LadyWYT

Probably, but it's the best explanation I've been able to think of. Given the animation that plays, the gear seems to spin faster and faster until it vanishes from existence. You've also got the case of sacrificing a gear and some health to restore stability, which also uses the gear in the process but doesn't use the same animation. I would chalk this up to seraphs potentially being able to manipulate whatever energy the gears are made of, to some extent. But basically, temporal gears are weird little things that don't quite behave as expected.

A couple of oddball examples to throw in: Iron Man and Dr. Doom. Both of these characters have armor designs that are somewhat similar to a medieval steampunk theme, and Jonas tech would fit in well to add cool glowing effects or perhaps some limited lightning-shooting or "rocket boost" abilities. Add in the ability for players to color the armor plates, and you have a recipe for all kinds of superhero/supervillain shenanigans.

I've chalked it up as the autonomous rotation is fairly weak and only happen when the gear is unhindered, hence why it can be tied into a necklace or harness, or why it stops spinning on shelves and in machines. As for the player's hand...perhaps it's gently held between the fingers so it can spin. If it's changed purely for the sake of consistency though, I'd opt for making it not spin while in the inventory, since making them spin all the time when placed in the world is just going to look strange, in addition to putting more demands on processing, most likely. I don't think that would go against the flavor text either, since it can be picked apart to mean that temporal gears are very durable and tend to maintain whatever level of motion one manages to put them in. That is, they can likely handle high speeds and pressure without burning up, shattering, or otherwise wearing out from stress.

When it comes down to gameplay, I would rather the whole tool break when it reaches zero durability, and just add a few more options for what to make the handles from to extend durability. Having played with a system where broken tools drop recyclable metal bits...it generally proved to be more hassle than fun, since broken items would still eat up inventory space and throwing away usable resources isn't particularly enjoyable. Probably also worth noting that a common complaint about the other block game, is that tools basically never break or otherwise need actual repair thanks to a certain game mechanic that was introduced quite some time ago. If the tool essentially lasts forever, there's really not much incentive for the player to seek out more than a minimum of resources.

Just my two cents of observation/guesswork, but even though 1.22 is stable I don't think the devs actually consider it done yet. There's still a couple of berry bushes missing, spur gears apparently weren't completely finished, and Tyron mentioned a few more dungeon variants to be added later. So I'm thinking what happened is they got as much as they could done for the stable release and pushed a few things back for a later 1.22 patch once those things are properly polished. Having toyed around with it a bit, firepit is best for small quantities, but the bloomeries seem much better suited to mass production of calcinated flint. I think the cook time is about the same for both cases, but bloomeries use less fuel and don't need babysitting.

From the practical standpoint, I'd write armor like this as either some kind of hardened leather with metal studs for decoration, or a brigandine with leather as the outer layer rather than cloth. I think either option works fairly well for a rogue/hunter character, as these seem to be the characters that wear this kind of gear. Leather might not be the most protective material available, but its main strength is availability--there's bound to be someone around selling it, and/or that can work with it. Brigandine is sturdier, but also going to be a bit harder to repair when out in the field, so for characters who are spending a lot of time away from polite society it may not be the best choice. I'd prefer more accurate terms as well, but at the same time, it's not a dealbreaker for me if something does get misnamed. When it does happen it's definitely something I will snicker at later though. Hence why I threw out a real world historical example. It is rather regional, yes, and there's no evidence to show what happened to those cultures in the game. However, when designing for fantasy it's not a bad idea to look at the real world examples, even if niche, to see how a fictional culture might achieve similar results. Designs that at least try to be grounded in reality tend to hold up better over time than stuff that's clearly trying to break as many of the known rules of physics as possible. I'm guessing it's probably more intended for early improvised armors, when the player might not have access to proper fabrics yet. One material I'd throw onto the list in that case is wood. Is it the most practical armor material? Not at all, but in a survival situation like Vintage Story's it might not be the worst idea to cobble something together for protection, especially when status effects arrive.

