LadyWYT

You could likely expand this idea further, potentially, to the small ponds that are dotted across the landscape, and have them go dry during certain times of the year. Those ponds could perhaps be distinguished from others by placing a different muddy block as the base for the water blocks--any water block that has that particular mud block as the bottom will fluctuate water level. As nice as it sounds though, I'm not sure how feasible it is to code.

Welcome to the forums! I think it depends a lot on the current workload of the support team, and what the particular ticket is. From my observations, it seems to take a couple of days for tickets to be handled, on average. Give the team another day or two, and you should have an answer.

I think it makes the game too easy, honestly. Yes, it's a setting that the player would have to choose, and would be useful for veterans who just want to skip the grind, but...that's also what mods are for. As for new players, I could see them resorting to an early game lootbox like this rather than put in the effort to learn how to actually play the early game, due to the steep learning curve that Vintage Story has, and that's not really going to be helpful to them in the long-term. The included pickaxe and temporal gear, and the fact that all the included gear is copper, make that an incredibly strong kit as well since it bypasses most, if not all, of the early game challenge(which veterans can already do thanks to their experience). Instead, I think a better alternative is perhaps to adjust ruins loot, or perhaps even panning loot. The player can already pan copper arrowheads and spearheads, so why not the occasional knife blade? Likewise, increasing the chance of a copper knife from tool vessels makes them a bit more of an exciting find. Pickaxes I would keep as-is; the player can still find them in a vessel if they get really lucky, but realistically most pickaxes probably got broken when humanity moved underground in the olden days of the world. As for temporal gears, the ability to set spawn is pretty powerful, hence why it's a difficult ability to acquire. However, perhaps the occasional temporal gear could possibly be found in cracked vessels, so the player has more of a chance to acquire one earlier in the game.

Oh yeah, now something like a spring-loaded door that closes behind you automatically, that I can see. For a more complex door, I could see a steam boiler similar to what exists in the first story location, that is powered by temporal flux and coal. I think that kind of door would mostly be a vanity item...and given how VS is, probably also come with the drawback of being unable to open it if it's not powered.

Or imagine minding your own business out in the woods, and a couple of adorable little bear cubs run up to play. And while you're standing there thinking "awwww, how cute!" momma charges out of the bushes absolutely furious. This one is probably not feasible to implement, but imagine too if polar bears behaved like their IRL counterparts. Didn't vary your daily routine enough? Have fun getting jumped by a hungry ursine!

This is correct. However, I can't pass up the chance to be a bit cheeky and point out that technically we already have electricity in the game, because that is what lightning is. I wouldn't say it's inseparable, given that it would be late game content only and require quite a bit of effort to get there. However, I will also note that it's quite easy to jump from stone age to iron and steel, if you know what you're doing, and once you have iron and steel everything else is fairly neglible in terms of challenge(which is fine as a reward for putting in so much effort). I think the main issue with it though is as @Maelstrom says--the devs have stated end game tech to end at early forms of steam power, which makes sense given that the setting is the late Middle Ages. Yes, there is Jonas tech, which has a lot of potential, but that runs on temporal flux/prima materia as @Michaloid noted, and that stuff is...well, I'm not sure anyone really knows what it is. And I do agree with the observation that when the subject of electricity comes up, most players seem to be after actual industrial purpose use similar to what tech mods in the other block game offer. It would fit an industrial setting, but not so much a medieval one. In any case, when Jonas tech is expanded further, I wouldn't be surprised to see some capabilities similar to redstone, but I also don't expect such tech to ever be fully automated, or easy/cheap to build. One of the main focuses of gameplay is the homesteading, which is fairly hands-on even late in the game. Pushing the player to develop heavy industry flies in the face of that focus.

If I'm recalling correctly, 1.21 added particles to lore items that could be interacted with, so that said items are easier for players to notice. I would think in the case of lore books though, the particles would disappear once they have been read, so it could be a bug, or perhaps an oversight.

