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Don't Starve PS4 |OT| Free with PS+

I would like to share a few impressions, and I have some noob questions as well.




Ok, so I played this game a few times, I am a total noob, I had to check out a Getting Started WIKI to help me out, and never got past day 7 basically cause I didn't know what I was doing.


Last night, things started clicking. I actually had 2 bases built, with tons of stuff between them like rocks, trees, I had a garden at one of them, and I was just going back and forth between them every day, trapping, picking up items, etc. Then on day 18, I got killed by a Hound. I had found a Touch Stone, so I restarted at the Touch Stone, but I lost most of my items. I was able to dump a few things in Chuck or whatever that little creature is, but I have a lot of work to do now to build back up all my items.



Just a few Questions, I did find a couple of things last night. One was called a "Ring Thing" and I found it in the middle of a circle of Evil Flowers. What do I do with it? I also found one of those big Bird Eggs. I know I can cook it, but it appears to never spoil. What else can it be used for? Does it have any special powers?
 

satori

Member
This is a really great game. Love the concept, and I love going in blind and learning as I go. Actually I think it is the best part. Last night I ran across a bunch of
pig heads on a stick
and had no idea what it was. Activated it and had no idea for what. Decided to explore and ran quite far from my camp only to run into something that I thought was harmless....only it was the complete opposite, and was killed.

Thank god for those
pig head shrine!

Anyways watching my wife play this was fun. She was playing it with the mindset of animal crossing and harvest moon. O how wrong she was going at about it :p
 
K

kittens

Unconfirmed Member
I've been playing this game with my girlfriend a lot. I usually take the controls, but she's generally smarter and better at planning out ways to stay alive. It's pretty awesome.
 
It's kind of the fun of the game. If I didn't learn everything through trial and error then it wouldn't be nearly as fun for me. Though the wiki is very well developed and useful.

i get that, i just don't have the time for that.

Maybe I'll give it a go during summer
 

Cess007

Member
Last night, things started clicking. I actually had 2 bases built, with tons of stuff between them like rocks, trees, I had a garden at one of them, and I was just going back and forth between them every day, trapping, picking up items, etc. Then on day 18, I got killed by a Hound. I had found a Touch Stone, so I restarted at the Touch Stone, but I lost most of my items. I was able to dump a few things in Chuck or whatever that little creature is, but I have a lot of work to do now to build back up all my items.

If you return to the place you were killed, all your items will be there; you just need to pick them up.
 

ixix

Exists in a perpetual state of Quantum Crotch Uncertainty.
At that point you might as well just put in 1 morsel, 1 egg, 1 veg/shroom, 1 anything except sticks and make pierogi. You should be flexible with your ingredients.

That'd be significantly less efficient unless you're missing a bunch of health, though. Pierogi restores much more health than Meatballs, the same amount of sanity, but it only restores a little over half as much hunger. If your primary aim is to fill your stomach the Meatballs are the better option.

Meatballs are one of the most efficient recipes in the game in terms of restoring hunger, and require absolutely no agriculture or beekeeping of any sort. With a bird in a cage it's possible to produce them using absolutely nothing but monster meat by cooking and feeding three monster meats to your bird then mixing the resulting eggs with one of your remaining monster meats. It's the quickest way to process mass quantities of otherwise garbage ingredients into edible meals.

It's a pretty crucial recipe in Adventure Mode, certainly, where you routinely need to make do with some pretty crummy circumstances when setting up camp.
 

mattiewheels

And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
I built the science machine around day 5, only to find that I couldn't actually craft any new stuff it showed me. Trapping seems really fruitless for me, and I'm just doing the same carrots-berries-campfire thing over and over. What's the first step to breaking out of that cycle and setting yourself up better?
 

