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Vintage Story Mod DB · Vintage Story mod

Expanded Resources

UPD. 14.12.25 - Barbed wire update! A new fence type made with metal wire items. Barbed wire fences apply a slight damage to animals and creatures touching them, except domesticated animals of Generation 3 or higher. Their crafting output is also pretty high,

Choose a version Pick your version below, then grab the matching file.

Quick answer

Which Expanded Resources release should I use?

Updated 7 months ago
Latest stable file 1.2.1
Game version 1.21.5
Loader Built-in Vintage Story mod system

Expanded Resources 1.2.1 targets 1.21.5. It must be installed on the client. Installation on the dedicated server is optional. No extra mods listed for this file.

Where it goes

Is Expanded Resources required on the client, server, or both?

It must be installed on the client. Installation on the dedicated server is optional.

Client Required
Dedicated server Optional
Loader for this release Built-in Vintage Story mod system
Required install it here Optional supported, not mandatory Not supported do not install here Source doesn’t say do not assume

This release supports both sides, but the source does not require it on the server.

What else does Expanded Resources 1.2.1 need?

1.2.1. Change the file and its required mods may change too.

No extra mods listed for this file

This file does not list any required mods. Do not add a library just because a different file uses it.

This file does not list any required or optional mods.

Before you install it

Add Expanded Resources without breaking your instance.

Built for Expanded Resources 1.2.1. Pick another file and the loader, install side or required mods may change.

  1. 01

    Stick to this file

    Use 1.2.1. It targets 1.21.5; another release may have different loader, side or dependency requirements.

  2. 02

    Bring the mods it needs

    This file does not list any required mods. Do not add a library just because a different file uses it.

  3. 03

    Put it on the correct side

    It must be installed on the client. Installation on the dedicated server is optional.

  4. 04

    Pick the file you checked

    Use the “Get this file” button beside 1.2.1. It opens that exact file at the source.

About this project

What does Expanded Resources add?

UPD. 14.12.25 - Barbed wire update! A new fence type made with metal wire items.
Barbed wire fences apply a slight damage to animals and creatures touching them, except domesticated animals of Generation 3 or higher. Their crafting output is also pretty high, allowing you to quickly fence off large territories.
With this update I make my first foray into code modding, so that I can now add more interesting features down the line.

 

UPD. 26.10.25 - Bark update! A whole new production chain utilizing tree bark.

This mod adds lots of various craftable resource items to the game and integrates them into existing production chains, drawing strong inspiration from real life recipes.

Short list of new resources:

  • Wood and kelp ashes
  • Starch
  • Soda ash
  • New glue types
  • Oils and rendered fats
  • Soaps
  • Grease
  • Glass batches
  • Metal wire
  • ...and more!
In-depth list of new resources and recipes:

 

Tree bark

Tree bark is now a byproduct of debarking logs. Additionally, debarking is now done using a hoe (which is similar enough in look and function to an adze, an actual tool ised in debarking irl) instead of a hammer+axe combination. This makes bark and debarked logs available as early as the Stone Age and gives some extra utility to a previously very underused tool.
Tree bark has multiple uses:

  • It can be burned into wood ash, resulting in half as much ash as you would get from the whole log.
  • Oak and Acacia bark can be used to make tannins the same way the logs are.
  • Bark can be used to make improvised wood armor and a crude shield.
  • Fibrous bark of Birch and Redwood trees can be processed into bark strands which can in turn be used to make many different items.
Bark strands

Bark strands are a type of fiber that can be used to make:

  • Bark baskets, bark chests, bark skeps, bark basket traps, rush matting, beenades, hunter backpacks and ropes - all in a similar vein to reeds and papyrus.
  • Bark cordage (a type of thread).
Bark cordage
A type of cordage made of bark fiber, it can be used to make sieves or as a bowstring in the bow recipes
Starch
Starch made by sealing starch-rich dough (or rice mash) and water in a barrel. Can be used as an additive in papermaking or to make starch glue.
Washed flax fibers
A new processed version of raw flax fibers. Raw flax fibers are now much less efficient when turning them into flax twine, so wash them first if you can. To wash the fibers you need to seal them in a barrel with any kind of detergent (lye, caustic lye or soapy water).
Raw sinew

To compensate for reduced twine yield from raw flax fibers, you can now extract raw sinew from bushmeat, which can then be turned into sinew cordage. Sinew also now replaces bushmeat in the recurve bow recipe.

