LadyWYT

Amazing how long you can play this game and still learn something new about it!

I don't play on TOPS, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea to have an official public server, and if there wasn't one, I'm sure at least some players would probably ask for one. That being said...official public servers are typically going to be popular experiences that more players want to play on than maybe there is room on the server. It's not really any different than a concert for a popular band or a popular restaurant at mealtime, or even a popular attraction at an amusement park. There's a limit to how many people can enjoy it at once and somebody's going to end up having to wait their turn if they're intent on playing. Opening up a server for each different region can help alleviate some of the problems, since then players can play on the server appropriate for their region and thus have a smoother experience. However, if players are flocking to TOPS because the devs play on that server specifically...there's probably not much that can be done to lighten the player load. A couple of alternatives that should be considered, I think, are finding a different server to play on than TOPS, or otherwise hosting one's own server. In that case, the player won't have to deal with the wait times, and in the case of purchasing their own server, will have a lot more control over what happens to their world and when. I also want to note that a lot of the issues I've seen aren't specific to TOPS, as much as they are just issues with large multiplayer servers in general. It's been a while since my WoW days, but there were similar issues there as well, despite Activision/Blizzard being a much larger company with many more resources to work with. On expansion launches it wasn't unusual to need to wait a few minutes/several minutes to log in to the larger servers, and even after launch there could still sometimes be player queues at peak times(or during DDoS attacks, which did sometimes happen). Whenever that happened, the solution was to either wait patiently to log in, or go find something else to do for a while and try again later. Does it suck when it happens? Yes, but that's just one of the primary drawbacks of opting for the most popular options.

Hmm, so it is. Whups.

I like the idea, however, I don't think it works very well in practice when it comes to actual gameplay. Most players aren't going to want to learn a new language just to play the game, and even if the player character learns the language automatically over time, most players are probably going to get frustrated if they have to spend X amount of time just doing basic interactions with NPCs in order to learn enough of the language to progress the story. I think this kind of concept is better suited for TTRPGs, where characters can choose to specialize in certain languages and then just make a skill check to see whether or not they understand the NPC in question. In that case, the language feels real enough to immerse the player in the world, but isn't going to bog down the story. Given what the lore is, I'm not sure there's a good way to pull this off. Incidentally, I think the language issue applies to storytelling in general, and not just gameplay in videogames. Sometimes different languages, or even just different grammatical choices, can enhance the story and make the world feel more authentic. However, it's also important for the reader to be able to easily tell what's happening when it comes to the main plot; if they can't understand critical dialogue then they're likely going to be confused/frustrated and give up on the story.

I'm inclined to say it's something that shouldn't be added, in order to give players more incentive to invest in livestock or otherwise be particular about what they hunt. Foxes and raccoons are easy to run down, and bears/wolves can be easily provoked into a fight or trapped in a pit for easy kills. Bears in particular typically drop a respectable amount of meat, and wolves usually come in small groups, which yields a lot of meat as well. Thus I think even with the lower satiety value, letting bushmeat be used in meals would probably lead to more players relying on that instead of seeking out better sources of protein. I think if it were added, it'd need something else to balance it out other than just a lower satiety value. Perhaps a longer cooktime, since I mean...it's tough and chewy, and going to require a lot of cooking to make it somewhat nice to eat. Possibly a chance for a some negative effects as well, when the status effect system is added, since meat from predator animals tends to carry a lot more risks, especially if not properly cooked.

I could see it happening. Perhaps not as Valheim does it though, as Valheim ties it to decoration a little too much. Granted, well-built and well-furnished homes are more comfortable than barebones ones, but I think decor should really be up to player preference. Besides, I think most players prefer a base that is at least well-organized with some basic decoration, so I would say most players already have incentive to decorate. The better incentive, I think, is probably just to let the weather affect the player a little more. The player decided to work all day in the rain? Probably going to catch a cold, unless they wear protective clothing and take a break or two inside to dry off and warm up. The player wore heavy furs in the jungle/desert? Time for some heatstroke! If the player didn't build insulated rooms in their dwelling, they'll want to light a few fires when the weather turns cold, lest they chill down too much. Eating certain foods could probably influence certain things as well, aside from just hot food helping the player resist the cold. For example, eating dairy might help the player recover from broken bones more quickly, while eating light meals like porridge or vegetable soup might alleviate the effects of internal distress.

