Q: Why can't I rot flax?
A: Make sure you have the skill Flax Processing, which is learned from a School of Art (SArt). If you possess that skill, then you should find the option on your Special menu. You also have to be standing close to water and carrying flax.
Q: Where can I find tar?
A: You can find the tar in a pool under some trees in the Northwest corner of the map. If you are still having problems finding it, bring up your map (F3 key) and go to the coordinates 14 -235, best route is this . . . go to the School of Art and Music, and follow the hill (staying on the low side of the slope).
Q: How do I make canvas, or rope?
A: You make rope by putting twine into a distaff and spinning it into rope. Canvas is made in a Student's Loom (using Twine), but it is NOT required on the Island. A sail will show up in your items list when you learn to make a ferry.
Q: I closed the Island Chat window. How do I get it back?
A: Run back up the mountain to where you started out. Click on the red welcome banner.
Q: I closed my Citizenship Tasks tab. How do I get it back?
A: Click on yourself. You will see an option to restart the Citizenship challenge. You will have to do all of your tasks over, though.
Q: How can I get foreign characters on Macintoshes?
A: You can't. A crucial piece of open-source software used for ATID on Macs and Linux does not support Unicode.
Q: I built something, but when I clicked on it I got an empty menu. Then the whole thing vanished.
A: This one fools even experienced mentors. You didn't really build the item. You selected the project from the menu, but you did not click on the placement box. The placement box appears in the upper left of your screen. It gives you the ability to move or rotate your new building before finalizing it.
Q: How do I full-screen the game?
A: You can't, sorry. It is a limitation of the game software.
Q: The game crashes when I maximize the window. How do I fix it?
A: Don't maximize the game while you are moving around or the game is loading scenery. You may also want to turn down your video settings, particularly advanced terrain.
Q: How do I (make a stone blade, build a wood plane, plant something)?
A: If you have learned something and can't figure out how to do it, you have to find the right place in the menu. Sometimes the menus are hard to figure out. Making stone blades and rotting flax in water are both under the Special menu. Building things is under the Projects menu. Planting and dropping things is under the main menu.
Q: I'm trying to plant my flax seeds, but I don't see the plant option under my menu.
A: Check where you are standing. Flax wants to be planted on grass, and does not like sand.
Q: How do I get water?
A: You don't need water on Welcome island. The flax variety here does not need water. On the mainland you will get water with jugs.
Q: Do I need to learn Large Project Management before I leave the island?
A: No. You can if you want to, but it is easier on the mainland. On the mainland we have flax with better yield, grilled fish to help your endurance, and other tools that will help you make rope and canvas.