JazzyGames

Thanks for the renewable goat herds Klei!

My reference there was to users taking place in the conversation here who have themselves admitted that they do not watch Twitch streams nor are interested in doing so. Those players do not have any stake in the outcome while those who watch Twitch streams certainly do.

Whoa, what mod is Rapsoulish playing?

Please go back and read @Sunset Skye's original response to get a sense of the actual reality of two Don't Starve categories on Twitch. We can speak hypothetically or we can listen to the streamers and viewers who interact with this platform every day. We can talk about how different the two games are or we can talk about the best ways to get new players interested in the game. I'm also a bit confused as to how this has suddenly become a big profit drive on behalf of the streamers. If we wanted to make as much money streaming Don't Starve as possible we'd just play DST all the time because it is the more popular game. My desire to stream a less-populated category comes out of sheer love for the game, a desire to give my followers and subscribers the content for which they ask, and the hope that I can introduce Don't Starve to a wider audience who might never have seen it in action. This would benefit the developers because more players would be exposed to both versions, it would benefit the viewers who now have a larger group of streamers showcasing the entire catalog of the Don't Starve experience on one consolidated category, and yes, it would benefit streamers who would not have to make the painstaking choice between a populated category and a barren one. Also just wanted to say that I do appreciate everyone taking the time to respond, even those who have no stake in the outcome! I hope that I can really drive home the bottom line here, which is that Don't Starve is one of the greatest games ever made and deserves so much more attention than its Twitch category has ever received.

If you read some of the responses from the content creators above you might see that the reason we choose not to stream Hamlet is more nuanced than "people don't like watching them." Regardless, I respect that you want ease of access when looking for the right stream to watch. Which is why I advocate for a reworking of stream tags which will actually do a much better and more specific job of combing through the assortment of streams for the right one. Supposing you wanted to watch somebody stream Forge in the DST category. Ideally there would be popular tags for every different game mode on the category; you wouldn't need separate categories to filter them.

This to me is the most compelling argument for a merged category. Klei was gracious in enabling DST drops on DS streams but that fact is not advertised anywhere. So the majority of DS viewers will just assume they are not earning the drops when they could be. Merging the category obliterates any possible confusion.

I have heard the argument that separate categories confuses new players when they watch one version expecting to see another. That's why proper tagging of streams would be important in a consolidated category, plus I don't think it would confuse viewers any more than the current categorization does.

I'd really like to emphasize that you can get DST drops from watching DS streams, and I'm afraid that it's misinformation like this that further discourages viewership of singleplayer streamers. Also, the question of game difficulty is more or less unrelated to the discussion I am seeking.

I love streaming singleplayer Don't Starve. I consider it one of the finest games ever made and it inspired me to create a YouTube and Twitch channel. For the most part I stream DST because it is a much more widely watched game on both YouTube and Twitch. I have discovered, however, that the more I stream the singleplayer version to my followers, I realize that more and more of them are hearing about the game Don't Starve for the very first time. And the reaction is amazement. The truth is that singleplayer with DLC's still offers a massively expansive assortment of features that cannot be found in DST, and most new DST players might possibly have never even heard of or considered the game even if they typically play DST solo. However, every time I think to stream Don't Starve I am faced with the very real reality of the category on Twitch. It's completely lacking in viewers. This means that I am very unlikely to attract new viewers who might be browsing the category. Were I to stream on the DST category, however, I can reliably attract the attention of a group of players interested in the game. The question I constantly find myself asking is: why are there two separate categories? I realize that the quick and easy answer is that Don't Starve and Don't Starve Together are two different games. But are they really? And to me the more important question is: why do we need to make the distinction? The fact is, the core experiences of singleplayer and multiplayer version of the game are very much the same. Survive, craft, fight, and build within the constant. Most of the important craftables such as light sources, weapons, and raw foods are identical. Most crockpot recipes are similarly identical and most mobs are the same with scaled HP (spiders, pigs, clockworks, giants, etc). Drawing a distinction solely on the game engines is akin to comparing Bedrock and Java editions of Minecraft. It's still very much the same core experience. As a committed Don't Starve streamer I would have a much easier time if I didn't have to choose between a lively DST category and a substantially less populated one. I could showcase the singleplayer version to a large group of Don't Starve viewers who may not have experienced the game and I could expect more "walk-ins" from non-followers browsing the category. I would also not need to constantly remind viewers that they will still earn DST Twitch drops by watching DS streams. Having two separate categories, while on the surface makes sense considering they are indeed separate games, seems to dilute our viewership substantially. To a viewer who may never have heard of Don't Starve there is very little chance that they will ever find out about the game while browsing the DST category. Categorizing the games as essentially the singleplayer and multiplayer version of the same game - which is certainly how I hear the two referenced conversationally - makes much more sense if the goal is to improve viewership of both versions. Other games such as Fortnite have tags used within the same Twitch category to distinguish between different game modes. I would love to see this in a single Don't Starve category, and think that it would very much increase the viewership of the singleplayer mode moreso than the current arrangement of disparate categories. I have discussed this with other content creators who agree that the two should be consolidated even though they are separate games. But I am interested to hear from the community of players as well, and perhaps also from the developers. Do you agree with the categorization or would you support a consolidation?

I'm confused because you are advocating for changes such as allergy immunity items which would actually make it easier for Walter to fight Bee Queen, all the while complaining that the game is not challenging enough. I like that Walter takes heavy penalties for tanking BeeQueen, and it makes no sense that his allergies would not apply to BQ or grumble bees. Adding more penalties onto a sting from a regular bee is not going to substantially increase the challenge to an experienced player because it is incredibly easy to dodge their attacks. Having played Hamlet and DST an almost equal amount I will say that solo DST has always felt more challenging for me due to the increased difficulty of bosses.

Yeah I'd rather not. Walter wearing a beekeeper hat will already take 22 damage and 44 sanity per BeeQueen sting. Without armor it's -70 damage and -140 sanity. I'd say the "Deathly" description of his allergy is sufficiently accurate. Please no more nerfs.

Another great DST installment. Well done, Klei! Actually most excited for the Glowcap and Mushlight buff. Extra credit for the Charlie cameo. Video Announcement:

I second the motion.

Go on...