# New player (PALU) questions

**URL:** https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/new-player-palu-questions/24185
**Category:** The Bunker
**Created:** [July 19, 2020, 8:07am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/new-player-palu-questions/24185 "2020-07-19T08:07:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 2

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### Author: ![Valase](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/valase/32/6972_2.png) [@Valase](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Valase)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2020, 10:23am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/new-player-palu-questions/24185/2 "2020-07-19T10:23:35Z")

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> [@PALU](#):
>
> Is there a difference in outcome between 'g’etting something that can be harvested compared to 'e’xamine and then get it

No. [g] is for picking up items from the ground/furniture while [e]xamining it give you more information or executes an action, but if you get the “pick up item” display (because there’s nothing else there than the objects to pick up), they function the same.  
You can’t pick up grown plants (flowers, planted wheat) with [g] and have to use [e] on them. The farm comes with pre-harvested crops, that’s why you can pick them with either.

> [@PALU](#):
>
> […] dogs on the farm […] can be tamed […] but how do I actually do that?

You need to [a]ctivate [dog food](https://cdda-trunk.chezzo.com/dogfood) next to them.

> [@PALU](#):
>
> If I do tame the dogs, how do I feed them, and how often/how much?

Unless that changed during the development of the game, they are loyal to you forever and don’t have to be fed anymore.

> [@PALU](#):
>
> [feed chicken]

The same as with dogs. [a]ctivate the bird food and once accepted they don’t have to be fed anymore (unless this changed).

> [@PALU](#):
>
> If I use a recipe from a book, will I learn it, or do I have to bring that book out every time I want to use that recipe?

Yes. To the whole sentence. Everytime you use the book to prepare some recipe in it, you have a chance to “remember” it and don’t have to use that book for that recipe ever again.  
There are also recipes that are learned automatically at a higher skill level.  
There’s also a chance to learn the recipe of something from disassembling it (well, probably not food).  
If you have bad luck, you don’t learn it from crafting it once (or even multiple times) and always have to bring that book with you if you want to craft that recipe.  
Rereading the book does not learn recipes.

> [@PALU](#):
>
> There’s a whole bunch of plants in the game, […] but how do I know what I (might) get?

Either check the wiki or pick them and note them down. It’s not very time or energy consuming to pick them and you can use decorative plant seeds to feed to more chickens/birds (or just throw them out).  
You can see the name of the plant (if the tile pack you use does not differentiate) aside from other information by pressing or [;] and moving the cursor over the plant.

> [@PALU](#):
>
> I’ve found a dehydrator, but it doesn’t seem to work, so I guess it doesn’t have any battery or the battery doesn’t have any charge, but how do I check if items have batteries and whether those are charged or not?

Open your [i]nventory, select it and press enter. In the description you’ll find if there’s a battery in it (it would say so) and more importantly, what type of battery it takes.  
If there’s a battery in it, it should also say so (including the charges left in the battery) in your inventory next to the name of the item, like “food dehydrator (0/2000)”.  
Also, unless that changed, you can’t “use” the dehydrator. It’s part of the crafting recipe as a “tool” and consumes a fix amount of charges.

> [@PALU](#):
>
> Any idea what these things might be and what I might be able to do with them (apart from trying to “harvest” metal from them)?

Look for a pulley system nearby. Unless they got destroyed by some monster, you can [e]xamine them to open the doors.

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For future reference, if you need some fast answers, you’re probably better off with [Discord](https://discord.gg/jFEc7Yp), [IRC](https://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=#CataclysmDDA) or the [Tips, Tricks and Newb Questions: Reborn!](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870) forum topic.

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