An ALTERNATE idea for STORY Mode


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PLEASE rethink your approach!!!

After playing the game for 100 hours and chatting with 100's of people about this GREAT game idea...I have created a HUGE demographic from live stream viewers on my stream on TWITCH.tv. If you want field-research data...here's what people are CHOOSING to watch and what they want to see in the future!

IDEAS:

Escalating predators over time is BAD.

Predators are reduced in an environment over time.

Building portals to multiple world-forms is BAD.

Survivors build a sense of ownership over their accomplishments, and such an approach would kill the idea of survival. It would become an adventure-exploration game with a survival element.

Deliver what you promised: A PURE survival game!

The game industry is founded on making everything conform to a psychological hegemonic because that's what makes money. I understand the investment and the risk of game development, but, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I would like to encourage you to work out some of the ideas that I present here as they are formed from the culmination of many hours of conversation with gamers who love survival genre about the future of your game.

Adding seasons is a GREAT idea.

But there are crops that COULD be grown in winter.

Allow survivors to claim ownership over their world!!!

A Rogue-Like gauntlet mode could incorporate the idea of world-hopping.

The core STORY Mode could also incorporate the idea that there IS a TRUTH out there to be discovered.

Make it an OPTION to pursue this TRUTH...but with knowledge that a 1-way portal can be made from the locations of the TRUTH back to your home of choice. One world type along the journey may suit a player more than another. They could choose their home world/portal-tie.

Here's the proposal for the devs from my brain-storming sessions about what I HOPE will become the most unique and well-received survival game made since ROGUE!!!

Multiple races can exist in the distant Biomes.

These races are trying to also survive.

They send out explorers.

NOTE: Extensive exploration is not conducive to survival!

You develop alliances with nearby races; The Pig Men and their King, for instance. Enough faction with them allows you to hire explorers who can map areas for you. You can send research teams or establish resource gathering teams (in the vein of Kingdom for Kefflings, but with not so much reliability of the workers or constant supplies...PAYING them gets the results). Pay them in meat or other morbid currency.

They or you may encounter along the way other race members who are in the process of surviving. These representatives can become allies or enemies. They will assess you with simple questions.

What is your purpose?

Who are you?

What can you give to me?

So your resource Biomes will come to competition. Allies might share resources or exchange them. Enemies will steal, destroy, even kill for those resources. Based on your actions over time, you can lose faction. An NPC randomly rolled to have chaotic evil inclinations COULD violate your trade agreements and incur your wrath by having lost faction with you.

Enemy races will be single characters with groups of lackeys; just as you start off in the game. Say for instance, Wendy has an army of 10 Pig Men to protect her. Dirmu the Werewolf person has an army of 10 Fox-Men. Lackeys are semi-sentient feral people, of course. Leaders fighting for survival; each with their own goals, some for domination, others for seeking this alleged truth hinted towards by ancient text in a single ruined temple of sorts. Increases in shared technology could create safe supply lines. Harsher Biomes could yield more powerful predators. Predators may retaliate when encroached upon or threatened by survivor races.

Add weather to the idea of seasons.

Add alchemy research to find cures for sicknesses.

Weather could make you sick.

Incorporate shelter with lock mechanisms.

In winter, how do you stay warm?

In summer, how do you stay cool?

Irrigation into a sea-water sand-based filtration system to add cooling, fire-fighting, etc.

Everyone hates the idea of unrealistic challenges that increase over time.

Increased random predator attacks could be replaced by more uncommon predator attacks from much stronger predators...where the beasts are strengthened through survival as well; or, acting our of desperation.

Not enough time is really passing in the game for monster breeding or for much strength increases. Perhaps if the TRUTH of Don't Starve is that you are inside a tiny grain of sand in Hell...then diabolical forces would explain every inconsistency the way the Mass Effect does.

Summary:

Seasons with weather that causes disease.

Eating bad food causes sickness.

Disease and sickness will hinder mobility, thinking, etc.

ISOLATION creates insanity.

You should not FORCE your players to be good little Hellions; let them choose friend or foe...as was seen in Castaway, insanity can create anxiety about the future, which in turn becomes the impetus for creation and ingenuity. This should be the player's choice as to HOW to survive.

Add the ability to create shelters.

Add ability to dig holes for Google-Bird traps.

Add the ability to shave Berry Bush cut-roots to prevent their extinction if you intend to add blight, famine, weather issues that destroy them, or environmental catastrophes.

Add other NPC AI-based survivors and other lackey races for them to use and create encounters which the player may use to choose allies or enemies.

NPC survivors may encounter one another and make the same choices with or without player knowledge or involvement.

Example of allies and enemies...a berry-farmer may be in world one, biome one, when, after 200 days of relative peace, a Werewolf named Durin approaches them cautiously, asking who they are and how they got there.

