Game needs a better FAQ/guide badly.

[McDaniels]

I haven't really played this game enough to judge it at this point, although from what I've heard I think the game has a lot of creative features that I wish were in more mmos so I commend the developers for that.

I do, however, believe that there is a major problem with the game right now.

When I entered the game I was completely overwhelmed. I had no idea how to do anything. It took me about 10 minutes to just figure out how to make my character. After that I climbed the ladder and entered the world, and I was even more overwhelmed. I wandered around for a while, harvested a tree, and then saw my first mob, a boar. I decided to attack it assuming that a boar couldnt be that hard to kill.... It 1 shotted me... I logged off... I have absolutely no problem with the fact that the boar one shots, that is actually realistic consideirng I was equipped with a fishing rod and rag clothing. I do, however, have a problem with the lack of guidance at the beginning of the game.

There needs to be a tutorial or a comprehensive guide made available either in the game or on the website (IT SHOULD NOT BE ON THE FORUMS). Many players wont bother to read the forums and will simply quit the game is frustration.

I want to explore this game more, but I currently have no idea what to do. I don't know what I'm supposed to do, where I'm supposed to go, and that is frustrating.

P.S. is the server down now?

[Grog]

i know the how-to is a little less.
though i like it that way! i hate bloody noob-tutorial-beginner-sections! i want to find out myself, even if it hurts.

even though it helps a lot to play together. as i were a noob i have had a friendly neighbour showing me some hints (thanks rembob )
so if you like to have it the easy way, with explanations and gaining stuff easily just join a village or a single experienced player. this can happen ingame (scout a little around) or here in forum (dwarves&thiefes-section)


ah, and yes the server is down. this happens every once in a while

[Nanothnir]

Server is down... Click the Home at top...

Here is a simple thing to follow to get up the first bit of strength...

You know how to make a character now so I will skip that...

As a fresh character you have access to little skills and access to minor things, first thing you should try to do is look at your surroundings. What kind of Forest are you in, if its with Pine (Fir) trees lets start there, if not look around for some Elms (Elm Trees are the ones with a dark green Ball like Leafcoverage and white trunk...), leave your spawn point and go exploring, if you see a river stick to the shallows so Animals can't attack you, and they will.

Step one is to build yourself a camp.

But first things first lets start setting Beliefs. Open the Status Menu (Face Button) and Click the Book and Candle button. You will noticed some sliders, find Peaceful and click the arrow closet to this. It will change both Peaceful and Change sliders closer to the right, this means more LP per action...
Looking at the Banner thing up top you will now notice it is grey (it was green when you opened the page), Holding your mouse over it will show you how many GAME Hours is left till you get another point in Belief, just keep moving it towards Peace, sooner or later it will end up going from 1 Game Day to only 8 hours. By then you should know what you want to do with yourself...

Rebuilding your Hearthfire Is a good idea to begin with, just collect 5 Branches and build one. Make sure you don't drop the Dream you get from the starting area, they disappear when dropped. To build click on the icon, Hearth fire being under Adventure and it looks like a Fireplace with a blue flame, and the place the constrution, a Opaque Image of what you will be building appears attached to your pointer, when clicked your character will move to that point and drop a Construction signpost, this will allow you to add materials to the site, if you step away without putting anything in, it will disappear. Place Branches and the Dream in by holding SHIFT and LEFT CLICKING the Material...

Next is a Leanto and a Spruce Bed. You need a good amount of Broughs, they can be found in Fir Trees or Elm trees, to get this up. Using the Lift Command under Adventure, lift the Bed and right click on the Leanto, you will now be able to place the bed inside the leanto so that when you wish to log off, you can sleep comfortably...

Next is a fire and a couple of Containers. If you spawn near Birch trees, make both the Birchbark Containers and the Wicker Baskets, You can never have too little containers...

NOW By that time you would have made over 200LP from just setting up a basic base...
With those 200LP buy the Foraging skills...
With just the Foraging skill you can start to see the things you will need to find the things to establish a better base and also allow you to freely raid ant hills, these provide a nice sum of LP (Where at full change and Peace is 130lp each) and provide some food needed to stay alive. Be warned though if you buy Hunting the ants will consider you a threat and attack, you will be overwhelmed... Don't bother getting hunting yet anyway, you need more attack points to even think of it...

