Etiquette: how to be a great host and joiner

[LuxuryHeart]

This needs to be made.  Take it from someone who has the frustration of dealing with a bad host and horrible joiners.  Here are tips for making a smooth ride for everyone involved!

 

HOST

1) Make essentials: Not everyone is going to join on day one, so you need to make sure they come in with essential tools.  You need to make a fire pit with logs/tuffs by it for the players who come in the evening or at night.  You need to make one crockpot for new comers who will want a meal later on.  You need to make chests that hold the essentials for survival: torch, axe, pickaxe, flint, sticks, and grass.  You will also need a science machine for people who will want to make a backpack, shovel, and spear.  I personally make: fire pit with logs/tuffs by it, a crockpot, an icebox, chest with grass, sticks, flint, axes, pickaxes, backpacks, shovels, spears, and a science machine.  Also...  Make low cost seasonal items!   Winter: winter hat and thermal stone.  Spring: straw hat and umbrella.  Summer: straw hat and umbrella (chilled amulet and chilled thermal stone optional).  Also an endothermic fire pit would be nice. 

2) Guide them: Have directional signs and moonlens to point to important locations.  Make a cartographer's desk and make several maps scrolls.  You can choose to make new maps scrolls as time goes by, or just make a map scroll that will show your main base.  Either way, people need to know where your base is.

3) Vet them:  Ask what their playing style is.  Do they like to explore and gather items while making mini bases along the way (fire pit, alchemy machine, and a few chests), or do they prefer to explore certain areas at a time for the purpose of building on the main base (and other bases later on)?  Do they tank enemies (constantly swinging with armor on), do they kite (dodge and swipe), or do they allow others to do their dirty work for them (luring enemies to animals that will fight or tentacles)?

 

JOINER

1) No trolls allowed: When did trolling become funny?  Never?  Sounds about right.  Seriously, trolling is not funny.  Hosts, y'all have permission to kick them out. 

2) Grab items with permission: communicate with the host.  Also, don't take items that are not essentials, and don't take more than one.  True essentials are: ax, pickax, and torch.  Though a nice host might let you take a bit more.  The important thing is asking them.

3) Do not enter late/at bad times and expect to be coddle: A guy came in the game, with my brother and I, at day 19 and expected us to drop everything and coddle him.  We gave him the essentials (torch, ax, pickax, and thermal stone for Winter).  I personally showed him the way to our main base.  He still wanted me to like coddle him or worship him.  I don't have time for that.

4) Please actually be good before joining someone else's game: It's a great idea to play on your own and get experience before playing online with other people.  Also...  ***Astrology warning***  I have a Cancer moon.  This tends to activate with Don't Starve, especially with players that I can sense are new and inexperienced.  It's annoying for me, and the person I'm playing with.  I'm going to smother the person I'm playing with and keep them confined to one area (glorified jail cell), and I'm going to stress myself out worrying about someone else while trying to take care of myself.  

5) Contribute as soon as you enter and grab the essentials: Please do not enter the game and twiddle your thumbs.   You should be collecting items for yourself and the team when you enter.  If you don't know what to do, then you should probably host your own game, or play by yourself.

 

[Anthony38136]

On 22/12/2016 at 7:39 AM, LuxuryHeart said:

This needs to be made.  Take it from someone who has the frustration of dealing with a bad host and horrible joiners.  Here are tips for making a smooth ride for everyone involved!

 

HOST

1) Make essentials: Not everyone is going to join on day one, so you need to make sure they come in with essential tools.  You need to make a fire pit with logs/tuffs by it for the players who come in the evening or at night.  You need to make one crockpot for new comers who will want a meal later on.  You need to make chests that hold the essentials for survival: torch, axe, pickaxe, flint, sticks, and grass.  You will also need a science machine for people who will want to make a backpack, shovel, and spear.  I personally make: fire pit with logs/tuffs by it, a crockpot, an icebox, chest with grass, sticks, flint, axes, pickaxes, backpacks, shovels, spears, and a science machine.  Also...  Make low cost seasonal items!   Winter: winter hat and thermal stone.  Spring: straw hat and umbrella.  Summer: straw hat and umbrella (chilled amulet and chilled thermal stone optional).  Also an endothermic fire pit would be nice. 

2) Guide them: Have directional signs and moonlens to point to important locations.  Make a cartographer's desk and make several maps scrolls.  You can choose to make new maps scrolls as time goes by, or just make a map scroll that will show your main base.  Either way, people need to know where your base is.

3) Vet them:  Ask what their playing style is.  Do they like to explore and gather items while making mini bases along the way (fire pit, alchemy machine, and a few chests), or do they prefer to explore certain areas at a time for the purpose of building on the main base (and other bases later on)?  Do they tank enemies (constantly swinging with armor on), do they kite (dodge and swipe), or do they allow others to do their dirty work for them (luring enemies to animals that will fight or tentacles)?