I would keep looking in sedimentary rock layers for surface deposits. I can't recall having ever seen deep lead deposits. In any case, sometimes you might have to look a while before finding an area where surface deposits of lead spawn, but when they do occur, there tend to be several in the area.

Maybe if it's to a trader you've already discovered, but otherwise Skyrim-style fast traveling really doesn't track with how Vintage Story presents itself. The closest it gets is translocators, but those are unpredictable, or otherwise require you to make the actual trek to a specific location at least once(and even then, the teleport has a cooldown). Travel as a whole is supposed to be a deliberate choice on the player's part, and will require some planning. Even if it costs a few gears, it's either going to be cheap enough that the need to plan is negated(ie, fast travel is too lucrative compared to cost), or else it will be so expensive that there's no point in using the option. I think a better option would just be to have some sort of trading post item to set up at your base, that will designate a certain area for the occasional trader spawn. That way, the player will have a more convenient trade option to unlock, and the world itself will feel more like the post-apocalyptic wilderness it's supposed to be, since there won't be trader wagons scattered everywhere.

There are not, at least not currently. However, there are at least a handful of mods that tackle that kind of functionality. Here are a few of them: Minimal Mapping: https://mods.vintagestory.at/minimalmapping Held Map: https://mods.vintagestory.at/show/mod/26424 Craftable Cartography: https://mods.vintagestory.at/craftablecartography

I think this is the better option for one-shot-kills(for weaker opponents) at range, really. Jonas tech is fairly difficult to obtain, since the player not only needs to complete all the basic progression tiers to get some of the components for making it, but also needs to get specific Jonas parts themselves(which can be tricky due to RNG) as well as fuel certain Jonas tech with temporal gears. Fueling such a device via temporal gears might not sound expensive, since currently it's easy to hoard a lot of gears due to there being no real demand for them, but once there are multiple contraptions that all demand use of them, the player will need to be a lot pickier about what they use their gears for.

I will note there is already a way to restore some stability instantly--it requires a temporal gear, a knife, and a bit of HP. I forget how much it restores, but it's a pretty hefty chunk and will keep a player going for a while longer--the lost health can be easily healed with a poultice or two. In any case, a full stability gauge should generally be plenty for the average mining trip. It's not until the gauge starts dropping below 25% that the player will need to think about sacrificing a temporal gear, or otherwise getting the heck out of dodge.

If I'm recalling correctly, there was an interview Tyron did a while back where he described such a system as being like the trait system we have already, but more of a way to earn new traits, temporary or permanent, good or bad. Exactly what all that entails, I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that with such a system, the player could perhaps receive training from an NPC or complete some sort of quest to get a permanent boost to ranged damage or receive the bowyer trait for crafting purposes. Or perhaps temporal gears could be shattered to give a temporary boost to movement speed, work speed, or damage, instead of just restoring some stability. For negative effects, falling damage could produce broken bones, which reduce movement speed for a time, or taking large hits in general could result in a wound that reduces one's overall health and healing abilities while it persists. In any case, that's all speculation on my part. If such a system is implemented, it could be similar to the above, but it could easily be something very different as well. I do look forward to such a system though, as it seems a great way to introduce some extra hazards to the game, while also providing the player a way to expand their character's capabilities in a natural way.

If growing crops in a greenhouse, mousing over the farmland tile should show a +5 C bonus. That means that the temperature inside the greenhouse will be the outside temperature plus an extra 5 C, so the coldest temperature your crops will need to endure is whatever the lowest nighttime temperature is plus that 5 C. Otherwise, I don't think crops can be grown indoors, unless "underground farming" has been enabled...in which case, I'm not sure what is required for growing crops in those circumstances, aside from a strong light source like lanterns.

