# 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:** 43

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hamsmagoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bc8723/32.png) [@Hamsmagoo](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Hamsmagoo)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/841 "2013-05-25T15:50:29Z")

</div>

Hello forum. Just discovered this game this week and had a extremely noobish question that I haven’t been able to find a definitive answer for, although I’m almost positive the answer is “no.”

It’s about keeping warm at night. I’m confused about two particular items.

First- sheets. I have a sheet and was hoping I could use it to sleep at night. Apparently, I can use it as bedding (if I have a bed) but if I’m just sleeping on the floor is there a way to wrap it around myself? I know that, with a little dance, you can make certain items do things that aren’t clearly evident. For example, I discovered my asthmatic character couldn’t puff his inhaler unless it was wielded.

Also, I’m confused about heat packs. I’ve been using them to make hot meals but is there a way to stick in my glove to keep my hands warm. I’m assuming these “heat packs” are either those Icy Hot things that used to be in the commercials with Shaq or they’re those hand-warmer things that people buy around ski season. So, the question is: are these only useful for heating food, or is there a dance I can do to heat myself with it?

I don’t know how much tolerance this community has for stupidity, but there’s a big face-full of it. Thanks in advance for your replies!

Also, I wanted to share this screenshot because it made me laugh. Every cloud has a silver lining.

[![](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v620/thelobo/ScreenShot2013-05-24at105218PM-1.png)](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/thelobo/media/ScreenShot2013-05-24at105218PM-1.png.html)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![halberdsturgeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7ab992/32.png) [@halberdsturgeon](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/halberdsturgeon)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/842 "2013-05-25T16:51:45Z")

</div>

Welcome. I’m guessing you’re still playing 0.4? You can use sheets to build a makeshift bed, as you probably know, and any sort of bedding will make it easier to get to sleep, but won’t solve your issues with being cold. Nor will heatpacks - they’re only for warming up items in your inventory. You really just need to rug up - scrounge all the clothing you can get and try to push your warmth levels into the green.

In 0.5 there are things like blankets and sleeping bags, but they’re really just clothing objects that you can wear to keep your whole body warm.

I’m curious about your problem with the inhaler, too… you should be able to just hit a for activate and then the letter of the item in your inventory. Note that shift-a is a separate command which activates the item you currently have wielded.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hamsmagoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bc8723/32.png) [@Hamsmagoo](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Hamsmagoo)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/843 "2013-05-25T17:19:33Z")

</div>

Thanks for the response!

I’m playing 0.5

I have a pile of 10 2x4s and nails in the corner of my safe house, waiting to become a bed. It says I need a blanket. The sheet doesn’t seem to let me make the bed, even if it’s in my inventory.

The asthma thing was a character I made two days ago. It was my first character so i was still struggling with the commands. I selected my inhaler from the inventory and hit ‘a’. It said “you can do nothing special with your inhaler.”

I wielded it and hit 'A". And it said “you take a puff from your inhaler.”

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Flare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c0e974/32.png) [@Flare](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Flare)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/844 "2013-05-25T20:02:36Z")

</div>

Sheet =/= blanket.

Check your armor crafting list.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Weyrling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7bcc69/32.png) [@Weyrling](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Weyrling)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 8:05pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/845 "2013-05-25T20:05:41Z")

</div>

[quote=“Hamsmagoo, post:843, topic:42”]I have a pile of 10 2x4s and nails in the corner of my safe house, waiting to become a bed. It says I need a blanket. The sheet doesn’t seem to let me make the bed, even if it’s in my inventory.

The asthma thing was a character I made two days ago. It was my first character so i was still struggling with the commands. I selected my inhaler from the inventory and hit ‘a’. It said “you can do nothing special with your inhaler.”

I wielded it and hit 'A". And it said “you take a puff from your inhaler.”[/quote]  
If you go into the ‘&’ Crafting menu, and move over to the ‘Armor’ tab, you can turn 20 rags into a blanket, 'a’pplying a knife and selecting ‘1’ Cut Fabric, you can turn a sheet into a bunch (max 20) rags, if you’re a bad tailor you get less rags, so you’ll want 2 sheets.

You can also use the Consume key ‘E’ to use medicine such as an inhaler, I’ve never even tried to 'a’pply one.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hamsmagoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bc8723/32.png) [@Hamsmagoo](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Hamsmagoo)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/846 "2013-05-25T20:27:54Z")

</div>

That’s weird. i saw that you can turn rags into a sheet. So turning a sheet into rags and then sewing them back together makes it a blanket. I’ll have to try that but first I have to get the hammer off my guy’s corpse now.

Damn zombie kids. I’m going to burn down that regional school.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ferodaktyl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/ferodaktyl/32/56_2.png) [@Ferodaktyl](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Ferodaktyl)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/847 "2013-05-25T21:20:15Z")

</div>

Does anyone knows if the bug where drinking doesn’t give +1 strength has been solved in the latest builds?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![kastor246](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f19dbf/32.png) [@kastor246](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/kastor246)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 3:18am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/848 "2013-05-26T03:18:21Z")

</div>

Is there anyway to get gas out of a gas tank from a car??

