Silent Shadow

You need the same amount of grass and thatch for a given roofing block, and they both take the same amount of time and tool durability to harvest, so they are pretty much equal as building materials (at least for roofing).

Ideally there would be nearby: water, a forest, a commodities trader, a survival trader, medium/high fertility soil, and a large amount of flat ground to run around in. There should also be easy access into adjacent regions (not boxed in by mountains/ridges), and it shouldn't be super far from your spawn point (if you have respawns on). Reeds and tule are nice to already be there, but you can just collect those and replant them wherever you settle. I am a bit conflicted on rainfall amount. On the one hand, it is nice to have to water crops only once in a while, but it also makes dealing with temporal storms difficult because you'll get cold in winter while running around in the rain/snow and torches cannot be quickly set up. Hail that lasts for days is also pretty annoying.

You can use one big gear to drive three other machines at a 1:1 ratio. Just power a small gear (pinion) and connect it to the big gear's teeth (not its axle) and you can connect three other small gears (pinions) to the big gear's teeth and the torque and speed will be the same for the output pinions as the input pinion. The input pinion will drive the big gear, which drives the three output pinions. You can also connect two loads to the big gear's shaft (one at each end) if you want. Whether the windmill can power three heave hammers at normal speed though will be another question...

Node search is a shortcut that takes the place of exploratory mining. Definitely easy mode, but I cannot blame other players when mining itself is not that great (prospecting however, is fantastic).

Here is the command, specifically: .debug wireframe chunk. I don't play multiplayer, so I am unsure this will work for another server, but since it is a client command, I think it will. If you are playing single player and do not want to do hardcore prospecting, I would recommend giving pro-picks the node search function with the command: /worldConfig propickNodeSearchRadius [Radius] with 8 being the default (larger numbers will take longer for the computer to search through though and are of marginal use).

Well, without the node search and with the least amount of pain. You can try exploring caves and sinkholes but that is far more dangerous an undertaking.

OP, Since you don't have the node search option, here is what I would recommend: First, do some research on the ore you want to find: Find out what depth the ore will be around: Check out this wiki link and look for the ore you want to find at the tables below. Since you want tin, you should look under the Deep Ores table because that has the highest chance for tin deposits per chunk of the three instances of tin spawns (7 tries per chunk instead of 0.007 or 0.1), and thus this tin deposit will probably be what spawns in the area you checked with the pro-pick density search. The values you want are the Y min, Y max, and the Disc Generator (surface or sea level). The Disc Generator type determines what height Y min/max scale off of. Sea level uses whatever the height of the surface of large bodies of water is (use oceans or large lakes; ponds may not be accurate in this regard), while surface scales off of what the surface of the land is at. You can find both of these values on the map within a certain distance of your character. Figure out the sea level (if needed, you don't for tin) before descending into the earth. Since Cassiterite has the 'surface' type of Disc Generator, you will need the height of the land you found a High or better pro-pick concentration. Multiply Y min (0.4) and Y max (0.75) by that height. That is the depth range you want to be looking in for the tin ore. For a land surface height of 140, you would look at the heights within 56 - 105. Also note the Radius, you will probably need it later. Open this table (referenced by the wiki on the "Rock" page, above the content menu). You should look at this while digging to ensure you are only digging into stone that may have the desired ore (Note that the Tin ore we want is only in igneous rocks like Andesite, Granite, Basalt, etc.). You can also use the in-game handbook to find the stone types, but this table is easier to look through. Doing this prevents wasting your pickaxes' durability. Second, preparing to locate the ore. Bring a full stack of ladders; if you need sticks, run through the forest where there's usually plenty laying on the ground. Keep in mind you can stagger ladders out to stretch them further (1 ladder per 2 blocks or per 3 blocks if desperate). Also bring ~10 - 20 fences. Go to the center of the chunk you got the highest concentration at. If you still need the surface height, get that and calculate your Y max and min. Note the contour of the land. Almost all ore deposits spawn in a flat disc, but that disc will be likely be deformed a bit in a way that matches the surface above it. So if you are digging under a hill, expect the disc to be somewhat inclined as well. This will also throw off your Y max and Y min heights a little bit too (not enough to worry, barring extreme elevation changes). Anyway, since the deposit is generally a flat disc, you will have the highest chance of finding it when digging vertically. Third, actually mining. This method will minimize the amount of digging you'll do, but you will probably expend a few copper pickaxes: Dig a 1x1 "main shaft" down to the Y min height (this is where the node searching with the pro-pick would differ, but since you can't do that, you have to brute force finding it). Line it with ladders so you can go back up. Generally it is safer to mine while on a ladder so you don't accidentally fall through a cave ceiling. If you didn't find the disc, go back up to the point halfway between the Y max and Y min heights and dig horizontally (mining a "drift") to a distance of 1.5 to 3 times the ore's disc 'Radius' (also found on the shallow/deep ore tables). For this tin deposit, it is an average Radius of 5, so I would recommend digging 7-14 blocks away from the main shaft (keep in mind that the farther you dig the drift, the greater the chance of missing a deposit disc is). Dig up to Y max and down to Y min. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you find the ore you want. Drifters and rarely sawblade/bell locusts will spawn, so try to keep branching from the main shaft so you can block off areas you have searched in with fences. This way the large spawning area you are digging will not result in drifters bothering you while you mine. Good luck! Keep in mind that Bismuthinite and Sphalerite (Bismuth and Zinc) can also be combined with copper to get bronze, so if you see those just get them; bismuth bronze works just fine. Iron ores get a lot easier to find, especially in sedimentary layers. This is basically the procedure to find most ores.

