Since the server is down and I thought about saying hi to yall for a while I thinks it's good time to finally do it.
This will be quite a long read I yap alot so bare with me a little bit lol
Thinks of it like a words from new player experience or something like that.
Might add some suggestion to improve new player experience at the end as well.
As mention, I'm completely new player from Steam, play the game once and fell in love with the game since then.
I like that every thing in the game is hand drawn, like the Icon and the Picture of the Event, it filled with passion and Charm.
Most of the game I play using the same stock asset Icon and it feel weird when I play different game but seeing or recognize the same Icon but function differently.
The game also has animation for almost everything as well which it's a great touch that .. I could say .. hard to find in a game release these days.
First impression was quite Unique too, what do you mean I create a Character by interact with the in game environment !!? it's so different.
BGM also very charming, I wish I can volume up BGM a little bit more lol
I don't know where I knew about this game tbh, maybe bored and browsing steam for MMO or Survival craft tag and got here.
Play just a little back then and be like, Damn ! this game is different and logout to read some review which it was a bad Idea.
The steam review and forum complain alot about don't let the style and vibe fools you, the game have severed problem about new player being exploited and killed by Veteran player.
So I desire to uninstall the game and forgot about it.
After that I play quite a few more Survival craft MMO and last game I played is quite janky with lot of free asset but the game did have nice crafting and grinding progression.
But it was like the worst grinding, you have to grind 1,000 or more of one materials just to level up crafting skill for 50% or 1 level, this not including the time gate material processing.
And then I thought about this game but I can't find it, I forgot about the name I tried to search the Steam store, my library and didn't see it show up.
Dig in a youtube and found only "Salem" which I learn later that it's the same Dev. team, the reason why both game look so similar.
In the end I have to use AI to gather information on the internet for me, it confuse with Salem at first but then I remember about the review complaining about the PK experience and finally ! I got the name !!!
I download the game and Jump back in, Oh my old Character still there but let's try new Character for real this time, there's a new server too might as well start there.
I tried to play the game as blind as possible, no guide, no youtube, learning everything in game and it quite an experience tbh.
I progress around making a leather (thinks I found Wolverine's corpse and I made a Drying Lack for it at my base) while I'm waiting I build a Rowboat and go out explore.
But when I come back, half of my base was gone, all those Drying Lack filled with tons of hide waiting to be dry and quite a number of leather in tanning tub, all gone.
Not just material that got steal tho but that dude also destroy half of my base too lol
I thinks I already set the claim but didn't expand it to cover most of my base, kinda a little stingy with Learning point back then.
I'm on the verge of quitting but then I thought, hmmm maybe I should try again, it's not really that big of a deal just a minor set back. and the rebuild begin.
This time I expand my claim to cover everything, get my first leather and it's unlock lot of new thing that also include "Palisade".
Setting Palisade up and everything feel good.
Little did I know there's something very bad deep inside... my body..
I was affect by Deep worm quite early in the game and I don't know how to fix it until it was so fat it eat all my food for me and not a single bit left for my body.
This is where I have to ask around, I met quite a few ppl already, most of them are friendly and tell me to not approach everyone with full gear like them because you'll be killed.
I always approach any player I met and say "Friend ?" and I thinks there's only 1 that answer to me with "Not enemy", quite a Character I would say.
My Character was so malnourishment, non of the attribute increase, anything I ate it feed the worm and I need "Tansy" to kill that Worm.
I went out and explore everywhere every biome I can get myself into for that herp and finally, I found it but it's not enough ! only 3 doses is not enough to kill that damn Worm ! it's so fat !! it's too strong to die with just a little remedy.
I need more Tansy ! and I need it fast !!! and then I realize, Since it's weaker now, I can eat some Food now right ?! so I craft tons of food that increase Perception and chow it all down as much as I can to kick Perception up.
And finally.... I get rid of that Deep worm.. for good.
All the story here is quite a Unique and real experience, it's something that I didn't felt from playing game for quite a while.
My first bottleneck was from that dude who Destroy half of my base and since I didn't use any guide at all, I learn everything by trial and error. almost got myself killed multiple times
I wish I got friend to play with but I don't thinks any of my irl friend want to join me so I play the game with the thought of, I'm here all alone. it will not be easy.
But it was worth it ! I like that the game made every little progression meaningful, like if you already learn something, you earn it and it will be useful for you for the less of your playthroughs.
There's also no excessive grinding too, the grind is there but not like in a MASS amount of grind like Quantity over Quality, speak of Quality, this is also a good mechanic that I really love.
Everything you invest in your Character will "always" improve something, you got better Perception, you see more stuff in the wild, you increase a skill, you get better stuff associate to that skill, everything flow in a reasonable/meaningful way.
Eventho the game didn't have like the "Hard goal" to chase but you as a player knew there's always something to do and moving forward.
The Learning Point also very unique and I quite like it, you can set the goal to be like, ok today I'll craft these curiosity to bank my learning desk and log off, it always have something for you to do if you wish to do it.
After awhile my base got a bit larger, setup some Area ready for planting and then... Winter hit.