Don't design the game NPCs to presume aggro. If a player is evil, they may ally with evil NPCs for resource exchange or choose to explore together into much harsher biomes with sturdier predators.

Please do something about Abigail's orgasmic moaning!! Insanity level MAX out as Soon as she spawns because of hate of that ultra-LOUD noise, not out of fear of free-floating Pac-Man apparitions. I consider Wendy as playing in Hard-Mode because of Abigail...she damages me constantly, and enemies, nearly never.

That's all for now. I would love to have direct conversations about this. I expect NO compensation or money or anything regardless of whatever contributions I might make to your game's developmental progress. I want to help see this game become something exceptional...something akin to true, pure survival with realistic goals and with no demands...Minecraft gained a large portion of its success from the no-demands aspect. Just survive.

I will gladly volunteer my talents towards helping with adding elements to the game. I am quite an artist/writer/musician...very creative...so...please respond from the dev table about my initial suggestions and let me know if there's anything I can volunteer to assist in polishing one of my new game favorites.

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*Rolls up sleeves*

A huge post? Oh it's on, like Donkey Kong! :)

Escalating predators over time is BAD.

Predators are reduced in an environment over time.

Hmm. This is a mixed bag for me. On the one hand it creates an element of random terror that can strike from anywhere, but is gracious enough to give some advance warning so the player isn't caught completely off-guard. That's nice. On the flip side I think the hound attacks come too early in the game and escalating encounters isn't the best solution, IMHO. The fact that the hounds always come from nowhere also strikes me as odd because I keep wondering "Where do they come from...?". I felt it would be better if there were a biome/island associated with them and players who passed through or lived in such an area would be randomly attacked by the hounds more often than those living outside that area.

Also, I'm not sure predators are reduced over time... isn't it a matter of balance? On the one hand the player could advance so much that the threat posed by the random encounters is somewhat mitigated. Or on the other hand you target the hounds and try to wipe them out, similar to how spider nests can be wiped out (currently). I think the fact that hounds spawn from no source from a gameplay perspective protects them from players trying to wipe them out, but at the same time still posses my question, where do they come from in the first place?

Building portals to multiple world-forms is BAD.

Survivors build a sense of ownership over their accomplishments, and such an approach would kill the idea of survival. It would become an adventure-exploration game with a survival element.

When the portals were first mentioned I assumed it would be like Minecraft and their use of the Nether Portal. That a player could pass back and forth between worlds. I still think that's how it should work. My assumption as to why the Devs have taken the one-way approach is because they want to prevent players from building a completely self-sufficient "fortress" (i.e. Minecraft and Terraria). Not because the Devs don't want to allow it, but rather because they want to keep the survival aspect fresh by forcing the player to start over with only a few resources.

Me? I play Minecraft and have a massive fortress. I like living in it and I would like to be able to re-visit it even if I did travel to another world. So, I guess I agree with you. :)

Deliver what you promised: A PURE survival game!

I can't disagree with this statement.

Adding seasons is a GREAT idea.

Agreed.

But there are crops that COULD be grown in winter.

I personally disagree. In fact, I think winter should be very harsh on players. Crops shouldn't grow, ponds should be frozen over (no fishing), birds should be uncommon (i.e. 50% less), rabbits should be rare (5% chance of appearing from its hole), berry bushes should all become and stay barren/withered (/w manure having no effect), and bee hives should produce no honey.

Of course another suggestion we had was the inclusion of maple trees as a replacement "honey" source. But I won't discuss those suggestions here (feel free to search for them).

Furthermore, players should need to wear a beefalo coat (i.e. crafted from beefalo fur) in the torso slot or stand within proximity to a fire (i.e. similar to its light radius at night). Failure to do so should cause gradual Health loss due to the cold (-1 Health per second).

I'm of course basing these suggestions on two assumptions, the first is that the players start the game in Spring, which gives them lots of time to prepare for Winter by stocking their foods. The second is that each season lasts 30 days, so again, that would give players 90 days to prepare and necessitate the need to survive Winter for 30 days. Spring would then undo some of the aforementioned effects, like reviving all berry bushes (without the need for manure).

Allow survivors to claim ownership over their world!!!

I'm already the boss of my world. I just need a desk, cigar, wine glass, and portrait (of Wendy). ;)

A Rogue-Like gauntlet mode could incorporate the idea of world-hopping.

The core STORY Mode could also incorporate the idea that there IS a TRUTH out there to be discovered.

This sounds similar to suggestions on adding Difficulty settings. I'm also pretty sure the core gameplay will include a progressive plot, if that's what you're requesting. It goes hand-in-hand with the portal idea. As the players travels from world to world they uncover the truth about your situation and Maxwell.

Make it an OPTION to pursue this TRUTH...but with knowledge that a 1-way portal can be made from the locations of the TRUTH back to your home of choice. One world type along the journey may suit a player more than another. They could choose their home world/portal-tie.

