LadyWYT

I think I found another idle animation to add to this list. Drifters will occasionally examine/sniff themselves, and then throw their arms up in frustration. Or maybe it's despair, I'm not really sure. They don't quite seem like mindless drones, but I'm not really sure what their motive is aside from hunting down seraphs specifically.

Yeah, I agree. Though a determined player can build drifter grinders already. The workaround I can think of is causing spikes to mangle the bodies enough so they drop less loot, like how mauled animal carcasses or drifters that died to other drifters do. If that's still not enough to discourage drifter farms from being mainstream, there could be small buffs to the other ways to acquire gears and Jonas parts. Flax is already easier to get via farming. I've found that rusty gears are best sourced from selling stuff to traders. Jonas parts...I think we'll see a better way to acquire these in later patches, rather than having to rely on RNG from double-headed drifters during temporal storms. As for temporal gears themselves...maybe make them more available from certain traders, but expensive as a drawback? There's not currently much that can be done with them, and they feel like an item that should still be rather rare. It could work, but there's a couple main issues I see. Metal scraps can be kinda difficult to acquire in the early game, as they have a low drop rate via panning, and delving for them in caves is highly risky. The Improvised Armor doesn't have the same durability, but utilizes ingredients that are a lot easier to acquire. It seems to me that Improvised Armor would still be the better option to craft for the cost, and save the metal scrap for weapons or dye. Could just be my playstyle though and metal scrap might be easier to acquire than I thought. The other potential issue I could see with the scrap armor is that if it's a craftable unique to Malefactor, it might make them a little too strong in the early game. Maybe if it was something craftable by everyone, with a small discount for Malefactors? That way it gives other classes another option for early defense, while staying in the theme of Malefactors being adept improvisers. If it has a slower charge time, maybe up the damage rather than increase the durability. The bow would still be better in most cases, having more distance, a higher rate of fire, and higher damage per shot in the later game. In the early game though, a sling might be harder to aim and have a shorter range, but hit harder per shot and have convenient ammo. A high speed rock to the head is no joke, and if I recall correctly slings remained a relevant weapon well into the Middle Ages. I know it's Wikipedia, but the article can give a rough history at least: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balearic_slinger

I may steal this idea for a class idea I've been working on, heh heh. Healing is a major part of the toolkit, as there is currently no dedicated healer option, and having extra bandages from scraps would be a nifty bonus. I honestly forgot that scrap weapons are a thing. I think they would work well as a Malefactor exclusive too. Other classes aren't as given to that kind of improvising, except maybe Blackguards...and I expect they would probably scoff at a flimsy piece of scrap purely based on principle I'm not sure about the scrap armor though. It's a neat idea in theory, but I feel it goes against the sneaky aspect of Malefactor. Maybe craftable spike traps instead? Then you could booby-trap things, which plays into outwitting your opponents rather than conquering through sheer brute force. I still need to play Malefactor to see how it really vibes. It's been one I've avoided so far as I don't like the aesthetics as much and the traits seem like the early game might be too easy for my taste. The weaker late game seems like a fair tradeoff for a strong early game though. I'd wager it's more of an issue in singleplayer, as in multiplayer you could befriend a Blackguard or some other class to make the dungeon delving easier. One potential late game ability I could see them having an affinity for though is trap detection, assuming that traps are added in later patches. They could have an easier time spotting them, or perhaps just have a lower chance of setting them off, which would make them ideal to have along as scouts when exploring dangerous places like the Resonance Archive. I'm not sure about buffing the sling; it runs the risk of edging out Hunter as the ranged class. I could see the sling doing a bit more damage than the crude arrows though. The main advantage of the sling, I think, is that there's almost always rocks lying around, so it's nearly impossible to run out of ammunition. Arrows, on the other hand, require time and resources to craft. What I could see though...slings could be used to launch objects like the Beenade, perhaps sending them further than throwing them manually. Alternatively, in keeping with the improvisation aspect of Malefactor--let them craft things like the Beenade, and maybe something like a smoke bomb(briefly confuses enemies, allowing the player to potentially escape a dangerous situation).

I don't really mind the accuracy; I think it makes up for the drifters' lack of pathfinding ability. The rocks are usually how I figure out they're nearby in the first place, and as others have said, some armor or a shield renders a thrown rock ineffective. Healing items will fix whatever damage is sustained, provided you remembered to bring some. One thing I do really like is the friendly fire mechanic. It's not only a handy way to deal with a lot of drifters at once, but it's also highly entertaining to watch!

