DST needs more core game's content

[Mooka]

First of all, this is how I feel about the actual direction of DST. I was very addicted to DST, the multiplayer aspect of the game is amazing. I have more than 1000 hours on it.

But... I can't keep playing it anymore. The core game (world mode) is the same since the new reign, I know we got some events like the year of the dog but that was not enough. The game needs a huge content update and everytime I think this content exists (shipwrecked and Hamlet in the future) I feel upset about klei. Two years have passed since SW was released and I still can't play it with my friends. It's very frustating.

And those events (The forge and The george) came, confirming that we will not getting any core game content soon. Don't get it wrong, those events are amazing and welcome. But why should I spend money buying costume skins or farming them through those events if I will not use it after? I mean, the core game isn't changed for 2 years and I can't play the same thing over and over again for so long.

A while ago I heard that you did not want to separate the DST community with DLC and at the same time needed to raise money to continue developing the game. Launching events with skins was the workaround to resolve the issue. This is completely acceptable and I gave all my support to the game, I bought 2 complete skins packs in the forge. At that time I thought that in future we would receive more content for the game. But a lot of time has passed, nothing has been said, we continue to receive event after event, the core game remains the same without any significant change and the DS has just received another world, with a lot of new content, as happened with the SW. This makes me a bit disgusted, because it's the DST that sustains most part of the community and you are not giving it due importance.

It's very frustrating seeing DS getting more content while DST core game is stuck.

Edit: Sorry, I think this topic was meant to be in feedback.

[zVince]

Up

[Scarymaster]

Absolutely agreed. It¨s fun for the first 200ish hours but since I've reached almost 700hrs of total playtime I don't really enjoy playing DST anymore. I feel like there's really nothing to keep me playing. First 100 days or so are fun, but when you get to the point where you can easily farm for food and you have all the important stuff there's not much to do afterwards. Some people enjoy slaying bosses over and over but i don't. I kill ancient guardian and dragonfly, make scaled furnace an houndius and that's it for me. I feel like the game needs to add something that makes you constantly play and upgrade your base. I don't know what should this 'something' be, but it needs it.

I was thinking maybe some kind of boss of all the bosses that you really can't defeat without the top stuff that you get by slaying other bosses like 2-3 times and when you defeated him you would get something like an random elegant skin (something you keep no matter what server you play on) and you can either continue the world and finish your base or start a new one. It's not the best idea and i don't know if it would work,but it's something that keeps you motivated to play over and over... And that is exactly what the game lacks.

[orian34]

Something like an infinite adventure mode? YOu can go deeper and deeper in the worlds and can do scoreboards and such? Needs more variations of world gen, but would make it diversified enough to increase the game's lifetime?

[ooheee]

I like the idea of having to do something super difficult to have a 100% shot at getting an elegant skin. That's definitely good motivation for continuing to kill bosses and maintain a world for longer and whatnot.

[1v0]

I agree I think we need a DLC level content (like ROG,SW now hamlet) , The event's are good but they are time limited and don't add anything to the base game (atleast for the forge not sure about the gorge) . Not to mention that for veteran players , the game is pretty easy . And you get bored after the first (ingame) year .

One of the things that keept me hooked to DS/DST was the 3 weeks updates we had ...

We need a special DST update with new characters , new features (like the wind of SW , and floods) , items , bosses , biomes , a special 2+ players biome (if  you go alone you are dead(that was the idea of ewecus - you can't beat it alone)) and so on .

I play DS since RoG was in beta ... and now I play DST only for the events ... because nothing new get's added to it ..... and after that I just wait for the next event/content drop .

[EuedeAdodooedoe]

I started to think the same. Events may be able to sustain Klei for a while, but it's kind of beating around the bush. May be another event after the Gorge to actually further the plot for real this time, because the events are just delaying everything. It would be great if the events were to come back, say every 2 years too, or at least having the option to have a portion of a server/a new server available to create for the events to act like coop adventure mode. But base content and furthering of plot is really what will keep the game more interesting for a bit longer. Having the single player DLC content ported in some way to DST would be interesting too.

[FyreIsBoss]

Why would adding paid dlc to dst split the community, like srsly. Veterans will surely get it. People who arent so good will still buy it to try it out, just like lots of people are gonna buy hamlet, and just like theyve bought shipwrecked. Either way, split community sounds better than no community.

