Considering the direction as implied to me from the town hall, I can see some improvements being made. I have been playing since some of the early Betas, (I think I was before A8) and when it comes to difficulty and survival I can see a few different ways of doing it.
First, water and jars. Plenty of people want jars back. Immersion wise, I can see that. TFP doesn't want water to be easy. I can see that too. Rust, the sociopath simulator has a decent water system and taking a page or two from that playback should help. First don't make jars craftable, but purely found items. Jars, bottles, doesn't matter the skin just small fluid carrier. If you want also make a large fluid carrier like a Jerry can or something. Even if you want to save time with coding the small ones are one "dose" while large are 5. Then water could potentially have two things wrong with it. The first is microorganisms, which boiling would fix. A still attached to a campfire might give you 8 doses of water for 10 you put in. It would also handle things like debris and toxic metals but not volatile compounds like alcohol or gasoline or other chemicals. A filter made of sand and charcoal would give you 10 out for 10 in, but while it does debris, volatile compounds and toxic metals it doesn't do microorganisms. So still a dysentery risk. Make craftable water tanks and keep dew collectors with a way to pipe them down to the tanks via gravity. However getting water from either is a mouthful straight from the tap or filling a bottle. And since dew collectors need to be processed still, that is a bit risky. Hydration is still a challenge early game, and late game you can just automate it in your base. Electrical pumps to not only move water but drain lakes and rivers would be a great addition, especially with the heat they generate.
Unique items. Something discussed that I would love to see as long as it doesn't turn my survival game into a looter/shooter. Make the uniques one step down from the highest tier, Rank 4, fully modded with a unique ability, and either triple durability or indestructible. While the "Miner '49er" iron pickaxe won't beat out a rank 6 steel pickaxe when it comes to heavy excavation, it also is indestructible so you don't need repair kits to keep tunneling. So for the 'Miner '49er" as an example, a rank 4 iron pickaxe with I think Bunker Buster, the mod that does double block damage, fortified grip, and the unique ability "Motherlode: 1% chance on the breaking of a natural stone, ore, or soil block for a gold or silver nugget to spawn." Plenty of flavor, a bit better than the crafted stuff but you aren't calling the game a wash if you don't kit yourself out with uniques.
Biomes. I love that the biomes are environmental hazards. I didn't like the badge system and don't like the experimental extra 4 slots for kits. Either give us back 10 slot clothing system with a single potential mod slot per item and make the kits mods so running all 4 leaves you 6 mods left, or make the kit 1 slot and either upgradable or replaceable. So burnt forest is a respirator, cold a coat, desert wicking underclothes and wasteland a Chem suit. Replaceable since odds are most players aren't going through all 4 biomes at once. Personally I think the kits should be acquirable one of three ways, and best option is all three available. First is a recipe lootable from any "book" container in the biome. Give it similar odds to most of the mod recipes, maybe a little better. Spend enough time there you can find it and build it. Next is to "tech tree" the recipe. Achievement chain, skill level, however you want to gatekeep it. Finally the vendors in the biome sell the kit. Make it expensive.
Crafting and skills. Do it to learn it was brutal. I refused to repair things because making a new one was so much better. The magazine system sucks in a whole new way. If you aren't finding "book" containers, or are having poor luck with them, you will be gatekept from the crafting system. Mash the two systems together, let me bash my head against the brick wall of "do it to learn it" if I can't find the magazines, but let the magazines give me boosts of skill points. Or let me spend 1 level up point for 10 skill points assignable. So even if I can't find any magazines I can still make a wrench. That would mean everything would need a level 1 recipe assigned to it instead of some skills not giving anything to craft until rank 5, 10, even 15.
Bedrooms and "Spawn near backpack". Currently bedrolls have no real purpose except to put a marker at your base. "Spawn near Backpack" is the superior option in nearly every case. Let's take that option away and improve bedrolls. Why not give us a craftable bed, something we can place in the base and always have as an option to spawn in. Never a cool down. Meanwhile bedrolls have a cool down, say 2-5 minutes where you can't spawn there again. With a map and bedroll options. So when you investigate POI you better drop a bedroll or you will be walking. Either let us name bedrolls or use a map to pick one to spawn at. Let zombies, if they stumble on it break them as well. Give it an aggro range similar to the player.
