CanadianWolvie

I just recently took a wilderness survival course with the Canadian Rangers ( pro tip - starving in the woods soaking wet sucks ) and on the subject of food and poisoning, especially mushrooms, its possible to test if something is safe to eat if you are uncertain with these steps:
 
Take a tiny bit and...
1) Rub it on the back of your hand and wait an hour to see if there is any bad reaction. Bad reaction, wash with water and/or fine ash. No reaction, proceed to step 2.
2) Rub it on your lips, wait an hour to see if there is any bad reaction. Bad reaction, wash with water. No reaction, proceed to step 3.
3) Place on tongue, do not swallow and wait an hour. Bad reaction, rinse with water. No reaction, proceed to step 4.
4) Chew and swallow, chase with water, and wait an hour. Bad reaction, induce vomiting, drink water. No reaction, safe to eat ...
...but don't eat too much, you don't want to lose too much to diarea and what not if you haven't eaten for a while and/or aren't used to the local parasites/bacteria.
 
Now, I understand the need for abstraction in games, so I don't expect this to make it into the game in all its unfun but safe meticulousness but if you might have a menu option in the game where by my character, especially if the character has the background Ranger, tests their food to see if its is not poisonous and/or unfit for consumption, I would appreciate it.
 
Especially since as a player if I didn't have some choice in the interaction with poisons would be quite unfun.

We really need to be able to grow chili's and add them to our recipes... Your characters heat level should rise from eating them, but they help you overcome normal sickness (and colds), and could maybe give you a better resistance to sickness (not the zomboid sickness)
 
You cant have a great chef without a great Chili con Carne recipe (with Beans, coffee and chocolate, thank you )

Where I live, it rains a lot. And it comes down sideways.
 
But that doesn't stop us from going outside. We don't get soaking wet and catch a deadly cold, even though the temperature and wind chill can be pretty nasty, like hypothermia levels.
 
Why?
 
Because in our rain forest area along this stretch of coast on Vancouver Island, we use Rain Gear.
 
So when I am in the game and a light drizzle is keeping my character indoors instead of carrying on, I find this rather immersion breaking.
 
Because even the poorest of us around here can jury rig some rain gear with a few plastic garbage bags or even grocery bags with a hole for the face as a rain poncho that keeps us dry and warm in our core while our pants, shoes, and hands get damp.
 
But first chance I had, I got water proof boots, a rain jacket, rain pants, a dry sack for my hiking pack and ziplock bags. Heck, my rain gear is even tear proof, accidentally had a drill slip and run across in once on a construction site and it just had a few nicks and a broken zipper afterwards that was a easy enough fix. And a proper rain poncho has a great second use as a small tent cover.
 
So, my suggestion for the game, there be durable warm rain gear jacket, pants, and boots in the game that even acts as a bit of protection from zombies if it is of high enough quality, and the ability to jury rig a rain poncho out of a few garbage bags and perhaps some duct tape if it needs more than that - and that it can be torn when moving through trees, over a fence, through a broken window, or the most obvious culprit in this game, a zombie attack (grab, claw, bite, etc).
 

 

 

Simple metal crafting would be better all around to implement than actual forging. Take the aforementioned rod. Sharpen it to a point, tie it to a sturdy stick using some hand made rope and you got yourself a nice spear.

But what you did wasn't forging, you used (power?) tools to work on a piece of scrap metal.  That's perfectly plausible; the act of creating entirely new weapons or tools from ore is not - at least for a layman.
 
As an aside, wow, how long did it take you guys to type out those arguments?  Since at this point you seem to just be disagreeing with each other in an extremely verbose way (though I admit to skimming heavily towards the end), maybe you could give it a rest for those of us who are interested in the subject but don't want to plow though several walls of text.
 
I'd like to see basic metalworking added to the game, but I'm on board with the idea that actual honest-to-goodness forging is a little outside the scope of the game.  
 