[ShadowDuelist]

I think the events are a big test of ideas for stuff eventually DST 2 may have integrated to its core.

[Dekay]

This is a quandary every developer faces and it comes down to investing time creating content only 1% of the playerbase will ever see versus scenario type content via events where most players are encouraged to interact with the new content. 

For me personally, I find mods add the variety to the base game that I need to remain interested.

[fimmatek]

I consider myself pretty lucky because even after 1000 hours I'm still not bored with DST. So I don't have the same view and I'm curious, if you guys got bored of DST as it is now because there is no new content in it, what would make you keep playing DST? (Not only bringing you back, but keeping you playing) Because I would think that a new DLC or a DLC-like content drop would surely bring new players and bring back old ones, but after some time people could get bored again. So new mechanics? Items? Different gameplay? Because constant updates for free cannot make Klei much more money... or am I wrong?

1 hour ago, 1v0 said:

a special 2+ players biome (if  you go alone you are dead(that was the idea of ewecus - you can't beat it alone)) and so on .

 I would loved if we had such new biomes and stuff. But I'm afraid we won't get a lot of that because many people already complain that every content should be available to solo players. But I'd support such ideas!

1 hour ago, ooheee said:

I like the idea of having to do something super difficult to have a 100% shot at getting an elegant skin. That's definitely good motivation for continuing to kill bosses and maintain a world for longer and whatnot.

There's only 3 problems with that:

Klei doesn't want to push players towards a given playstyle or method, that's (also) why DS/T has no achievements or tutorials. People should play the game the way they like it the most, but such rewards would make people concentrate on those instead of fun and the core gameplay.

We got the freedom of mods and console commands, but that could make that "super difficult" thing super easy and trivial. Or if not, Klei would need special dedicated servers to ensure that this thing is done without cheating and that would just give them more troubles to waste their time on instead of creating new content. That's why we couldn't host a Forge world as well.

Once people learn the tricks how to beat it, people would get that reward more often and elegants were more and more common and less precious (and by that I don't mean the steam market price but the worth of "owning" an elegant).

[Lumina]

- First, it's really important to remember that adding content in the current state of the game is really hard to balance.

A new content can't just make the game harder, because there are still new players that have to learn a lot about the game, and players finding the game already too difficult, players wanting to play relaxed... The new content must let them space to play. Especially since they have to learn a lot more about the game than most of us did. For me, for example, i did Classic DS, then RoG, then DST + RoG, then all the addition of content in DST.

So i had a lot of time to learn, and started with a difficulty a lot softer than people starting DST right now. Also, i had a lot less recipe to learn and discover, it was easier to know what to priorize and do first.

Not adding too much for new players and players that find the game already difficult (or perfectly balanced) is important. I'm pretty sure it's one of the main reason why bosses of ANR are encounter you could avoid and have to start yourself when you are ready.

 

- Events are a great way to add things that are different enough for the core game or wouldn't really fit into core game. For example, the battle of Forge is, for most players, hard, tactical, require a lot of effort and attention, require at least 5 (and often 6) players, force people to play some character to allows efficiency and victory, is long, and characters are a lot differents in the event than they are usually.

It's great as an event, it's a nice change. But if the fight was in the core game, most people wouldn't be able to see it. Events allow players to enjoy some part of the game in a different context. Honestly i'm not a fan of DST fight but the Forge was fun to play.

So events are important to give players opportunities to enjoy other aspects of DST.

 

- Using settings and mod to adapt the difficulty to our taste should be something more fitting our taste, especially for things like food too easy to obtain and stuff like this. This also implies that we need more mods adding difficulty, and more people accepting to use mods. They could be a great way to solve some issues, and to give more content to the game, too.

 

I'm not against more content for core DST, i just imagine why it can be hard to add content that will be played by only a fraction of player, that will not be that attractive for most (yeah, difficulty isn't something attractive for players already struggling to survive).

I would like more events and some difficulty for some stuff, new things to discover, build, learn, master, monster and plant to interact with. But i also know that if all of this could make the game more enjoyable for me, it will not necessarily be the case for everyone. The passionnate and harsh debate about things like using ice as a filler shows that not everyone is willing for things to change, especially if it means that they are harder and we have to adapt.

