Early impressions

[Falaris]

I did go into this blind - still am - so I make a few assumptions. That's on me, if they're wrong.

I only have half an hour of playtime currently, so take this with a pinch of salt, but my initial impression is, this felt conspiciously like an old-school MMORPG. Character creation, newbie starting area, gauntlet path of press button to make static automaton speak hints or give quests - it captured that feel exactly.

It's an interesting choice. It really drives home the point that you're playing a game and this is a starting area to give you hints. 'Move along now, nothing to see here.'. It doesn't do much to give the impression you're leaving home behind.

It even has that old chestnut - water is (almost) instakill. Didn't expect that for an exploration game.

I must admit, that did not feel like a good choice to me, but I've only played it a bit so far. But the interface, crafting, resources, combat - systems in general, it really has that old-school MMORPG feel in every detail. I can play that, it's not game breaking for me, but it does feel a bit... 'really? you did that?'.

A very small nitpick - in the start someone mentions making a mean 'pixie sandwich'. Are we pixies?- kinda seem that way but I don't think it's ever stated - and if so, is it made of real pixies? We don't say we're making a 'human sandwich' if it's for humans to eat - it's understood.

[Cutter]

No pixies were added, like no dog was added to hotdogs.

[Cutter]

As for Water.....99% of insects would die from flowing water, why should we be able to survive it?

[Falaris]

Originally posted by Cutter:

As for Water.....99% of insects would die from flowing water, why should we be able to survive it?

I'll describe the scene. It was after meeting Herne, there's a pond with a few flat stones. I decided they looked like a path to a secret spot, so I tried jumping onto them. I overshot the mark, and landed in the water. Started to try walking/swimming out, which seemed like it should be easy enough, but died in a second.

I would suggest this is a game scope choice, as I originally stated, rather than one based on realism.

As for your first point 'smallfolk' is descriptive enough, but it's obviously a colloquial term. The beedly boppers suggest small fairies of a sort, but if it's not pixies, what are we (in the game)?

[SquatchCloakTech]

Originally posted by Cutter:

As for Water.....99% of insects would die from flowing water, so why should we be able to survive it?

Because our characters are not insects. Our characters are humanoids and humanoids have potential to swim just based on physiology.

[benny_merge]

Originally posted by Falaris:

I did go into this blind - still am - so I make a few assumptions. That's on me, if they're wrong.

I only have half an hour of playtime currently, so take this with a pinch of salt, but my initial impression is, this felt conspiciously like an old-school MMORPG. Character creation, newbie starting area, gauntlet path of press button to make static automaton speak hints or give quests - it captured that feel exactly.

It's an interesting choice. It really drives home the point that you're playing a game and this is a starting area to give you hints. 'Move along now, nothing to see here.'. It doesn't do much to give the impression you're leaving home behind.

It even has that old chestnut - water is (almost) instakill. Didn't expect that for an exploration game.

I must admit, that did not feel like a good choice to me, but I've only played it a bit so far. But the interface, crafting, resources, combat - systems in general, it really has that old-school MMORPG feel in every detail. I can play that, it's not game breaking for me, but it does feel a bit... 'really? you did that?'.

A very small nitpick - in the start someone mentions making a mean 'pixie sandwich'. Are we pixies?- kinda seem that way but I don't think it's ever stated - and if so, is it made of real pixies? We don't say we're making a 'human sandwich' if it's for humans to eat - it's understood.

Hey there! Thank you for your feedback, we really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience of the game! Player feedback is going to be extremely valuable as we improve Smalland: Survive the Wilds throughout Early Access!

With the feedback on water, swimming was a huge technical addition that we couldn't add in for EA launch, but is something we may look at adding in a future update. However, in terms of the game's lore and as some others have pointed out, Smallfolk have existed for a long time underground in burrows - they've never known large bodies of water like this or had the need to learn how to swim! The Owl Effigies dotted around the Burrows and near the river give you helpful tips and tricks to guide you through the overworld, and a few warn players of venturing into the water.

We'll be taking the swimming feedback on board and will update players throughout Early Access on the changes that are being introduced. But for now, make sure to stay out of the water, Smallfolk! :D