Jintor

Member
I built the science machine around day 5, only to find that I couldn't actually craft any new stuff it showed me. Trapping seems really fruitless for me, and I'm just doing the same carrots-berries-campfire thing over and over. What's the first step to breaking out of that cycle and setting yourself up better?

set yourself some short term goals and work towards them.

your carrot-berry-campfire thing is going to get you killed in winter anyway (if you don't expire before then) so don't worry about it. Think of it as gathering knowledge for your next go around
 

doby

Member
Advice to deal with hounds please. I know you get a fair bit of warning they are coming, but earlier on was the first time I had encountered them so didn't know it would lead to my death.

I always seem to do stupid things which lead me to running from [insert animal/beast here] and they never seem to tire or get bored until I'm either dead or night draws in and I die by default. This is the point at which the selection controls really piss me off, its really not easy to make something in the heat of the moment.

I really enjoy the game but its so unforgiving.
 

Jintor

Member
Hang out with Beefalo or pigs. If in a real pinch, punch a beehive and run like the dickens. Killer bees attack everything, so while they may not like you very much they sure don't like dogs either.
 

BibiMaghoo

Member
Advice to deal with hounds please. I know you get a fair bit of warning they are coming, but earlier on was the first time I had encountered them so didn't know it would lead to my death.

I always seem to do stupid things which lead me to running from [insert animal/beast here] and they never seem to tire or get bored until I'm either dead or night draws in and I die by default. This is the point at which the selection controls really piss me off, its really not easy to make something in the heat of the moment.

I really enjoy the game but its so unforgiving.

As soon as you get warning, equip a spear and log suit (keep them close at all times, unless you are able to forge them on the spot). You can easily kill 4 just by standing on the spot and wacking them, maybe more depending on what character you are using. Traps are a good way to deal with them at camp. Make some walls that funnel them to the traps to reach you, but log suit and spear should see you good until 6 or more hounds. Make sure you are at full health before you take them on, just be prepared basically. You get enough time before they show to do this.
 

doby

Member
As soon as you get warning, equip a spear and log suit (keep them close at all times, unless you are able to forge them on the spot). You can easily kill 4 just by standing on the spot and wacking them, maybe more depending on what character you are using. Traps are a good way to deal with them at camp. Make some walls that funnel them to the traps to reach you, but log suit and spear should see you good until 6 or more hounds. Make sure you are at full health before you take them on, just be prepared basically. You get enough time before they show to do this.

Thanks.

I've just been reading back through the thread and realized I haven't even scratched the surface of this game yet. I get pissed off dying after a week. It must fucking suck after a month, or longer!
 
Finally found some gold and made the science machine or whatever. Now I have some walls around my campfire in a corner. How much space do I need to leave behind my wall (it's not done)? Basically I need to put a tent back there, which isn't very big. Anything else besides the fire?

Also, how big a gap do I need in the wall so I can pass through?

Such a game.
 

GribbleGrunger

Dreams in Digital
Another noob question: As soon as I make the Alchemy machine I fashion everything I can see in green so that I can then make them any time I want without the Alchemy machine. Is this a good strategy or a waste of resources? And what's the lightening rod for?
 

Betty

Banned
Adventure Mode is no joke, can't even count how close I came to dying during the first 2 worlds.

Another noob question: As soon as I make the Alchemy machine I fashion everything I can see in green so that I can then make them any time I want without the Alchemy machine. Is this a good strategy or a waste of resources? And what's the lightening rod for?

The lightning rod absorbs a bolt of lightning, preventing your camp from being hit and sparking a fire.

As to whether you should make everything you can, I'd say yes, the only benefit to not making everything you can when it's available is that you gain a tiny sanity bonus for each item you make for the first time.
 

Jintor

Member
Another noob question: As soon as I make the Alchemy machine I fashion everything I can see in green so that I can then make them any time I want without the Alchemy machine. Is this a good strategy or a waste of resources? And what's the lightening rod for?

avoiding getting your twig farms burnt to a crisp (They redirect lightning in a 2-screen radius around them and can act as a heat/light source for a while, though a pretty crappy one).

I'm hoping an update comes in that allows for electric-powered stuff.
 

