I think dst lost some of the game's immersion, which is more present in original ds.

[Swiyss]

Idk how to explain this but.. I played literally 2 days of original DS after last playing on 2017 or something, and the world in DS makes you way more immersed. It also feels like the world is just there, like it doesn't care about you. It's way more uncompromising also as the game has less resources and some random things and setpieces that bringed a smile to my face.

Maybe what DST needs is just.. randomness. We need a QoL that simply shakes some things up, like 3 or 4 new setpieces.

The red bird and the crow also felt more alive, almost like they were talking to me since they wouldn't stop chirping and rattling.

Rain is more pronounced and heavy, graphics in general feel more In Your Face.

Also can we bring the map opening sound back to dst? I had an immense nostalgia trip when I heard that.

Anyways, as I said before, I have no idea what sparked on me, but I can only describe original ds as making me way more immersed and also way more macabre and creepy.

If Klei could bring back some of that immersion, dst would feel a little more alive. Simple as adding new quotes to existing moments and new emotions to situations. As well as changing some ambience and adding new sounds.

simply finding a catcoon on a desert already made me way more interested in playing the game.

[Anis5240]

1 hour ago, Swiyss said:

Anyways, as I said before, I have no idea what sparked on me, but I can only describe original ds as making me way more immersed and also way more macabre and creepy.

Well, it's true; some things are better in the original than in the sequel. Back in DS-era, Klei did numerous sorts of creepy things to ramp up the horrors of the Constant. I still love the Stuff of Nightmares trailer due to the atmosphere and settings, especially the ending.

Nowadays, Klei barely do horror stuff; like if I remember correctly they legit thought horror hounds and moon pengulls were a mistake, back in Turn of Tides era. Like, what??? How's a game about survivor (whimsical) horror NOT SUPPOSED to have horror stuff???? Sure, some of the loneliness aspects got lost via multi-player, but even in solo I feel this dreadful, helpless feeling should be emphasized more. The Constant is changing for God's sake, and you really expect the survivor(s) to just stand and stare and be like "well damn more challenges that I barely should be afraid of"???

The only recent boss design I like was Crystal Deerclops, and that's mostly due to the icicle in its eye socket.

[Brago-sama]

Games evolved. Devs have new visions they want to add/change. Happens with many long standing series.

I getcha tho, its not what brought you in (I felt the same way when monster hunter turned into ninjas Vs monsters) Best you can do is just see if you can still have fun with the new updates, play modded/older versions, hope for the patches you want or move on to greener pastures

[Mike23Ua]

9 minutes ago, Brago-sama said:

Games evolved. Devs have new visions they want to add/change. Happens with many long standing series.

I getcha tho, its not what brought you in (I felt the same way when monster hunter turned into ninjas Vs monsters) Best you can do is just see if you can still have fun with the new updates, play modded/older versions, hope for the patches you want or move on to greener pastures

I’m not so sure about that, without enough unhappy players complaining ALOT companies never truly know what their fans actually want.

Take resident evil as an example, by RE5 the franchise had followed what was popular and selling at the time (action shooters) the game was filled with horrible button mashing Quick Time Events, it was just bleh very bad.. it wasn’t until the series fans outcried enough was enough that we got a proper return to the series roots with the puzzles and survival horror elements fans of the originals loved.

[lowercase skye]

30 minutes ago, Anis5240 said:

like if I remember correctly they legit thought horror hounds and moon pengulls were a mistake, back in Turn of Tides era. Like, what??? How's a game about survivor (whimsical) horror NOT SUPPOSED to have horror stuff????

Don't Starve has always been a dark franchise with creepy elements, but moonrock pengulls and horror hounds dipped specifically into body horror. Complaints were made about them not because they're too scary or lean too far towards horror, but because they chose a specific brand or subgenre of horror that was causing people extreme discomfort to even look at and think about. Body horror is a risky thing to lean into in general because, if you aren't careful with your depiction of it, it'll cross the line from "creepy and gross" to "triggers a vomit response in my brain and makes me feel itchy all over" for many people. All previous horror elements fit into that prior category of just being creepy and maybe a bit gross to look at, while moonrock pengulls and horror hounds tipped the scales over to "my body is telling me to vomit and/or scratch my own skin obsessively when looking at this creature, so I can't even engage with this new content at all" for some people and THAT'S why Klei backed off.

We still got moonstorm birds later, which are less outwardly-gorey takes on body horror (such as a red bird with its entire torso rotated while its other body parts stay in place). It was truly just those two leaning too far into a specific subset of horror unlike anything else that had been in the game before.

[Anis5240]

8 minutes ago, finn from human said:

moonrock pengulls and horror hounds dipped specifically into body horror.

As if the new bosses didn't dip into this already, as said with Crystclops. But suuuuuurrrreeee.