Welcome to the forums and the game! Mods are often the cause of many issues in the game, even if the mod itself doesn't appear to affect the thing in question. I don't see any reported clay issues with Expanded Matter, but that doesn't rule out a different mod being the potential cause. If you suspect the issue is due to mods, the easiest way to figure out exactly which mod it is, is to disable all mods and verify that vanilla works correctly. Once you've done that, re-enable the mods one by one and test them as you do so; when the issue resurfaces you will have found the culprit. Like others here have already said though, it's also not uncommon for newer players to struggle with finding clay until they know what to look for. Clay is more easily spotted from the side, as the texture stands out more readily from dirt, and from the top it will have bits of clay peaking through patches of grass. Clay deposits tend to spawn in areas that have sufficient rainfall and aren't too cold, though there are a couple of exceptions. Avoid looking in forests, since the forest floor will cover any clay that does spawn. Red clay is the most common one to find, and can occur in highlands(but not mountain tops) and lowlands. It's also the only clay that can spawn naturally in the arctic regions, though in smaller deposits. Blue clay only occurs near sea level, often near bodies of water, so searching near the shores of lakes can sometimes be a good idea. Fire clay only occurs naturally in bauxite deserts or occasionally underneath deposits of black coal or anthracite. In addition to natural deposits, you can also buy clay from certain traders, find it in ruins, obtain it from cracked vessels, or rarely obtain it from panning, though it is worth noting that the first three options only count if you are playing with lore content enabled.

Jonas tech would have some good uses for wire as well, because you just know that stuff is full of it. Jewelry would be another great use, since many pieces often require delicate wire in their construction.

Leaving it in your inventory is the only way I really know of. It's inconvenient though, so I try to have most stuff already rotted for the compost heap by the time winter rolls in.

I think when it comes to a nomadic lifestyle, it's probably best to take a look at the frontier days of the Americas and how those individuals survived, or the "hedge knights" and adventurers of antiquity, chiefly because...well, they were individuals. Yes, there have been nomadic peoples throughout history, but the difference between a nomadic tribe and a nomadic individual is that the tribe is going to have a lot of people to split the labor between, whereas the individual is going to have to do everything themselves. From a game standpoint, I think it's probably better to focus on the player managing a mount, a couple of pack animals, and a couple of smaller companion animals, at most. A handful of mounts/pack animals can be easily picketed to keep them from getting lost, and can transport essentials like tents, storage, or basic crafting stations. Smaller companion animals, like dogs or goats, can bear smaller burdens, hunt, or help deal with threats. Food will primarily come from hunting and foraging, with trade being necessary to acquire things that can't be easily obtained from such a lifestyle(workable iron/steel, grain, etc.). Pasture and herd mechanics work better for homesteading and governing wild animal movements(for appropriate creatures). From the homesteading standpoint, the player would need to make sure their animals have enough space to graze to stay in shape, or otherwise provide feed for their animals to eat to keep them from losing weight and/or getting sick. For wild animals, it could help keep them contained in a general area as a habitat, rather than having them wander off into areas they aren't suited to live in, as well as give the player a more interesting hunting experience in some cases. Think of it this way: a herd of buffalo just roamed up to the area near base. It's a great hunting opportunity, but it also takes a lot of food to feed that many animals, so don't expect them to remain in the area for very long. Waiting more than a couple of days to hunt means the herd moves on and the player must wait until the grassland regrows enough for the next herd to move through...which may be too long to wait, depending on the circumstances. Or the other way around: the player is out scouting for things to hunt, and finds a lot of grass that has been eaten. Following the eaten grass will lead the player to a lucrative hunting opportunity.