Sinew cordage
Made by combining 4 raw sinew pieces. Can be used instead of flax twine when making bows or leather clothing and armor.
Wood ash
Made by burning wood logs in a firepit. Hard woods like beech, maple, oak and walnut produce twice as much wood ash.
Kelp ash
Similar to wood ash, made by burning seaweed in a firepit (seaweed plants now drop their own blocks when broken, much like wild vines). Kelp and bladderwrack produce twice as much soda ash.
Potash lye
Made by sealing wood ash with water in a barrel. Can be used to soak leather, make soap, as a simple detergent or processed further.
Soda ash lye
Similar to Potash lye, made by sealing kelp ash with water in a barrel. Can be used to soak leather, make soap, as a simple detergent or processed further.
Potash
Made by boiling potash lye in a cooking pot. Can be used as a P fertilizer, but due to much better availability doesn't give a permanent P boost anymore - that bonus was moved to powdered sylvine, which you can now use directly. Can be dissolved back into potash lye or processed further.
Soda ash
Made by boiling soda ash lye in a cooking pot. Can be dissolved back into soda ash lye or processed further.
Caustic potash
Made by boiling potash and slaked lime in a cooking pot. Can be dissolved in water in a barrel to create caustic potash lye.
Caustic soda
Made by boiling soda ash and slaked lime in a cooking pot. Can be dissolved in water in a barrel to create caustic soda lye.
Caustic potash lye
A more resource-efficient version of potash lye. Can be used to soak leather, make soap or as a simple detergent.
Caustic soda lye
A more resource-efficient version of soda lye. Can be used to soak leather, make soap or as a simple detergent.
Oils and fats

Various grains, legumes, vegetables and nuts can now be pressed in a fruit press to extract oils, with new mash types as a byproduct:

  • Linseed oil made from flax grain
  • Rice bran oil made from rice grain
  • Peanut oil made from peanuts
  • Soybean oil made from soybeans
  • Sunflower oil made from sunflower seeds
  • Olive oil made from olives
  • Walnut oil made from walnuts

Animal fat can also be rendered into a liquid version.

Oils and fats can be used to create soaps and greases.

Soap

There are two main types of soap.

  • Soft soap is made by boiling potash lye or caustic potash lye and any kind of oil in a cooking pot. Soft soap is slightly more efficient than hard soap, producing more soapy water per item, but can stack less both on ground and in the inventory, making it more difficult to transport.
  • Hard soap is made by boiling soda lye or caustic soda lye and any kind of oil in a cooking pot. It's slightly less efficient but much easier to store and transport.
    • Fine soap is a subtype of hard soap made using high quality oil like olive or walnut and with the addition of milk, honey or various flowers. It is more efficient than soft soap.

Soap can be dissolved in water to create soapy water, or boiled with oil again to create grease.

Grease

Grease is made by boiling soap and oil in a cooking pot. It is now used as a lubricant in machinery recipes instead of simple fat.

Additionally, you can make simple grease by boiling together some lime and any kind of oil.

Glue

There are three new types of glue.

  • Animal glue is made by boiling animal bones, hides or sinew in a cooking pot.
  • Casein glue is made by boiling curdled milk and either any lye or diluted borax in a cooking pot.
  • Starch glue is made by boiling starch and either any lye or diluted borax in a cooking pot.

 

Glues are now used in machinery recipes instead of simple resin.

Glass batches

A new glass production pipeline.

