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Playing some Raft with a friend of mine and I have to assume at some point this conversation occurred: "How many arrows should it take to kill anything, like... three? Four?" "One hundred and seventy five." "Won't that make the combat tedious and boring?" "... two hundred."
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Nov 30, 2023 18:53
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Survival Game Dev Design Note on Multiplayer: “Since there will be four players, let’s make every resource requirement be 4x, and enemy also 4x tougher. Surely those solo player have friends.”
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Nov 30, 2023 20:09
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Thanks to cyber Monday I recently got a hardware (full pc) upgrade from the seven year old 1060 to the modern era. What survival game should I play first on this machine? Criteria: eye candy first, gameplay second. I have a bunch I’ve picking up over the years and running on lower settings, but I should at least see my system at its best before revisiting games like Raft, Subnautica, or Valheim. My first couple of thoughts are Starsand (bought, unplayed), Grounded (Gamepass), Icarus (unbought, just missed the sale, interested but not convinced I shouldn’t just play something I already own). If I spend my money on a new game the gameplay becomes just as important as graphics in this particular case. Any suggestions?
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Nov 30, 2023 21:45
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Free weekend for Icarus, looking forward to giving this one a try finally!
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Nov 30, 2023 21:52
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LordSloth posted:Thanks to cyber Monday I recently got a hardware (full pc) upgrade from the seven year old 1060 to the modern era. What survival game should I play first on this machine? Criteria: eye candy first, gameplay second. I have a bunch I’ve picking up over the years and running on lower settings, but I should at least see my system at its best before revisiting games like Raft, Subnautica, or Valheim. Medieval Dynasty has some quite pretty landscapes in it, though I'm sure it's not *really* something to push your machine. I find it hard to tell these days, lol Grounded is lovely-looking.
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Nov 30, 2023 22:01
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explosivo posted:Free weekend for Icarus, looking forward to giving this one a try finally!  , perfect timing. Still going to try out a second game tho, maybe even a third since I have Grounded available. Don’t own Medieval Dynasty but it’ll go on the wishlist.
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Nov 30, 2023 22:08
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LordSloth posted:Thanks to cyber Monday I recently got a hardware (full pc) upgrade from the seven year old 1060 to the modern era. What survival game should I play first on this machine? Criteria: eye candy first, gameplay second. I have a bunch I’ve picking up over the years and running on lower settings, but I should at least see my system at its best before revisiting games like Raft, Subnautica, or Valheim. Grounded looks amazing.
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Nov 30, 2023 23:24
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Personally even though Grounded is nice looking, I didn’t like it. The combat is too difficult and I never “got it”. It seems to rely on perfectly timing your blocks which I hated. And you need to fight a lot to progress.
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Nov 30, 2023 23:27
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Downloaded Icarus, chose the rustic cabin mission, got to the build location. I built a little wooden hut but I've realised I haven't unlocked the decorating bench and I think it's in Tier 2. Do I have to grind up to level 10 just to complete the mission, or should I call it quits and choose another more reasonable mission for my meagre level. Every time I start a new mission, do I start at level 1? Maybe I'm blind but the game lacks direction, I've got no idea which missions are suitable for me. There was a brief "Do the tutorial missions" on the main menu but I couldn't find where those are.
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Dec 1, 2023 00:02
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Qubee posted:Maybe I'm blind but the game lacks direction, I've got no idea which missions are suitable for me. There was a brief "Do the tutorial missions" on the main menu but I couldn't find where those are. I did the tutorial mission I think and it still was extremely open ended to the point that I didn't unlock the ability to make floors and walls before the first storm hit which was like 5 minutes after I landed and I almost died from exposure while I ran around and tried to get enough XP to unlock shelter options.
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Dec 1, 2023 00:27
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Qubee posted:Downloaded Icarus, chose the rustic cabin mission, got to the build location. I built a little wooden hut but I've realised I haven't unlocked the decorating bench and I think it's in Tier 2. Do I have to grind up to level 10 just to complete the mission, or should I call it quits and choose another more reasonable mission for my meagre level. Every time I start a new mission, do I start at level 1? You keep levels and unlocks from the mission, so yeah just grind out the levels in the mission, or you can start a separate open world to mess around and level and resume the mission later after unlocking things. Killing animals is the fastest way to level but mining and crafting gives xp too. The only real guidance for the missions is they will say tier 1 or whatever. So don’t do any tier 2 or 3 labeled missions until you level up some more and get into those tech trees.
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Dec 1, 2023 00:33
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Not sure how I feel about a run based survival game, it sounded weird when I first heard about how this game worked and in practice it's also a bit weird. That said, I love against the storm and a run based city builder sounded similarly weird at the time. Got a friend to download it and we're going to give it an earnest try later. I know there's also an endless mode but it sounds like that's probably not the intended way to play this?
