LadyWYT

That's a dastardly level of humorous challenge, although I agree with @ifoz in that there shouldn't be too harsh of penalty for "firing" a worker. I would lean more towards giving NPCs random personality traits rather than class, and give the player control over which job they perform. So a worker with the Industrious trait would be more productive in most jobs, whereas a worker that's Lazy would be worse in most everything except fishing. A Green Thumb would be good at farming, and a Bloodthirsty NPC might be really good at fighting but prone to relentlessly pursuing enemies or less likely to get along with certain other NPCs. A Pacifist might also be good at farming or special "luxury roles(like acting as a bard or bartender) to boost NPC happiness, but probably won't get along with warmongering types. I'd also say that you can fire a worker at any time, but you won't get any of your resources back if you do(cost of hiring + whatever you didn't take from them before firing them). There's still a place for a reputation system though, and I think this probably works best if you decide to kill an NPC to collect their drops(perhaps a partial refund of hiring cost) instead of just firing them, or if you fire multiple NPCs in a row after hiring due to not getting the traits you wanted. Word would eventually spread about your shenanigans, and perhaps the consequence is that hiring new workers becomes more expensive to compensate for the risk, at least until your reputation improves. Likewise, you still need to make sure your workers have their basic needs met; workers that constantly go hungry and don't have adequate shelter will spread the word about your treatment, and may leave if conditions are bad enough. Likewise, if you don't properly equip combat NPCs, or protect civilian NPCs, the excess death rate will tank your reputation as well. On the flipside though, taking good care of your NPCs and providing good equipment and luxuries would increase your reputation, resulting in cheaper hire prices and happier workers. In short, it would be a lot to manage, but it could offer an interesting option for the end-game progression and world interaction. It would also fit nicely into the medieval feudalism niche. One drawback I can think of though, is that given what I've seen of the current lore, Falx's faction(which the player character seems to be or have been a part of) appears to operate more on principles of individual freedom instead of feudalism. The aristocracy of the Old World seem to be the ones inclined to stick to feudalism, if they're even still around as a faction. So it could offer some interesting alternate story options, but it could also conflict with how the developers want to tell the game's story. I think it depends somewhat how far Vintage Story intends to lean into RPG elements.

I know that villages/more NPCs are on the roadmap, but what their function is outside of storytelling/trade potential I'm not sure. There may be more clarity on intended NPC functions after the next update, as it's supposed to be adding at least four different locations important to the main story. I'm guessing that those may be villages, but it remains to be seen. Personally, I get the impression that the game intends for the player to be doing most work themselves, and partially automating certain tasks(like forging and milling) through medieval machinery. For some resources that you don't have ready access to, the intention seems to be bartering for them via traders. As I noted earlier, I would assume that villager NPCs that may be added in the future will function in similar fashion, as I'm not sure that having NPCs work for you fits the direction the game seems to be headed in currently. That being said, I wouldn't mind NPC workers for the player being added in, though I think it should be a late game goal to work towards. I'd also say that they should require a bit more effort to acquire and maintain than livestock. Perhaps you could pay a hefty amount of rusty gears at a village to hire a worker(for simplicity sake, perhaps a token that spawns an NPC). You'll need to equip them with tools to work with and weapons to hunt/defend themselves, as well as a place to live(which will also keep them safe from drifters, provided you light it). Similar to livestock, they'll need food in order to be productive(but perhaps not quite as much as a player needs), but unlike livestock they can retrieve food from designated areas and will abandon your service(despawn) if they can't get enough to eat. However, while they may require more effort to acquire and maintain, they could fully automate certain specific tasks such as tending farmland, tending livestock, or keeping the fires going in a refractory until it's finished refining. It would also be something interesting to manage in the late game, after you've established a solid foundation. The main drawback I see is that it might be difficult to code and require more system resources for the game to run smoothly. Mob AI is already a little derpy, so it would need some improvements in order for NPCs to pathfind efficiently and not get stuck somewhere and die. You'd also need a way to mark specific work areas, storage areas, homes, and resources for the NPCs to use, otherwise you're going to have an unorganized mess and resources used that you didn't intend.

