What am I missing?

[Vaughnroad6]

EDIT: Got my answer! This game was made for masochistic sweaties who really want to prove that they don't know how to have fun.


I've spent weeks watching videos, reading articles, and creating a new world with a friend trying to figure this game out. Unfortunately, I cannot see why any one in good graces could ever recommend this game.

You start out the game with nothing. No hints, no descriptions for items, nothing. Cool. Whatever, I'll figure it out on my own.

BUT! Better figure it out fast. Your hunger bar goes to 0 in no time. Everything is hostile. You click "attack" and your character won't attack. Kiting sometimes works. But it usually doesn't.

The land is BARREN. There are never resources where you need them, and even when there are, your luck lasts for about 5 minutes and then you're boned...again.

I've explored the map. I've followed every guide and tutorial, and the game still finds some petty way of killing me off before I get to experience it. Even in "casual" game modes, the game STILL punishes you for dying even though your death is somehow also supposed to be a learning experience. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GET BETTER AT THE GAME IF YOU ♥♥♥♥ ME OVER FOR DYING BEFORE I CAN REBUILD MY ♥♥♥♥?

Will someone please tell me what I'm missing here? I'm no stranger to survival games, but holy ♥♥♥♥ is this one stinking something bad.

DISCLAIMER: I shouldn't have to install mods for a game I've already bought just to make it playable. Really goes to the show that the devs like to flip the finger and say "figure it out yourself."

[Swarm]

Are you playing solo? If yes then there is you problem.

[6teaNEIN?]

mods have nothing to do with it..

learn. adapt. overcome..

this game is definitely not for everyone, especially those that need hand holding. watch as many videos as you want, but you still need practice, to learn mechanics, and how things work (kiting, seasons, recipes, food etc). if you don't have the patience for it, or the eagerness to overcome the difficulty (at first), then maybe this just isn't a game for you.

that's fine, as I said, it is not a game for everyone.

some of us have played, and figured things out, since before wiki was a thing.

for me, and I'm sure, many others, figuring things out on our own, is part of what makes this game great :)

[Philtre]

Part of this is because Don't Starve Together (DST) started off building on an existing game and its playerbase. DST is the multiplayer spinoff of the original game, Don't Starve (DS). Vanilla DS is somewhat less complicated than DST, and better balanced for a singleplayer experience, making it a better place for new players to start. Unfortunately, because multiplayer meant completely reworking the game's underlying code, DS and DST are separate games, so you'd have to buy it separately. (DST also became much more popular than DS, so it has gotten all the updates and new mechanics since the split.)

Part of this is because the original game is inspired in part by traditional Roguelikes (e.g., Rogue, Hack, Nethack), which are infamous for a "no, we're not going to tell you what to do, just keep dying until you figure it out" aesthetic.

And part is because when the devs first tried to add a tutorial to the original game, they found that players would only do what they were told and not experiment or explore, so they removed the tutorial in order to force people to engage with the mechanics and actively try to learn them.

If you put the effort into it, DS/DST is a great game. It has a lot of mechanics and is quite challenging and complex to learn, but that complexity makes it more engaging and enjoyable once you have a handle on how to survive.

PS: The game has extensive customization options, many of which can be adjusted in an existing save (click the small icon on the name of the save game in the "local game" screen). If you find that you have particular trouble with sanity or hounds or whatever, you can turn that thing down/off until you get a better handle on the game, then re-enable it when you think you're ready.

[Laz]

What your missing is skill and a learning experience. If you die from fighting in the beginning, cool just don't fight until you learn patterns and dodging attacks. Die to starvation? Great, focus on food at the beginning.

[Vaughnroad6]

Originally posted by Laz:

What your missing is skill and a learning experience. If you die from fighting in the beginning, cool just don't fight until you learn patterns and dodging attacks. Die to starvation? Great, focus on food at the beginning.

Except that there's never any food and that's the problem LOL. The game refuses to give anything, ever. It's a game that wants you to die and not be able to play it.

[Vaughnroad6]

Originally posted by GunnerAlert:

Are you playing solo? If yes then there is you problem.

Read the beginning of my post again please.

