Nov 13 Build Preview

[501105]

If Willow does indeed make you unkillable at night (atleast from the darkness) then she does have a major leg up on the rest imo and makes it far easier to work at night.

[Xacktastic]

I likey! This sounds great! I might have to go back to willow! Screw you treeguards!

[lardi]

If i would make a suggestion to the characters it would be:

Wilson: Gains extra research points from items because of being a scientist

Willow: Has extra torch duration (about a 1.5 more or double) and can light a Fire pit if being near of it because of being a Pyrotechnic

Wolfgang: Because of his big strenght, he can take down trees or rocks faster than others with tools, can fight with bare hands and grows a beard, but cant make the effigy

Perhaps having Unique items for each character?

[Marvin]

So today I got most of the character differences done:

Wolfgang - Has a bigger stomach, and more health. Also gets a bonus to all attacks. Wolfgang's power isn't super exciting at the moment, but I think it will be useful for certain play styles. I might make it so that he can't research things.

No research for him? I don't know, i don't know... maybe make him slower, because he is fat and with his high Hp, he fits perfectly with the role of the classic tank (if some people can't/won't kite the monsters).

[SKaza]

will i have to start a new game/world in order to apply thsese changes?

[cptCalavera]

will i have to start a new game/world in order to apply thsese changes?

Usually you don't have to start a new one. But I guess we'll see when it comes out

[KonradosHut]

I don't think I like Wendy's and Wolfgang's power. Willow and Wilson will definitely have a fat better advantage over them. At least Wendy should be changed. It seems too random, and too useless. Maybe you can make it so that when she is with low health the ghost appears, thus making it useful.

I know Wolfgang being tough and durable seems nice, but I really would like something VISUAL about his power (maybe another power), because Wilson has the effigy, Willow has the fire and Wendy have a ghost. Wolfgang has muscles... well, so what? D:

(PS: Wolfgang is my favorite character, after Wilson...)

[cptCalavera]

Why no comments about the new guy on the menu screen? Is he a new monster? A dark and evil version of Wilson? Scaaaaary and awsome looking.

[501105]

Just saw it, very interesting. Maybe some kind of shadow monster?

[501105]

Also, is it just me or does the Steam version have a bit of stretched out menus now, it feels different.

[LadyD]

I love the look of that guy.

Make me think of Excess and his burnings...

[Bogpad]

If Willow does indeed make you unkillable at night (atleast from the darkness) then she does have a major leg up on the rest imo and makes it far easier to work at night.

well, if you pay close attention to what kevin says, you see you are wrong there:

So today I got most of the character differences done:

Willow - She will also spontaneously light little fires around herself if you leave her alone in the dark. The upside of this is that she pretty much can't be killed by the dark. The downside is that if you rely on this feature to get you through the night you run the risk of causing forest fires. In the future your camp structures will also be flammable, so you'd want to be careful with that.

if those fires burn trees, grass, bushes, and your camp structures, you can't work with her at night, except for mining rocks. This is not really something I would call "a major leg up on the rest" to be honest.

[501105]

Meh, you can mine rocks, cook food (since I doubt that the firepit can burn down) and ofcourse explore none tree heavy areas, sounds like a nice perk to me.

[Bogpad]

Meh, you can mine rocks, cook food (since I doubt that the firepit can burn down) and ofcourse explore none tree heavy areas, sounds like a nice perk to me.

when exploring non tree heavy areas, you still would risk to burn all resources like grass and berries in there, so that is not really a good option, and since its really dark, you can't be sure not to run into a tree heavy area, setting it aflame.

cooking can be done in the dark by every character already, since the crook emmits enough light to not be killed if you stand close to it. Only plus on wendy here is that she can also stop cooking and just stand still without beeing killed.

I am not sayint that this "skill" is not a good one, it sure is handy, yet, I don't see it as more potential than the other mentioned skills. i.e. wilson beeing the only person to create a meat effigy and thus be able to revive himself is imo far more handy.

All in all I think the new "skills" for the characters are well balanced, they do favor different playstyles, and that is something the different characters should be in the game for in first place. Wolfgang as a fighter, Wendy as a "team player", Willow with a risky way of saving resources needed for fire , and wilson as a generally well balanced starter character that has more than just "one life".

[501105]

Yeah the fire is both a huge danger and handy skill at the same time, I agree on that. It also makes me wonder if the flames she makes can set things like spider nests aflame, since then you can use it offensively while you take no damage from the fire at all. The meat effigy is indeed a handy thing to have and makes him the second character I play with. The only thing I still doubt about is the ghost honestly, I am sure he will be usefull, but the question is how much.

[Bogpad]

I can absolutely agree with what you said there. I also was thinking about the offensive capabilities of willows fire, and I guess since it is supposed to burn trees, it will also work for spider dens, propably even setting enemies themself afire. Should be handy against ol'pinehead.

I do feel the same about the ghost, while I think it has potential, the way it was discribed is not so appealing to me. it appears only at night... At night, I usually do not fight too much, because torches wear off so fast, so I spend my time doing camp stuff. Yet, kevin says the ghost is meant to harm you if it get's too close, this will not only encourage, but force you to go out into the dark, and I don't think I like this idea very much.

[jaywalker]

I am going to reserve judgement on the utility/fun factor of the new character abilities until after I get to play with them. From the descriptions though I think while Wilson's ability is obviously the most directly useful, wendy's and willows sound like the most fun to play with. Wendy will have Abigail to play with at night, which is ussually the less interesting part of the game for me, and Willow will SET EVERYTHING ON FIRE HAHAHAHAAHAHA BUUUUURRRRNNN. I don't know about Wolfgang. . .could be fun. Maybe he will also be able to lift boulders and hurl them at spiders. Never know until you try.

