How do you level up?

[louis.john.is.not]

Killed half the country by now and solved a few quests... I'm still at level 1.

[Kimmo Vihola]

Did you see the heart dream?

[louis.john.is.not]

Yes

[louis.john.is.not]

Also why can't I butt kick sheep and pigs when I sprint? Or ever? Why can't I sent them flying?

[Neonexus]

Originally posted by Kimmo Vihola:

Did you see the heart dream?

Obscure self-doubting cardiac organs don't have the same meaning to your players as they do to you. Whatever context you think exists most likely only exists for you and a select few. If you want your general audience to actually progress, be specific. Being cryptic works well for story lines and poetry, but is no way to try to communicate software mechanics to consumers.

[Kimmo Vihola]

louis.john.is.not, alright. Did you find out that you can eat and drink stuff by right-clicking on them in the inventory? That's not currently communicated by the game. I'm trying figure out whether it's only the inventory that needs clarification, whether the heart dream itself does not communicate its intention well, or whether we need to build something in there that helps people connect the two ideas.

Originally posted by Neonexus:

Obscure self-doubting cardiac organs don't have the same meaning to your players as they do to you. Whatever context you think exists most likely only exists for you and a select few. If you want your general audience to actually progress, be specific. Being cryptic works well for story lines and poetry, but is no way to try to communicate software mechanics to consumers.

The self-doubt is purely story and impossible to understand until later. The game is not trying to be cryptic about the mechanic itself. It is trying to teach the mechanic without breaking away from the game world, though. Having seen the dream, what did you think of when you got your first heart in the game? Did you consider eating it or did you just stash it away?

[Neonexus]

Originally posted by Kimmo Vihola:

louis.john.is.not, alright. Did you find out that you can eat and drink stuff by right-clicking on them in the inventory? That's not currently communicated by the game. I'm trying figure out whether it's only the inventory that needs clarification, whether the heart dream itself does not communicate its intention well, or whether we need to build something in there that helps people connect the two ideas.

Originally posted by Neonexus:

Obscure self-doubting cardiac organs don't have the same meaning to your players as they do to you. Whatever context you think exists most likely only exists for you and a select few. If you want your general audience to actually progress, be specific. Being cryptic works well for story lines and poetry, but is no way to try to communicate software mechanics to consumers.

The self-doubt is purely story and impossible to understand until later. The game is not trying to be cryptic about the mechanic itself. It is trying to teach the mechanic without breaking away from the game world, though. Having seen the dream, what did you think of when you got your first heart in the game? Did you consider eating it or did you just stash it away?

Best policy for deciding what to communicate is to assume that 98%-100% of all humans are incompetent fools who can't tell a cat from a dog. The best indication that players are supposed to eat hearts comes, ironically, from the excessive amount of warnings that say "don't eat the hearts!". Even after that (and having eaten a few tender hearts) it wasn't clear that leveling was from eating hearts since nothing happened when I ate my first few tender hearts (the point being that if it didn't do anything the first time, why should I keep doing it?). Might be advantageous to give the player a free level up for eating their first heart, regardless of tier, just to make the idea clear to them (sorta like a drug deal, where the first fix is free and then wham-bam crippling addiction).

[louis.john.is.not]

Originally posted by Kimmo Vihola:

louis.john.is.not, alright. Did you find out that you can eat and drink stuff by right-clicking on them in the inventory? That's not currently communicated by the game. I'm trying figure out whether it's only the inventory that needs clarification, whether the heart dream itself does not communicate its intention well, or whether we need to build something in there that helps people connect the two ideas....

The heart actually told me to eat it if I recall properly, and I did but I'm still at level one. I'm using the full_beta, maybe I'm using the wrong game version but says it was updated May 28.

[Kimmo Vihola]

Originally posted by Neonexus:

Even after that (and having eaten a few tender hearts) it wasn't clear that leveling was from eating hearts since nothing happened when I ate my first few tender hearts (the point being that if it didn't do anything the first time, why should I keep doing it?). Might be advantageous to give the player a free level up for eating their first heart, regardless of tier, just to make the idea clear to them (sorta like a drug deal, where the first fix is free and then wham-bam crippling addiction).

A free level up sounds like the right way to do this. Thank you for your thoughts!

Originally posted by louis.john.is.not:

The heart actually told me to eat it if I recall properly, and I did but I'm still at level one. I'm using the full_beta, maybe I'm using the wrong game version but says it was updated May 28.

You should get a level up from eating the heart. I'll have to make sure it still works ok.

[Neonexus]

Originally posted by louis.john.is.not:

The heart actually told me to eat it if I recall properly, and I did but I'm still at level one. I'm using the full_beta, maybe I'm using the wrong game version but says it was updated May 28.

You should get a level up from eating the heart. I'll have to make sure it still works ok. [/quote]

If that heart in the dream was supposed to give you your first level up, that clears up a lot as far as mechanics. I replayed that part a few times and never got anything either. If that had given me that free level, I'd have been hitting the ground running as far as understanding the game is concerned.

[louis.john.is.not]

What I got was 100 XP but no Level two

[lewisis]

XP ?? Am I missing something? To be honest I look at this discussion board daily and use it as my game guide / wiki. This is where I learned about heart eating / level up and many other things. I have c.80 hours invested in this playthough and am enjoying the game immensely. However, I still have so many questions!

[louis.john.is.not]

Well I tried a new playthrough thinking I may have forgotten something but actually after 2 other attempts the game seems broken from my end. After I get the cross shield and sword, and use the campfire near the old path, the character dreams of a knight pulling a dragon's tail to cook some vegetables in a cauldron, and after he wakes up there's a heart by the campfire... On sleeping again the I get the message "you dream... you dream deeper" then the screen turns red and there's nothing to do. The red fades if I keep walking. Once the character wakes up he has a full set of armor and all the previous equipment has vanished. Happened in both playthroughs. I'm at a loss.

[Kimmo Vihola]

Originally posted by louis.john.is.not:

Happened in both playthroughs. I'm at a loss.

Sounds like something is seriously broken there. I need to take a good look at it.

Originally posted by lewisis:

XP ?? Am I missing something?

The XP should only be an internal thing that the game keeps track of when you eat hearts. The fact the game is still displaying those is a bug.

Originally posted by Neonexus:

If that heart in the dream was supposed to give you your first level up, that clears up a lot as far as mechanics. I replayed that part a few times and never got anything either. If that had given me that free level, I'd have been hitting the ground running as far as understanding the game is concerned.

Alright, that's good to hear!

[louis.john.is.not]

Originally posted by Kimmo Vihola:

Originally posted by louis.john.is.not:

Happened in both playthroughs. I'm at a loss.

Sounds like something is seriously broken there. I need to take a good look at it.

I could send you my save files if it's any help.

[Kimmo Vihola]

Alright, the bug where the level-up text wasn't displayed and the level-up itself wasn't properly transferred to the waking side is now fixed for the next update.

Originally posted by louis.john.is.not:

On sleeping again the I get the message "you dream... you dream deeper" then the screen turns red and there's nothing to do. The red fades if I keep walking. Once the character wakes up he has a full set of armor and all the previous equipment has vanished.

When you say the screen turns red and there's nothing to do, I take it that you don't see anything else, just solid red? It sounds like it could be a rendering bug. Is your GPU Radeon, NVIDIA, or something else? Which quality settings are you running (low/medium/high/ultra)?