# Tips, Tricks, and Newb Questions!

**URL:** <https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42>\
**Category:** The Bunker\
**Created:** [January 3, 2013, 3:04am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42 "2013-01-03T03:04:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 211

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**Author:** ![FunsizeNinja123](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/funsizeninja123/32/118_2.png) [@FunsizeNinja123](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/FunsizeNinja123)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 11:22pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4201 "2014-08-18T23:22:05Z")

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They’ve always given me plastic chunks.

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**Author:** ![Black\_OPs](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/black_ops/32/192_2.png) [@Black\_OPs](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Black_OPs)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4202 "2014-08-19T00:23:06Z")

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Found a farm with kegs, how do I fill one with water then cook into clean water into another keg? can I also use it to store fuel from a gas pump?

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**Author:** ![KA101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/278dde/32.png) [@KA101](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/KA101)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 1:00am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4203 "2014-08-19T01:00:14Z")

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> [@Black\_OPs](#):
>
> Found a farm with kegs, how do I fill one with water then cook into clean water into another keg? can I also use it to store fuel from a gas pump?

You should probably get a vehicle as a full keg was pretty heavy last time I had one.

If it’s an item, just pick it up and examine a water tile (pool, river, etc), then select the keg as the target container. From there, you can pull water from the keg to use in boiling water, same as you would any other recipe.

If you’re talking about the non-portable wooden kegs, you’re gonna need to manually bring water to it, fill it, and manually draw from it. So I’d fill those with clean water. Sorry.

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**Author:** ![jimboblordofeskimos](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/jimboblordofeskimos/32/2_2.png) [@jimboblordofeskimos](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/jimboblordofeskimos)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4204 "2014-08-19T01:08:22Z")

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> [@kingorkami](#):
>
> Hmmm quick question: Am I doing something wrong? Or does cutting an army helmet with a knife always yield plastic chunks? I remember that was the fastest way of getting kevlar if you didnt find vests or tacticool stuff.

Army helms are all plastic, clear out a fema camp or military base to have more kevlar than you can poke a burning stick at.

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**Author:** ![123456789](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/bcef8e/32.png) [@123456789](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/123456789)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 1:37am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4205 "2014-08-19T01:37:59Z")

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Why can’t I zoom the screen out anymore in the experimental build? I’m trying to find science IDs but its hard to find them when I can’t zoom out enough to see more than my immediate surroundings.

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**Author:** ![John\_Candlebury](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/john_candlebury/32/6437_2.png) [@John\_Candlebury](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/John_Candlebury)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4206 "2014-08-19T01:53:44Z")

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Em do you mean expanding the size of the game window?

You can still do that, look for the options under the graphical something tab.

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**Author:** ![123456789](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/bcef8e/32.png) [@123456789](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/123456789)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 1:56am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4207 "2014-08-19T01:56:27Z")

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No, I mean literally zooming out the screen. I think it was either by pressing Z or z. That way you could see more of the map at once.

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**Author:** ![pingpong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4bbf92/32.png) [@pingpong](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/pingpong)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:16am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4208 "2014-08-19T02:16:58Z")

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I have a feeling zoom was tied to a fixed viewport size - I messed with z and Z, and one of them actually cut off a part of my field-of-view, and I am on a larger-than-1080p screen.

Edit: nevermind, it just made previously black bars on the left and right(all the way) side of my screen go gray. Weird. Is it only for tiles?

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**Author:** ![KA101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/278dde/32.png) [@KA101](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/KA101)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:35am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4209 "2014-08-19T02:35:22Z")

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[quote=“pingpong, post:4208, topic:42”]I have a feeling zoom was tied to a fixed viewport size - I messed with z and Z, and one of them actually cut off a part of my field-of-view, and I am on a larger-than-1080p screen.

Edit: nevermind, it just made previously black bars on the left and right(all the way) side of my screen go gray. Weird. Is it only for tiles?[/quote]

Correct. Zoom is an SDL thing. There should be options in the options/Interface tab to adjust the screen size, but you’ll need to save the settings and restart DDA to apply the change.

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**Author:** ![pingpong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4bbf92/32.png) [@pingpong](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/pingpong)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:42am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4210 "2014-08-19T02:42:36Z")

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Is font rendering currently accelerated (both as pre-cached tiles/blitting and then mapped to a texture)? SDL has a lot of that, so I assumed it was.

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**Author:** ![123456789](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/bcef8e/32.png) [@123456789](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/123456789)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 10:14am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4211 "2014-08-19T10:14:16Z")

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Whats the fastest way to train archery? Are there any books that go beyond level 3? I’m trying to get to that reflex recurve bow, but it seems the skill rust is faster than the skill gain, and I have the fast learner perk. I read in another thread you can shoot walls but that seems really slow (which it should be), but even hunting I’ve killed hundreds of critters and still seem to be leveling at just 1 percent or less per creature. At this rate i’ll never get to level 7.

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**Author:** ![FunsizeNinja123](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/funsizeninja123/32/118_2.png) [@FunsizeNinja123](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/FunsizeNinja123)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 11:12am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4212 "2014-08-19T11:12:54Z")

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Take this archery advice from me, the only one probably here who has gotten a 20 in it.

