thats the other problem, i had absolutely no clue what hardcoe mode did until today
Basically just keep a stock of water and food. Get your survival to at least 25 and you can make Gecko stakes. Near good springs you can get 20+ stakes, that will sort you out for a long while. Look at food and see how much -FOD or H2O do. Look at campfires to see what ingredients you need to make food, but just stick with the Gecko. Also any caps you get, just buy water from merchants. You will be spending all caps on water but the more quests you do, you'll have more ££ than you know.