This can already be done, I believe, via the use of the world edit tool to save builds as blueprints and then place them into new worlds. I was thinking more something to expedite making copies of chiseled works within the same world, without needing to switch to creative and use world edit. Also welcome to the forums and the game!

I wouldn't mind this. Maybe the player could make the blueprint using charcoal and parchment. Unused blueprints could be stored in the scroll rack, and blueprints could also be copied, providing some interesting trade options in multiplayer.

You need at least two slots of vegetables to every liter of water. The last slot can be another vegetable, an egg, or meat.

To my knowledge, the chunk stability doesn't affect the resource distribution. Limiting the search to only stable chunks still isn't a very good idea though, since searching a wider area will give more chances to find stuff than searching a smaller area.

Love it when there's a new release ready just in time for morning coffee!

Weird. Any mods that you're running? I don't know of any that would cause behavior like this, but it doesn't hurt to check anyway if you're using mods. I'd still recommend a whitelist though, since while a password is decent protection, passwords could be more easily shared, whether willingly or by accident. Desync can sometimes cause player ghosts to appear, but to my knowledge that only happens when there are other players around--ie, you shouldn't be encountering a ghost of yourself. I think most, if not all, of the player ghost bugs have been fixed as well, though I suppose it's possible there could still be a bug lurking around. If you're certain that no one else is logging in to mess with you, friend or otherwise, and there's no mods that could be causing strange behavior like that, you might consider reporting the issue over on Github. Unfortunately that's about the best solution I can think of right now; hopefully someone else can chime in with better insight.

Welcome to the forums! The haybed thing sounds a little too specific on the timing to be an issue with desync, especially when you mention seeing another player. Was there a nameplate to go with the playermodel? Players will always have a nameplate, and you should be able to check the server logs to see who logged in and when. My guess is that either one of your friends is messing with you, or another player has accessed your server and is trolling. If you're not playing with a whitelist, I'd recommend enabling one to keep out unwanted guests.

Not quite. The ceramics serve the same purpose in the game, this is true, but as of 1.22 red clay fires into earthy orange ceramic and blue clay fires into earthy brown ceramic. That being said, I'd like to see red and blue clay have the same chances to produce clinker brinks. I don't know that much about brick making, but I do get the impression that clinkers aren't really a desirable brick, so it seems like both clay types should be able to produce the occasional dud.

Probably a few days to a couple weeks. It depends heavily on how well the bug-swatting goes. The more bugs that can be swatted without introducing new issues, the sooner stable will arrive. Otherwise, no one really knows, outside of maybe the devs. It'll be ready when it's ready.

Make sure the file size is appropriate for upload--if the file is too big the upload will be rejected.

It depends...they can get pretty big in the right conditions. In any case, I'd like to see them in the game too, as well as just a cactus overhaul in general. The saguaro cacti are a little too small and too similar to the other block game, and cacti in general should hurt the player if stepped on. Though the latter is probably better suited for a status effect system. Dragonfruit would also be a good addition here, since the parent plant is also a type of cactus. There's also agave, which isn't a cactus, but is a desert plant used to make alcohol. Yucca is similar and can be used for food or medicinal purposes, among other things.

Eh, I somewhat disagree. Expanded Foods is quite fun, and popular for a reason, but I also think there is room for improvement. Rather than just copy/paste the mod into the game, I think vanilla cooking would perhaps be better served by implementing butter churning and a new dough-working mechanic where the player needs to actually roll out pie/pastry crust with a rolling pin and then cut it into the appropriate shape with a knife, similar to how the pottery loop works. Expanded Foods' mixing bowl and saucepan are good ideas, but in some ways they feel a little redundant when it comes to cooking, so it seems like maybe some of the recipes requiring those items could potentially be reworked to require manual kneading to mix or something of that sort.