Now that you have Foraging, look around, raid any and ALL ant hills you see, saving the food at base. Continue making baskets for a bit. By the time you reach another 200LP we will now spend it on Exploration. This is a Stat Skill, you will see it to the right of the Status page. It costs 100x(Current Level+1) So to get to level 2 you need 200, 3 - 300 and so forth...

Now you may be attacked by a Boar or Bear while out exploring and gathering Bark/Branches for Baskets and Ants from hills. Well this is an annoying truth of the game, you are never safe. But lets try anyway. The best thing to build would be a fence, but you don't have a skill for that. So thats why we have been building a good amount of Containers. These are your fence. After you have built a good few Place them in a ring around your camp. By holding Shift before Rightclicking, you will drop the item so that it snaps to the grid, allowing no space between it...

As you build more and more containers and building your makeshift fence, you will notice that your LP will have increased, if you have taken your time, perhaps a day will have passed in Game (it takes Approx of 8 Real Hours to change a day). If so move your slider...

Spend your Points onto the Exploration Skill again untill you get around 5 or more Points there. This SHOULD allow you to start seeing Herbs and Plants needed to continue living. Taproot is what we will be looking for now, it looks like a Brown Root that is located everywhere on the forest ground, but it spawns as you move so get moving and looking. Keep eating from Ant Hills and any Edible Herbs you find, the Taproot is Edible but we need 2 or so...

............ (To be Continued) ..........


I have been writing this up as I play a fresh character, I go on and off him but I will come back to end the rest of this...

[burgingham]

The example in the OP (getting knocked by a boar) is not the best one, since this is supposed to be a hardcore survival game in the beginning. Other stuff does need a proper explanation though, I totally agree. Some more explanations on the skills, some tooltips, stuff like this we could use for new players. Maybe a little info that shows up once you see something for the first time.

That aside, the game is currently in an alpha status and we already have severe lag issues thanks to the explosion of player numbers lately. I think of every noob rage quitting as a little less lag for me

[Grog]

i think a big problem for making a faq is the complexity of the game. as we see above we have a wall of text, which isn't that helpful this way too!

@burgingham:
hm, you mean like a little popup-card?

wicker basket
a small container for storing items, so that they wont disappear
open it by rightclicking and move items from/to your inventory by either drag and drop or shift-leftclick

(not the best example i guess)

[Nanothnir]

i think a big problem for making a faq is the complexity of the game. as we see above we have a wall of text, which isn't that helpful this way too!

Hmmm? I think its a bit better then telling a Noob to grind Woodwork stuff or back in world one Teapots until their hands bleed...

[Grog]

word

[DatOneGuy]

Which is an easy way to put people off. A few people are working on a video guide, and I know there have been attempts at decent guides to get people started, however they always just end up bad.

A nice tutorial just to get people started (Get them to the point where they can defend themselves and figure out what they need to) is all that's necessary, figuring out all the rest of the crap isn't.

[Grog]

yeah, i think the video-tutorials will explain a lot and much easier than a textwall...

[Nanothnir]

Which is an easy way to put people off. A few people are working on a video guide, and I know there have been attempts at decent guides to get people started, however they always just end up bad.

A nice tutorial just to get people started (Get them to the point where they can defend themselves and figure out what they need to) is all that's necessary, figuring out all the rest of the crap isn't.

IF I ever make a Guide it would be up to where you get to build your first boat. After that the world really is your oyster. Pretty much a Boat allows for Contact with people, expansion and exploration and finding the resources needed to build a better settlement...

One guy said he was going to make a Video Guide on EVERYTHING, I wish him luck but none the less something like that isn't all that much needed, a starters guide for the ones unable to figure stuff out on their own or willing to ask questions and seek them out could use and follow to start up something small. The problem with VideoGuide VS Textwall, isn't the size of either production, its when coming down to the basics. See what makes a good FAQs work and then write one up. THEN make a Video Guide, doing the Video before text can show that you might not know enough or be able to explain enough through the time given...

Text can be offline to so that could be seen as a plus, and it can be put in the background easier then a Video Guide...