simply won't return to an unpredictable game, even when it involves their friends, family or gaming community. Instead, they will seek out 'easier' alternatives for their casual entertainment. The investment of € 15 is relatively low and can easily justify a quick 'nope' for many players who are a bit less determined than the average present VS veteran. For the game (including an active, supportive and cooperative server community), to remain successful until and after beta launch, I think that keeping new players who enjoy the multiplayer experience may be key.

The temporal distortion caused by temporal storms is temporary and only lasts as long as the storm causing it lasts.

More realistic would imply introduction of a 'cylindrical multi-block windmill head on bearings' that the player could turn in the horizontal plane in order for the wings to face the wind wherever that comes from, by manual (or beast of burden) force. Ye, if the wind direction would become variable. Ideally ... realistically ... if ... but it's a game.

Odd proposal. A spear-thrower aka atlatl is in fact designed to enhance speed and consequently range of a launched spear/javelin/dart. If implemented I'd expect it to result in higher piercing damage and longer range (requiring to aim lower than without the throwing device) at the cost of 'loading/charging' time and the limitation of no 'auto-recharge'.

Mentioned subjects have been discussed in Discord on a few occasions, but there is no thread here mentioning these. And as the game now has vertical slabs, I think there may be good reason to reconsider the introduction of both wicker fences and wattle-and-daub walls as flavour adding, theme fitting additions to the overall game experience. Concrete proposals: Add wicker fences and gates that can be placed in the same fashion as plank based fences and gates. Both would also have the same block height, but the wicker gates would only be an effective barrier for animals, not for drifters. That is, they would 'automatically switch to open position' when a drifter comes within the hit box of the gate and drifters would perceive them for their path-finding AI as if they were grass blocks or similar (hoping this will be possible). The recipes for each would be the following: Wicker fence: 6 sticks in the lower 6 slots plus 4 reeds in the top center slot to produce 6 wicker fences. Wicker gate: 4 sticks in the slots to the bottom and center left and right plus 2 times 2 reeds in the bottom and center middle slots to produce 1 wicker gate. Add wattle wall (elements) with the qualities of vertical slabs and only placeable as such. They have a slight 'see-through' texture: light partially passes through them (like, doubles the light intensity reduction per block) and both predatory animals and drifters will be able to notice a player on the other side of these wall elements. Their recipe: Wattle wall: 1 wicker fence in the central slot plus 2 sticks above and below that to produce 1 wattle wall block. Add wattle-and-daub (wall elements) in two variants: a vertical slab and a full block. The properties of these are similar to plank blocks of comparable size. Their recipes: Wattle-and-daub single wall: 2 wattle wall elements in the central slot plus 1 cob block in the slot to the right to produce 2 wattle-and-daub single wall blocks. Wattle-and-daub double wall: 2 wattle-and-daub single wall blocks next to each other to produce 1 wattle-and-daub double wall block. Would be nice if it would be possible to also create them by placing a wattle-and-daub single wall block in the same block space as an already placed wattle-and-daub single block. Make the wattle-and-daub double wall blocks reinforcable with the plumb and square, but only with a very limited number of materials. Any type of stone, brick or metal should not be effective. Make the wattle-and-daub wall blocks 'paintable' with a limited number of dyes after placing them. The 'vanilla' blocks should have a 'cob' like appearance, but application of specific dyes will change that on the face where it's applied. This may be done in the same fashion as the way salpeter deposits are placed in the world. Upon breaking of a dyed wattle-and-daub wall block the paint (plaster) layer will dissappear. Proposed dyes: Lime, blue clay and fire clay. Applying these to a wattle-and-daub wall block results in layers of plaster with colour schemes that are mixtures of cob and the used powder. Specific lime types created from the various sea shell types available in the game, if ever they will be added. All will have their own specific hue variant. I hope these will be considered for a future update as I think this will greatly enhance the options for early game building and they will add a lot to the flavour of various, more utility like, builds. Any constructive feedback is this thread appreciated and may be used to further improve the above proposals.

Wow. Original, specific and concrete.

Nice work. It think the vines climbing should be included in the vanilla game.

Whoah, surely making a lot of vintage quality immersion improvements there! All fit to ensure players will love the game for many years to come, get inspired to create mods, expansions and numerous of their own or adapted vintage storylines, and spread the word to invite many others to enjoy numerous varied single and multi-player worlds and adventures, with friends and future friends and friendly foes. Do take your time and enjoy the quality of real life besides this life project ... while pondering which faces and edges of your marvellous shiny gem to work on before it will enter the world as a brilliant beta. Cheers!