Your opinion of the different server playstyles/needy players

[Dreamscape18459]

Edit: The poll question was originally poorly worded and I can't seem to delete it and replace it. My apologies if you voted before it was changed. If a moderator could lock this thread I would appreciate it as it was poorly thought out and can't be used to valid feedback.

I love playing this game with friends and other players. Pubs can be great with active administration and cooperation.

We've all had this happen on a pub. Player joins and 5 seconds after choosing a character... "Where is base?" The worst players are those who refuse to do anything but sit at the portal until someone can pick them up or they die. (Especially if they join in Winter/Summer.) I don't mind helping newer players but players who expect to be handheld every step of the way are incredibly aggravating. (Especially if I lead them to a base and they complain about not having food/whatever. I couldn't gather food because you wanted me to walk you to a base!) I used to leave gear at spawn however no longer do this (as one griefer always decides to steal all the gear making this effort pointless) and signs pointing to a base generally mean it is either burned or completely gone the next time I log on. (And spawn bases magically disappear incredibly quickly.)

In regards to the different server play styles (Social, Cooperative, Competitive, Madness.) I have seen people complain about joining a Cooperative play style server and whining about other players not leading them to a base when they idle (aside from spamming chat) and die (Because they apparently can't use their keyboard to walk by themselves despite spamming the chat...) and promptly complain about it being a "Cooperative" server and thus every other player should bend to their every whim.

So anyway what are your thoughts about the different playstyles?

In regards to the poll I think its unreasonable to help carry players who join in Cooperative. I don't mind collaborating with other players provided they can find where I am but new players expecting others to babysit them is unreasonable. (Especially if they join in Winter/Summer. You chose to join in a hard season! Stop complaining the "other players" let you freeze to death by not standing at the portal and dispensing gear upon arriving while you die next to materials needed to craft a torch!) I don't leave signs pointing to a base or gear at spawn because it doesn't help new players; griefers just steal the loot and burn the base.

I like playing a Cooperative playstyle on pubs with other players but I view Cooperative (and maybe Social) as everyone contributing. If newer players want to contribute then fine, but Cooperative also implies that they will help others as well. If they died at spawn and couldn't get basic materials like food or even look for a base they can't play a Cooperative playstyle and weren't going to contribute anyway. (Aside from draining 75 extra food a day but I can waste that food if I wanted to.)

And also before anyone suggests only playing on private servers with friends I hate private servers. Pubs are great because you don't need friends; you can play the game and make them. If you have friends who enjoy the game then you can play with them on a private server. However this requires actually having friends who play DST (potentially not an option for new players.) If so the best way to make potential friends who enjoy DST is on public servers.

 

Also one thing I would really like to see Klei Implement. A Survival gamemode intended for dedicated servers with the sole difference being a single griefer ghost cannot reset the server. Endless portal respawn doesn't work well in dedicated pubs as griefers can form a wall of skeletons around spawn (blocking players from leaving spawn) and cause performance issues related to dying/world objects.

[Tylordian]

I think you should change the question, I was about to answer the opposite of my original answer because of how it is phrased. The double negatives are confusing. Maybe you should phrase it like this: Should you help people at spawn?

[Dreamscape18459]

11 minutes ago, Tylordian said:

I think you should change the question, I was about to answer the opposite of my original answer because of how it is phrased. The double negatives are confusing. Maybe you should phrase it like this: Should you help people at spawn?

Ouch you are right. That was poorly worded. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

I don't like changing the poll wording but I guess I have to since it was terrible. (Although its useless for getting feedback now.) If a moderator wants to lock it please do.

I think the old one was deleted so it should be somewhat valid.

[IzzyXD]

Competitive & Madness are different in my opinion. 

 

And anyhow, all of these Playstyles are meaningless. i've never seen a single person who cared for them.

 

To answer your question: No. You should never help new spawns unless they can prove they're able to survive without your help. Even in Winter/Summer - it's not even hard to survive.

