game feels dificult?

[Hiro]

i just got the game and played for an aproximate of 12 hours, i played a first game and i did decently getting some story done and such, but considering i lost my mind and body very fast i felt i was doing something wrong so i restarted and made another game, but that second time things went worse for me and i didnt even got to do anything of the story before my guy seemingly went insane and i just lost because i couldnt raise my mind at all

my main issues i feel i need help understanding is how to keep mind and body up?, its very dificult as it feels like nothing helps keep those two up at all, i always lose fights and all my rolls are low because of it i feel, so it feels like i cant ever do anything because of my body and mind going down, and nothing i do seems to help keep it up enough with items not only being dificult to obtain but also raising only a max of 3 and a minimum of 1 wich with said items already being dificult to obtain i cant get my mind up over 30 at all, and the church doesnt seem to help either as one time i got 2 6s but it only raised about 9 mind, so in the end it feels impossible to try and keep those 2 up, and so with that i just wonder if theres even a need to keep them up, like whats the point of trying if its gonna drain faster than i can keep them up

now let me move onto money, i cant do anything with money, i cant get things, i cant befriend people, i cant seemingly do anything because i need money for gifts and stuff, and using the facilities, i need money for everything and its so dificult to keep it, at the end of the day i always end up with 0 dollars, and the one time i managed to save money i decided to try out the saving money system but it seems useless cause it happened on the game where i went insane, so in the end it just feels like too much stress trying so hard to grind for money, and it makes it even harder with the fact that my body and mind arent over 30 ever

and this all culminates with friendships, i havent been able to experience anything of that, i try very hard to befriend some people and even get on the good side of one of the gangs but it just feels impossible when i need money for everything and a lot of times i dont know what they like, i would feel some good items like a lockpick or tape and such would be good items prisoners would want, but no it doesnt work and a lot of times this characters are just mad at me cause i didnt give them what they want, but i dont know what they want and im not given hints and considering that i need so much money for everything its dificult getting items at all, and when you add the fact that some items dont make sense, i got the upgrade that lets me make items like boukets and suck, cause in my mind it makes sence, the perk hints to the idea that this items will make it easier to make friends trough gifts, but no it didnt matter as when i made the bouquet of flowers i gave it as a gift and was told that it was trash, so whats the use in that then?, and to finish it off the lunch seems to be as the game sais a good way to make friends, i share my food always every day, it still doesnt seem to make a diference, so making friends is the most dificult part alongside everything else i just said before

im very lost, and im slowly not having fun as i cant figure out how to do anything, the tutorials arent very good and it just feels like a futile game of "go until you die" where it doesnt matter how much i try or how much "logic" i bring to the table it wont happen, im starting to feel like you are forced to play violently only as im feeling i have to try cause it makes sence now that okay if i pick the panther i can then fight prisoners and steal their items wich saves me money and allows me to befriend who i WANT to befirend easier, but i dont wanna play in that certain way so whats the point of this game where i cant play how i want, and even when i try my best to understand the game it seems impossible to play?


i know im rambling but im trying my best to explain myself fully cause i know a lot of times people like to debate and say that someone is doing something wrong instead of actively trying to help so i just simply want someone that can explain to me like im a 5 year old, for starters, how do i keep my mind and body up more efficiently?, i feel like just that would make so many things easier for me, and second, how do i better manage my money in the game? cause its annoying that i cant do ANYTHING at all without cash.

i would appreciate the help, otherwise i guess ill wait to see if the developer maybe fixes the game balancing a bit or something.

[Surrika Tunnah]

I would also like help, because I was just streaming this but I was completely baffled by the Mind and Body system. I tried reading the tutorial on them on the menu page. It told me the consequences of having low mind and body but didn't really do a good job at explaining how to keep them high.

The most I got was "Buy yogurt" and thats 40 gold a pop for a measly 10 body. Why doesn't eating lunch and dinner or even sleeping help your body stat? It feels very weird.

[Jarlim]

So from my perspective, ye, its hard and im pretty sure its supposed to be.
For mind and body, ALWAYS have at least 1 satiety (carry cookies) so you don;t lose body, -pray every day at church for bonus mind.
- invest early in a blanket for the bed.
-money comes from best(for my playstyle) from doing the job that best suits ure best stat. ie: high int makes mailroom very efficient (how i do it at least, ymmv)
-selling to the barbershop every day/doing quests (pick weeds and hope for jewel bugs to sell)
-buying from the cop is more expensive then just running around checking inventories because inmates sell stuff cheaper( esp cookies)

Other money tips: saving with the mandril is worth it once you get a slush fund, betting on fights/games seems to be 50/50

[pinkcat]

This is kind of cheesy, but if you open the pause menu, there will be a feature called Memory Recall. You can use this to restart any recent segment of the day you just performed. So you can use this when things are just too unlucky (like rolling too low for a mission).

