The Combat Gap

[ZombieDupe]

One of the most prominent reasons for why new players in DS and DST continue to fail and not understand why is the lack of combat explanation. Generally you don't learn combat by yourself, it has to be taught by someone else (like using wasd to move and pressing F to attack). This is what I have identified as the major factors that new players don't seem to understand.

 

* Players don't know they pretty much have to wear armor (this is partially why people who end up sticking around for longer play as Wigfrid and Wendy, as one starts off with armor that is easy to craft and the other can use a follower to deal with combat).

* Kiting while using the wasd and F keys doesn't have enough emphasis, so people use the mouse by holding it down or rapidly trying to click on an enemy.

* Players don't look at the fight tab at all (unless they decide to craft a spear, but axe is also used as a weapon).

* The crafting tab is full of the same item-locked visual noise and it is easy to miss crucial items and structures in the list. Additionally while the vertical layout looks fancy, making each tab 2-dimensional could cram more important items on screen at the same time, eliminating the need for scrolling.

* Finding tier 2 crafting components for both science and magic becomes impossible as you have to know to stand next to a research station of tier 1 at minimum just to see that as available (personally the jumping of crafting tab items in and out of the tab is also a bit annoying).

* Midgame resources like silk and pig skin apply for this as well, especially pig skin. Both are crucial for mid to late game survival, but require a certain level of core combat understanding of the game to obtain. Because pig skin is only obtained from pigs, has 1/4 chance to drop it or 1 if you know about werepigs stacked with the high cost of pig houses, you end up with very little of it. Public worlds can also see renewable sources of all pig skin gone permanently because people hammer the houses without replacing them for one reason or another. Honey combes are almost in the same ballpark as bee hives, the easier source of honey combs, never respawn.

 

What can be done about this?  Combat needs more emphasis, the crafting menu needs to be much clearer and controls need to be displayed early in the game as you play. People use mouse often in place of keyboard for things that using the mouse is a worse option for and stick to that thinking combat is harder than it actually is.

Also why does default chat option still require you to press Y to talk? I know you have U for whisper, but that doesn't make sense. I also tried changing the key for talking to Enter and the chat instantly opens and closes and I don't know any other game where pressing Y opens chat but then Enter sends the message, please fix this!

[MondayNight]

Bulk of games uses the standard "WASD" for movement, I don't think that's a problem for movement/combat in DST context. Kiting and kite patterns are. Most new players without prior knowledge about this game assume tanking is the way to go at it, the default one, for their ultimate downfall since they don't know about armor and/or healing. Maybe starting with a Grass Armor would mitigate a bit said issue? Regarding a better layout of Tech Tree options.. maybe?! With Weapons and Armor among first options of combat.

[Well-met]

All of these are what's left of the "uncompromising" appeal of the game. DST does not need a tutorial.

If necessary there are countless guides on the internet.

[ZombieDupe]

11 minutes ago, Well-met said:

All of these are what's left of the "uncompromising" appeal of the game. DST does not need a tutorial.

If necessary there are countless guides on the internet.

Yes, very "uncompromising" to not be provided the basic controls of the game. It's just awful seeing combat system botched because of that and the narrow chance of getting to understand the need for resources or the scope of the game and the crafting menu in general. It's such a dumb excuse, you can call your game uncompromising and still follow basic fundamentals of game design.

[Echsrick]

i learned combat on my own because i know to look into the options menu to see what some butoms do and i see that F is for attackin things so and then you know to avoid damage just move out of the enemy easy of course armor is good like its a simple thing to understand that armour is to make you more save

[Well-met]

1 hour ago, ZombieDupe said:

Yes, very "uncompromising" to not be provided the basic controls of the game. It's just awful seeing combat system botched because of that and the narrow chance of getting to understand the need for resources or the scope of the game and the crafting menu in general. It's such a dumb excuse, you can call your game uncompromising and still follow basic fundamentals of game design.

how to find out basic controls -> options -> controls like literally every videogame since the 2000s

[ZombieDupe]

On 6/26/2021 at 5:40 PM, Well-met said:

how to find out basic controls -> options -> controls like literally every videogame since the 2000s

You would think that, but I have seen lots of people for some reason expecting to not even check the controls, or it's not something nearly as obvious as you would expect. There are plenty of people who have never player a video game before and could use some basic prompts and many who have played loads but still expect to never check the control menu. It is a bit of conundrum checking controls when you might not know what they mean or playing without understanding the controls, which is where the in-game control prompts would come in, at the start of the game at the very least. Displaying all action control variations without hiding any when using mouse and keyboard for the inventory would be one step to fixing that, the controller controls are all displayed and nothing hidden, which is strange and a bit unfair.

[Waynel]

that moment when you realize that by using keyboard you will solve all your dst struggles. you're like the prisoner who escaped Plato's cave ! there's no coming back !