Trees, Forests, Jungles...

[Loopoo]

Alright, i'm pretty baffled at the idea of having so few trees, seeing as they're an integral part of building up a settlement. Now, i'm all for the increased amount of trees around the map (more trees towards the outside of the map, and fewer towards the center. This promotes migration.) but I wouldn't want a huge overhaul that made the game too easy.

I was hoping you could just bolster up the amount of trees, or increase their growth rate or how fast the tree can send out seedlings to grow around it (seedlings just being a 5 x 5 square that it can cause trees to grow in). Now, a problem that arises from this is having your settlement pocked with trees, but if the tree sends out a seed, they could perhaps wait a few days before sprouting, perhaps? This way, you could cut down the saplings easily and keep your town clean. And, if by chance, you stumbled upon a settlement overgrown with trees, it'd show it is abandoned, so you could loot it without worrying about the repercussions

I think this is a much more realistic idea, because in the old times when we were all rangers, living in wooden cabins and living off the land, i'm pretty darn sure we wouldn't walk miles to get a tree, seeing as we'd build in a thick forest. I remember times looking for spots of land and walking for ages and ages with my cart behind me (I move around a lot, to one day stumble upon my dream location :p) and I only get a few trees every 2-3 screens, which is quite silly.

So yeah, a overhaul on trees would be amazing. It'd make the game much more fun, yet not too easy. Perhaps lowering the needs for buildings as well, I mean, 100 log blocks for a house and 50 boards? A log gives 12 or so boards so you'd need like 20 good trees... And seeing there are usually 2-3 trees every 2-3 screens, it'd take a lot of walking and searching.

Just my 2 cents on the idea, i'm sure it'd speed up the gameplay mechanics and make it more interesting. Seeing a little settlement run by one guy covered by trees would be quite pretty

Lastly, just wanted to add: It doesn't have to be like this all over the place. I thought we could have "hotspots" or something along those lines, where there are more trees than normal. Obviously, to stop people flocking to these places, you could place em further out, in dangerous zones with dangerous wilderness (the amount of trees would balance it out, helping you build defenses easily). So, it would end up branching out into having forests, plains, jungles (trees with the little shrubs you sometimes see on light green grass areas...) and deserts (more of a pro-challenge for the experienced users).

I thought it'd spice up the game a bit and increase the speed of the game, rather than having most of the time cutting down trees and carting em all off back to base, which is time-consuming and keeps you from enjoying the blissful side of the game, such as farming and cooking etc.

And a side-note: To stop the tree-cutters who constantly cut trees for easy experience and to grief, perhaps you could add a durability on axes. IE, the more you use an axe, the more damaged it gets, so you have to create a new one. This'd stop people from going all out and chopping trees down left, right and center. To make stone axes, you'd need some materials, but it'd deter griefers who are too lazy I suppose.

Just something for you to all think of

[kobnach]

It's called the tragedy of the commons - shared resources get used up by the greediest people, who also don't bother to replace what they use. Once that starts, everyone else can either behave the same way - or have even less of the resource (wood) than the greedy ones. Eventually the resources are either completely destroyed (Easter island ) or privatized. So now we see plantations in claims, plantations in palisades, and surviving trees where the local animals are too tough for newbies... plus the handful that public spirited people have planted outside.

If this were just a building game, that would be unacceptable, and the devs would pretty much have to make trees respawn. But both the devs and many vocal people want pvp conflict - and what better to fight about than scarce resources? Thus not having wood to build with - particularly if you join late, and don't become part of an established group - is supposed to be part of the fun.

It's pretty silly when _branches_ are required for just about anything a brand new character can do to get LP, except chipping stones. (And boulders are also easy to destroy for LP, though they can be replaced by players who dig cellars to their houses.) But perhaps the devs could address this by adding bushes - no LP or worthwhile materials for destroying them, and provide branches - perhaps also edible berries, to replace apple trees getting chopped for wood and/or malice. (To prevent malicious destruction, it should be difficult to get rid of them, or they could respawn.) Alternatively the devs could implement some other starting activity to get initial LP.

[Edit - in case the OP doesn't know, trees don't respawn at all; they can only be replaced by players actively planting them.]

[jorb]

The new maps will have *a lot* more forested land.

[Loopoo]

How long till you release this new map? I think the current map is about 60% full of abandoned homes where people have come and gone. Wicker Baskets dot the horizon as far as the eye can see. I really think a new map restart would be amazing. Everyone would rush out to pitch up their own tents and homes and it would be nice :p

[jorb]

We've spent two dev sessions on it. I expect at least three more before we're done.

[sabinati]

But perhaps the devs could address this by adding bushes - no LP or worthwhile materials for destroying them, and provide branches - perhaps also edible berries, to replace apple trees getting chopped for wood and/or malice.

this is a cool idea