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Reign of Giants WITHOUT summer?


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I'm a Don't Starve newbie.  But I've been playing DST and Don't Starve (vanilla) for a little bit and really enjoying it.  I want to start using the Reign of Giants pack, but I really, really, really don't want to deal with overheating in summer.  I'm barely able to handle all the quantities of information (i'm very single-task minded), and prepping everything for Winter and Giants is bad enough.  Having to worry about things overheating in Summer just adds a layer that I really, really, really don't want to deal with.

 

is there a way to add Reign of Giants but leave off the overheating / smoldering / things randomly catching on fire?

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@mellojoe

There is a preset designated for Smoldering, unless I'm completely wrong I believe its the dried bush with a bit of smoke which you can toggle to None(it's the last preset selection on the second column on the first page of presets). Sadly, if you want to play without smoldering you have to start a new world from scratch. As for overheating, I don't know if there is a preset for that though. You can survive Summer with the Ice Cube(head piece) and sleeping through most of summer with siesta-lean-to and a tent, and that's what I did with my first summer. 

 

Hope that helps. Good luck, have fun and welcome to Don't Starve. Cheers!

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I guess the big question should have been: Will I miss anything if I skip summer entirely? Are there items / mobs that only exist in summer?

Also, I like the idea about toggling off smoldering only. I think this might be a great stepping stone. I'll look for that option. I just fear that if I start to lose my hard earned base due to random smolder/fire, I'll just cry. I like setup, but I hate when stuff gets destroyed.

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@mellojoe, You will miss out on one of the giants and its drop. Also catuses only bloom in summer. Other than that I don'tbelive there are any other summer only items.

 

But turn off smoldering to make it easier, and you can also set the lengt of summer to short. That way it will only last ten days instead of fifteen. And you wil still have the chance on the Giant.

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I start to lose my hard earned base due to random smolder/fire, I'll just cry

 

Don't worry, you can easily avoid this by building Ice Flingomatics. I survived 2 summers and 2 dragonfly attacks easily with 3 Flingos. My camp is small though so the number of Flingos you need to build may vary. :)

 

It's exploring outside your camp which is more difficult, since there's a chance that random saplings and grass tufts will burn. There's no way to recover them for that world once they've turned to ashes, making this type of damage permanent.

 

Things only smolder when you're on screen though. So hanging out in rock biomes or places with not much burnable stuff can be a way to deal with Summer.

 

You can also follow @cptCalavera's advice and set Summer to short. Summer may be dangerous, but wouldn't you hate to miss out on the experience, at the very least? :)

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Cactus flowers and the Dragonfly are all there is to Summer, so you won't miss anything not having it.

 

That said, I'm more inclined to suggest a short summer with smoldering turned off and a world start in Autumn to at least experience it. If you start in Autumn, you'll have a proper amount of time to prepare for Winter and can then use Winter to acquire lots of ice (gotten from pengull grounds). Ice is a good, simple way to get through Summer before you gain the materials to handle it more professionally. Nitre also is important in order to build an endo-fire pit at base - unlike Winter's campfires, you cannot rely on endo-campfires in Summer because of nitre's scarcity. Keeping a moleworm farm will help, but it still requires you to be prepared rather than cut down a tree on the spot. Also, make sure you have twenty ashes ready for any appearance of the Dragonfly. If it eats twenty, it'll fall asleep and stop being a bother. 

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Thanks, guys.  I've started my new playthrough as Wilson (thinking ahead to a meat effigy) with Reign of Giants and summer turned to short (not super short, just short) and smoldering turned off.  I'm at day 50~ish and winter is just starting.  I'm really digging the new things Reign of Giants brings.  

#1) I was not prepared for Hound Mounds.  Almost wiped there before I figured out that this was not just a normal dog wave.  I was chasing a Koalafant and wandered right into the desert home of a million dogs.  The Koalafant spawned, so I just assumed I'd let the dogs fight it for me, not realizing this was not a normal 2,3, or 4 dog wave, but they JUST. KEPT. COMING.  Finally I gave up on the Koalafant and just ran for my life.  Survived, barely.

 

#2) Birchnuts!  The trees are adorable, and the fact that you can eat them in a pinch is kind of nice.  I've read about the birchnut tree-guard guys, so I won't be using this as main source of wood or food, but it is a nice Lorax-like addition.

 

#3) The changes to rot / storage:  Crockpots don't keep food fresh infinitely anymore.  I knew it was kind of a bug in vanilla don't starve that you could just leave cooked food on the crockpot and it will remain fully fresh, but it was just a bit dissappointing that it no longer works.  My method of making 4 crockpots is totally useless now.  Also, rabbits in traps / chests don't stay forever anymore, either.   This is a bigger problem.  I'm using to stockpiling rabbits in a chest or two as a source of morsels close to campfire for winter.  The fact that they starve really makes this a big change.  I'm going to have to re-think my food supply in winter.  I've built a lot more drying racks than usual to compensate.  Hopefully this helps.

