LadyWYT

Gotcha. Unfortunately I'm not sure if anything like that exists, and I don't know enough about coding to make a good guess as to how easy it would be to make something like that

You stated it all a lot better than I! I completely forgot about class-exclusive recipes as well. I would definitely recommend new players turn that option off if they are playing singleplayer, as the sewing kit isn't obtainable otherwise(I don't think it drops as loot from anything and traders don't sell them for some reason). And while sewing kits aren't necessary for standard gameplay, you'll need them to maintain your favorite pieces of clothing and keep them useful. Agreed, for the most part, though I would argue that the extra health can sometimes allow you to sometimes survive situations that other classes probably wouldn't, and it's the ideal pick if you love melee combat. That being said, those kinds of survival scenarios don't come up that often, and if the health is that much of a concern the starting health pool can be easily increased via the world options.

This might help you achieve what you're looking for: https://wiki.vintagestory.at/index.php/Block_reinforcement Reading through the page, reinforcing a block doesn't seem to make it unbreakable, as much as it does make it very difficult and expensive to break them. So those planning a siege would likely need to carefully plan which area they indeed to try to break through, then make sure that they have enough time and tools to accomplish the task(as well as making sure that whatever is on the other side of the fortress wall is actually worth the effort!) There also seems to be a setting for servers that, if I understand it correctly, can make reinforced blocks unable to be broken by those who did not do the reinforcing. While it might not be a setting that you want turned on all the time, I'm guessing that if griefing while most players are offline is an issue it's a setting you could probably just enable during the periods of low server activity.

I'd be questioning how I'm accomplishing it in full plate armor. Climbable vines would be nice though, especially for more nature-fantasy type builds. Or at least, if we can't climb them, it'd be nice to have a way to grow more of them.

Hmmm, intriguing, especially the bit about deposits regenerating(albeit very slowly). The much smaller vein size and yield would probably balance it decently against seeking out one of the underground iron types as well. In theory it could make it easier to jump ahead in tech tiers, but I think that hinges on whether or not there are a lot of iron-rich bogs nearby that are easily accessible. Overall, it sounds like a good way to get a couple of early iron tools perhaps, but finding a proper iron vein underground will still be necessary to acquire a full set of iron tools and armor.

Out of curiosity, have you tried a Cool or Polar start instead of the standard Temperate? I've found that these starting zones tend to slow down the early game quite a bit, mostly due to the fact that there's a distinct lack of reeds to make baskets with, or flax for linen bags. Inventory space will most likely be at a premium for a while. If the early game is still too easy, the next thing I'd potentially try is turning down the availability of ore nodes and/or the growing speeds of trees. Other options include increasing the temperature at which you will start to suffer from the cold, increasing hunger rate, or increasing food spoilage rate. It's not the same as restricting inventory space, but it will certainly make surviving and finding materials a lot harder. And that's fine. I think it's an idea best suited for the realm of mods, or perhaps a very niche gameplay option in the world settings, depending on where the devs want to take the game. I don't think making it the default because the game is "too easy" is the right answer. Based on what I've experienced from Vintage Story, it's a game with a very steep learning curve that doesn't pull its punches, which makes it very challenging for brand new players. Once you learn how to properly progress and figure out some good strategies, the game becomes a lot easier, to the point that a veteran player can be easily acquiring steel and raiding the Resonance Archive with around 20 hours of gameplay. It's a factor that can't really be avoided and is a natural byproduct of becoming better at the game(and it's a reason that challenges like Hardcore mode and Snowball Earth exist).

I'm assuming you're talking about which class to pick in the vanilla game, and not something modded. In which case I would say that Commoner is probably the best one for a brand new player to pick, as it offers no drawbacks to its playstyle and will be a solid choice for doing everything the game has to offer. Personally though, I would pick whichever class sounds the coolest and go from there. There may be some drawbacks to work around, but nothing terribly difficult, and the game will be more enjoyable if you're playing a class you actually want to play as opposed to whatever was supposed to be the "best". And if you try a class and decide that you don't like it, you can always start a new world with a different class(I think there's also a console command to switch your character class as well, but I don't know what it is). If you're referring to the professions in the XSkills mod...I would say either pick a profession that you really enjoy, or pick one that will make the gameplay loops you don't enjoy that much less tedious.

