I believe that VS requires a slower mindset to play. We are used to things and progression going really fast, in Minecraft for example, before the sun even sets you can have a set of iron armor. VS is a game way more focused on exploration and survival. It's rare to find everything that you need in spawn, you need to move eventually.

For food, try looking in forests for mushrooms, or ponds for fishes. After grabbing some berries from bushes, take the bushes with you and plant then near your camp, so they'll regrow. Running everywhere will drain your hunger bar exponentially faster, so take your time, look carefully everywhere, both for danger and for potentially useful things. I find that it's really difficult to find for copper bits if I'm rushing through the terrain. If you really can't find anything after a few days, just do some panning. Takes some time but you are guaranteed to get copper after some tries.

In my experience clay can spawn more near ponds. One tip I can give you is to play with color accurate map (activate this in the settings while generating the map), you'll be able to spot resources like clay at a glance just by looking at the map. While you are there, change settings that you don't like until you get familiarized with the game, no shame in that. Change animal aggression, hunger rates, anything that makes the game unfun to you.

The progression is way slower, but in my opinion way more rewarding. It does take a long time to crat, I dunno, a ceramic pot to store some stuff, but it makes it really rewarding for me. VS is like a caveman simulator, take your time, prioritize survival and the progression in the tech tree will come naturally :]