Thank you for the kind words my friend !
Usually you should get one Wood per second from Gathering (E) and 5 Wood per Hit with the Hatchet. So It should be quicker to gather with a tool, but I will have took into that. Gathering Wolf meat is kinda hard right now, it's semi broken lol. You can get Meat if you hit the dead Wolf with the Hatchet, however only if you hit it in the back/Spine, The Colliders are broken. Hunger and Thirst definitely need balancing, the current rates are really just for testing.
You should be able to aim your gun and fire already, a crosshair will not be in the game, Controller Support maybe in the future.