Messages

301

Suggestions / Re: Increased and Expanded Valuables

« on: May 28, 2017, 03:40:07 PM »

With regards to ornamented weapons, etc:

while i agree that encrusted jewels and gold filligree might be a bit much, I don't think it's far-fetched that an experienced woodcarver might carve interesting designs into the handle of his ax, and thereby increase the value.  Or that a masterwork battlesword might feature engraved patterns on the blade, enhancing its status as a borderline-magical prestige weapon fit for a chieftain. 

At one point, wasn't it possible to use the old woodcarving skill (now carpentry) to carve designs on bowls and such?  or was that a mod?  anyway, i liked that system.  Dwarf Fortress uses a system whereby most items can be improved in terms of value by adding decorations and such - for example, a cape made of spider silk is more valuable than one made of baboon skin, but even more valuable is a spider silk cape colored with rich dyes by a master clothier, and even more valuable still is one inlaid with precious stones.  I think something like this (albeit much simpler and more grounded) could potentially work well in Unreal World, but it would have to be carefully balanced to avoid exploitation.

302

Gameplay questions / Re: Keeping the game fresh

« on: May 28, 2017, 03:30:44 PM »

i find starting up an industry to be satisfying and a good way to make the in-game days pass quickly and without tedium.  For this, I rely on mods.  Ironworking is my favorite, and weaving is also very fun. 

One survival maxim is to improve your situation at least a little, every day.  With this mindset, you can usually think of something to do.  Why not expand your home, build an addition or a new shed to store things?  Dig a well, or gather the materials for a kota.  Create a large farm, with many animals, many plots of crops and a large herb garden. 

One lifestyle I've never managed to actually get off the ground is travelling kota-dwelling nomad, using a reindeer (or 2 or 3) to carry my supplies and the materials for my kota, and travelling light with just my bow and a few dogs.  I think it would be pretty cool, but somehow my nomads always end up dying before i get to that point.

also, I want to mirror others in saying that I find UnReal world to be a very effective pastime for when I cannot get out in the real woods.  It really does an effective job in cultivating the exact "mindset" of real wilderness living.  In fact, sometimes even when I am in the woods, I play Unreal World when it's too rainy to do much outside!  my unreal world character really is like a "second me", a persona that I can use to explore options and life-paths that would be too difficult or dangerous to do in real life.  Of course, I would love it if I could make a 4 km trap fence and funnel all the life of the woods into my dinner-pot, but that is illegal pretty much everywhere  .  I tend to grow very attached to my Unreal World characters, and I am proud to watch them grow and thrive.  With this in mind, I generally try to treat them like real people, and ensure that they get enough sleep, enjoy some variation in their diet, and sometimes do things just for fun or to make their life more comfortable.  I find it makes the game much more satisfying to play.  I suppose some might find it odd that I lavish such care on a little pile of pixels and numbers, but this is my hobby, and I enjoy it. I also find that it has some level of cross-over to real life situations - when I've been playing unreal world as opposed to other games, I find my mind much more readily adapts to wilderness living.  I am able to plan out my actions intelligently by simply thinking, "Hm, what would I do in Unreal World?"

I'm not trying to say that Unreal World is adequate training for a survival situation, real life is far more complex and you also have to actually chop down all those trees yourself, not just watch a little animation!  but, when played mindfully, it can help your brain stay in the correct mentality.

303

Gameplay questions / Re: My trusty woodaxe

« on: May 28, 2017, 03:14:57 PM »

One other thing to note is that you will almost always have an ax in the early game, which you can use for fighting.  A woodsman ax, though not ideal, is capable of doing terrible damage in the hands of a skilled user.  Sword users may have to wait quite a while before finding a decent sword. 

Also, if you want to use a shield, you can carry several handaxes for throwing & fighting.  They don't do as much damage but there's no penalty for using with 1 hand.

304

Gameplay questions / Re: Stews

« on: May 28, 2017, 03:05:55 PM »

a few berries in the game are actually worth gathering as they have a decent amount of nutrition, i think namely cloudberries, and maybe crowberries?

i can't speak to the nutritional value of cloudberries in real life, but in a survival situation, berries are not enough to keep you alive in real life.  they were an important part of the hunter-gatherer diet, because they added needed vitamins and were so easy to gather that even a small child or pregnant woman could do it while others were hunting.  but in general, they were not a primary source of sustenance.

305

Off-topic / Re: What do you like to cook in real life?

« on: May 26, 2017, 11:19:50 PM »

So I do crock pot recipes these days. Got a handful of books I pull from, but mostly it's Make it Fast, Cook it Slow and Cook's Slow Cooker Revolution (volume 2).

I made enchilada casserole...three weeks back and cowboy stew two weeks ago. Last week I did garlic and turmeric scallops.  Think I'm going to do Azorean beef stew this week

i just got a crock pot myself!! i will have to look those books up, ive been racking my brains trying to think up recipes