Sand and mines - out of luck

[pordle]

Been looking around for both for weeks. Got much faster at scouting when I made a rowboat. Picking up more rustroot as I go but it's running out and it's always "No minerals found". It doesn't help that my minimap stops drawing and I can't tell where I am on your larger maps posted to figure out which landscape I may not have seen to even know what sand should look like. Without a map I can only see the ground nearest to me in my local screen view. I've seen the green ground, yellow ground, pink flowered ground, shiny swamp looking types - one mostly green/yellow, one mostly brown/blue, the orange for clay but no sand. Can someone post what sand looks like maybe tho I doubt I'll see it in game with the minimap rarely loading unless I'm near my little personal village. Also concerning mines - is there a hope of finding any? Keep reading about people owning them. Can a nooblet find one is the question there I suppose or should I just avoid the idea of a sexy stone mansion that is mostly built waiting on those metals. These 2 things seem to be holding up my progress. I have 3 barrels of wine - 2 have already went to vinegar because I can't find sand to make glass to drink it :S Is this a bug with my map or pretty normal for it to vanish, that I haven't figured out either - I don't see any chat - just local when someone says something right in front of me, and their name is ???? that normal? Bah so many questions.

[Potjeh]

Sand is found only at lake shores, and only on roughly 1/5 of the lakes. It's light yellow on the minimap, if you see it you'll recognize it.

As for a mine, it's possible, but it takes a LOT of searching (RL days of active playing). It's worth it if you're in a group, but finding a mine just to get yourself a mansion and some tools is not worth the effort by a long shot. You're better off buying metal from somebody who has a mine, linen and bricks are universally accepted trade goods.

[SpidersEverywhere]

Also if you put your wine in buckets it won't turn to vinegar.

[TeckXKnight]

From the bottom to top~!
Yes, you will see names as ??? until you memorize the person. Once memorized, you can name them yourself~! Alternatively, kin them and they will now show up as their name though you can still name them if you want to.
There is no global chat, only a local chat. If you want to talk to people around the world, set things up on the forum or hop on the IRC channel. Fastest way to do this is to use Pacho's IRC capable client.
The map not loading means that there is server lagg. It happens and there's not a lot we can do about it, so just be patient with it when it does.
Mines are hard to find within the 25 most central grids. You'll need to move further from the center of the map (Everyone spawns in the central 25) towards the edges to have better odds of finding a mine. Chances are it will be inside of a cave that's hidden by a rock and two trees. Besides that, your odds of finding an above ground mine are as close to 0 as they need to be. If you need metal that badly, just trade for it. Most people are pretty happy to sell you metal for basic goods.
Sand is only found on beaches and I don't have a screencap of it on me at the moment. Just look for lakes and rivers and follow them for awhile, you'll probably hit sand.

[pordle]

Thanks for the quick responses, so sand is possible and trade for the metal. That sounds doable. Buckets for storage, slick tip.