is figuring out the jist of the game?

[SoWeMeetAgain]

As you know, the game is free to play on Steam right now.

So I'm trying it out.

Is not knowing what does what and what you have to do part of what should make this game interesting?

cheers

[Daxterr]

I didn't know steam has the option for free trials. How long has this been going on for? To answer your question, you should discover stuff on your own, but if you get too frustrated from dying then perhaps look up some guides. Cheers!

 

 

[Viktor234]

Just now, Daxterr said:

I didn't know steam has the option for free trials. How long has this been going on for? To answer your question, you should discover stuff on your own, but if you get too frustrated from dying then perhaps look up some guides. Cheers!

https://store.steampowered.com/springcleaning

This weekend free to play: [...], Don't Starve Together, [...]

[-Variant]

6 hours ago, SoWeMeetAgain said:

Is not knowing what does what and what you have to do part of what should make this game interesting?

 

Well, that was the original concept for the first game, that being "Don't Starve".

You would get in, make a new world, figure out how stuff works, die and repeat until you become a God of sorts.
In DST, it's about learning with your friends, or having a teacher friend of sorts to help explain how the Constant works.

If all else fails, the forums are here to help.
I'd suggest Wiki, but there's chances where the information is incorrect.

 

Also, I noticed this is your first post, so let me welcome you to the forums!

[CaptainChaotica]

Yeah, it's kind of a trial-and-error game.  Or, for most people, a trial-a-few-times-then-go-check-the-Wiki game.  (Or in my case, I watched a couple Let's Plays to find out what the game was like, and by the time I found out "Yeah!  I DO want to buy this!" I had learned some basic Do's and Don't's.)

However, unlike some other roguelikes (coughnethackcough) trial and error actually WORKS, with Don't Starve, because what things are, how they behave, what effects they have etc. doesn't randomise from one game to the next.  So, once you've learned something, you now truly KNOW it.  This gives the game overall a very satisfying feeling to me, because it's like...yeah I died.  But it took me _longer_ this time and I can tell I'm getting BETTER.   

And there are some things you kind of _need_ the Wiki for, such as the more complicated recipes. Otherwise you'll keep ruining perfectly good food ingredients and getting wet goop for dinner.  : P

But in general, with Don't Starve, you live and you learn.  Until you die.  And then you also learn from that.

Welcome to the forums!  I hope you end up liking the game. 

...Notorious

[csc_unit]

10 hours ago, -Variant said:

Well, that was the original concept for the first game, that being "Don't Starve".

 Yes it feels like at first it was actually possible to figure out whats going on the constant (the world of DS). There was just enough elements to the game so you could end up discovering the whole game by yourself and this was most of the fun DS has to offer. Just discovering that I could cook meat on the fire felt like a discovery. Today, newcomers have a completely different experience, which is in itself not a bad thing, but they will never know... 

The changes in the concept came naturally with the multiplayer aspect of DST and because the devs just kept adding new content over the years up to a point where it is impossible to play by yourself without friends, wiki or this forum for dozen of hours and experience what most of the game has to offer. I mean ... Just look at the Fuelweaver. The game does not give any substantial hint about the biggest creature of the game. You need to somehow figure the whole thing about the chess pieces to get the shadow atrium heart, then find fossil fragments, then kill the guardian of the labyrinth, find the atrium and figure out that you need to assemble the skeleton from fossil fragments in there to spawn the final boss (atm  ). Most players which have no access to the community would never know this big piece of development.

So yeah, basically my take is, DST is a knowledge based game. So if you have interest in finding everything the game has to offer, you need external inputs of info because there is soo much. If you don't really care that much at the moment, you can still have lot of fun for a good while discovering the basics and messing around with other players of different skill lvl. 

Last thing, looking at youtube videos is very good if you are at a point where you don't know what to do next.

[Majestix]

I would recommend buying and playing DS (single player) first. It is more unforgiving, and therefore (in my opinion) more fun. Die a lot, learn a lot, get addicted. Then eventually, when you can survive your first winter, switch to DST and learn about the things that work differently there. By that point, you will not be requiring constant feeding by the other players, and you will easily find people who will help you get used to the slight differences between the two games. Also, single player has the Shipwrcked DLC, which is an absolutely awesome part of the game in its own right (and for which the dying a lot, learning a lot loop will start from scratch for you).

[GetNerfedOn]

Since it's your game, especially because it is technically a sandbox game, you are free to do as you wish - a blind or informed playthrough is fine either way.

However, truly subjecting yourself with the uncertain - horrifying even - feeling of being thrust into a hostile, potentially deadly frontier with nothing but your wits by playing a blind playthrough ups the sense of immersion and satisfaction after triumph. Though, this may also bring about the frustration of repeated failure... But that is also balanced the sense of genuine triumph.

Whenever I see questions like these I think of Hidetaka Miyazaki's design philosophy for Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Sekiro, so please forgive me if i get too carried away in my explanations xD

[AdventZen]

On 26/05/2019 at 6:22 AM, SoWeMeetAgain said:

Is not knowing what does what and what you have to do part of what should make this game interesting?

Short answer: kinda
Long answer: kindaaaaaaaaaa

Early on, this game will throw curveball after curveball at you, and some people believe that's a big part of the experience. Learning mechanics is rewarded with a generally faster gameplay experience, so it's normal to be lost at the first few days, then become more acclimated with the game as you go, improving the time you'll take to get things done in your world.

Reading the wiki and guides won't diminish the fun you'll have, just help you skip the trial-and-error, if roguelikes aren't your favorites.
A good in-game example is collecting manure:

The first way you will encounter manure is through Beefalo or Pigs.
-Early on, without much knowledge, you will most likely just gather it when you see it.
-Once you better understand the pigs-eat-food mechanic, you may start collecting petals and dropping them near pigs, so you have easy-access and on-demand production.
-Finally, you will figure out that Werepigs eat nonstop, so intentionally triggering a transformation is the fastest method of acquiring manure.

Every word in Bold is a possible visit to the wiki/new experience. Being lost is part of the intended experience, but it's not all this game has to offer.