Trees, sticks and crafting

[ebrim 998]

Hey guys so a few patches ago we entered this new universe where a stick was a stick and bark was bark. While this does serve the purpose of simplifying tree-based crafting, I'm just not super sold on the change and increasingly I keep hoping patches will revert in some way to the previous system.

Birch bark makes great tinder because birch bark is quite special in the amount of oils and such it contains. Other bark won't work nearly as well for the purpose.

Ashwood sticks were required to be supple and other sticks just aren't equivalent.

Make ashwoods required for bows and fishing rods again. Make birch bark the bark tinder. I see no reason to restrict hand drills in similar way, just about any stick and base could do for that. Also I like being able to take a long stick (for splitting or cooking) from any tree as it stands currently.

Edited May 18, 2016 by ebrim

[Deathlove 2286]

Crafting in GENERAL needs to be more prevalent in the game overall. We have to many manufactured goods making crafting just a side hobby if anything.

So many ways and opportunities to craft things that just have not been put in yet for survival purposes.

[Whyherro123 2283]

1 hour ago, ebrim said:

Hey guys so a few patches ago we entered this new universe where a stick was a stick and bark was bark. While this does serve the purpose of simplifying tree-based crafting, I'm just not super sold on the change and increasingly I keep hoping patches will revert in some way to the previous system.

Birch bark makes great tinder because birch bark is quite special in the amount of oils and such it contains. Other bark won't work nearly as well for the purpose.

Ashwood sticks were required to be supple and other sticks just aren't equivalent.

Make ashwoods required for bows and fishing rods again. Make birch bark the bark tinder. I see no reason to restrict hand drills in similar way, just about any stick and base could do for that. Also I like being able to take a long stick (for splitting or cooking) from any tree as it stands currently.

I actually like the fact that the "long stick" used for crafting doesn't have to be ashwood, anymore. It is actually realistic.  I have many different bows from many different woods before, and believe me or not, but when you get down to the nitty-gritty of actually making the bow, most whitewoods will actually behave basically the same. It is eminently possible to make a bowstave from almost any wood, so long as you vary the width and length of the limbs. I have made bows from oak, ash, birch, and even pine, and all performed "well enough" to legally hunt with in Massachusetts. My current bow is birch.

While I wouldn't be averse to having to search for ash trees again, I would find it annoying. Not because they are particularly rare, but because it amounts to little more than artificial difficulty.

Speaking of primitive crafting, birch bark in and of itself can be a wonderful material. I find it absolutely magical to make things from.

If you don't have a metal pot to cook with, why not make one from birch bark? This container can also be used as a container for holding things. I personally have made a belt-pouch from birchbark, and it can be scaled up to a backpack with little difficulty.

You would use pine resin (already in the game) to waterproof the seams

Once you finish the pot, you heat up some rocks in the embers and dump them into the pot

 

[veshcula 13]

ray mears... if only the devs @Hicks_206 (DayZ) would follow stuff like this or at least know... the survival aspect of this game would take LEAPS instead of baby steps.. 
there are so many awesome things that could be done in dayz. survival wise.. crafting wise..

yes crafting is still in dev. big time.. I know that.. stuff is all subject to change.. etc. etc. etc.

but this gives people good ideas on what to do with their free time.. or the fact that in 30-40 patches gorka military/ttsko/cargo pants/hunting pants-jackets etc.

aren't that easy to come by anymore.. nor would the backpacks be 'up for grabs' after 5 min of running through cherno
forcing people to craft their own stuff... and wear more primitive clothing instead of 50 slots worth of ammo/guns/med supplies.. because they sport full TTSKO/high cap vest/plate carrier+pouches and a mountain backpack or hunting backpack

Edited May 18, 2016 by veshcula

[Irish. 4886]

#placeholder brah.. 

[Bludy 324]

if there were more animals i'd be happy with how crafting is.

[ebrim 998]

Whyherro, thanks for the effort in reply and I appreciate the point you make about being able to use other white woods for the bowmaking. Where I disagree, however, is that restricting what tree you're using is needless difficulty. I used to enjoy ashwood hunting as it was a rather simple but still largely entertaining mini-goal in the game. Starting fires has gone from quite difficult until you found matches to absolutely trivial everywhere. There's a nice middle-ground in there that I'd like to see DayZ move toward.

This all said, I wonder if fire-starting/making is going to be included in the soft-skill set when they start getting implemented. Perhaps the crafting know-how to even create a fire drill will require quite a few fires started and be a somewhat difficult endeavor. I guess we'll see.

[Whyherro123 2283]

22 minutes ago, ebrim said:

Whyherro, thanks for the effort in reply and I appreciate the point you make about being able to use other white woods for the bowmaking. Where I disagree, however, is that restricting what tree you're using is needless difficulty. I used to enjoy ashwood hunting as it was a rather simple but still largely entertaining mini-goal in the game. Starting fires has gone from quite difficult until you found matches to absolutely trivial everywhere. There's a nice middle-ground in there that I'd like to see DayZ move toward.

This all said, I wonder if fire-starting/making is going to be included in the soft-skill set when they start getting implemented. Perhaps the crafting know-how to even create a fire drill will require quite a few fires started and be a somewhat difficult endeavor. I guess we'll see.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree on ashwood being required. I find it quite annoying, even if there is an ash tree every couple hundred yards. It is the same thing with The Long Dark requiring maple for bowstaves and birch for arrows. Just .... why?

I, too, agree that firemaking has become trivial with the introduction of the hand-drill. Even with the chance for failure.

One thing I must comment on: the hand-drill method is literally the most difficult "primitive" firestarting method there is. It takes quite a long time, even if you are skilled. This should be reflected in-game. 

"Modern" methods should be fast and easy, but in limited (and dependent on) supply. Matches, lighter fluid, all run out

"Primitive" methods should be slow and difficult, but you could go out into the woods at any time to gather the necessary materials.

One thing I would like to see is the ability to carry fire with you, in the form of embers. You take some punky wood, set it to smouldering on the fire, pack it in leaves/more punky wood, and set it in a container (empty can, etc). When you get to the next campsite, you build your fire, dump the embers into the tinder, and blow it to flame.

Many "primitive" peoples would do this instead of starting new fires, namely because using primitive methods is a giant throbbing pain in the ass.