8 minutes ago, finn from human said:

while moonrock pengulls and horror hounds tipped the scales over to "my body is telling me to vomit and/or scratch my own skin obsessively when looking at this creature, so I can't even engage with this new content at all" and THAT'S why backed off.

Well that's one stupid thought to look at. You (or anyone else) chose to play DST, a game which prequel (haha) delves into horror and stuff. Players of this game SHOULD HAVE KNOWN WHAT THEY WANTED TO PLAY. Body horror was just part of said horror. In fact, I hear many, many people want Klei to go back doing body horror for the game. The Metheus Puzzles depicted a whole civilization went up to ruins. Was the whole depiction stylized? Yes, but also painted a clear enough image. Plenty of people play horror games everyday, but DST is where one gotta draw the line? Give me a break.

[Swiyss]

47 minutes ago, Anis5240 said:

Well, it's true; some things are better in the original than in the sequel. Back in DS-era, Klei did numerous sorts of creepy things to ramp up the horrors of the Constant. I still love the Stuff of Nightmares trailer due to the atmosphere and settings, especially the ending.

Nowadays, Klei barely do horror stuff; like if I remember correctly they legit thought horror hounds and moon pengulls were a mistake, back in Turn of Tides era. Like, what??? How's a game about survivor (whimsical) horror NOT SUPPOSED to have horror stuff???? Sure, some of the loneliness aspects got lost via multi-player, but even in solo I feel this dreadful, helpless feeling should be emphasized more. The Constant is changing for God's sake, and you really expect the survivor(s) to just stand and stare and be like "well damn more challenges that I barely should be afraid of"???

The only recent boss design I like was Crystal Deerclops, and that's mostly due to the icicle in its eye socket.

in original dst the lightbulb plants have a range of a torch, outside of it is pure darkness, also the map exploration rate is like atleast half of dst, so you're basically playing the game instead of walking and pressing M constantly to magically see what's ahead. And it gets scary quickly, specially when you go face to face with something.
Also, bats don't go around you like idiots, they actually attack all at once, which I thought was 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000X better thank current dst.

[lowercase skye]

Just now, Anis5240 said:

As if the new bosses didn't dip into this already, as said with Crystclops. But suuuuuurrrreeee.

Crystal Deerclops absolutely goes the farthest with the empty eyesocket, but the Varg and Bearger are very obviously trying to walk this line I mentioned between "gross" and "itchy", like the Armored Bearger having blue crystals to invoke the imagery of an exposed ribcage, rather than actually having an exposed ribcage.

5 minutes ago, Anis5240 said:

Well that's one stupid thought to look at. You (or anyone else) chose to play DST, a game which prequel (haha) delves into horror and stuff. Players of this game SHOULD HAVE KNOWN WHAT THEY WANTED TO PLAY. Body horror was just part of said horror. In fact, I hear many, many people want Klei to go back doing body horror for the game..

There was no body horror of any kind in either game before the lunar island. It is not stupid or unreasonable to buy a game that advertises itself as one type of horror (quite a mild one, might I say), and to then be unsatisfied when an update years later starts dipping into a type of horror entirely unfamiliar to the game that causes you genuine physical discomfort.

8 minutes ago, Anis5240 said:

The Metheus Puzzles depicted a whole civilization went up to ruins. Was the whole depiction stylized? Yes, but also painted a clear enough image.

Can you perhaps see a difference between this image, and watching a cartoon dog have all its skin come off/seeing a group of penguins with all of their organs exposed?

Like, the metheus murals just contain a very vague and hieroglyphics-esque depiction of bug people shedding their skin (something that bugs do in real life). It is very easy to see how this may be different from a penguin with a chunk of ice where its body should be and so you can see all of their innards.

To clarify, I am not made uncomfortable by the body horror mobs personally. I just care about other people and like to understand where they're coming from on things instead of calling them stupid for having different levels of tolerance than me for a videogame that we all inevitably play to have fun.

[Swiyss]

3 minutes ago, finn from human said:

rather than actually having an exposed ribcage.

If he had an exposed ribcage he would look way better. It would be sick in a great way.

My sister literally cried her eyes out when she accidentally killed her own beefalo. I can only imagine what would happen if she got to later parts of the game..

[Anis5240]

2 minutes ago, Swiyss said:

If he had an exposed ribcage he would look way better. It would be sick in a great way.

Agreed. Armored Bearger and Possessed Varg are definitely the weakest boss designs in my opinion. Just blue spikes and fur color for a change, sooooo not creative.

Then again, Klei also hasn't been creative these days (a boss with 80% of its attacks cause knockback ISN'T CREATIVE) so what do I know, eh

[Mike23Ua]

Uhh you guys do know that there are half eaten rotting carcasses in the game now right??? I think it’s time Klei reversed their decision to cancel body horror mobs, and the above sentence is a pretty damn good explanation as to WHY they should.

