More realistic ways to cut down a palm tree

[Omen3608]

Cutting down a palm tree (albeit it will have a reappearance in the next update), with an axe made of stone, or even a metal axe that has been submerged in salt water for who knows how long, doesn't make any sense at all.

Even if you were able to chop down a palm tree in real life, the wood wouldn't really help you in any way as it is way to hard for a "survivor" to handle with his makeshift tools.

Us moderators were discussing ways of actual use the other day and are wondering if there would be any community input as to how palm wood, the bark, or other parts (maybe apart from the obvious coconuts and palm fronds) could be of any realistic use to a survivor.

We are aware that this is supposed to be a game after all, so any input should be taken with respect... cutting the palm tree itself is rediculous enough, so no nerd wars are necessary. :)

[La Grenouille Dangereuse]

Originally posted by Omen3608:

Cutting down a palm tree (albeit it will have a reappearance in the next update), with an axe made of stone, or even a metal axe that has been submerged in salt water for who knows how long, doesn't make any sense at all.

Even if you were able to chop down a palm tree in real life, the wood wouldn't really help you in any way as it is way to hard for a "survivor" to handle with his makeshift tools.

Us moderators were discussing ways of actual use the other day and are wondering if there would be any community input as to how palm wood, the bark, or other parts (maybe apart from the obvious coconuts and palm fronts) could be of any realistic use to a survivor.

We are aware that this is supposed to be a game after all, so any input should be taken with respect... cutting the palm tree itself is rediculous enough, so no nerd wars are necessary. :)

Well for starters, I'm not sure if you have seen it on Palm trees but they have this bark/ hair on them which you can use to make fire if you have then given materials. That can be one way to use it. Second, the wood on Palm trees is flammable. They're loaded with flammable material and are basically shaped like giant candles; so using them as "Wood sticks" would be fine. Also, you can cut the palm tree down, cut it into PLANKS and use that for building and crafting things such as rafts, a house, storage, etc. If you want to be even more creative, create plumbing with a whole bunch of Palm trees for filtered water or a certain way to collect rain water! It all goes down to the possibilities of what the Devs can make happen. I'm happy to give any ideas since they appear to me at an instant so I'm here at disposal!

- Teh Saten

[Omen3608]

Devs can make anything happen as they are working with a computerized version of the real thing. We want to know why cutting down palm trees is actually a thing even if it serves no purpose, especially as most people are calling for a realistic survival game. :)

Cutting a palm into planks should be out of the question, while on the other hand I love your idea of using the "hair" as tinder (?). :)

[Omen3608]

I would also like to show you guys how people, who "know" what they are doing, struggle to just cut a branch off a tree (by no means the size of a palm tree trunk)...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ3JXM3suh8

[PartyPyrate]

I think at most you might be able to use palm logs as raft buoys. Will have to confirm buoyancy though. Also I do like the thought that it should trash an axe. I don't think you should be able to process the trunks further than logs.

Bark as tinder is very good. And fronds have a plethora of uses.

[Kurt3100]

People are sadly mistaken this tree/Plant for lumber... Not possible, I have these where I'm from. Their only use is to Harvest for it's goods not lumber. So to actually chop this down would be pointless, Yes I say give them option to chop it down but take away durability -200%. The tools would NOT! Last at all, if this is added for lumber not a realistic survival.

[Vinny]

I don't know where these ideas come from, but a palm tree is not as hard to cut down as a regular hardwood or pine tree. The wood is softer. It is not especially good for lumber but it was certainly used for logs. It can be used to build frames for buildings and the fronds can be woven into baskets or walls and thatched to make roofs.. The heartwood of a palm tree is edible (those palm hearts for salad actually come from palm trees). Palm sap can be fermented into wine.

http://www.palmtreepassion.com/palm-tree-uses.html#.VsOAMNApdrU

[Vinny]

Here is another article specifically dealing with the use of the coconut palm for lumber:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut_timber

[Lonesome 77]

I could see the bark tinder and fronds, as well as the coconuts of course, as being the ways to use a palm. We need to consider that the palm wood is not the only building material anymore for structures, or a raft. So if/since it's unrealistic to process a palm tree as easily as it was in the earlier version(s), then at least we have a variety of other options which work fine.

I've been having no real trouble building, or beginning construction on, more or less extravagant rafts/buildings, without the palm wood right now.

