some survival tips for newbies

[kimbuck 746]

My island  seems to have  more tomb stones now, than oak trees. Constant respawning  can  lead to despondency. I post these tips , not as cheats  but  to help a newbie get a start in this very creative and  absorbing game.

1) Note your  spawn/start position. When you get the  chance mark it  and place nearby  a container  or    clearly  visible  the following: -  A spear,  a flint lighter, wood pieces,  a torch, and clothing  so you do not  freeze to death, and  something  like  stones  pointing to where your  base is located.

2) weapons.. the best weapon for  close encounters with predators  is a  spear.  then a sword. Crossbows and   bows and arrows  etc are best at long range  but take time to reload and  impossible to  aim  at close range ..,,and by the time you are ready to shoot , the predator is on top of  you,  mauling  you. Carrying a spear, you can respond  quickly to a surprise attack and  get in multiple  hits at  close range.

3) long range weapons  such as crossbows  and rifles  etc are best for  attacking a predator thats  unaware of  your presence..   move to  higher  ground with  cover, and  ensure there is a  gully or  obstruction you can fire over that will impede the  predators  response

4) wolves are in packs ..once you  dispose of one ... look around for others  before you  try to gut  the  corpse.

5) Sharks at the moment have the ability to  squeeze though  wooden decking of  ships  ... they seem to prefer to attack when you release the controls of the  ship and  are taking a snack or  looking at your map.  As soon as you hear the  "gloph-gloph" sound ... run to the front of the ship.. they will usually   come  up from behind and try to maul your  bottom  --- If you have some spears  positioned around the base of the ships mast,  you can mount a counter attack..but    be careful ...don't  swing  wildly in case you hit  your  helm.and destroy it...or   the  ships  deck ..or  you destroy  your ship!

6) gunpowder kegs ..if you find one  or  dig one up ... place it away from where you are working.. striking one  with a  tool  can cause an explosion. I was excavating a  basement in one  dwelling and  struck a keg  with my  spade...  "Kaboom" ..when respawned i returned to find the  entire  center of my house a huge  crater...no forge ..foundry, smelter   and half my  boxes of  items!

7) When  excavating ores etc   dont  dig  hastily...  you  could break through into an subterranean cavern and  find yourself  surrounded by  beasts  with glowing  eyes and luminous  spots... Best to carry  only  items of  necessity when  digging  et,  leave  expert tools  and other  high profile items  back at your base

8) after crafting  weapons with  ammo   such as crossbows and  guns,  leave a spare and some   ammo   behind  in your  base...   then you will have something to fight with when you  go to recover your  corpse contents.

Any  one else  has any survival tips? ...feel free to add them here...but   dont post anything  considered to be a "cheat"  or  exploit. Half the  fun in this  game is devising  solutions to problems ...  and also  giving the developers  ideas  to make the game  better  and   fix anything they see as being  broken.

looking forward to the  time  we can  mod  clothing  ;-)

 

 

[A3_Melle 150]

Cut down 1 thing from flora and fauna (Tree, plants fruits vegetables) will give you 3 seeds wenn you break them, if you need a lot of cotton/flax don't start spinning them but break them to seeds and plant them to get a bigger amount. If food is hard to get and you dont have much make field for example watermelon or othe vegetables/fruit.

 

If you need a lot of wood cut down most "large" trees, they give more wood and with the 3 seeds you can plant new large trees again to keep your stockpile growing a but faster. 

 

Also create a "backup" chest where you have some seeds/supplies in to survive, if you are running low on supplies (like food) you always can start planting them to keep your stockpile up for survival

[kimbuck 746]

if you see sharks waiting offshore  giving you the "hairy eyeball", it  could indicate a predator lurking  nearby, and its hoping you will try to escapeit  by running into the water. if you have a spear   prepare to stand and fight  the  predator (wolf/puma)   ..if you see it first  and attack  from behind you have a better than 75% chance of   slaying it..

try to plant nearby a  food  source (Corn.bananas..) and also  a flax/cotton source in case there's  bad weather.

