Finished My Playthrough - Thoughts

[LordFrost]

Hey folks, I figured I'd provide some feedback on the "playthrough" I just did.

First of all, here are some images:

http://i.imgur.com/xBg4x.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Z1STZ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3Xq0b.png

As illustrated by the first screenshot I am on day 30 and doing quite well for myself. In fact it would be fair to say, that I no longer have any gameplay challenges at this state of the game. This is not a critique of a game that's quite clearly in beta, so much as me pointing out a logical point to conclude the run.

The second screenshot demonstrates the map I ended up with. I had no trouble finding lots upon lots of spare flint, rocks and gold. It got a little more tricky to find the beefallows, but that sorted itself out as well.

Finally the third screenshot shows the research I have not completed. Meaning everything else is done. As there aren't any tangible gameplay benefits on the hats, I feel rather lacking in motivation to assemble research points for them. Maybe I'm not the demographic or just too much of an instant gratification gamer - regardless, I haven't done them.

Things I liked:

[*]Frantic rushing to gain safety at night.

This takes me back to the early days of minecraft, when hiding for the first night became an exciting idea to me. The terrifying darkness, untold horrors lurking amidst the devious shadows... I just had fun with it.

[*]Discovery

The number of (excuse the word) "biomes" keeps exploration interesting and exciting. I did not know what to make of the pigs, until one of them remarked upon the fact that I had meat and then became a follower. Likewise, the beefallows were briefly intimidating, especially after I decided to smack one about the head for beef. I could go on... Every NPC I've met has made me cautious and some have caused me to run for my dear life.

[*]Resource management

Minecraft quickly falls into the pit, where acquiring resources becomes far too "safe" to be fascinating. Similar games, such as Terraria or Project Zomboid, tried different approaches to make that less of an atmosphere-breaker. However, I don't think they quite did it right. Terraria incidentally turned out too easy and PZ never caused me any deaths not directly related to horrible interface handling. Well this has gone off topic.

I like how gathering vital resources in Don't Starve is never a minor undertaking, not counting the meat farms.

Things I did not like:

[*]The absolute lack of any knowledge whatsoever

Now I don't presume one needs a wiki full of recipes and hot tips, but I would like a manual of sorts to explain the mechanics. Do all resources respawn? Will spider cocoons grow in tier over time? Even something as simple as "Oh yeah the fire pit doesn't despawn if it goes out" would have helped making the whole experience a little more accessible.

[*]Laborious clicks

This goes into a discomfort issue. When I have to click every single gold nugget (or rock) onto the research machine one at a time, spam-click trees and rocks, have to hold down Ctrl to split stacks 1-at-a-time, I just feel like my fingers are running a treadmill. For me, there's no tangible gameplay benefit to making things as laborious as possible - surely some of the devs share that opinion to a point, otherwise crafting would be far less convenient.

[*]Spiders

Please don't get me wrong here, I love the implementation and art design of the spider enemies. What has me flummoxed is the silk gathering. If I go to the rock island with a torch and an axe, I can make 14-32 silks in one go without ever being menaced. Why can't I kill the spiders at home? Well because burning the cocoon causes forest fires. Burning spiders should not ignite trees.

Having said all this, I would like to express my appreciation for this game and my impatient wait for updates. You've certainly created a wonderful experience and I look forward to all that will be added to it in time.

Lastly, before I incur some form of wrath, please bear in mind that this thread expresses my personal opinion and you are most certainly invited to disagree.