Kaz

1 hour ago, redram said:

As Streetwind mentioned, always best to check the handbook to find what stones a given ore spawns in.  Borax only spawns in sedimentary stone types, and basalt is *not* sedimentary.  however, there could be sedimentary layers underneath the basalt, potentially...

Maybe I'm just not in a great spot... I've only seen Basalt all around my area.  I've made a few camps for traveling outward and it seems like I need to keep venturing further. 

Thanks for the response. Although I understand your point though from a realism aspect, I dont agree completely.  I'd considered this for the smaller, lighter animals but for the larger ones that would sink in the snow it doesnt make sense. i.e. if I cant jump over the fence while standing on the snow, neither should they.

But ok... can you make a double height fence without stacking two? Or double height gate? Having to open 2 gates is really very annoying! Maybe a variant of a door?

My other, more realistic approach is to put a roof of wood slabs to keep the snow from falling inside the pan. So far it seems to work fine.

Rabbits and chickens also escape, but not the chicks. 

15 minutes ago, Streetwind said:

It generates as a rock layer in the world, just like any other kind of rock. And rock layers change occasionally as you travel - but only rarely. The area covered by a rock layer is huge. Thousands of blocks in all directions. So your only hope is to travel, travel, travel.

As an alternative, you can also use chalk. This is also a rock type.

Both chalk and limestone are sedimentary rocks. That means that they will always be on top of harder, denser rock types. This usually leads to them being the top layer, and thus being directly visible when exploring on the surface. However, they may be covered by a volcanic layer (--> basalt), or they may form the second layer below a different sedimentary rock type (--> bauxite, chert, claystone, conglomerate, sandstone, shale). If you encounter any of those seven rock types, it's a good idea to dig down and see what lies below them.

Note that for leatherworking, there is another alternative: borax. This is an ore, not a rock type, and thus can be found with the prospecting pick, or in surface rocks. Borax doesn't work for replacing quicklime, but at least it allows you to process hides, which is a huge plus. (Also, borax becomes useful for going beyond iron tools, later-on, so it's always good to have a source of it.)

Thank-you for those suggestions, processing hides is my main focus right now.  I'm close to a large field of Basalt (sand/gravel/rock) so I'll check out that area.  I haven't seen any borax yet, but I'll keep an eye out and take more samples to see if I can find some.

I'm 60 hours into the game.  I've enjoyed exploring and building up my little settlement however I've not been able to find any limestone other than the small cache I found in ruins and from a the couple shells I found.  Is there any trick to locating limestone? 

I never had any issues until it snowed and then they all seemed to escape the fence, even the rabbit that had found it's way inside. I may try the 2 high blocks but room is an issue.  relocating the sheep to a larger area will be quite an undertaking too.