I'm not sure what the mod allows and what it doesn't, as I've never used it. However, it's the one mod I'm aware of that adds friendly NPCs for players to interact with. From the description, I'm guessing that it allows the player to build their own village and designate tasks for the villagers, which I assume acts as a way to automate the production of certain resources. I know there's been a mod or two that did similar in the other block game, and task automation seems like it would be one of the primary reasons to build a village anyway.

Like this? https://mods.vintagestory.at/show/mod/2635 I'm certain there will be NPCs aside from the traders to find and interact with. As to what level of interaction they'll have, it's hard to say. I'm guessing that if they can do tasks for you, you're going to need to earn their trust beforehand so they're willing to work for you, unlike the villagers in the other block game.

Welcome to the game! And cool dragon pic Unfortunately the roosters are really good at ensuring there is only one rooster per flock, and it's the old rooster that wins. That being said, it takes him a few hits to eliminate any rivals, so if you inspect the pen fairly often(and have good aim!) you can kill the old rooster(and the cockerels you don't want) before he's able to kill the opposition.

It shouldn't. I had a world where several went for an eternal swim, and it didn't cause any issues(that I could tell, anyway).

Like @Myra Midnight suggested, make sure that you are using the Node Search mode on the prospecting pick and not the Density Search. You can change modes by hitting the F key. Density Search will give you a reading on what's likely to be found in that chunk, whereas Node Search has an extremely short range(default 6 block radius) but will tell you whether or not an ore vein is actually nearby. And as @Thorfinn noted, Ultra High indicates that's a very good spot to dig for that ore, but it's not a guarantee that the ore will actually be there. That being said, I've only had that issue once or twice in a few hundred hours worth of gameplay. My general mining strategy is to use the Density Search to figure out where the ore is likely to be, and then drill a shaft over the most promising reading and use Node Search every 6-12 blocks to pinpoint the vein's location. In my experience, bismuth tends to spawn higher rather than lower, so you may want to start closer to the mountaintop and work your way down. Also, some rock types make certain ores harder to spot, especially if it's a lower density ore. Zinc in granite is particularly easy to miss.

Sorry, I should have clarified--they should spawn where they originally spawned as long as there's not a whole carcass in the area. A bony carcass is fine though. The spawn points for wildlife are fixed points in the game, so the creatures will eventually respawn at those points if killed. You can sometimes exploit this by exiting and reloading the world to prompt more animals to spawn after a hunting expedition.

Is it both hens and roosters that go missing, or just roosters? If it's the latter, the roosters are killing each other(there can only be one per flock), and I don't believe they leave bodies behind when that happens. I don't think there's a command for it currently, though I could be wrong. It's possible that it could be added as a setting option later, although that's up to the developers. In regards to mods, this one might let you change that particular spawn rule: https://mods.vintagestory.at/configureeverything

I think so, though I believe it does take a while. I know the bone carcasses do eventually, as I usually end up leaving them lay there instead of breaking them. Animals will still spawn around bone carcasses, but I don't think they'll respawn around whole carcasses. As a general rule, I harvest the carcass at least and don't bother with the bones. The fat I can use for lots of things, and the meat/hide I don't use can be composted.

Out of curiosity, you aren't running any mods that change the spawn conditions of drifters, are you(such as one that prevents drifters from spawning on the surface)? That could possibly account for drifter spawns being a little out of whack. Otherwise, I would chalk it up to bad luck. I don't know if the spawning would change, but I'm guessing the drifters will probably get a bit of an update sooner or later.

I mean, I'd use them for decoration later in the game, for sure, and maybe one or two early on. I don't see the fat being the problem--it's finding enough shells to make the amount of lamps that I want. Of course, that's assuming that the shell oil lamps take the appearance of the shell you crafted them with, and not the default lamp appearance you get via crafting with a bowl.

More immersive, yes, but don't server admins already take care of things if a player quits playing on the server? I suppose this would be an option to sort of automate the process, but I agree with @Thorfinn, it's better as a mod first.

