Stroam

For the most part, I like the way prospecting works. I wish ore generation was different though. 

8 hours ago, Erik said:

When your backpack breaks it  just drops to the ground? What happens to your items inside it? How can you repair it if you can't pick it up?

Correct, drops where you were standing and can't pick up until it's repaired. Items stay inside. You apply a patch kit to the bag to give it back some durability back. Think outside the crafting grid like right click with the patch kit in hand. When an item would put a bag over the volume limit blocking the action and popping up a message saying there's no more room left should be sufficient. A warning each time an item is placed that puts it over weight should be fine. I would rather let the player have a choice even if it's a poor one than remove the possibility of making such a choice. Just as there's upgraded tools there can be reinforced bags for heavier loads. There's no reason you can't apply a patch before it breaks if you notice the durability getting low.

If it's so large you can't pick it up then it needs to be handled differently than items. It could be broken down into individual items that are assembled in place. It could have a special mechanism for moving it like wooden cranes loading it onto a suitable transport mechanism such as a train or minecart. Could be a combination of things needing to be moved by mechanisms to be assembled in place. 
could also be manufactured on site with say a multiblock mold.

1 hour ago, redram said:

Not a huge fan of this.  I think I'd prefer to see everything I'm carrying at once.

In your weight vs energy system Stroam, does the player ever get autmoatically immobilized by too much weight?  Or Beyond a certain point it drains energy so fast you effectively can only move 1 block or something?

Hitting e would open/close all your bags at once so no loss there.

Maybe another weight limit set at twice the first one will apply a slowness debuff that increases as the weight increases past that point. (Hey that would be an interesting ability. Increase targets experienced gravity to x2 potentially causing it to slow or stop). Though if something is not meant to be picked up it shouldn't have an item form.

43 minutes ago, Erik said:

Only introduce weight or volume, as introducing both would make inventory management really difficult again.

Because humans are innately already familiar with size and volume from irl, I don't think it will be that difficult. It's unlearning video game logic.

43 minutes ago, Erik said:

Bag durability is a bad idea, only serves being tedious.

I don't understand how bag durability is special and different than tool and item durability. If you find one tedious then all must be.

I cover my thoughts on this in a general VS remake thread. I'll copy over the stuff that pertains to this topic.

• carryable containers can also be set on the ground. (allows for quick switching of inventories)
• There can be category specific slots that prevent all items outside of the specific category from being equipped in that slot. (adds diversity)
• The bag slots are all specific category slots with three pouch slots and one back slot. Some things require being carried on the back. (Adds an interesting mechanic)
• Bags act like chests in that instead of one inventory, each opens in its own window. (helps with keeping things organized)
• items no longer take up multiple slots in a container, i.e no stack limit. (helps with inventory management)
• all items have volume. (used in bag mechanic)
• Instead of a set number of slots for non-specific item slots, there is always a slot open and the number grows until maximum volume has been reached at which point stacks can no longer grow and no new items can be placed in the container. (Helps out early game and prevents loading up an entire basket with two seeds. Used to limit the types of materials instead of the number of materials.)
• all items have weight. (used in bag mechanic)
• All containers have a weight limit. (used to limit bags and provide upgraded alternatives that cost more)
• all containers have durability. Durability decreases when a container is over its weight limit and moved. At zero durability the bag drops to the ground and can't be picked up until repaired. (right now only bag progression is in the number of slots. This adds progression in the form of a maximum amount of weight carried.)
• As player weight increases past a certain point it starts to use energy. (Limits what the player can take where. Adds interesting gameplay where you may pick something up, climb a bit to the first rest point, etc. Adds a choice of carrying something heavy or fighting.)

energy, stamina(exhaustion) - doing work such as sprinting, swimming, jump, climbing, or using tools takes energy. When completely out of energy you can no longer perform activities that require energy. Requires saturation and a break from activities that cost energy. Wearing armor does not require energy but does increase the cost of all energy activities. (adds limits to the player for engaging gameplay, ties in with other systems)

weight - All items and blocks have weight. Carrying over X amount of weight will start to cost energy. The more over X weight the quicker you'll burn through your energy. (ties a bunch of systems together)

Comparing ideas it looks like we have similar ideas that tackle some of the same issues. Quick swapping containers and filtered slots seem to be tackled about the same way. Different takes on normal slots and separating inventories so you know what is in what. No mention of volume, weight, and durability in your post @Erik but I assume that's because you want to keep it simple. I know I'm going to be told at least once that bag durability is a bad idea and that people would rather be limited by slots and stacks than weight and volume.

5 hours ago, tony Liberatto said:

there is no way that modders will make mods to accommodate every single player wish.

Nor will any game difficulty do so either.

5 hours ago, tony Liberatto said:

It is a common feature of almost all successful games nowadays.

