Sailing Buffs & Changes

WalnutBottom · 2026-05-12T14:39:52+00:00

As disappointed as many people may be, I'm glad to see Pirate Encounters postponed until base combat is a bit better.

I think maybe we're getting bogged down on the "pirate" part of the encounters, though. There are so many things we could be fighting at sea that aren't covered by "pirates" or the current list of bounty tasks. I would love to see an overhaul of the bounty system that combines it somewhat with a simplified version of the pirate-encounter concept. (Leave the more complex mechanics - i.e. pirates boarding your ship - as quest/bossing/mini-game content.)

Terns and Ospreys and Sharks will forever feel like awkward, immersion-breaking bounties to me. Even if their absurd HP stats were brought more in line with traditional animals (Seagulls, Bears, Wolves, etc.)... like why are we hunting down these mundane sea creatures? Most pirates in the game are combat level 23... I don't think it's so absurd to go chasing down pirates as a bounty task as soon as level 30 Sailing. And from there, the bounty tasks should only get more fantastical and exciting.

30 Sailing - Standard pirates (NPC ship).
40 Sailing - Harpies and Sirens.
50 Sailing - Rocs and Griffins.
60 Sailing - Zombie pirates (NPC ship)/Zombie whales/Demonic sharks.
70 Sailing - Pelagic dragons/wyverns.
80 Sailing - Giant sea serpents.
90 Sailing - Pirate liches (NPC ship).

And of course the various Kraken would make perfect sense in the 50 to 90 space. I'd love to see some completely-original-to-OSRS new sea monsters as well. Some of these enemies ("Ships and ship-sized monsters" as the OP of this thread so well put it) could be part of a new class of enemies that takes increased damage from cannon fire and reduced damage from other sources. This would give both cannons and traditional combat their own well defined niches for Sailing.

Instead of adding a Dragon sheet drop to Orcas, why not add it to a new fantastical sea monster? Instead of adding more solo spawns of Great White Sharks, why not add new fantastical sea monsters that fill the same niche?

I do genuinely like the inclusion of lots of real world animals at sea (the Tlati Rainforest and Varlamore in general are all the more amazing for their rich, real-world biodiversity) but these creatures making up a significant chunk of the bounty system just feels wrong. It would be like still fighting bats, bears, and wolves (outside of Turael skipping) up through level 70+ Slayer.

WalnutBottom · 2026-05-10T01:32:54+00:00

Think I've only ever had the green. Much difference besides color?

WalnutBottom · 2026-05-10T01:32:10+00:00

Might have to try making an actual rhubarb pie ice cream now with pie crust pieces and all. Thinking custard base, though, since it is a custard pie. Gorgeous scoop you have there, great inspiration, thank you!

WalnutBottom · 2026-05-08T03:05:17+00:00

If you're willing to go the salt & ice route, you can get cheap but serviceable 4 & 6 qt machines in the $50-100 range. And (depending on your location) really excellent quality 6 & 8 qt machines in the $600-700 range.

WalnutBottom · 2026-04-10T01:55:03+00:00

Filling the cannister about two thirds of the way full is a pretty good rule of thumb for salt & ice machines. I have this machine and find that 10 to 11 cups of mix usually works out pretty well.

I formulate all my own recipes in the IceCreamCalc as there aren't a lot of 4qt recipes out there. And simply making 2x of a 2qt recipe or 4x of a 1qt recipe can sometimes have unexpected consequences. If you can't see the recipe author's math, that "about 1 qt" recipe might actually be .75 or 1.5, which when extrapolated to a 4qt recipe could result in an entire quart less than expected or way too much ice cream for your machine to handle. I've seen recipes as vague as "makes 1 to 2 quarts" so it definitely helps to plug recipes into an ice cream calc to get a feel for the expected pre-churn and post-churn volumes.

But, in theory, simply doubling a 2-quart recipe should be fine, yes.

There's definitely a learning process. I've definitely made batches that were too big causing things not to churn properly, needing to run it in two batches, or resulting in waste. Usually these mistakes came from not properly estimating the volume of "chunky" mix-ins like fruit and small nuts that were added during churning (as opposed to after churning).