[Vaughnroad6]

Originally posted by Philtre:

Part of this is because Don't Starve Together (DST) started off building on an existing game and its playerbase. DST is the multiplayer spinoff of the original game, Don't Starve (DS). Vanilla DS is somewhat less complicated than DST, and better balanced for a singleplayer experience, making it a better place for new players to start. Unfortunately, because multiplayer meant completely reworking the game's underlying code, DS and DST are separate games, so you'd have to buy it separately. (DST also became much more popular than DS, so it has gotten all the updates and new mechanics since the split.)

Part of this is because the original game is inspired in part by traditional Roguelikes (e.g., Rogue, Hack, Nethack), which are infamous for a "no, we're not going to tell you what to do, just keep dying until you figure it out" aesthetic.

And part is because when the devs first tried to add a tutorial to the original game, they found that players would only do what they were told and not experiment or explore, so they removed the tutorial in order to force people to engage with the mechanics and actively try to learn them.

If you put the effort into it, DS/DST is a great game. It has a lot of mechanics and is quite challenging and complex to learn, but that complexity makes it more engaging and enjoyable once you have a handle on how to survive.

PS: The game has extensive customization options, many of which can be adjusted in an existing save (click the small icon on the name of the save game in the "local game" screen). If you find that you have particular trouble with sanity or hounds or whatever, you can turn that thing down/off until you get a better handle on the game, then re-enable it when you think you're ready.

Thank you for this

[Vaughnroad6]

Originally posted by Pʂყƈԋσ Pυϝϝʂ:

mods have nothing to do with it..

learn. adapt. overcome..

this game is definitely not for everyone, especially those that need hand holding. watch as many videos as you want, but you still need practice, to learn mechanics, and how things work (kiting, seasons, recipes, food etc). if you don't have the patience for it, or the eagerness to overcome the difficulty (at first), then maybe this just isn't a game for you.

that's fine, as I said, it is not a game for everyone.

some of us have played, and figured things out, since before wiki was a thing.

for me, and I'm sure, many others, figuring things out on our own, is part of what makes this game great :)

No mechanics in the game where I'm given any resources. Every time I've died it's because the game didn't give me the basics (twigs, grass, rocks, etc.)
All of my deaths have had nothing to do with skill. They've had to do with the game not being willing to give me anything even when I put in the work for it.

[Philtre]

Originally posted by Vaughnroad6:

No mechanics in the game where I'm given any resources. Every time I've died it's because the game didn't give me the basics (twigs, grass, rocks, etc.)
All of my deaths have had nothing to do with skill. They've had to do with the game not being willing to give me anything even when I put in the work for it.

This is one of those things that gets easier as you build up familiarity with the game. Different biomes give different resources: savannas are great for grass but won't have berries or twigs, grasslands are particularly good for flowers and berries, rockland has lots of boulders but no vegetation, etc. You can tell biomes apart pretty easily once you're used to them, by the color of the terrain and the type of vegetation, which gives you an idea of which areas to explore to find whatever you're currently short of.

In the meantime, you can turn up the frequency of the different resources in world customization before starting a new game (changing them retroactively in an existing game won't do much, IIRC).

Edit: if you're playing multiplayer on existing servers, the resources near spawn may have been picked clean by previous players (resources do respawn, but slowly). It may help to play singleplayer, or on a just-started server, where you aren't spawning into an already-harvested world.

[6teaNEIN?]

Originally posted by Vaughnroad6:

Originally posted by Pʂყƈԋσ Pυϝϝʂ:

mods have nothing to do with it..

learn. adapt. overcome..

this game is definitely not for everyone, especially those that need hand holding. watch as many videos as you want, but you still need practice, to learn mechanics, and how things work (kiting, seasons, recipes, food etc). if you don't have the patience for it, or the eagerness to overcome the difficulty (at first), then maybe this just isn't a game for you.

that's fine, as I said, it is not a game for everyone.

some of us have played, and figured things out, since before wiki was a thing.

for me, and I'm sure, many others, figuring things out on our own, is part of what makes this game great :)

No mechanics in the game where I'm given any resources. Every time I've died it's because the game didn't give me the basics (twigs, grass, rocks, etc.)
All of my deaths have had nothing to do with skill. They've had to do with the game not being willing to give me anything even when I put in the work for it.

um, the map is literally filled with resources...
you need flint? take a 2min walk around, you will find plenty.
you need grass or twigs? they are all around you.
you need food? take a 3min walk around, you will always find carrots or berry bushes. even seeds will keep you alive a little longer.

you said that you are no stranger to survival games, but I am starting to doubt that now.

also, use "F" to attack, not left-click, it doesn't work half the time.