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Dec 1, 2023 00:38
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VegasGoat posted:Personally even though Grounded is nice looking, I didn’t like it. The combat is too difficult and I never “got it”. It seems to rely on perfectly timing your blocks which I hated. And you need to fight a lot to progress. agreeing with this. i really wanted to like Grounded and it has a ton of charm, but the combat really frustrated me. i could never get the timing right, and tight combat wasn't really what i was looking for from my Honey I Shrunk The Survival Sim experience i guess
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Dec 1, 2023 00:48
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Grounded relies pretty hard on parrying. I think the ladybugs are pretty good for training block timing. The combat felt okay to me because usually you'd rather be running away from bigger stuff and you only need to kill a couple things every now and then to maintain a supply of necessary crafting materials
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Dec 1, 2023 00:59
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The combat in grounded is allot better if your playing coop, as being able to juggle aggro really helps, combat really feels more designed for coop than without. And equipment tier matters a poo poo-ton, poo poo will punch extremely hard and tank extremely well if your not on-par with it. Once you've actually got good upgraded equipment and perks and stuff, the combat feels good, and there's a really nice variety of weapons and combat styles, but getting there takes awhile, and advancing to a 'higher tier' zone always hurts like a bitch. Mosquito rapiers can be a good crutch since they heal you for 25% of the damage done, which in certain matchups can make you invincible despite going like 20 vs 1, no blocking, till the weapon itself breaks lol. And sword and board really helps if you're having trouble with the timings, since shields significantly reduce the stamina loss on imperfect blocks compared to shieldless blocking. I really like the magic staves, but they really are pretty much coop exclusive, since they suck at blocking so hard, due to animations, you're never gonna survive even most 1v1 stuff, but they are exceptional at providing fire support and accidently killing your teammates. I love being a danger to everything. That and being able to go into earlygame trouble areas and just laugh and press the nuke button, killing literally everything at once in one shot, is extremely satisfying.
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Dec 1, 2023 01:18
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Grounded’s combat felt awful in co-op to me, either because the netcode or my connection to the host sucked. But the increasing focus on parry-counter like a drat Soulslike wasn’t my cup of tea either. If I want to parry a lot I don’t want it in survival games.
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Dec 1, 2023 02:37
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Grounded is great but the host is p much going to have to tank because of lag. That's great though for everyone else as they can spec pure DD. I had a blast with Grounded; great fun.
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Dec 1, 2023 03:09
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Grounded is fun overall but definitely agree the combat is bad and there's a lot of it. It suffers from really terrible hitboxes in general. I went in hoping I could matador a ladybug but it just doesn't work the way it should.
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Dec 1, 2023 03:24
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So trying out the Icarus free weekend and uhhh, is there no way to increase the UI/Text size? My eyes are real bad and I legit can't read poo poo in the game without putting my face like an inch from the screen the font is so tiny. Like I don't think I can actually play this game as is it's so bad for me.
Jawnycat fucked around with this message at 03:49 on Dec 1, 2023 |
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Dec 1, 2023 03:47
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Okay put in a bunch of time with a friend in Icarus tonight in the open world mode and we had a great time! The skill tree stuff is kind of interesting in co-op because we can specialize on different things. Definitely got it's hooks into both of us tonight.
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Dec 1, 2023 05:28
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the fun poo poo in grounded is way too far into the game, imo
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Dec 1, 2023 05:46
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Verviticus posted:the fun poo poo in grounded is way too far into the game, imo The game definitely suffers from "we put in this cool thing during EA! It's at the end of what's currently accessible in EA." so the really cool stuff is just further and further into progression. It's a great game overall, but peppering some of that stuff in earlier would have been nice.
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Dec 1, 2023 06:02
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I also felt that Grounded's combat was out of place, however I had very good experiences with co-op even when the host and client were separated by the Pacific Ocean and 120ms lag. Maybe it's one of those situations where the fallback for high-latency connections is better and more reliable than the default? I dunno.
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Dec 1, 2023 07:36
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I really liked Grounded, it was definitely more combat focused than I expected but I quite enjoyed the combat. Except against one of the bosses, but otherwise had a fun time with it.