This would be nice. As it stands, distilling is the only way to really preserve alcohol long-term. Which is fine, unless you wanted to drink something other than whiskey or brandy.

This exactly. It's one of those things that may sound fun in theory, because videogames don't typically go for this level of realistic immersion. But when it comes to actually playing it...absolutely not. The hotbar that we have is fine--it offers enough slots to work with initially, but not so many that you won't need to quickly find a way to carry more things. I also agree that making a change this drastic would absolutely make most new players drop the game entirely, if they even bothered to purchase it in the first place. I daresay you'd probably lose a lot of the veteran players as well. It'd actually be one spear that you could bring with you, because you'd need a knife to process the kill(unless it's a case like the Butcher mod that makes you haul the carcass back to camp). But even then you're still stuck with being unable to take the spoils of the hunt with you. I'm by no means an expert on coding, but I'm guessing that you could probably figure out a way to lock the hotbar slots instead of removing them entirely. Though technically, you don't really need a mod to play this way either--you can just impose your own limits and only use the first two slots of your hotbar until you acquire some sort of portable storage.

Food storage is the only thing I can really think of, since temperate climates will get fairly cold in the wintertime. How much it extends the shelf life I don't really know, but it's something to consider when working with fresh food if you don't want it to spoil before you can use it. In warmer climates fresh food will spoil faster even when stored in a cellar, since the temperatures don't get nearly as cold. On the flip side though, the growing season is practically year-round in warm climates, so you don't really need to worry about preserving food for the winter. I'd say it really boils down to what climate you prefer spending the most time in and how challenging you want the game to be. Colder climates are going to pose more of a survival challenge, especially in the earlier portions of the game. Warm climates will be easier to survive in, but you won't get to fully experience all four seasons since it won't really get cold.

...and you see your first seraph. What are they doing and how do you react? As for me, I think I'm going to watch in bewilderment as they proceed to die to a bear multiple times, before trying to sell them some junk I found quality wares for a significant markup(assuming they even make it to my trader wagon, that is). Of course, this is probably also about the time I figure out the funny-looking strangers will happily just move in uninvited and start using my stuff, as if they owned the place. (I meant to post this topic a while ago and completely forgot about it)

Or it's a bandage that damages HP instead of healing it And I agree, they'd make an interesting neutral faction as well. Plus I mean...if I can't give a drifter a temporal gear and make a friend, maybe I could with one of the Rotwalkers, heh heh. As for integrating them back into society...they might have mutated after so much time underground and be unable to really stand sunlight for long periods of time, but I could also see them possibly being unwilling to return to civilization. Maybe there's some sort of strange prophecy they follow, or perhaps they're just eccentric hermits that prefer to avoid most other people.

You're probably right in that they're most likely just scavengers--either the group that the Malefactors came from, or the human survivors that came after the calamity. What I kinda hope they might be though--an antagonistic faction, or an otherwise creepy cult. The drifters and corrupted machines are disturbing, sure, but at the same time they're distinctly not human. Now these guys...imagine seeing a faint light out there in the dark, or deep in a cave, and going to investigate...only to run into one of these guys. Whoever it is--obviously human. How he got there? You have no idea. And you don't have time to think about it if he pulls out a weapon and starts swinging. Now assuming the individual doesn't attack, that leaves a couple options: either he'll stay silent and stare at you creepily, or he'll be open to talking. In the case of the former--it's disturbing, because not only do you not have an answer to who/what he is, but now he's either going to follow you around when you try to leave, or turn up later where you least want. In the case of the latter and he is open to conversation...he's probably going to be speaking in nonsensical riddles, at best, and then you'll still have the same problem as before. I'd also be wondering where they got the temporal goo-looking stuff for their outfit. Humanity's remnants don't really seem inclined to temporal technology; they'll use pieces of what they find, perhaps, given that the traders have resonators, but I'm not sure that the remnants are capable of actually creating new pieces of temporal tech.