People who have a discomfort from it should probably just get some sort of gore filter in settings… you know like most games have for Arachnophobia or W/E.

When someone either on these forums or working directly at Klei, can tell me why they discontinued the lunar horror mob designs but then later went on to add half eatten upon corpses, please do let me know.

K I think I made my very valid point here.. bye.

[lowercase skye]

35 minutes ago, Anis5240 said:

Agreed. Armored Bearger and Possessed Varg are definitely the weakest boss designs in my opinion. Just blue spikes and fur color for a change, sooooo not creative.

I couldn't disagree more. Armored Bearger is a very creative design with the way that the spikes of pure brilliance are used to invoke the shape of armor without just slapping some chain mail onto a bear. Those crystal spikes in those specific spots invoke shoulder pads, big heavy gauntlets, and a chest plate.

The Possessed Varg is pretty cool too: its fur is bleached to a light blue, similar to what happened to moonblind crows, and its got a gem riiight between its two eyes to invoke that third eye "enlightened" type imagery that's common among moon stuff. The presence of a gem in general is also a nice way to tie the whole thing about the moon creating gems into the game itself rather than just animated shorts.

Plus it's really fun and creative how each lunar boss shows a different biological consequence of a being of pure lunar energy possessing that creature: Deerclops's ice powers go out of control and fire off constantly, Bearger hulks out like she's on steroids, and the Varg's body constantly bloats with lunar energy that has to be violently expelled. I love all the lunar bosses so much.

[Anis5240]

1 hour ago, finn from human said:

a chest plate

2 hours ago, finn from human said:

to invoke the imagery of an exposed ribcage, rather than actually having an exposed ribcage.

which one you wanna agree with eh cuz last I saw, imagery of a ribcage ain't the same as chestplate. Pick one. Also those glowing eyes are the most cringe attempt to make them seemed possessed. Ugh.

And if there are plenty of people saying discomfort over the horror hounds and moonrock pengulls, well I don't see them whining here where Klei devs are most active. AND ESPECIALLY NOT THEM CRYING FOR KLEI TO REDESIGN THEM.

1 hour ago, finn from human said:

third eye "enlightened" type imagery that's common among moon stuff.

hur dur we only see this in skins; Wickerbottom's legit has a third eye while Willow's got the gem. why the different choices? not to mention Willow's moonbound dress is almost the same as wigfrid. As I said, Klei barely got creative stuff these days. In fact, I won't be surprised to see them ditching the moon dust in the upcoming update.

[marshyds]

Imo the caves and ocean would be a fantastic outlet for horror.

The caves are usually pitch black, add some kinda mob that stalks you similarly to the table you can domestically abuse.

The ocean is a terrifying place irl, you are completely surrounded by water, lean into that. Perhaps oceanic delusions could also work? Like hallucinating mobs or obstacles. 

[Anis5240]

27 minutes ago, marshyds said:

Imo the caves and ocean would be a fantastic outlet for horror.

For sure. Too bad Klei been toooooo busy attending the moon side gala so these update will coming in forever.

27 minutes ago, marshyds said:

Perhaps oceanic delusions could also work? Like hallucinating mobs or obstacles.

Technically we got Wavey Jones (which is an annoyance at best) and Terrorclaws (which is just Terrorbeaks in water) but yeah.

[Ridley]

9 hours ago, Swiyss said:

If Klei could bring back some of that immersion, dst would feel a little more alive. Simple as adding new quotes to existing moments and new emotions to situations. As well as changing some ambience and adding new sounds.

Exactly what I was thinking. Don't Starve has brilliant music and sound design, I always welcome more of it.

Another feature that is immersive to me is when things like Gestalts fly past my screen and, to a lesser extent, when Wagstaff comes running by. Wagstaff kind of feels like an annoyance since I don't need him to keep advertising that he has more metal scrap for me. I just enjoy when the world feels like it is autonomous from the player and has its own things going on.

[Stardust42]

7 hours ago, finn from human said:

Don't Starve has always been a dark franchise with creepy elements, but moonrock pengulls and horror hounds dipped specifically into body horror. Complaints were made about them not because they're too scary or lean too far towards horror, but because they chose a specific brand or subgenre of horror that was causing people extreme discomfort to even look at and think about. Body horror is a risky thing to lean into in general because, if you aren't careful with your depiction of it, it'll cross the line from "creepy and gross" to "triggers a vomit response in my brain and makes me feel itchy all over" for many people. All previous horror elements fit into that prior category of just being creepy and maybe a bit gross to look at, while moonrock pengulls and horror hounds tipped the scales over to "my body is telling me to vomit and/or scratch my own skin obsessively when looking at this creature, so I can't even engage with this new content at all" for some people and THAT'S why Klei backed off.