Yup, I do like the idea of a 2-way portal.

Multiple races can exist in the distant Biomes.

You mean like the pig men? Well there has been talk about "munkies"...

These races are trying to also survive.

As they should.

They send out explorers.

NOTE: Extensive exploration is not conducive to survival!

Explorers? Their civilzation has spent their entire lives on the island. I think they would have already explored the heck out of it ages ago. I know I have. However I would like to see pig men (for example) living their lives. Hunting/foraging for food around their settlements... maybe celebrating with a party every now and then. I mean, we know they like to dance...

You develop alliances with nearby races...

I can't speak for anyone else, but this idea sounds like an entirely different game. It almost feels like I've stepped into Civilzations. I wouldn't want this in the game.

They or you may encounter along the way other race members who are in the process of surviving. These representatives can become allies or enemies. They will assess you with simple questions.

Well I know there was discussion that when "munkies" are added that they are hostile to the pig men. And vice-versa. I certainly wouldn't be opposed to the game having this type of strife and placing you in the middle to decide who you want to support. Of course I'm more of a flip-flopper. I would want to help both sides and reap the benefits of having them. The drawback I think balances this out is that they still hate each other so you couldn't ever "hire/bribe" both pig men and munkies to be with you at the same time.

So your resource Biomes will come to competition. Allies might share resources or exchange them. Enemies will steal, destroy, even kill for those resources. Based on your actions over time, you can lose faction. An NPC randomly rolled to have chaotic evil inclinations...

Yes to new creatures, like the munkies, but not too many. No to the other suggestions. Of course the Pig King doesn't do too much these days other than cough up gold ore... so there is some room maybe to work on him. I'm just not sure what.

Harsher Biomes could yield more powerful predators. Predators may retaliate when encroached upon or threatened by survivor races.

I do like the idea of predators in different biomes. In fact, when I discussed the volcanic island biome it was suggested by another player that lave pools could be connected to flame hounds. I thought this was a good idea and suggested maybe lava pools could spawn flame hounds like how ponds spawn frogs.

Add weather to the idea of seasons.

Agreed. In the past its been suggested to include rainstorms, thunderstorms, snowstorms, blizzards, and fog. During the Spring there would be rainstorms and fog, during Summer there would be thunderstorms (uncommon), during Autumn there would be more rainstorms and fog, while in Winter there would be snowstorms and blizzards (uncommon). Another user suggested a rare event during Summer could be a tornado that could potentially destroy parts of the player's base camp.

Also, foggy days would allow all graves to spawn ghosts that wander the area. While during thunderstorms lightning would strike randomly from time to time, and set whatever it hit on fire. However the rain would isolate the burning object so the flames wouldn't spread.

Add alchemy research to find cures for sicknesses.

Sickness and diseases have come up, so you'll be glad to know other players agree with you on this aspect. I suggested a source for diseases could be the swamp, especially if they added insects that could spread diseases and had them live in the swamp biome. As for alchemy, sure, we should be able to concoct a cure to any disease... maybe something like a "Get Well Tonic".

Weather could make you sick.

Hmmm. As I suggested above in the winter topic, I opted to have cold would deteriorate your Health. I'm not sure whether rain should also have an impact other than to make unprotected fires extinguish faster. I would prefer to make it more cut-n-dry, or simply, if you want to avoid getting a disease, stay out of the swamp or take precautions before doing so. Arbitrarily handing out illnesses from the weather sounds a bit much, at least to me.

...okay, at 15,000+ characters this response post was too long, so I'll have to split it into two posts.

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...and here's the continuation.

Incorporate shelter with lock mechanisms.

But... the Krampus needs to rob you. How else will we learn to not hoard? :p

In winter, how do you stay warm?

Agreed, as baove.

In summer, how do you stay cool?

Hmmm. I know this has come up before, usually connected to discussion on a Thirst meter or the desert biome. Do you have any suggestions?

Irrigation into a sea-water sand-based filtration system to add cooling, fire-fighting, etc.

Okay... too many suggestions compressed here for me to discuss them all. However I would like to see a beach biome. :)

Everyone hates the idea of unrealistic challenges that increase over time.

I would have to agree. Maybe if I caused it to happen, then I would have only myself to blame... but otherwise it's a case of "why me"?

Increased random predator attacks could be replaced by more uncommon predator attacks from much stronger predators...where the beasts are strengthened through survival as well; or, acting our of desperation.

Maybe, in reference to your predator thread earlier different biomes could simply have more dangerous predators. Similar to how the tentacles are in the swamps. Of course I also support roaming predators, like as was suggested in a thread about bears. Bear would wander forest biomes and attack any player that came to close, chasing them down and tearing them apart. The bear would sleep during the night, but during the day they eat berries from bushes they come across, honey from bee hives/boxes, and fish in ponds. This could lead to confrontations with the player or cases where the player just has to "suck it up" because they're not powerful enough to deal with the bear... yet.

