Various questions from a new player

[jonottawa]

Hello, I'm fairly new to the game and I have a few questions.

Can pets freeze to death without getting wet? (Like on the coldest night of the year.)

If I hit an animal with a javelin and it runs away, will that javelin remain in the game forever or does it disappear when that animal is killed by another animal? Or can that animal just disappear?

I've had ravens steal my food before. I've encountered robbers who beat me within an inch of my life and took stuff from me. But other than that, I've never had someone take something I left behind (at least that I noticed.) So, aside from animals stealing food and robbers demanding that you hand over some stuff or else will someone take something you left on the map somewhere? Like, if I drop a few furs at a shelter, will they ALWAYS be there when I get back or is there some possibility that they'll disappear?

Can you get randomly murdered in your sleep? Like theoretically, a fox could kill you if he found you asleep at a shelter, no?

If you choose the boost stats reward for the tutorial, what is the specific bonus? I assume you can't boost a stat if the bar is full already (like if it's at maximum)?

Is there a crafting penalty depending on the time of day? Is there a crafting penalty based on how vigourous you're feeling? Is there a crafting penalty if you're cool or cold or if you're hot and sweaty? Is there a crafting penalty based on your nutrition level (assuming you're not starving)? Or is the crafting outcome purely based on your skills, whatever penalty is displayed, and RNG? For example, if I'm tanning a skin and it says that I failed to maintain the quality of the skin, does it give me a better chance if I tan the skin as soon as I wake up, fill my stomach and drink?

Is there any disadvantage to being Hot and Sweaty? Is there any disadvantage to being Cool? Or do all disadvantages happen when you're either Cold or colder than that?

Answers to any of the above would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Privateer]

Hello, I'm fairly new to the game and I have a few questions.

Can pets freeze to death without getting wet? (Like on the coldest night of the year.)

No

If I hit an animal with a javelin and it runs away, will that javelin remain in the game forever or does it disappear when that animal is killed by another animal? Or can that animal just disappear?

The animal will continue to carry the weapon till it dies. Animals can eventually de-spawn.

I've had ravens steal my food before. I've encountered robbers who beat me within an inch of my life and took stuff from me. But other than that, I've never had someone take something I left behind (at least that I noticed.) So, aside from aesnimals stealing food and robbers demanding that you hand over some stuff or else will someone take something you left on the map somewhere? Like, if I drop a few furs at a shelter, will they ALWAYS be there when I get back or is there some possibility that they'll disappear?

The answer used to be yes, now as npc's are evolving, they may pick up random items in the world eg: treasure troves.
I believe the vast majority of your items / stacks /stashes are still safe.

Can you get randomly murdered in your sleep? Like theoretically, a fox could kill you if he found you asleep at a shelter, no?

Sheep are passive, but if you anger them it is possible. I've been gored to death by a cow.

If you choose the boost stats reward for the tutorial, what is the specific bonus? I assume you can't boost a stat if the bar is full already (like if it's at maximum)?

I don't know.

Is there a crafting penalty depending on the time of day? Is there a crafting penalty based on how vigourous you're feeling? Is there a crafting penalty if you're cool or cold or if you're hot and sweaty? Is there a crafting penalty based on your nutrition level (assuming you're not starving)? Or is the crafting outcome purely based on your skills, whatever penalty is displayed, and RNG? For example, if I'm tanning a skin and it says that I failed to maintain the quality of the skin, does it give me a better chance if I tan the skin as soon as I wake up, fill my stomach and drink?

Tasks are set when you initiate them, they do not 'sample' your penalty as the task runs to adjust to final product.
"crafting outcome purely based on your skills, whatever penalty is displayed, and RNG?" Is a valid view.

Is there any disadvantage to being Hot and Sweaty? Is there any disadvantage to being Cool? Or do all disadvantages happen when you're either Cold or colder than that?

Only cold need be monitored, at this time hot sweaty etc. have no negative impact.

