Beginner tips

[StankButter]

I just started, and it seems I can't get anywhere, no matter what I do in terms of start-ups. I have yet to kill or hunt anything, and I usually die of starvation rather quickly. Any tips

[Reduce]

Are there specific things you've tried and struggled with?
If you're looking for a basic start to help you get into the game, try using the "I Want to be a Fisherman" start-up scenario and the "Living in the Wild" game course. (Any culture is fine, though I'd recommend one like Owl as a starting point; see http://unrealworld.wikia.com/wiki/Cultures if you're curious about their relative strengths.) That'll start you with a reasonable set of equipment, including some fishing gear; try following the game course instructions, and it'll both walk you through some of the basic aspects of survival and give you some helpful items.

Some general tips that I wish I'd known when starting:
Active fishing is a great way to survive early-game, as long as you have the right equipment (e.g., a fishing rod) and some Fishing skill. It's a much more reliable (lower risk, lower reward) way to get food than active hunting, and most of my characters rely on it heavily especially in the early game. If you're going this route, I recommend finding a nice rapids so you don't have to worry about finding an alternative source of food in winter. As a word of caution, though, poor quality equipment (e.g. a crude javelin) or very low skill mean that you'll catch less than you need to eat to survive, even if all you do is fish.

Active hunting can be lucractive, but you typically end up bringing in a large amount of meat quickly and you can't eat it before it spoils if you're just roasting it. Smoking can be a good option, but drying it is the best; early game, if I manage to kill a large animal, I try to trade most of the cooked meat for more permanent goods (better tools, mostly). If you want to do this early and don't have great stats and equipment, I highly recommend persistence hunting - walk after the animal you're chasing and pause occasionally to keep your fatigue low. The animal will tire out a low more quickly than you will, and you'll eventually be able to catch it.

Keep an eye on your total penalties, in the top-right of the screen. If you're going to do a lot of heavy activity, make sure you're not accidentally carrying slender tree trunks/etc., and don't wear overly heavy equipment. Also keep an eye on your fatigue; taking a break from strenuous activity to do things like fishing can be a good way to supplement your food reserves without reducing the amount you can accomplish in a day.

Some skill sets can allow you to trade with villages early on, in which case you can buy the food you need to survive - roasted meat is typically very cheap, as long as you keep moving around. My first character got his start by traveling around between villages and making/selling boards to people, which really minimized the effects of the RNG (since I knew what I'd be able to buy before I spent the time making the goods, instead of fishing and hoping I got something good at the end).

[StankButter]

Originally posted by Nova:

Are there specific things you've tried and struggled with?
If you're looking for a basic start to help you get into the game, try using the "I Want to be a Fisherman" start-up scenario and the "Living in the Wild" game course. (Any culture is fine, though I'd recommend one like Owl as a starting point; see http://unrealworld.wikia.com/wiki/Cultures if you're curious about their relative strengths.) That'll start you with a reasonable set of equipment, including some fishing gear; try following the game course instructions, and it'll both walk you through some of the basic aspects of survival and give you some helpful items.

Some general tips that I wish I'd known when starting:
Active fishing is a great way to survive early-game, as long as you have the right equipment (e.g., a fishing rod) and some Fishing skill. It's a much more reliable (lower risk, lower reward) way to get food than active hunting, and most of my characters rely on it heavily especially in the early game. If you're going this route, I recommend finding a nice rapids so you don't have to worry about finding an alternative source of food in winter. As a word of caution, though, poor quality equipment (e.g. a crude javelin) or very low skill mean that you'll catch less than you need to eat to survive, even if all you do is fish.

Active hunting can be lucractive, but you typically end up bringing in a large amount of meat quickly and you can't eat it before it spoils if you're just roasting it. Smoking can be a good option, but drying it is the best; early game, if I manage to kill a large animal, I try to trade most of the cooked meat for more permanent goods (better tools, mostly). If you want to do this early and don't have great stats and equipment, I highly recommend persistence hunting - walk after the animal you're chasing and pause occasionally to keep your fatigue low. The animal will tire out a low more quickly than you will, and you'll eventually be able to catch it.

Keep an eye on your total penalties, in the top-right of the screen. If you're going to do a lot of heavy activity, make sure you're not accidentally carrying slender tree trunks/etc., and don't wear overly heavy equipment. Also keep an eye on your fatigue; taking a break from strenuous activity to do things like fishing can be a good way to supplement your food reserves without reducing the amount you can accomplish in a day.

Some skill sets can allow you to trade with villages early on, in which case you can buy the food you need to survive - roasted meat is typically very cheap, as long as you keep moving around. My first character got his start by traveling around between villages and making/selling boards to people, which really minimized the effects of the RNG (since I knew what I'd be able to buy before I spent the time making the goods, instead of fishing and hoping I got something good at the end).

Thanks a ton, cheers!

[Privateer]

Try to learn something every time you die ie; swimming with all your gear is a bad idea!
1) Don't panic
2) Know what you need to live another day
3) Plan for the future

If you want to live, a few choices can enhance your chance;
Select Kaumolaiset, re-roll to high stats str,adj,end,sta
Fishing (being a fisherman) should keep you alive but it is difficult to build a future on.
Active hunting (chasing animals) is possible under certain circumstances but is not common, exception being squirels and somtimes birds.
Trapping imho is the key to longevity of survival.
Wild plants can provide some minimal relief from starvation but are no plan.

1) Pick you starting life (fisher, trapper etc) and season
2) Look at the items you start with; How much cloths, furs, items.
3) Find good spot, I like water close by.
4) build a shelter in a convinient location.
5) If fishing, test some spots at home or surrounding, it trapping, check the area within about 6~10 tiles around your spot. Look for areas to place traps (I like fence with spike pit traps).
Trapping can take time to pay off so it may be needed to fish until that 600 lb elk fals in your trap.
6) Preserve food, cordage is like gold and unless it's for a trap each cord should bind 19 whatevers were ever possible.

[BloodyDaft]

Follow what \u\Nova & \u\Privateer said. You'll be on the road to swimming in squirrel pelts in no time!

I find active hunting much MUCH easier with a dog or three to help. They'll lame whatever it is you're after and you'll be able to kill it much faster. Main constraint is saving up enough to buy a dog or two. Then you also have to feed them until you score your big kill.

[bulbatrs]

fishing is the easiest way to survive, even if you start at 0 skill 1 star with just a fishing rod you can catch enough not to starve to death (tested). during winter make sure to build small fire next to you not to freeze.

[Berzerker Jay]

I find active hunting fairly easy if you have a character suited to it. Generally I just track and pursue the beast into exhaustion, snap off an arrow whenever I'm about five or six tiles away, sometimes more if I'm getting tired and the chase is drawing on.

Generally if you hit the animal well, it's going to tire out and you're going to catch up. I find reindeer the easiest because you can split the herd and they'll always keep coming back around to re-merge.

I don't like to hunt with dogs until much later because of their meat intake. Helps to toss a good number of meat cuts on the dog once you make a kill and then feed it from that supply. But once you have the dog, you're basically committed to continuous hunting or depleting your winter stock of cured meats.

I'm much more about a good pack-beast than a dog. So far the bull is my favourite.