Seasons with weather that causes disease.

As I believe all seasons should have weather, I would have to disagree.

Eating bad food causes sickness.

If you are referring to rotting, then yes, I agree there should be rotting and eating rotten food should make you sick (i.e. puke), similar in ways to Project Zombicide. Of course I also think the Devs would need to introduce ways to preserve foods as well, like salting meats, crafting fruit/vegetable jams/preserves, and smoking/drying fish.

Disease and sickness will hinder mobility, thinking, etc.

Sure... why not?

ISOLATION creates insanity.

Which makes me wonder, would Abigail help Wendy's sanity through companionship or, since she's a ghost, deteriorate it?

Add the ability to create shelters.

Sooner or later the Devs plan to allow us to build walls.

Add ability to dig holes for Google-Bird traps.

You mean traps for the tallbirds? I think we should have a generic trap for tallbirds, beefalo, and spiders similar to a bear trap, it catches them, but you need to finish them off. Then again, we do have bee mines.

As for the treeguard... it strikes me as the "untrappable" sort.

Add the ability to shave Berry Bush cut-roots to prevent their extinction if you intend to add blight, famine, weather issues that destroy them, or environmental catastrophes.

So, in short, you want berry bush seeds? I wouldn't be against it, so long as you could only get one from a dead berry bush.

Add other NPC AI-based survivors and other lackey races for them to use and create encounters which the player may use to choose allies or enemies.

I'm against other survivors, as I prefer my solitude. I certainly wouldn't mind another race to compete with the pig men however, and that may show itself in the munkies.

NPC survivors may encounter one another and make the same choices with or without player knowledge or involvement.

Don't design the game NPCs to presume aggro. If a player is evil, they may ally with evil NPCs for resource exchange or choose to explore together into much harsher biomes with sturdier predators.

Nah, as above.

Please do something about Abigail's orgasmic moaning!!

Really...? Are you sure you're not reading too much into it? :p

Insanity level MAX out as Soon as she spawns because of hate of that ultra-LOUD noise, not out of fear of free-floating Pac-Man apparitions. I consider Wendy as playing in Hard-Mode because of Abigail...she damages me constantly, and enemies, nearly never.

Abigail sure is a handful, which is why Wendy is my favorite character. It would be nice if Abigail had a pre-spawn effect, as another user suggested, before she appears so a player knows to move out of her way. Me, I just suggested Abigail should spawn off to the side if the player (Wendy) is standing still.

As noted, I'm curious how Wendy's sanity is affected by Abigail. Normally I would say sanity should deteriorate, but that seems a bit harsh, unless Abigail's useful increased. Right now she does just get underfoot unless you're fortunate (i.e. I've used her to kill treeguards at sunset by positioning Abigail into them as they chase Wendy).

I will gladly volunteer my talents towards helping with adding elements to the game. I am quite an artist/writer/musician...very creative...so...please respond from the dev table about my initial suggestions and let me know if there's anything I can volunteer to assist in polishing one of my new game favorites.

Good ideas and help are always appreciated (by me at least). I'm sure the Devs will take note of your suggestions as we have and consider them.

Then again, if I saw a thread that said ATTN: TOASTER FU I'd probably be a little curious.;)

Yes, me too. Also any thread title with "Wendy" mentioned in it.

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I'm already the boss of my world. I just need a desk, cigar, wine glass, and portrait (of Wendy).

lmao

You develop alliances with nearby races...
I can't speak for anyone else, but this idea sounds like an entirely different game. It almost feels like I've stepped into Civilzations. I wouldn't want this in the game.

Mobios, read my thread on this http://forums.kleientertainment.com/showthread.php?3462-sanity-revamping-the-pigmen-and-other-tribes, think of how it could fit into the story. Not to mention how it would give a bit more of a RTS feel, like the game already has. It would also fit with the two-way portals idea. But by no means should that take away from the survival aspect. That, is number 1.

I certainly wouldn't be opposed to the game having this type of strife and placing you in the middle to decide who you want to support. Of course I'm more of a flip-flopper. I would want to help both sides and reap the benefits of having them. The drawback I think balances this out is that they still hate each other so you couldn't ever "hire/bribe" both pig men and munkies to be with you at the same time.

That´s why the diplomacy should be more layered. To allow for it to make more sense. Friends could become enemies because of a resource shortage, one is in need to survive, the other has plenty, they could try trade, but what if they don´t agree? the tribe in need will have to take what they need, if they can...

Yes to new creatures, like the munkies, but not too many.

Why not? If there will be several worlds you play through, do you want the same tribes for each world? Or a new set each world which balance each other out, create a new experience etc.. each world should be populated with different predators, prey and tribes, plus different vegetation. They´re different worlds after all. :D

To contain all this, I´d want to see much larger maps. More realistic biomes layout. It would be nice if it took at least a couple in-game years to explore the world you´re in. I see a problem at the moment of the experience ending too quickly and the game repeating itself too often. But I´m a person who wants depth...