Let's take a look at similar games.

https://subnautica.wikia.com/wiki/Game_Modes - survival, hardcore, creative, and survival with no food or water requirements

https://staxel.wikia.com/wiki/Game_Modes - creative, regular

https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Farm_Maps - different farm maps

fortresscraft evolved - survival and creative

https://planetexplorers.gamepedia.com/Game_Modes - story mode, adventure mode(open world), build mode(creative)

My Time at Portia - just regular

Stellar Overload - https://steamcommunity.com/app/397150/discussions/0/2592234299547613909/ - released with just story mode and creative mode

Younder - https://steamcommunity.com/app/580200/discussions/0/1458455461475626977/ - no difficulty levels

VS already has a creative mode and a normal gameplay mode. As far as I've seen, that's enough for "the majority of initial player experiences are positive".

As far as a feature of great impact to the financial success of a marketing push on media/steam/etc. I'll go over all the ones suggested by Tyron and the ones I think fit the definition, though some of these suggestions will come with caveats. 

• An even simply built modhub site with which mods can be 1-click installed in-game and prompt-installed when trying to join a multiplayer server. 
  • Since one of the selling points is modding this is important.
• Easy server setup (that does not require manual port forwarding) 
  • There is a public server so this depends on advertising. If advertised as having a public server with the option of a creating a private then not needed. If advertised as setting up your own server to play with friends and family, then it is needed.
• In-game Server Listing through a master server
  • Maybe but this is great for a variety of reasons. Works well with a mod hub. Great for diagnosing server connection issues. Great way to have one place for servers and players to find each other. Allows some control by giving public servers ratings and in extreme cases banning servers with unethical practices.
• Better and more automated crash reporting
  • Yes, I would even go so far as to advertise as early access on places like steam. This also has the effect of making reviewers more generous.
• Mac OS fixes on german keyboards, one crucial bugfix on the block lighting system 
  • No. Design is way more important than bugs.
  • https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324923032_An_Empirical_Study_of_Game_Reviews_on_the_Steam_Platform
• Configurable difficulty level
  • No. Since modding is a selling point configurable difficulty level is not needed at the start.
• More intuitive prospecting 
  • Yes, as mentioned above good design is more important than bugs. I would tack on better ore spawning as well to this since they go hand in hand.
• Probably Seasons and Weather 
  • Yes, because it would be a core mechanic. Something other things depend on.
• Farming could use more diverse crops, maybe fruit trees (see Growthcraft).
  • Yes. I feel that crops do need to be more diverse because the crop varieties feel the same. Adding cooking is a great way to make the crops feel different. Also needs to tie in with seasons and weather. I would look at the top farming games and find what parts of those would work in VS.
• Armor and clothing crafting (More uses for linen, leather tanning)
  • Yes. Armor is something that is expected from games like this especially since there's already clothers. Leather processing is a staple in many survival games and part of armor crafting.
• Combat is the worst, I will probably post a more streamlined overhaul suggestion soon.
  • Yes. The combat update is something that divided the minecraft community and VS can't afford a split like that. The core mechanics of the combat system need fleshed out before released on something like steam. The combat mechanics also sets the feel of the game. Is it going to be spam click for a simple old school vibe? Are they going to be slow and deliberate like dark souls? Is it going to use stamina, attack delays, etc? Should be a large enough toolkit to add variation in combat to make it feel not always the same. No matter what you decide for the combat, have the core mechanics ironed out before being released or it will have a dramatic financial impact because it's so integral to the feel of a game.
• A tutorial and an TMI/NEI/JEI of some sort.
  • Yes. The first 15 hours of gameplay is highly crucial for positive reviews and if most of that is spent in a wiki and trying to figure out how to start, it's not going to go well. I'm not saying we need need something like TMI/NEI/JEI but somewhere in-game you can look up stuff and a getting started in-game tutorial. A chief complaint of TFC was how much you needed to know to just get started. Don't expect new players to know anything about TFC.
  • https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324923032_An_Empirical_Study_of_Game_Reviews_on_the_Steam_Platform
• Do more to make it look and feel less like minecraft
  • I watched a video of a person playing VS and they first thing they said upon loading into a world is, "This is minecraft." They then dug up a dirt block and said it sounded and felt like minecraft. Now I know it doesn't sound like minecraft but there are quite a few block games on steam and they are not mistaken as minecraft. Many of them have a distinctly different visual style and incorporate a mix of blocky and non-blocky things. VS doesn't have those things. What VS does have is seraphs. So when entering a world for the first time the clothing menu pops up which is great and you see a representation of you but you don't see you in the world so while you know that's your character you don't associate it with you yet. This reinforces you are not Steve or Alex. Start the person in 3rd person mode with a notification somewhere on the screen. Upon clicking the notification, a box pops up quickly explaining the controls, another one on explaining the HUD, and a third one how to knap and where you can find the in-game tutorials. This tells you this is different than minecraft. Next change the feel of breaking blocks. One of minecrafts distinct features is the sound of rapidly hitting a block, well hitting blocks in general to collect them. Make VS resource collection seem slower and more deliberate. For dirt collection it could be a longer scooping sound along with some form of animation instead of a rapid punch sound. All resource collection sounds should make the action feel less like punching it. Not only does this make it sound and feel more distinctly different than minecraft, it makes it feel more adult. Make the collection of dirt from grass need a shovel. This ties in with needing an axe to collect wood from a tree. Another thing that is one of the first things I notice about minecraft is the sharp corners to the leaf blocks. If you could somehow soften those corners or do something similar to the better foliage mod it'd also help visually separate VS from vanilla minecraft. Proper bushes would help as well.

