LadyWYT

Depends on how you want to look at it. The "higher power" could be some eldritch Cthulu thing bent on malevolence, creeping into the world. Or it could be some benevolent higher being holding everything together and bringing you, the player, to locations like these so that the evil trying to creep into the world can be defeated. At face value though, it's a clever plot device to keep the player from breaking things and bypassing puzzles.

If animals have stamina, so should the player. "The player burns hunger" isn't a good argument against it, since the player can continue to sprint even with no hunger points. Even Minecraft has a balance for player sprinting, since sprinting gets disabled when the player runs too low on hunger or is in the process of eating. Not to mention that by adding creature stamina but not player stamina, you get players ignoring ranged weapons entirely and just running prey down. If the player wounded the animal first in order to slow it down, that's fine, but otherwise it's just free food. Aside from "because lore that hasn't been explained yet", it's a videogame. There needs to be some teeth to it, especially for Homo Sapiens mode. Making the animals entirely non-aggressive, making them always avoid the player, or otherwise always letting the player avoid aggression every time leads to a pretty dull game, as well as encourages the player to play rather recklessly since they know nothing is going to hurt them. Otherwise what exactly is there to threaten the player? Starvation? Cold? Falling in a hole? Those are all quite easily mitigated. I also think that the wildlife isn't actually as bloodthirsty as the community makes it out to be. I've seen wolves and bears both in the game content to ignore me and continue sleeping/wandering around, despite me being fairly close to them. I've also seen them up and run away instead of attack. In the event one does attack, a couple moments of sprinting away is usually all it takes to get away. What tends to happen in most encounters, I think, is players are sprinting around everywhere(because there's not much drawback for doing so) and not really paying attention, and thus stumble into the wildlife and provoke a fight by getting too close. I will note that neither of these is necessary to deal with predators. Wolves can be kited rather easily, bears too, provided it's not a brown bear or polar bear since those are faster with more reach. And if the predator isn't near your base then you don't really need to worry about it. Paying close attention to your surroundings will let you spot threats in advance so you can either prepare to deal with them or avoid them.

I don't think you need three. Just two. "AI" can refer to creature AI, as it has traditionally. A "Gen-AI" tag can refer to generative AI, which is the kind of AI that most people tend to complain about. Generative AI is the "new kid on the block", so to speak, and responsible for generated images, sounds, and code. Do we actually have laws like that? I'm not sure that we do, so I'll have to go look that up sometime later. I know some companies require gen-AI assets to be labeled, and some states might have laws like that. But I don't think there's been any federal rulings...at least not yet.

My general strategy is to keep the modlist small; that way, there's fewer moving parts to keep track of for updating and fixing things as needed. I also don't count on carrying a modded world to a different game version, since there's no guarantee that mods are going to keep working on a new game version. I wouldn't call them necessary, but if you're intending to use a lot of mods or play multiple singleplayer mods with different modlists, they're probably very useful tools to have. Shameless self-plug: https://mods.vintagestory.at/improvedquenching Instead of grinding and playing the RNG game for good stats on an item, you can just choose a finishing method to get the benefits you want. There's also a bit of skill involved when it comes to quenching--not enough to be frustrating but enough to make you pay more attention to what you're doing.

At a glance, coke feels like a prime forge material in 1.22, since it burns hotter and seems to burn longer than charcoal. I've not done the math to be certain though. I daresay charcoal will still win in most cases though, since it's so easily obtained and a quality fuel. Black coal is good but can be difficult to find in my experience. Brown coal is easy to find but a poor source of forge fuel as far as I'm concerned. Brown coal is one that I would definitely be turning into coke before using as a forge fuel. I definitely want to experiment a little more with coke fuel though. It's probably still going to be a niche fuel for quite a while, but may be more worth investing in if there is lots of coal around. Beehive kiln I always use peat. The cementation furnace will accept any kind of coal fuel underneath, but for the coffin itself you have to use charcoal or coke. Most players probably use charcoal just because it tends to be cheaper.

Whichever one you feel is the best solution; it's generally up to personal preference. That could be the first message offering the solution, or a later message that offered the same solution but with better information.

You must have the cats mod installed. It's the only one I'm aware of that makes drifters behave like that. It's rather overpowered, or it was when I last played with it, but funny to watch.