Welcome to the forums! The handbook should list the type of material that an ore will produce, so looking up "magnetite" will show that it produces iron. No need to alt-tab for Google! What iron ore type are you searching for? Hematite tends to be the easiest one to find, while magnetite is very hit-or-miss. Limonite I've only found once, by accident, so I do not count that one. In any case, while it's most ideal to search Decent or better readings, it doesn't hurt to check Poor or Very Poor readings as well, especially in the case of iron since iron deposits are absolutely massive. One deposit should supply most, if not all, your iron and steel needs. Focus on hematite readings first, unless magentite is all you've got to work with/your surrounding rock type is andesite-heavy. In the case of the latter, magnetite is the only iron type that will spawn in andesite, so if andesite is the primary igneous rock of the area there's a good chance the magnetite readings will turn up a deposit somewhere.

My best guess there is to just pick something that's on the roadmap and make a mod for it. If the implementation is good enough, and fits developer vision, it's possible that the mod(or chunks of it) will be incorporated into the base game--I think that's basically what happened with deer and goats. However, there's also no guarantees of that happening either. Worst case scenario is that it remains a mod that eventually becomes obsolete when/if the particular thing is implemented in the base game, but in that case the mod itself still offers players that kind of experience until such a thing becomes a reality.

Except it's fairly easy to get to iron and steel by the first winter, if you know what you're doing. It's also easy to acquire iron gear simply by trading at a certain location as well. Livestock takes a fairly significant time investment and generally doesn't start being really productive until the middle of year 1 or so, assuming the player started animal husbandry year 0. Several players already skip livestock due to the hassle of acquiring it compared to the ease of hunting, so making hunting even easier further diminishes the incentive. As for combat in general, spears are quite strong compared to other weapons, with the strongest spear(black bronze) doing a whopping 8 damage per hit when thrown. With practice, it's fairly easy to throw spears quickly and kite to pick up thrown spears, so the fact they aren't stackable isn't as much of a limitation. If you give spears an iron/steel option, then they're going to end up other weapons easily in most every scenario. As it stands, bows hold the advantage over spears in that they take fewer inventory slots due to stacking ammunition and have greater range and accuracy. I will also note that if the weapon can drop a target in one hit, then DPS no longer matters. It doesn't matter if the standard bow fires much faster than the proposed crossbow, because the player only needs one shot with the crossbow to drop most any target. At that point there's no reason to bother making any other weapon. Of course, the effectiveness of a ranged weapon hinges upon the player's ability to actually hit a target...but it's not really hard to be a decent shot, and it's easy to just wait for a target to get so close that it can't be missed, especially if there's a guaranteed one-shot-kill. I'm not saying a crossbow wouldn't be satisfying to use, or that I wouldn't give it a bit more punch to balance it out. I just think letting it be a one-shot-kill in most cases is too strong. What I would do instead, I think, is give it attack power that's similar to the bronze spears(or slightly better), with a slower reload time than the bow. Maybe something like 10 damage for iron tier, 13 for steel. It's not going to kill pigs or wolves in one shot, but pigs and wolves you can track down easily enough to finish off, or in the case of wolves, just let them run away since they won't bother you. Surface drifters and bowtorn(tier 1 or below) can be easily dropped in a single shot, while shivers can be finished off with a quick hit from a falx. The main advantages I would see in this case is a ranged weapon that the player can carry around and use to soften up targets easily at range, or outright dispatch them in the case of weak targets. In certain cases it can also make hunting easier--hares, chickens, foxes, raccoons, and some of the smaller deer species--but not so easy that the player won't be encouraged to ignore livestock completely in favor of hunting. In regards to ammunition, I'd probably also make it comparable to the bow in terms of crafting, but perhaps with 6 bolts produced at a time instead of the bow's 9 arrows, in return for a lower breakage chance on the bolts. At this point, it becomes a choice between a really strong initial shot with higher recovery rates of ammunition, or a faster fire rate and overall more potential damage at the expense of higher ammunition loss.

Welcome to the forums! I'm guessing they aren't actually falling when this happens, so it's strange they would be taking fall damage. There should be a damage window though that gives a report of exactly what kind of damage they are taking--I recommend checking this to make sure that it's actually fall damage and not something else. If mods are involved, it could easily be a mod requirement/mechanic isn't being properly accounted for. In any case, it would help to have a better idea of what mods you have, as well as what the players were doing at the time of the deaths.