Anyways, I get the feeling the devs won´t be going in this direction. Not to this degree anyways. Which would be sad. :(

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Mobius187: My suggestions are laid out with great care and consideration to real environmental challenges. I can expand any of the ideas herein but had hoped the spark of suggestion would be enough to ignite fires of impetus for the developers; at least to a degree at which they might contact me directly for inclusion in the game development process (hence my offer to volunteer without recognition).

The premise I am suggestion would be best described in story form, from an omniscient perspective.

The voice pierced Wendy's mind again, like the stabbing of an ice pick prying at an ancient glacier formation. It echoed, reverberated and berated. The stench of whatever the lanky Maxwell was smoking filled her olfactory senses, and the cajole of his basSoon-like monotone did their timeless best to drive her eyelids apart. There would be no rest for the wicked. Consciousness, her enemy, lifted her, dusted her off, and reminded her of the one carnal desire that would drive her, again, to whatever goals or lack thereof. Good or bad, constructive or destructive, merciful or merciless, in Hell, only two things were certain rewards; eternity and hunger. The hunger could only be persuaded by constant feeding of its gnawing demands for attention. The eternity could not be avoided.

Over time, Wendy had acquired knowledge of all that could be learned from the limits of Hell's lack of ingenuity. She knew that there was a truth to which all things hinted. Whether that truth were real was still beyond her experience. Was the existence of any absolute truth merely another lie? Her goals had long been to find her way to this truth, but her efforts always ended in the same field of mockery into which she was yet again reawakening.

Maxwell scoffed and vanished into a puff of sulfur and smoke and Wendy sighed in retrospect of the duties which lay before her; again. She lifted a piece of flint from the ground, tore off some dry brambles and grass, pulled up a few carrots and plucked berries from a nearby bush. She plopped herself down harshly. How long had she been doing this? Did that matter? Was time irrelevant? Was past, future and present all one jumbled mess? Was there an eternal now or an eternal hunger that no great mind could sustain the sanity necessary to feed? Like a brilliant mind incarcerated by deep poisonous hatred by isolation and loneliness, Wendy chewed the same flavorless berries, the same bland and dirty carrot, and cut herself intentionally with the flint to add some flavor to her food. She wished for something with which to wash that goop down, but there was nothing.

She knew that others were starting the exact same journey elsewhere in this world. Some world, really. One truth about Hell she had come to know was this; that Hell only seemed huge and intimidating because of the threats against her life, but, was in fact, actually very small and very limited. There was no sunlight, no sun, just a peculiar concept of day. There was no drinkable water, no mist, no wind, no dust, no stars in the sky, and only the idea of a moon somewhere in the inky bleak above. There was, however, perfect darkness which itself was a predator hungry only for the meat of sentient being and only those who were wide awake at night.

The others, she had occasionally encountered. There were other humans, and others who were not quite human at all. There were feral races that were only semi-intelligent that could be easily convinced to help or hinder with enough baubles, junk, garbage or most delectably, meat. Wendy had befriended these races, and destroyed them, enlisted their help in exploring the world, and in gathering resources, and had used them for manure, as bait for predators, as distractions against the Others. She had allied with Others at times, and deceived them at a whim in another time. She had killed them, killed herself, killed nothing, killed it all and eaten it, and still her stomach controlled her every action. She had fallen so many times, always forced to get back up, but had never found the secret of rest. She had gone entirely mad several times, some occasions about which she had no recollection any longer, just from the prospect that her plight might just be hopeless and eternal.

Wendy dreaded the winter. She dreaded the sickness of eating the poisonous monster meats before cooking them properly and fully. She dreaded the late fall and the early spring, and their demands on her fervor. She would go hungry to assure some was saved for times when no food could be found. Fishing was impossible in the winter for the ponds froze all the way down. Without laboring for adequate shelter, the rain from the murky thought of the sky above her would sicken her even unto death. Colds, flu, electrocution, burning...she had died in so many horrible ways, yet without fail to awaken from death again and again, alone, in Maxwell's field, and the threat of nightfall.

Wendy recalled a terrifying film she had once watched, called Groundhog Day. When it was only a whimsical tale of an impossible loophole cured by true love, it was fun and romantic. Now, surviving somehow, for some unknown reason in her own timeless place, the thought of the novel the film had been based upon gave her shivers of wrenching madness and terror. For in the novel, love had no place, and the protagonist never escaped his endless day.