This is where a lot of tech suggestions fall apart, in my opinion, since oftentimes they're presented as automated replacements for the more traditional medieval systems, instead of an interesting "side-grade", as it were. Part of what keeps the player invested in the world is the need to actually do at least part of the work themselves in order to reap the benefits. And while there is some higher tech steampunk stuff in the lore, it's also worth noting that a lot of that tech has become something of a lost art, much like dwemer technology in the Elder Scrolls universe. I think the night vision helmet, teleporters, and rift wards serve as nice examples of tech that's useful without overshadowing the more traditional processes. Some sort of "power armor" or "power tools" would probably also fit right in, since while they're nice to have, they'd be expensive to acquire and maintain, so perhaps not something the player would feel they absolutely have to have for most situations. Rather than electricity, you could probably lean more heavily into steam boilers and temporal fluid dynamics, like the machinery we see presented in the Resonance Archive, and require the player to manage copper pipes, pumps, and fluid pressure in addition to working with various clockwork and whatnot. This could lead to players building fancy irrigation for their farms, mechanical doors, elevators, or their own "gassifier lighting" system.

Another design common in fictional media, that I don't want to see: the "boobplate" armor design for women. For ceremonial armor, it's fine, since that kind of armor is meant to be more decorative than functional. For armor that's meant to withstand actual combat though, it's a horrible design since it winds up transferring more force into the wearer's sternum rather than transferring said forces away from such a critical area. Basically, it's an easy way to wind up with a broken ribcage, if not worse.

This is one thing that I've come to really enjoy about Vintage Story's design compared to other games: it's not really afraid to challenge or otherwise inconvenience players when necessary, and that's part of what keeps it enjoyable. Sometimes choices matter, perhaps even being the difference between life and death, and overcoming obstacles feels like actual rewarding progress since success hinges heavily on players figuring things out for themselves and applying knowledge appropriately. I can't really say the same about many other games, at least not modern ones. There's not necessarily anything wrong with removing the "boring" or "tedious" parts of gameplay, but sometimes those parts are critical to providing the balance that makes the game as a whole more enjoyable to play. One of my favorite childhood games, Age of Empires, made this mistake. A big part of AoE 2 was managing one's economic power by making sure villagers were not only well-protected and working, but also that they were working efficiently, which meant making sure they had resources depots nearby. AoE 3 tried to improve by removing resource depots entirely and just letting the resources be added directly to the stockpile, as well as making the "idle villager" button a flag that only popped up when someone was actually idle. It wasn't bad, persay, but it did remove a large layer of complexity that many players enjoyed and left fewer options for strategy.

Bonepipe armor is a great real world example of bone armor. Pulling from fantasy, the dunmer from Elder Scrolls seem to have a process of combining bonemeal with some kind of resin or other glue to create a paste/slurry that can then be poured into molds or otherwise sculpted into shape. There's also the classic "scavenged" look, where the bones provide some very basic, limited protection but otherwise aren't something to be relied upon long-term. Grass, fur, hides, and pelts are likely to be padded layers, if anything, or perhaps serving as improvised armor types for the early game. For hides and pelts specifically, rawhide can be pretty tough in the right circumstances, and pelts sometimes had mystical beliefs or traditions associated with them, for lack of a better way to put it, in addition to being a heavy layer that a bladed weapon would have to cut through. Scandinavian berserkers or Aztec jaguar warriors, anyone? Studded leather is the only one I agree should be pretty much an absolute no. It looks cool in videogames and movies, but that's really about all it does--look cool. Typically what happens with "studded leather" is that someone looked at brigandine armor and got a little confused about the construction, since from the outside brigandine often looks like cloth or leather that's been covered in metal studs. To be fair, it's not a crime to have "rule of cool" armor in fictional media, but for a game that tries to lean heavily into realism I don't think it would be a very good fit. A better option, I think, would be to remove studded leather in favor of an alternate design for brigandine--perhaps one that the player can dye. I think for the example this refers to, it's more of a splinted or lamellar design rather than brigandine. Brigandine was typically limited to the chestpiece, but I don't think it's entirely out of the question that one could use the technique to make smaller pieces of armor to cover the limbs and head. For an individual without much armorsmithing experience or one that intends to be in the field a lot, that might even be more advised than trying for full plate, since brigandine is probably a little more flexible on measurements and it's easier to replace a tiny metal plate than a large one when it comes to repairs. I partially agree here, though I would note that I think it's fair to have some limited plate options for copper and bronze, with iron and steel offering much better options(keeping in mind the Blackguard armor, which is plate, is made from iron). Having a copper/bronze helmet, breastplate, or shinguards isn't really out of the question, and is in keeping with that classical Greek style that is so popular in media. The limited options also push the player to experiment a little more with the designs to achieve their intended result, as well as tip a nod to the reality that not every material is well-suited to the same designs. The way I typically handle things of this nature when designing equipment for characters, is I try to focus a little more on the visuals and worry less about how the stuff is actually made. Basically, I don't need the design to actually be something that can be recreated in real life; I just need a design that looks believably functional as well as something the character could realistically acquire and maintain. To cite one of my favorite mod armors as an example: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/7493 Obviously, putting "bear claws" on the boots like that is just asking for trouble, and the shoulders are a little over-designed. However, it's also made for a character that can afford such extravagance, and the design is otherwise heavily grounded in reality. So a couple of small "cheats" like that here and there aren't really a big deal. Sometimes including "bad" design choices can aid with the storytelling. For example, having ridiculous decorations on one shoulder, to the point that vision/movement is limited, leaves a weak spot for that character to work around, but could have been a deliberate decision in order to showcase their status or provide extra protection from a particular type of attack.