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Dec 1, 2023 08:01
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+1 on Grounded. It's definitely not without faults and if you don't like the combat focus then it wouldn't be ideal but I, personally, loved the blend. Creating massive, intricate zipline networks to travel quickly across the yard was also right up my building alley along with functional structures more akin to watchtowers and defenses while bullying bugs by bonking them with hammers. My own biggest complaint/suggestion is to turn off Durability as it's just a timewaster. And if I could change anything it would be the awful t0-t1 phase of useless armour and un-upgraded weapons feeling utterly anemic against even easy enemies. Oh yeah and mod out the awful distance blur. Game looks stunning without it and gives a much better sense of the scale. Rynoto fucked around with this message at 08:14 on Dec 1, 2023 |
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Dec 1, 2023 08:09
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I’m unable to run, update, or reinstall gamepass on this new machine, and only the Xbox app on this new pc. I tried out Icarus and built my thatch hut although a storm hit halfway through. It should look nice once the storm passes. Got some real nice mountains to look at. I somehow got the achievement for completing the tutorial without a single minute of gameplay or getting past character creation so I’m a bit lost at the moment. But not horribly so, I managed to get up half a hut even if I confused ramps/stairs with roofing. … not everything is worth looking at with my fancy new graphics.
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Dec 1, 2023 08:59
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LordSloth posted:I’m unable to run, update, or reinstall gamepass on this new machine, and only the Xbox app on this new pc. Related: a friend recently had to reinstall Windows and he complained about the same thing, simply could not install Gamepass and none of the fixes worked. If anyone has an idea what's going on I'm sure he'd appreciate it.
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Dec 1, 2023 09:18
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LordSloth posted:I’m unable to run, update, or reinstall gamepass on this new machine, and only the Xbox app on this new pc. yeah MS hosed something up with the app recently, you're not the only one
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Dec 1, 2023 09:53
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So Icarus is fun, it's like a Tarkov survival (I've never played Tarkov lol). I just really hate how chopping logs is always a huge pain in the neck. The wood boards go flying everywhere, or get lost in the forest undergrowth. I want to beeline for the talent that automatically picks them up but it'll take ages. I'm going to finish this radar mission then start an open world map, I think I'd enjoy the persistence more.
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Dec 1, 2023 12:04
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Goa Tse-tung posted:yeah MS hosed something up with the app recently, you're not the only one I can install and run it but it has to sit open and idle for a good hour or so before it will actually connect and let me use any features, or even just look at the loving Gamepass library. A+ app.
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Dec 1, 2023 13:49
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Bussamove posted:I can install and run it but it has to sit open and idle for a good hour or so before it will actually connect and let me use any features, or even just look at the loving Gamepass library. Try chkdsk to see if it reports any issues. I had a problem once where I couldn’t update windows or install/update apps from the Microsoft store and it turned out to be a filesystem issue where one of the system files was messed up. It was a pain to fix I had to use a windows boot disc and run some chkdsk commands from the recovery command prompt.
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Dec 1, 2023 14:17
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Icarus is fun but the world feels strangely lifeless, despite all the wildlife. There's not much variety, AI isn't smart, you just sort of run about and one-shot most things. Food is trivial, as is hunger. It's a beautiful game, and it's quite fun, but the world doesn't actually seem to be alive.
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Dec 1, 2023 14:45
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a ton of games have worlds like that, it feels like having a bunch of lovingly detailed character models and having no animations so everyone glides around in static poses. looks good in screenshots, bottom of the uncanny valley in play
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Dec 1, 2023 14:55
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Played some Icarus and I'm sure it's been mentioned before but why am I having to make my own oxygen in the Pacific Northwest? The early game seems somewhat unfocused. I realized pretty late that you can buy some stuff way down the tech tree at level 1 like an oxygen maker or structures or whatever but I spent my first couple runs just bailing when I ran out of O2 or whatever. The between jaunts stuff isn't as robust as I was led to believe, and the game overall just seems rock bottom basic with very little on the horizon worth investing the effort to get to it. Edit: It also feels like we all agreed a long time ago that "build the individual pieces in your inventory and assemble them into a structure" is the least good way to do a building system. Spanish Matlock fucked around with this message at 18:13 on Dec 1, 2023 |
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Dec 1, 2023 18:10
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Spanish Matlock posted:Edit: It also feels like we all agreed a long time ago that "build the individual pieces in your inventory and assemble them into a structure" is the least good way to do a building system. Yeah the building feels pretty antiquated for a game like this. Let me build a blueprint of the building then whack the empty spots to build them with what I have in my inventory. Having to make each piece then put the piece in my hotbar or right click > place is just annoying.