Yes please! This would be a great way to use all the animal fat I end up accumulating in my playthroughs. I really enjoy hunting, so there's always an excess supply for all my needs, hence one of the reasons I got the notion for soap to begin with. I like the idea that fragrant soap could be used to repel angry herbivores; moose are tasty but it gets annoying when there's several spawn points for them right outside your buildings. Plus herbs could also be used somehow in cooking, I'm sure. Speaking of classes, I've got an idea for one, but I need more time to finish hammering out the details. So far, I started with a concept of how to make alcohol more useful, and it's somehow turned into a whole tangent on combat that I'll probably end up doing a whole write-up on later. Soap was the one idea that didn't really connect with everything else I had cooking, lol.

Clothes washing has crossed my mind too, but I can't quite figure out how it could function as a gameplay loop without being annoying. Cleaning up the clothes found in ruins before wearing them sounds logical though! Initially, I thought maybe soap could function as a poor man's sewing kit, but it doesn't make sense to fix tattered by washing them(not to mention, it detracts from the Tailor's role). The other option I thought of is having some sort of attribute similar to the wear mechanic, but for dirt instead. Clean clothes could wear out more slowly than dirty ones, with there being a somewhat generous delay between stages of dirtiness(it taking a few days to become dirty enough to warrant a wash). It gives an option to preserve the longevity of clothes you can't just craft more of, while preserving the niche that Tailors have with the sewing kit. In theory, it encourages players to take care of clothing that they intend to wear regularly, without being too intrusive(players could safely ignore the mechanic without much punishment). I didn't even think of this! I love it! You could probably borrow from the leather tanning process and seal the raw fibers in a barrel with soap for a few hours, and thus utilize existing code rather than have to write something entirely new. Haha, true! Though now I wonder if Luxury traders might sell scented soaps, and what effects that could have...

Probably a somewhat goofy and rather situational idea, but here's how I could see it working: 1. Basic Soap Craftable in a cookpot with two slots animal fat and two slots wood ash. Wood ash could be obtained by cooking firewood in the firepit or as a potential by-product of charcoal production, and could also serve as a very basic fertilizer in addition to being a soap ingredient. What does basic soap do? It could let the player wash things like dirty cooking pots and oil lamps to turn them back into clean dishes, for one(although why you'd want to do this, I'm not really sure). While standing in water, a player could also use it to wash themselves, granting a temporary buff for a few hours that makes hostile creatures less likely to detect you(ie, shortens the detection radius, similar to the Malefactor trait "Furtive", but not as good). This could be useful in the early stages of the game, when bears and wolves tend to be more of a problem, without removing the hazard entirely. As for why it could also work on drifters--if they can't smell you, they can't find you as easily(and they don't seem to have eyes). Basic soap does not work on automatons(they can't smell), or on prey animals(they're going to either fight or flee a potential threat). 2. Stinky Soap Craftable in a cookpot with two slots fat, one slot wood ash, and one slot sulfur(potentially). This soap is applied the same way as basic soap, but makes you a rather stinky seraph for several hours. While stinky, all wild animals will prefer to avoid you--predators will be deterred by the scent and prey will be able to detect you from much further away. This could be an attractive option for those wishing to explore the wilds or otherwise get things done without dealing with predator ambushes. What are the drawbacks? Aside from making hunting much harder, being a stinky seraph makes it easier for drifters to notice you. Getting swamped with drifters generally is not ideal, though it could perhaps have its benefits in a multiplayer setting if someone is trying to be a tank. Another potential drawback is that traders(or other future NPCs) might refuse to deal with you until you wash the stink off. The stink effect could be washed off at any time simply by bathing with basic soap. ------------ And there you have it--two items that are a bit niche, but that could provide some potential early-mid game utility. The only other thing I can think of to add to the uses is that washing with either soap could provide a small boost to health regen for a short time. It's certainly not as good as bandages, but it could be useful in circumstances where horsetails and cattails(or other healing items) aren't readily available.