Besides, as Rathlord pointed out, anything you could make after months of expensive trial and error at a forge - if you could make it at all - would be far easier to create out of lumber and/or scrap metal. Zeraphine confirmed that he was able to make simple tools using an anvil, metalworking tools, and some scrap metal.  Considering how hard it would be to get smithing supplies (they don't sell ore at Spiffo's ), the incredibly steep learning curve to using them, and the comparitive ease of constructing the exact same tools in a different way, why would there be a reason to add forging to the game?  I just don't see it.
 
Edit: Just read this:

That's actually pretty interesting. Do you have pictures of the forge or its construction? How exactly did you build it and what temperatures could it reach? The hottest thing I've looked into making for my backyard is a pizza oven and it would have had to be made out of special brick that wouldn't crack in the heat (or concrete, which would be easy to get but harder to shape). I'd be interested to know if something like a homemade backyard forge is possible.

I generally do not ask for people to believe I am an authoritative source on any topic, but on this I must.

I am a sculptor by education and profession.  Of particular relevance, I am a skilled woodworker and metalworker (this includes welding and foundry work and both require a lot more than average knowledge of metallurgy).  In addition, one of the sculptors I work with daily is a blacksmith.  Not a farrier (horseshoes), she is a blacksmith as in she can and does make all of her own tools.  As a metalworker, I often employ smithing techniques but use an oxy-acetylene torch rather than a forge to heat the metal.
 
Until someone better presents themselves, I think I can speak with at least limited authority on many of these issues.
 
Neither cinder blocks nor granite countertops would work.  Cinderblocks are easily destroyed in one swing of a smith’s hammer.  Remember, please, that martial artists break cinderblocks with their hands for show.  Granite does resist compression very well, but a countertop is more at danger of being split because it’s thin.  A granite boulder could potentially be used as a makeshift anvil, but a very poor one since the surface would be irregular.
 
Implausible is a huge understatement.  To make anything larger than a jeweler’s anvil (for hammering small shapes of soft metals) would require a huge, high temperature heat source and/or a foundry.  The amount of steel needed would be near impossible for anyone outside of a foundry to acquire.  Steel cannot be melted down and re-poured.  The process, at best, would create cast iron (cast iron is both the end result and the specific alloy of iron that the cast object is made from).  Cast iron has a VERY high carbon content and is EXTREMELY brittle.  It would, obviously, be totally  unusable as an anvil.
 
This is not terribly likely.  Any farm with horses needs a farrier (makes and fixes iron shoes).  Unfortunately, farriers are quite rare.  One farrier probably services dozens of towns like Muldraugh and West Point.
 
It’s highly unlikely.  You need not only a high temperature, but a lot of heat over a relatively large area and you must maintain it at a constant temperature for a long time.  Also, generating heat becomes exponentially more difficult the higher the temperature.  Getting from 1000 degrees Fahrenheit to 1200 degrees Fahrenheit is significantly more difficult than going from 100 degrees  to 1000 degrees.

Everyone starts the game a terrible sneak and sprinter and their ability grows very slowly.  I find the progression of the agility skills to be very realistic.
 
I would hardly consider any crafting recipe in the game for carpentry or cooking to be “world-class.”  Creating a food recipe from nothing using rare ingredients would be world-class, but most the recipes in the game are quite simple.  If anything, the cooking skillbooks are recipe books and most anyone can follow a recipe.  The cooking skill makes meals more nutritious and gives more information about things like cook time.  Nothing “world-class” about it.
 
There isn’t a carpentry recipe in the game that couldn’t be easily learned from a book.  Again, if you were designing these objects from scratch with no pre-existing written instructions, it’s different.  Further, even the highest skill carpentry items aren’t very well built.  As a very skilled woodworker, I can say confidently that carpentry in Planet Zomboid is realistic.
 
Being that I already have a lot of knowledge about things similar to traditional smithing (welding, foundry, jeweling, etc) I could probably learn from trial and error.  I am being generous to myself, as it would still take many months to produce anything remotely usable.  The common person would have no chance.  While the basic premise of smithing is easy to grasp, the actual execution is not.  Not at all.
 
