A Pufferfish Posted February 28, 2025 Share Posted February 28, 2025 The Klei Ambassador program was originally introduced to assist streamers to gain popularity and grow their following, but inadvertently, it has made it harder for smaller, non-Ambassador streamers to break into the Don't Starve streaming scene. I will be covering the reasons why and proposing potential solutions. This post is not made to make jabs at Klei or any of its team, but to try to mend a currently flawed system. Section I: What is the Ambassador Program? For the uninitiated, the 'Klei Ambassadors' program is a streaming group that enables Klei-verified streamers to have drops on their streams. On top of that, Klei provides Ambassadors with keys for giveaways, early update information, and other such things in that exclusive nature. It is an invite-only program, with applications being closed currently until more information is ready to be shared. * Excerpt from the official Klei Ambassadors page Section II: Status and Requirements of the Program The current status of the Ambassador program, as stated in the excerpt above, is that "applications for the Ambassador program are currently closed while adjustments to the program are being made." , Personally, I have a personal goal of being a part of the program, as I am a long-time fan and supporter of Klei. The problem is that the information on the availability of applications is nearly non-existent. I had sent an email a while back inquiring about its future and details relating to the requirements for joining the program, to no response. There is no information about how many followers or how many hours per week/month are required for a streamer to reach to be eligible. Making a sort of "power imbalance" between Ambassadors and non-Ambassadors in the Don't Starve streaming field. Section III: Effect on Non-Ambassadors Now that we've covered the outline of the program, onto the effect on streamers who aren't in the program. The effect on non-Ambassadors is that, statistically, there is no reason to watch a non-Ambassador. You cannot accumulate drops; you cannot have a chance of winning giveaways for codes for 'Resurrected,' and they do not have access to the Klei Creator Portal to assist in gaining popularity via giveaways. All of these things compound to a large issue of it being hard to break into the field, due to drops having the opposite effect they have in other communities; people won't lurk or try new streamers because there isn't a benefit, so the only way people can find new Don't Starve streamers that aren't Ambassadors is if they want to go out of their way to try to find a new one, with no other incentive(s). A potential solution is to turn drops on for all streamers but keep the Creator Portal exclusive to Ambassadors, so then the odds aren't as mounting as they could be. Section IV: Effect on Non-Twitch Users The effect is not only on the streamers but on the users as well. I will be referring to users who don't care much for watching streams or otherwise. In the case of drops, this wasn't a large issue; you can just leave a stream on overnight, and you get your drops. That part is fine. The issue is with the 'Resurrected' items. The primary way to obtain them before coming to the storefront mentioned in this post is to win a streamer giveaway. To add my own personal experience of this, that means to have several streams open and to check for giveaways on time. I could be doing something else, and I can't leave it because oftentimes, you need to respond to claim any giveaway winning(s). This does not mean completely removing this system, but the easiest solution here is to roll out the code and the store option at the same time. This way, people who like watching streams and want to try their luck to save a few dollars on a skin can participate in giveaways, and people who don't can just pay a few dollars at release and be done with it. We currently do not have a time frame for how long after addition 'Resurrected' items will be brought to a storefront, but to base it off of the time of Twitch Drops getting onto the Rewards page, it could take a while. Section V: Closing To conclude the post, I want only what's best for the community, and I feel like that is to get the gears moving again on the Klei Ambassador program applications, rework certain systems in fair ways, and to even the playing field partially for streamers. I have been a part of the Don't Starve community since 2013, and I want to see it flourish as much as possible. This post was not made with malice or contempt for any actions on Klei's behalf, only a shot in the dark to try to make it better for everybody. Please feel free to give feedback! Thank you. (Note: I am aware of the Klei Creator program, but It also has the same "Applications are not Public" at this time point, so it falls into the same category.) Link to comment https://forums.kleientertainment.com/forums/topic/164509-the-future-of-dont-starve-together-and-twitch/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
DegenerateFurry Posted February 28, 2025 Share Posted February 28, 2025 Yeah, I really don't understand the philosophy behind the giveaways decision. Why not just implement the "resurrected" drops into the old system? Link to comment https://forums.kleientertainment.com/forums/topic/164509-the-future-of-dont-starve-together-and-twitch/#findComment-1802992 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Developer nome Posted February 28, 2025 Developer Share Posted February 28, 2025 4 hours ago, A Pufferfish said: To conclude the post, I want only what's best for the community, and I feel like that is to get the gears moving again on the Klei Ambassador program applications This is also a major concern for us, and something we were working on earlier today. The main stumbling block has been making the process more labour-efficient, which is why my team has been working on some tech to improve the application process. Please hold on a little longer! Link to comment https://forums.kleientertainment.com/forums/topic/164509-the-future-of-dont-starve-together-and-twitch/#findComment-1803008 Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Pufferfish Posted March 