Gotcha. I'd prefer to stick to more medieval methods for the game than modern techniques(although some processes don't change much), although in this case it may not be possible. My main sticking point is the time/resource investment it requires on top of the time/resources that regular steel already requires. If the durability bonus of Damascus steel isn't big enough for the investment, it risks being relegated to the same corner as alcohol bandages--they're the best in the category, but not worth the effort to acquire. One way around it, perhaps, is replacing the steelmaking process entirely with the one you presented here, although that still poses the question of how to layer the metals in the forging process. The forging process we currently have only produces two results--ingot, or finished item. It doesn't really allow for starting with a plate and ending with a plate, although I could be missing something here. In any case, the other problem with this replacement method is that it takes out the refractory as a mechanic, which isn't ideal. Alternatively, you could keep steelmaking as-is, and add the Damascus method as an alternate way to refine steel from iron(if that's even possible to do, I haven't looked into it to see how feasible it is). Then the player is offered the choice of more easily mass-producing steel(refractory method), or spending more time at the forge to achieve a higher quality steel(Damascus steel). I'm guessing in this scenario, the refractory method will still be the most common choice, as it allows for more steel to be refined at once, whereas the Damascus method will be better suited for making tools and weapons. I can also see the Damascus method being preferred on maps where bauxite is hard to find. You could probably just give Damascus steel its own fancy texture if you left the step out. Plus the diamond vs netherite issue. Diamond was the end-tier material for the longest time, and then netherite came along to add a bit more durability and damage(and fireproofing), at the expense of being more hassle to obtain. Which meant that if you wanted the "best" equipment, you needed to go through all the hassle to obtain netherite. In regards to mending itself...I do like the enchantment, but it is kinda game-breaking. It's so useful that you can't really avoid leaving it off your weapons, tools, and armor, and it renders the repairing feature of the anvil pointless. Acquiring mending books also isn't terribly difficult, but it is rather tedious as it tends to involve either a lot of fishing, or villager trading(which is a whole different mess). The better option would have been making the anvil repair process better(anvils more durable, less costly to repair items, etc). Mending books would have worked better as a one-time-use item that can fully repair a piece of gear(but not enchant it), making it desirable for pieces that are too expensive to repair on anvils. To obtain one, you'd need to venture into one of the Ancient Cities(or some equivalent treasure spot), as they can't be obtained by normal means(similar to Notch apples). Alternatively, the mending enchantment could have just made the item it was applied to drop a broken item when it reaches zero durability, rather than just disappearing. That way, you'd still have the item and be able to repair it, but you'd need to invest actual materials into the repairs and not just experience. That was my general thought. Either that, or have them be unbreakable, but useless when they hit zero durability unless you recharge them with a temporal gear. Similar to how a lot of modded electric tools function in the other block game.

I'm sure it's something on the to-do list. As I understand it now, many of the animations we have aren't really finished and are more just placeholders. Actually, I would keep the up/down attack, or implement a mix of the side/side up/down. You don't really slash with a pick as much as you try to bury the point into something, and it's a bit easier to do that swinging from high to low. Side to side still works, but it just doesn't feel like it would be as effective. I'm wondering too if it could be taken a bit further than just animation variety. If there's a combat rework, I could see some weapons(such as knives and swords) having two different attack modes and a hotkey for switching between them(similar to the scythe and propick, but perhaps a simpler toggle rather than full interface). Then you could switch between slashing or stabbing with the weapon, and do either slashing or piercing damage depending on how you're wielding it. Slashing could cover a broader area(hit another target or two), and stabbing could be single-target only. I'd also expect the attack values to vary depending on weapon type; a straight blade will probably have little difference in attack values between slashing and stabbing. A curved blade I would expect to have a higher value for slashing damage and a lower value for piercing. The one exception to the rule I can think of is the Falx blade. It's a curved blade, which isn't as ideal for stabbing, but the point curves inward. So it's going to focus the momentum into the tip of the blade and pierce anyway, even if you're slashing with it(although it depends on which direction you're slashing). You could probably leave out the interface/toggle entirely and make the Falx blade a slashing weapon only, with some bonus piercing damage for the first target hit(the one in the crosshairs).

I think it's an actual gameplay factor, since I've been bonked on the head a couple times when mining or felling trees. It's a very rare occurrence though, so I presume the blocks have a rather small hitbox and need to fall a minimum distance before the game begins to account for gravity. I'd wager it's also limited to certain blocks as well.

