LadyWYT

Adding on to this, there's also that mysterious inscription in the Lazaret, that may or may not have been made by our good friend Tobias. I forget how the inscription reads exactly, but it references a crack in the firmament and witnessing the gears of the mechanisms that make the world turn, among other things. Now, from the sounds of it, whoever wrote it was not in their right mind, however, the passage likely points to the author witnessing the Rust world bleeding through into reality. Of course, the author could have also been telling the truth, in that if the premise of Vintage Story's reality is an antiquated theory of the world, the gears we see during temporal storms could be part of a literal mechanism(not the Salvation Engine!) that makes the world turn. I don't think this is quite right. It's possible some survivors took to worshiping the Great Machine, but the lore suggests that the survivors were turning from whatever their prior faith was and worshiping Jonas himself as a deity. Tying into the above, I'm not sure that there's a specific answer to the question, as much as it is left up to player interpretation. The main setting of the Old World seems to be central Europe, so Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy would have been the most prevalent religions, though I would say that most religions prevalent in Africa, Europe, and Asia during the late medieval period likely had some sort of following among humanity's survivors. It also stands to reason that the survivors carried on those traditions over the years as a way of maintaining their heritage and some sense of "normal". However, as I mentioned before, the lore also makes it pretty clear that many survivors had turned to worshiping Jonas as a deity. It's clear from NPC speech that at least most of them believe in some sort of divine figure, but whether they're referring to an actual deity or to Jonas himself isn't clear. Honestly, I basically just chalked up "The Morning" as more poetic myth than actual fact. Things do seem to get worse the deeper underground one ventures, yes, but I don't think that's due to an eldritch entity as much as it is a separate dimension trying to merge with reality, or perhaps literal machinery that operates reality having a major malfunction. This one I think is both a legend of surviving humans, and actual fact. From the sounds of it, a young lad from one of the remaining settlements ventured too deep, found a ruin, was chased deeper into said ruin by a shiver, and encountered an active eidolon before somehow managing to escape in...well, mostly one piece. For whatever reason, the mechanical horrors seem to mostly only be found deep underground, presumably lurking around what were once underground bunkers and workshops. My guess is that after the cataclysm that ended the Old World, such mechanical monstrosities eventually faded from memory and become more the stuff of legends. The occasional explorer would manage to encounter one and survive, thus keeping the legends alive as cautionary tales rather than being forgotten entirely. I think they're a mix of both, really. Certain dialogue from Tobias suggests that some individuals were turned rather than disappeared like the seraphs, which points to the rotbeast monsters perhaps having been human once. If they were human and twisted to such horrible forms, that might also explain why they have such murderous intent toward human survivors and seraphs alike, but leave other living creatures alone. Possibly. I suspect the cause will become more clear in later chapters, but I am inclined to think that the Rot was an unintended side effect of messing around with prima materia/temporality. It seems to be implied that even Jonas himself didn't fully understand what made his creations tick, however, I get that impression that Jonas(and at least most of his actual followers) were smart enough to realize that caution should be exercised while exploring the tech. However, I have the suspicion that others perhaps didn't have such caution and tried to hijack Jonas's work for their own selfish ends, and created a disaster in the process. Of course, it's also possible that Jonas perhaps made some sort of a Faustian bargain with an otherworldly entity in exchange for knowledge of prima materia, and gotten way more than he bargained for in the process. I'll post this behind spoilers just in case, but: I agree with most of this, save for I'm not sure it's an eldritch deity as the mastermind behind it all, as much as it is basic consequences for tampering with esoteric forces that really shouldn't have been tampered with. Or at the very least, I think it's a lot more unsettling if the feeling of some malevolent eldritch entity is there, without any actual confirmation that one exists. As for what happened to Jonas after the cataclysm...hard to say for sure. I'm quite certain he's still alive...or at least, as much alive as the player is, anyway. As for what state he's in, that I'm not sure. I doubt he's human anymore, since anyone who was at "ground zero" when the Salvation Engine was activated seems to have either been turned into a monster, or a seraph. I don't think Jonas was turned into a monster, since Tobias seems to have had some interaction with him after the cataclysm, so it's more likely that Jonas is either a seraph(or a super-seraph, if such is possible), or in a state similar to Tobias--ie, not a seraph but not quite a typical human either. As for what Jonas is up to...based on the "Breakdown" lore entry, and what Tobias said in passing, I think Jonas most likely suffered a complete mental break after the Old World was brought to an end, and went into hiding, likely swearing to never pick his old work back up.

