Island Reflections

[Rufalus]

...calling it 'your island paradise' is silly. No part of my version of paradise involves an industrial park. Also, the 'cabin' is a park pavilion that's got a bed randomly stuck in it. An open wall structure on a tropical island with a bed behind a small barrier next to 2 unblinking salesrobots is not anyone's definition of 'cozy'.

I've been calling it prison island. The active gameplay is hitting rocks and chopping wood, accomplished by.. clicking things. I would have preferred some kind of minigames with elements of fun. The clicking things endlessly drains on your soul a bit. The only other mechanic outside of that is just waiting for things to happen, meaning not playing.

Yes the 'cozy cabin' is basically a shop, similar to what can be found all over the game. This zone doesn't seem much more personal than the rest of the game apart from being able to pick which animals are in the pen and a few basic style options.

I want to try being a bit more positive again so... I like that the island exists at least. It's a worthwhile concept and they've put some work into it. I find the ramp up to unlocking things horrible and I'm not quite done yet, but it's starting to get a bit more interesting now that I have a few features going.

Personalisation really is the key to making this type of content valuable. The editor needs to be powerful enough that you can express your creativity, like housing, and make a unique area that friends have a reason to visit either to relax or get ideas for their own islands.

[Shibi]

....I would have preferred some kind of minigames....

I have to admit, first time I read this my head saw the word "migraine" instead of "minigames"

Anyway, carry on.

[Rufalus]

I have to admit, first time I read this my head saw the word "migraine" instead of "minigames"

Anyway, carry on.

hehe MMO could mean massive migraines online

[sagacious]

Didn't they say this is just the beginning and feedback will be used in the next upgrades?

[Rufalus]

Didn't they say this is just the beginning and feedback will be used in the next upgrades?

Yeah. I mean it can only get better as they add some more layers to it, so there's that. I think the first impressions are also quite important though. I can imagine a lot of people quitting in the early phases. I feel like I got punished a bit for playing it casually instead of reading guides because I blew all the currency that the early quests give you on the rewards in the cabin shop, not knowing I would need that same currency to make island progress. That delayed me being able to effectively earn currency myself, then mammets took mandatory days off even though they are mammets. I feel like things need to open up faster so that the first impressions aren't so dire. It's not me wanting all the rewards asap, it's just that the mechanics feel like they're pushing you away before you've seen anything engaging to hook you in.

Also I don't think the rare animal spawns are a very good system. Time and weather requirements are another thing that will push people to guides in order to learn and optimize. I'd prefer them to be full rng so that unexpected things can happen no matter what time I'm playing, making it more interesting to explore the island. Just let me look around and be surprised to discover rare animals or rare items rather than it being a routine thing done on a schedule that you can learn from a spreadsheet.

[TheSuperior]

Personalisation really is the key to making this type of content valuable. The editor needs to be powerful enough that you can express your creativity, like housing, and make a unique area that friends have a reason to visit either to relax or get ideas for their own islands.

The most personalized experience I've had is naming all my animals after TWEWY brands. That's it.

I only just hit Rank 5 because this is not fun. I pick at it because I want the rewards but I genuinely do not see how the developers thought something better suited as a mobile game would be fun for... anyone. I know they don't like hateful or harmful comments, but seriously? This is gameplay you'd see as a phone app you pay in microtransactions to speed up production time.

EVONY was more engaging than this. Even the crops in other games older than XIV have a weed system. I genuinely forget to come back to check on my plants for days at a time because there's noting to do but click. Click. Click. Click. Click.