What am I doing wrong?

[FM Helldiver Radio]

I do find the game interesting, no question about that. Gathering materials, researching, leveling up the crew… it’s all pretty nice.

The problem is: I don’t really know what I’m doing it for. Nothing particularly exciting ever seems to happen.
I keep upgrading my ship, sure, but most of the time I’m just alternating between waiting for research to finish, waiting for enough resources to be collected, or for someone to reach the required experience level. Every now and then another ship flies by and I can trade with them, which is nice.

But none of it is especially complex either, so it never really creates that “city builder” feeling where I can completely lose myself optimizing and tinkering for hours.

Why I´m doing all this?
Somehow I just can’t find the gameplay loop that keeps me hooked.

[Goffik]

Perhaps this game just isn't for you. No game can entertain absolutely everyone who plays it.

Going in with a city builder mentality probably doesn't help, because that's just not what Space Haven is. You literally described the gameplay loop yourself... gather, expand, optimise, rinse & repeat.

That said, it's also a game that requires you to make your own goals. There is an ending but it's up to you to decide what to do outside of pursuing it. You could hunt pirates or become one yourself. You could become a trader, supplying other spacefarers while turning a profit. You could focus on doing faction missions or create your own RP story which determines how you play. Or perhaps try the station mode instead of ship mode. There are always options.

Originally posted by FM Helldiver Radio:

Why I´m doing all this?

For the same reason you play any other game... entertainment. If this particular game isn't entertaining you then perhaps it's time to find one that does?

[FM Helldiver Radio]

I know what you mean. I play all kinds of games, and they all offer some kind of challenge or story, or both.

I assume Space Haven has that too, but somehow I just can’t find it.
Thanks for the tip that it’s NOT a city builder. That’s how it looked to me at first, but it’s boring if you play it that way.
What am I actually supposed to do, and how?
Are there “challenges”? Like things that are actually hard to achieve?
I don’t mind if they are self-made goals.
Maybe that’s kind of my question.
Nothing I’ve tried to achieve so far has felt challenging or interesting story-wise.
Most of the time it just felt like waiting until the game allowed me to do something, but I never had the feeling that I actually had to work for it, plan for it, or use any kind of skill. Do you understand what I mean?

This is also not meant as criticism of the game. I genuinely feel like it’s my fault and that I’m overlooking something.

To me it feels like one of those mobile games you open once a day just to be allowed to make five clicks.

[Nordil(Hun)]

Originally posted by FM Helldiver Radio:

I know what you mean. I play all kinds of games, and they all offer some kind of challenge or story, or both.

I assume Space Haven has that too, but somehow I just can’t find it.
Thanks for the tip that it’s NOT a city builder. That’s how it looked to me at first, but it’s boring if you play it that way.
What am I actually supposed to do, and how?
Are there “challenges”? Like things that are actually hard to achieve?
I don’t mind if they are self-made goals.
Maybe that’s kind of my question.
Nothing I’ve tried to achieve so far has felt challenging or interesting story-wise.
Most of the time it just felt like waiting until the game allowed me to do something, but I never had the feeling that I actually had to work for it, plan for it, or use any kind of skill. Do you understand what I mean?

This is also not meant as criticism of the game. I genuinely feel like it’s my fault and that I’m overlooking something.

To me it feels like one of those mobile games you open once a day just to be allowed to make five clicks.

So if i understand well you sat down as to say to research, build up and skill up.
Not bad actually as a start.
However once you fly out, you will encounter enemies. Who will test your ship and your crew's skill.
That is where the challenge lies.
Is you ship able to survive an encounter with a ship that has 3 autoturrets on it?
Or at least until you realize you need to jump away? -> Yes/No
Is your crew able to handle a bunch of boarders? -> Yes/No
Will your ship be able to handle a system with solar flares? ->Yes/No

I am not sure how much of these you encountered, but the more further you go from the basic starting cluster, the more challenging things get.

[mystery]

I play Space Haven as a sort of city builder. In that regard it is very simple & relax. Main goal/challenge for me is to see at what population point the simulaiton breaks down.
Thought originally it would be fairly low as folks seem to be focused on keeping smaller crews, but at 350+ people now on a colossal 4x4 ship & can keep going. Impressed with the devs that they allow you to go so far beyond the scope of the game regarding pop & ship size without the game/simulation breaking down.

Once you know the gameplay loop of Space Haven well enough, there isn't much challenge left & imo, I like it that way, can come home from work, open the game & have fun steering my ship to the nexd icefield to drain it empty (alongside any shipwrecks) & watch all the people on my ship run around; doing their things to keep the ship operational.

If you look for a similar game (gather resources, research, build your own base/ship, trade with others) that offers more challenge, Rimworld might be up your alley

[Gato]

Do you really understand what your sims are doing ?
I think you are just play on max speed and try to see what is going on, so that is why you dont know what to do and why.

[FM Helldiver Radio]

Yes, I think I understand what they are doing. They are happy. They produce things I need to run the ship. They get better in what they are doing. I organised their scedule so everything is running smooth 24/7. Only thing I could do is mess things up to make it more interesting.

Perhaps my problem is that I masterd Rimworld years ago and I´m just coming from playing Dwarf Fortress.

[mystery]

Originally posted by FM Helldiver Radio:

Perhaps my problem is that I masterd Rimworld years ago and I´m just coming from playing Dwarf Fortress.

If you are used to Dwarf Fortress & Rimworld, who are both more difficult/challenging & have much more features, Space Haven can indeed feel bland & lacking features.
That said, Space Haven makes for a good introduction to the survival base build genre, but if you look for more, it is at best a stepping stone for more complex games in the genre like Dwarf Fortress & Rimworld.
Main draw for me to Space Haven is the large populations you can have, I like my human anthills & both Dwarf Fortress & Rimworld strain your PC when you go for large populations, while Space Haven handles them much better (due to less complex simulations ofc)