Maelstrom

Additionally, there's been a HUGE change to world gen since you last played. You may want to find out more about the settings for upheaval, landform coverage and landform scale. In my first 1.20 world I adjusted landform coverage and scale a bit. Had plenty of ponds and lakes but no reeds. Had to run almost 1000 blocks to the ocean/massive lake to get reeds.

I got the easy prospecting mod which reduces sampling to a single block. Might not be as realistic, but I have limited time to play; butbut I don't like making the game too easy either. EasyProspect - https://mods.vintagestory.at/show/mod/13063

Consider that the game is early access and game features are still be added; meaning it isn't even to Alpha testing (aka feature complete) yet. The bugs with floating gravel, sand, etc. are just that - bugs. They'll likely get fixed in Beta testing unless Tyron fixes it in a future de-janking update. Looking at the roadmap there's still a ton of features left to be implemented.

It's not as bad as landslides, for the most part. I can see how most people won't like it. one way to mitigate cave ins is to convert a block to a chiseled block before it reaches 100% possibility of collapse. Alternate option is to place a block (like support beams or slabs) to the roof, but that can get a bit tedious when mining (especially in a horrifically unstable area). I can usually mine out an entire ore deposit without a cave in, even iron deposits. Sometimes I get multiple cave ins since I got mining without supporting equipment.

Dig around too much and eventually rocks will fall, cracked and uncracked alike. Hopefully the trail you dug is not completely filled in with rock or you have sufficient ladders to dig back to the surface. Alternately you can take support beams with you to shore up the degrading rock structure. You can see how likely a rock is to fall by targeting it with the crosshairs.

Not in this game. There's worse things that go bump in the night. Or the cave.

Unless one has the Step Up mod.

Traversing an unsupported block MAY cause a block update.

Running or walking doesn't impact triggering landslides. Block updates will ALWAYS cause them. It's always a delight watching the side of a mountain collapse when viewed from the other side of a valley.

I can confirm as of 1.19.8 that loading up a few stacks into a chest, leaving and returning will result in getting fewer items than you placed in the chest to be ground. Moral of the story - don't leave home while using automated machines.

Given the boilers in the RA, I'd like to see steam power for more consistent mechanical automation; but it seems less disjointed if Tyron figures out rivers and water wheels before steam power. I wouldn't be surprised if we might see the beginnings of alchemy show up.

Querns and pulverizers "leak" contents which is different than despawning. Leaking contents are contents in an inventory that disappear. Essentially the mechanism desynch's from the world while you're outside the loaded chunk range. The mechanism works but the result disappears.

under black coal and anthracite deposits. Can also be crafted from blue and red clay after cooking and grinding flint.

Recently (like last 18 months or so) in an interview somewhere Tyron estimated the game was (at that time) about 10% complete. I think it might be up to 12% now. Safe to say this game is going to only get better for the next decade!

Usually screenshots are from player builds submitted to the Discord.

I love playing with gravity on. Looks like I've got some adventure coming when I get my elk, a few months from now.

Unless you are carrying it at the time of death, such as falling down a death pit I didn't see while carrying my steel plate armor. Like Streetwind, I play with keep inventory on because like him I don't have a lot of time to play.

And we complain about car eating potholes.

Not true. Yes, you use the resource of time to gather material and move about. But stamina is a different resource in that time is not the only thing that depletes it, increased movement speed, injury and other things change stamina. Inventory is a mostly independent resource from time, the only connection is that inventory resource reduces for the time you gather resources.

I warn newbies that the core thing to learn in VS is resource management and EVERYTHING (stamina, inventory, time) are resources to be managed, not just material and items. I love playing blackguard (I'm a tanky miner at heart) but trying hunter with the new mobs. Was surprised that steel chain did not impact accuracy very much for the hunter!

VS be like

Excellent song choice, I might add!

My assumption was commoner to hunter for ranged and with similar results for commoner to blackguard. Meaning that commoner has to throw one more spear than hunter or hit one more time than blackguard. I believe that is for lower tier weapons as well. At higher tier weapons (iron or bronze and above) instead of 2 additional hits to high tier drifters for commoners it drops to one additional hit.

I see what you mean. Yeah, you gotta experiment a bit with some things. But that's nothing new to us old school video gamers, right?