Falx blades have the most value, when it comes to metal tools you can sell. They cost the same as other tools, can be cast instead of forged, and sell for one gear more than picks.

I was thinking about this the other day after tinkering with Morrowind and Oblivion. I do like the class system, as it does give a nice, balanced variety and sometimes you just want to jump right in and play. On the other hand, it could be interesting to have a "custom class" option that lets you pick a handful of traits from a list before dumping you into the world. Would it be balanced? Absolutely not! You'd probably have to disable it when setting up a server. But I could see some players having fun by picking the worst trait combinations and trying to survive. Likewise, there are times when you want to set everything to easy mode and just unwind after a hard day at work, so making a custom class and picking all the best traits could also be a viable option. The main drawback I see though is that if you can choose your class traits at the start, it takes away some of the specialness of having specific classes. I think a better option might be to keep the classes as they are now(and possibly add a few more later on), and instead have some traits be unlocked by doing various things in the game. Perhaps you could pay NPCs to learn new skills, or complete some quests to pick up a new trait. You could probably also have some traits hinge upon which story choices you make or how you treat NPCs, which would help bring more replay value to the main story. Some of the traits(like those affected by story choices) might be permanent, while others(like paying trainers or acquiring a criminal bounty) might be more negotiable...for a price. Having just flat skill perks like XSkills would also be an option. That mod is probably the backbone of my modlist, as it gives a nice method of shaping a character further, but still makes you earn those skill points! I'd like to see a more robust system than what XSkills does in the main game, but I think some of that hinges on how far into RPG territory the devs want to take Vintage Story.

I'm with @ifoz--black bronze because it's cool Plus it only takes a couple of gold and silver nuggets(which I get fairly easily from panning) to cast a black bronze pick, and using those nuggets up not only gives me a cooler, more durable pick to use but also frees up some storage space. Now in regards to casting an anvil...I'm not about to use black bronze for that! That'll be either tin bronze or bismuth bronze, whichever is easier to get my hands on in that particular world. And realistically, most of the time my bronze pick will be whichever of those is most convenient as well. Now in regards to which one I'd rather have--I voted for bismuth bronze, purely for the bismuth part. I like making lanterns out of pure bismuth since they're the prettiest color.

I disagree about the surface drifters--I think they're fine as the basic enemies they are. I'd save the more interesting mechanics for new enemy types, such as the Rot-beast dog-thing that's coming in the next update. Like I said before, I think a mechanic like this is better suited to a different type of enemy, probably one that's a bit uncommon. The surface drifters already provide a decent threat; a new player will likely find just one to be enough of a challenge, while a pack of surface drifters can still pose a serious threat to a veteran player in the earlier portions of the game. For new players especially I think it's important that the surface world threats be fairly manageable. Bears you can spot and avoid; wolves howl to alert that they're nearby. Surface drifters are a little harder to avoid since rift activity is unpredictable, but can be either fought or avoided by staying in sort of shelter. Now granted, a new player could just set a grace period, but the main hazard there is that...there's nothing to really indicate that they shouldn't be building with dirt. Ideally, they should be able to acquire better building material and expand their base within 10 days(the longest grace period), but "expanding the base" for a new player can sometimes translate to "build a bigger dirt house". And in that case, I feel a new player is likely to be more frustrated after having spent that time acquiring stuff, only to find out their home doesn't actually keep bad things out and potentially meet their end because of it. The other this is, as @Streetwind mentioned, that the hole dug would need to be 2 x 1 in order for the typical drifter to get inside. A 1x1 hole will still let crawlers through, of course, and will let others throw rocks/reach through to smack players that stand too close, so it could still prove dangerous. However, if the drifter's dig speed is fairly slow, what's really stopping the player from plugging the hole as soon as it appears? Not to mention which block does the drifter dig through to begin with--if the player has a storage vessel in the way the path will still be blocked. So the drifter may actually need to dig more than one block in order to get to the player. All that being said...I think if drifters were to get a digging ability anyway, I'd say it may be best suited for the higher tier drifters(any drifter other than surface drifters) and make the dig speed comparable to the player's base dig speed. That way it's a threat in caves(you'll need stronger materials to properly block a passage off) and during temporal storms while leaving your typical surface conditions more easily manageable.