Depends a lot on what character I decide to play. The one I play most often is typically set to medium/low tuba. If I'm going for more of a classy roguish sort I'll opt for the oboe or clarinet. Here lately though I've been playing a tailor character and I've got him set to the high-pitched sax. As funny as the sounds are, I'm starting to miss that tuba

This is me sometimes I had forgotten about this mod as well: https://mods.vintagestory.at/show/mod/3846 Basically what it does is introduce a bleedout mechanic, so that instead of dying immediately in combat, you'll enter a bleedout state instead and have a short window of time to try to escape and either patch yourself up, or be in a more convenient spot to retrieve your stuff. On a whim I just gave it a whirl in a test world; what I found: 1. It does not mitigate damage from poisonous mushrooms--that's still instant. 2. Damage from smaller, weaker creatures(like foxes) becomes negligible, for the most part. 3. Fighting wolves unprepared is still ill-advised, but getting ambushed by a wolf isn't a death sentence. You should be able to either fend it off, or escape to a safe place and patch yourself up. 4. Bears are still deadly without the proper equipment. If you're at full health, you can suffer a couple of attacks and still have time to potentially escape and stop the bleeding. Any more hits than that and you're basically just going to be looking for a more convenient spot to die. 5. Fall damage still kills you instantly, if the fall is big enough. Anyway, it may be what you're looking for on the sweet spot between keeping or losing inventory on death. The main drawback I found was that when using the mod, you'll miss out on some of the funny death messages the game has to offer, as the general one you'll end up seeing will be "Player bled to death while fighting ____."

I like player death to have some penalty, but I also like not losing all my stuff! I think this idea could work decently as a compromise between the two. If I'm recalling correctly, I think the player retains their clothing on death, so maybe the hotbar could work in a similar fashion--the items kept there could be kept on death and the bags lost instead. It could be a setting chosen at startup as the middle ground between the all-or-nothing of the other two options. In the meantime, the mod XSkills already does something like this in its Survival talent tree. You do have to take the requisite perks though(which are somewhat of a mid-late game unlock), but it does allow for at least three inventory slots that can be kept on death.

Thanks! I went ahead and threw some rough color on his face in Photoshop, but it's nowhere near a finished product. My digital lines aren't anywhere near as good as the physical drawing, lol.

This is true, to an extent. You do get used to the hazards after a while, which makes them less scary, but I'm not sure it makes them any less dangerous. Too much complacency can kill just as effectively as a lack of experience. For example, an experienced player may not need to bring healing items or the best armor while caving, but getting trapped in a ruin with higher tier drifter moaning at the door might make the same player wish they'd come better prepared. One thing Vintage Story has done exceptionally well so far is give an underlying creepiness to the story that unsettles the player and makes the monsters feel more dangerous, without feeling unfair or stepping into outright horror territory(which, as others in the thread have pointed out, would absolutely be a turn off for some players). The two driving factors behind the creepiness, in my opinion, are as follows: 1. Atmosphere Light is a valuable resource, whether it be daylight or some other light source, and not just for keeping monsters from spawning. Nights are actually dark, even with a full moon, and if you don't have a light source you're not going to be able to see the pitfall that might be right in front of you, or that bear that may be lurking nearby. Likewise, to properly explore most caves, you will need to bring a light source with you. Light sources, however, have a limited range, so unless you really sink resources into lighting everything up in your exploration, there's always going to be darkness looming. Sometimes there's a light source that isn't yours, further down the depths where you may least expect one(and it's not always clear whether it's a ruin, locusts, or glowworms). In any case, the limited vision means that your mind now has to fill in the blanks on what could be lurking out there, and what one's imagination comes up with is often worse than what's actually there. A new player won't know what to expect, and thus may have wilder anticipations and be more easily frightened. An experienced player will have an idea of what to expect, and thus be harder to frighten, but still won't know exactly where the baddies are lurking or when they'll show up. On a similar note, the lore of the world and "set designs" give you enough information to figure out that something horrible happened in the past, but leaves a lot of the details up to your own imagination. 2. Animation and Sound Design What I consider to be the proverbial cherry on top of the cake, in many ways. I don't find drifters terribly scary, at least judging purely by looks. They look interesting, for sure, but they strike me as being derpy cave sloths, which is a little adorable. What creeps me out about them is the animations, and they currently have two types available--the standard hunched over look and the crawlers. The hunched over ones are bad enough, as they end up being a vaguely humanoid shape that comes running at you from out of the dark, often in packs. The crawlers are the ones that tend to actually scare me though, because not only do they typically end up being a blur of movement in the corner of my vision, but they can fit through one block holes. And I just never really know where or when they'll turn up in those underground tunnels. The other creepy thing about drifters that I found--they don't just sit there doing nothing, waiting for a target to show up. They have actual idle animations they will play, provided they don't notice your presence. I encountered one in a cave once, on its hands and knees seemingly crying its eyes out on the ground. I've heard they worship the Jonas machines as well, though I have yet to encounter this. Why they do any of this, I don't know. There are some implications in a few of the lore books, but currently it's mostly left up to the imagination. The fact that they seem to have a "life" outside of "I need to kill the player" is incredibly creepy though, because it's not something I've really seen in other games(at least in this fashion). The game's sound design deserves a mention as well. The drifters sounds menacing enough, without being over the top. The bells don't actually attack you, but nothing makes your heart race like hearing one go off, without actually being able to see where it is. Likewise, the machine-like ambience that comes with temporal instability(as well as the machines located in the Archive) is both cool and unnerving at the same time. --------- Anyway, I've rambled enough. I'm not sure how much of it makes sense, as it's hard to put the thoughts and feelings into words. The closest example I can think, that's easier to explain, is how Subnautica manages to pull off the scare factor. It's not the creatures you can see that are terrifying, for the most part. If you can see it, you can identify it and therefore deal with it. It's what you can't see that is terrifying.