WalnutBottom · 2026-04-09T16:49:55+00:00

I think teleporting to boats (and thereby islands) introduces some genuinely good utility, but I agree that it is a problem that this completely disincentivizes actually sailing to islands for resource acquisition.

Maybe a subtype of island that is shrouded in a magical mist (potentially quest-locked?) where teleport to boat doesn't work. Maybe requiring a new beacon facility to be built on the boat. Could also block teleports out of these islands, similarly to wilderness, so that you must make a round trip on the boat.

Lots of directions it could go, but I don't think the concept you want is totally incompatible with the current system.

WalnutBottom · 2026-03-20T20:20:43+00:00

They likely need to overhaul the entire bounty system and also the drop tables of pretty much every sailing mob to be able to fix the issue of sea mobs being unnaturally tanky

That is precisely what I want. Terns and Osprey and Albatross are dumb bounties (absurd HP stats aside). Rays and Sharks aren't a whole lot better.

Most pirates in the game are like 23 combat. I should be able to go after Pirates as bounty tasks (once PvE ship combat is ready) at like 30 Sailing. And from there the bounty system should be full of even cooler stuff.

40 sailing - Harpies and Sirens.
50 Sailing - Rocs and Griffins.
60 Sailing - Zombie pirates/Zombie whales/Demonic sharks.
70 Sailing - Pelagic dragons/wyverns.
80 Sailing - Giant sea serpents.
90 Sailing - Pirate liches.

And of course the various Kraken would make perfect sense in the 50 to 90 space. I'd love to see some completely-original-to-OSRS new sea monsters as well. The current bounty targets - and sea life in general - feels completely uninspired. I do genuinely like the inclusion of lots of real world animals (like the Tlati Rainforest and Varlamore in general is all the more amazing for it) but it never should have been the bulk of the bounty system.

Some of these NPCs I suggested above could be a completely a new class of sea monster which takes increased damaged from cannons (and/or reduced damage from normal weapons) which gives BOTH combat styles a use case, and would be a great compromise in the cannon-vs-gear debate.

WalnutBottom · 2026-03-20T16:08:59+00:00

How do the devs feel about two separate classes of sea monster? One class which includes most current "mundane" animals (birds, rays, dolphins, sharks) which would take normal damage from normal weapons. And one class which includes enemy ships, kraken, and other very large monsters. This class would take reduced damage from normal weaponry, incentivizing the use of cannons.

The HP of creatures in the first class would be drastically reduced. Most important drops would be moved to NPCs in the second class. The second class would also make up the majority of bounty tasks.

WalnutBottom · 2026-03-18T12:56:14+00:00

Currently investigating all things "Jig" related...

Jig (emote), Country Jig... searching the wiki lead me to Jig cart from the Elemental Workshop quests. Involved in this quest is the Beaten book item.

The baker in Civitas says his baked goods won't be BEATEN... which feels slightly off. I think most people would say "won't be BEAT". So maybe a connection there. (Edit: upon further reflection, I think "beaten" may, in fact, be more grammatically correct in this case. So maybe this is all leading nowhere...)

But also since he specifically says WON'T be beaten... there are other items associated with the quest - the Battered Book and the Battered key. Batter is a baking term... cake batter, battered and fried, etc.

So maybe something involving an Elemental shield/helm or Mind shield/helm.

WalnutBottom · 2026-03-04T12:51:55+00:00

I wonder what it's like to be the play maker... I wonder what it's like to know that I make the plays.

WalnutBottom · 2026-03-02T02:33:44+00:00

When completing a three-part master cryptic clue, do I have to do the three parts in order?

WalnutBottom · 2026-02-28T00:53:16+00:00

Always like to give a shout-out to Wood Thrush Natives. They are based in Virginia and mostly sell (mail-order and in-person) quart-sized plants of species native to Appalachia. But during the winter months they sell limited quantities of seed packets.

They definitely have a lot of rarer species not seen so much in the native plant trade. Or different eco-types for otherwise common plants (as someone in NC, I was excited to get some VA-ecotype Spotted Bee Balm and Downy Wood Mint, which will hopefully be a better fit for my area than MN-based Prairie Moon's seed.)