A quick question, would palm fronds be at all a sensible idea for a makeshift bandage? It just came to my mind. I'm kind of doubting it would be safe. But then again you can already use just random cloth, as a bandage, so...

[Lonesome 77]

Now, fermenting wine from the palm...he at least has a point there... ;)

[Vinny]

Originally posted by NoNamesLeftToUse:

Vinny, your article clearly states the wood is hard "harder than oak when cured". Also, the few uses for the actual wood described in that article require treatment. Just looking at the pictures proves it's heavily laquered. This is a survival game, not a home furnishing building game. That article even states the palms used to be "garbage" but no anymore. The use of machines to move the logs, as well as machines for processing....and then chemical treatment for longevity mean they CAN be used today. In a survival situation, pointless. I challenge you to go build a stone axe and cut down a 40 foot high palm tree, then move it, all by yourself.

I have cutdown palms with a store bought hand ax, similar to the one in the game. It may seem strange to you, but palm trees start out small and then grow over time. They come in different sizes. They are much easier to cut down than most trees. People have used stone axes and adzes for tens of thousands of years to cut palm, oak and other woods, and to shape that wood into planks.

You might want to read that article again, and possibly some history about the polynesian people, who have lived in that part of the world and used palm trees for wood and other uses since pre-historic times.

Besides, we are talking about a game with fresh water aquarium fish living in the Pacific ocean.
I don't think the issue of whether I am strong enough to lift a palm tree of a given size is an issue.

[La Grenouille Dangereuse]

Small thought. This is a survival game correct? Also a semi-realistic game? Not sure. Important word here is "game" and although the challenge of cutting down ANY tree is very labor heavy it is a big challenge to cut it down, process, etc. Personally I like the system of SD on cutting the palm trees as it is but I wouldn't mind if it took longer and more "steps" to get wood and use it as firewood (IF the tree is already dead). That's another thing, maybe the devs should add dead trees and live trees. Live trees could be used as logs for building structures while the dead trees used for firewood depending on which type of tree that is.

[Vinny]

Originally posted by NoNamesLeftToUse:

Trees grow? I thought they just magically appeared. You're right, that does sound strange to me ~end sarcasm. I realize people have used primitive tools for thousands of years to manipulate the world around them. I also know they didn't do it alone, but worked together. I don't require a history lesson. I can simply think back to all the times I've been out in the wilderness enjoying instances of mock survival. Even if I ate the wrong mushrooms, I still can't see myself chopping down a healthy tree. What would be the point? I can't burn it, it's still living and therefore "wet". I can't split it into planks, because it must cure (and palms don't split well anyway). I don't have a rotary saw blade either (which is how they make planks from this material). I don't have any chemicals to treat the wood, so after all that effort it will dry out and crumble away. Meanwhile, I'm supposed to be surviving, not building fancy furniture and nice siding for my hut. I'm looking at it more from a survival perspective. I know palms can have many uses.....I just wouldn't be out there killing myself to achieve them, in a survival situation.

Palm hearts are pretty well known as a survival food. People have used the wood from coconut palms for centuries before they and rotary saws or "chemicals to treat the wood" and it didn't dry out or crumble. More common lumbers like oak or pine must be dried before using too, so there is no difference there.

The fact that palm wood isn't valuable for making fine furnature isn't going to matter in a survival situation, you have to use what you have. Palm wood would be much more realistic than using driftwood, which is likely to be palm wood anyway.

It's all a design choice for the developers , but there is nothing unrealistic about chopping down palm trees and using them, especially in a survival situation where you are more worried about surviving until you are rescued than about preserving nature.

[Lonesome 77]

You gotta figure...if you can use palm trees again as a building material, all that does is allow you to make even more extravagant things than you already can with the present materials, absent the palm wood.

Palm wood was basically the main building material before. There wasn't any salvage, and there weren't 2 different kinds of wood, there was just the one. Obviously at that point it was necessary to be able to use it. Now, there's several salvage materials for rafts and buildings, plus two kinds of wood. Now there should be 3 kinds of wood, in addition to the other stuff?

(Also just thought of this, would there have to be a new color and texture for the potentially reinstituted palm wood? I'm sure there'd be some people complaining about it if the color and texture was reused and looked just like the driftwood lol)

[Freake420]

NVM...sorry

[42]

Has anyone ever thought of adding bamboo as a building material? It's pretty easy to cut down, doesn't need to be dried and regrows fast. Not sure if it actually grows in the region of the game, though.