i know you are aiming for realistic, but realistically speaking, since ancient times,alot of metal resources were surface based. and pretty huge deposits of it too. and even then, an ore vein could run pretty deep. plus, back then recycling was still done. once an axe or a spear has become too dull, it could be remelted into a proper tool.

in the game, you are quite dependant on having sufficient deposits in your direct environment since alot of it is being wasted (thrown away after X amount of uses) however, ive only just subscribed, and on the very easy map, there are hardly metal resources to speak of. how exactly do you counter this? will a trader come by often and have a generous amount of metals to sell?

if not, then advancing beyond the neolithic age can become a pain.