Bear hides should be usable for leather, with or without the head portion still attached. Just shove them into a barrel of limewater or borax to start the process.

I do agree that crossbows would be a nice late-game ranged option, mainly due to the fact you can carry them pre-loaded. However... There's already an early game option that drops small prey like rabbits and chickens in a single hit--the spear. A flint spear will do the job, unless you're playing Blackguard, in which case that ranged penalty is really gonna be felt. As for killing pigs in one hit--that is what the butcher knife is for and why it's a good idea to invest in livestock. In regards to killing larger creatures like wolves and deer in one hit...yes, that's realistic, but I don't think that's great for gameplay balance. It's a bit nice to have natural threats like wolves and bears retain some threat status in the late game, even if one is well-equipped, as it helps keep players from getting too complacent. As for deer...if prey animals can be killed that easily, that removes a lot of incentive for livestock and homesteading in general, which isn't ideal. To keep it fair, wild game would probably need to be made much harder to find(instead of easier, as it has been), and I'm not sure that most players would find it fun to need to spend several days hunting just to acquire their next meal. A better option in that case would be to keep hunting as-is, but add a temporary blood trail that the player can follow to track down their prey. They'll still need to spend a decent amount of effort in that case, but they won't need to devote entire days to the hunt.

Welcome to the forums! You might also try using this mod: https://mods.vintagestory.at/floralzonescosmopolitanregion It adds a nice collection of plants that blend nicely with vanilla, and one of the trees is green alder. The green alder doesn't produce any logs, but rather grows in large bushy clumps that drop plenty of sticks(one stick for normal leaves, two sticks for branchy), especially when sheared. It's also rather common to find, so that might be a good alternative instead of modding the recipe. You could also try using this mod, for a basic crafting recipe that doesn't seem overpowered: https://mods.vintagestory.at/rawstick The main idea here seems to be that while sticks themselves are easy to craft, you have to let them dry out first before they're usable. As for making a mod without prior experience, Vintage Story is relatively easy to learn to mod in that regard, although it does depend on what kind of mod you're wanting to make. You can find an extensive explanation of it by using the following link, though I will note that mods like just modifying existing recipes tend to be some of the easier ones to create: https://wiki.vintagestory.at/Modding:Getting_Started

Given that the lore behind them states they were originally a safety/communication device that were especially beloved by miners, since bells could sound an alarm in the event of a cave-in and help rescue crews find the trapped miners faster, just makes bells that much creepier. According to the wiki, they're also attracted to bright lights like lanterns, so while they do move slow, it's not really possible to go entirely unnoticed by the things. In any case, sure, they've been corrupted by the same force that corrupted the other automatons, but a lot of what they do is just...their original job, in a very twisted fashion.

I help my friend with making/maintaining a mod, and I end up handling the testing while he handles the coding. Can confirm this is accurate! There were several I managed to find in the early versions of the mod, that were caused by the tiniest little goofs in the code, or occasionally by sheer oversight.

Welcome to the forums! Sounds like you've likely found a bug, in which case you'll want to report it over on the github bug tracker: https://github.com/anegostudios/VintageStory-Issues/issues

I think the crux of the issue here might be less where bears spawn(save in the case where they respawn immediately after being killed) and how they can be encountered sometimes, and more a case of...they don't make noise to announce themselves. If the player happens to spot the bear in advance, it's safe to assume that the bear is a massive threat, given what wolves do to the player. However, bears can be difficult to spot due to surrounding foliage or just taking a nap in a secluded spot, and they don't otherwise announce their presence like wolves do with howling. Oftentimes, the only warning the player has is the roar as the bear rips into them. If some sort of noise were implemented to alert the player to the bear's general presence, I think bears would feel a lot more balanced as a threat, even if they remain incredibly strong. As for bears being faster than the player, I think it depends on the bear, really. Most are almost as fast as the player, with the sun bear, panda bear, and black bears being the slowest. Brown bears are faster, and polar bears are the fastest, to my knowledge.