Quartz glass has been renamed to "cloudy glass" and is not created using clear quartz anymore.
Instead, cloudy glass batches are made by mixing crushed granite, chert or sandstone sand with potash or soda ash.

Clear glass batches are made by mixing crushed quartz with either lime and potash or soda ash, or crushed galena.

Staining agents can be added to clear glass batches to influence their color:

Glass coloring
  • Adding crushed chromite produces green glass
  • Adding crushed copper (new!) produces blue glass
  • Adding crushed rhodochrosite (new!) produces violet glass
  • Adding crushed gold (new!) produces red and pink glass
  • Adding sulfur produces yellow glass
  • Adding ilmenite produces brown glass
  • Adding pentlandite (new!) produces smoky glass
  • Glass batches can then can be smelted in a bloomery to produce corresponding glass lumps.
Glass lump

Glass lumps can be used directly to produce such items as leaded glass panes, or they can be smelted together on a firepit to produce a corresponding glass block.

Cloudy glass lump turn into cloudy leaded glass panes.

Clear glass lumps or clear quartz pieces turn into regular leaded glass panes.

Oiled paper pane
A new non-translucent type of window pane, oiled paper pane, can be created using boards, parchment and oil.
Metal wire

Various kinds of metals now can be smithed into metal wire.

  • Lead and zinc wired are now used to produce leaded glass panes
  • Copper and bronze wires can be used to create new, more durable kinds of papermaking sieves
  • Brass wire and clear glass lumps can be used to create spectacles
  • Gold wire and a red glass lump can be used to create a golden necklace
  • Silver wire and a blue glass lump can be used to create a silver arm chain
  • Iron and Steel wire can be used to create a new fence type - barbed wire fence.
Books
A small change, books now require binding to craft, which can be either a flax twine or any kind of glue.

 

There are some future plans, but to implement most of them I must first learn to create code mods for VS:

Immediate plans

Features I feel I'd be able to add in the next versions:

  • An immersive way to debark log blocks without using the grid menu
  • Bark roofing blocks (and maybe a change to sod roof blocks)

***

Future plans

Features I would want to implement somewhere down the line:

Essential oil extraction
  • Would allow extracting essential oils from flowers and fruits.
  • Would require either making a new steam boiler or otherwise adding an ability to distill solid matter using the regular boiler.
  • Essential oils could be used as a scent additive to produce fine soap and maybe scented candles.
  • Turpentine could be extracted from vanilla resin in the same fashion.
Wall painting
  • Would require a new tool functionality (wall brush).
  • Equipping a wall brush in your right hand and a liquid contained in your left hand would allow you to place decor blocks depending on the liquid in question.
  • Vanilla slaked lime would produce whitewash.
  • Turpentine, linseed oil and beeswax would be cooked into Varnish which in turn could be placed onto wooden blocks, giving them a slight tint and making them reflective.
  • Soapy water and other detergents would be used to wash off decor blocks.
  • Similar code could be then even used to produce custom paintings.
  • A more in-depth glassmaking system with different types of glass such as lead glass, borosilicate glass, fused quartz glass etc.
  • More metal wire uses, such as chain link fences or barbed wire, more jewelry and perhaps even primitive electricity.
  • A late-game way of producing soda ash from seawater using Leblanc process.

 

Note: This is my first serious mod and with it I just wanted to add as much stuff as I could to learn the ropes. As such, it's not going to be particularly compatible with other mods - I don't play with many and generally prefer a more conservative vanilla+ setup.

This mod is also still WIP. I'm open to any suggestions, especially those related to the game balance.

 

Feel free to use any part of this mod in your own, but please give proper credit on the mod page and/or in the mod description.

Project description from Vintage Story Mod DB.

Pick your setup

Expanded Resources releases for each Vintage Story version.

Choose the version and loader you play, then open the matching release.

2 available setups

Check the dependencies, then try the file in a copied instance before changing a world you care about.

Recent files

Expanded Resources versions and loaders

5 of 5 releases match

Looking for an older file? The official Vintage Story Mod DB project page is in Resources.