Make 'Sturdy Stick' useful in recipies that require 'Tree Branch'

[Demonic_Kat]

Just like the title says, you should be able to use a crafted stick in place of a random stick from the woods. The item created should probably have better durability too.

[CaptKaspar]

Makes perfect sense to me! I can't think of a scenario where a natural tree branch would out perform a carpentered stick that is best described as 'sturdy'.

 

Good suggestion!

 

[ShuiYin]

11 hours ago, Demonic_Kat said:

Just like the title says, you should be able to use a crafted stick in place of a random stick from the woods. The item created should probably have better durability too.

 

9 hours ago, CaptKaspar said:

Makes perfect sense to me! I can't think of a scenario where a natural tree branch would out perform a carpentered stick that is best described as 'sturdy'.

 

Good suggestion!

 

Very logical and i think only require a small tweak. But to not add any new item i will not add new ones but use existing ones. 

 

Ill add this to the PZ Vanilla Patch mod

Edited March 14, 2016 by ShuiYin

[makkenhoff]

Typically, I would agree on simple tweaks like this to broaden usage of nearly any item. I liked the idea enough to comment, and with plenty to say, so don't think I'm completely against it - I'm just pointing out some issues that would need to be addressed.

 

I'd like to start out by pointing out that a sturdy stick is not necessarily a tree branch compatible item. Because the tree branch weight alone is double the amount of a sturdy stick, I believe we aren't talking about a similar object at all, but two very different things.

 

You can get a .5 inch (roughly 1.25 cm) diameter dowel rod and call that sturdy enough to hold a tarp as a tent or start a fire with. You could also use it to assist with immobilization of a fracture. You could certainly use a reasonably straight tree branch to do those things as well if it were equal in size. I just don't think that is the case here.

 

For example, an old axe I used for chopping up a stump had what I'd call a "sturdy" handle. It was thicker than a broom handle, which is 1 inch diameter, I'd guess maybe 2.5 inch diameter, as its been awhile since I was out chopping wood with an axe. While I'd certainly call a broom handle "sturdy", if I had to rig a stone axe I certainly wouldn't use a broom handle, it would crack far too easy against a fully grown tree.

 

The point I'm trying to make here is that when you use a specific item for its intended use, it could be called "sturdy" How many flimsy brooms have you used?  I've never had a broom handle break on me that was only used for its intended purpose. On the flip side, I've broken many wooden handles on hammers, shovels, and axes. Those things are expected to take a beating, and still break. But, when used as a makeshift quarterstaff, the broom handle will not handle a wooden practice katana when swung with ridiculous (force) intent to injure. (It turns out, some people bring their inner Conan to bear the first time they get to hold a practice sword, I will never made that mistake again, safety rules first!)

 

As for creating appropriate weapons with tree branches? You can easily make a fire hardened wooden spear with a bit of knowledge, a reasonably straight branch of hardwood and a rock. I'd wager you could probably make some sort of javelin with a "sturdy stick" or perhaps an arrow. 
 

But, if we overthink the study stick, it falls apart, because your not going to saw a round stick with a hand saw, let alone make 8 of them in under 10 minutes from a log.  At best perhaps you could make a Hexadecagon (16 sided polygon) but I have high doubts that even if it were perfectly made that it would be symmetrical enough to be called 'round'. Most likely I would think the result is a hand crafted octagon which is "fairly" round and could be done by someone being careful with a hand saw, or a simple square.

 

So in my mind, if we are going to make both of them interchangeable, then the weight will need to be increased and the number of sturdy sticks per log reduced.

 

 

[Demonic_Kat]

4 hours ago, makkenhoff said:

snippy!

 

 

So! That was very interesting. It makes me think that perhaps we could make different sized sticks. A sturdy stick for making an axe or spear could be heavier, sticks for making bird traps could be lighter

 

Thinking about how they're made as well, a knife could be added to the recipe for whittling down the wood instead of just axe + saw.

 

So Axe + Saw + Knife = craft sturdy stick x4 OR craft small stick x8

[makkenhoff]

Even if the game itself doesn't see a direct change, its always a mod possibility. Quite a few different mods make small changes like that; plenty of people use them. That's one great thing about Project Zomboid, if you don't like a specific thing, chances are you can "fix" it with a bit of learning and applied time.

[ShuiYin]

This feature will be available on the next update of the PZ Vanilla Patch Mod (this coming monday): you can read it here: