Is this game "finished"?

[I Kinda Fail]

I'm not talking about DLC, but some very basic stuff for quality of life features are missing, unless I'm just doing something wrong.

Like, I haven't unlocked the lab yet so maybe this is answered later, but like. Why would I ever raise water slimes? You can only raise 4 at a time, I think, and you can't place a plort collector on the ponds? So they have the same problem as early game corrals, where you're vacuuming up the slimes along with their plorts. Water slimes aren't worth very much when compared to other similar "leveled" slimes, so is it just like, you don't have to feed them but they're annoying and bad money? Or what?

Why is the map so useless? There's no waypoints on the already fairly confusing layout of the game, and as far as I can tell, the teleporters aren't on the map at all. Why? Why is a key part of navigating the game not labeled on the map?

The slime requests (Slime Exchange?) don't seem to be very well balanced unless I'm missing something. One day they'll request 4 hen hens and 1 roostro, and the reward will be 3 (new) crystal plorts, to allow me to start breeding those. The next day, it'll ask me for 5 crystal plorts, which I still haven't found, and 6 water plorts, with the reward being 2 rad plorts, which I've got tons of. My most recent one was requesting two fruits or veggies I've never even seen before, and the reward was garbage.

The basic gameplay is fun and the exploration is "okay", but the game just feels surprisingly unpolished to me considering it was a nominee for game of the year. It's not a bad game at all, and I'll keep playing it, just... I wish the map worked better, if nothing else.

[I Kinda Fail]

Originally posted by Riedy:

It's a map. It helps you orientate. It's not meant to reveal treasures or secrets, it's just a little help.

Okay, but why do the fat slimes that you have to feed like 50 items appear on my map after I've found them, especially considering they'll disappear once I've fed them, but the teleporters, which I will be using all the way to the end of the game, are not on the map? I'm talking about after I've already used them, not having them be revealed from the start of the game...

[Bleep]

My beef, exactly. Better mapping please.

[Sgt_Shinobi]

The map shows your teleporters and your extractors. It also shows several stationary teleporters that only lead to your ranch. The "fat" gordos can be repetedly lured and "Snare" later in the game so thats why they also appear.

Screenshot showing Teleporters, Extractors (bottom left) and a Snared Pink Gordo (bottom right): icons on my map. https://imgur.com/a/ALCN0

[Circuitkun]

im not going to lie, but it sounds like someone is just being really nitpicky with the game so far. the game is about supply in demand. one day this plort will be worth more, then the next day it could be lower, but something else it higher.

the map is fine, i think you are just used to games throwing things at you for free. explore, that's what the game is about.

and honestly i dont do the slime exchange much since i just forget completely it exists due to me being out and about and exploring the map. unlocked most of the areas and i just started playing. you can find a lot of goodies by just exploring man.

[this.waste]

Originally posted by Circu~:

im not going to lie, but it sounds like someone is just being really nitpicky with the game so far. the game is about supply in demand. one day this plort will be worth more, then the next day it could be lower, but something else it higher.

the map is fine, i think you are just used to games throwing things at you for free. explore, that's what the game is about.

and honestly i dont do the slime exchange much since i just forget completely it exists due to me being out and about and exploring the map. unlocked most of the areas and i just started playing. you can find a lot of goodies by just exploring man.

i agree with what you say, i thin this is a ore relaxing explore game, i do get lost alot but thats the fun of trying to get back, or when our trying to get that one slime type, i find it fun, and the honey slimes are so very cute.

[Princess Serena🌙]

You only have 5 hours in this game...why dont you spend more time before you complain about a map you dont understand - because you haven't spend any time exploring. You may also want to unlock the lab before questioning why you would want a certian Slimes plorts. Earn your upgrades and explore the world around you! There is so much more than just plort collecting. Enjoy the game!

[I Kinda Fail]

Originally posted by Sgt_Shinobi:

The map shows your teleporters and your extractors. It also shows several stationary teleporters that only lead to your ranch. The "fat" gordos can be repetedly lured and "Snare" later in the game so thats why they also appear.

Screenshot showing Teleporters, Extractors (bottom left) and a Snared Pink Gordo (bottom right): icons on my map. https://imgur.com/a/ALCN0

Good to know! But I meant the permanent teleporters you get from feeding the fat gordo things. It just seems strange that they aren't shown on the map.

[I Kinda Fail]

Originally posted by Circu~:

im not going to lie, but it sounds like someone is just being really nitpicky with the game so far. the game is about supply in demand. one day this plort will be worth more, then the next day it could be lower, but something else it higher.

the map is fine, i think you are just used to games throwing things at you for free. explore, that's what the game is about.

