I hope there can be some new features that make Abigail more like Wendy's sister (my suggestions)

[yiyaya]

In the current game, Abigail behaves more like Wendy's follower or pet than her sister. She fights for Wendy when needed, and for most of the other times, she just follows behind Wendy blankly or is stored inside the Abigail's Flower, like a Pokemon.

I'm not sure if saying this might be somewhat offensive to Abigail or Wendy.Maybe...

I just want to point this out and then propose some suggestions.

On the other hand, there are ongoing debates about Wendy on the forum.Some people think Wendy is strong in combat, while others think she's weak.

Perhaps adding functionalities outside of combat for Abigail, while retaining her existing flaws, could be a solution that satisfies both sides.

Here are my ideas:

New Features:

Separate Exploration: When Abigail is present, Wendy can open the map and right-click on any area (including unexplored area). Abigail will move towards that area at a normal walking speed, revealing the fog along the way (like a moving Ocuvigil), and ultimately stay at the location Wendy pointed to. Wendy can recall Abigail at any time.

Abigail's Call: Wendy can move the Abigail's Flower to herself and use it on herself. Wendy will be summoned to Abigail's side, but due to the heaviness of her human body, Wendy will pay a greater price. Her health will drop significantly to just 1 hp, arriving at Abigail's side in a dying state.

Since Wendy and Abigail are two individuals, they should be able to function as two people in certain aspects (not just in combat). Although Abigail cannot perform tasks like chopping, mining, and picking, she can rely on her ghostly abilities to explore the world separately from Wendy. When one needs the other, they can arrive promptly. To make this skill useful in later stages, I've added a teleportation function to complement it. Although it comes with a significant cost and requires pre-positioning Abigail each time, it's very useful for Wendy.

(I hope the Abigail's Flower serves as a tool to connect the two sisters, rather than a Poke Ball to hold Abigail. They should be treated equally, and Wendy can also be summoned to Abigail's side. Regarding the cost of teleportation, if you have better ideas, please feel free to comment and suggest.)

Modifications:

Perennial Altar: I really like its appearance, but its function overlaps completely with the Meat Effigy (they can't even be attuned simultaneously).  I hope its function can be revised.

One of my ideas is to turn it into Abigail's Altar. When Wendy digs graves or helps Pipspooks, there's a chance to obtain some "Old Memories Items."

These items can't be used anymore,but they can be placed on the altar (only one item can be placed at a time), helping Abigail recall her past life and gain some skills, such as:

Broken Record: It contains Abigail's favorite song from her lifetime, but it can't be played anymore. After being offered to the altar,Abigail will softly hum it when idle, slightly increasing the sanity of nearby players. When she passes by crops,she will automatically take care of the crops within range. 

A Pile of Blocks: No one knows how many pieces are missing. After being offered to the altar, Abigail can automatically take care of nearby Pipspooks when idle, satisfying their needs without needing to find new toys for them. 

Old Joke Book: Abigail always deliberately uses these dry jokes to make Wendy laugh. After being offered to the altar, players near Abigail will dry off quickly.

Dry Soap: It no longer smells of anything. After being offered to the altar, it increases the spawn rate of butterflies near Abigail.

...

The design of these Old Memories Items doesn't greatly enhance Wendy's abilities.

Their greater significance is to let players feel the traces of Abigail's former life.

When Abigail is idle, she no longer stays blankly but does what she can, just like Wendy.

This makes Abigail more like a family member than a follower or a Pokemon.

Maybe you also have some suggestions for increasing Abigail's functionality. We can propose them and discuss them together.

[renamoe]

Thank you for sharing your ideas!

I'd like to offer my perspective, which might differ slightly. I see Abigail as deeply connected to Wendy, not as a tool or utility, but as her twin sister in spirit. I believe Abigail's role is meant to be that of a close companion rather than functioning independently.

If I'm not mistaken (please correct me if I am), the Abigail's Flower symbolizes Abigail herself, which is why she can't be truly revived. This concept resonates with me—it beautifully illustrates their bond, with Abigail protecting Wendy in her ghostly form and Wendy, in turn, looking after Abigail.

Regarding the Perennial Altar, I agree that its functionality feels redundant since it overlaps heavily with the Meat Effigy. While the animation of Wendy reviving from the altar is charming and adds a cute touch, I question whether it's enough to justify its place as a skill in the tree. If the Klei team decides to keep the altar, I hope it can be reimagined to add more depth or provide a unique mechanic that better complements Wendy's gameplay.

[Lee lol]

What a creative idea. I like it. The exploration function can better help Wendy explore the map in the new world, especially in speedrun (although I don't play). However, I think it is more reasonable to recall Abigail to Wendy? After all, she is in a spiritual state.

 

I like your idea about the altar, which greatly enhances the emotional connection between Abigail and Wendy, and helps novice players to better understand the character of Wendy, and is also practical.

[Xplan]

1 hour ago, yiyaya said:

Separate Exploration: When Abigail is present, Wendy can open the map and right-click on any area (including unexplored area). Abigail will move towards that area at a normal walking speed, revealing the fog along the way (like a moving Ocuvigil), and ultimately stay at the location Wendy pointed to. Wendy can recall Abigail at any time.

I love this idea, it would be great if Abi can help Wendy use The Lazy Deserter. 