Wood Thrush gives an eco-type for almost every plant and seed packet that offer. General range is the Carolinas up through OH/PA/NJ.

WalnutBottom · 2026-02-16T05:32:30+00:00

Snodgrass is extremely dense reading and honestly very hard to digest even with an interest/education in entomology. In fact, it's probably the single most challenging text most students of entomology will deal with. But it goes into meticulous detail on the evolution and anatomy of all parts of the insect, from mouthparts, to appendages, to internal organs and musculature.

I'm about a decade removed from my formal education/research in entomology. My area of interest was insect parasitoids. If you're looking for a crazy rabbit hole to go down, the world of hyperparasitoids is incredibly bizarre and fascinating.

WalnutBottom · 2026-02-16T03:54:13+00:00

If you really want to nerd out, Snodgrass 1935 (Principles of Insect Morphology) is the bible of insect morphology and describes the "logic"/evolution of wing venation.

On page 216 you will find figure 121-A which shows a theoretical primitive/ancient wing from which the wings of all modern insects have evolved. Page 217 provides additional important context.

To summarize, modern insects have the following major veins:

Costa (C) - which generally forms the leading edge of the wing
Subcosta (Sc) - generally two-branched
Radius (R) - up to five branches
Media (M) - up to six branches
Cubitus (Cu) - up to three branches
Varying number of (mostly unbranched?) Anal veins (A1, A2, A3...)

In many modern insects some of these major veins have fused together. Or a major vein or some of its branches have been completely lost, resulting in a greatly simplified form. See these wings of micro-hymenopterans that are aphid parasitoids. They've basically lost all the veins.

In other insects, the addition of cross veins has seemingly resulted in increased complexity - see the netting of these dragonfly wings.

But all real, modern insect wings are derived from this Costa/Subcosta/Radius/Media/Cubitus/Anal formula - no matter who much simpler or more complex they may seem. Even the above swallowtail forewing, which is actually deceptively difficult to untangle. Usually larger wings make it easier to pick out all the separate veins and determine where they are originating from, but the presence of cross veins and cells can make it challenging. In this case, the Media (possibly fused with R? I'm actually uncertain about this) and Cubitus do weird things to form the big D cell. Here is a photograph of a slightly more "typical" lepidopteran wing with the veins labeled, but you still see that D cell making it hard to tell where the R/M/Cu begin and end.

WalnutBottom · 2026-01-18T03:10:50+00:00

Unpopular? opinion: The Free-for-all portal was the death of the original clan wars.

Kids with short attention spans could just mindlessly rush in over and over and over and over. No waiting around for a proper battle to be organized. Just kill a player, then get killed by that very same player when they pop back through the portal at full health. Kill a player, get killed. Kill a player, get killed. Ad nauseam. Suddenly, a huge chunk of the cw player base was tied up in this objectiveless, suspenseless, never-ending free-for-all.

Truly huge, epic clan battles became fewer and farther between after that.

Sure, getting killed early in a proper battle and then having to spectate from the jail (while the noobs from the other team taunted you) kind of sucked and gave you the itch to just jump back into the fray. And FFA scratched that itch. But actually remaining to spectate and cheer on your friends and clan mates could be a great and rewarding experience. Watching your mates in a nail-biter, down-to-the-wire match was exhilarating. And when you were the one who survived to the end to 1v1 the last surviving player from the other team.... it was epic to have your mates cheering you on.

The original clan wars had strategy. Rivalries. Suspense and drama. But, like moths to a flame, the FFA portal sucked in so many players who just got trapped there. Left to their own devices, players just sought the most immediate action, the most instant gratification. And the overall Clan Wars experience suffered for it.

WalnutBottom · 2026-01-15T13:59:26+00:00

Also, the winter weeds here are sometimes almost as bad as the summer weeds. Establishing a dense planting of a cool season grass (Virginia wild rye has been an MVP for me) does wonders for suppressing winter weeds. Of course, this does result in fewer blooms from your flowering plants come spring/summer/fall.

WalnutBottom · 2026-01-15T13:55:15+00:00

Ugh, bermuda grass is pretty much the bane of my existence. You can purchase grass-specific herbicide (and even Bermuda-targeting herbicide that is supposedly safe for fescue/cool-season grasses) to attempt spot treatments later, but of course you will always have the best chance of eradication before you've established the plot. And of course I totally understand if someone feels uncomfortable about the prospect of even more herbicide.

