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. :)

[Tryst49]

Palm trees are pretty much like bamboo. They have limited use but they are extremely strong. As foundation legs, they can withstand almost anything and take far longer to rot than most other wood which is why many Asian fishing houses are built on stilts made of palm trunks.

It could potentially be possible to build a home actually in the water, using 4 palm tree trunks driven into the ground as stilts to place the foundation above water. that means, providing the water isn't too deep, we can build out onto the water.

The problem is that using an axe to cut down a palm tree isn't advisable. Not unless you have plenty of time to kill, you'll be a day or more just cutting down one tree.

From my other post about the content, this has given me an idea fro a use for the metal bands around those broken wooden barrels. Why not make a crude saw blade from them? Using a V shaped rock, you could potentially file the blade into a crude saw and make a saw like the one he used in the video above. Yes, in real life it's going to take a long time to do it but this game isn't real life is it? Also, technically, it's possible to do it, so why not just reduce the time it takes for game purposes? Then we'll have a tool to cut down those palm trees easier.

As a side note, why not use the coconut husk for something? How about a bed? Use the husks to make a firm mattress, it is not much different to the coarse fibre you see in the old mattresses, (now often used in futons). You can make a crude bed from wood and lashing or turn it into a more comfortable bed using coconut husk and woven palm fronds to make a mattress for it. The benefit is a better nights sleep and wake more refreshed and healed more.

Coconut husk fibre is yet another material that has countless uses. Weave it to make a very strong rope, or just use it for kindling. With ropes, we could make fishing nets and even shark nets to trap those nasty but very tasty sharks. Using the raft, we could even use trawling nets to catch lots of fish. Give us a shovel to terraform to some extent so we can make a huge fish pond to keep our catch fresh until we want to eat it. At a pinch, coconut husk can also be woven into a very coarse material for clothing with a bit more protection than cotton.

[Vinny]

Good! I am glad you now realize that coconut palms are a traditional material for construction of houses and canoes in Polynesia.

http://wildlifeofhawaii.com/flowers/1111/cocos-nucifera-coconut-palm/

[Vinny]

I think that making rope and cord from palm or yucka would be a good idea. It's pretty low tech and would make fishing with traps and hooks and possible nets possible.

Fishooks made from wood or bone are realistic survival kit.
http://www.survivalreadyblog.com/improvised-fishing-gear.html

[Lonesome 77]

Originally posted by Vinny:

Good! I am glad you now realize that coconut palms are a traditional material for construction of houses and canoes in Polynesia.

http://wildlifeofhawaii.com/flowers/1111/cocos-nucifera-coconut-palm/

Okay but was there just one single Polynesian dude cutting down a bunch of palm trees and doing everything all by himself...

[Red River]

I think it should be used for making larger stractures like rafts or maybe foundations/walls without the need to cut the palmtree down to sticks.
also, don't forget to give us the palmfronds back as well! my roof's been leaking since you removed them!

[Darthtanien]

Originally posted by 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

That is the worst example of cutting a palm tree down. That is not an axe. Even so if you look at the truck you can see they already cut much larger pieces and filled the truck with them. That is a make shift machete, which is basically a cleaver. You can absolutely cut down a palm tree with a hatchet as i have cut down many trees with an old hatchet. You can also make a primitave stone axe that will cut down a tree. Just search on youtube and you can see people making them.
That said. A palm tree is difficult to cut dow. It can be done but they hold alot of moisture, most are fiberous inside.
Google foo.......https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_tree
Here is just one example of a Stone axe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN-34JfUrHY

[Omen3608]

It was meant to be exactly that bad of an example. They still have better equipment than can be expected to find in Stranded Deep, and they are not alone either. ;)

I highly doubt I personally would be able to craft that stone axe in the video, and have even more doubts about its tree cutting abilities. It takes several video cuts for him to cut a tree that is hardly bigger than the branch of the other video. I would love to see him take down a palm tree with that axe. ;)

[Darthtanien]

Originally posted by Omen3608:

It was meant to be exactly that bad of an example. They still have better equipment than can be expected to find in Stranded Deep, and they are not alone either. ;)

I highly doubt I personally would be able to craft that stone axe in the video, and have even more doubts about its tree cutting abilities. It takes several video cuts for him to cut a tree that is hardly bigger than the branch of the other video. I would love to see him take down a palm tree with that axe. ;)

I know people who cant turn a screwdriver too but that dosnt mean it cant be done. Just do a little research. It can be done. May be difficult but absolutely can be done. That was just one of 100's of examples you can find on the internet. And what he is using is NOT better than the axe in stranded deep.

[Omen3608]

Just that you wouldn't have the internet handy in such a situation, right? You would either know how to do it beforehand, or learn by yourself. Alone... while starving...

[Darthtanien]

Originally posted by Omen3608:

Just that you wouldn't have the internet handy in such a situation, right? You would either know how to do it beforehand, or learn by yourself. Alone... while starving...

I didnt need the internet to figure it out. Is is an Axe and it is already in the game. You may but i didnt. That was to show you it can be done. Not everyone survives in survival.

[Marius]

Well, one solution for felling a tree / "cutting" up timber without the proper tools would be to burn through with a small controlled fire. This could provide an interesting mechanic as well, in that there could be a chance of failure. A moderate failure might reduce the total possible material gained by 25%, while a massive failure might result in a total loss.

[Darthtanien]

Originally posted by WhataWookie:

Well, one solution for felling a tree / "cutting" up timber without the proper tools would be to burn through with a small controlled fire. This could provide an interesting mechanic as well, in that there could be a chance of failure. A moderate failure might reduce the total possible material gained by 25%, while a massive failure might result in a total loss.

There are alot of ways to figure it out. Cant you get a boat motor off the sea floor and gas too ?

[Lonesome 77]

Maybe it should be like this? --

Cutting down a palm tree yourself should be possible, but it will erode your tool to s**t, take a lot of time and effort, and that effort + time should make you get dehydrated/hungry pretty quickly.

[Darthtanien]

Originally posted by Vikingr:

Maybe it should be like this? --

Cutting down a palm tree yourself should be possible, but it will erode your tool to s**t, take a lot of time and effort, and that effort + time should make you get dehydrated/hungry pretty quickly.

Personally i hate durability on items in games. The time and effort thing and calories / water you need is a great idea.

[Darthtanien]

Originally posted by NoNamesLeftToUse:

Everything I just said + me trying out this new update, approaching a palm tree and hacking it down with my pocket knife = me having a WTF moment. ....but I'll live.

Go kill the sharks with it too. And pull up complex parts for motors, carbs.etc... from the salt water and gas. Its a game.