 

So this, to the scale of a DLC ? I imagine why it's not something easy.

 

Also, maybe adding core game content would need to make the game more accessible in some ways, because there is already a lot to learn when starting DST in it's current state (and some players still don't know about being able to use shortcut to attack monster and all). The thing is, any addition of recipe, monster or anything is making the process of learning a lot more complex. Again, most of us got time to learn.

There is a lot to improve in this field. If we want the game to grow bigger, maybe we should ensure that new players don't feel discouraged by the amount of all the things to learn, or don't fail because there are too many things to craft and it's too hard to find what is really important at the beginning.

If the game is more accessible, it will probably give more space for more content.

[Scarymaster]

It would definitely be super cool if they made some different game mode, I've got an idea for that:

You and other player spawn on completely other side of the map. You have few days to collect resources, craft and kill stuff. Then there's some kind of circle (kind of like in BR games), which keeps pushing you to the center of the map. Then you to have to fight with the stuff you collected. Whoever wins gets points and ranks up in a ranking system which gives rewards according to your rank every season.

Sounds alot like these Battle royale games coming every day but i definitely think this would be one way to maintain the playerbase. There is probably so much better ways and i would like to see some kind of thing that would maintain the coop-survival and explore genre, but i can¨t think of anything that would keep me forever. Hovewer, i think DST Royale would be cool lol.

[Rellimarual]

I’d like to see new content in the form of new biomes and mobs. Less so new bosses. And as someone with 1800 hours of DST alone, I gotta say that staying interested in a sandbox game beyond killing a few bosses is largely a matter of the player’s own creativity. If someone is used to playing games where they are more directed and controlled, sure, they’re going to be “Whaddo I do now?” Because they have not developed that muscle yet. But there are many people who have played much longer, setting themselves challenges, trying out experiments in farming resources or fighting bosses in unusual ways, and so on. The really inventive and ingenious players who come to post that stuff in these forums impress me so much.

[1v0]

I have suggested a fix many times for the problem of the -think of the new players- just make the harder content appear after the 1-2 years ingame . The new players will die even before the harder content appears and if they survive , they will see it . This is a survival game ..... (if they don't die they will have enough time to prepare for the hard content)

This will also give a reason to survive = for example you wanna see the new content , well then surivive 2 years and you will see it , if you can't - get better at the game . It might be a bit rude , but that's how survival games are .

... I want the game to go back to it's uncompromising survival roots ...
note : I really enjoy uncompromising games like dark souls

EDIT:Or just make things appear after you active the portal in the caves , so there is no time limit . If you can active it - that means you have skills and will survive the harder content .

[Hunter863]

45 minutes ago, 1v0 said:

EDIT:Or just make things appear after you active the portal in the caves , so there is no time limit . If you can active it - that means you have skills and will survive the harder content .

I agree. I bought the game back when they first added caves and when I first saw the ancient gate, I thought it would be some sort of adventure mode. I think they will probably do something like that when you finally confront Charlie, because lets face it, its inevitable. Though instead of activating the gate to release new content, after killing the fuelweaver, you have the choice to enter the portal and go into an adventure mode, or experience new content. Entering the portal would be the end of the server too. One more thing they could do is, after killing the fuelweaver, the bosses have new attacks, more hp, and drop new items like an expert mode.

[Plebgod]

I really hope that klei adds the combat and cooking mechanics into the core game.it would add much more depth,ofcourse there'll have to be some rebalances

[WilsonGuy_]

I think that a good option would be returning to the periodical, "Little" Updates from 2013, You know what I am talking about.

Like "A little rain must fall" or "Insanity!" styled updates. There could be an update about building houses using a lot of materials, that You can hide in, for example during a rain. There's a good example of it from "Hamlet", like inside the shop. You can place furniture in there (From that update aswell).

[Lumina]

19 hours ago, 1v0 said:

This will also give a reason to survive = for example you wanna see the new content , well then surivive 2 years and you will see it , if you can't - get better at the game . It might be a bit rude , but that's how survival games are .
[...]
EDIT:Or just make things appear after you active the portal in the caves , so there is no time limit . If you can active it - that means you have skills and will survive the harder content .