It doesn’t take long. Just shoot everything, and with archery you will need a good handcannon when shit goes wrong and melee. The only thing that I ever do is find all the high-teir archery books with all the recipes in them and try to make the reflex recurve bow with metal arrows. Not really hard.

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**Author:** ![The\_Lone\_Badger](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/the_lone_badger/32/8063_2.png) [@The\_Lone\_Badger](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/The_Lone_Badger)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 11:21am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4213 "2014-08-19T11:21:30Z")

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> [@123456789](#):
>
> Whats the fastest way to train archery? Are there any books that go beyond level 3? I’m trying to get to that reflex recurve bow, but it seems the skill rust is faster than the skill gain, and I have the fast learner perk. I read in another thread you can shoot walls but that seems really slow (which it should be), but even hunting I’ve killed hundreds of critters and still seem to be leveling at just 1 percent or less per creature. At this rate i’ll never get to level 7.

The easiest way is to grind it. You will need:  
MP3 player (w/ batteries)  
Entertaining books (samurai novel, western novel etc)  
Superglue  
2x4s

1. Craft a blowgun from one 2x4 and the superglue. Turn the rest into darts. Turn on your MP3 player.
2. Fire darts at the empty square next to you until your Focus drops to 30.
3. Read entertaining books until your Focus reaches 100
4. Repeat from step 2

You should get Archery 8 (enough for reflex-recurve bow) within about a game day.

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**Author:** ![sagethor](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/sagethor/32/347_2.png) [@sagethor](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/sagethor)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4214 "2014-08-19T19:45:23Z")

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Heya, been playing the game for a while, and lurking the forums for good measure. Found some random tip I think is worth posting, and figured this was the place to do it.

Need bionic energy in a timely fashion? Using the Joint Torsion Ratchet CBM, find an object you can grab and not move, for example, some kind of vehicle (will resist a “your mother” joke here). If you hold down a directional key, you essentially generate infinite amounts of energy in an infinitesimally short amount of time. (build 1943)

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**Author:** ![John\_Candlebury](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/john_candlebury/32/6437_2.png) [@John\_Candlebury](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/John_Candlebury)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4215 "2014-08-19T22:52:43Z")

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> [@sagethor](#):
>
> Need bionic energy in a timely fashion? Using the Joint Torsion Ratchet CBM, find an object you can grab and not move, for example, some kind of vehicle (will resist a “your mother” joke here). If you hold down a directional key, you essentially generate infinite amounts of energy in an infinitesimally short amount of time. (build 1943)

Shouldn’t have said that, now its gonna get fixed. D:

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**Author:** ![kingorkami](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/kingorkami/32/242_2.png) [@kingorkami](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/kingorkami)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 10:55pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4216 "2014-08-19T22:55:41Z")

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Heh, that sounds like an exploit. 😛

On an unrelated note. I managed to set up a lovely generator with a minifridge, a floodlight and a stereo for extra shizzle. Problem is, I run out of gas stations and siphoned pretty much every vehicle I came across.

So.

How to solar powered generators? I remember I built an enclosed space outside my base like a year ago and filled it with solar panels and batteries. Is that still the most efficient way of doing this?

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**Author:** ![i2amroy](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/i2amroy/32/909_2.png) [@i2amroy](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/i2amroy)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 11:12pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4217 "2014-08-19T23:12:28Z")

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> [@John Candlebury](#):
>
> [quote=“sagethor, post:4214, topic:42”]Need bionic energy in a timely fashion? Using the Joint Torsion Ratchet CBM, find an object you can grab and not move, for example, some kind of vehicle (will resist a “your mother” joke here). If you hold down a directional key, you essentially generate infinite amounts of energy in an infinitesimally short amount of time. (build 1943)

Shouldn’t have said that, now its gonna get fixed. D:[/quote]  
MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! 😃

> [@kingorkami](#):
>
> How to solar powered generators? I remember I built an enclosed space outside my base like a year ago and filled it with solar panels and batteries. Is that still the most efficient way of doing this?

Pretty much, though keep in mind you need to be near enough for it to be in the reality bubble for it to charge. Solar panels will most likely be one of the first things with update code while you aren’t there, but not yet.

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**Author:** ![Catfoodbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee59a6/32.png) [@Catfoodbob](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Catfoodbob)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 11:34pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4218 "2014-08-19T23:34:15Z")

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Maybe perhaphs have there be a world bubble where it updates everything in the world at the end of the day on a basic sense.

Also, 2 briefcases are awesome if you don’t wish to use range 😛

i am looking to make the survivor armor and i am at lvl 7 but i don’t see it anywhere.

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**Author:** ![Daidalon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/77aa72/32.png) [@Daidalon](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Daidalon)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4219 "2014-08-19T23:50:27Z")

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[quote=“Catfoodbob, post:4218, topic:42”]Maybe perhaphs have there be a world bubble where it updates everything in the world at the end of the day on a basic sense.

Also, 2 briefcases are awesome if you don’t wish to use range 😛

i am looking to make the survivor armor and i am at lvl 7 but i don’t see it anywhere.[/quote]  
You need tailoring and fabrication IIRC

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**Author:** ![DG123](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/54ee81/32.png) [@DG123](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/DG123)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/4220 "2014-08-20T20:07:50Z")

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Just a thought… Can you stick a storage battery on a shopping cart, put a solar panel on that, and drag it around with you as you go about your business? That would make it charge all the time.

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