Messages

421

General Discussion / Re: Punitive island winter challenge

« on: October 25, 2020, 11:04:20 PM »

No zooming would make it extremely hard. You start on a small island that might not have a mountain, and that would mean you can only scout by swimming (after training swimming sufficiently to actually be able to get anywhere).
No fun at all...

422

Gameplay questions / Re: Traps stay empty. Calling for the vets - help!

« on: October 24, 2020, 07:06:49 PM »

I've trapped seals in heavy deadfall traps right on the shore, and have had no reason to believe anything but land/water determines whether something can get into them (there are factors for probability, of course).

I always start my character by making as many light deadfall traps as I can make, although I haven't started any new characters since withes and the new cord logic was introduced. I tend to get occasional birds in my traps, typically on the lower edge of being enough, and no early character has ever caught enough fish to regain the calories spent fishing (although trying to fish when the island is more or less covered in traps is time better spent than idling). A three tile island may well be too small to provide enough birds to replace the ones caught.
The character that made it off the starting island probably started on a 5-6 tile island (though I used a robber start to get rid if the gear and get hurt), and I started in spring (a winter start seems to be very hard, despite you apparently finding some berries still).

I don't think I'd bother making many larger traps on such a small island, although occasional ones to break island covering trap lines makes sense, should a large animal spawn (but I don't think they would, as I don't think anything spawns in the immediate vicinity, so the only thing that could reach you are birds, and, if you're very lucky, seals or beavers).

423

Gameplay questions / Re: Spawning and Edge of Local Map Questions

« on: October 24, 2020, 10:22:29 AM »

Creatures can spawn inside enclosures. I've had many cases where I've found large animals caught in the trap fence surrounding my farm plots, with all the tracks being in the inside, none on the outside, and only the trap where the animal is caught being triggered.

I think I've once had a squirrel spawn inside the "stable" where the cow and sheep were tied to one tree each and the doors being closed.

Ah, the tree inside a stable setup. That means there’s no roof on that tile. So the squirrel could’ve legitimately climbed up the log wall, scampered across the roof, down the tree.
Btw, you don’t need a tree to leash animal to. You can leash them to fences too. 

Yes, in real life that could happen, but in UrW nothing can pass over walls (and birds can fly high out of reach inside buildings without holes in their roofs).  Thus, in terms of game mechanics the squirrel must have spawned there.

Someone told me about the fence option a couple of months ago, but this event happened earlier than that. I'm definitely going to to for fences for my future characters. though.

424

General Discussion / Re: Pack removal

« on: October 22, 2020, 11:39:10 PM »

Fires are supposed to be scary to animals, so if you can manage to set up some in between you and the pack, with the set trap on the pack side,you might be able to gain time to set the other traps and slip away. Note that I haven't tried to scare animals with fire.

425

General Discussion / Re: Pack removal

« on: October 22, 2020, 06:49:17 PM »

Wolf packs are too dangerous, so I'd stay away from them. If there was an easy opportunity to attack them from a craft I might do so, but otherwise I give wolves and bears a wide berth.

Again, I might consider building a trap just on a lake shore that would allow me to escape on a punt/raft if they show up earlier than desired (and, of course, bring a bow).

426

Gameplay questions / Re: Buying expensive items by selling boards, paw-boards, stakes and wooden bowls ?

« on: October 15, 2020, 06:40:53 PM »

Building more houses would make sense only if that also draws/spawns new villagers. Currently village populations slowly dwindle as villagers succumb to predators, Njerps, and hostile wells, in addition to being hired by PCs to hunt robbers.
Thus, I think a dynamic population dynamic needs to be added before/in conjunction with village expansion.

427

Gameplay questions / Re: Buying expensive items by selling boards, paw-boards, stakes and wooden bowls ?

« on: October 14, 2020, 01:15:11 PM »

I don't bother with bows and arrows anymore, I just throw rocks at everything, including njerps

That might work until the Njerp has a bow...