 

#4) Tumbleweeds.  So thankful these guys are in the game.  My most recent really-long survival really struggled because I only found 1 gear.  And I dug up so many graves that sanity was always a problem just looking for that one gear.   Knowing that I can find one or two later on in tumbleweeds makes me so happy.  Makes me really want to consider a WX-78 playthrough since gears are now "renewable" and not nearly as sacred as they were in the vanilla game.

 

Wish me luck.

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Thanks, guys.  I've started my new playthrough as Wilson (thinking ahead to a meat effigy) with Reign of Giants and summer turned to short (not super short, just short) and smoldering turned off.  I'm at day 50~ish and winter is just starting.  I'm really digging the new things Reign of Giants brings.  

#1) I was not prepared for Hound Mounds.  Almost wiped there before I figured out that this was not just a normal dog wave.  I was chasing a Koalafant and wandered right into the desert home of a million dogs.  The Koalafant spawned, so I just assumed I'd let the dogs fight it for me, not realizing this was not a normal 2,3, or 4 dog wave, but they JUST. KEPT. COMING.  Finally I gave up on the Koalafant and just ran for my life.  Survived, barely.

 

#2) Birchnuts!  The trees are adorable, and the fact that you can eat them in a pinch is kind of nice.  I've read about the birchnut tree-guard guys, so I won't be using this as main source of wood or food, but it is a nice Lorax-like addition.

 

#3) The changes to rot / storage:  Crockpots don't keep food fresh infinitely anymore.  I knew it was kind of a bug in vanilla don't starve that you could just leave cooked food on the crockpot and it will remain fully fresh, but it was just a bit dissappointing that it no longer works.  My method of making 4 crockpots is totally useless now.  Also, rabbits in traps / chests don't stay forever anymore, either.   This is a bigger problem.  I'm using to stockpiling rabbits in a chest or two as a source of morsels close to campfire for winter.  The fact that they starve really makes this a big change.  I'm going to have to re-think my food supply in winter.  I've built a lot more drying racks than usual to compensate.  Hopefully this helps.

 

#4) Tumbleweeds.  So thankful these guys are in the game.  My most recent really-long survival really struggled because I only found 1 gear.  And I dug up so many graves that sanity was always a problem just looking for that one gear.   Knowing that I can find one or two later on in tumbleweeds makes me so happy.  Makes me really want to consider a WX-78 playthrough since gears are now "renewable" and not nearly as sacred as they were in the vanilla game.

 

Wish me luck.

So you know, ice qualifies as (weak but plentiful) food and filler and keeps fresh indefinite if stored in the fridge. I highly recommend prioritizing getting enough ice for summer, but ice can also be used to keep full in winter. Also, if you have any melons, the melonsicle is an easy way to quickly get sanity up.

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Survived my first Deerclops attack!  :) :)

 

Thought it was just a normal hound attack.  Got my logsuit and spear ready.  Walked to middle of Beefalo.  All of a sudden ... CLOMP CLOMP ... guess who.  Luckily, the beefalo did most of the work.  I just face-tanked it to the finish.  Ended up at 17hp, and like 60 sanity.  Was scary there for a moment.  I had just finished a Meat Effigy, so I just figured if I died ... well, that's what it is there for.  Face tank for the win.

 

 

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Also, are days even SHORTER in winter with Reign of Giants?  I went on a Beefalo hunting trip, and before i could even kite one away from the herd, it was already turning to dusk.  I barely killed it, it seemed, before it was nighttime.  Is the time scale different for Reign of Giants vs. vanilla?

 

Another random question:  Do the ice piles grow back?  The ones you mine for ice?

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Survived my first Deerclops attack!

Congrats! Deerclops is more difficult in RoG with the freezing attack. I forgot this and got two beefalo herds murdered before I realized I should wade in and help them kill the giant like you did. *sigh* Only the teen beefalo from 3rd herd survived. :(

 

Another random question: Do the ice piles grow back? The ones you mine for ice?

 

Yes. I think they only vanish in Summer(?) I just finished a Summer, no ice in sight, then Autumn came and small glaciers popped up in rock biomes. If you don't manage to mine all of them in Winter, they're also there in Spring, but slightly melted.

 

If you want more glaciers, try forcing the pengulls to come out in Winter. Their nest always generates with a couple of glaciers beside it. :D

 

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Yes. I think they only vanish in Summer(?) I just finished a Summer, no ice in sight, then Autumn came and small glaciers popped up in rock biomes. If you don't manage to mine all of them in Winter, they're also there in Spring, but slightly melted.

They melt in summer, leave a puddle and said puddle will grow to a glacier when autumn starts.
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Another random question:  Do the ice piles grow back?  The ones you mine for ice?

Mini glaciers, once generated and left untouched, go through a cycle of large in winter (worth 4 ice + 1 rock), small in fall and spring (worth 3 ice + 1 rock) and a puddle of water you can do nothing with in summer.

 

If mined, mini glaciers are gone. If you want more, you have to get pengulls to come on land by walking next to bodies of water. Their nest area will always be surrounded by a few mini glaciers. I think three at minimum, six at maximum. So, that'd be 12 to 24 pieces of ice per nest area during winter.