I. Can't. Do. Any. Thing !!
Everything frozen up, no Herp to pick, no farming (I didn't learn about Mound Bed back then) No Ship travel, nothing.
So I tried..
Mining
and oohh man, it one hell of experience.
I tried to use Rustloot to Prospect but I also don't understand about "Below" mean, I Prospect and then try to actually "Dig Down" and I was like, what the hell it's all dirt !!!
I then go into Cave and start using "Dig" on the wall but look like every wall I click on is "Too hard" for me and the one I can dig in, it's Cave-in on me !!!
I was so spook and confuse, my body banged up, almost dead because Board just guts me before that I have been affected with Cruel Incision all throughout the winter.
Even if I got some name from prospecting, it's all Stone, like, I don't have geomancy skill, I don't know all the scientific name of all the mineral in the game, all my gaming experience is Copper + Tin = Bronze, Bronze look Brown, Silver look white and that is !
This is where I really don't know how to progress, it was like a REALLY big wall that I don't know where and what to look at for a smallest hint possible, it like it's a mysterious activity that it's so secretive.
At this point I have to use Wiki and learn about the World Floor and such, now I have the basic knowledge of Mining in this game but it still have another big problem
The Cave-in
I don't know how to figuring it out, there's no clue, well it did have clue but how should I know from that ? I then got cave-in after cave-in and I'm on the second verge of quitting the game. has to go play PoE2 for a bit to change the vibe.
I came back with Ender Client from the steam, I tried to avoid using it because I don't want it to show me too many information and spoil + information overload me but I thinks it's really time for me to finally gulp down my "Blind run" experience.
Finally with the help of Ender Client, I can sloooooooowly got myself into a bunch of Lead, and I said "a bunch" because it's actually 2-3 of Lead tile, and all of those are Cave-in tile (I smash my head over a wall for quite sometime)
I was like @#%!@%^$$#%!@# and then go exploring mad, going out mad into different cave and found a left over dig site, hesitated, I don't know if person who made this still use it or not but I dig it anyway, then I put some Ore left on the floor to be like a Thanks you message or something like that.
a few day later, I came back to that dig site and nothing change, maybe that player already left, I don't know but I hope you see this post and I really want to Thanks you for that. it really help me progress pass the early state of mining.
This is where I thought, a bit more of "Information Book" in the game might help about this problem greatly.
Because every moment I have to alt+tab out of the game to read or find some information OUTSIDE the game is the moment I felt like "why I do this ?" like, I would like to learn the game from INSIDE the game. it can stack up bit by bit and it will in the end overwhelm the fun of the game and be like "well, I can't learn anything in the game anymore, why should I stay here then"
From here might considered as some new player suggestion, if admin thinks it's not ok here I will cut this section out if you want.
As I mention above, the Information book to look inside to see what stuff Player already unlock would be nice, also give more information about all those mineral could be great too, maybe made all the information hidden at first and the more you spec into Masonry or something, it will reveal to you more, Like This #!@%!@! name is a Stone ! because all of these if I mine it all at once and put it all together into a stockpile it will be mixed up and become normal Stone stockpile.
It might look overcomplicate(?) but I thinks it should help new player to understand about the game easier without the need of using 3rd party website.
Well, all these problem will be solve easily if you play with a community since it's "MMO" so the "socialize" for information in game is acceptable and should be the main reason for you to seek for instead of 3rd party spreadsheet.
But still, a little bit more of an information might help a long way for new player.
Also I would like to add a bit more of early game tutorial if possible, for example, the first "Hunting" quest is to Raid an Ant Hill right ? new player will just go Raid it and Die and then confuse, they will try again with more wounds this time and die again, I Guranteed you this is 98% new player experience because they don't know you're not suppose to "Fight" the Ant but more like "Kiting" it to Raid the Ant Hill, new player will never knew that, after a few dead and can't progress the quest they'll quit before they can experience how much left this game has to offer.
So, if possible I thinks you could add additional Tutorial section before you go into a Fire, maybe put a Rabbit that looking at you and if you approach it, it will run away leading you to next Tutorial area along side a Popup Lore Event.
After you catch that Rabbit, it will kick you and give you a Wound, your very first wound, Popup another Lore Event to go pick a herp on a hill BUT, the Rabbit is guarding it, once you approach the Herp and try picking it, you will got nibble by that Rabbit so you have to find a way to get to the herp before the Rabbit get to you, THIS will teach the player to understand the concept of the game where this is not your "normal" mmo where you fix everything with violence and all that jazz.
Might as well made it like a narrow cliff side with only one way lead to the Herp, player can try to Lure the Rabbit out and brute force to get the Herp first or try to lure it down the cliff and then you JUMP UP the cliff to get the herp, This will also teach the player how to use the cliff for your advantage.
After you got the herp you use it to heal your first Wound and that Wizard show up to remind you to go into a fire to respawn, I thinks this could help teach a new player to understand what's what in this game and prepare them for what's to come in the game.
Alright, I will not took your precious time anymore, Thanks alot for stick around until the end.
I hope yall welcome me here and I wish to stay in the game for quite a long while.
Love the game and see you in game (and please don't kill me)