If you've not tried it already, I would remove whichever mod you installed for the farmland and see if that makes a difference. If the farmland was working prior to the mod's installation, and isn't now, a problem with the mod would be my first suspect. I'd also check the modpage's comment section to see if anyone else has reported similar issues.

I think it's brown bears and polar bears that you can't outrun, if I'm not mistaken. Any of the other bears I think you can outrun, provided you aren't weighed down too much by armor, but it's still a bit difficult. My general strategy is to try to spot the bear before it sees me, so that I can either avoid it or come up with a plan to deal with it. If one spots me I try to run and use the strategies that @Thorfinn pointed out to help get the bear off my tail(although if I have good armor I'm going to just fight the bear). If there's deep water nearby though, I'll try to lure the bear there as then it becomes rather easy to poke the bear to death with a spear. Currently, the player can swim faster than bears, and bears can't dive under the water to get you, so it's just a matter of staying just out of reach. If you've got some spears and good aim, you might also try turning the bear into a pincushion(especially if you're playing a Hunter!) You can build a makeshift pillar to stand on(I think it needs to be at least 3 blocks tall, maybe 4) to stay out of reach, or if you're the more brazen type you can bring a shield and healing items for a backup should you take damage. Granted, the early tiers of armor/shields won't stop a bear, but it might just buy you enough time to finish it off in case you can't kill it at range. There's also the Mortal Damage mod, if you're not opposed to modding your game: https://mods.vintagestory.at/show/mod/3846 Basically what it does is make the damage a bleedout rather than instant, giving you time to either finish off a nearly-dead enemy, get to a safer spot and heal, or at least get to a safer spot to die. The main drawback though is that healing will no longer be instant either, as healing items now just prevent a portion of bleedout damage, and some types of death will still be instant(such as pancaking on the ground).

It really depends on the flavor of playthrough I want at the time. For the most part though, I tend to stick with most of the Default Balanced settings, so that while the gameplay is still challenging I'm not getting absolutely frustrated when trying to build either. Starting Climate: I've actually taken a liking to the Cool start zone here lately. It's quite a bit tougher than the Temperate zone, but completing the standard lineup of gameplay has felt a lot more rewarding. I might have to go for a proper Polar start one of these days, as I was hoping to hear the new arctic music in the winter but I don't seem to be far enough north for it. Month Lengths and Temporal Storms: I tend to leave these default, as the default gives a good cycle to each season(about the time I get bored of one, the next arrives) and the storms come often enough to be a concern, but not so often that they're frustrating. The storm interval setting hinges on what I sent the month length to--if I make the months longer I tend to make the storm interval longer as well. True Map Colors: I turn these on so I can better see what's actually on the map. While I like the hand-drawn styling of the new map, it's a lot harder to make out where the ruins and trader wagons are. Keep Inventory: I would only turn this on if I want an easier game and/or want to teleport back home without too much penalty(just eat the really bad mushrooms and there you go!) Cave-Ins: I keep these turned off. The mechanic is interesting, but I prefer to just dig a hole, get what I need, and then move on to something else. Auction House and Land Claiming: I turn both of these off--they aren't needed in singleplayer. Class-Exclusive Recipes: I usually end up turning this one off as well, especially since I figured out that for some reason, none of the traders sell sewing kits. ----------- In regards to mods, I do tinker around, but I try to keep my list pretty short and somewhat close to vanilla. Ancient Armory(Medvhe): It makes the unused weapons(those ruined ones you find) useful, craftable options. I'm not really a fan of the Falx sword design and like having multiple destructive things to pick from. Buzzwords(SpearAndFang): I generally end up enabling this one if I'm having a lot of trouble finding bees. Flower Farming(Craluminum2413): I like decorating with plants, but don't like absolutely stripping the countryside to do it or cheating them in with creative mode. Freedom Units(BillyGalbreath): Because Americans will do almost anything to avoid the metric system. From Golden Combs(Vinter_Nacht): Once I find bees, I like to put them in a proper bee box. The Langstroth hives also help produce a lot more honey in much less space. A Warrior's Drink!(Flint_N_Steel): Mongol warriors are cool, and it's another option to fill the Dairy nutritional need. XSkills(Xandu): Probably the backbone of my modlist. It gives a nice way to flesh out a character more and make them better at various tasks as time goes on by giving you points to put in various skills. It does a little while to earn the skill points, but it feels like a nice reward for just playing through the gameplay loops when they come. I've also played with Fauna of the Stone Age and the Wildcraft suite before. I tend to get a hit to performance with Wildcraft though, and while having more food options is nice the sheer amount that it adds kinda takes away some of the challenge of not starving. The Fauna mods didn't affect performance as much, but the rate of big cat spawns nearby could get a little annoying. The main issue I had with Fauna is that I ran out of storage space even faster from all the hunting trophies I acquired.