A few more brambles, some more flint, tufts of grass, the simplest resources fashioning the simplest tools...she chopped away at a tree whose wood was always too soft and too easily spent in the fire. The tree fell, a squishy noise from inside betraying its inaccessible core of meat or dung. A fire was made, and the night and its insatiable monster descended upon her as always. She pondered by the flickering plumes of dry, odorless, smokeless flame, what she would do this time. Would she make allies or enemies? Would she enslave the feral races or avoid them? Would her loneliness and isolation drive her mad? Would she find the Truth mentioned in the broken ruin of the solitary altar at the geographical center of her bizarre prison world of tiny but deadly sandboxes? Would she die of sickness, poison, disease, starvation; would she be murdered this time, betrayed by the Others, or even trampled to death by the brainless Beefalo?

Only one thing mattered aside from the quelling of blood-thirst and meat-hunger; hold fast to the hope that the Truth was a reality and push far from consciousness the fear of its existence being a lie. If there was no Truth ultimately to be discovered somehow, what hope could there ever be of escaping the madness of that knowing? And what of the Truth itself? Would it bring hope or the same madness of knowing that the Truth is merely a seed of hopelessness? There was just as much to fear of the finding of the Truth as there was to fear of the lack of a Truth.

Tireless and hungry, Wendy ate and waited to eat again.

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Mobios, read my thread on this http://forums.kleientertainment.com/showthread.php?3462-sanity-revamping-the-pigmen-and-other-tribes, think of how it could fit into the story.

A reading assignment...? Do I have to?

Any chance you can give me the Cole's Notes version? :)

Not to mention how it would give a bit more of a RTS feel, like the game already has. It would also fit with the two-way portals idea. But by no means should that take away from the survival aspect. That, is number 1.

The last RTS I played was "Command & Conquer". After that I realized RTS games weren't my cup of tea. I came to this conclusion when I found myself worrying too much about my injured troops getting themselves killed... and ended up hiding them around the map. So, long story short, I wouldn't want more RTS elements in Don't Starve. I prefer managing my character and their resources, while letting the other creatures do the same on their own (or in simpler terms, I don't think it needs to be tracked for them). I mean, the assumption here is they were living on the islands long before we showed up.

That´s why the diplomacy should be more layered. To allow for it to make more sense. Friends could become enemies because of a resource shortage, one is in need to survive, the other has plenty, they could try trade, but what if they don´t agree? the tribe in need will have to take what they need, if they can...

Hmmm. How do I say this...? I personally wouldn't want this. I can't say exactly why, other than to say that I wouldn't expect Don't Starve to be about all of this. While I do want to see an environment whose creatures have proper life cycles (i.e. babies, eat food sources, are hunted by predators), I just don't know that I would want more from the pig men. For now I'll fence sit on this, as I don't have the conviction at heart to really oppose the idea, as who knows, maybe they're good? It's just more of a gut feeling that I don't agree with. Odd huh?

Why not? If there will be several worlds you play through, do you want the same tribes for each world?

Well actually I was thinking I wouldn't want too many packed together on the same map. If they were seperated by different worlds, then it wouldn't really be an issue.

To contain all this, I´d want to see much larger maps. More realistic biomes layout. It would be nice if it took at least a couple in-game years to explore the world you´re in. I see a problem at the moment of the experience ending too quickly and the game repeating itself too often. But I´m a person who wants depth...

Hmmm. I'm just not sure there would be enough content to support that much time per world. I'm just trying to be realistic. I would be happy if there was enough content to enjoy at least a full season cycle in each world, maybe two for the full effect.

Anyways, I get the feeling the Devs won´t be going in this direction. Not to this degree anyways. Which would be sad. :(

I agree they may not be looking to impart this level of complexity the player's social interactions with creatures like the pig men, but I'm not sure if that's a bad thing. That's the problem with complexity, it can be a fine line between too little and too much.

Mobius187: My suggestions are laid out with great care and consideration to real environmental challenges. I can expand any of the ideas herein but had hoped the spark of suggestion would be enough to ignite fires of impetus for the developers; at least to a degree at which they might contact me directly for inclusion in the game development process (hence my offer to volunteer without recognition).

And I for one am always happy to see someone who is ernestly interested in helping provide positive input towards developing the game. :)

The voice pierced Wendy's mind again, like the stabbing of an ice pick prying at an ancient glacier formation. It echoed, reverberated and berated. The stench of whatever the lanky Maxwell was smoking filled her olfactory senses, and the cajole of his basSoon-like monotone did their timeless best to drive her eyelids apart. There would be no rest for the wicked. Consciousness, her enemy, lifted her, dusted her off, and reminded her of the one carnal desire that would drive her, again, to whatever goals or lack thereof. Good or bad, constructive or destructive, merciful or merciless, in Hell, only two things were certain rewards; eternity and hunger. The hunger could only be persuaded by constant feeding of its gnawing demands for attention. The eternity could not be avoided.

This reminds me how long it's been since I last played a PBEM game. Ah, good times.

On a side note, there has been much speculation as to the background stories behind the characters. Whether Maxwell chose them at random or whether they are each being punished for a reason. For Wendy in particular some players have speculated as to whether Abigail's haunting may not be in some way connected to Wendy's circumstances.