We’re not talking Olympic athletes.  Project Zomboid sprinting allows you to be a competent, as in physically fit.
 
Making a tasty soup or stew out of those ingredients is, in fact, quite easy.  Would it get you a five-star restaurant?  No, it wouldn’t, but it would sate your hunger.  Project Zomboid is not talking world-class executive chef.  If anything, it’s more the skill to recognize the difference between burnt and tender vegetables or rare, medium, and well-done meats.

Growing plants is very easy.  People grow tomatoes and other vegetables in window sill planters in their apartment.  Sustenance farming is admittedly more difficult, but well within reason.  Large scale agriculture is not the farming system in Project Zomboid.  In the game, farming is growing simple vegetables in just enough quantity to sustain your individual life.

Smithing is not easy to do at all.  For someone who has read about the process in detail, the premise is easy to understand.  The execution is absolutely not.  That metallurgy is something the everyman possesses knowledge of is not accurate.  I work among artists and a blacksmith, and the sculptors are probably the only ones who have even a clue about smithing.  Even then, a minority of the sculptors would know anything past the basic premise.

A legitimate opinion, however, I think the important thing to focus on is whether or not the amount of time and complexity in developing and implementing a smithing system within PZ would make it anywhere near worthwhile the resultant gameplay and gameplay functionality.
 
From a developer's point of view, and given the current depth and scope of specific skill required functionality already in the game, I'd have to conclude that developing a 'realistic enough to fit the PZ world' smithing system would not be worth the time and effort sunk into it by the Devs.
Look at farming or carpentry - no prerequisite skills are needed to jump right in and attempt the '101' difficulty. Smithing however, needs at least a bit of knowledge and/or insight before you can make anything out of a lump of ore (or the '101' equivalent), so your average Joe couldn't jump right in and teach himself solely through trial and error, or basic skill books (The equipment required is a major hurdle to begin with, then the cost/rarity of the raw materials is also a bit of a setback)

Been over this several times, but I'll do a brief recap:
 
(First, a side note on swords/shields. You're pretty much right there)
 
There are, essentially, two big reasons why forging is silly for PZ:
 
1) People don't have the skills. You're meant to play as an every day person in Project Zomboid. Forging is barely done anymore at all outside of factories (which give no practical experience to their workers anyways) and hobby forging/smithing is incredibly uncommon. Last time I looked it up only something like 3,000 people in the entire nation were hobby forgers. This means the chances of them being in Muldraugh, Ky are... well, you can figure that out.
 
2) The materials to support doing it are incredibly uncommon. Not like, one or two anvils in Muldraugh, KY. Like, only a handful in the state. TIS doesn't have the man power to represent every possible minute detail of real life- things like smithing. There's a list of items nearly infinitely long that are more common than blacksmithing supplies, and finding that stuff scattered at random around the map is just going to feel silly. Similarly, finding it in one location would be equally silly- spending huge amounts of dev time for items, sprites, specialized systems, and a skill tree for something that can only done in one location? There's a time budget that must be considered.
 
Finally, as a personal sidebar, I don't think it really adds anything to the game except a disconcerting sense that we're trying to be Minecraft here. People do forge and smith in real life, but for a game that tries to capture the spirit of the "everyman" in the apocalypse, it just doesn't feel right. Further, anything you could do with forging could be easily captured by another part of the game. Salvaging metal and grinding or cutting it into weapons is much more feasible. Woodworking could make less durable versions of weapons and shields (though, to be fair, a wooden shield is actually better than anything you could make from forging- shields aren't forged; most shields are wood underneath with metal sides, and possibly a thin coat over the front).

I would like to know if it would be possible to control starting NPC density and starting Zombie density. Set NPC density to as high as possible and set Zombie density to as low as possible. Then set resources to highest setting. First few days see all hell breaking loose as all the NPCs form groups and fight over supplies while zeds pour in from all corners of the map and descend on the fighting NPCs.
 
