To those of you not enjoying the game...

[PersonalC0ffee]

Let me ask you a simple question, yet a deceptive one, much like the game..

How many of you have opened the Orchard Gate? I ask this in honest faith because I feel this is the first step to understanding what the vision is for the game.

I feel this is an incredibly simple thing to do for a new player, probably one of the most vital, and the most likely thing players will stumble upon, should they be exploring properly.

If you haven't even opened this gate than you haven't even BEGUN to scratch the surface of the depth of this game. You really don't know how deep the rabbit hole goes...

You can open that Orchard Gate Day 1 if you know how.

I can confidently tell you that if they did not change anything from the demo in terms of codes or puzzles that I can boot up a brand new save file and open that gate right now having just purchased the game. It is all here in my journal from the demo, which they literally tell you have and to take notes or you won't be getting far.

This is the the major progression and satisfaction of accomplishment the game gives you. It gives you knowledge, that is why it is being compared to Outer Wilds and such.

If you don't understand that, then I'm afraid you've missed the point.

[PersonalC0ffee]

Day 4 linked the boiler to the lab.

When you turn on the power from the steam, it moves it across rooms. If you draft at a door that has powered vents, it is more likely to draw a room with vents or a link.

This was honestly much harder in the demo to do.

Now pump room to boiler, is going to take some doing.

[Satin Finish]

Originally posted by Supposer:

I've played for days and have not unlocked the orchard gate. I looked around the foyer for a code, found some numbers but they didn't unlock the gate.

If this is kinda "meant to" be the first step for players, and really opens up the game and makes it enjoyable... I feel like a hint to get people started on that isn't out of order. I'd appreciate a pointer, as I'd like to like game.

Don't worry about it - its certainly not 'THE' 'first step' as there are many like it and you'll just as likely to unlock a different one first.
Worse is its just a typical modern 'Mystery Box'. No it doesn't open up the game, though it does provide something useful, however inside is just another mystery, that leads you to another mystery and so on.

I'm 20+ hours in now, and nothing I've discovered has been a revelation, meaningful reward or solving any big mystery. You solve one puzzle and it just reveals another and by solve I mean your prayed to the RNG gods and got the ideal rooms, placement and items to 'solve' an issue/blockage that was preventing you from progressing.

[Luminous Centipede]

Originally posted by Satin Finish:

Originally posted by Supposer:

I've played for days and have not unlocked the orchard gate. I looked around the foyer for a code, found some numbers but they didn't unlock the gate.

If this is kinda "meant to" be the first step for players, and really opens up the game and makes it enjoyable... I feel like a hint to get people started on that isn't out of order. I'd appreciate a pointer, as I'd like to like game.

Don't worry about it - its certainly not 'THE' 'first step' as there are many like it and you'll just as likely to unlock a different one first.
Worse is its just a typical modern 'Mystery Box'. No it doesn't open up the game, though it does provide something useful, however inside is just another mystery, that leads you to another mystery and so on.

I'm 20+ hours in now, and nothing I've discovered has been a revelation, meaningful reward or solving any big mystery. You solve one puzzle and it just reveals another and by solve I mean your prayed to the RNG gods and got the ideal rooms, placement and items to 'solve' an issue/blockage that was preventing you from progressing.

I did hit a point like that but it came much further along, like past room 46

[Hiccup Artist]

Is that the waist high gate next to the campsite? Yah I figured out how to open that. Still don't care for this game.

[Bayushi Nomen]

I've been greatly enjoying the game and have found room 46 and solved some of the hidden stuff; but I still have not opened the orchard gate. Which I suppose what that really shows is just "everyone will have very different experiences with the order they figure things out".

[Satin Finish]

Originally posted by Nathair:

When you learn something new in outer wilds you can immediately go to the location or whatever and apply your knowledge/theory. Bought a book from the bookshop in Blue Prince? Hope you then draw a library. Then order in the new book. Then wait a day for the book to come in. Then hope you draw a library again so you can read the book. Then wait another day so you can order another book so you can wait another day so you can read it etc etc.

OMG the game doing this is such ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and really testing my patience.

Day 30 - Done everything and more that you said in your post, got the bookshop, accessed the piggy bank, and bought 3 books. Was disappointed I couldn't read them immediately in the Library, but never mind they'll be there next run .... NOPE... instead there is the dumb second edition book (the last one I had to read of the originals so I figured might as well order it - before getting BookShop).

Confused I check online to see why my BOUGHT books aren't in the library, to discover that I have to spend another 6 days/runs of getting the Library to just read them! What an absolute waste of my time, this game has a total lack of respect for peoples time, it is ridiculous.

[Varsoon]

You're going to do six more runs, though.
The problem is one of focus--you want to finish the library stuff then and there, but it'll take time.
But you're going to do six more runs, and there are other things you can investigate, it's not like getting any one book is what's gating your progress.

I do think books ordered should stay in the Library, though. Having to re-order a book is a big oof.

[PersonalC0ffee]

Originally posted by Varsoon:

You're going to do six more runs, though.
The problem is one of focus--you want to finish the library stuff then and there, but it'll take time.
But you're going to do six more runs, and there are other things you can investigate, it's not like getting any one book is what's gating your progress.