And this is why you always use crude doors when playing with friends.

https://mods.vintagestory.at/show/mod/22371 Technically, it's kinda already somewhat a thing. Kind of. But yeah, something like Distant Horizons is pretty much mandatory if one is going to play with epic terrain scales. Given how well Tyron and co. have optimized Vintage Story already, I think it's just a matter of time before they figure out some work-around for larger scale terrain features.

This is why, barring any major breakthroughs in drastically improving performance at very high render distances, terrain really ought to be scaled down like it is now. It's nice to have grand landscapes, yes, but if one doesn't have the render distance to actually see it then it's not all that enjoyable. And not everyone has the beefy hardware required for exceptionally high render distance. However, I do think that certain types of terrain could easily be fitted to a grander scale, without the need for high render distance. Plains or small, gentle hills are a good example, since a lower render distance will work decently well for getting the "vibe", so to speak. That is, the plain will still have that Kansas feel, since the player could go for miles without seeing a single mountain or hill. As for a mountain proper...that doesn't work so well on a lower render distance, since the player won't be able to actually climb to the top and view the surroundings for miles around. They'd be aware they're on a massive mountain, yes, but if the view is exactly the same as at the foot of the mountain, there's no real point.

Given the couple of snippets I saw, I'm guessing that metal tools will still be at risk of breaking. However, it looks like the player might have more control over how likely those tools are to break, via the tempering process. I'm guessing that tempering tools to be harder will allow them to retain a sharper edge for a longer time, with the tradeoff being a higher chance to break. Less tempering probably results in a softer tool that won't hold an edge so well, but won't be as prone to breaking either. Is it true to real life? Eh, kind of. In real life, you can recycle broken metal tools back into something usable, but in the context of a videogame like Vintage Story, I think some risk of breaking(and losing the tool) is needed to help keep things balanced. Otherwise, the player will never need to seek out new ore deposits.

In my experience, Tyron posts only occur every few months, when there's concrete news to post. That is, what's getting posted is actually going to be in the game, and not speculation, unless it's otherwise explicitly labeled as such. While that does mean fewer news posts, that does mean the posts we get are a lot more detailed.

They might be irritated at first, however, I think players would warm up to such a system relatively quickly once they figure out it allows most foodstuffs to qualify for meal saturation, and not just things stewed in a cookpot. The main concern, I think, would be pies becoming too strong, however, pies are locked behind the quern and it's not really feasible to carry a whole table and bread oven with you for cooking on the road.

Unless it's a quokka, that is.

That could be said of pretty much any contraption in Vintage Story, really. Well if the Blackguard ate all the food, I guess stone soup is the only option.

And here I just thought time went sideways...

Welcome to the forums! First and foremost, the easiest way to address your issue is to invest in higher quality soils like high fertility soil(found in the wild) or terra preta(crafted). That alone should boost crop growth significantly. You can also make your farms larger, which doesn't speed up growth time but does ensure a larger harvest when everything does mature. Aside from what I mentioned above, the only other option I'm aware of is the modded route, which may or may not actually be possible depending on how your server is hosted. The official VS servers are currently vanilla-only. If your server can be modded though, you might try something like this: https://mods.vintagestory.at/show/mod/28295

Apples, pears, and cherries ASAP. Otherwise, currants and blueberries. Cranberries...uh...not really a fan of those, so those tend to be juiced and turned into aqua vitae within short order. The longer shelf life and relative abundance makes them a prime candidate for that.

I do like this idea, and that probably allows certain recipes to be narrowed down(like requiring curry powder to be added to rice in order to qualify as a curry). I dunno about that. I think rather than boost the nutritional value of the food, I would instead perhaps add a saturation bonus to food cooked with spices, similar to how meals already have an inherent saturation boost. Perhaps the current base saturation could even be nerfed, or removed entirely, and require addition of spice in order to pause the hunger rate(and add a slot for spices to go in, so the player isn't sacrificing nutrition in the process). In that way, players are encouraged to use spices and herbs when possible, in order for the food to last them longer. It could also prove to be an advantage in the early game, since instead of going straight for pottery, players could have the option of spicing their roast meat and save inventory space that otherwise would have been used for crocks, bowls, and cookpots. Of course, I would also wager that spices don't necessarily have to do anything mechanically in order to justify adding them. One of the most popular mods ever is Expanded Foods, and most of the food it adds don't really do anything outside of what base game foods already do. The main reason it's popular, in my opinion, is that many players just enjoy the sheer variety that it offers.

