More time spent on our cozy little island today, spelunking the depths for minerals, sailing across the water for exotic crops, and generally gathering materials to carve out a place to call home for ourselves.
It took a while to fully grasp this, but at this point in the playthrough I wasn't aware that I was playing an Expert Pack. I thought this pack was focused on providing a low-tech survival sim. What I ended up getting was grindy and a bit Sisyphean, especially once I got into the early/mid tech phase of the pack, but we'll get to that.
Maybe someday I'll find the perfect pack for me...