 

JOINER

1) No trolls allowed: When did trolling become funny?  Never?  Sounds about right.  Seriously, trolling is not funny.  Hosts, y'all have permission to kick them out. 

2) Grab items with permission: communicate with the host.  Also, don't take items that are not essentials, and don't take more than one.  True essentials are: ax, pickax, and torch.  Though a nice host might let you take a bit more.  The important thing is asking them.

3) Do not enter late/at bad times and expect to be coddle: A guy came in the game, with my brother and I, at day 19 and expected us to drop everything and coddle him.  We gave him the essentials (torch, ax, pickax, and thermal stone for Winter).  I personally showed him the way to our main base.  He still wanted me to like coddle him or worship him.  I don't have time for that.

4) Please actually be good before joining someone else's game: It's a great idea to play on your own and get experience before playing online with other people.  Also...  ***Astrology warning***  I have a Cancer moon.  This tends to activate with Don't Starve, especially with players that I can sense are new and inexperienced.  It's annoying for me, and the person I'm playing with.  I'm going to smother the person I'm playing with and keep them confined to one area (glorified jail cell), and I'm going to stress myself out worrying about someone else while trying to take care of myself.  

5) Contribute as soon as you enter and grab the essentials: Please do not enter the game and twiddle your thumbs.   You should be collecting items for yourself and the team when you enter.  If you don't know what to do, then you should probably host your own game, or play by yourself.

 

The only thing that sucks is almost every time I have joined a sever, it seems as though the person doesn't want to let others know where the base is. Now, I understand that this could be because of griefers and such, but having a chest to start is a really great idea for just that reason. I would love to host my own server and do these thing, but my computer is potato cup, and my internet is potatocup as well, so I mainly join other peoples' worlds. Good tips though! Hopefully people follow some of these tips.

[CarlZalph]

Also if you're local hosting and don't want strangers in your game, then put on a password instead of kicking anyone joining.

And if you really want to spawn in things then tell the people on there that you're doing it; not everyone wants to play sit-around-do-nothing-and-win.

[HutGenerator]

I make cobblestone roads all the way from portal to main base, haha. So you are perfectly guided.

[Rellimarual]

I tried all of this in a fit of charity, and before the year was out, they'd not only taken everything, they burned down everything they couldn't take. 

One reason people in an established map don't immediately cough up the base location is as a test. If the player can get to the base without getting themself killed, they are probably experienced enough to contribute something. Any one who wants to be met at the portal and escorted to the base is sure to be dead weight. A lot of newcomers to open servers do this!. Or you invest a lot of time in helping a newb and they suddenly leave the server while holding valuable resources because they decide it's too challenging.  Anyone who needs constantly updated directions is sure to show up at the base without any grass. 

 It is actually better manners to play for a few days, demonstrating that you know the basics, and then ask if there is a base you can join.  Or start building a base of your own and invite other players to visit or trade.  Asking for the location of the base the moment you join the server is not a great signal.

[AnonymousKoala]

Also something from my own sessions, mainly about being unsure on what to do once you join, to be helpful: If you don't know what to do or what to get, get wood. Wood is always needed and most players burn through it in no time. Spelunking is never bad either. 

[Sinister_Fang]

40 minutes ago, AnonymousKoala said:

Also something from my own sessions, mainly about being unsure on what to do once you join, to be helpful: If you don't know what to do or what to get, get wood. Wood is always needed and most players burn through it in no time. Spelunking is never bad either. 

Grass and twigs are usually high in demand as well. Or just any resource the camp might be low on. Heck, if you're skilled enough (and it looks like the host actually uses it) then go out and farm some nightmare fuel to keep them stocked up on dark swords. I've seen a couple people just waltz into camp, get some basic stuff then just go crazy slaughtering the shadows. I've personally only seen this a few times, but I love these people. Especially since farming nightmare fuel is usually my chore on the server I hang out on.

[SrJardel]

3 hours ago, Rellimarual said:

...If the player can get to the base without getting themself killed, they are probably experienced enough to contribute something.

Any one who wants to be met at the portal and escorted to the base is sure to be dead weight...

...Anyone who needs constantly updated directions is sure to show up at the base without any grass. 

 It is actually better manners to play for a few days, demonstrating that you know the basics, and then...

...start building a base of your own and invite other players to visit or trade.  Asking for the location of the base the moment you join the server is not a great signal.

I was about to write my own words, but the message above is mostly my way to go.

