I think TFP are heading in the right direction, but on the wrong path with some things.
I think books and progression by doing need to play a much bigger role in the game. Our players basically start out dumb and weak and I think the way they get smart and strong should be tied a little more to reality than it is now to make some parts of the game less gimmicky. Here is my idea:
Stamina should be gained through things that truly build stamina - long, physical work! Running, mining, chopping, swimming, etc. Bring our little progression bars back and let us put in an honest day's hard work to build our stamina!
Strength, like stamina, should be earned in ways that build strength - muscle tearing work! Mining, chopping, being encumbered, construction can all lead to sore muscles when you wake up the next day. Notice I did not mention running and swimming because those are more associated with stamina than building muscle. Likewise, encumbered and construction would build more strength so they are not in Stamina.
Books are for learning and our character is dumb so he/she needs a lot of knowledge. A book for the forge, workbench, cement mixer, etc. should be needed to build these items. Same goes for tools and forged steel. Maybe with the forge comes the knowledge to make a very crude pick axe, shovel and something that resembles a fire axe (represented by levels). In the world you can find the schematics for an Iron fire axe (lvl 2), reinforced fire axe (lvl 3), steel fire axe (lvl 4), reinforced steel fire axe (lvl 5), and legendary fire axe (lvl 6). Same goes for all of the other tools... and cooking too (at least anything past the basic stuff).
The big twist... You start out by picking a profession for your past life: Fireman, construction worker, veteran, cook, police officer, etc. Each profession comes with its own starter gear (lower level starter pack). I think Valmod did this in A16 which was a brilliant idea.
Needing a book for just about everything means a TON of exploring is required and different books could be found in different areas of POIs like meds can be found in medicine cabinets and Poppin Pills. However, getting a small head start in different professions means a server's builders can get to building rather quick and miners can get to mining while hunters and vets have a leg up towards getting out and exploring.
Sorry for the wall, but I wanted to get this idea out of my head before it slipped out of my ears. TFP, this should by no means be taken as an insult. I love what you've done with the game - like most I'm just sharing ideas that fit into my small world of what would be awesome.