I dunno, I could see it working. Plate armor is already an exoskeleton, after a fashion, so adding some Jonas tech to it isn't too much of a stretch for a late game/story item. The main drawback to such would be just acquiring the parts to actually build the thing and then keeping it powered and maintained. Back to armor design stuff though...would love to incorporate pelts as decoration. Imagine wearing a bear or wolf pelt draped over your shoulders! I think the armor design for NPCs is also a prime opportunity for storytelling too. Do they lack skill and make the most of whatever they have? Did survivors of certain locations descend from a particular Old World region, and perhaps retain some of their old knowledge and traditions? Perhaps they mixed with survivors from a different region and combined the best of their knowledge to forge new equipment(like fusing European and Japanese armors)? Or perhaps the changes in the world caused the survivors to adopt new traditions and assign special significance to certain designs that may otherwise be a little impractical.

I think overall, I'd like to see designs focused on realism and practicality, as well as those appropriate for the general time period the setting is meant to be. That doesn't mean that there can't be some fantastical designs--it is a videogame after all, and extravagance did exist--but a lot of videogame/movie armor and weapons don't actually account for the jobs the equipment is supposed to do. Skyrim is a pretty well-known offender here, as while some armor sets look practical, many are just random bits of metal or furs strapped together and not something that would even be very protective, let alone something that a craftsman or warrior would be proud of. World of Warcraft is another title notorious for ridiculous designs, though in fairness it's not meant to be remotely realistic. Sightsmith on YouTube is a really good example of what I'm talking about. He's done redesigns of some popular fictional creatures and armor to make them more grounded in reality, such as Ezio and Connor from the Assassin's Creed franchise(more authentic designs for the era) and the Nords and Altmer from the Elder Scrolls(more practical designs for available resources). https://www.youtube.com/@sight_smith The original Lord of the Rings movies also did a fairly good job with costume design, with armor that is clearly fantasy but also clearly putting real world knowledge to use in the design. Decorations tend to be embedded gems, engraving, or embroidered belts/undergarments, or perhaps helmet tassles, and not giant pauldrons or spiky armor or extravagant decorations that will hinder movement. There are a few exceptions, like Sauron, but these also tend to be supernatural creatures. Also...COLORS! I would love to see some bright colors for the decorative options! Medieval people loved bright colors(the more garish the better in many cases), and having some bright colors would also contrast against the grittier areas of the game, in addition to standing out from other titles that rely a little too heavily on the "make everything covered in dirt and grime" trope.