[Sinister_Fang]

9 minutes ago, IzzyXD said:

Even in Winter/Summer - it's not even hard to survive.

On a public server, it's a gamble. If someone recently came by and took all the grass and twigs around spawn, you're kinda screwed.

[Raspberry Shake]

41 minutes ago, Tylordian said:

I think you should change the question, I was about to answer the opposite of my original answer because of how it is phrased. The double negatives are confusing. Maybe you should phrase it like this: Should you help people at spawn?

It really depends. If someone took everything, and they're going to die first night, definitely. This applies to public servers, as I always need to ask for base because everything's been picked.

52 minutes ago, Dreamscape18459 said:

Edit: The poll question was originally poorly worded and I can't seem to delete it and replace it. My apologies if you voted before it was changed. If a moderator could lock this thread I would appreciate it as it was poorly thought out and can't be used to valid feedback.

I love playing this game with friends and other players. Pubs can be great with active administration and cooperation.

We've all had this happen on a pub. Player joins and 5 seconds after choosing a character... "Where is base?" The worst players are those who refuse to do anything but sit at the portal until someone can pick them up or they die. (Especially if they join in Winter/Summer.) I don't mind helping newer players but players who expect to be handheld every step of the way are incredibly aggravating. (Especially if I lead them to a base and they complain about not having food/whatever. I couldn't gather food because you wanted me to walk you to a base!) I used to leave gear at spawn however no longer do this (as one griefer always decides to steal all the gear making this effort pointless) and signs pointing to a base generally mean it is either burned or completely gone the next time I log on. (And spawn bases magically disappear incredibly quickly.)

In regards to the different server play styles (Social, Cooperative, Competitive, Madness.) I have seen people complain about joining a Cooperative play style server and whining about other players not leading them to a base when they idle (aside from spamming chat) and die (Because they apparently can't use their keyboard to walk by themselves despite spamming the chat...) and promptly complain about it being a "Cooperative" server and thus every other player should bend to their every whim.

So anyway what are your thoughts about the different playstyles?

In regards to the poll I think its unreasonable to help carry players who join in Cooperative. I don't mind collaborating with other players provided they can find where I am but new players expecting others to babysit them is unreasonable. (Especially if they join in Winter/Summer. You chose to join in a hard season! Stop complaining the "other players" let you freeze to death by not standing at the portal and dispensing gear upon arriving while you die next to materials needed to craft a torch!) I don't leave signs pointing to a base or gear at spawn because it doesn't help new players; griefers just steal the loot and burn the base.

I like playing a Cooperative playstyle on pubs with other players but I view Cooperative (and maybe Social) as everyone contributing. If newer players want to contribute then fine, but Cooperative also implies that they will help others as well. If they died at spawn and couldn't get basic materials like food or even look for a base they can't play a Cooperative playstyle and weren't going to contribute anyway. (Aside from draining 75 extra food a day but I can waste that food if I wanted to.)

And also before anyone suggests only playing on private servers with friends I hate private servers. Pubs are great because you don't need friends; you can play the game and make them. If you have friends who enjoy the game then you can play with them on a private server. However this requires actually having friends who play DST (potentially not an option for new players.) If so the best way to make potential friends who enjoy DST is on public servers.

 

Also one thing I would really like to see Klei Implement. A Survival gamemode intended for dedicated servers with the sole difference being a single griefer ghost cannot reset the server. Endless portal respawn doesn't work well in dedicated pubs as griefers can form a wall of skeletons around spawn (blocking players from leaving spawn) and cause performance issues related to dying/world objects.

Rollback. And also, I have a busy schedule, and can hardly fit in any time to play DST, so I like to be helpful while I can. For like, 20 min's.

[Dreamscape18459]

I think something that could help newer players is a minor world generation change that guarantees a cave entrance to be generated somewhere near spawn. (But far enough away the bats don't aggro onto new players. This could potentially lessen the effects of spawn spider dens as spiders wander and might interact/fight with the bats or other mobs griefers lead to spawn.)

