Moltrey

Not sure if it's related, but I have long noticed if you eat and move, the sound of eating stays behind you; always kind of freaks me out.

Yeah, given that we are so early on in VS- as a newb who hasn't scratched the story yet, it does seem a bit far fetched. I try not to think about it too hard for now. Between the Devs and mods like Better Ruins it looks like we will get there bit by bit.

Second update: Overall things are going much better. I do have to set the Conquest Landform Mod parameter Landform up from the default of 70 to 90 as otherwise I seem to get far too many island starts with no other islands in sight. I have been updating the various mods from the thread's first entry above. While not IMO a true "river" mod, Watersheds is a very nice substitute until whenever Tyron & Co get around to presenting rivers in the base game. The running water can get a tad annoying due to being so loud, but Algernon has done a good job (I think) in easing up on the volume (well, it seems that way to me at least, can't be certain). Interesting POIs can still be scarce depending on the map but I am just happy that I can play the game again without getting frustrated.

LOL! It's just always been that way as far as I can tell Tyron. I figured it was WAD as I have never had it not work.

Tyron: If you have the time, can you look into an issue when sleeping in a Trader's bed you wake up standing on the bed instead of next to it, with your head through the sloping roof. I could not figure out a way to extract myself from the situation and saving and reloading didn't help. In this case it was a hay bed. Sneaking/squatting didn't work either. Thanks.

Update: After watching TakTangent's latest start on a new world I decided to try the Conquest Landform Mod, using the recommended settings. So far, so good. The terrain is much less spiky and difficult compared to the average vanilla world, refreshing. Also, I am tending so far in a small sample size to discover a few different ruins. I need to start a lot more worlds to have a better sample, but the better and arguably more realistic terrain has removed a smaller irritant in vanilla; too much difficult terrain on average. Note: The Conquest Landform Mod does seem to work well with the Algernons Watersheds Mod. So on the whole, hurrah!

So I mentioned this issue in one of the recent release threads: Lack of enough interesting POIs other than Traders (which are nigh useless at the onset). Combined with more often than not spawning in with bears and/or wolves nearby is making my experiences with VS less than appealing for the first time. I know, I know. VS is not meant to be an easy experience unless you nerf difficulty settings. About all I adjust these days is slightly higher walk speed and 25hp combined with a 5 day grace period on monsters. I will show a list with my installed mods below. But here is the thing; I have played this game for quite a while now, perhaps 2 years and I have never felt this frustrated with "Meh" spawn worlds. Very few ruins let alone buildings or larger POIs. There needs to be SOME interesting "bits and bobs" here and there or I lose interest eventually. I don't want too many of them either, that would be worse imo. I do seem to find the Giant Tree a fair %, had one or two small towns, but after generating map after map and spending around an hour to an hour and a half my frustration overall is starting to make me want to set Vintage Story aside for the first time. Am I just an anomaly here? Does anyone else have these issues with a change to less points-of-interest? I don't want to be "that guy" who complains a lot. I imagine with enough walking/exploring of the map some of these issues would be lessened, but again, I don't ever remember having this many maps end up boring enough I choose to close and delete and start over. Here is the Mods List: I have tried various settings with Algernons Watersheds, usually the next highest world height combined with Landscape at 120/140%. as well as vanilla.

Regarding the AI slop issue; I'd say the minimum QoL response if it's allowed would be to have an "AI exclusion" toggle for the Mod Page so we don't end up with a crap ton of mostly useless mod instances we would be obligated to swim through. In general, I am against pure AI stuff. Just like our cell phones, as a 62 yr old I view them as tools, nothing more. They have no power over you if you keep them as such. Yes, I know it is easy for me because I grew up with rotary phones with bad AT&T lines and 3 TV networks and PBS. For all you "youngsters", don't let modern convenience rule your life, give your brain a break; you will thank yourself later.

Tyron & Co.: I am continually impressed with the groundwork that you laid for Vintage Story. For the most part, the underlying structure has supported the team's vision of where they are going. So many games seem to get time constraints that throttle their efforts down the road of development. Perhaps I am being a bit too generous, but based on other studios out there, I am inclined to think not. The combat update has to be my most anticipated part upcoming, but it is all intriguing. Best of luck the rest of the year and thanks for taking time to update us!

Open question to the forum: Does anyone else have a feeling that Better Ruins instances are pretty few and far between now? I am running it along with Algernon's Watersheds in 1.22. I find generic ruins regularly, bits and pieces of wall and portions of buildings. I have probably started 15-20 games since the latest patch and have found 1 Chert Scribe(?)/Abbey with basement and translocator and one abandoned settlement and maybe one other in those instances. I play on basic settings w/o changing map creation other than the 2 mods mentioned. Granted, I have not spent a great amount of time in most maps, usually an hour to hour and a half before deciding "meh" and quitting. Sometimes Traders are there, one or two in the spawn radius on the map. I am not upset about it, but have a nagging suspicion that they are not spawning like they used to in previous editions. Another thing I noticed is less underground "homes" or prisons, etc. It's all subjective of course but I can't shake the feeling this stuff is a bit less prevalent in v1.22. What say you?

Sorta gives new meaning to being turned into a pillar of salt... . Never seen one of these yet.

Just a note to say so far playing on v1.22.2 I have not noticed the .0 lag hitches in the game. Once the objects have loaded in upon spawning gameplay has been smooth for me.

It's early days for v1.22, but I am finding that so far the old nasty repetitive lag hitch is back. I need to spend some more game time to confirm; while not even close to debilitating, it is annoying. Curious if others are/are not seeing this.

Dumb question, I have dipped my toe in the new version & love it, but the new bushes- most "do" nothing when I right click. What status am I looking for on these new bushes in order to harvest them?

Not having even sniffed the whole prospecting/mining aspect much personally, yet still interested enough to scan the prior three pages of this thread leads me to ask: After boiling the issue down, aren't we right back at a core concept of how much work should the VS design require of a person in order to successfully obtain a given ore (or anything else for that matter)? It seems pretty clear to me at least that making one aspect more streamlined or even easier would tend to break the status quo of VS progression, at least compared to other progression areas. Sure, there is a healthy dollop of luck involved along with the process (pretty realistic, eh?) and I can see where folks can get really discouraged with the concept in practice (we'll get back 'round to that word). But I could say the same about starting in the stone age as a newb, until you read enough on it or watch vids and then do it, you're lost as what to do to be efficient enough to not starve if your luck is poor. I could perhaps see Tyron tweaking prospecting here or there but I don't foresee larger "work reduction" changes. It just doesn't strike me as the right VS vibe taken along with everything else in the game. Zooming out here a bit for side reference- I also play Matrix Games War in the Pacific: Admirals Edition. It is a very demanding PC wargame that simulates most aspects of the war in great detail. It also is definitely not for most people even if they are interested in the subject. Learning demands a lot of perseverance and persistence and there are many moving parts that require your attention. My father served in the USN during the war and I was in the USN myself, so for me the juice is worth the massive squeeze required. Getting back to VS, overcoming frustration regarding prospecting due to its nature in the game and the realistic randomness involved requires the old saying - Practice makes perfect, or at least adequate in order to overcome the bad vibes from failure frustration. At the end of the day, a big part of Vintage Story's divisiveness comes from design choices Tyron made when he decided to forge off in another direction from that other block game. Simple as that. Either embrace the suck or don't. Spending enough time with the game will raise your skill enough to no longer get ansgty about all the whys and what-fors involved. At least, that's how this noob sees it.