Lock Signs

HotSteel6

Greenhorn
First off, Love this game. However It's very frustrating to open a chest, having a sign behind, and because you don't fine-click it the sign changes in what you currently have equipped(often a tool) and then find (or sometimes you don't have) the item you want to change it back again. An option/hotkey to lock/unlock the signs would solve this when you accidentally missclick.
 

Darksidavor

Newcomer
I came here to post this same suggestion, but I have a refinement:

Make "Lock Signs" a global preference, that's off by default.
"Off" is the current behavior.
"On" means that signs can only be set once until they're whacked and reset on the ground.
 

KactusNZ

Cowpoke
First off, Love this game. However It's very frustrating to open a chest, having a sign behind, and because you don't fine-click it the sign changes in what you currently have equipped(often a tool) and then find (or sometimes you don't have) the item you want to change it back again. An option/hotkey to lock/unlock the signs would solve this when you accidentally missclick.
GOD YES I never want my iridium tools on a sign :cry:
 

KactusNZ

Cowpoke
Why not? It's not as if the item is lost when you put the image on the sign.
because then I have to go back into my farm house, find where I've stashed the rare disk, put that back on the sign... or alternatively wait for my dinos to lay an egg, just to fix my sign when i never wanted my tool/sword on the sign in the first place but was mashing to harvest my crops nearby...
 

imnvs

Local Legend
So it's not about iridium tools or even just tools at all. You just don't want your sign changed. Why you'd never label anything with a tool is beyond me, though. Why not use a sign to label a chest with wood in it... with your axe?

And okay, I'm starting to think the better question is, "Why are people using so many signs?"

For chests? Don't put signs on them. Color code them. Red for the bloody parts you get from critters, greens for things that come from plants, black/grey for the rocks and other things taken out of the ground, and etc. This way you're not using up additional space (a valuable commodity) for something that can be accomplished in a simpler way.

In my mind signs are for fish ponds and putting places that you aren't going to be clicking all the time anyway. If it is somewhere where you're doing a lot of clicking, like amongst your chests to label them, they are in the way in some fashion. I have 7 chests surrounding my workbench that stores all the things that can be crafted with, each color coded, and I could not fit all of that stuff in a smaller quantity of chests... and if I put up signs, I couldn't access all the chests.

To be clear, I'm not against this idea. I would definitely lock any sign that I put up, and I do use signs for aesthetic purposes. I am stating that the problem you are having can be solved a better way.
 
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Cthulhu

Sodbuster
For chests? Don't put signs on them. Color code them. Red for the bloody parts you get from critters, greens for things that come from plants, black/grey for the rocks and other things taken out of the ground, and etc. This way you're not using up additional space (a valuable commodity) for something that can be accomplished in a simpler way.

In my mind signs are for fish ponds and putting places that you aren't going to be clicking all the time anyway.
100% the way that makes sense to me, too. Seeds go into seasonally color-coded chests, things from the sea and rivers go into a blue chest, etc.

The only times using signs would seem particularly useful is when a) you're playing multiplayer and need to communicate something simple quickly, or b) if you're going for a certain aesthetic.
 

KactusNZ

Cowpoke
yep my signs are 100% for decorative purposes. Like you said, I don't label chests with them, I colour code them.
 

imnvs

Local Legend
yep my signs are 100% for decorative purposes. Like you said, I don't label chests with them, I colour code them.
Well... then I am having a hard time understanding how you're clicking on them regularly enough that this is a big issue for you. Most of my decorative signs aren't so close to anything that makes it likely for me to accidently change the sign.
 

Odin

Moderator
Staff member
So it's not about iridium tools or even just tools at all. You just don't want your sign changed. Why you'd never label anything with a tool is beyond me, though. Why not use a sign to label a chest with wood in it... with your axe?
I believe the reference to tools was them saying they often "overwrite" existing signs with a tool that they happen to be holding. As you say, it's not anything to do with tools, just that those are equipped most of the time.
 

imnvs

Local Legend
As you say, it's not anything to do with tools, just that those are equipped most of the time.
Honestly, I try to keep an empty slot equipped most of the time, usually the = slot, which is most likely to remain empty.
 

imnvs

Local Legend
Oh, i just realized that i could label my chests with signs.
Yes you put a sign behind it... but as I've said already, if you want those chests to all surround a workbench to make it easier to craft, you can't get at all the chests if you have signs surrounding them. Color coding leaves the space you need to have them all adjacent to a workbench and still access them to put your crafting ingredients.
 
Seeds go into seasonally color-coded chests, things from the sea and rivers go into a blue chest, etc.
That's exactly the way I use chests too.

The only times using signs would seem particularly useful is when a) you're playing multiplayer and need to communicate something simple quickly, or b) if you're going for a certain aesthetic.
I think there are many ways to play and store items... So "useful" is a very individual thing.
Anyway it would be good to prevent users from fail-clicking.

Beside signs a mouse-over (which shows maybe the first 3 items of a chest) could help. Or maybe for more "messy" players the farm-computer could also offer an item-search which highlights all boxes with the searched items...
 
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