[Hiro]

Originally posted by pinkcat:

This is kind of cheesy, but if you open the pause menu, there will be a feature called Memory Recall. You can use this to restart any recent segment of the day you just performed. So you can use this when things are just too unlucky (like rolling too low for a mission).

oh damn.... yup this is useful

[Pyon]

It definitely takes a few failed attempts to figure out what works best for you. The big thing with the body and mind is if you can get ahead of it early you shouldn't ever have issues with it again ( other than losing a fight - which I would just Memory Recall at that point because it puts you behind again ). Wash your hands at the clinic before going in for the shot ( +2 Body ), use the toilet often the perk you get makes it worthwhile for the small energy refill.

@Jarlim is definitely right about investing early in the blanket ( $60 ). During the first day I've made it a point to grab both Alex ( Lion ) and Caesar ( Chimp ) first quests. You can do Alex's in the morning, but don't turn it in until Dinner. Complete Caesar's during dinner ( Make use of Memory recall to restart dinner time if you fail any of the rolls ). This will give you enough money for the movie ( $40 ), a complete dinner ( $20 ) and the pillow ( $80 ) and maybe some extra cookies ( $9 - 10 from inmates ). Don't take Jumbo's ( Elephant ) first quest unless you read the Zen book during Free Time, the loss of Mind so early is detrimental. Build up some Rapport with John ( Tiger ) and Max ( H. Badger ) using Mint Rollups ( Love ) as it's required for an early Alex quest and an somewhat later Jumbo ( Elephant ) quest. Also John's Rapport skill will be on of your best skills for future fights so prioritize him first.

For work, stick with the Ironing board, you won't lose Body passively like the chemical room and if you want to cheese it just turn on the stopwatch on your phone. I wouldn't bother trying to get too much money as you're just going to get extorted by Cruncy ( Croc ) after lunch. During lunch stick with either the Bread or Pumpkin Soup/Stew Apple Pie ( $30 ), keeping your satiety high is more worth it than shelling out for just a bit of healing ( +4 Satiety is equivalent to 20 Body in damage so eating something for +2 Satiety and +10 Body isn't exactly worth it except if you get stat experience ). Pick your seat mate well too, High Security ( Red ) mates have the lowest chances of sharing, while Low Security ( Blue ) mates have the high est share rates. Edit:: Disregard, specific inmates have better odds of sharing. I.E. Capybara had a higher rate on Day 1 than the Platypus. Doing some testing if you ask for them to Share prior to eating your own food there is a higher chance they share. Realized the higher chance was due to the Clean Mouth benefit from brushing teeth prior to handling the Caesar quest.

I try and finish lunch with 40$ to ensure I can enter the general building and read a book ( Fashion ). If you're lucky on your plant spawns you can finish the first barber quest along with reading the book quest and while it would be a $10 loss, you can complete the Slipper quest by buying the slippers from Jumbo for ( $110 ) and turning in the quest on Day 2 and then start building up Strength experience at the bench ( aim for 15+ reps for bonus experience, Strength is the easiest stat to max experience early ).

Day 2 is when you can start building up an early nest egg, having $170 for dinner time to be able to buy a complete dinner and place a max bet on the fight for Day 3, choose carefully you can influence the result with a Caesar quest.

Don't let me dictate how you play, but this is what works best for me. The first two days are when you need to build up quickly and be very selective with how you go about things. Hopefully as this game starts picking up in popularity people will discover more ways to get ahead early so that the somewhat spirit crushing early game for new players doesn't push people away.

[Mary]

To keep up my body I drink water during the day whenever I can. I drink hot water after headcount, at the general building during rec, and at night time.

To maintain my mind (and increase my agility) I pick irises and eat them.

[Maltanis]

Originally posted by pinkcat:

This is kind of cheesy, but if you open the pause menu, there will be a feature called Memory Recall. You can use this to restart any recent segment of the day you just performed. So you can use this when things are just too unlucky (like rolling too low for a mission).

It isn't cheesy, it's part of the game design. It's called "Back to the Dawn" for a reason :P

But to keep body up I found keeping satiety up was a big deal as losing mind/body for being hungry stacks up quickly.

Making friends with a prisoner who regularly has yogurt and apples helps you get them for a cheaper price, as well as stealing them off people as well (a lot of people who carry those items like them as well, so you can steal/buy them off them, give it to them as a gift, then steal/buy it back and use it. Buying it twice is good if you have the perk to gain friendship from buying items from prisoners as well)