Welcome to the forums! I think needing to dry pottery before firing would be fine, since that's both realistic and simple enough for most players to deal with easily enough. A pottery wheel might be difficult to translate into meaningful gameplay, since there's a lot of nuance to that kind of work that doesn't really translate to the voxel-crafting system very well. Needing to knead the clay or adding/removing water while working though is a bit much. The most I could see actually working here is making clay eventually dry out when removed from its original deposit, and require the player to store wet clay in a cool, dry place or otherwise mix powdered clay with water to create fresh clay. I'd recommend checking out Clayworks for more fun with ceramics in the game: https://mods.vintagestory.at/clayworks

I assume that when the AI tag is applied to a mod, it would be included in the threshold slider as a "report". I could be wrong though, especially since an "AI" tag could refer to creature AI and not AI the tool. In any case, I would also assume that mods using AI assets would get a report or two, even if the mod is good and plainly discloses the use of such. That being said, that also relies on users reporting such mods. And I'm not sure that many do. The more likely scenario, I think, is that the mods that are absolute minimum effort(AI description, exclusively AI assets, AI code that clearly hasn't been checked before release) get reported while the average mod probably gets an eyeroll. At least, I've not really noticed much of a difference when playing around with the slider. Eh...you might think, but I can see why it wouldn't. Lowering the entry barrier can mean more competition in that field, since it's easier to get involved in said field, however, a lower entry barrier also means it's going to be a lot easier for people to just exit said field when the going gets tough or they otherwise lose interest, since they didn't have much invested up front. That's not to say that there needs to be high entry barriers by any means. I think what happened in the case of modding is that AI tools made it very easy for people to get into modding, and a lot of those people probably didn't do much research on what modding actually requires or how to use the tools properly.

The baby ones I could potentially see scooping up and carrying around without too much trouble...from the baby. But momma critter, and potentially daddy critter too, should absolutely be more aggressive toward an individual messing with baby critter. I think it would also be the kind of thing better to add after a status effect system is in place, so that messing around with wild animals has some higher stakes. Absolutely no one is going to be afraid of a chicken in the game, but if said chicken can give you some scratches, which then get infected, then you might be more inclined to use a trap rather than your hands.

Build one anyway. It's not uncommon for kitchens/dining areas to be social hangout spots for friends and family, perhaps because it's easy to grab snacks and drinks there. A living room or some other social hangout area also works, as it's not unusual to find these spaces near the home's main entrance.

This already exists. Mod authors can tag their content with the AI tag, and users can choose to filter out AI content in their profile settings. A report feature was recently added to the mod database, along with the filter feature. Users can choose the report threshold for how many reports a mod receives before it's filtered out from their search. The problem with both of these is that there's no way to really enforce such a rule, without setting extremely strict guidelines on what constitutes "proper AI use" and getting very aggressive about checking everything. Getting that aggressive about the rules often drives users to third-party sites and can discourage others from learning to mod, as well as lead to unintended consequences(like banning mods that are clearly meant for a personal server and not public use).

It would be cool, but it requires wind direction to be variable first, which will also require overhauls to the current windmill and sailboat mechanics.

Welcome to the forums! The first step is going to be getting the vanilla game to work correctly. Once you've verified vanilla works correctly, then you can re-enable your mods one by one and test as you do so. Make sure you do this on a fresh world, since the old world might be corrupted and you otherwise don't want to break a world you actually play on. It's a tedious process, but it's the best way to figure out which mod is causing the issue if there's no obvious culprit. I would also make sure that all your mods are up-to-date for 1.22. Older mods sometimes work on newer versions, but 1.22 introduced changes that broke a lot of older mods, so out-of-date mods are more likely to cause issues.

YouTube's auto-dubbing isn't great though, and while AI is a useful tool for things like translation it's not foolproof.

Welcome to the forums! I'm guessing the reason why Dave doesn't spawn at renders less than 384 is that Dave is very big, so moving him closer would probably break immersion. He'd need a more detailed model, which also doesn't really help in the performance department. I'm guessing Dave's render distance might be hard-coded into the game, so you would probably need to write a mod for it. To my knowledge, no one's made a mod like this, at least not yet.

Welcome to the forums! I notice you're using mods--a modlist would be handy for troubleshooting, since mods can very often cause issues. One thing to check for sure is to make sure the mods you are using are updated properly for 1.22, since 1.22 introduced some code changes and many older mods no longer work correctly.