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Dec 1, 2023 18:18
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It feels like most games have defaulted to the Valheim or Conan mechanic of having a hammer that just converts resources in inventory to built pieces. This feels like they missed an important memo. I'm only level 3 so I haven't even really done any missions yet? Do those unlock at a higher level? Right now it just seems like I'm punching trees for no reason just to get xp and then leaving and coming back to do the same thing. It barely feels like I'm progressing. Edit: Ah, I see that the "required tech tier x" under missions doesn't mean you can't take them Spanish Matlock fucked around with this message at 18:25 on Dec 1, 2023 |
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Dec 1, 2023 18:21
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Spanish Matlock posted:Played some Icarus and I'm sure it's been mentioned before but why am I having to make my own oxygen in the Pacific Northwest? The flavor text for the game says the environment has turned toxic, though it doesn't seem to be hindering the genetically modified earth wildlife. It'd make a lot more sense in the less hospitable areas and especially the expansion planets. You can just stick the oxite in a slot in your suit and it'll keep you topped off slowly and automatically, or right-click to consume it immediately. Do they do a good job of telling you this? Or give you time to poke around the screen for tooltips before a storm hits? No. But the information is sort of there. So there's no reason to actually run out of oxygen and bail in the starting area. When I select my character, I've got the option of Survival, Missions, and Outposts, which one are you selecting? They've got different methods of selecting missions. In Missions, there's twelve different options I can pick right off the bat. I don't have enough time to say how different/repetitive they are yet though. The first forest recon mission was enough to get me to level four/five, at which point I have enough tech points I feel like I could attempt an actual mission or one of the other two game modes. Can't speak to mission availability in those modes yet.
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Dec 1, 2023 21:20
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LordSloth posted:The flavor text for the game says the environment has turned toxic, though it doesn't seem to be hindering the genetically modified earth wildlife. It'd make a lot more sense in the less hospitable areas and especially the expansion planets. My friend and I, realizing that missions are a thing, went back in and selected the "Make a rustic cabin" mission. It appears to need a tier 2 workbench, but the mission timer is a full rear end day, so I've basically just been chilling out at my lakeside cabin playing theHunter while I wait for my level to go up enough to build the thing I need. I do like that the building system lets you pick things up after placing them and snaps them to grid even if they aren't snapping to a specific thing, because that kind of poo poo makes it way easier to build complex structures like a fishing dock and a staircase down a big hill, both of which I've built to make getting up and down from my cabin easier. I think this game could be kind of okay, they just seem to have made a ton of really weird and bad decisions at various points. I've read some of the in game text and realize now that these are "mutant" deer and wolves and poo poo, but like.. the thin veneer of fiction doesn't really justify adding a third bar to gently caress around with. It feels like the game was made by aliens who had only ever played subnautica: "What do you mean, survival game always has oxygen meter!" The hunting and fishing are moderately fun though, with the kill cam shots and minigame, respectively. There are occasional glimpses of good ideas for the genre in here, I just kind of wish it did what it promised and had a bit of a more in-depth character progression between missions.
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Dec 2, 2023 01:11
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I am having a good time in the free play mode and don't hate the idea of being able to do solo missions when my friend's not on to get XP on that same guy so I can come back to the freeplay save with more blueprints. It's fun being able to specialize with perk selections in co-op too. I absolutely agree about the oxygen thing and didn't even make the connection to subnautica but you're right, it just feels unnecessary to have to suck air out of a rock every so often in addition to the other standard survival survival stuff that you'll be doing. I had no idea about this inventory slot that keeps me topped off though, lol I'll have to check for that. I just made one of the oxidizer things and have been taking a rip from it whenever I leave the house. Edit: also the best thing about grounded that I wish other games like it did was their shared server option that basically saved your game to the cloud with your friends attached so anyone in the group could get on at any time without a host having to be logged on OR without having to rent a dedicated server. explosivo fucked around with this message at 01:56 on Dec 2, 2023 |
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Dec 2, 2023 01:39
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| # ? May 23, 2024 11:26 |
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Excuse the meandering semi-crosspost from the modded Minecraft thread, but I was playing a skyblock modpack recently that starts you with some amenities and supplies, even a pre-built little shed, and makes for an easy start. But then, as you progress, you have to throw away those same amenities. To unlock a new resource you have to recycle your solar panels. To craft a machine you need to progress early in the tech tree, you need to repurpose your processing machines. Eventually you even rip up the advanced storage system the game starts you with. I've always felt survival games have a backwards difficulty curve. Things are hardest at the start, when you have nothing, and then you quickly set up supplies and stations and processes and you're set on the basics for the rest of the game. It would need fine-tuning for whatever game it's used in, but I think starting the player with some infrastructure and quality of life options that they have to gradually sacrifice in order to progress is a pretty reasonable way to make things easy at the start and harder as you go, rather than just coasting after the first few days of survival. I don't just mean like Subnautica starting you out with a little water and food (that helps, too) but straight up giving you some late game devices and conveniences that you eventually have to push past. I don't know! I just find myself really relishing the early game in a lot of the survival genre because sometimes that's the only part of the game that feels like you're really surviving.
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Dec 2, 2023 03:02
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