[CaptainChaotica]

SUPER-needy types?  Welll...depends.  I had one like that that started learning and becoming more independent...and then we had Dumbarse of Jerkface and Dumbarse who deliberately whacked a beefalo in a big herd with no armour on, picked the flowers near my beebox (SIGH) and stayed in base when fire hounds were there despite the fact that we kept telling him where the tooth traps were (and he'd SEEN them before).  Come to think of it, I'm still not entirely sure that was actual newbieness or cleverly "disguised" griefer... ("Oh, I didn't know any better, really!  It's not MY fault the base burned down!"  Not on my watch, by the way--I see you cornered by a fire hound right in base; I'm turning the fling-o-matic on and _leaving_.  If you've been TOLD where to go several times by then and know better, that is.  If not, I'd lead you out to the traps with me.  Which also have their own firepits, so you wouldn't be in darkness if you were there, too.)  

But yeah.  New players in general, it depends.  I always try to have both types of firepit at spawn and some axes and trees; if you can't figure out what to do with that you REALLY should try playing in a singleplayer server for a while first.  I hate leading around by the hand and the people who refuse to even READ SIGNS (seriously, I had a "I don't want to read it, you tell me what it says."  IN WHAT WAY IS THAT LESS READING FOR YOU?!)...but I'm categorically against the "EEEWWW, a _newbie_, ick!  Don't help it at all, it'll just drag us down!" attitude.  We were all noobs at some point after all.  Willing-to-LEARN/actually trying newbies?  Well...in short:

Social, yes, it's more about socialising than the actual game mechanics.  Proving you can actually play is not as much of a thing, and dying takes away from socialising.

Cooperative yes--it's in the bloody name.

Madness/Competitive OBVIOUSLY not, you're on your own with those categories and if you didn't read the description before you blindly clicked, that ain't my problem.   I have very little patience for those who can't be bothered to read even a couple words.  (Same for not realising it'd be winter or summer before you join.  Also, I always SAY I have randomised seasons; maybe read the description?  It's there for a reason, or at least is supposed to be.)

And that's all I have to say about that.

...Notorious

[BRUCER]

I'm a regular of a world hosted by a Twitch streamer named Beard777. The world is open to any viewer via password, the base is literally sitting on the spawn portal, we have ridiculous amounts of labelled supplies (fundamental resources, free canes/tams, thermal stones, a buttload of food, etc) yet we still have people who have trouble staying alive their first day. 100% of those players however, had the decency to contribute to our world when asked. 

If I hosted a server, everyone gets a second chance. If they're too stubborn to learn or take criticism, that's a ban. Any sign of self entitlement is a swift ban, learn to be self sufficient instead. Perhaps the game should show a one time message when a new player browses for servers. The message could list etiquette for servers in hopes that it will teach courteous behavior. 

A major quality of life improvement would be a player rating system and blacklists that show users (can't be avoided by changing usernames) who are deemed a griefer/bad teammate by a high amount of people. I doubt this will ever get implemented since Klei thinks it can be abused or will alienate players. 

 

[LuxuryHeart]

I never played Madness so I won't give my opinion there.

It also depends on how needy are we talking...

Extremely needy

On Cooperative you shouldn't help them.  It's Don't Starve TOGETHER with a collaboration, not the average group project in high school:   I don't mind helping people, but I don't want a parasite either.  

On Social there isn't any harm.  It's a relaxed playing style, so you aren't really there to beast on boss fights.  You're literally there to talk and BS around.

Just new

Cooperative: still depends.  If they can survive on their own and get around, then I see no harm.  However, if they can't move around or need to stay in the base, then they need to play on their own.  It's a taboo on these boards to say that new players need to play on their own at first, but it's true.  It's like skating.  If you're new but willing to learn, then I'll teach you how to balance and move.  If you're new but know the basics, I'll teach you a few tricks.  However, if you're new and just latch onto me, we're both going down.  (This happened with my younger brother actually; he latched onto me randomly and we both fell).

Social: same as social above...