 

I think I use about 10 pieces daily during summer without extra protection, but if you got that Deerclops down and have the eye, you can greatly reduce that by making and wearing the eyebrella. The eyebrella is one of the most useful items in RoG - great to get through both spring and summer.

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Oh god .... Goose/Moose wrecked my $#!T.  I died.  Meat effigy raised me.  Finally lured him to Beefalo.  They did the work for me and killed it.  How the hell are you supposed to deal with him when he's knocking your weapon out of hand all the time, and then its night time and he knocks your torch out of your hand, too.  Bad times.

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Oh god .... Goose/Moose wrecked my $#!T.  I died.  Meat effigy raised me.  Finally lured him to Beefalo.  They did the work for me and killed it.  How the hell are you supposed to deal with him when he's knocking your weapon out of hand all the time, and then its night time and he knocks your torch out of your hand, too.  Bad times.

The perk of the M/Moose is that it's not very agressive or has very powerful attacks. As long as you don't go near it, it's easy to get away from. It does have the ability to wreck your base, but isn't bent on it like the Deerclops.

 

As you've already noticed, taking it on yourself is not recommended due to its honk. External means like a tooth trap field, beefalo herd, tree guards, or pig army are better. A beefalo herd is particular nice for the M/Moose because it's not all that strong and its honk has no effect on the beefalos, so a 10+ herd can get it down with few losses (~3), meaning you get some extra meat without losing too many beefalos. 

 

Now I'll admit my gameplay is always strongly beefalo-reliant. They're good to deal with non-effect Giants. For the M/Moose, any of the earlier mentioned tactics work too. The fact it doesn't seek you out like the other three do gives you the room to plan your fight a little and you should make the most of that.

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Apparently, summer is even worse than I expected. Thank goodness I left it on short. All my food is gone. I can't go anywhere without overheating. Two thermal stones and a bunch of ice ... good gravy. No rabbits for easy morsels. No farms. Yuck.

I'm finally through the other side, but dang, that was brutal. I can't imagine trying that on full summer with stuff randomly burning in addition. Mad respect for you guys who can pull it off.

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Apparently, summer is even worse than I expected. Thank goodness I left it on short. All my food is gone. I can't go anywhere without overheating. Two thermal stones and a bunch of ice ... good gravy. No rabbits for easy morsels. No farms. Yuck.

I'm finally through the other side, but dang, that was brutal. I can't imagine trying that on full summer with stuff randomly burning in addition. Mad respect for you guys who can pull it off.

Yeah, it's kind of telling when literally every Giant drops an item that can be worked into a tool that makes summer easier to handle (You didn't use the eyebrella?). But as with winter, summer gets easier if you play through it more and learn the rules.

 

Not sure why you would have no rabbits. They should be out in summer. And, yeah, I truly hate the farm deal and want an irrigation system for that in the game. But if you can build a poop collection, forcing the crops to grow immediately with two poop each does get you your food.

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Wait, can't we use fling-o-matics to prevent plants from withering?

Several people keep saying that, but that's not what I'm experiencing nor what many others are experiencing based on what I find if I google for it.

 

Fling-o-matics prevent spawned plants from withering, like grass, berry bushes, and saplings. They do nothing for crops. Yeah, throw a snowball once, but that's not enough to save a crop from drying up. Nearly died from starvation my first summer because I thought they'd keep my crops growing and it took me long to figure out it wasn't me doing anything wrong. I recently experimented again to see if maybe some update or something fixed a bug, but nope, ice fling-o-matics are still useless for growing crops.

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I died.  :(

 

Made it to about day 60~something on World One.  Teleportato'd away to the 2nd world and started to set up a massive base.  Summer hit early this time; I guess the random season start put me in Summer really quickly.  I wasn't prepared.  I thought it would follow the same timeline as World One so I would get a chance to farm ice and Nitre.  Apparently not the case.  I hadn't collected any Nitre since I figured I would have time to do so.  Summer hit me unexpectedly while I was away from base.  Survived a couple days, but things went massively downhill.  I just wasn't prepared well.

 

But, this was a great experience.  

 

However, I will probably disable Summer from now on.  It is really just another Winter, except with a different type of firepit.  Everything is exactly like Winter (no crops, can't travel far from fire, etc) except with none of the fun stuff like Pengulls and MacTusk.  So, for now, I'm happy to just ignore it.  If I want two Winters, I'll just play with long Winters.  Unless something interesting comes along, I'm skipping Summers.

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Oh my good gracious, I am going to have to modify summer, too!  I don't understand what you're supposed to do when you start overheating on Day 2.  I have NOTHING to help prevent it since I am only on Day 2 and I can't move an inch without frying, even at night!  And why am I overheating on Day 2 when I tell the game to start me in the Spring.  Is the Spring really hot, also?  I just switched over from vanilla and I am staring to miss the boring-ness.  LOL

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generally, when I find myself surprised by summer, I try to get myself a straw hat and a pretty parasol (or umbrella, if that is easier to get). They slow down the overheating process a little. Also, standing below trees will cool you down a little. Those things combined may be enough to get you back to base safely next time. Or to a rock field.

 

I have never experienced overheating in spring. I'm quite sure that only happens during summer.

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