428

Suggestions / Re: Finding my arrows

« on: October 13, 2020, 02:26:16 PM »

I'm used to imagine Njerpez are hunting for slaves.

Killing your would be slaves makes for a very poor success rate...

429

Suggestions / Re: Finding my arrows

« on: October 13, 2020, 10:46:34 AM »

Fighting Njerp warriors are likely to make you both rich AND dead, unless you quit while on top, and even then a chance encounter will probably be the end if nothing else has claimed you before that.

What motivated the Njerps?
- Insane xenophobic hatred towards everyone not of their culture.
- Greed&sloth: Why work for a pittance when you can rob your neighbors?
- In fact, as the only true humans, it's both their right and duty to rob and kill the neighbors.
- Might makes right. If I can take it from you it makes it my right to take it.

or any of the other excuses peoples make up to commit genocide and get rich in the process, or just generally murder and plunder.

430

Suggestions / Re: Location, Location, Location

« on: October 11, 2020, 10:58:53 PM »

It seems setting a lot of traps in a short time can lower your standing with the spirits (training trap setting by setting and releasing traps), but I don't think it matters where the traps are set. In fact, trap fences are effective because the traps are in a limited area (connected by fences).

431

Suggestions / Re: Finding my arrows

« on: October 11, 2020, 06:37:23 PM »

It does work for me, changing both the inventory and image on the ground. I've got no idea why it won't work for you.

I've made my arrows yellow-orange, leaving the tip and tail with their original color. I've also recolored my javelin. It's a color that tends to be visible even when behind trees, although it matches some mushrooms.

432

Suggestions / Re: Torch Holder

« on: October 10, 2020, 11:12:59 PM »

Which is how I understood Ara D's proposed implementation.

After thinking about it a bit further, I'd suggest having the option to start it when the light fades, so you won't burn it wastefully for 4 hours in order to have some light for the last hour of a 5 hour crafting session (and be able to cancel the order should the crafting go faster than expected).

433

Suggestions / Re: Torch Holder

« on: October 10, 2020, 12:17:05 AM »

I think Ara's proposal is a good one. Fill the holder with "charges" that are automatically replaced until they run out or the PC extinguish it (or removes the spare charges, leaving the active one).

I'd have the check for usage ability to be done when lighting it originally, and then make the implicit assumption that the same character is replacing the spent ones. That leaves room for some minor abuse and some minor odd situations (the PC goes climbing a tree and breaks both arms which it's burning, for instance), but I think it's worth that to have a simple system that doesn't tax the player with boring and annoying busywork.

434

Gameplay questions / Re: How to make new items appear in settlements?

« on: October 10, 2020, 12:05:37 AM »

Traders do carry masterworks items, but yes, they're not that common.

Items are gradually replaced over time, but I don't know if there are replacement timers, or if a random set of items are removed and a random set of items are added (in which case an item might disappear the next cycle, or it might take decades).
Items are definitely placed in at least two groups, as seeds and agricultural produce follow the natural yearly cycle, while the manufactured items don't. Item replacement is slow enough that you can mark villages that have desirable items, work to get the means to buy them, and have a good chance to actually find the items still remaining in the village. Thus, if game calendar time is the important factor, traveling wide (in particular to Driik) will get stuff a lot faster than waiting for goods replacement. Foreign traders are good in that groups travel through and then disappear, so each new group will have a new set of goods, although their item selection is limited to what can be called "weapons" and armor. Don't expect to find carving axes in their inventory, but ordinary axes (primarily for felling trees) are somehow sufficiently much weapons for them to be carried (at least that's my reasoning for why their selection is the way it is). Foreign traders also carry jewelry (high value per unit of weight).

435

Suggestions / Re: Torch Holder

« on: October 09, 2020, 09:19:48 AM »

The problem there is the short life time of torches. You barely have time to set them before they go out.

I think a better option would be something that burns for longer (and with less smoke, although that's not modeled), akin to candles or oil lamps, but I don't know what was in use during the period.