OK, Update on Willow.

I modified the world by turning branching to max and looping to min.
This is a pretty easy to play map. The layout of the biomes is roughly a hub-and-spoke system, with a bit of a long line in the center... like a hallway with rooms packed in around it. Placing base camp in a central location was easy to figure out and so many biomes are just a half-day hike to get to, leaving plenty of time to do stuff once I get there. Also, a road or path runs down the center of each biome, making a return trip to base camp quite speedy.

I found the Wooden Thing during the first winter. It was right next to a Walrus Hole, and apparently the evil robot dogs and those dudes with photon cannons (lolz) don't get along with Walrus, Inc. I got to run through and collect all the Gears and Purple Gems without any fight... Until Mac Tusk chased me all the damn way back to my camp, killing Chester half-way... just to turn around at the last second. Scared the pants off me, cause I didn't have any ranged weapon to hit him with. I don't know why he chased me so far, just to turn around at the last second.

I figured out by accident that the left-most inventory slots are linked to the number keys. So now, my armor, helmet, and weapon go in spots 1, 2, 3. Instant battle gear!

Also, while I'm on the subject. If you put a Chest or Ice Box close to your Crock Pot, you can open both at the same time and use Shift-click to add ingredients one at a time without picking up the entire stack.

Pro-tip: Preventing the double-death
Spoiler:
When you activate a Touchstone, go back and drop some essential survival gear:
Spoiler:
a fresh armor, helmet, and spear. I also find an Axe (at least 30%), and 3 grass and 5 logs to be essential... and a Heat Stone is a quite handy thing to have on hand if you die in winter.