Wendy chewed the same flavorless berries, the same bland and dirty carrot,

I always suspected those berries tasted bad...

...and cut herself intentionally with the flint to add some flavor to her food.

I always figured Willow would be more into that sort of thing... not sure why. She just seemed more emo.

The others, she had occasionally encountered. There were other humans, and others who were not quite human at all.

That's an understatement. :p

Wendy had befriended these races, and destroyed them, enlisted their help in exploring the world, and in gathering resources, and had used them for manure, as bait for predators, as distractions against the Others.

This reminded me of Ascendency... or Master of Orion. So many alliances, so many betrayals.

She dreaded the sickness of eating the poisonous monster meats before cooking them properly and fully.

Some players have suggested that we shouldn't be able to cook monster meat into edible foods. Rather that we should be able to make it into a form of toxic bait to kill certain creatures.

Fishing was impossible in the winter for the ponds froze all the way down.

Agreed.

Without laboring for adequate shelter, the rain from the murky thought of the sky above her would sicken her even unto death.

I still think this sounds to arbitrary. I would need to understand exactly how a player becomes sick/weakened from weather (i.e. rain) before I could truly agree or disagree. As I can't come up with a method other than saying that the longer the player is exposed to the rain without protection (i.e. umbrella in hand slot) they would have a % chance of catching a cold. But I just don't know if that's fair (or more accurately, whether it's fun gameplay).

Colds, flu, electrocution, burning...she had died in so many horrible ways, yet without fail to awaken from death again and again, alone, in Maxwell's field, and the threat of nightfall.

I'll assume electrocution comes from being hit by lightning.

Wendy recalled a terrifying film she had once watched, called Groundhog Day.

I object, on the grounds that I believe the characters are all from the Victorian era, which is pre-Groundhog Day.

...what she would do this time. Would she make allies or enemies? Would she enslave the feral races or avoid them? Would her loneliness and isolation drive her mad? Would she find the Truth mentioned in the broken ruin of the solitary altar at the geographical center of her bizarre prison world of tiny but deadly sandboxes? Would she die of sickness, poison, disease, starvation; would she be murdered this time, betrayed by the Others, or even trampled to death by the brainless Beefalo?

The chronological "loop" reminded me of a Let's Play done by pewdiepie for Limbo. At the very end he assumed the game ended where it had started. He was wrong, but the idea didn't seem to sit well with him. I have to wonder whether anyone would feel satisfied with that type of fate, in reality or in a game.

Anyway, nice story.

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I prefer managing my character and their resources, while letting the other creatures do the same on their own (or in simpler terms, I don't think it needs to be tracked for them).

Yeah, I wasn´t meaning you manage the tribe villages etc.. just are able to possibly influence them, make suggestions and they can choose to take your advise or not based on their needs.

Hmmm. How do I say this...? I personally wouldn't want this. I can't say exactly why, other than to say that I wouldn't expect Don't Starve to be about all of this. While I do want to see an environment whose creatures have proper life cycles (i.e. babies, eat food sources, are hunted by predators), I just don't know that I would want more from the pig men. For now I'll fence sit on this, as I don't have the conviction at heart to really oppose the idea, as who knows, maybe they're good? It's just more of a gut feeling that I don't agree with. Odd huh?

IMO, I see it as adding layers to the game. I mean, if you got dropped on an island and found out there were semi-civilized tribes there. I think more would be going on then Munkie men hating pigmen and visa versa. I want to see living, breathing villages, pigmen making axes to chop more wood etc... raids happening because one tribe wants the resources another has etc... make it dynamic, rich, not to mention that if the tribes are surviving just like the player, there´s more competition going on for the resources, making it more difficult for the player. And to think that the player can be involved in the tribes development, which in turn helps him keep his sanity, and in the end the tribes create items on their own which can only gotten that way.

I think it´s great... :p Also, different tribes would have different uses in combat.. what if there´s a boss which takes more magic to take down.. maybe the Owlmen would be better to have by your side. I don´t want all mobs, bosses to be weak enough for just the player to kill. Should take more thought than that. Again, more layers.

Anyways. I´ll keep putting up my suggestions ;)

Well actually I was thinking I wouldn't want too many packed together on the same map. If they were seperated by different worlds, then it wouldn't really be an issue.

I actually would like to see each world become much larger. I mentioned before in another thread that it would be nice if it took longer than maybe a ingame week to explore the map. Maybe a year or two? Prolong the experience and provide space for content, danger but also space for the player.

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One more thing, the RTS thing would just be an option for the player, if they want they can get more into the politics of the tribes. It wouldn´t be anything totally integral to the story or necessary to move to the next world. It just provides more depth and options in regards to who you want as an ally to take out the bosses who are holding.... something... needed to make the portal or to find the portal.