[PALU]

I doubt a fox could kill you in your sleep, as that would mean an initial attack that was fatal (or at least rendered your unconscious), since anything else would wake you up. A large predator might be able to, as might a human (robber or njerp).
Note that many animals prefer to flee when possible, with only the large predators being persistent without provocation.

Robbers and njerps have been picking up weapons for a fair while.

Stat rewards boost your stats, which may not be directly visible, but you can e.g. move faster even if the displayed numbers differ (I have seen them change), resist fainting better, see further, etc, fumble less often, trip less often, etc.
I assume you can't increase ones already at the maximum.

As mentioned, crafting is dependent on the skill, penalties, tools, and RNG. Tiredness is different from fatigue, and may cause you to be disallowed to begin some tasks and break off tasks that can be resumed partway through, but other tasks will continue to completion unless you abort them (sometimes resulting in the character falling asleep immediately when it completes). Available light does not have any effect currently. Starvation and injuries give penalties as displayed.

Getting cold can cause you to eventually get hypothermia and die unless you have means to warm up (and it's possible to die while trying to light a fire with failure after failure...). Long tasks can have you getting colder and colder, with the game giving you warnings to allow you to cancel the tasks.
As mentioned, heat stroke isn't implemented (nor is heat retention from jumping into ice cold water directly from a sauna: it works fine in real life, but not in UrW: you'll immediately gets freezing cold).

[jonottawa]

Thanks for answering my questions! Here are some more:

Is there something better than a masterwork club and a table to turn rinsed skin into fur with? Either in speed or in result? Is a tree trunk and a stone just as effective as anything else?

If it's pitch black outside, you're travelling on the overland map (the zoomed out map) and you can't see in front of your nose, will the game let you walk into freezing cold water without giving you the pop-up warning?

If I'm using a spear with the blunt aspect, is that as effective at preserving skin quality as using something like a club or a mace (which ONLY do blunt damage) would be? Or can you accidentally do point damage even when you selected blunt?

Is there a weapon of choice to preserve skins from damage? Currently I'm using a mace, but is 5 whacks with a club going to preserve the skin better than 2 with a mace would?

I've heard that humans can (theoretically) outrun any animal over a long enough distance. Maybe that's not true. Is it true in this game? If I follow a wolf or a dog for days am I likely to eventually tire it out?

If I kill someone (say a Njerpez) who is out for a stroll with his dog, is there any way to rehabilitate/adopt the dog or do I have to either kill it too or run it off?

If you have 100% climbing skill and let's say full light green blunt protection, can you still die from falling out of a tree? Does the game EVER kill you outright from falling out of a tree? Sharing falling out of tree with catastrophic injury stories would be welcome.

Does feeding a dog elk bones reduce their performance compared to feeding them raw meat cuts? Or is it just more time consuming for them to eat? Why does a dog sometimes bark at me when I feed it bones (a few ticks after I've gotten the happy look message,) especially when I look away?

Does fishing in rapids with nets in the dead of winter damage nets more than fishing in rapids with nets in summer?

I got a quest that requires you to stand on a tiny (1 tile) island in the middle of a lake at midnight. Are there any 1 tile islands in lakes that you can access or is that quest a troll or can the island be slightly bigger than 1 tile? (You might be able to tell that I've done a lot of searching for 1 tile islands, which are fairly common in rivers but seem to be either rare or nonexistent in lakes (unless they're unclimbable from every angle.)

I had some mixed answers as to how safe it is to leave items around on the map, say at a shelter. Is it at least 100% safe to leave things in your settlement/cabin with the door closed or will NPC's open the door and go in and get stuff?

Thanks in advance again for answers to any of the above.

[Privateer]

Hi,

Club, a masterwork club will better your chances of maintaining the quality over the stages. Stone/rock are decent quality clubs.

Dark, no the game protects you from walking in water whether you see it or not.

blunt, this attack preserves the hide the most, blunt with a rock does 1hp dmg. Blunt with a weapon designed with blunt does more health dmg, finishing prey more quickly.

weapon: clubs are best to save the hides.