Sanke__

Member
So the robot sucks

I went insane on day two when it started raining and i got struck by lightning
And i was wearing a garland
 

Betty

Banned
So the robot sucks

I went insane on day two when it started raining and i got struck by lightning
And i was wearing a garland

Um, no, the robot is beastly.

Getting hit by lightning heals you, make you run faster and makes you light up the area around you.

If you feed him gears his stats will go up and he'll become the best character in the game.

Rain hurts him though, but an umbrella solves that.
 

Mr.Fresh

Member
I'll be back my tv is acting up. It's flickering

Edit: I think my TV is dying on me.
hLEWDZh.jpg
 

Betty

Banned
Just want to ask one more time about building my stone wall. What needs to go behind it besides the fire and a tent?

It's up to you, you can put crockpots, structures, chests, whatever you want inside the wall. Even farms can be placed within walls, there's not a right or wrong way to do it, it's all up to your preference.
 

shamanick

Member
I've been playing this game with my girlfriend a lot. I usually take the controls, but she's generally smarter and better at planning out ways to stay alive. It's pretty awesome.

Don't Starve seems really conducive to couples who like games, going by a lot of posts in this thread. My girlfriend and I have been playing this game obsessively over the past week and it's been really fun. We pass and play the controls but we maintain separate games where we each get to call the shots. Total blast.
 
It's up to you, you can put crockpots, structures, chests, whatever you want inside the wall. Even farms can be placed within walls, there's not right or wrong way to do it, it's all up to your preference.

Well, I was thinking of making the stone wall a last resort shelter and putting everything else outside it. I know they don't hold back the hounds anyway. Such a hard and fascinating game.
 

Betty

Banned
Well, I was thinking of making the stone wall a last resort shelter and putting everything else outside it. I know they don't hold back the hounds anyway. Such a hard and fascinating game.

That's an idea, but honestly, letting the hounds run into beefalo and letting them do all the work is your safest bet. Alternatively, setting up camp near a pigmen camp does the same job.
 
I setup my camp next to this amazing cache of like 15 rabbit holes all on top of each other. This map has been my best map yet. I went through a wormhole and found 20+ gold, and now I have a camp at the edge of the map a 20 second jaunt from the rabbits. Wall is almost done. Past day 10 for the first time. Looking forward to winter (and loving Wilson's beard).

Will post some pics later. Anyone who is on the fence about this game should play until you unlock the science machine. Things get much more approachable and interesting after that.
 

Bowler

Member
Anyone try this game using remote play?

Using it now. Works great. Camera movement is relegated to the rear touch... don't use it much anyway. Touch the front screen for map. Other then that it is a bit tough to read... but so is the main game. All other buttons are the same.

No issues
 
Downloaded this and started playing tonight. First game I didn't survive the night. Second game I did much better, created the science machine, and by the time I made it to the seventh day I decided to just kill myself because I was bored stiff. Felt like I was working. These types of games are just not for me. I pretty much hate the game mechanic of "crafting" and any game that focuses on it.
 

Jintor

Member
Damn, 38 days and I'm gone. Hounds (almost 8 or 9 of them, where I'd normally seen just 4 before...) attacked just as the dark fell and I couldn't take them on in my tiny circle of light.

Learnt a bit though, definitely thinking of making a trap funnel... gonna try someone who isn't Wilson.
 

Teletraan1

Banned
Damn, 38 days and I'm gone. Hounds (almost 8 or 9 of them, where I'd normally seen just 4 before...) attacked just as the dark fell and I couldn't take them on in my tiny circle of light.

Learnt a bit though, definitely thinking of making a trap funnel... gonna try someone who isn't Wilson.

