kiuru

Most people nowadays associate skiis with skiing down a mountain for sport or leisure, however, the historical cross-country origins of the ski were much more practical than that. Skiing was a revolutionary technology that enabled Eurasian peoples to cross vast distances in the taiga/tundra biomes and the spread of the technology facilitated the spread and conquest of many peoples and languages. A hunter or a warrior on skis was several times faster than a large prey animal or human opponent in ankle-deep or deeper snow. It was the wheel or chariot to the northern peoples. Modern militaries still use the skis and they saw extensive use in WW2 wherever snow was present on the battlefield or behind the lines. The earliest skis had a longer ski on the non-dominant foot for sliding and a shorter ski on the dominant foot for traction, while more modern (1800s) designs were symmetrical, the underside of both skis being coated with both fur or wax for friction and glide, respectively. Implementing skis in VS seems extremely straightforward to me and would provide a fun + historical way to move around in snow in the winter. Winter transport can be improved in other realistic ways as well. I can only speak for nothern Eurasia - winter there was arguably the best season for transporting bulk goods (lumber, ore etc) on sleds. Lakes, rivers and marshes are all frozen solid and provide a free, flat, clear highway for goods to be moved around. Cargo was driven by oxen or horses and smaller passenger sleds by dogs. Individual hunters/travelers would often prefer to drag their baggage or their kids on a small sled instead of carrying the weight on every step. A sled is significantly easier to build, maintain and repair than a cart with wheels and axles, and only later in the medieval period did they begin to be reinforced with iron blades and fittings. Autumn/spring represented the break in traveling, with the ground getting wet and soft and ice being unreliable but still enough to prevent boats and ships.

As a counterpoint it'd be easy to say this was not historically the case; no leather has the same properties as linen sails. I would like to see leather kayaks/ birch bark canoes, though. Historically they were used to get very fast very far and up very small and shallow streams.

Excellent stuff. I'd not gate flax behind barrel tech though, flax was processed (rhetted) by soaking it in ponds/streams weighed by rocks or even left in the field on a rainy week as all it needs is just moisture, no tannin/salt etc. I definitely would see a different need/demand for different fabrics, flax/cotton for staying cool and dry / wool/fur for staying warm and then possibly, as suggested above, silk for behing fancy Now that we mention it, other fiber crops exist and we can even expand the meaning of fiber. Nettle and hemp were among the first cultivated plants in Eurasia and were used for fiber and even clothing. Sisal / jute / rattan for making fiber / weaving for hotter climates? In colder/temperate regions, linden bark was used to make mats and rope.

Good idea. Migratory birds, geese and waterfowl were a huge source of meat eggs and feathers. Especially birds like geese flock seasonally in their thousands in suitable places. Goldeneyes, ducks and other waterfowls have been used to harvest eggs and articial nests have been built because they keep laying to replace the loss. Chickens originate in SE asia, maybe this is a more climate suitable option in some biomes? Magpies could be a slow but cool way to get metal nuggets/gems that they store in their nests. Pest birds like thrushes, fieldfares, crows and jays would disincentivize players from leaving berry bushes unharvested for too long / to use straw figures to ward them off (exists ingame). Eagles, large hawks and ospreys could be early game enemies but also swans, capercaillies and turkeys are large and territorial enough to become a threat when provoked. Birdsong could be a fantastic way to incorporate atmosphere in the game, it should be season or even month specific with most noise in the spring-summer. Other seasons you could hear crows croaking and woodpeckers knocking. If taken to the extreme, many birds have warning calls when a player/ predatory animal is nearby. Would love to see awebos too.

Very simple premise, many plants and vegetables are successfully and commercially grown accross the globe in conditions where the growing season is not long or hot enough for direct sowing outdoors. This would be a way to extend the growing season in colder climates for crops like corn, pumpkin, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans etc. Ceramic bowls filled with fertile soil / compost could be placed indoors 2 x 2 and sown with crops while outside temperatures are still freezing and then planted out to kickstart the growth. This is intentionally not scaleable but represents a midway towards a greenhouse, which is and should be a more expensive endeavour. On a related note, many cereal crops like rye and wheat are often sown and germinated in the late summer/early fall, whereupon they develop shoots that overwinter under snow and continue growing to be harvested midsummer. Some hardy veggies like parsnips are sown before snow to get an early start when the snow melts and the seeds germinate in early spring.