And then there's Skyrim, that doesn't utilize carbon at all when making steel... Sorry, couldn't resist

Yes, that is what you need to do--trap an elk calf, and then feed it enough before it grows up in order to have a partially tamed elk. From there, you can saddlebreak it to achieve full tameness. You can try searching mountaintops or other high altitude places, as those may be cool enough to spawn elk that far south. Otherwise, your best bet is making a trek north...way north...and establishing a temporary base for a year or two while conducting your search. Elk are most common in cool taiga regions, typically grasslands or sparse forest(I've not seen them in dense forest--they may still spawn there but will be difficult to see). In temperate zones, this typically means poking around on high altitude plateaus. Of course, finding the elk is probably the easiest part. It's acquiring an elk calf that's going to be difficult, since I'm not sure that you can actually breed deer to get babies.

Rivers I wouldn't expect to see until a very major update, given that's the kind of thing that would essentially require a new world(they could probably generate in old worlds fine, but who wants to walk for miles to find one) and it's something very difficult to do right. If it's not done right, then it won't feel like it fits properly in the VS world. And yes, I know there is a mod or two that adds rivers, so it seems "easy" to implement, however...to my knowledge, those mods also have a lot of issues(bugs, doesn't play nicely with other mods, etc) and leave oddities in the landscape(like tunnels through mountains). A proper river in the game shouldn't be causing issues and should look like it actually belongs where it exists.

Definitely a bug. You'll want to report it on the Github bug tracker, if it's not been reported already.

I mean, on paper it sounds good, but... The current cementation furnace is stupidly simple in comparison, and a fraction of the cost. By the looks of it, you could build the blast furnace pictured here, or build two cementation furnaces for the same cost. You also have to factor in repair cost, especially with lower tiers of refractory bricks, as well as the fact that you can cheese helve hammers a bit with some ridiculous windmill setups. All in all, it still sounds good, especially for a cooperative multiplayer setup, however, the cost is disproportionate to the other pieces of the metalworking tech tree. Mass-refining and producing iron products is a start, but there needs to be a similar process available for steel as well, or else there's a big complicated step sandwiched between two simple ones. I think a better place for this level of tech, is to have it available as a late game metalworking option, after the player has already achieved steel via cementation furnace. That way, it has the high cost expected of such tech, while the incredible utility is a natural next step of pursuit after the simpler methods have served their purpose.

Well first of all, good job on laying everything out. Seems like a solid idea that would fit into the game nicely. However, the main flaw I see, is that adding something like what you've laid out, would pretty much require a complete overhaul of the current metalworking system, in addition to this idea itself needing a rework in order to accommodate steel production. As it stands, it's a huge jump from basic iron bloomeries, but unless it can handle steel production in some fashion as well there's really no point in sinking that many resources into such a massive structure. If the player can building refractory brick, they can refine steel, which is much better than iron, and it's a lot cheaper(in time and resources) to mass produce iron itself via bloomery.

Ah, gotcha. In that case, it's almost certainly Better Ruins that is the culprit. Ruined translocators do exist in vanilla, however, they are set dressing for a specific location, and not found elsewhere to my knowledge. Better Ruins is likely just reusing that asset for the locations it adds.

Not just that, but I think you could implement a process for turning bushmeat into "general purpose string". That is, allow it to be used as bowstring, or general purpose twine for tying packages/hanging things(if drying/smoking mechanics were added, use sinew twine to hang meat, or wrap parcels of dried fruit/veggies/herbs in parchment and tie with sinew string). It could probably even be used in some of the more basic clothing items(like rawhide gear), rather than requiring linen twine.

I think they tried to implement this concept with peppers, and it didn't exactly go as planned. That is, the implementation turned out to be very buggy, so while peppers are technically still in the game, they are currently unobtainable due to being unfinished. I do agree--it's one of the reasons that Wildcraft and other crop mods are popular. However, I do think it's the kind of thing we'll see get added later, as either a smaller update(mostly bugfixes and QoL, like 1.21 was), or as a part of a major update(story content, new gameplay mechanics, etc). As it stands now, there's already a decent variety of food currently in the game, with other systems still waiting to be fleshed out(late game tech, fishing, herbalism, etc).

It's probably just an oversight; the priority was probably making sure all the logs the player could readily access work for the recipe. Aged logs, however, are only obtained via ruins. In some ways it makes sense though. A fresh log will make nicer items than the crusty old rotten piece of wood that's been exposed to the elements for decades.

I'm just waiting for the update that causes lit torches to light flammable storage on fire. Maybe it never happens, but you never know...

If you've been processing iron blooms into ingots, they can easily stack in your inventory, and it's easy enough to turn a couple into other things before you wrap up your smithing job and turn to other tasks for a while. Ever heard of a misclick?