I am generally in favor of durability loss for games like VS provided there are multiple paths to take (high initial capital investment, but lasts longer or is cheaper to make; or cheap capital investment, but breaks sooner or costs more time/stuff to make). Time is the most valuable resource to a VS player, so a progression to time saving methods would make for the best approach. I do wish there were more sinks for leather. With durability loss, I would consider adding: Leather clothes that offer weather resistance. Rain or snow makes the player wet and lose their cold resistance (negate clothes' warmth bonus), but leather clothes would take longer to get the player wet. Obviously jumping into a pond would negate this. Prerequisite to enter the International Mr. Leather competition. Boots/shoes/sandals that give a small (~5-10%?) movement bonus Gloves that give a small calorie reduction when doing manual labor. Bellows and apron for the forge. Make the fire's temperature heat up faster, or control the forge's heat through pumping with higher temperatures needing more air (also provide the basis for more advanced smelting and forging mechanics like welding). Eventually mechanize the bellows for automated pumping. The Apron could give some benefit, perhaps reduced clothing wear while working near a workbench or anvil. Industrial belts for connecting axles. These belts were very common in the industrial revolution, and it would be nice to have another option to placing another axle and four gears to transfer power to an offset axis. Maybe incorporate a "slip" mechanic so that only so much power can be transmitted through it too. Have armor require some leather strips or something; usually that is how armor IRL was held together or at least to provide some ability to tighten the fit. Also for shields, then use leather over planks to make better shields. Snow shoes that restore a loss of movement speed on snowy tiles (make from strips and sticks). More furniture made with leather. Some nice leather upholstery on chairs would be appreciated, as would some leather covered, vellum books to make bookcases with (sandwich with planks). Harnesses/leads/saddles, for whenever animal husbandry is expanded upon. Make a tent for exploring. Make it offer some bonus heat so you can sleep outdoors without freezing or getting wet in the rain/snow. Trade goods/accessories you can use to barter with traders, like bands, belts, purses, etc. or just to wear if you like. Bonus trade value if you dye the leather too. Make sheaths for weapons and tools that reduce the loss of tool durability by a percentage (~5-10%?) at the cost of a tool belt slot (per tool/weapon?). If thirst is implemented as a mechanic, add water skins as an option to flasks/bottles (carry boiled/purified water around instead of drinking nasty pond water). If you want to make leather working more involved than a processing step could be added where fat could be used to waterproof it (similar to making cured pelts, but after tanning), which would be nice for clothes. Chromium could also get a use for tanning in place of alum/limestone as well.

Combat does what it needs to do in this game, which is making the more resource rich areas in the game more dangerous to be in. Yeah it won't win any awards, but it does fine as a minor part of the game. What would you recommend adding that is simple yet meaningful? I can only think of grenades (collect that sulfur) and maybe guns as quickish additions.

I would rather the Devs add a task or challenge that pressures players to use steel and the other technologies. Similar to how winter drives the player to make a lot of storage pots and fill them with preserved food, or how nutrition pressures the player to vary their diet. Nobody can really agree on what combat improvements they want and the Devs would have to take time away from crafting updates to upgrade the combat system any meaningful degree. Combat is okay where its at; the game really needs new challenges to overcome.

Just dig a small (~5x5 blocks) 1 block deep pit, line it with fences, and lure the wolves into it (run to the opposite side so the pit is between you and them. The wolves will run into the pit and be trapped). Now more wolves won't spawn outside of it as there are already wolves present, and the area is more or less safe. This also works underground with drifters.

I think that some people just want a more permanent bloomery where they don't need to break it completely down after each bloom. You could do this with a sacrificial clay door fitted into an arch in the furnace (fill with a mini-game like the pottery forming?). The majority of the furnace would be intact and reusable, but subject to damage over time and thus higher refractory furnace material would be better for lasting longer (similar to cementation furnace) if not necessary to start.

Not usually, but it is possible. When you are in the range of 55% to 85% world height, there can be 18 surface and deep drifters alive, which is what I suspect happened here.

You can also get this effect with a wood room if the ambient temperature is 8 degree or less. Keep in mind that drifters can walk into spaces that are 1.5 blocks tall. I think the player can too if crouching.

This house doesn't look higher than 6 blocks, so unless the floor is dug out, that shouldn't be an issue.