About the Perennial Altar, i have an idea that can make it different from Meat Effigy: Wendy will still lose maximum health when she revives, for exchange, Perennial Altar will keep Wendy' drops so that she can dig them out.  

[cyjs]

wonderful idea

[1007954611]

genius！

 wonderful idea！

I love this idea！

[yiyaya]

5 hours ago, renamoe said:

Thank you for sharing your ideas!

I'd like to offer my perspective, which might differ slightly. I see Abigail as deeply connected to Wendy, not as a tool or utility, but as her twin sister in spirit. I believe Abigail's role is meant to be that of a close companion rather than functioning independently.

If I'm not mistaken (please correct me if I am), the Abigail's Flower symbolizes Abigail herself, which is why she can't be truly revived. This concept resonates with me—it beautifully illustrates their bond, with Abigail protecting Wendy in her ghostly form and Wendy, in turn, looking after Abigail.

Regarding the Perennial Altar, I agree that its functionality feels redundant since it overlaps heavily with the Meat Effigy. While the animation of Wendy reviving from the altar is charming and adds a cute touch, I question whether it's enough to justify its place as a skill in the tree. If the Klei team decides to keep the altar, I hope it can be reimagined to add more depth or provide a unique mechanic that better complements Wendy's gameplay.

Abigail has always been Wendy's closest companion, and I have no objections to that.
But being close companions doesn't mean they have to be together every moment; they are twins, but not conjoined twins.
Just as Lucy is Woody's closest companion, it doesn't mean Woody has to carry Lucy at all times.
The magic of their relationship lies in Lucy's ability to be there for Woody whenever he needs her.
When I play DST with my friend, we split up to explore and also fight together.This is a strategy, and it doesn't mean we've grown apart.
We don't need to be with each other every second to prove how close we are; all that matters is being able to reach out to each other when needed.

 

5 hours ago, Lee lol said:

What a creative idea. I like it. The exploration function can better help Wendy explore the map in the new world, especially in speedrun (although I don't play). However, I think it is more reasonable to recall Abigail to Wendy? After all, she is in a spiritual state.

 

I like your idea about the altar, which greatly enhances the emotional connection between Abigail and Wendy, and helps novice players to better understand the character of Wendy, and is also practical.

Maybe I didn't express myself clearly enough. What I meant was that Wendy can recall Abigail at any time. Additionally, Wendy can also teleport to Abigail's location at a cost.

5 hours ago, Xplan said:

I love this idea, it would be great if Abi can help Wendy use The Lazy Deserter. 

About the Perennial Altar, i have an idea that can make it different from Meat Effigy: Wendy will still lose maximum health when she revives, for exchange, Perennial Altar will keep Wendy' drops so that she can dig them out.  

I mentioned a similar idea last week, which was to allow Wendy to write her name on a gravestone, and when she dies, her ghost would teleport near her grave, with her items buried inside. Unfortunately, it wasn't adopted.

[CM624]

Can I share your thoughts with our programmers? Perhaps the Abigail we are currently working on can appear more independent as you suggested

[Wendigail]

Moved and cry

[renamoe]

8 hours ago, yiyaya said:

Abigail has always been Wendy's closest companion, and I have no objections to that.
But being close companions doesn't mean they have to be together every moment; they are twins, but not conjoined twins.
Just as Lucy is Woody's closest companion, it doesn't mean Woody has to carry Lucy at all times.
The magic of their relationship lies in Lucy's ability to be there for Woody whenever he needs her.
When I play DST with my friend, we split up to explore and also fight together.This is a strategy, and it doesn't mean we've grown apart.
We don't need to be with each other every second to prove how close we are; all that matters is being able to reach out to each other when needed.

That sounds quite reasonable to me.

I think I've just grown so accustomed to the old setup where the twin sisters are always together—physically and in proximity—that it's hard to imagine them functioning differently.

It's true that being close doesn't necessarily mean always staying side by side.

[yiyaya]

12 hours ago, CM624 said:

Can I share your thoughts with our programmers? Perhaps the Abigail we are currently working on can appear more independent as you suggested

Of course, thank you for your recognition. I wish your team success.

10 hours ago, renamoe said:

That sounds quite reasonable to me.

I think I've just grown so accustomed to the old setup where the twin sisters are always together—physically and in proximity—that it's hard to imagine them functioning differently.

It's true that being close doesn't necessarily mean always staying side by side.

I'm glad you understand my thoughts. In fact, I don't really care about Wendy's strength (and I'm not  a Wendy main; I play every character, including the weaker ones).
What I hope is that Klei can make players perceive Abigail in a more three-dimensional way. She is special.

[NPCMaxwell]

Thanks for this post! Actually Abigail mostly acting like this "pet" type is what annoyed me most about her which is why I never found much interest in playing. I am sure if I had conceived Abigail more like an actual twin sister then a "leashed pet" I would have considered her way more interesting. Although i still probably won't play her in DST I'd love this change "story / character expanding" wise.

[lio516]

On 12/10/2024 at 7:41 PM, yiyaya said:

Maybe you also have some suggestions for increasing Abigail's functionality. We can propose them and discuss them together.

I want to see Abigail in that chair

[1007954611]

bump

[cyjs]

genius idea