We still got moonstorm birds later, which are less outwardly-gorey takes on body horror (such as a red bird with its entire torso rotated while its other body parts stay in place). It was truly just those two leaning too far into a specific subset of horror unlike anything else that had been in the game before.

Ah yes, we should altogether gatekeep body horror (which perfectly suits this game) just because some lame ahh 10 year olds can't stand the sight of gore. Please, give me a f break. You can't cut it? Add a "lame filter" that censors the gore into rainbows and flowers - there you go champ, everyone's happy. See this is why we can't have nice things in this f game.

We should NOT have to bow down to the 5% of the playerbase who confused a survival horror game for Stardew Valley, it DOES NOT matter the "sUbGeNrE" this game is, it's still horror and YOU chose to play it.

By this logic, 3/4 of Sons of the forest should be censored just because the game's not advertised as a body horror game.

THERE, I SAID IT. I was holding this rant since the turn of tides update. Somebody's gotta speak up or else this game will become minecraft

[Captain_Rage]

9 minutes ago, Stardust42 said:

Ah yes, we should altogether gatekeep body horror (which perfectly suits this game) just because some lame ahh 10 year olds can't stand the sight of gore. Please, give me a f break. You can't cut it? Add a "lame filter" that censors the gore into rainbows and flowers - there you go champ, everyone's happy. See this is why we can't have nice things in this f game.

We should NOT have to bow down to the 5% of the playerbase who confused a survival horror game for Stardew Valley, it DOES NOT matter the "sUbGeNrE" this game is, it's still horror and YOU chose to play it.

By this logic, 3/4 of Sons of the forest should be censored just because the game's not advertised as a body horror game.

THERE, I SAID IT. I was holding this rant since the turn of tides update. Somebody's gotta speak up or else this game will become minecraft

Many games get censored in China where they remove depictions of skeletons. I wonder how DST fares in that part of the world since it contains quite a plenty of references and artwork of bones. xdd

[Capybara007]

i understand what OP means but the suggestions are lame as hell, like making bats attack inmediately and stuff are just small things that will not change the inmersion of the game, really i dont think inmersion is dst´s strength, and i think its fine

[Sacco]

The best thing klei removed was the ruins' layer (i heard that they removed it to reduce lag or something like this).

In the original DS every time i enter the ruins i feel like i'm in the very depths of the Constant.

That weird and always present noise which makes you unconfortable and just the void around the "island".

They are actually scary and feel like a world dead thousands of years ago which is just collapsing on itself.

[grm9]

4 minutes ago, Sacco said:

(i heard that they removed it to reduce lag or something like this)

every shard (a part of a world that you need to go through a loading screen to get to, e.g. surface and caves) is a separate server, so if ruins would've been separated from caves, you would've needed to host 3 servers per server, although tbh they could've just separated them from caves similarly in comparison to atrium

[Anis5240]

3 minutes ago, Sacco said:

That weird and always present noise which makes you unconfortable and just the void around the "island".

They are actually scary and feel like a world dead thousands of years ago which is just collapsing on itself.

That's literally the point of the Ruins. You explore the depths of the Constant and see for yourself the horrors that once swept across the land; so much so that Maxwell took some inspiration from the mobs there.

[marshyds]

6 hours ago, Anis5240 said:

Technically we got Wavey Jones (which is an annoyance at best) and Terrorclaws (which is just Terrorbeaks in water) but yeah.

not really shadow creatures, but i imagine that hallucinations would be more varied in the ocean than the usual black figures stalking you in the corner.

stuff that comes to mind is:

- shadows of enemies like rockjaws swimming along before fading out. (low sanity)

- the mirage of a food source appearing when at really low hunger and sanity.

- siren enemies that play tricks with you (i had an idea for a siren that blinds all players in the room for a second before disguising as someone, then pvp is enabled for everyone on the boat.)

- fog during rainy days (would make it harder to navigate, also looks cool.)

[grm9]

2 minutes ago, marshyds said:

not really shadow creatures, but i imagine that hallucinations would be more varied in the ocean than the usual black figures stalking you in the corner.

stuff that comes to mind is:

- shadows of enemies like rockjaws swimming along before fading out. (low sanity)

- the mirage of a food source appearing when at really low hunger and sanity.

- siren enemies that play tricks with you (i had an idea for a siren that blinds all players in the room for a second before disguising as someone, then pvp is enabled for everyone on the boat.)

- fog during rainy days (would make it harder to navigate, also looks cool.)

that'd further discourage people from sailing, there's already no reason to do that after making a boat bridge to lunar

[marshyds]

1 minute ago, grm9 said:

that'd further discourage people from sailing, there's already no reason to do that after making a boat bridge to lunar

then they should add smth to make it worth it ig