1, 2025 Author Share Posted March 1, 2025 58 minutes ago, nome said: This is also a major concern for us, and something we were working on earlier today. The main stumbling block has been making the process more labour-efficient, which is why my team has been working on some tech to improve the application process. Please hold on a little longer! Thank you for the response! I knew there was something happening for sure but it's good to hear a little about the situation! Appreciate everything you guys do for us! Link to comment https://forums.kleientertainment.com/forums/topic/164509-the-future-of-dont-starve-together-and-twitch/#findComment-1803019 Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiddoBams Posted March 1, 2025 Share Posted March 1, 2025 This is all excellently said As a DST content creator myself, it's been incredibly difficult to stream DS in any capacity due to not being an Ambassador; any time I actually -did- stream, I would have people in the chat and comments asking if I had drops enabled, and why I didn't- if anything, it drove me further away from actually wanting to stream the game when my channel was much smaller. Sure, it could be argued it promotes a form of unnatural growth for a channel, with people only wanting to watch a creator specifically for their drops and not their content, but I would have killed (and still would tbh) to have that help earlier on! I also wish to add, the current skin drop system being a Twitch-only exclusive feature is to be expected, but also heavily discourages people streaming on other platforms like YouTube, so seeing the new ressurected skin program being independant of Twitch is an excellent stride in rewarding those that focus primarily on other platforms! (cough) Though, I fully understand the convience of wanting to stick to the Twitch drops system! I'm super excited to see what changes you guys have planned for the program! I'm happy I've been able to be a part of the DST community for as long as I have, and the capacity, too Link to comment https://forums.kleientertainment.com/forums/topic/164509-the-future-of-dont-starve-together-and-twitch/#findComment-1803162 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaioh Posted March 1, 2025 Share Posted March 1, 2025 Agreed with section IV, I'm personally frustrated with the current inavailability of crabpack as I'm unable to fish for it in multiple streams like everyone else due to health related problems. Would've preferred to buy it in the game instead :/ Link to comment https://forums.kleientertainment.com/forums/topic/164509-the-future-of-dont-starve-together-and-twitch/#findComment-1803165 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quadratordo Posted March 1, 2025 Share Posted March 1, 2025 1 hour ago, Kaioh said: Agreed with section IV, I'm personally frustrated with the current inavailability of crabpack as I'm unable to fish for it in multiple streams like everyone else due to health related problems. Would've preferred to buy it in the game instead :/ Aye, the giveaway method for the crabpack skin is a frustration machine for everyone involved; i really hope this won't be the case for the next resurrected skins. I've seen streaming ambassadors get rather annoyed at it, and I really can't blame them; users kind of have to be like the Finding Nemo seagulls to not miss out on the chance to get the skin, and that's bound to get annoying for streamers who have to deal with the mass and for regular users, who have to basically beg for giveaways; that's undignifying. In any event, I agree about the ambassadors' system causing excessive centralization of the community while also kicking the ladder for upstarting streamers, who are indirectly penalized. I'll say, as a regular user, that the twitch drops do, in fact, make me tune in more to DST streams... except that most of the time it really means ''lurking there while doing something else as drops accumulate'', so it's more of a stream numbers bloat than anything else. Granted, this also got me to tune in with some streamers which I enjoy the company of, but that's more of a silver lining than anything else, and I daresay that I'm not in the minority in how I approach streams. Link to comment https://forums.kleientertainment.com/forums/topic/164509-the-future-of-dont-starve-together-and-twitch/#findComment-1803189 Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Pufferfish Posted March 1, 2025 Author Share Posted March 1, 2025 1 hour ago, Quadratordo said: Aye, the giveaway method for the crabpack skin is a frustration machine for everyone involved; i really hope this won't be the case for the next resurrected skins. I've seen streaming ambassadors get rather annoyed at it, and I really can't blame them; users kind of have to be like the Finding Nemo seagulls to not miss out on the chance to get the skin, and that's bound to get annoying for streamers who have to deal with the mass and for regular users, who have to basically beg for giveaways; that's undignifying. In any event, I agree about the ambassadors' system causing excessive centralization of the community while also kicking the ladder for upstarting streamers, who are indirectly penalized. I'll say, as a regular user, that the twitch drops do, in fact, make me tune in more to DST streams... except that most of the time it really means ''lurking there while doing something else as drops accumulate'', so it's more of a stream numbers bloat than anything else. Granted, this also got me to tune in with some streamers which I enjoy the company of, but that's more of a silver lining than anything else, and I daresay that I'm not in the minority in how I approach streams. To add to that point of just lurking, it still helps small streamers! It brings their average view count to what is needed to get affiliate, and after that, lurking lets them get some money because of ads, the drops being for all streamers would revolutionize the DST streaming scene, in my opinion. Link to comment https://forums.kleientertainment.com/forums/topic/164509-the-future-of-dont-starve-together-and-twitch/#findComment-1803205 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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