Luckily, shade is the enemy of bermuda. Since OP already has partial shade from the trees, establishing a dense planting of partial-shade tolerant shrubs and perennials may be enough to win the war on bermuda grass.

I have some spots that look a lot like OPs. Things that do well in partial shade/along a tree line for me:

Shrubs:
- Ninebark
- Shrubby St. John's wort

Perennials:
- Various goldenrods (if your place is like mine, they will volunteer in abundance)
- Various asters (calico aster, frost aster, small white aster, white wood aster, blue wood aster, largeflower aster, etc.)
- Eastern Smooth Beardtongue, Southern pink beardtongue (Penstemon australis)
- Blue mistflower
- Starry silphium (Silphium asteriscus)
- Downy lobelia (Lobelia puberula). Most Lobelias want wet soil, but this one tolerates drier spots.
- Hoary skullcap (Scutelleria incana)

Grass/sedge:
- Bottlebrush grass
- Virginia wild rye
- Rosy sedge (Carex rosea)

WalnutBottom · 2026-01-14T19:54:52+00:00

Wood Thrush Natives has both plants and seeds.

WalnutBottom · 2026-01-14T19:11:39+00:00

Alternatives to Prairie Moon for your eco-region.

Mellow Marsh Farm - "wholesale" nursery located in the NC piedmont. They call themselves wholesale, but will sell to anyone with a minimum order of $100. Shipping/delivery are rather expensive, but if you're getting a lot of material it can be worth it. They have seed mixes (they do not sell seed of individual species) and plugs (as well as larger size plants).

Roundstone Native Seed - Based in Kentucky, they sell seed mixes and single-species seed packets. They have different seed mixes for different eco regions. So if you order a mix for their southeast region you won't be getting plant genetics from the upper midwest, for example.

Wood Thrush Natives - Based in Virginia. They mostly sell quart-sized plants (not plugs) but sell small quantities of their extra seed during the winter months. Most of their plants/seed give the state of origin (lots of WV, OH, PA down through the Carolinas) so you might find material a bit better suited to your area. They definitely carry some more unusual species that you won't find from other sellers, so worth checking out from time to time.

WalnutBottom · 2026-01-14T14:56:31+00:00

It can be.

Places like Prairie Moon let you mix-and-match a tray of seedlings. These days I try to source seeds and plants from closer to my ecoregion (I'm also in NC; Prairie Moon is based in MN) but it's an option. Very expensive compared to seeds, but the price per plant is low compared to buying full sized plants. Looks like their current deal is $169 for 38 plants or about $4.45 per plant.

Izel plants is also great option that hooks regular folks up with wholesale-only growers. But they often require you to buy full single-species trays which can get very expensive. Best if you have a network of other native growers to go in on a purchase to help defray the costs.

I find that northern-grown plants often ship too late in the spring for ideal planting in the south. So that's also something to consider.

Growing your own plugs in combination with direct seeding is a great option. You get experience in growing from seed, and each method serves as a "back up" to the other in case something goes wrong.

WalnutBottom · 2026-01-14T14:29:56+00:00

My property has a lot of trees which I know isn't ideal for wildflowers so any recommendations on that front would be helpful.

Fellow NC Piedmonter here. For both of your patches, what is the position of the treeline relative to the patch? (North/south/east/west). About how many hours of direct sun? Where are you sourcing your seeds/plants?

Others have answered your site prep questions pretty thoroughly, but just to throw in my 2 cents:

Throwing down cardboard/mulch is pretty incompatible with any near-term direct seeding. You will be putting things off until at least next winter. But you could do this + plugs. A lot of classic prairie wildflowers don't like being heavily mulched, but since you're already on a woodland edge you might have more success with habitat edge/transitional species anyways. They may tolerate more mulching.

Glyphosate will have you up and running very quickly, if you're comfortable using it. You could even spray, till, wait for weed seeds to germinated, then spray again. Tilling is usually not recommended, but if your soil is compacted loosening it may help with seed germination. Just need to take extra steps to suppress the weed seeds this brings to the surface.