Most of the resources like food and weapons would probably be consumed during the initial days while NPC population is still high. After a week or so most of the NPCs would be dead, having killed each other off while fighting for resources while zeds tore apart the weaker or battle-weary groups.
 
That seems like the most plausible way to do it without changing any code, though I doubt the game engine could handle such a huge amount of meta events going on.

That doesn't sound much better than the typical "Let's bring the barbecue inside and kill ourselves" attempts people try when the power goes out. =/ There always seems to be someone that tries this and dies each  winter.
Not just a matter of keeping the house from burning down, it's also removing the resulting gases.

But then you'd have to toggle it on and off repeatedly, which in my opinion would be incredibly annoying. I've never fought a single battle where I just stayed in a ready combat position the entire time. I do lots of running and strafing to maneuver myself into optimal position when fighting zeds, and I'd have to toggle on and off every single time I wanted to move at a fast pace.

Right mouse button?

I know you are all focused on the topic of a player tripping but I would like to change the subject...
 
...to tripping zombies.
 
How fun would it be to tangle up their legs so you could get away? Quick, toss some crap on the ground, maybe it will slow em down long enough for you to get away! Or just a right click > toss stick.
 
I am definetly in agreement with a zombie tumbling over a fence or through a window, as I am sure you can tell.
 
But how about crafting some a couple sticks, twine and say a couple of empty glass bottles for a trip wire alarm, that they get tangled up and the glass clinks noisely, that we place across a entrance?
 
That would sound like fun and something I would actually do in a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. You know, on top of the snare traps for some food.
 
I don't think bear traps would be all that helpful though but maybe punji sticks would be. But I suppose this is probably covered by a thread about traps, eh?
 
Oh well, traps that trip, think about it ... please.

I'll let it slide... this time
 
 
 
It's been 'reconsidered' time and again over the last three years. There's nothing anyone can say that adds anything new or unique to this discussion- we've seen it all. The reality is, there is no gameplay benefit for adding this. This is not the Sims. Further, we don't just add things because we're aiming for realism- there has to be a reason to spend coding time on it. For a game with accelerated time, we can just assume that you piss in the bushes every once in a while- there is no reason except "because" to add this. So, while everyone is more than welcome to discuss it, it's not going to happen, ever, and you should go into the discussion with that expectation.

All of these things are direct 1:1 consequences of your actions. Fire a gun, it's loud. Break into a building, alarm will go off if it has one. Leave food in too long, it burns. Drink bleach, you die. Break a window with bare hands, get scratched.
 
Walk around, fall over at random.
 
What I'm trying to point out is this discrepancy. Regardless of whether some factors effect it or not, it's still not a direct consequence of your actions- it's random, and it can't be avoided because walking is part of the basic functions of playing. There's no argument around this- it's bad game design, pure and simple. In a permadeath game, as much as possible must be in the player's hands so that when they die, it is inarguably their fault. It is a core concept of designing this kind of game- I can't expect people who aren't game devs (or people like myself who are closely tied up in the process on a day to day basis) to understand that, but I hope you can see the reasoning behind it and at least take my word for it.
 
Again, you say it wouldn't be common like that's a good thing. But the less predictable you make it, the worse game design it is (for the reasons I've enunciated above). I understand how it sounds good in people's heads, but it would be nothing but obnoxious and frustrating in the game. Again, the argument of realism isn't a viable one here- realism is only acceptable to the point where it crosses the boundary between good and bad game design. This steps over it.
 
Edit: Oh, and backpeddling isn't, and shouldn't be, a gamble. It is a core feature of how you control your character. That would be like making taking things out of a cabinet or breathing dangerous.