+1

[AnonymousKoala]

6 hours ago, Sinister_Fang said:

Grass and twigs are usually high in demand as well. Or just any resource the camp might be low on. Heck, if you're skilled enough (and it looks like the host actually uses it) then go out and farm some nightmare fuel to keep them stocked up on dark swords. I've seen a couple people just waltz into camp, get some basic stuff then just go crazy slaughtering the shadows. I've personally only seen this a few times, but I love these people. Especially since farming nightmare fuel is usually my chore on the server I hang out on.

Very good point. In my current ongoing session we're right near a desert so Grass and Twigs aren't problematic(also 71 days in, twiggy trees generate a lot of twigs just lying around). About the nightmare fuel, couldn't agree more. Living the Dank Sword life is great, but farming stuff for it...Less so. Especially living log(Thank god for bearger and birchnuts though).

[hkhm]

when i am the host of a survival server, i typically leave a firepit, alchemy engine, chest with full stacks of basic supplies (twigs, flint, grass, logs, rocks) and two or three farms planted with crops next to the florid postern (sometimes, when i feel generous, there are drying racks and a few berry bushes too). 90% of the time the very first thing i get is "where is ur base?!?!?!?!" i tell them that i made a base for them and that when they find my main compound they are free to take anything they want (i live in the ruins 90% of the time, good luck). they are also free to make their own bases. those people don't even last a day.

when i am the host of a wilderness server and people ask me for directions to the base is i just start to chuckle: "i have no idea where you spawned, you are on your own." even if i want to give them some direction, they need to explore a bit so i have an idea where they are.

i do not guide new joiners to my camps/bases/compounds by default anymore. i have been burned (yeah, pun intended) far too many times. i do not have time for people who suffer from camp paralysis and just sit around the firepit demanding i do whatever they want to do. (and tossing my living logs into the firepit...)

the rare people who actually make a go of surviving before asking for a trade of supplies or help with the dragonfly, definitely get the help they want or need. they don't need their hand held and i am happy to join forces. people who ask if there is anything i want or need, what they can do to help (upcoming battle, collecting materials, map exploration, whatever) always get a positive response from me, but those people are so rare.

[LuxuryHeart]

On 12/21/2016 at 9:09 PM, Rellimarual said:

I tried all of this in a fit of charity, and before the year was out, they'd not only taken everything, they burned down everything they couldn't take. 

One reason people in an established map don't immediately cough up the base location is as a test. If the player can get to the base without getting themself killed, they are probably experienced enough to contribute something. Any one who wants to be met at the portal and escorted to the base is sure to be dead weight. A lot of newcomers to open servers do this!. Or you invest a lot of time in helping a newb and they suddenly leave the server while holding valuable resources because they decide it's too challenging.  Anyone who needs constantly updated directions is sure to show up at the base without any grass. 

 It is actually better manners to play for a few days, demonstrating that you know the basics, and then ask if there is a base you can join.  Or start building a base of your own and invite other players to visit or trade.  Asking for the location of the base the moment you join the server is not a great signal.

I never thought of that when I typed this out.  My brother and I might be lucky but we never encountered griefers.  I was scared to type this because I don't want to jinx us  The worst we encounter are deadweights who want us to coddle them.  Though we did meet one kid who experienced griefers when he hosted his own server.

[LuxuryHeart]

On 12/22/2016 at 1:53 PM, hkhm said:

when i am the host of a survival server, i typically leave a firepit, alchemy engine, chest with full stacks of basic supplies (twigs, flint, grass, logs, rocks) and two or three farms planted with crops next to the florid postern (sometimes, when i feel generous, there are drying racks and a few berry bushes too). 90% of the time the very first thing i get is "where is ur base?!?!?!?!" i tell them that i made a base for them and that when they find my main compound they are free to take anything they want (i live in the ruins 90% of the time, good luck). they are also free to make their own bases. those people don't even last a day.

when i am the host of a wilderness server and people ask me for directions to the base is i just start to chuckle: "i have no idea where you spawned, you are on your own." even if i want to give them some direction, they need to explore a bit so i have an idea where they are.

i do not guide new joiners to my camps/bases/compounds by default anymore. i have been burned (yeah, pun intended) far too many times. i do not have time for people who suffer from camp paralysis and just sit around the firepit demanding i do whatever they want to do. (and tossing my living logs into the firepit...)

the rare people who actually make a go of surviving before asking for a trade of supplies or help with the dragonfly, definitely get the help they want or need. they don't need their hand held and i am happy to join forces. people who ask if there is anything i want or need, what they can do to help (upcoming battle, collecting materials, map exploration, whatever) always get a positive response from me, but those people are so rare.

I feel like I jumped the gun a bit on telling hosts to guide people since many people have experienced griefers.  I realized that I never really experienced griefers (mostly dead weights), so I have a different philosophy on Don't Starve.