When  building a refuge. try to make it 2 story, internal stairs, and  with an entrance (lockable ) on  both levels-  but the  upper level accessible by a ramp  or  stairs  illuminated by lanterns ...  that will discourage  roaming  wolves etc. from  sneaking in if a door is  left open at  night.

If you have  copper available  ..or  find a loot deposit with copper ore or an  ingot,  craft a miners helmet with the lamp ...  its  indispensable  when  it gets  dark or  when  mining,  as it allows your  hands to be free to defend yourself if necessary.

 

[BigBoss87 68]

You should be careful when cooking. 

If new players follow this, will be much more easy.

[Miguel Preguisa 443]

You can cook your food even when it's not directly in the workstation. Just lay it down around a campfire and wait. But be careful not to burn it to a pile of ash!

You can get rags for bandages really easy when in the wild. Craft Head Feathers from two feathers found in a nest and then destroy them in order to get some Rags. Now you can craft your Bandages and heal quicker. 

[WijkagentAdrie 384]

When going into caves, mark the tunnels where you came from with a pile of glowing crystals! If you're clever you use blue crystals in desert islands and red crystals in islands with blue crystals  

Also, pick up any huge mushrooms, they are very usable to make staircases and bridges in caves, plus you can pick them up and use them again.

[kimbuck 746]

after crafting a map   and  pencil,  put the map in a dynamic slot so it will update as you move around ...but check occasionally to make sure that your pencil is  not broken or  the map will not  update.

Bears are formidable  opponents...hard to kill. so if you see one, be careful  and  try to avoid  direct  conflict. .., they are usually  resting... so  try a long range attack with a crossbow/gun. 

A fishing rod  can be  handy  for supplementary food. craft a pole, rope and  needle and try your  luck ..its   easier than in  real life!

Have fun!

[kimbuck 746]

Storage  boxes ..i craft from stonemasons workstations  stone letters and symbols to place on wall over boxes to identify their  contents...     eg  cu = copper,  fe =  iron   st  =  steel, s = sulphur   sa = saltpetre, gp =  gunpowder  w+a  = weapons and  ammo,  co  coal,  ch  charcoal, gl glass , sd , sand   etc 

Cabinets hold more  items  and  when  using forge, use any crafting  spots to make  extra   nails ...you  can never have  enough.

I also carry on  my  ship  some  massive logs...  at least  four, and  when  visiting an island ,  use them  as a bridge to connect   my ship to  land...   place a lantern at the land end to  discourage  predators climbing  aboard and to help you find your  way   back.

Remember, its  just a game  and its  fun.!

[kimbuck 746]

If you can build a base on the shoreline,  the better. Chose a bay with navigable  waters close in and using stone panels  construct a floor  to the waters edge, then  build  up  your walls and  ceiling.  As soon as possible , build a  strong  door  at each exit to  keep out  predators a,d    other animals  like goats  rabbits  crabs etc  that will wander in and interrupt your  sleep. Put in an internal staircase to a  2nd level ..and  put up a tower  and decorate it with lanterns ...it  will help you locate your base  should you get caught outside in bad light.

Extend your  pier out to  navigable  waters...      and  on 2 levels ...one at  ship deck  height  so you can  build and  avoid  sharks ...and  another at the other side of  your  ship  at sea level  ..to make a   U  shaped  dock ..   so you have some means to scramble to safety if you accidentally   fall into the water   and there are sharks  around.  

I found it helpful to put a barrier around the side of  your ship ..and use container/boxes ... that way it   gives you some guidance  not to  fall overboard..and  you  have places to store  needed things  and   stuff obtained form other islands.

It  is wise to put on your ship  spare tools  and materials on your  ship to  do repairs..   once  after  having a  snack i  accidentally clicked the mouse button too often and punched the  helm of my ship ...destroying it! Luckily I  managed to swim ashore ..and   return via a raft with  materials to  re build the helm. Needless to say i  was pursued  by sharks  both times!