[Vaughnroad6]

Originally posted by Pʂყƈԋσ Pυϝϝʂ:

Originally posted by Vaughnroad6:

No mechanics in the game where I'm given any resources. Every time I've died it's because the game didn't give me the basics (twigs, grass, rocks, etc.)
All of my deaths have had nothing to do with skill. They've had to do with the game not being willing to give me anything even when I put in the work for it.

um, the map is literally filled with resources...
you need flint? take a 2min walk around, you will find plenty.
you need grass or twigs? they are all around you.
you need food? take a 3min walk around, you will always find carrots or berry bushes. even seeds will keep you alive a little longer.

you said that you are no stranger to survival games, but I am starting to doubt that now.

also, use "F" to attack, not left-click, it doesn't work half the time.

I literally do not care what your opinion is of my experience with survival games.

I apologize that I like games that will actually hold me over for longer than 5 minutes after I gather resources.

Btw the map isn't "full" of anything, until you get to Day 12 and there are hellhounds everywhere with no means of being able to defend yourself.

[Vaughnroad6]

Originally posted by Philtre:

Originally posted by Vaughnroad6:

No mechanics in the game where I'm given any resources. Every time I've died it's because the game didn't give me the basics (twigs, grass, rocks, etc.)
All of my deaths have had nothing to do with skill. They've had to do with the game not being willing to give me anything even when I put in the work for it.

This is one of those things that gets easier as you build up familiarity with the game. Different biomes give different resources: savannas are great for grass but won't have berries or twigs, grasslands are particularly good for flowers and berries, rockland has lots of boulders but no vegetation, etc. You can tell biomes apart pretty easily once you're used to them, by the color of the terrain and the type of vegetation, which gives you an idea of which areas to explore to find whatever you're currently short of.

In the meantime, you can turn up the frequency of the different resources in world customization before starting a new game (changing them retroactively in an existing game won't do much, IIRC).

Edit: if you're playing multiplayer on existing servers, the resources near spawn may have been picked clean by previous players (resources do respawn, but slowly). It may help to play singleplayer, or on a just-started server, where you aren't spawning into an already-harvested world.

I can't build a familiarity when the game constantly penalizes me for things that aren't my fault.

Also who tf still plays on existing servers? That's not a valid reason when I've made 4 servers that are BARREN of any kind of resource.

[Philtre]

Originally posted by Vaughnroad6:

Btw the map isn't "full" of anything, until you get to Day 12 and there are hellhounds everywhere with no means of being able to defend yourself.

In general, if you can't deal with a threat, lead it to something that can deal with it for you. For basic hounds, herds of beefalo, pigmen villages, fields of killer bees, pacified treeguards, etc. can all help you out. Staying on roads can help you outrun them; they don't get the road speed buff that you do. Once you have a spear and maybe log armor, and have figured out the combat controls, basic hounds are pretty easy to fight so long as you can string them out a bit so you're not fighting them all at once.

[Vaughnroad6]

Originally posted by Philtre:

Originally posted by Vaughnroad6:

Btw the map isn't "full" of anything, until you get to Day 12 and there are hellhounds everywhere with no means of being able to defend yourself.

In general, if you can't deal with a threat, lead it to something that can deal with it for you. For basic hounds, herds of beefalo, pigmen villages, fields of killer bees, pacified treeguards, etc. can all help you out. Staying on roads can help you outrun them; they don't get the road speed buff that you do. Once you have a spear and maybe log armor, and have figured out the combat controls, basic hounds are pretty easy to fight so long as you can string them out a bit so you're not fighting them all at once.

Ah yes so stay on the roads 24/7, where I have no access to collect materials I need for crafting or food.
This game truly is a snake eating its own tail, it's pretty pathetic.
The fact that you have to sell your soul to this game to get anywhere is pretty sleezy on the devs' behalf. I think I'm fine with never touching this pile of crap again.

[Philtre]

Originally posted by Vaughnroad6:

That's not a valid reason when I've made 4 servers that are BARREN of any kind of resource.

What do you mean by "barren"? I mean, if you get really unlucky with worldgen, your starting area might be surrounded by rockland or some other infertile biome, but that should be quite rare. You should always start in a grasslands area, although it can be fairly small.