I'm still skeptical of a source of renewable flint/stones and sticks(driftwood) solving the issues that large multiplayer servers can have with spawn resources, but being able to find more seashells, potential food sources, and the rare treasure or two would be cool!

I'm intrigued by the idea, but I'm curious as to where you got the information regarding the forging method. For gameplay reasons, it'd probably need to be a hefty boost to justify that much added time investment. I otherwise don't see a lot of players going through the effort to get both carbon steel and meteoric iron and spend extra time forging it into an ingot and then even more time forging it again into something usable. Realistically though, Damascus steel is equivalent to standard steel, for the most part. The main difference, aside from the prettier pattern, is that standard steel tends to be tougher, but more prone to cracking. Damascus steel tends to be a bit softer, which makes it more flexible and crack-resistant, but more susceptible to losing its shape and edge through use. I think the better option might be to have some similar method of fusing temporal gears(or at least, the temporal material they're made of) with steel to make temporal steel, an alloy that is both stronger than regular steel, adds to the lore, and required for more advanced Jonas tech.

Even with a detailed explanation of an idea, examples of how others found success/failure attempting similar things in similar scenarios will still come up in the discussion. Although if the initial idea is presented with a detailed explanation, it becomes a lot easier to discuss and figure out what might and might not work. I'd also note that it's not a bad thing to post less-than-stellar ideas either. While they might not get a lot of support, discussing them may spur ideas for other things, such as mods or gameplay challenges.

So it's not just my imagination that some of these chests don't have loot in them. I've run into a few, and this is one of them. I figured it may have been the game glitching a bit. The first time I found this chest, I got excited because I thought it would have some really cool loot in it due to its more hidden spot. Nope! Just pure disappointment. Now if they happened to be, say, cat people in a certain frosty environment, it would have some really good loot!

Agreed. Although if I misplace one, I typically just fire it up rather than try to move it. They don't take that long to smelt the ore, and I'll be breaking it anyway to get the ore out.

Or just set animals to neutral behavior in the world settings when starting a game. Once you're established enough to feel confident dealing with aggressive animals, you can turn their aggression back on via console command. You'll also know where they spawn that way too, so you don't end up settling down next to a bear or pack of wolves. I would say add a different crafting option for handbaskets, like one made out of willow switches, birch bark, or something similar. That way if you don't have ready access to reeds, you probably have access to some other kind of plant that you can make into a basket, unless you picked a polar start. If you just give the player the materials up front, it takes away from the survival challenge, but I suppose an alternative option would be to enable a "cheat box" option on world creation, similar to how you can choose to spawn with a chest of food and starting tools in Minecraft. Unless there's a way to make multiple handles in one go, I don't see this being a very fun mechanic. Most of the tools need some kind of handle, and a lot of tools you will be making fairly frequently. Having to spend extra time refining a handle every time you need to make a tool is likely to be very tedious. There's actually a new drifter-type mob coming in the next update! Except it does not have glowing eyes(that I'm aware of), as canonically drifters and their like don't seem to have faces at all. Glowing eyes seem to be relegated to the automatons, and I can say from experience that it's quite creepy to venture into a cave and find something staring back at you.

It could just be really bad luck. Occasionally you'll get a tile or two that seems to take forever to grow, although it's a little unusual that the whole plot would do that. Have you installed any mods recently? If you have, it could be due to a mod messing with something. Otherwise, if it's vanilla and the crops still don't grow after several days despite the conditions being right, I'd say you may have run into a bug.

He did, but it's more immersive to sit. Although I think half the time I'm standing anyway, unless I'm trying to trigger the cooking fire music.

As of right now, it seems that locust taming via tuning spear is locked to the clockmaker class, and there does not appear to be a mod that allows you to have a locust or similar mechanical companion without being a clockmaker. The best I could find is this mod: https://mods.vintagestory.at/show/mod/8986 While it still limits the tinkering to clockmakers, it does seem to allow a clockmaker to repair locusts and gift them to other players to use. So if you're playing multiplayer and have a friend playing clockmaker, it's an option. Otherwise, I'd say it's a matter of either figuring out how to make a mod that removes the clockmaker requirement for locust taming, or finding someone willing to make the mod for you.