Wiki Syndrom - what makes me dislike sandboxes

[Eglaios]

I definitely love this game, but like all sandboxes (Terraria, Minecraft, Starbound), there's that issue that I'd call the "Wiki Syndrom"

I would define it as "the desire to search online for optimized solutions to achieve in-game activities", such as wood farming or boss slaying.


It's my first playthrough. Currently exploring clay mines, and here's my dilemna : I just wanna enjoy the game by myself, and thus looking for online tips isn't fun to me, because it turns exciting trial-and-error discovery into bland copy-paste of unquestionnable truth.

But the thing is, why spending hours having fun experimenting stuff when you know the best way has probably already been found and shared online?
Why risking my life multiple times against the Slime boss while I know Internet can help me to first-try him safely? (I crafted like 110 bombs at once when I got the alchemy table and it took around 4 to defeat him. got me 2k coins as soon as I got the first npc.)
As a player, fear and struggle make good memories on the long term, yet I obviously tend to avoid these on short term.


Now I gotta kill the worm boss, but I'm already so bored of even doing so (first playthrough btw), despite how much I like the game. I'm already so tired of being a pure meta clone - and gather lots of spikes - and put them under the worm - and it'll die - and I'll get the loot - and I'll forget it - and it'll be the same for the next ones.



I know it's all my fault if I didn't have fun for these.
The solution is obviously "if you really want to play at your pace, you shouldn't care about optimization", which I already know.
The problem is, this requires a level of maturity I didn't reach yet.

Players have instincts. If the game tells them it can give a million coins for free, even though they know it'll likely make their experience more boring over time, they'll probably take the offer, because they have needs and biased convictions :
-Game gives me a currency that I have a limited amount of : good
-Saves me a lot of farming time : good



I don't say such game has to be entirely rebuilt so the player constantly knows the best things while still giving challenges at that level... I just say in specific cases like mine, the experience might turn very unpleasant despite of the overall quality.

Let me reitterate, this whole thing is NOT a complaint. I love most aspects of the game and my poor experience doesn't make me love it less.


I just leave these thoughts around, if anyone got any tip to enjoy the game as a newbie without overkilling it, feel free to share it bellow!

[Eglaios]

Edit : Well I thought the devourer boss would constantly charge towards the player, its pattern was kind of a relief

For now, Imma just ignore the wikis until I reach the end game I guess

[Khalunka]

You already said it yourself, it was your own mistake for laking self-control. You are not either praising or blaming the game... In this context, you are just looking for someone to talk and share their experiences about your problem?

hmm...

I guess if you have at least a minimum level of satisfaction going to the wiki, make a rule or a condition to before going.

"First, I am going to beat this boss."

"done"

"Now I going to try beating it in another way, using my own ideas"

"hmm, done"

Alright, I did it twice. Let me check other ways online to see what I lacked in imagination..

You did the test, and now you learned other ways. I think you accomplished both things.
I learned by searching the wiki how this game can be really stupid how it works and how players creates farms and etc from these weird mechanics. Like popping conveyor belts near a boss because the acid cant go above the conveyor belt just below it. *facepalm*

Some features are really not my thing... but majority are pleased, so I understand I am an exception. The game itself is fun, but some mechanics which makes no sense and can be abused are weird for me.

[Eglaios]

Originally posted by Frick:

The game itself is fun, but some mechanics which makes no sense and can be abused are weird for me.

Now that you say it, the weird ways mechanics can be exploited might have played a role in how fast I got bored after looking at wiki...
I'm not myself a fan of the current wood propagation, mob spawning and "stupid" techniques to beat bosses (ngl even without knowledge, the devourer's pattern felt very basic, with quite a lot of weak points, the dash item was quite busted there)

Regardless I'm definitely gonna planify more carefuly my use of wikis in the future. Thanks for your approach!

[Khalunka]

Originally posted by Eglaios:

Originally posted by Frick:

The game itself is fun, but some mechanics which makes no sense and can be abused are weird for me.

Now that you say it, the weird ways mechanics can be exploited might have played a role in how fast I got bored after looking at wiki...
I'm not myself a fan of the current wood propagation, mob spawning and "stupid" techniques to beat bosses (ngl even without knowledge, the devourer's pattern felt very basic, with quite a lot of weak points, the dash item was quite busted there)

Regardless I'm definitely gonna planify more carefuly my use of wikis in the future. Thanks for your approach!

Have fun my friend, in the end, thats the ultimate goal. Have fun.

[Nakos]

Originally posted by Eglaios:

It's my first playthrough. Currently exploring clay mines, and here's my dilemna : I just wanna enjoy the game by myself, and thus looking for online tips isn't fun to me, because it turns exciting trial-and-error discovery into bland copy-paste of unquestionnable truth.

Well ... you already know the answer.

Will power.

If looking through the wiki robs you of fun ... then don't do that.

Now personally, I agree. I prefer to NOT look at wikis when I'm playing a game. I always try to play them straight, the way the developer intended. At least the first time.

There are of course things I'm bad at, and there are puzzles that I simply find tedious rather than intriguing. But in each case, that's a line I have to decide on: When have I reached the point where the process of trying to find the answer for myself has ceased to be fun? When have I reached the point where the loss of the fun of finding it myself has been outweighed by the fun I'm losing out beyond this particular puzzle I'm stumped on?

Games are about the feeling of victory.

And in order to give you that, they must first give you the feeling of adversity to overcome.

But it's a fine line that varies from person to person and from game to game.

And only you can decide where it falls for you.

[mjkittredge]

To be fair, about your wiki syndrome. There are some secrets in this game that you would probably never figure out on your own. Like holding a specific plant in your hand to get an otherwise immovable wall to open. The game should have some kind of subtle hints along the way.

But overall, the game is pretty user friendly sandbox experience. You can get most of it with trial and error.

The first 3 biomes/bosses are like the tutorial. It gets significantly harder and more interesting after you get through the wall. While you could look up optimal strategies for dealing with each area or situation, it's far more satisfying to figure it out for yourself. Then when you get really stuck and frustrated look up just enough to get through that specific issue.

Usually it's just a matter of grinding skills and resources, crafting or finding upgrades. The game gives you everything you need to complete the content.