You'll also want to search grassy lowland areas that have decent rainfall, and not forests or thick shrubland. Forests, with the exception of pine forest in deserts, will be covered in forest floor, making it nigh impossible to spot clay if it spawned there. Likewise, shrublands may contain clay deposits, but those deposits will be very hard to spot due to the thick foliage covering the ground(which also makes threats like holes and bears harder to spot as well). Blue clay tends to always generate by water, while red clay can generate at some higher elevations but not mountaintops. As @Vexxvididu and @PoisonedPawn777 already said, you've likely run by a few deposits without realizing. From the top, clay can be hard to spot, since patchy grass will cover most of the clay's surface and the subtle texture difference can be difficult to notice while sprinting around. Clay is more easily noticed when viewed from the side, since it will have a mottled texture that stands out from nearby dirt. If you're playing with true map colors enabled, you can sometimes use the minimap to locate clay and peat deposits, as they will typically stand out as circular discolorations in the surrounding grass.

It's an herb from one of the Wildcraft mods, if I'm not mistaken. I presume herbs are something that would be added in proper quantities whenever herbalism is added to the game. My guess is that herbalism will either come with the addition of the status effect system, or shortly after the addition of such, since herbalism isn't really useful if it has no effect on the player. Herbs and spices haven't really been added. Licorice and fennel were added as new crops, and are used to make stinkbaits but can also be used as a vegetable in regular cooking. Technically, both are herbs, but they just act like regular crops and vegetables for the most part. They can't be used to make medicine or tea or anything.

Same. I don't mind some grindy skill trees from time to time, but for Vintage Story I'd prefer to handle it via mods so that I can choose when I want to grind and when I want to rely on hard-earned experience.

Maybe it would help if the refund policy were advertised a bit more prominently? I've not exactly read over it myself, but as I understand it, the policy is very generous. Might help cut down on some of the piracy if more players knew they could safely buy the game and give it a proper try and still get their money back. Steam's policy, as I recall, is much more stringent, only allowing about two hours' worth of gameplay total before the refund opportunity expires. Two hours isn't really enough time to give many games a proper try, especially not meaty games like Vintage Story. I mean I'd also say it would be neat if we could have some sort of wishlist feature in the Anego store, where players could perhaps gift copies to other players in specific regions. It could be a cool way to further support Vintage Story's development aside from buying the little supporter add-on. But such a system would also be rather easy to abuse, I think, unless it had some sort of strict oversight...and I'm not sure it's really worth that kind of oversight.

I think I would rather Anego set up their own infrastructure for regional pricing, rather than rely on Steam. I like Steam; it's very convenient. But I also don't really like how many things are so reliant on Steam either.

The moral of the story is to always check the ingredients before eating the meal. You just never know what the chef slipped in.

After you complete the first story location, you'll have easy access to better land transportation for chapter two. Make sure you bring food and healing supplies, as these are good standard supplies to have for any adventure. Tools and rope ladders are useful for traversing the wilderness, but aren't needed for story locations since story locations cannot be altered due to claim protections, so you'll want to leave that stuff at home or in a box outside the location. Regarding general equipment, tier 2 is the minimum for the first location, and tier 3 is the minimum for what comes after, though in singleplayer you may wish to opt for tier 3 on the first location as well since it can be quite tough. Temporal gears are limited to 20 respawns by default before you'll need to refresh your spawn point; this number can be changed to infinite respawns though, either at world creation or via the command /worldconfig temporalGearRespawnUses -1, where 20 is default and -1 is infinite respawns. Setting you spawn point via temporal gear when you reach a location and expect trouble is always a good idea, though if you happen to have built a terminus teleporter that won't be necessary since that device will allow you to teleport to your last point of death for the cost of one temporal gear. I will also note that it's not unusual for certain locations to have a few temporal gears available as loot, so you'll be able to replenish your supply. Regarding death by bear...most bears can be outrun, and if you have tier 2 equipment or better(which you should have), that should allow you to survive a fight with a bear if necessary. Medical supplies will allow you to heal after the fight. Though when it comes to story content, bears are the least of your worries. In general, it's best to be mindful of your surroundings and proceed with caution in unfamiliar territory.