Just had a great game. Here's my feelings on Shipwrecked currently.

[DarkVexon]

So, second game on Shipwrecked, as Wilbur. Gathered my materials and made a nice base- fridge, crockpot, alchemy, chimi, full floor of snakeskin rug. Go out for exploration and find a "Doydoy". No idea what it is, but I pick it up and leave it at my base. Go out again and kill some kind of moby **** boss for blubber, which i used for some clothing. Then, I went out to the open seas for a bit again and found a skeleton with a Life Jacket. Keep that and continue advancing my base. Return to my base after a week at sea during a hearty storm and my base is burnt down by lightning. Still I persevere, rebuilding everything. Then, while I was out, I found some kind of seal tornado creature during the night. Eventually it was using some kind of special attack. it was pulling me in so I hid behind a rock to avoid it. However, my campfire got low so I had to decide between getting hit by the night thing or being sucked in. I chose sucked in and it killed me even though I had a log suit on! I respawned at a touchstone but i was at low hp and there was a spider war going on all around me and I died. Day 32. I'm pretty good at Don't Starve usually, got to 94 days before I got killed in base game + ROG. Here's what I'd like to change:

1. Slightly smaller map size/ ability to change map size for small as well as large. 

So, one thing i noticed was that it was hard to decide where to embark when looking for new islands. Should I travel towards that empty patch south of me or shall I got for that small spot between those islands? Another annoyance was not knowing exactly how large the map was. I never knew if I was at the edge of the map, or if maybe, just a little farther below my base there was some hidden hollow of treasure. A smaller map would solve this issue. Another idea I had was a 'piece of map' item that could be found in X marks the spot treasure chests, that would reveal a small circle of map somewhere. That could help clue you in to the location of another island, which helps when you're low on gold and looking for a golden krissure territory or similar scenarios.

2. More setpieces/more frequent setpieces

Don't Starve/ROG have many unique setpieces, ranging from traps to premade bases to just the rare corpse with an item near it. I noticed that I didn't see too many of these setpieces that can be gambles, or just fun to see, or can make a game. Yes, the X marks the spot treasure chests can be cool, but they tend to fill the already filled inventory with gems that are useless early game. Again, this could be a good way to add the Piece of map item i suggested.

3. Make Jungle a little less hectic

Right now, the Jungle is the Swamp of Shipwrecked in the later game. Tons of snakes, including poison snakes, apes which are a hindrance if you're any character but wilbur and don't help as wilbur, and possibly a few tier 2/3 spider dens just to make it tougher. Whereas, the actual Swamp is rather easy compared to the dangers of Tentacles in the bas ROG world. Why, get a Gas Mask and hammer down the Normal Merm dens and you are having a rather good time in the Swamp. Whereas the Jungle enemies will all aggro upon sight and can be a deadly pain. While snakes are weak, in packs they can easily demolish a character. I'd like it so some Jungles are about the same as the current ones, while others have less/no snake dens and 1/none spider dens.

4. On Characters

Right now, here's what i'd say about the characters - 

A. Surfer Girl

Starting with a surfboard honestly doesn't matter, and the surfboard itself sucks for anything but days 1-5 hunting for base positions. The sanity from           riding waves can be useful, but later when Rogue Waves are the primary wave type, it can become useless. Maybe the ability to ride Rogue Waves for a     higher speed boost could be a possibility? Drying off faster is very useful, and paired with the wave sanity boost it means sanity can be less of a                   problem. With the new food sources such as Trawl Nets, her increased hunger drain is hardly an issue. Not a bad character overall, could use a bit of a       boost lategame.

B. Cook Boy

Cook Boy has the most issues out of the characters. His huge hunger drain means getting food is always a pressing issue, and his crock pot is relatively     needed for survival, when sitting in the same place waiting for your food to come out of the crock pot is a waste of time. Sadly, his other bonus, the             Food Pack thing, isn't very useful in the early game, and in Shipwrecked's heavy inventory economy, it's not really possible to use it long-term. I would       suggest making it not only wearable, but also placeable, acting as a smaller fridge. It seems like he has mainly debuffs, as his only buffs really are things     that are already achieved in the long term.

C. Monkey Man

Monkey Man is a very neutral character. His positive attributes are small and his negative attributes are small. I would suggest making him a bit more           radical by making it so Monkeys will defend him if they are in his radius (will not fight if he attacks something though), and buffing his running speed by       removing the increased hunger drain whilst doing so and making the run-up time a little less. It should be fun to run around wildly while you wait for the       night to end, and I don't want to feel guilty doing so. In return, lower his max hunger a small amount, and make a few more things aggro on him (maybe       wildbores?).

 

5. On Islands

Right now, I don't feel that feeling of excitement when I find a new island. Usually, it feels a bit like a slog. Obviously I'm sure you're not going for that mediocre feeling whilst playing you're game, so I'd like to suggest making islands more unique somehow. More hidden quests, more biomes, more secrets like in RoG. Right now islands are either something new <6% of the time or "more jungle and beach, woo" 94% of the time.

 

6. On Other

Right now, Shipwrecked looks nearly fantastic. There's a few nitpicks i'd like to insert though: 

A. Obsidian

Obsidian just does not fit within the Don't Starve universe. It's looks don't fit in with the general theme. Even the most outlandish of materials such as           Thulecite don't have that glossy feel, and to me it sticks out like a sore thumb. Also, what's the point of the Obsidian Axe? I used it and it set the tree on     fire. uh, I guess for gathering charcoal!?

B. The Sea

 In real life, the sea is very beautiful. Now, I'm not saying that the sea in Shipwrecked is ugly, but I think it could stand to be a little more beautiful. Rogue      waves are angled and don't fit in with the curves of the sea.

[AnonymousKoala]

Obsidian Axe doesnt set things on fire anymore haha.

I agree with the characters most.