Yeah, that is why I dont really care for those kite them into neighboring stuff strats. Sometimes they attack that the worst times. Night time, in the winter, not fully charged heat stone do you really want to be running off into a herd of beefalo? Make a trap funnel or a tree fire killbox with Willow. If you get lucky on hounds tooth drops you can have a substantial amount of those hound tooth traps that will keep generating hounds teeth every attack RNG permitted.
 

ixix

Exists in a perpetual state of Quantum Crotch Uncertainty.
Yeah, that is why I dont really care for those kite them into neighboring stuff strats. Sometimes they attack that the worst times. Night time, in the winter, not fully charged heat stone do you really want to be running off into a herd of beefalo? Make a trap funnel or a tree fire killbox with Willow. If you get lucky on hounds tooth drops you can have a substantial amount of those hound tooth traps that will keep generating hounds teeth every attack RNG permitted.

For a wintertime Beefalo defense in the middle of the night all you need is grass and logs. Even in the absolute latest stages of the game you've got a minimum of 30 seconds between your character issuing the first warning and the actual arrival of the hounds.

When the warning is issued run to the Beefalo herd and build a campfire. Fuel the campfire with logs until it's burning at full capacity, then wait for the attack. Being within the light of the fire is all you need to stay warm. When the hounds arrive either hide in a Bush Hat or just run in circles within the light of the fire until they aggro the Beefalo.

Voila. A successful hound defense under trying conditions using simple tools and your friendly neighborhood Beefalo.
 
Ok, time to start looking at the wiki. Died from the hounds on day 13, went back after being revived and they were still there. Killed me again. Not setting up camp again unless Beefalo are nearby.

Played as the strongman, had a decent spot between beefalo and pigs, and sanity got me. Just like with the Souls games, it is possible to beat them without using the wiki, but you're seriously asking for it . . .
 

ixix

Exists in a perpetual state of Quantum Crotch Uncertainty.
Ok, time to start looking at the wiki. Died from the hounds on day 13, went back after being revived and they were still there. Killed me again. Not setting up camp again unless Beefalo are nearby.

Played as the strongman, had a decent spot between beefalo and pigs, and sanity got me. Just like with the Souls games, it is possible to beat them without using the wiki, but you're seriously asking for it . . .

You might want to avoid using Wolfgang for a while. He loses Hunger and Sanity faster than other characters, and if you're not able to keep him full he does less damage in combat to boot.

When your base is all built up he's pretty much one of the best characters (you could probably make a strong argument for him being the best), but until you've got a well-developed food production pipeline he fares rather poorly.

If you stick with him I'd highly recommend getting used to honey production. Getting an apiary and crock pots set up so you can start churning out Taffy, Honey Nuggets, and Honey Hams is pretty key to hitting the ground running with him.
 

Replicant

Member
Ugh. I just jumped into a wormhole and ended up in an area that looks like a nightmare version of the already nightmarish cursed world that the characters fell into.

Swamps and tentacles everywhere, the pigs transformed into some kind of creepy mutants.

My hair just stand up on its end thinking about it. Wonder if I can torch everything with fire to cleanse the world of its filth before I run out via worm hole.
 
Well I made it to day 12 on my first playthrough. Barely survived the first night but thankfully I made a torch just in time haha. Only other close call was when hounds attacked but I managed to kill them. I went exploring and found a tunnel leading to underground... I went there, killed some bats and then some giant spiky worm ate me. Fun game, definitely gonna play more soon.
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
Finally found some gold and made the science machine or whatever. Now I have some walls around my campfire in a corner. How much space do I need to leave behind my wall (it's not done)? Basically I need to put a tent back there, which isn't very big. Anything else besides the fire?

Also, how big a gap do I need in the wall so I can pass through?

Such a game.
you don't really need a wall, maybe in the second summer when you've got loads of resources I guess and you can start making tooth traps for more dogs that come etc. But you can make it 50 days without a single wall no problem. they're expensive and a waste of resources.

great base
fire, tent, crockpot, meat dryers (I think the pigs rob these), science/alchemy and then farms. farms would go outside the wall if you make a wall though. so would bee boxes. you really really want beeboxes near the base. at least one and a lot of flowers semi near it but not right next to.
 
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