Okay, but I'm talking about a maximum of 4 slimes per square at 50 per plort, versus 6-10 rad or crystal slimes at 60 per plort. It just felt like otnwas a hassle to collect from water plorts, and their value was low, so I didn't see why I would want them.
As for the map, is it really entitled to want waypoints and icons on it, something that's been common in games since like 2000?

[Sgt_Shinobi]

Well seeing as the map itself wasn't added until 2 patches ago; the patch right after launch iirc. I think the devs were actually against adding a map to the game for a while, but with the ruins and the glass desert being rather large and easy to get lost in they probably felt had to add one.
I played the game for a year before they added the map, whether your acting entitled is your opinion.
In my opinion not having player placed markers is not a sign of how "Finished" a game is. Frankly that hasn't been seen outside of Breath of the wild and Skyrim; Maybe Farcry & Assassins creed. I don't remember Shadow of Mordor having placeable waypoints. I shouldn't be comparing Slime Rancher to Triple A's but I don't know any indie games with that feature.

Only two (3?) gordos open portals. One that leads dry reef<->overgrowth (a place on your ranch) and another than leads to ash island (a rarely visited place) a gordo might open the portal to ring island too (also rarely visited location).

However there are several permanent one-way teleporters that only lead back to your Ranch that do show up on the map. I fit three into this picture: https://i.imgur.com/Pvnwhz8.jpg

At least 10 Lab made gadgets, decorations, or curios use puddle plorts as crafting materials. Including Hydro turrets that fight Tarr. But your not really required to keep any specific type of slime on your ranch if you don't want them.

Lastly Slime Rancher has reachable "End Credits" for whatever that counts for on the scale of finishedness.

[ComfyWolf]

Originally posted by I Kinda Fail:

Originally posted by Circu~:

im not going to lie, but it sounds like someone is just being really nitpicky with the game so far. the game is about supply in demand. one day this plort will be worth more, then the next day it could be lower, but something else it higher.

the map is fine, i think you are just used to games throwing things at you for free. explore, that's what the game is about.

Okay, but I'm talking about a maximum of 4 slimes per square at 50 per plort, versus 6-10 rad or crystal slimes at 60 per plort. It just felt like otnwas a hassle to collect from water plorts, and their value was low, so I didn't see why I would want them.
As for the map, is it really entitled to want waypoints and icons on it, something that's been common in games since like 2000?

Just because something is common in most games doesn't mean it's fitting for every game with a map. In a game that has such a heavy focus on exploration on your own and learning the map on your own, it would take away from the game for many. Most games don't focus on exploration, so comparing most games maps to this one makes no sense. Quite honestly, the teleporters are placed in easy to remember spots, so I really don't see how this is so much of an issue for you other than not playing very much or not enjoying the game in general. And yes, I do think it's entitled to want something in a game just because other games do it, they're different games for a reason.

[Lyra]

I can go on forever and ever to go against your complaints but I'm just gonna leave a short answer.The game is finished but it seems like your patience for this game is finished too. Its odd because you played the heck out of SDV so I assume you love it.

Complaining about it after 5 hours is like playing Stardew for only 2 seasons in game. Explore more of the game before you make your judgement. You should know farming games like SDV and SR in the beginning are slow because you start out with so little money and poor leveled eqiupment.

[I Kinda Fail]

Originally posted by Azure:

I can go on forever and ever to go against your complaints but I'm just gonna leave a short answer.The game is finished but it seems like your patience for this game is finished too. Its odd because you played the heck out of SDV so I assume you love it.

Complaining about it after 5 hours is like playing Stardew for only 2 seasons in game. Explore more of the game before you make your judgement. You should know farming games like SDV and SR in the beginning are slow because you start out with so little money and poor leveled eqiupment.

If you want to compare it to Stardew, then I'd still say Stardew does exploration better. In the mines there's a rock you can't break right away, so you rush to upgrade your pickaxe to see what's back there. There's a conveniently placed log on the edge of the map, so you upgrade your axe to see what's back there. You find a broken bridge, you repair it.

Slime Rancher's exploration isn't bad, sure, but I still consider map waypoints and noting important map icons a fairly basic feature of the map, especially in a modern game... It definitely holds your hand less with stuff like the slime doors, it took me awhile before I figured out how to get the keys, and by that point I'd forgotten where the slime door was because it wasn't labeled on the map. Instead I found a different slime door.

I guess I'm just not a fan of this type of "what the heck do I do" gameplay. I had to look up how to open treasure pods and if you could catch golden slimes, because neither is very clear early on. I thought maybe I was just doing something wrong. In SV, it was always obvious to me - "You need a stronger pickaxe", etc. I thought maybe I needed a vacuum upgrade for gold slimes, for example, but I guess you just can't catch them. It's not a bad game, and I'll still be playing it. Just not the kind of thing I'm used to, I guess.