As a player that restart game often (for various reasons, including tests, desire to start again, playing with different groups, and so on), i don't want to wait two in game year to see new content, even if more content over year could be a good thing, it's not an absolute solution.

As a player that don't like fighting, i don't like new content being gated behind difficult fight. My ability to survive a new season/weather/disease/whatever isn't linked to my ability to beat a difficult boss.

I'm not against the idea of more content over time, but this content shouldn't be the core of a DLC/new content, because the more time you require, the less people will be able to see the content, the more people will be frustrated if they can't go far in the game. And being able to go far in the game isn't always related with skill (for example, playing on public server). If the things that are added in the game can't be regularily reached in a public server, something is wrong somewhere.

 

Having something like an option in game to make content harder (not gated behind difficult content, but something that people will not do by mistake, only on purpose), option you can activate from the start if you want, is a good way to let people adapt to what is best for them : starting with difficulty high, adding difficulty when they are ready, never add the difficulty. The remaining question is : is it working well, or will it create problems to add difficulty changes during the game ?

[Maslak]

 Periodical updates were a thing simply because game (DS in this case) was still being developed. A New Reign was a similar thing, but after the game got out of beta.

 Many people have hard time understanding that at some point the games just end receiving updates. It was a normal thing, before Steam and other platforms kicked in and changed the general view. I highly adore Klei's decision about these events. The last time I playe a lot of DST was during Forge. It was great. Haven't played Gorge yet and to be honest I don't think I'm that much interested, because of the thing someone mentioned, getting rewards for game that I don't really play anyway.
 But that's how it is. I think it's important to be able to acknowledge that expecting endless content updates is quite infantile and foolish.

 After Hamlet comes out I'm sure I'll play it, maybe I'll revisit my old DS world too. But later I'll lose interest. I know that some people can play DST endlessly, I have crazy friends like that. Good for them, I guess

[Sinister_Fang]

23 hours ago, FyreIsBoss said:

Either way, split community sounds better than no community.

Are you implying there's no community? Because there is, and it's currently whole (Aside from the multiple platforms thing). Splitting it is just a bad move. Especially if it was done in a way that forces everyone to buy the new dlc. 

Thankfully Klei actually cares for their community though. They're finding alternative forms of revenue to keep the game going instead of releasing a paid dlc. So I doubt the community will ever get split like that. 

[Sicko Hog]

2 hours ago, Sinister_Fang said:

Are you implying there's no community? Because there is, and it's currently whole

Sounds like you've never left the forums. There's a pretty large amount of people on the Don't Starve subreddit who are vehemently against DST and all of the new content it has, calling the singleplayer game "the good Don't Starve". Maybe not a split, but, if anything, there's definitely some tears in the community.

[Faultz]

They obviously cant make a paid dlc as it would split the community.

Right now they are making money off their klei shop sales during events.

Best bet would be to apply it to a new game be is DS2 with a single mode and multiplayer mode in 1 game so they can update both easier instead of having them split like it is now.

Or making a new IP with similar game mechanics to DS game to catch that same gameplay experience

[Sinister_Fang]

51 minutes ago, JellyUltra said:

Sounds like you've never left the forums. There's a pretty large amount of people on the Don't Starve subreddit who are vehemently against DST and all of the new content it has, calling the singleplayer game "the good Don't Starve". Maybe not a split, but, if anything, there's definitely some tears in the community.

I was talking more about DST specifically. In a multilayer focused game, splitting up it's community is never a good idea. 

[1v0]

The main problem with the no-DLCs is that we can't get the same level of content/features for free . We just can't , as much as I like Klei in the end they are a company and they can't produce a DLC level content for free and release it all at once .

As I said the event's are great but my problem with them is - nothing gets added to the base game , to the survival game that I enjoy .

I just want this survival game to really need co-op with your friends , for it to be - if we are together we survive , if not we die (late game) . At the moment I can survive solo for as long as I want , the new bosses are optional . If I want solo I can just go back to DS , it will be more interesting and challenging . In DS TOGETER solo survival is more easy than DS .

Sorry for the rant , I'm just a bit sad that the game is becoming more of a social fest than a survival game .