Just some thoughts.
First, water and jars. Plenty of people want jars back. Immersion wise, I can see that. TFP doesn't want water to be easy. I can see that too. Rust, the sociopath simulator has a decent water system and taking a page or two from that playback should help. First don't make jars craftable, but purely found items. Jars, bottles, doesn't matter the skin just small fluid carrier. If you want also make a large fluid carrier like a Jerry can or something. Even if you want to save time with coding the small ones are one "dose" while large are 5. Then water could potentially have two things wrong with it. The first is microorganisms, which boiling would fix. A still attached to a campfire might give you 8 doses of water for 10 you put in. It would also handle things like debris and toxic metals but not volatile compounds like alcohol or gasoline or other chemicals. A filter made of sand and charcoal would give you 10 out for 10 in, but while it does debris, volatile compounds and toxic metals it doesn't do microorganisms. So still a dysentery risk. Make craftable water tanks and keep dew collectors with a way to pipe them down to the tanks via gravity. However getting water from either is a mouthful straight from the tap or filling a bottle. And since dew collectors need to be processed still, that is a bit risky. Hydration is still a challenge early game, and late game you can just automate it in your base. Electrical pumps to not only move water but drain lakes and rivers would be a great addition, especially with the heat they generate.
Unique items. Something discussed that I would love to see as long as it doesn't turn my survival game into a looter/shooter. Make the uniques one step down from the highest tier, Rank 4, fully modded with a unique ability, and either triple durability or indestructible. While the "Miner '49er" iron pickaxe won't beat out a rank 6 steel pickaxe when it comes to heavy excavation, it also is indestructible so you don't need repair kits to keep tunneling. So for the 'Miner '49er" as an example, a rank 4 iron pickaxe with I think Bunker Buster, the mod that does double block damage, fortified grip, and the unique ability "Motherlode: 1% chance on the breaking of a natural stone, ore, or soil block for a gold or silver nugget to spawn." Plenty of flavor, a bit better than the crafted stuff but you aren't calling the game a wash if you don't kit yourself out with uniques.
Biomes. I love that the biomes are environmental hazards. I didn't like the badge system and don't like the experimental extra 4 slots for kits. Either give us back 10 slot clothing system with a single potential mod slot per item and make the kits mods so running all 4 leaves you 6 mods left, or make the kit 1 slot and either upgradable or replaceable. So burnt forest is a respirator, cold a coat, desert wicking underclothes and wasteland a Chem suit. Replaceable since odds are most players aren't going through all 4 biomes at once. Personally I think the kits should be acquirable one of three ways, and best option is all three available. First is a recipe lootable from any "book" container in the biome. Give it similar odds to most of the mod recipes, maybe a little better. Spend enough time there you can find it and build it. Next is to "tech tree" the recipe. Achievement chain, skill level, however you want to gatekeep it. Finally the vendors in the biome sell the kit. Make it expensive.
Crafting and skills. Do it to learn it was brutal. I refused to repair things because making a new one was so much better. The magazine system sucks in a whole new way. If you aren't finding "book" containers, or are having poor luck with them, you will be gatekept from the crafting system. Mash the two systems together, let me bash my head against the brick wall of "do it to learn it" if I can't find the magazines, but let the magazines give me boosts of skill points. Or let me spend 1 level up point for 10 skill points assignable. So even if I can't find any magazines I can still make a wrench. That would mean everything would need a level 1 recipe assigned to it instead of some skills not giving anything to craft until rank 5, 10, even 15.
Bedrooms and "Spawn near backpack". Currently bedrolls have no real purpose except to put a marker at your base. "Spawn near Backpack" is the superior option in nearly every case. Let's take that option away and improve bedrolls. Why not give us a craftable bed, something we can place in the base and always have as an option to spawn in. Never a cool down. Meanwhile bedrolls have a cool down, say 2-5 minutes where you can't spawn there again. With a map and bedroll options. So when you investigate POI you better drop a bedroll or you will be walking. Either let us name bedrolls or use a map to pick one to spawn at. Let zombies, if they stumble on it break them as well. Give it an aggro range similar to the player.
Just some thoughts.