Running, Chasing down live prey in game is as expected difficult at best. Generally active hunting requires some preparation.

NPC's dog, I know that you could eventually leash animals in wiped out settlements, I do not know if this has been implemented with the recent dog changes.

Tree fall; Not that I know of. Even naked, generally bumps and scratches.

Feed performance; no difference from dog fed level. Bones are harder to eat and extract fulfillment from that say a 7 lb fish gulped down in one bite.

Nets, net wear should be consistent over seasons, in-game

Quest, Good luck

Safe storage, 99.x% safe

[jonottawa]

Thank-you again for answering my questions, Privateer.

And a not exactly 'gameplay' question:

Is it normal for 'map maintenance' to become more frequent as the game progresses (perhaps as more of the map is explored?)

It didn't bother me when it was once or twice an hour, but when it's every 15 seconds (as I explore new areas of the map), it's a little immersion-breaking.

[Privateer]

I've not experienced it but have seen issues posted about map maint.
Exploring lots of zoomed in tiles is thought (by me) to create possible problems.

[Tom H]

I have recovered lost javelins from piles of elk bones I've found, several times. Sometimes the creatures are just too clever for me and I lose their track when they pass through a thoroughly trodden area, and when the blood trail peters out. Then they die of blood loss and I lose the javelins. And I've recovered javelins from fully recovered, previously hunted, animals.

The one-hex islands are most easily found within rapids, although I have found them in lakes, too.

While pets never suffer from exposure, I've had Companions drown while I stood all night on a one-hex island. I'd told him to Stay! He didn't listen.

I've taken serious damage from a pet sow which I'd accidentally struck while killing a trapped animal. Attacked from behind. I've been seriously injured twice by surprise attacks by a bear from behind. Once I went over a blind hill chasing a wounded elk and stumbled immediately into a bear. Serious injury. I've never been attacked in my sleep.

When a dog barks at me after they've been fed, I usually give them another bite to eat. They often eat it. Otoh, cattle and deer will moo and snort for no reason at all.

I used to send my dogs after game to run it down. Now, I use tracking and just keep after them until they're exhausted...or escape. The best way to do this is in large areas of open-type mires where they can't use the forests to hide or slow you down. I've never had a chase last a whole day.

[jonottawa]

Privateer, yes, it's when I zoom in and zoom out a lot. On this trip I'd been doing it every tile and now it's doing map maintenance every time I zoom in.

One of my few pet peeves about the game is when you see like a wolf (or a hare) in the distance and you can just march right on top of it and 'magically' teleport directly on top of him whereas he would just run away if you tried to do that in the zoomed in map. Hunting doesn't really feel like hunting when you have the ability to teleport on top of an animal. So I tend to zoom in a lot. I also like to see the trees and not just the forest. I guess I'll have to use the overland map more and accept that teleporting is part of the game.

Tom, I considered that the quest might work in rivers and was going to try to see if it would work in a one-hex river island. But I'm pretty sure the quest-giver specifically said lakes. Anyway, I appreciate that people might not want spoilers and I'll probably find it more rewarding to work it out on my own, thanks.

I think I'll continue to send my dog after reindeer and elk, just not after wolves any more. I guess if I had a gang of them they could take on wolves, but dogs are overpowered enough without having more than one of them at a time, imo. Thanks for your reply.

[jonottawa]

A question I think I know the answer to but wanted to confirm:

There is no penalty for zig-zagging, in that one diagonal move is considered the same distance as one vertical or horizontal move (in other words if I go Northeast 5 tiles and Southeast 5 tiles I end up at the same spot in the same amount of time having expended the same 'vigour' as if I'd just gone due East 10 tiles.) Is this correct (in both the overland map and the zoomed in map)?

[Privateer]

You can hit the [7] key to force map maintenance.

