That is NOT a tutorial.

[jrc]

So, I went through the games available on the BI workshop, tried a bunch of them, and came to a conclusion: BI does not know how to setup a tutorial. It's unfortunate, but simply throwing a bunch of things at a map does not make it a tutorial. I enjoyed some of the logic puzzles, and the traps with the lions were nice. The ships looked good, but nothing explained how any of that works. Without explaining how to make those things, or first game moves, or the very basics, it's nothing more than a content showplace.

Most people these days will go to YouTube, but for this game, that's only marginally useful. It seems like there are a lot of reviewers and hosts on there that don't understand how to do things, and it's no wonder. The game never did have a tutorial. They are figuring it out as they go, which is commendable, but it means that there will be aspects of the game that they never encounter or never fully understand.

Other people will go to the wiki, but that's a public effort, and it's mostly useless at this time.

The way I see it, a bunch of kids (whose parents don't read reviews or these forums before purchasing) are going to buy this game, or get it as a gift for Christmas, and past a certain point, they aren't going to have a clue what to do, or how. That's going to frustrate them, and it will come back and bite you.

IMO, you need several different tutorials with a game this expansive.

1) the basics, covering up to the third level of interaction (Blacksmith station, looms, etc.)

2) ships, boats, fishing, ocean gameplay.

3) adventure, including caving

4) alchemy

5) electricity

6) advanced constructions

There could probably be a couple more. It would help if there were another way to get text on the screen, other than the signs. A lot of people play this in first person, and the sign text goes over our heads.

[catbox99]

What it seems to me this is coming to is "if you want or need documentation, don't buy the game." That's not very helpful, and I bet the developers would tell you that your help isn't needed or appreciated. I mean, with friends like that, who needs enemies, right?

I think I will wait for a real developer tutorial. No offense to those who are making them, but I've seen player tutorials before.

[sandokan555]

i dont have any documentation to my car, or i dont care ... i dont read how to do... becourse i do it.
try use brain .. or you need help wtih everithing?
its simple surviving game, nothing on what you need MIT.

[Serfs]

That's a bit rude @catbox99. No one said that if you need documentation you should piss off. The developers are very supportive!
My help is needed and is very appreciated by both the community and the developers I'm sure. My guide isn't complete, but it is far from your average player guide seeing as it is fully comprehensive. Spite will get you nowhere!

[catbox99]

My experience with player created tutorials has been mixed. I prefer developer tutorials, because only developers are in a position to know everything about their game. Sorry if you think that is rude. It wasn't intended to be. It does feel like jrc was getting the brush-off, though. Call them like I see them. Bunch of trolls.

[Serfs]

No harm done. To be fair though, jrc's tone brought that on..best to keep it respectful on every side!

[jrc]

If the best advice someone can offer me, and their sole justification for lack of proper documentation is to "git gud," then yes, I will take exception to it. Most developers these days are getting pretty sloppy, IMO. Most aren't building their own engines, or producing documentation, or hard copies, or bothering much with optimization. Some of it is just plain hype and content, but no focus on balancing out or backing actual gameplay. While it looks like a lot of players have come to accept that as perfectly reasonable from Indies, I'd prefer that the professionals hold to some kind of standards. BI can produce a damned fine game; I don't expect this one to be any different.

ATM, there isn't really an official tutorial where I was told to look. There's just a bunch of maps with content scattered around. It's not explained, it's just there. One, titled "Learn," is a particularly bad example that does nothing to teach anyone anything. If you're thinking of buying the game, and you want a tutorial, I hate to say it, but in this regard, the trolls are correct; you should probably wait for them to make a new one.

[Rutherford]

I've always thought tutorials were a sloppy way to teach people controls, myself. That's a personal opinion I've developed after going through god knows how many forced tutorials that teach me yet once again how to -move- my freakin' character. Blizzard games do this now in -every- game, forced tutorials are the worst.

I like optional ones, or games that lend more description to what you need to do to get what you want, however. Some sort of "tree" for crafting would be nice, so we know what items lead where.

[jrc]

I agree. Optional tutorials. But wouldn't a tutorial for the electrical circuits be handy if you wanted to get in to that sort of thing? Or alchemy? Or how about one for the editor? I see that some people have figured it out a little, but most of the stuff posted up is from BI. I have to say though, if using the editor is as clunky and time-consuming as building a house, meh.... I can see why more people haven't messed with it much.

[tallaw]

lol life has documentation ..im still laughing at that coment ...life has documentation because somebody else figured that stuff out and wrote it down for you. if you have ever tried to get at the heart of concepts like time and gravity and the speed of light (basics i know hahahaha) then you will relise we are still walking in the dark. im sorry but this is too funny.

and no this game is perfect the way it is. use creative mode to test things out ...test, repeat test, change an aspect of the test, repeat etc :) if thats too anoying then stop playing. or be patiant and wait a few weeks for us to write down the solutions...too much time to wait ? /shrug

[Serfs]

If you want to work with your hands and invent tech the funnest way to do that is by learning how to screw up! Alchemy is pretty lit. Also it's pretty obvious since the first ingredients that matter either glow like campfires at night or are made by putting two and two stones together (stone mortar). Things like alchemy and cooking are oversimplified to be perfectly honest!
The editor is a lil' "clunky" but most games don't have them.
The editor can help you build a house or world a lot faster than your hands. You may not be able to travel in the editor very easily, but the build mechanics are quite easy. There's a nice search bar, a toolbar with basic needs met, and a nice finish of utilities if you still aren't satiated.
Like I said if you have questions ask or like tallaw said wait a few weeks for me to finish my guide!

[tallaw]

yer for instance i didnt know about electricity and have gotton to that stage in explorer mode. spent five min in creative mode plonking down items and thinking wtf this isnt working. looked at tools, relized i had to use a tool to join the components together and hey presto working lights, door and heater. tested car and steam boat while i was there. saved myself a from making a few mistakes in explorer mode and now should be good to go.

in saying that im a little scared to put down the tesla coil as im not convinced the zap range will be the same but hey thats kinda exciting too :)

now do i want all the kids playing this game to get to electricity mode on the official pvp servers ....no
i wish ppl wouldnt write this stuff down :P (jk ...kinda :)

[FoeKilla]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-NEKq-woj8

[Beetlebob]

Guys, remember this is still early access, and you are just dropped into the world. I am guessing with some of the trailer clips i have seen you will have a story beginning set up for you and a tutorial in the final release.

The codex should give you enough info to get started and use the logic gained from this to work out how to do other stuff. It took me ages to figure out how to get bellows to show up as a option to craft but i figured out the ingredients needed and once they are in your inventory it shows up.

Some of us 'older' gamers remember life before the internet and wiki, when most games had to be figured out and did not take you through it step by step, and the finding out is part of my enjoyment.

[Ravenshade32]

Originally posted by jrc1967:

You are now trolling, and will be reported.

Sorry I found this quite humerous, this one is clearly young lol.

In regards to the statement, if you need more tutorials on how to play this game apart from the codex then you should not be playing as it is clearly too complex for you. Might I suggest minecraft or naughts and crosses?

This game is as basic as they get, if you fail to comprehend this then please move on.

[Soondead]

Part of the fun for me was to just host a multiplayer game, fiddle with things and experiment. As other people joined, we learned from each other. Haven't been this charmed by a game experience in a long while.