Not exactly a seraph, but the main character I generally play as in a lot of games, Vintage Story included. Though I suppose it still counts given that a seraph is more of a color swap than anything else, assuming no other characters included for context. I may throw this into Photoshop for a rough color job and see what he looks like as a proper seraph. Would absolutely love a pelt like that to wear in-game though! May end up figuring out how to mod one myself, assuming barbarian fashion isn't added in later. I also doodled a picture of Thunderlord Dave for a thread the other day, which you can find here: I like those colors too! Blue happens to be my favorite color! Although I generally pick one of the other options when it comes to skin tone; it's hard to pick a good eye color that contrasts well. I like the extra detail on the hairpin as well. Makes me wonder what the character's backstory is. A scout with a taste for the finer things, perhaps?

Another thought that crossed my mind--instead of atmospheric changes, what about some sort of temporal clock you could craft to check when the next temporal storm is coming? It could be crafted from temporal gears, a Jonas part or two(like the intricately wound spring), and maybe an electrum plate or some electrum widgets. While it would be one of the late-game tech items, it would give better, more immersive options for planning around temporal storms, while still leaving the early storms as something of a sneaky hazard. It would be especially useful in those save files that haven't been played in a while too. In regards to the clockmaker class, I'm not sure if they would have any special detail related to the temporal clock or not. It seems like they should, given they specialize in clockwork mechanisms, but making it a craftable exclusive to them seems like it might make them too strong a pick compared to the other classes. If it was an exclusive recipe, other classes could acquire the clock via trading, I suppose, or perhaps rare dungeon loot. Rather than an exclusive recipe though, clockmakers could just be able to craft temporal clocks using fewer temporal gears, or perhaps without needing the blueprint if it's a recipe requiring one. As a side note, having an item like the temporal clock would give more use to the temporal gears outside of setting spawn points, restoring stability, or the tuning spear and translocators. While they're somewhat of a rare item, it's not too hard to acquire a couple of trunks full by the time you're acquiring steel, and I really hate just throwing them away.

I've been poking around looking at the options as well, though more of out curiosity as I've not yet decided to really jump into the multiplayer aspect of the game. Though I have seen a few roleplaying servers advertised, they didn't quite hit the right note of what I would be looking for. Speaking from RP experience in other games--the easiest RP to find is generally walk-ups, which tends to be pretty casual and never really delves deep into character connections or stories. It can lead to deeper story arcs though, depending on the players involved. The main drawback I've found to walk-ups is that the quality tends to be rather random, and it's often easier to find RP opportunities if you're the one initiating interactions rather than waiting for someone to interact with your character(which is great for extroverted players/characters, but can be a little daunting to the introverts). When it comes to more serious RP content, I think the main ingredient for success is to find a group that can play at the same time on a regular basis and has shared tastes and goals when it comes to overall storyline and characters. It can be more difficult to find the right group, of course, but the results are generally better. Anyway, I wish you luck on your quest! The game seems ripe with roleplaying potential, it may just take some time to find the right group.

Thanks! I don't draw mechanical things very often at all, but I do draw dragons. So many dragons. My strategy here was drawing a dragonish shape and then sticking bits of machine all over.

@ifoz Pics when it's done?

It may not be exactly what was requested, but I hope it delivers! Dave, and one of his minions. I've not been able to see Dave in game yet due to hardware limitations.