Meanwhile in a different block game, a friend of mine was losing his mind from his enchanting table bookshelves disappearing. It happened at least twice. I blamed his son, a known prankster. His son blamed me, a known prankster. Friend blamed the server, which was known to exhibit odd behavior on occasion. It finally turned out to be the lava under the glass under the enchanting table that was causing the bookshelves to "vanish". Just so happened that it burned the books when no one was looking. Whoops!

I think it used to be a 0% chance, and got changed to make quenching a risky prospect. Basically, I get the impression that the system is there as a way for players to improve their tools/weapons beyond the normal means, but not without some risk involved. What I've found in gameplay is that having something snap on the first quench is pretty bad RNG and not likely to happen, so having multiple snaps in a row is really bad RNG. My general strategy of handling it is to sometimes not take the risk if it's an item I really need at that time. Iron is plentiful, so a little less power/durability or a broken item every now and then isn't a huge deal. I wouldn't say it's entirely unrealistic either, as even with the best skills sometimes imperfections get missed. A configuration option is probably better suited to a mod, since the shatter chance is a pretty small, specific thing compared to the other gameplay options. I would opt for just letting an appropriate amount of iron nuggets drop from shattered work, so that the player doesn't actually lose the material and can try again. As soon as someone mods it in, or the devs otherwise change their mind. Or more likely, both happen. It's more likely to be modded first, in which case both systems can be put to the test and the devs can take notes on the mod feedback(as well as try it out for themselves) and decide what changes they want to make with vanilla.

It might be due to playing Blackguard, since the class can oneshot locusts. Typically I prefer to let the eidolon launch them and then clean up whatever is leftover once it dies. I agree with Zane--chapter 2's challenges are definitely a "love it or hate it" situation. I enjoy it, and it's come a long way since its introduction, but I can also understand why some players don't enjoy it.

Make sure it's constructed from earth and stone, with stone being preferable since it can hold a colder temperature. Wood and other materials can make the space not qualify as a cellar. The door also needs to be solid, and the dimensions need to be at or within the cellar limits as well(7x7x7). A crude door won't count as a seal, and a space that is too big will make it not qualify as a cellar either. If you have chiseled decoration, you'll want to double-check that, as chiselwork can disqualify a space from counting as a cellar/room/greenhouse if done incorrectly. There are also limits on how much spoilage rate can be slowed. I think the lowest possible rate is around x0.22 on average.

With wintertime comes colder temperatures. A room qualifies as an insulated space, meaning the player's body temperature won't drop and they won't need a fire to warm up in that space(though a fire is recommended since it provides faster warmth), but that doesn't mean that the space itself is particularly warm.

This is probably the case for adding partial taming mechanics to allow the player to feed appropriate wild stock enough to make them cooperative for herding, but perhaps not much else until a few generations have passed. That kills two birds with one stone by making the traditional homestead route a little easier in regards to livestock, while also opening the door to a nomadic lifestyle. Though I would also say that this is a good niche for traders to fill as well, perhaps. Granted, livestock would be expensive, but being able to buy the occasional juvenile animal from a trader would be nice. In keeping with an idea that I mentioned in a different thread, if traders can be befriended by completing different tasks, then perhaps nomadic players could form a symbiotic relationship with a few and earn their keep via hunting or foraging. Once they've acquired enough animals to travel around then they could operate more independently.

If it's buried in dirt, it should work. You are correct though, in that uncovering it will break the cellar effect, so the numbers will change for as long as you have it uncovered. You can bury yourself with it to read the numbers if you really want, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just try to use the food you collect before it spoils, and build a proper cellar with a solid door once you have access to a saw.

Are you using any mods that could be interfering with the process? With the 1.22 changes, stacks of items will take a proportional amount of time to heat up, but once heated the item temperature won't reset. Thus once a stack of flint is up to temperature, it should cook pretty fast. Do keep in mind that you need to keep it at temperature, since stacks of items don't cool off proportionally to their size at this time.