Its best   to not  start on building a ship until after you have your  base built and secured... i would gather up  all the  flax/cotton i came across and planted  it  near my base,  harvesting it to  get more seed and expanding the plantation. By  the time you are ready to build your ship  you will have  enough  flax/cotton to build  more than enough  cloth for  sails etc

 

 

[kimbuck 746]

This is my  dock area,  with  twin bays  for mooring and   modifying  ships  ... thats my base in the background, and to the right you can see the flax plantation. The  3  palm trees are an aid to  navigation

Note the  horizontal barricade/walkway around the  S.S. Ridiculous ..its intention is to  prevent  sharks getting on board.

[kimbuck 746]

When exploring, besides having  a long  range weapon ( crossbow, rifle etc.,  and a short range weapon ( spear, sabre)  always carry an  axe, spade and hammer  and repair kit. This  can be helpful in rescuing  yourself if you get caught in one of the instances  of  getting stuck and  being unable to become unstuck. The  repair  kit  will save you if your  axe/hammer/spade  breaks.

I needed the spade to  dig  out   my  grounded  ship ...and another time  after using a ladder on an abandoned fort i became   stuck in the  brick wall. Several  hours with a  hammer i managed to break out.

When  jumping   aboard your  ship or on   the  front of  your ship,  be careful  around the  bow  area. There is obviously an area there that contains  collision scripts that allows the  ship to detect objects  in front of it. If  your avatar  hits  one of these areas  you end  up being tossed  skywards higher  than the  mast..and  falling back to die either on the front  deck ...with half your  belongings on the deck and the other half with the  sharks  on  the sea bottom. 

Whenever you see feathers,  or  a  seagull  or  ostrich that's in a position for you harvest,  gather their feathers .. they are needed for  arrows and  crossbow  bolts. The feathers  can be a hard to get resource.. and once you collect them  they do not  regenerate... so grab them  when you see them.

A  mining helmet is  ideal to craft asap ...  you need copper  glass   to  make a flashlight first ...    but the helmet gives you hands free lighting...useful if   caught outside and there's  predators around and you need to carry a weapon.

[Eriugam 4]

I don't know if this question is best asked in this thread, anyway..

Is Ylands procedurally generated? I am attempting to create a survival island experience, as such. But I couldn't help but notice that I only seem to spawn in two different locations.

[kimbuck 746]

You will find  shark hotspots....i have  located one sth west  of my base and   sharks  spawn  en masse there. However my  new ship,  the S.S. Ridiculous is  now passing through that area unharmed, the  defense barrier proving effective. The first  screenshot  shows   what i have  done, and if i ever rebuild the ship, the  rear panels  would be  sloped, so that shark  corpses  can slide off.  As to effectiveness,  check the next  two screen shots ...a  total of  15 sharks tried to take a bite ..but  failed... 

So to survive these   aggressive sharks ... this is  one  possible  solution.

[kimbuck 746]

Need help navigating?  Found your  island, but  where is your base?

If your  home base is on a coastline,  try leveling land  nearby  for cotton/ flax/ food plantations .. then use the  dirt collect to  build  out  into the  ocean,  as  far as you can, covering any  shallow   water or   shoals and leaving a  deep water  channel  to your  dock / pier. Reclaimed land like this  appears  brown on your map, and  with clever placement of a large  amount  you can  actually  make  signs pointing towards your base and   dock  entry. You can  also level this  reclaimed land and  use it for  food / resource  plantations.

Also plant on the  shoreline palm trees...   in groups of  even  numbers on one side  ..and    odd numbers on the other .. the  number  increasing  the  farther  the distance  from your base.  So when you approach  your  island and  see a cluster of trees odd in number  then you know  you are possibly  to the  right of your base...  look for the  next group ..if its  more,  then you are moving away ... so  turn back and follow the   groups with  decreasing  numbers  to you  base.   