They don't? I have a bunch that spawn in the area around my base(seriously, there's at least three different moose spawns near the front door alone!) and they always try to come stomp my face when they notice me nearby. As for what they do in real life...I don't really know other than I've heard they will absolutely try to stomp you if they decide you need stomped. There aren't moose where I live and the only time I've actually seen a real live moose was on a trip to Yellowstone.

This is what I do as well. Find it in the folder and then dump it into whatever post I'm writing. Sometimes it's not even an actual screenshot--it's just a piece of the screen I clipped with the clipping tool and then copy-pasted. I'd also say it somewhat depends on what the purpose of the screenshot is. If it's to showcase a build and I really want it to look extra fancy, then I might set up the shot I want, pause, and go into the settings to crank the graphics up as high as they'll go without breaking something. You don't really need a framerate if you're just taking a picture, after all. You'll need to, yeah, both on your PC(no use in keeping around files you no longer need) and on the forums. If you don't clean out your Attachments on your forum profile every once in a while, it'll stop you from posting more pictures until you clear out some space.

If I understand correctly, you seem to be just chopping trees down with an axe or otherwise breaking leaves with your hands in the hopes of getting a seed. Both of these methods, as I understand it, greatly lower the number of sticks that you'll get and the chance that a seed will drop. I would try using shears on the leaves instead. Not only will it clear the leaves much faster and in a larger area, it'll increase the number of sticks that drop and increase the likelihood that a seed will drop as well. When I'm chopping trees with my axe I usually get very few seeds, but when I'm using shears on the leaves first I typically get enough seeds to properly replant the forest and then some.

I like this idea, especially since I build castles all the time. Very true, though I'm guessing that a portcullis in singleplayer would be mostly decorative and you'd just leave it open when going out and about. When you're at home you might close it, or you might use them to lock down an area during a temporal storm. Given some of the late-game tech that we have, it's also possible that you could make some sort of device to open and close the gate remotely within a certain range. You'd just have to make sure that you don't lose the remote, or else you're going to have a tough time accessing your base and acquiring another remote. Speaking of guards though...I could see a portcullis being implemented in future villages as a defense, with NPC guards to man them. During a temporal storm, the gates would slam shut(assuming that temporal storms affect entities other than seraphs, anyway) and anyone on the outside is out of luck. If there's a reputation system, the guards might also lock you out of the village for a while(several days to perhaps even months) if you're a known troublemaker.

Is it more evil to leave them trapped in a small hole for eternity, or to put them out of their misery ASAP? As a side note though, it turns out the adult rabbits will also survive the pit kilns, provided they're buried underneath all the stuff before you light it. It doesn't make sense, of course, and it's more hassle, but it is kinda funny. No need to hunt wabbits though with so many moose around!