I do think books ordered should stay in the Library, though. Having to re-order a book is a big oof.

Library should server as a sort of book archive.

What do you mean by re-order?

Do you have to buy the books from the bookshop multiple times?

[Roan]

Do the people complaining about the Library realize you can upgrade another room to force Library to spawn, or potentially alter the rarity of the Library by finding another room that allows you to do that?

There is some patience required for this game for sure, but you have to use the Roguelite parts to your advantage - that's part of the puzzle.

[Jesse]

Most of the people don't have extra 5 hours a day to play games and pray the rng to bless them with needed room

[pr1mus]

Originally posted by Roan:

Do the people complaining about the Library realize you can upgrade another room to force Library to spawn, or potentially alter the rarity of the Library by finding another room that allows you to do that?

There is some patience required for this game for sure, but you have to use the Roguelite parts to your advantage - that's part of the puzzle.

it doesn't really matter, this is just a mechanic that could've gone without wasting people's time, if you buy a book and it gets delivered the next day it should just be readily available whenever you draft a library in the future, it should be treated as an unlock/upgrade to the library.

and do you know why they could've just made the books available? because everyone probably just screenshots or takes notes of every letter, book, diagram, etc anyway so the feature to not have to re-order books is only taxing for people who haven't done so, there's no challenge here; just more tedium which this game already has enough of, it can afford to trim the fat a little.

[Satin Finish]

Originally posted by Roan:

Do the people complaining about the Library realize you can upgrade another room to force Library to spawn, or potentially alter the rarity of the Library by finding another room that allows you to do that?

Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that I now have to perform 3 to 6 more runs just to read the information on the books that I spent time collecting the money across multiple runs to buy!

This is the problem at every stage of this game, its not just one thing, its everything. Every step forward, just makes you have to perform more and more runs. Every puzzle solved, just unlocks another run to solve another puzzle. As I've said before this game design is like a bad 'mystery box', where nothing is ever answered or solved, just a new mystery unlocked and sadly the mystery is not very interesting.

Some people don't have the time. Especially when you can't even pause/save a run in mid progress. Bad design due to a complete lack of respect for the players time. A game that was never touted as needing the equivalent of a full on RPG or open world game in order to complete.

[Satin Finish]

Originally posted by PersonalC0ffee:

Library should server as a sort of book archive.
What do you mean by re-order?
Do you have to buy the books from the bookshop multiple times?

You can only view one book at a time in the library and that book has to be 'ordered' the previous day when you enter the library.
You know the list of books you can 'order' when you enter the library? Yeah the books that you BUY get added to that list - they are not simply available.

[Varsoon]

Originally posted by PersonalC0ffee:

Originally posted by Varsoon:

You're going to do six more runs, though.
The problem is one of focus--you want to finish the library stuff then and there, but it'll take time.
But you're going to do six more runs, and there are other things you can investigate, it's not like getting any one book is what's gating your progress.

I do think books ordered should stay in the Library, though. Having to re-order a book is a big oof.

Library should server as a sort of book archive.

What do you mean by re-order?

Do you have to buy the books from the bookshop multiple times?

As in, order the same book again because you need to refer to it later and you didn't just screenshot all the pages.

[Varsoon]

Originally posted by Satin Finish:

Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that I now have to perform 3 to 6 more runs just to read the information on the books that I spent time collecting the money across multiple runs to buy!

This is the problem at every stage of this game, its not just one thing, its everything. Every step forward, just makes you have to perform more and more runs. Every puzzle solved, just unlocks another run to solve another puzzle. As I've said before this game design is like a bad 'mystery box', where nothing is ever answered or solved, just a new mystery unlocked and sadly the mystery is not very interesting.

Some people don't have the time. Especially when you can't even pause/save a run in mid progress. Bad design due to a complete lack of respect for the players time. A game that was never touted as needing the equivalent of a full on RPG or open world game in order to complete.

My point is that, if you're playing the game, you're doing those runs anyway. The game rewards you for casting a wide net rather than walking a narrow path.

Yes, it's a cavalcade of puzzles, but plenty gets answered and plenty gets solved.

"Some people don't have the time" always strikes me as a strange complaint. It's entertainment. If you need something that's more concise or dense in enjoyment per minute, there's more bespoke entertainment at your fingertips than has ever been historically available at any era of human history. No one's forcing you to play Blue Prince, no one's shackled you to it. Enjoy as much of it as you enjoy and move on from it. The game tends to err towards there being more of it than less, but it's purely subjective on if that's what you want out of a game. I've seen plenty of people defend their bad takes on the game as like "Well I don't want to spend the two hours of free time I have today fighting the RNG in this game" and it's like, yeah, then don't? Maybe it's not for you? That's okay. By the same right, I really enjoy seeing all that I can accomplish in those small windows between the rest of life, when I want to disappear into this world and engage with it.

There's plenty of pedantic and glacial design in this game and, yeah, if you can't stomach that, no one's keeping you here. Enjoy one of the billions of other video games that exist. It's not like this same critique hasn't been voiced here a hundredfold by people similarly upset about the game's pacing and implementation of roguelike elements. Just feels pointless to situate it in a whole "I do not have time for this" expression.