[KonradosHut]

That shadowy guy on the menu screen... that IS wilson. O.O Grinning as a maniac (I love it!). Or maybe a new monster that transforms into you..? A "Ditto". Well, we'll have to wait and see...

[Toaster Fu]

Or maybe a crazy Wilson… *cough*third meter*cough*

[hobbesdeleon]

Here's what we are working on:

Me:

• Building placement interface
  
• Tearing down structures with a hammer (and getting some resources back)
  
• Fire damage
  
• Character differences
  

Tatham:

• Fishing! For real this time!
  
• A new, seasonally appropriate creature (dun dun duuuuuun)
  

In the background, we're both working to fix up the small creatures (bugs, rabbits, birds) to make them more consistent with the large creatures, and more interesting in general. I'm not sure how far we're going to get with this in this update, but expect things like sleeping rabbits, birdcages, and live bee capture to come in at some point.

I sign up with the express intent to give what I think will create a better experience overall, I say this because I do not know what you're direction for Don't Starve is going into but it seems as a dark, "Black Humor", type of survival game. The following is just a bit I have thought would increase to the game...

*Wolves- Hostile creatures of the day that would roam the world rather than stay in one spot

*Magical Runes- These are very open to interpretation as to give special boosts or learn spells, these are just a play on of the magic that inhabits the world created by your demon person

*Ruins/Mines- For any sort of progression for technology's sake, finding new materials (like iron) have to be dug up/found or traded for in the world

>The mines could be more about clearing collapsed in areas in order to progress deeper in the mine rather than dig

*Explosives- What seems to be a big part of the game is fire and taking down some of the more difficult foes requires this... but the reason for explosives would be for more fun(Dwarf Fortress Style Fun) mining and possibly causing more collapsing of the mine

*Generally Overall- Just more random/chaotic events... I thought it was really funny/cool when I was chopping trees down right before it got pitch black and the tree killed me or when the pigmen I had brought back home the second time at night turned them into werepigs who chased me around the campfire all night

*Multiplayer- I can totally see why you might be skeptical of this idea because it would make the game way to easy but, instead think of it more as something as your character's "alter ego" invading and trying to kill you. The "alter ego" should not be able to do this very easily and not have any items with them coming to your own world. The option should only be given to at world creation and the research done in the single player world should not transfer. The incentive to do this type of world would be in the form of leaderboards with rankings in different categories i.e. most defenses/kills. Enlisting the aid of help against the alter ego should be given as well

I really am excited for this game because I can see so much possibility to it. I hope with more updates we can determine what direction you want to go in. All-in-all, thank you Klei Team.

"Stay Top Shelf"

-Hobbes

[Toaster Fu]

First off, welcome! A fantastic and educated first post I must add.

On to a couple of your points with some info you may not know.

Kevin teased a little about being chased around a fire by hounds. Whether the hounds are wolves I don't know, but it's something to look forward to.

To multiplayer, another reason they aren't to keen on multiplayer is because they have said it would take a lot of tweaking to the engine to make having multiple people in the world work.

And I really like your suggestion of clearing out mineshafts verses straight up mining. Seems like it would make a lot more sense for don't starve and would take the toil out of it.

That's al I've got for now. Hope to see you around the forums!

[Bogpad]

I might just quickly add that another reason the devs mentioned why there will most likely be no multiplayer is, that it simply is too expensive to do for them. they are a small indie studio, and some things, like multiplayer, can increase the costs of developing a game terribly.

besides that, your idea sounds a lot like the PvP is done in Dark Souls/Deamon Souls, so while it is not the newest idea, I actually find this PvP system really interesting, and this might really work out for a game like this, could be fun. but again, chances for a multiplayer are somewhere near zero.

[mobius187]

Hmmm. I was thinking about Abigail and had some thoughts about her and the general macabre theme behind Don't Starve. Of course I'll need to see Abigail in action before I can truly suggest anything but I still wanted to spitball based on what has been revealed so far.

Urn - It would be interesting is Wendy started with a burial urn, filled with Abigail's ashes, in her inventory. Then wherever Wendy places the urn at night Abigail would wander along a set perimeter. So if you placed the urn in the center of your camp she would attack anything that approached. But the moment Wendy picks-up the urn Abigail vanishes.

Graves - Maybe Wendy could be collecting trinkets from graves as a means of appeasing Abigail... I mean most of the items ARE toys after all. This could either be used to summon Abigail or maybe give her unique abilities for a short time.

Anyway, any excuse to add burial urns and more uses for grave digging... that's what I'm all about.

Edited November 8, 2012 by mobius187

[GDK]

Also wolfgang could have a bigger pot available to cook 5 foods and have his own recipes and bvetter food overall.

[Xacktastic]

Hmmm. I was thinking about Abigail and had some thoughts about her and the general macabre theme behind Don't Starve. Of course I'll need to see Abigail in action before I can truly suggest anything but I still wanted to spitball based on what has been revealed so far.

Urn - It would be interesting is Wendy started with a burial urn, filled with Abigail's ashes, in her inventory. Then wherever Wendy places the urn at night Abigail would wander along a set parameter. So if you placed the urn in the center of your camp she would attack anything that approached. But the moment Wendy picks-up the urn Abigail vanishes.

Graves - Maybe Wendy could be collecting trinkets from graves as a means of appeasing Abigail... I mean most of the items ARE toys after all. This could either be used to summon Abigail or maybe give her unique abilities for a short time.

Anyway, any excuse to add burial urns and more uses for grave digging... that's what I'm all about.

I like this idea quite a lot!