Domkrats

Setting up a Multiplayer Server — Vintage Story Wiki See Ad-hoc server option or Dedicated server option.

This thing is challenging for me too. And i have tried many options except food related mods. Main options: a) Played on own base in public MP server - always food grinding when finnaly had time to join, yet if you make some greenhouses and crop fields there can always be some food as time on server moves fast. One day its winter, another day - summer. Food preparing can take your time away anyway, so finnaly you will have less time to explore and do other stuff. Area around you can be explored without you even knowing it. So you can find explored caves and ruins all the time. b) Joining some active players in community at their base. That could work unless you don't see them struggling with time as well. Otherwise you feel that you are just wasting their resources and not giving anything in return. I tried to gather other resources in exchange for food. Food was plenty, but even grain eventually spoiled as time is moving fast in active servers. So again..some time for preparing cooked foods still should be spent, but this worked well untill other players started to dissapear. (Huge thing in this is to be at same time-line, so you can play together at one time. c) Own server together with players like you - when you all play time progresses. When don't nothing should happen. In conclusion. Surviving can happen in any of this scenario. Without share-able waypoints it can be hard to know which areas are explored already, unless server uses some mod or external map to show TLS and roads made. But if in MP you want to look at full cellar with those attractive crocks and veggies it will better work in b) option. This is just how it is in this game. Game has so many nice small things in it and it can become hard to deal with not being able to use them fully all everytime you have some time to play. My main struggle was large trips and cave explorings (which i love) without wasting much time to prepare for them and being able to return to base in time (so next time i wont start game with full inventory half of which will be ROT.

I'm all about using spears, because close combat is disaster to armor even if you survive.

1 torch (can be unlit); 1 reed basket; no food though as huge options available now, which weren't before;

Had similar thought when suggested club at the beginning. Not meaning it as option for all. Having it could still lead you into trouble if you don't have armor yet and you decide to kill sheep, so i wouldn't say that it is somehow game breaker as club or torch is possible to make quickly anyway. Some guys get so offended as they thing that adding more tips/guidance at first steps only will somehow ruin this game for them and game will call them stupid now. I just have seen many guys (and my kids) reacting to this game. So i try to understand why so, as we can play many games together without any problems. So i started to compare - others games had nice tips at first, so they didn't have to ask me for every thing they should do. And also they didn't feel good, when i got surpised/upset sometimes that they still don't understand what to do after my explanation. So i cought myself at being too harsh, thinking everything is obvious (as it is for me only). We all just wan't this game to be more fun for everyone, as we love this game ourselves already. So we are just "brain-storm"ing here and there is no risk for players here while something from this is added to main game. There is new generation of gamers growing out there with "x-ray vision" included in games, highlighted interactions and many cutscenes which play game for you. It's not great, but many shit-game sales show that's just how it is. I just played Half-life series again. I am sure that new players today rage quit at some of the levels as there is no clear tips what you need to do to progress. Same with S.T.A.L.K.E.R, for example. Games were differend back then.

Unless you are against mods, this mod has such feature (Grindstone) for tools.It has some necessary thing though too to use it.

I'm all about making new players life more easy. But having fire at your belt level seems very unsafe IRL and thus would brake immersion for me. I would more agree on having some glowworms in glass storage once it would become possible. Placing torches around cave is one thing for me, which makes cave exploring more rewarding for me, as drifters won't spawn then and seeing all cave lit gives some nice feeling once you have explored it.

This one is great for new players. I agree @Rhyagelle. More time to read handbook will save a lot of souls.

Just an idea. It could be ruin, it could be broken chest with one knife around...not the point. Point is to make first experience less stressfull, as dark night is coming (even without mobs yet) and starvation can take huge time of players mind, so he even forgets that knife/basket/torch etc. can make life little bit easier. p.s. @l33tmaan i've noticed your edgy posts in forums. It's great you know everything about this game, but sometimes you could at least try to get down to new player level just to better understand them. You could be one reason player leaves this game. He would probably need some encouragement..yet he meets you in forum as final straw so he feels stupid for not knowing how to make a torch in 60 seconds. So he decides...this game isn't for him.

O.K. Then solution is tickbox at start: "Do you wan't you legs broken? - YES and NO". Pressing NO. You have game we have now. Pressing YES, you can have torch and, maybe club.

I am talking about first experience again for people who don't know anything about this game. He will learn how to make torch once he learns other things. Where is problem in you having torch already, if you know how to make one?

Honestly giving player one torch in hand when spawning could already be great solution. He has clothes on, why couldn't he have torch as well. He will jump in water with it anyway.

Agree to almost everything above as we just discussed some of things mentioned in other posts in forum (Here and here). But i would like to emphasise again that this all goes about new players and only so it wouldn't sound all bad. There is another thing i would like to mention. Many thing you need to do are made as much similar to IRL processes so people who have some knowledge about metal casting and primitive survival could easily understand direction in making some stuff in this game without any guidance. I understand that it wouldn't be self-explanatory for many, who, for example haven't heard that coal can be made in pit (Kids living in modern society where some won't even know what coal is even ). I learned many real life things while explored tutorials so that's great way to learn stuff about primitive survival and technology. Problem is that not many people have such interest in researching such things. Or they simply don't have english skills to find info they need. Thus they can't simply understand what this game is all about.

Suggestion forum is for suggestions. And if @Tyron don't read them then no problem with that even more, I know him and his team are clever and probably know better. I also understand how hard it is to make such detailed game. But if he reads posts, i am sure he would understand what i mean, even if he doesn't see any chance to implement that. Didn't wan't to hurt any game fan feelings. I am just saying out loud my experience with the game when meeting new players or trying to play with our kids. thats it.

It seems Discord has way better activity. But then again thing like "community" is what can make this problem, thus pushing game as niche product, because it counts more on active player ideas and suggestions, ignoring new player experience which is what this post is about. Community for me is those players, which play often, thus can aslo have time to push their ideas in discord. In result, every addition might have great things, yet none of them make game more comfortable to use to new players.