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [May 26, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/849 "2013-05-26T04:02:40Z")

</div>

> [@kastor246](#):
>
> Is there anyway to get gas out of a gas tank from a car??

In the dev/nightly versions you can use a rubber hose to get gas from the car, elsewise no.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![kastor246](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f19dbf/32.png) [@kastor246](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/kastor246)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 4:31am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/850 "2013-05-26T04:31:30Z")

</div>

> [@i2amroy](#):
>
> [quote=“kastor246, post:848, topic:42”]Is there anyway to get gas out of a gas tank from a car??

In the dev/nightly versions you can use a rubber hose to get gas from the car, elsewise no.[/quote] Ah ok ty! Thank god I have a bunch of jerry cans and a nearby gas station :D!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Grossor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Grossor](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Grossor)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 8:00am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/851 "2013-05-26T08:00:30Z")

</div>

I’m having problems with the new inventory system and assigned characters- namely, there are some that I can’t find on my keyboard. Any ideas on what can I do to reassign - and change the reassigning system?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [May 26, 2013, 8:23am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/852 "2013-05-26T08:23:08Z")

</div>

> [@Grossor](#):
>
> I’m having problems with the new inventory system and assigned characters- namely, there are some that I can’t find on my keyboard. Any ideas on what can I do to reassign - and change the reassigning system?

I’m not sure how much you actually can do at this point due to the inability of cataclysm to handle most characters. You could try changing line 6894 in game.cpp to include whatever new characters you want, and line 8 in inventory.cpp to have the same characters, but I’m unsure if said method would work or not.

If it doesn’t another potential solution would be to check your computer options and see if they have a method to change it to the standard qwerty keyboard style. This wouldn’t change your physical keyboard, but it would at least remap it to the standard options and if you combine it with a picture of a normal qwerty keyboard you could probably find most keys with a little bit of work.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Grossor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Grossor](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Grossor)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 8:44am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/853 "2013-05-26T08:44:37Z")

</div>

I just found an equivalent keybinding for the vertical bar. Nonetheless I’m concerned for other characters that might appear.

Also: reassign item doesn’t seem to work anymore.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Justice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Justice](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Justice)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 8:57am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/854 "2013-05-26T08:57:13Z")

</div>

> [@Grossor](#):
>
> I’m having problems with the new inventory system and assigned characters- namely, there are some that I can’t find on my keyboard. Any ideas on what can I do to reassign - and change the reassigning system?

Tip: Open the new clothing sorting panel with (+) and press (r) to reassign most, if not all, non-alphabetic characters to your clothing. (Note: you won’t receive a notice.) It’s a great way to keep your main inventory clear of the harder to recognize characters.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hamsmagoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bc8723/32.png) [@Hamsmagoo](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Hamsmagoo)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/855 "2013-05-26T14:53:49Z")

</div>

I have another newb question.

With the exception of these two specific evac shelters, that happen to be right next to each other, every time i try to descend stairs in a building, I get a message like “halfway down, rubble blocks you from going further.”

Are lower x-levels currently deactivated or have I just been very unlucky?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![halberdsturgeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7ab992/32.png) [@halberdsturgeon](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/halberdsturgeon)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 12:04am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/856 "2013-05-27T00:04:15Z")

</div>

z-levels aren’t disabled and I’ve never seen that message before, only the one about the stairs vanishing halfway down prompting you to jump the remainder of the distance, which means the game is about to drop you more than one z-level. Sounds like a mapping failsafe for when the level below is improperly generated or something.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hamsmagoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bc8723/32.png) [@Hamsmagoo](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Hamsmagoo)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/857 "2013-05-27T01:58:51Z")

</div>

The exact message is “Halfway down, the way down becomes blocked off.”

It happens with every down staircase.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tripsky](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/tripsky/32/43_2.png) [@Tripsky](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Tripsky)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/858 "2013-05-27T02:38:38Z")

</div>

I was just wondering if there’s any way to check the armour levels for a specific body part. i’m growing some nice armour mutations and want to be able to check what it’s actually doing for me.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DWC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f19dbf/32.png) [@DWC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/DWC)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/859 "2013-05-27T02:58:53Z")

</div>

Quick question… is there any functional difference between Braziers, wood stoves and stone fireplaces? They all keep fire from spreading outside of their tile, right?

I just built a wood stove and I’m kinda afraid to use to because it’s right next to a wall and inside a house.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Flare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c0e974/32.png) [@Flare](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Flare)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 3:10am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/860 "2013-05-27T03:10:13Z")

</div>

If you’re already asking here, you might as well save scum and find out ;).

[Previous page](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42.md?page=42)

[Next page](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42.md?page=44)