What bothers me is the time spent waiting for the animation to finish before returning to the menu. I understand that these animations are meant to be seen and appreciated, but personally, the constant entering and exiting of menus disrupts the gameplay flow.
I would much prefer to stay within the menu and be able to immediately look at my next options, while the animation plays in the background. The menu is already transparent enough that the animation could still be clearly visible.
I would also like to see the result of crafting immediately. One possible solution I had in mind would be a system similar to refineries, where there is an output slot for everything you craft. From there, items could be inspected and collected from the workbench or crafting station.
Stackable items should also appear as stacks in the output, so that crafting larger quantities at once — for example 20 candlesticks — is possible.
Problem:
• Animations interrupt gameplay flow
Request:
• Ability to stay in menu
• Animation plays in the background
Problem:
• Results are not immediately visible
Idea:
• Add an output slot like refineries
→ items can be inspected and collected there