Very much enjoying the game so far! I do see alot of negativity but almost all of it seems to be a lack of prior research into the game. For anyone reading this, i want to give a quick explanation on the basic mechanics and the pain points often mentioned, so: Always Online: Every "Realm" is a server, every combination of cards is like a server code basically. So, yes, the game needs to be online even if your single player, I sure wouldnt want my PC running the 5 different servers im going between at my base currently lol I can understand that some people are bothered by it, but I have also had no server issues at all in my experience so far. Crafting: This isnt a "Survival Lite" game. It is not palworld or Enshrouded at all. This game is like an older style survival with many layers of in-depth crafting and building. For example, One Saw Table can have 5 or more modifying building pieces. These are usually a fun decoration to go with what its modifyng, like a saw horse or a saw stand and things. Building these gives new recipes for the saw stand. If the Saw Stand has lights you put up nearby, and a roof, it modifies the crafting time! You also need to Realm-Travel for new recipes for the saw table, what wood you use on the table also changes the look of the outcome item, such as purple wood, or orange etc. Once you make a product, lets say its equippable, you then can make an augment for the product and also level up the product to increase its level. Augments have their own crafting station and there is tons of recipes to learn and make. These are like modifiers to increase damage, durability, weight, even playstyle on weapons and many other things. All of that to make one product your proud of on the Saw Table. Then, you can start going to even higher tier realms and find an even better table to do even more! So, with that small example, you see that there is a ton of depth to be had here that I have personally been looking for in a survival game for a while. The Exploring: It's fun and the environments are very pretty, there are dungeons to delve, Magical creatures to behold and even interact with, quests to follow, puzzles to solve, hidden caves to find, NPCs to aid and even recruit and bosses to find and defeat! As you get into higher tier realms, you start running into mobs with better ai and that are much more threatening than the grass hoppers trying to eat you in your desert starting realm. Mobs also take better damage from different damage types which can be a fun challenge when all you brought was a maul and this hippo could care less lol Building: The system I have also found quite enjoyable. It uses a blue-print system similar to Day-Z, so you can fully sketch out what you want to build first, and then you and your friends or even your NPC buddy can get the needed mats and just interact anywhere in the 3D blue-print. This will auto-take all those materials you carried and apply them. Rinse and Repeat and now your beautiful box, or family home, is complete :) You can find more detailed and better Tile-sets as you progress into harder realms. So yes, inverted roof pieces, pillars, railings, and triangle pieces exist for those builders who know the potential that means! There is also a farming system for my fellow players who get too caught up hand-watering 45 plots/flower pots and cooking things lol Survival Jank: It is a survival game. If you have EVER played one, there is a special jank that they all have sometimes. Like your NPC follower will teleport to your roof for some alone time, or a boss yeeted you down a mountainside, or your NPC vanished when you dismissed him and you come home to him trying to harvest your decorative trees much to your horror, or a tree monster has opted into the new air travel program. Sometimes you travel to your home realms starting point instead of your assigned Respite. It happens, and honestly, the jank in this game is much much less obtrusive than other games in the genre that have been out for years now. The UI and Sorting: It is a little different than other titles, which I like. We need more creativity and less copy-paste. It uses a folder system similar to current Ark's engram system when looking for blueprints, unfortunately, it defaults to some folders being open so it can get a little cluttered when trying to find the correct "folder". This is remedied by just using the search bar offered above the blueprints. The crafting table UI does have some quick buttons in the bottom, so I had no issue quickly making food or just quick inserting mats to make for a item I just needed in bulk. The quick buttons have a "Fill All Slots" and a button to make as many as you have mats for. You can take your time to put in higher quality or specific mats if you so choose for a higher quality or different looking item. The game does have a challenge system similar to Conan to follow for some simple goals but you do need to find it in the guidebook.The game wont tell you. For sorting, ive seen some pain-points about it but all chests have the ability to label them and when your in the chests inventory UI, or your own, you can change how you want to view the items as a sorting method. I.E ABC, Weight, Newest etc. The Tutorial: Its fine? Does it give you a good sense of the game? not really. It's a small lore intro to get you some context of the world and shows you the very basics of the game and as well as small bare-bones versions of 3 of the biomes. Magic was never really explained, nor how to use umbrellas, and the in depth crafting is up to the player to discover. This is very fine to me, but I see alot of people complaining about it. At least it even has a tutorial lol lots of Survival titles simply do not, especially in an early access launch. The Combat: Have you ever played Skyrim? pretty much that with a little extras. You can headshot, and heart shot for some extra interest, the knife has a built in dash/dodge, and guns can be pretty fun. The combat opens up once you get modifiers into your weapons. For example: An Augment can give you a dps boost after blocking, or the more you shoot with a gun on a crit spot, your dps stacks higher and higher, or your hammer now has a big aoe ground slam. But the early game, its gonna be the ol classic, dodge left and hit enemy, rinse and repeat. Your early mobs have very simple "jump at you angrily" ai until you get into some of your dungeons and harder worlds. The mobs also don't seem to have a proximity spawn to the player, so you will encounter them just kind of appearing on top of you sometimes when they spawn in. For what this game wants to be, its pretty decent overall! If you really want a fun an in-depth combat focused Survival game, thats Conan Exiles. Followers: You can have one NPC that you recruit. They carry ALOT of supplies. They can be given different tasks determined by what you equip them with (this is very limited though, they are not that great at it) Pick=mine stuff as you travel, Axe= Harvest Wood, A Weapon=help me fight, and so on. They also put the mats from their inventory into a blue-print that you interact with. Thats about all. Their AI is pretty lackluster overall and they dont speak. They have a short tether range to you and will teleport to you when you are too far from each other. They don't always finish harvesting what they were working on either. If they go down in a fight, you can just help them up and they will help you when your down as well. Needs a bit of work still but im happy for the helping hand regardless and its a good start for the devs to build upon. In Summary: I'm enjoying my experience with the game, but the game style isnt for everyone and thats okay! The Survival genre has all kinds of games with their own specific focus. I have already found the game worth the price and I haven't even gotten to Nightengale yet! haha I might add more details and format better later on <3
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