I am looking at my WIP thread to see if there's anything on there that I feel fits the definition but while I think everything on that thread would improve the game I don't see anything that wasn't already mentioned that I think is necessary for a successful release on a platform like steam. I wouldn't do minecarts before releasing on a platform because it makes it more similar to the thing you are trying to differentiate it from. It's interesting to see what's on peoples wish lists though.

rendering options

http://apidocs.vintagestory.at/api/Vintagestory.API.Client.EnumChunkRenderPass.html

@redram It can be done outside of the program in a text editor.

Thank you for the info.

releasing an update to fill the gaps that makes polishing stones work more consistently and stops chisels from eating hammer heads. Also releasing a version of the roads mod. Some time down the road it'll get merged with lamp posts but not now. 

Sure. I will revisit that mechanic and see how I can improve it.

It should work on grass. Didn't test though since it works on grass by default.

I think you also forgot to mention that the scythe harvested cattails in AOE unless you removed that tweak.

I've often wanted to combine berries, bread, and honey to make sweetened blueberry bread. Or take a knife, cut up some meat, bread, and vegetables to make make a sandwich. Or make a vegetable rice dish. I'm not looking for pam's harvest craft but I'm looking for something that's starting in that direction with a dev who wants to expand it as time goes on.

11 hours ago, copygirl said:

Thanks for the update. Two issues I noticed:

• The chisel doesn't appear to be craftable.
• Breaking a "half" path blocks drops the half block, but placing it will place a full block.

The chisel has to be made from non-flint stone. And yah I didn't override the drops for path slabs so I need to do that at some point. Thanks for the feedback.

*warning* chisel will consume hammer tool heads thinking they are hammers. Don't carry around hammer tool heads and chisel.

Fill the Gaps

*Update*
-vanilla bamboo planks recipe now makes a new type of bamboo planks that behaves like logs in that the top of the planks always points towards you. Didn't do the same with slabs.
-vanilla stone path recipe now makes a new type of stone path that when placed on top of each other produces slabs with the same speed bonus
-vanilla ladder recipe now makes a new ladder type that doesn't pancake you and if you look down at the very top of a ladder, sneak, and right click with an empty hand it'll place the bottom most ladder in your inventory. Great for mining.

-disabled recipes for: 
all plank corners 
all polished stone 
allstone brick 
all raw stone

-added grid recipes for: 
polishing stone - stone over sand
quartz block - quicklime surrounded by 8 quartz ore.

-added knapping recipe:
stone chisel

added new items:
polishing stone - get real close and hold right click on rock to polish it.
stone chisel - If you are holding a stone chisel and have a hammer in your hotbar, by right clicking on raw stone it'll turn it into stone brick. On quartz blocks it makes ornate and column quartz blocks.

note: All pre-existing blocks will remain. Meaning old roads, ladders, and bamboo planks won't have the new feature but also won't turn into ?'s

I agree with @redram. Better things are to come.

oh! Thanks!

umm you forgot to increase the size 1920x1080

The wicker block in Primitive construction has been swapped out for the wicker fence. A fence gap has been added.

A brand new mod has come out as well. Lamp Posts. Great for entrances, decor and hanging lanterns off of!

For these set of pictures I really like the 3rd one. It makes me feel like I'm standing in it as opposed to looking at a picture. Also these shots are a lot dimmer and less inviting than the original. Mind taking the shots during the brighter part of the day?

It's the Archaic Halls or book38. I'm using them to add to the pictures on the homescreen. It's refreshing.

13 hours ago, HelDM said:

Honestly? Nothing..

I just send out Karysva to get stuff so I can craft

I've noticed. 

I like these wallpapers but they aren't quite big enough. need 1920x1080. I like book29, city06A, Glacialscape44, and drifterpicnicarea

Stroam, between 2 and 3 decades, (UTC -8)

I do stuff sometimes.