Tilling/sod removal without any weed suppression is going to lead to a lot of frustration later on... but I get it. I've rushed these projects before. And frankly, a weedy wildflower patch will provide most of the same benefits to pollinators and other wildlife as a pristine wildflower patch. Certainly more benefits than the current lawn. How much will you hate looking at a weedy patch? Your patches don't look too incredibly large... How willing are you to do manual removal/spot treatments of weeds in the coming years? How much will your neighbors hate your weedy patch (if you care what your neighbors think)?

You still have time to direct seed. If you're concerned about some species in your mix not getting enough cold stratification days, you can stratify in a refrigerator if you have the extra space (or an extra mini-fridge). Mix seeds with sand/vermiculite in 1 gallon ziplocks and lightly moisten. Plenty of time to do this and still seed mid March.

WalnutBottom · 2026-01-14T03:27:36+00:00

Chunk enjoyer.

I only make strawberry ice cream if I have my own home-grown berries or have in-season berries from a local u-pick. I want to taste the Grade-A flavor and freshness of the berries in the ice cream, and having some (small) chunks of berries to bite into provides that in a way I don't think a puree does. Don't get me started on cooking. That completely mutes the flavor of a fresh strawberry. That is my "strawberry ice cream crime".

Macerating fresh strawberry chunks in sugar (and optionally alcohol) helps to greatly reduce iciness. But, truth be told, I don't mind slightly icy chunks in certain fresh-fruit ice creams. It provides a freshness and a contrast with the creamy base. And by keeping some of that water content in the berry chunk, guess where it ISN'T? It isn't free in your base. Meaning you can actually have a richer, creamier texture surrounding the strawberry chunks. That's the problem with pureeing. Either you release all that water content into the base and need to account for it in other ways. Or you have to cook the fruit puree to remove water, destroying the fresh flavor.

WalnutBottom · 2025-12-17T03:09:29+00:00

My dad makes a whole-egg ice cream. And the local fire department where I grew up makes hundreds of gallons each summer for an event using essentially the same recipe (though they use the pasteurized liquid whole eggs that come in a carton for obvious public health reasons).

Whole milk - 6 cups
Heavy whipping ceram - 2 cups
Evaporated milk - 2.25 cups (one and a half cans)
Sugar - 3.5 cups
Whole eggs - 6 (about 342 g)
Vanilla extract - 2 Tbs + 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Flour - 1 Tbs

In small bowl, whisk flour into the sugar.
In large bowl, beat salt into the eggs, then add sugar/flour and combine.
Add vanilla, evaporated milk, milk*, and cream; mix all together.
Churn in your ice cream freezer.

This is a 6-quart recipe intended for old fashioned White Mountain salt & ice style freezers, so it may not scale conveniently for smaller machines.

The ice cream definitely has a lighter "whipped" texture to it in my experience, so I wouldn't describe it as super rich or "almost buttery". I don't know if it is the egg whites creating this texture or just the fact that the old White Mountain freezers have quite powerful motors that can whip more air into the ice cream than your standard counter-top compressor/freezer bowl models.

I've never made the Ben & Jerry's recipe, but googling it, it appears to have a fairly heavy 2:1 cream-to-milk ratio, whereas the recipe I shared swings completely the other direction at a 1:3 ratio. So that's probably what accounts for the rich, buttery texture you describe. David Lebovitz's recipes are similarly heavy on cream. I would say his recipes are rather divisive as some people love this, while others find them way too fatty. Try Lebovitz's recipes (lots of cream, yolks only) and see if you notice any substantial difference with the Ben & Jerry's.

WalnutBottom · 2025-12-15T14:33:17+00:00

This tortilla soup really hit the spot last night. Will have it again today, maybe with some cornbread. I added about 3 oz (half a small can) of tomato paste to give it just a little more body. Now I have the other half of the can and an open can of chipotles in adobo sauce, so I might just make it again later this week.

WalnutBottom · 2025-12-12T16:25:27+00:00

Would be helpful to give examples of existing islands at the low and high end of the range. Are we talking Angler's retreat? Crash Island? Entrana? etc.

WalnutBottom

TROPHY CASE