Welcome to the game and forums! Were you still using the same mod list when the issues began to occur, or a different list? In any case, I'm assuming you're playing on the most recent game version, in which case you'll want to make sure all your mods are updated for 1.22. Older mods sometimes work on newer game versions, but 1.22 changed some stuff in the code and broke a lot of older mods. If you have outdated mods in the list still, it's very likely those are what are causing the issues. Otherwise, the easiest way to figure out exactly which mod is causing issues, if there are otherwise no obvious culprits, is to disable them all, verify that vanilla works correctly, and then re-enable mods one by one and test as you do so. It's a tedious process, but it will be quite obvious which mod(s) is the problem when the issue reappears.

Ah okay, that makes more sense. Maybe some bunk beds should be in the tower, or a small dormitory. Large player groups would still be a problem, but a small group of friends(like, 5 or less) should be able to make use of a dorm. Odd that you weren't able to use gears in the tower though. That should work. I seem to recall it working last time I was at the tower. I think the warning message will still appear when you use the gear but your spawnpoint should be set anyway. Explained that way, yeah, I could see it working. I wouldn't go for sparks, but glowing temporal goop here or there would probably work...although all temporal fluid seems to have been burned off in the present. In which case, the torch idea is stronger. The Resonance Archive and procedural dungeons already teach players about torchholders, and there could be a stack of unlit torches as part of the tower loot if the player forgot to bring some(which the unlit torches can be lit in the past firepit). I think overall, parkour is something that a player will either love or hate, since it tends to be fairly punishing toward mistakes. While I enjoyed the tower puzzle, I wouldn't mind seeing future timeswitch puzzles be a little more "grounded". On this part, I think it would be nice if monsters didn't spawn around the tower due to the Crow's presence. While it's gone mad due to certain events, it was originally made to defend the tower, so while it might not be friendly to humans anymore it might not be friendly to rust creatures either. It would be an immersive explanation for stopping monster spawns around the tower, to be sure, as well as remove one of the more annoying hazards.

Welcome to the forums! Overall I think this is better suited to a mod rather than something that fits the vanilla game. The vanilla game does have a few esoteric elements, but is overall heavily grounded in realistic natural processes. Adding magic and alchemy would shift the tone from realistic survival with elements of eldritch horror in the background, to a more generic fantasy RPG setting. Medicine crafting and other "alchemy" is on the roadmap, however, it's worth noting that such systems were renamed from "alchemy" to "herbalism". Likely because "alchemy" gives too much of a magical impression.

I'll definitely need to look into this. The main goal was to keep it simple and just get the system working first, and then worry about all the potential extras later. It's an interesting idea, but as you said, it also risks being a bit tedious. "Unintuitive" shouldn't really be a problem there though, as while it might be that at first, it should be something the player can easily learn. The tooltips definitely need adjusting, especially the tempered one. Currently there's no readout for the tempered buff on a workpiece, so while it does apply effects at crafting there's no way to tell what's been tempered and what hasn't. Honestly I'm not fully convinced that shatter chances are working entirely as intended. I know that they do exist, since I snapped a piece or two when testing, but they'll definitely need some adjustment. @Teh Pizza Lady also mentioned that as well on the shatter brackets, and I mean...it's not wrong. It'll probably be fine-tuned later. 50% and 40% for power and durability is pretty big, to be fair, but those are also the buffs for exclusively finishing for power or durability. That helps give the clay quench its place for a mix of the two. Otherwise, clay quenching either becomes too underwhelming since the buffs won't be enough to make a difference in gameplay, or it renders the other finishing methods pointless since the clay quench has clearly better benefits. I also recall that one of the player complaints about the vanilla process is that the first quench doesn't feel particularly powerful, and needing to play the RNG games to quench multiple times for really good stats wasn't very fun. Thus the idea here was to give the player a more streamlined process that produces a decently powerful item as well, so there's more reason to interact with the system even in spite of shatter chances. What I may end up doing is adjusting the temperature brackets along with the shatter chances, making the window for the maximum benefit a bit harder to hit. I think that might be more satisfying than simply increasing the shatter chances, since shatter risk was a common complaint about the vanilla system as well. Losing the occasional workpiece is tolerable, but snapping several in quick succession gets rather tedious. On the tempering buff, it is a bit generous, but tempering does require the player to be a bit more patient since the item has to cool off slowly--there's no dunking it and then crafting and using. And like I said above, finishing exclusively for durability needed to be able to compete with the clay quench. I also figure it might help push some players to put in the effort for steel, when they may have skipped it before, as well as potentially satisfy some of the players who aren't happy with the standard tool durability(to be fair, those players are probably already adjusting tool durability in settings). Definitely a lot to consider here though, and some future polishing to do. I like the idea but I'm not sure how workable it would be in practice. Or how fun it would be to play with. Might be worth taking a look at later though.