Edited by ZaCormyr
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While the idea of alliances would be an interesting mechanic, I feel that it would not fit in this specific game as you are one person and they (pig men, munkies, bunnymen, etc) are a happy, self-sustaining, and large in populous civilization. However, a mechanic that gauged how hostile your actions were to that race (i.e. mindless slaughter or moving in on their territory) might affect their neutrality to a war-like state and would be most welcomed. Rabbits might be an easy to get food source, but the warriors of the bunnymen kingdom might not stand by while their brethren are slaughtered by a wandering bearded beast.

The escalation of enemies is an overall good thing and I personally would be very skeptical on the addition of a player finding other people. The game is not just of physical survival, but psychological as well. Plucking someone from civilization and thrusting them into a "Last Man or Woman on Earth" scenario is a huge mental strain. The developers have created a unique world full of bizarre creatures. The mysterious force in the darkness, the random graves with ghosts, and Soon the addition of a sanity meter really makes this more delving into survival of the mind rather than Gilligan's Island with monsters. I have had hounds attack me on day 2, which is way too Soon, but I think overall the time of attacks and intensity might be decided via the sanity meter mechanic.

The increase in attacks coincides with the length of time in isolation. Is this really happening to Wilson? Are fire hounds really burning what little roots he is able to make? Are there really demons out there stealing his goods? Is there something in the darkness or is it all the imagination running wild? That is what makes the game truly interesting. As a pure survival game, once a base of operations is established, there is not much to worry about. The creatures provide much needed opposition.

I think the premise behind the story mode will work very well while the execution (use of portals) may not. What if some impending doom is befalling the island and you have to get out of there asap: what do you take with? It could happen at any point and you do not know where you will end up next. It doesn't get more survival than that.

The final story-mode version may or may not use portals to travel, but the core idea is solid. It is survival, but to the extreme. Players will hunker down for a long term stay, but will have to be ready to bug-out in case they are unable to defend their current location.

The current roadmap for Don't Starve sounds very solid (http://forums.kleientertainment.com/showthread.php?2832-Don-t-Starve-Roadmap) and I am looking forward to seeing the new additions.

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The escalation of enemies is an overall good thing and I personally would be very skeptical on the addition of a player finding other people. The game is not just of physical survival, but psychological as well. Plucking someone from civilization and thrusting them into a "Last Man or Woman on Earth" scenario is a huge mental strain.

Well there are already other people, I just want the pigmen and others to have more depth. The game is psychological, that´s why socializing is good to some degree, also it fits with the sanity meter... help others and socialize to improve your sanity.

I feel even with that stuff in place, the player is still alone. He´s an outsider and he´s the only one trying to get home and is missing home, not to mention finding graves of others who were stranded there like him. Right now that is the lonely element and it still would be, Wilson wants to get home, but in my opinion could use help along the way.

Is this really happening to Wilson? Are fire hounds really burning what little roots he is able to make? Are there really demons out there stealing his goods? Is there something in the darkness or is it all the imagination running wild? That is what makes the game truly interesting. As a pure survival game, once a base of operations is established, there is not much to worry about.

This can still be part of it and should be. His sanity is key to needing to get out of his home base and socialize or help out somehow. The two ideas fit together nicely.

What if some impending doom is befalling the island and you have to get out of there asap: what do you take with? It could happen at any point and you do not know where you will end up next. It doesn't get more survival than that.

Interesting, but they´ve already established that Wilson has been taken by a demon and put on this island. Wilson´s goal is to find a way home.

Players will hunker down for a long term stay, but will have to be ready to bug-out in case they are unable to defend their current location
.

the devs have stated they don´t want people to hunker down, or camp, or turtle too much. But instead be out in the world exploring etc.. best way to do that is to provide more things in the world to interact with.

Anyways, I hear ya, but still love my vision of the game. :D

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Looks like some really constructive suggestions, very well spelled out :) nice of the admins to respond so thoroughly. :)

As Moderators we try to help facilitate discussions and develop suggestions. Of course as we're all just players that can sometimes mean we don't always meet eye-to-eye with every suggestion. Still, the Devs will make the final call on which ideas best suit the game, so you guys are free to continue developing your ideas in this thread.

Good luck. ;)

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I agree with the first part about the game's direction.

But, no offense intended since it's just my opinion, the idea of sending NPCs to do things for you is pretty boring.

Also, what makes the survival genre unique and fun is to know that you are trying to stay alive ALONE, and ON YOUR OWN.

That's not mandatory of course, but all that social stuff you suggested has nothing to do with this game, and would just turn it into a The Sims game.

Keep in mind that with "alone" i do NOT mean "you're the only person in the game"! That's not that i mean!

What i'm saying is that the game should not rely too much on gimmicky social activities with NPCs that would simply be boring and take the atmosphere of being lost out of the game.

Just my 2 cents.

Edited by Filipfonky
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