The artist in me loves this idea! For bigger sculptures, you could have to mold each piece individually, fire it, and then glue them together with pitch glue. At the very least, it'd be nice to have some terra cotta tiles that you could use for easy flooring/wall coverings, if you wanted to spruce up your buildings without spending a lot of time and material chiseling. Alternatively--glazes. Keep the basic pottery we already have, but add a way to mix glazes in a barrel. Then dip already fired pottery in the glaze and fire again to get pottery that's a different color. That could be a way to get some of the fancy pottery without needing to rely solely on trader RNG, with the tradeoff of requiring more resources and time. For some really interesting pottery--fire in a pit packed full of pine cones or something similar to get a raku look(texturing could be similar to bismuth). Or have a paint system where dyes can be used to color designs on certain materials, like pottery or wood. Then we could not only have prettier pots, but could decorate other stuff as well.

Hah, maybe I should run with the mini-series idea and dump my Nord warrior into a temporal storm. Whiterun has good insurance, but I don't think it covers acts of Akatosh, haha! I do like the Nordic aesthetic and have been wanting to do a playthrough on a Cool start. One thing that crossed my mind earlier though--if drifters are eldritch abominations created by messing with the flow of time, would seraphs qualify as eldritch entities on the opposite side of the spectrum? I'm not sure there is such a thing as a "good" eldritch being, though if it does end up being the case the seraphs do seem to be regarded in a neutral or positive light by remaining humans. That being said, I'm still waiting to stumble across some NPCs later who may be something less than friendly towards seraphs(although not outright hostile either).

This seems to be the best solution to my problems. If I'm more diligent about using what I already have, then I'll have more space to store what I actually need for big projects. I should probably also plan my projects a little better so that I know what I'm going to need/want in advance, and make sure there's an appropriate spot to hold all the materials while I'm working. I've been trying that in the current world I'm playing with, and it seems to be working...as long as don't get distracted running around looking for treasures, that is! Ah, the drawbacks of wanting to collect everything...

The most I've figured out so far: 1. Only full blocks can be chiseled. With default settings, the base block must also be a solid block that is unaffected by gravity(that is, not gravel or sand). 2. Right-click a block with a chisel in your main hand and hammer in your off-hand to turn it into a chiseled block. Left-click to remove pixels, right-click to add them back. Pressing "F" when targeting the block will open up a set of options to help chisel designs more efficiently. 3. To add material to the base chiseled block, press "F" to open the chisel menu, then drop blocks of the material you wish to add into the "+" icon. On default settings, added materials must be in full block form, and must qualify as stable enough to chisel. So blocks like sand and gravel can't be added, while others such as cracked stone can be added only under certain conditions. What these conditions are, I'm not certain, but what I've generally found is that materials like cracked stone can't really be used for really fine, delicate details unless it's a case where there is solid material behind it as a support(such as inlay on floor tiles, for example). 4. Blocks can be moved after chiseling, but I've not messed with it enough to see whether this can always be done without destroying the chiseled block. Generally, when I start chiseling something, I don't want to mess with it once I finish the work.

I do like the text warnings, as they generally get my attention immediately and give me time to either prepare for battle or get to a safe spot. At the same time, it would be nice to have a more immersive transition. Maybe instead of the thunder and lightning, those weird metallic clanking noises that come with temporal storms/rifts? I think those noises also start creeping in when your stability meter starts getting low. For a really dastardly approach--put small flickers of movement in the distance, toward the corners of the screen. Faint puffs of rusty particles or ghost drifters; something to provide enough movement to catch the player's attention but not enough to actually identify.

Hundreds of hours later and I still get paddled by hazards if I'm not careful. What a great game, heh heh. One of my favorite things has been learning the chisel system. It's time consuming, but allows so much customization that's not really possible in other games.

I really like this idea! I've been thinking on ways to acquire more Jonas parts here lately, and while I don't mind them being difficult to acquire, it's a little frustrating sometimes to be entirely at the mercy of RNG(especially if I want to build multiple of a specific thing for some reason). The initial idea I had was that maybe we could later meet Jonas Falx(or some other important NPC), and complete quests in return for parts, if not buy them outright. However, I like your idea much better since it doesn't turn a potentially important NPC into a glorified vending machine. I think you could also use the machine for more than just the creation of Jonas parts. If I recall correctly, gem cutting was on the development roadmap. The assembler could also be used to cut gemstones and create jewelry. Maybe even socket gemstones into pieces of equipment?