Welcome to the forums! I have. When it first released, there was a proper day/night cycle, among other things. As for now...I think the top of the tower may be perpetual daylight in order to make the boss fight more manageable, but I could be wrong. As a general rule, dealing with dark areas is something that's just a part of playing VS. If you go to the past, there is a usable bed and firepit at the tower's base. You'll need to complete the basement and unlock the door first in order to use it though. As for lighting it in the present, this wouldn't really make sense given that the tower has been wrecked for years. It would also diminish the stark contrast between the pristine appearance of the past and the currently devastated present. There's a general intended path, which is described on the wiki, but there may be other routes as well. There are also subtle indicators on what route the player is intended to follow, but the player must be studying the environment carefully, both in the past and present, to figure it out. On each floor there should be a detail that stands out, like a lantern, window, metal tanks, etc., and those often prove to be the key to finding the route up. The underground section is meant to serve as a training puzzle for the rest of the tower, allowing the player a chance to get used to the timeswitch mechanic before the stakes are raised. The player can also use the elevator to travel to floors they've already been to, meaning that each floor puzzle really only needs to be completed once. When chapter two was first released, there was no basement area, no rest area, and the elevator would only activate after the player reached the very top. As for the danger of falling...it's meant to be a tough area, and falling is one of the main hazards, which is fitting since the boss is a large mechanical bird. This is also why one of the rewards from the Resonance Archive is a glider schematic--the glider can help the player avoid lethal falls. Honestly, I think that would make the fight more trivial than it is. Being able to switch to the past and be completely safe to heal at your leisure or leave the area is a significant advantage. However, that kind of power doesn't come without some risk. While the player is in the past, the Crow tends to circle the tower, since there's currently nothing there to attack. The Crow itself is slower than it was at launch, with very deliberate, clearly telegraphed attacks, so it should be rather easy to dodge. I think the main issue here is that multiple players doing the content at once tend to complicate things--in these situations, communication is critical(those in the present should be informing those in the past of the Crow's activity), and too many players in the same small arena is going to mean someone's inevitably getting hit. As for the two bandages thing--it's a known issue at the moment. The game will sometimes use two bandages at once instead of one. Eh...this is kind of part of the Vintage Story brand though? It's a tough game, and not unusual to die a few times while trying to figure something out. It's why the player character has the cheeky little line "Don't worry about me; I don't see to be able to die" when convincing the village hunter to share the Devastation's location. Also why it's a good idea to bring a few temporal gears with you on your travels, or invest in a terminus teleporter.

Welcome to the game and forums! Make sure you check your spam folders, just in case the email got sent there for some reason. Otherwise, the support team is who will have access to the tools and information needed to solve account issues. In my experience, tickets are usually resolved within a day or two, though response time does depend on what kind of issue it is and what the team's current workload is.

Callback to this suggestion: So I got the notion to take a crack at overhauling the quenching and tempering system. The vanilla system is okay, but after playing with it for a while, it doesn't necessarily age too well. With @Teh Pizza Lady's help in putting all the pieces together, now there is an alternative! How it works: The player can choose between three different processes in order to improve the stats on an item: normal quenching, clay quenching, and tempering. The process can only be done once, so the player must choose carefully to get the stats they want. Normal quenching will boost an item's power, tempering will boost an item's durability, and clay quenching will provide a modest boost to both power and durability. The power of quenching stats are determined by the item's temperature at quenching time. Lower temperatures will yield lower bonuses, while higher temperatures will yield better bonuses but can carry more risk of shattering. Overheating an item will yield no benefits but will risk shattering the item; if the item does not shatter the player can try to quench again. The exact temperature brackets and bonuses are as follows: Tempering remains mostly the same as vanilla, save for boosting the item's durability rather than lowering shatter chance for additional quenches. To temper an item, simply heat it to within the 550-700 C range and let it cool off slowly to get a 40% boost to durability(this is the only stat not temperature-sensitive). In short, forge your item, and then choose the appropriate finishing process for the stats you'd like. Once in a while an item might shatter, but most of the time the player should be getting something quite useful. Known Issues: Tempered work items do not list the durability bonus on their tooltip, but will apply and list the bonus on the completed tool. Tempered work items still list their bonus as "Hardened" rather than "Tempered". Mod link: https://mods.vintagestory.at/improvedquenching

It may or may not hit the mark exactly, but...I did a thing: https://mods.vintagestory.at/improvedquenching