A tower on the end of your  pier with a lantern ..or  better still one of those  glowing crystals,  will  help navigating in bad weather. I make my dock "U shaped,  wider than my ship and  one  side  high ( deck)  level, and the other at waterline level ...  and  back  my ship  into it.  make sure the  waterline level  has a  raised area  and a wall  to escape any sharks  that follow  you in and try to  grab you when  dis-embarking.   Also  dumping  dirt under the  pier  thwarts  lurking  sharks.

Will post a screenshot  of  my efforts   after i  tidy  my build  up a bit

. 

[kimbuck 746]

This  is a map of  my island... the  top right hand  area that is  brown is reclaimed  land from the ocean, and you can see the shape  of  my   dock/pier. The  next  screenshot  shows the reclaimed  area  around the  dock  planted with   bananas and  corn.

Hope this  gives you all ideas and  helps.

[kimbuck 746]

Another view of the  dock..pier area....   its  only  just wide  enough for my ship,, but  surprisingly  easy to   sail in and out  In the background is  my base ... there's plans  for a  2nd  story.  But   all put on hold until i find  some  more  ores etc... early no iron ore on this island!...but luckily  enough  on a nearby island.

Another tip ...always  include spare  weapons on your  ship in case you get mauled to death  by a wolf / puma/ panther etc.  I  suspected one was nearby as sharks were waiting in the water nearby to  block any escape. Sure  enough one   attacked from the shadows ..i managed to dispose of  it only  to be  slain by two others! Made it back to  my ship on respawn and  grabbed a spare spear...  returned and  dispatched one panther  ...but before i could recover my loot etc  the  third arrived out of  nowhere and   got his revenge. Upon respawn i  was moving back to my ship hoping to get another  spear  when that  elusive  panther  No. 3 jumped  me  again  - .and i had  no weapons !!  Believe it or  not, i   punched  him with  my bare hands   ..one hit and he dropped!

So .. here's a warning ...watch out for me on a dark  night after i have been drinking  

[kimbuck 746]

I you have access to bamboo...   make  bamboo storage  chests  to use as barriers  around the edge of you ship .  Bamboo chests do not require  iron/nails  to craft and  will help to  stop  you accidentally  falling over the side if you push the wrong  key.  If you put a brazier  on board near the helm , it will keep you warm  but  make a stone  fireplace to cover it so you can light it.  You  cannot light an outside  fire in  snow/rain etc, so  it pays to light the brazier in advance..   it  will stay  alight  providing light and warmth  except in the  severest  storms.

When visiting  other islands,  always   take a sample  of the  flora  available  to  replant  on your  home base island...  Some of the items  might be useful in Alchemy.

If you get a aggressive  shark and it  "sticks"  into the side  of your  ships  hull,    try   sailing in circles .. the   shark will "rotate" and in some cases   slip  off an away.   Killing  a shark embedded in your ships hull will see the  ship become  de-stabilised ... and can even get stuck on shoals  etc...   so  only  kill  embedded  sharks  where   its  safe to recover you  ship easily ..    ( make sure anchor is  down).

If you  have an area to  mine  rock/marble,  construct several stone masons  crafting  stations  adjacent... that way you can   make  items  while still digging.

I  take  some  dirt,  stone panels and  logs with me on my ship...  and have a  staircase and platform  at the side of my ship facing the  bow. That way it easy to  nudge  you ship  close to land near a shoal,  and then  build a dirt causeway to land... with a couple of  stone panels  as a bridge to you ship. Dont place the stone  panels  where they could  foul  your  ships  structure  if you need to "back out"

Smile  a lot .. those sharks  are  really friendly

 

[kimbuck 746]

These tips need  updating now that the crafting tree has changed ..so will post a collection of them  after  the steam release ... perhaps in a new thread for the  new  steam powered ylanders