Love the Mole!

[Zalyn]

I wanted to let you know that I really like the animation and sound of the mole; it's a good balance of cute and naughty.  And the mole fits nicely into the ecology of the game as well.

 

I am a bit concerned about moles making the starting game too hard for players if they get unlucky, however  Since moles grab minerals, including flint, a bad start could mean that there is no loose flint around in grassy areas (which is usually where new games start and where players tend to hang out for basic resources) because the moles grabbed it all, and no way to get it back until one gets a shovel.

 

Thank you for all the great work! 

[MilleniumCount]

We need a working mole trap....perhaps a little hammer tied to a rock/flint...the mole approaches...and Whack stuned mole and everything that greedy little digger munched away from our grip

 

perhaps sticks, grass and a stone (for the hammerhead)

[Amkar]

Maybe... Moles don't start appearing until a couple of days after the start of a new game?

[Lumina]

You can also put a flint/rock in the ground and hit the mole when it try to steal it. You'll obtain a morsel and the item the mole have pick. So no need of a showel, just have obtain one flint (make an axe) and one stone (for attract the mole.)

[Zalyn]

That's my point - I recently started a new game, and I had moles running around, presumably ganking flints before I could get them, because there weren't any to be found early on.  It's not a "must fix this now!" balance issue, but a potential one if there aren't any checks on it. 

 

Again, you need a flint to get the flint by hitting the mole (unless you can punch it?) with a weapon.

[Lumina]

Hmm, i've start a couple of game and i've flint without too many troubles. Sometimes you can see the mole trying to pick the flint and you have enough time to take it before the mole.

 

But i can't tell if it is the most frequent case.

[brummbar7]

Ya, I've never had a problem with this either I guess.  I'm pretty sure they, like most of the game, are only active when they're within a screen or so of you.   So as long as you're actively exploring you should be able to beat them to the goods.  Once you have three flint you have enough for an axe and pick, and then you should have no problem at all getting flint.   I could see how an unlucky starting location combined with moles could be tough I guess, in theory.  But I think that is kind of rare.