I just mentioned it, that a quick search would have been a good idea. Additionally i would like to direct you to the [read before posting] threads so you know why i do so

Around the area I live (I live in Northern Kentucky) I can think of a great amount of creatures that'd make great additions to the game as huntable/trappable food sources:
 
(The Obvious) Deer
Deer are very populous around here and would only get moreso without more hunters. They're also very quiet and would not rouse attention from wandering stiffs. Deer meat is absolutely awesome for cooking, but there is a danger one should be wary of - in certain seasons, Lyme disease is a huge risk. If the inherent danger of contamination is taken into consideration, this could make hunting deer in Project Zomboid risky but rewarding, as that is probably going to be the only source of red meat available after power goes out. Deer meat could go toward any recipe that uses raw red meat.
Potential Loot: Deer Meat, Antler, Hide, Innards [Fishing/Compost?]
 
Wild Turkeys
Wild turkeys range all around the area I live, one can even see them crossing roads sometimes in their little flocks. Good meat, and plenty more on them than any chicken. There's also less disease risk than, say, Deer - but eating raw would still be higher chance of sickness than starter, fridge found meats. A zombie might have a hard time even getting close to a Turkey given how easy to spook they are.
Potential Loot: Whole Turkey, Feathers, Innards [Fishing/Compost?]
 
Hungry Coyotes & Feral Dogs
Kentucky, and many other places, are lousy with Coyotes since they got reintroduced after about being wiped out. Now, especially in my county, there's literally open hunt on Coyotes to keep the populations in check (and it's still not very effective). Also, tons of people keep Dogs here - they're a lot more popular than Cats, at least in my area, and there'd be a ton of ownerless dogs turning feral. Depending on how lore is determined for Project Zomboid, these wild dogs could be more hungrier or less hungrier. In the Walking Dead Comics, most predators like feral dogs or birds can still eat Zombies, so they'd be a lot less on the hungry side and breed in large numbers. If we're going by Max Brooks/NoTLD staple, animals avoid stiffs like the plague they are, so they'd be a lot more hungry and brazen (and likely dangerous to players). Either way, Coyotes and Feral Dogs could be a source of red meat that might keep a player alive - as well as a threat while travelling, especially in wooded areas. Given that they are capable of being very fast, relatively social, and might have been eating zombies (or at least, scavenging filth), bites could cause all range of diseases and death. Big survival challenge.
Potential Loot: Dogmeat, Hide, Innards [Fishing/Compost?]
 
(Feral) Cats, Rabbits, Groundhogs, and Squirrels
As unpalatable as it may be, there will be tons of feral housecats in a Zombie Apocalypse. While cats aren't as popular in my area, there are many spots I do know of where stray cats are extremely common and would be a much more accessable food source than most game (let's not get soft here, folks, this game is about survival). Consider also that cats will undoubtedly be trapped in houses when their owners are zombified and could turn quite feral without food. Scratches from feral cats could get infected easily and be a challenge to the player. I'd imagine that most cats would generally flee zombies to mixed effect, and do breed fairly rapidly. Likewise, small mammals like Rabbits, Groundhogs, and Squirrels are common even in towns out here. They'd be very spookable and flee from zombies or non-stealthing players, but with the right means (Such as traps) could provide handy foodsources.
Potential Loot: Mystery Meat, Pelt, Innards [Fishing/Compost?]
 
(Feral) Chicken & Wild Fowl
Many people near me have chickens they just let freerange on their land, and the things usually stick to yards. Zombies would be attracted to eating the chickens and could overwhelm them, but most chickens will flap/flutter away easily without anyone to keep their wings trimmed.  Likewise, Ducks/Geese are common, but so are ground Pheasants and other small birds that are quite edible. It'd be nice to include nests with lootable eggs, so that players can have access to such things after power goes out. As cliche as it is, one shouldn't have a game that takes place in Kentucky without the ability to make Fried Chicken.
Potential Loot: Whole Fowl, Feathers, Innards [Fishing/Compost?]
 
