Check local resources

[burgingham]

With the same spot I didn't mean literally the same spot, I don't need cartography team to keep track of where I dug or not. I was referring to everything always looking the same, which makes exploration boring.

[JustasJ]

I have an idea.

The devs should make some specific foraging items that only spawn in high quality spots, while their perception*exploration value to find is quite low. Maybe finding a crab where high q sand is present could make sand spots more valuable? This could make high q spots "visible" without digging around too much.

[Melgui]

I strongly agree with Burg, and in the end, all is related with map generator. I can see resource searching like a exciting experience, but not in a totally plain landscape. We need some patterns to use when searching, just like in real life, in order to make resource search fun for everyone, not only for a couple of players.

The current process is:
1. Select random place
2. Extract sample
3. Note on the map

I can see no fun in the whole process because the fun is on the result. It's a lottery.

The desired process would be, in my opinion:
1. Explore: resource kind/amount/quality determined by landscape, not by random layers.
2. See natural patterns: as Burg and JustasJ said, but they can be more complex, needing player's (not char's) experience and logic
3. Extract samples: maybe dedicated gear would be needed, I let this for discussion
4. Note on the map: cartography needs a wash

Eliminating the total randomness is the key. The new system will be 60% exploration + 30% logic + 10% random

[bitza]

I can see no fun in the whole process because the fun is on the result. It's a lottery.

this is true for the majority of the game however.

is mining fun? not particularly, but having metal tools is.
is hunting fun? maybe for a little while but the resultant lp gain is what keeps people at it for hours.
is feasting fun? well, maybe to some people but the reason everyone does it is for the feps.
is feeding cows fun? jesus christ fuck no but having cheese and butter sure is nice.

why is this any different?

[Melgui]

why is this any different?

All of these tasks and most of the game tasks are player controlled. You can actually influence the world with your acts. Resource searching is absolutely* random, player can't do anything with it.

*except for most basic logic: water is rivers, soil in the ground, etc


edit: Another way to explain (english isn't my native language so I find it hard)

Resource search right now ---> rolling a dice
Other tasks ---> assembling a puzzle

[bitza]

ok, here's how it goes.

make a resource point visually identifiable (easier to find) and they will be quickly snatched up, claimed, walled, villaged by the old timers and hardcore players. i maintain that there are still some good resources out there in world 3 due to the fact that they AREN'T as easily identified as say, a mine.

as it is now the new guy has a very poor chance of finding a mine, but they can still strike it big with a good clay or water spot. i do agree that resource hunting is a tedious task, and one of my least favorite things to do. but making them too easy to spot will just lead to another situation similar to metal availability.

[burgingham]

Where exactly lies the problem of metal availability?

Also, maybe the problem isn't how the ressource spots are spotted, but how they can be claimed by random alt villages.

[bitza]

Where exactly lies the problem of metal availability?

as it is now the new guy has a very poor chance of finding a mine,

no comment either way on whether This Is The Way Things Should Be, noobie can buy metal from any number of sellers, but to own their own mine at this point is a long shot.

unless they want to pump linen and pepper and all that shit, the only other options for metal are to join a mine village, or hope to hit it big on a resource point. make the resource points easier to identify, and that third option is taken away. because you better believe that everyone and their mother will spend a hell of a lot of time looking for the spot in the river with the little brown patches signifying clay or whatever it would be

[Chakravanti]

What if cartography automatically documented resource checks?

[sabinati]

What if cartography automatically documented resource checks?

yeah, if you have a map in your inventory, there should be some way to note to resource samples you take, as automatically as possible