 This link looks similar to your description https://www.unrealworld.fi/forums/index.php?topic=1100.msg3710#msg3710

Moving on overland map I'd say yes, terrain has no effect. On local map the amount of energy/effort to move 'East' can vary depending on terrain

[PALU]

Running down prey: No, you can't. In UrW running tires you quickly. Animals tire from running as well, but more slowly. The trick to endurance hunting animals in UrW is to keep them running while your character is walking, to get the animals breathless. Once an animal is shown to be a little tired, I can have my character run towards it to get it to start running again, and then immediately revert to walking. If a reindeer walks/runs in a straight line I've never managed to run them into the ground as they recover their breath in the time it takes my character to walk up to them, but if they twist and turn and you've got enough visibility to make shortcuts it's possible to catch up to them again while they're still recovering, chipping off a bit of breach each time you catch up to them. Once they're tired you've got a very good chance, provided they don't manage to shake you off their tail.
You can also use river/lake shores to get animals to run back and forth until they tire.

Excessive map maintenance: Never happened to me even with a character that had been played for about 10 years (maintenance happened occasionally, sure, but not excessively so). It's some kind of bug, although I guess you might get issues if UrW can somehow detect that the game is running out of memory on marginal hardware.

[marginoferror]

In real life I believe persistence hunting wears down prey in part by preventing them from drinking, eating, sleeping, etc. over a long period. In the game, this isn't modeled for prey animals; if they get down to 0% fatigue by walking while you're still catching up, it's as if the slate was totally clean (for them, but maybe not for you!). Therefore, any sort of delay in reaching the prey, for instance by being confused by another trail briefly or losing the trail in the forest for a while, will certainly reset your progress completely. But if you avoid those delays, you can still run them down if you're fast, lucky and have excellent tracking and visibility.

Since most of my arrow shots at best wound my prey, I usually end up running them down anyways, just with the prey at a modest disadvantage. Usually I wait for the prey to look slightly fatigued (if it's not wounded, then I have to wait all the way to fatigued) and then run it down at full tilt. If you can match the prey's speed at a full run at any point, then you can run it down to 100% fatigue in short order, as there's a snowball effect where it has to exert itself harder to cover ever less ground.

I tried to run down an elk calf over ice, separating it from its parent. It was trivial; they were MUCH slower than an adult. But, the process produced hardly any meat or skin and also I felt kind of bad.

[PALU]

Yes, marginoferror made a very good point I forgot: Prey tires considerably faster when injured, and is particularly useful if it hinders their movement (hobbled, etc.).

[Labtop 215]

Actually, characters with high speed, endurance, and heavy body weight (body weight helps you carry more, which means minimal equipment weighs you down less) can run down big game like elk, reindeer, and stag.  You need to be fully zoomed out, and you need to take walking breaks when you no longer see the animal, but you can run down big game directly.  Works best in early spring, when there is some snow on the ground.  Enough to leave tracks, but preferably not enough to fatigue you while walking.

High tracking skill helps, as does persistance hunting in pine forests (not spruce forests or spruce mires), and persistance hunting along a river or body of water.

Some animals are generated with better stamina, or speed, but not all of them are.  Also, cubs tend to be slower, so if you want to play dirty, injuring the cub and then staying a small distance away, will cause the mother to come back and then run away constantly.  She wont (or at least shouldn't) tire herself out this way, but this can be a way to potentially take 2 animals down at once.  Cub meat and fur gains have been nerfed in recent versions, but if your character is starving, killing the cub is still a way to deal with your hunger for the next few months, if you preserve it correctly.

Running down animals directly isn't normally how your supposed to hunt though.



Also, I have lost characters while falling out of a tree that I told them to climb.  The most gruesome one was a fairly fresh male Kamoulious archer that I rolled up with high stats.  I had just finished skinning and butchering a stag and was weighed down to nearly my carry limit for that character.  I tried climbing a tree, having forgotten to drop the heavy load, and he fell out of the tree after climbing about like 35, maybe 45 feet up the tree.  Landed on his crotch and died instantly.