Pondlife & Fish
A fishing system should definitely be included in Project Zomboid, maybe even with its own skill. Fishing is very common around Kentucky. There's plenty to catch, from Bluegill, Catfish, Bass, to Gars (*which aren't very useful for meat, but hey, they're there to annoy), even large Crawdads. Heck, there are bullfrogs in my ponds that weigh as much as cornish hens with legs like small drumsticks. I'd absolutely love for these kinds of things to be catchable in Project Zomboid for a character to survive off of. Zombies would not have access to most of these creatures and thus could provide a relatively safe foodsource for players willing to invest the time/luck.
Potential Loot: Fish, Fish Bones, Innards [Fishing/Compost?], Dead Frog, Crawdad
 
I'm hesitant to include Wild Boar and Elk on here, as they don't to my knowledge tend to get close to suburban/urban centers. I do know that Wild Boar are getting brazen and would only get moreso during a Zombie apocalypse, though - they might be an additional consideration.

The idea of my character falling at all just sounds like an annoying mechanic.
 
Im one of those people that can run accross ice without falling. Something silly like walking backwards and falling for no reason doesn't feel right.


This system should in fact NOT be in affect for a perfectly healthy person, but instead affect them when there leg is injured, or something.

If they are exhausted climbing over a fence would give a small delay when they land on the other side.



But if my character is healthy ain't no way I am going to trip everywhere. 
I know this idea has been suggested many months ago and I had a more detailed reason to be against this but I understand its fundamental purpose.

 

Sorry Ben this may not be the game you're looking for. That's way outside the vision of the developers. As my friend Bioradical said above, you might want to look into making/asking for a mod instead because I can tell you without a doubt that none of this will ever be in PZ.

Wat.
 
I dont even...
 
This game is about avarge Bob trying to survive a zombie apocalypse, not about shooting plasma balls towards zombies.
 
For me, the game looks like it aint even set in present times, more like a bit in the past.
 
And a honest question - if zombie apocalypse happened right now, whats the chance You yourself will find unmanned aircraft, exoskeleton, ANYTHING that You mentioned in your neighborhood?
 
Im not this games developer, but im pretty sure answers to Your 2nd and 3rd posts are like NO no no Nonononono No.

Well the weapons do have those kinds of stats, but they aren't visible in the tool-tips. For example, the baseball bat has more range than the knife.
 
There won't be any tough zombies or special player abilities outside of mods though, the devs want the game to be somewhat realistic and to follow Romero lore.

I came to the forums wondering about more bladed weapons than the axe and kitchen knife, if they were in the game or going to be added to the game. Because eventually that axe is going to break and I don't want my skill to be useless. I would think with all the forests around the towns that people would have more axes in their homes *shrugs*. I found this thread using the forum's search.
 
And I see the swords are out in full swing, especially the ever popularized Katana. But why are the more obvious tools / weapons not posted about?
 
Machete - I have found this to be abundantly useful in my Canadian Ranger work, great for making shelter and fire materials out of the dead fall and boughs. A very durable blade, lighter than my axe, good length and very dangerous if not used with safety in mind in the wet bush around this Vancouver Island rain forest. Heard about a surveyor that lost a few fingers that way when they weren't minding their feet and stepped in a root depression and their hand slid of the wet handle and down the blade when they tried to use it as a cane to correct their stumble. I would be shocked if this tool wasn't available with all the forests around Maldorough and West Point.
 
Cleaver - Definitely goes through bones and should be common enough in kitchen's of any respectable cook. Sure it won't have the reach but it should be a damn sight more durable than a kitchen knife and won't have to be used in a piercing manner.
 
Entrenchment Tool aka Folding Shovel - For more than just digging a hole (to shit in), many are designed these days with a sharpened edge and other designs for saw, axe, and even combat work. Some even come with a can opener.
 
Survival / Combat Knife - I make good use of this, great for making feathered kindling, magnesium shavings, and getting the spark off my striker into the "bird's nest" in the fire notch to get a fire going even in our wet enviroment. The sheath is great for holding just about everything I could need to survive for a few days and in a nice light weight package. Would be far more durable than a Kitchen Knife, that's for damn sure.
 
Hatchets and Tomahawks - Lighter than a Fire Axe but no less useful. Perhaps slightly less damaging and a shorter reach, but just as durable if not more so since there are some great designs where the head is continous right through to the handle. That's where most axes break anyways, not the head but just below it where the handle fractures with the grain in the wood and snaps off or the wood contracts and the axe head just slips off.
 
Come to think of it, the Park Ranger character background, I would think that would have some axe bonus as well, not as big as the Fire Man but something. And some sort of camp fire and tent building bonus.
 
Hmm, that's all that comes to mind at the moment and if there is another thread I should have posted this in, my apologies, I hope you will direct me to the appropriate place to post and discuss this.

that they aren't meant to be used as blunt forced wearpon may be the reason why they actually would be arkward to wield (like mentioned in one or the other thread)
but for the durability i would have to say, you could probably bash in zombie heads for years without a crowbar breaking. They are solid steel rods (if they are cheap) and probably more often made of chrome vanadium or something similar, more durable. They are meant to pry things open so bashing in heads would be more of a kindergarten task to a crowbar. even with a regular steel rod you could probably bash in heads for weeks befor it really starts to wear off...not talking about the amount of skulls it would need to break it in half. if it would even break.

This is on the confirmed "No" list for the game and has been discussed quite a bit in the past. Suffice to say it will never happen in the vanilla game, no matter how many people want it. It might be worth your time to check out the sticky notes at the top of this subforum (at least the "How to write a bug report" and "Confirmed list" ones). That will help us so you're not suggesting stuff that's already been tossed around, and help you so you don't waste time with stuff we've already said yes (or no) to! Cheers!

I came to the forums wondering about more bladed weapons than the axe and kitchen knife, if they were in the game or going to be added to the game. Because eventually that axe is going to break and I don't want my skill to be useless. I would think with all the forests around the towns that people would have more axes in their homes *shrugs*. I found this thread using the forum's search.
 
And I see the swords are out in full swing, especially the ever popularized Katana. But why are the more obvious tools / weapons not posted about?
 
Machete - I have found this to be abundantly useful in my Canadian Ranger work, great for making shelter and fire materials out of the dead fall and boughs. A very durable blade, lighter than my axe, good length and very dangerous if not used with safety in mind in the wet bush around this Vancouver Island rain forest. Heard about a surveyor that lost a few fingers that way when they weren't minding their feet and stepped in a root depression and their hand slid of the wet handle and down the blade when they tried to use it as a cane to correct their stumble. I would be shocked if this tool wasn't available with all the forests around Maldorough and West Point.
 
Cleaver - Definitely goes through bones and should be common enough in kitchen's of any respectable cook. Sure it won't have the reach but it should be a damn sight more durable than a kitchen knife and won't have to be used in a piercing manner.
 
Entrenchment Tool aka Folding Shovel - For more than just digging a hole (to shit in), many are designed these days with a sharpened edge and other designs for saw, axe, and even combat work. Some even come with a can opener.
 
Survival / Combat Knife - I make good use of this, great for making feathered kindling, magnesium shavings, and getting the spark off my striker into the "bird's nest" in the fire notch to get a fire going even in our wet enviroment. The sheath is great for holding just about everything I could need to survive for a few days and in a nice light weight package. Would be far more durable than a Kitchen Knife, that's for damn sure.
 
Hatchets and Tomahawks - Lighter than a Fire Axe but no less useful. Perhaps slightly less damaging and a shorter reach, but just as durable if not more so since there are some great designs where the head is continous right through to the handle. That's where most axes break anyways, not the head but just below it where the handle fractures with the grain in the wood and snaps off or the wood contracts and the axe head just slips off.
 
Come to think of it, the Park Ranger character background, I would think that would have some axe bonus as well, not as big as the Fire Man but something. And some sort of camp fire and tent building bonus.
 
Hmm, that's all that comes to mind at the moment and if there is another thread I should have posted this in, my apologies, I hope you will direct me to the appropriate place to post and discuss this.