Island Reflections

[Skivvy]

Devs in marketing phase: "Expect a casual experience relaxing on a tropical island."

Also devs: "Level up your island by understanding this multi-aspected sales-and-marketing spreadsheet to efficiently run your robot factory."

Yeah, no. That's not what they said to expect.

And don't forget that in order to build the spiffy otter water fountain, you have to either buy it from the MB (it was about 9M for all parts when I checked the other day..) or participate in Expert crafting which is a bit like savage for crafters.

"oOOOh but it's optional!", they'll cry! OK, sure, but for content that has mostly been advertised as solo play, yes, I'm aware of that one interview where they allude to "outside assistance", it seems like a pretty bad decision to then go and link what should have been a nice rank 10 project to the most difficult crafting tier in game. If they were determined to link it to crafting, they could have opted to make it a 3-star recipe or something basic. This would have still been annoying for non-crafters/gatherers, but the pricing would have tanked by now as the materials are not that hard to get.

[Iscah]

And don't forget that in order to build the spiffy otter water fountain, you have to either buy it from the MB (it was about 9M for all parts when I checked the other day..) or participate in Expert crafting which is essentially crafting savage mode.

"oOOOh but it's optional!", they'll cry! OK, sure, but it was still an idiotic decision by SE. I'm still of the opinion that IS should have remained 100% self-contained, but if they're going to insist on having it cross over into the outside world, they could have chosen to put it behind a normal recipe. This would have still been annoying for non-crafters/gatherers, but the pricing would have tanked by now as the materials are not that hard to get.

I'm not so bothered by the fountain, since that's totally optional and you don't need it to make progress. The crafting factory is the core of the gameplay and everything you build on the island feeds into it and is occupied by its workers, and it's miles away from I what expect a relaxing island getaway to feel like.

[Deveryn]

I'm not so bothered by the fountain, since that's totally optional and you don't need it to make progress. The crafting factory is the core of the gameplay and everything you build on the island feeds into it and is occupied by its workers, and it's miles away from I what expect a relaxing island getaway to feel like.

It's chill if you're not trying to rush to buy everything. Simple supply and demand economics add a nice wrinkle to earning currency through the process. When there's more popularity and short supply, you can make more. When there's a surplus and not many people looking for it, prices go down. Day 1 is just processing some 4 hour stuff to build your groove bonus, IF you even decide to really pursue higher profits.

[Iscah]

It's chill if you're not trying to rush to buy everything. Simple supply and demand economics add a nice wrinkle to earning currency through the process. When there's more popularity and short supply, you can make more. When there's a surplus and not many people looking for it, prices go down. Day 1 is just processing some 4 hour stuff to build your groove bonus, IF you even decide to really pursue higher profits.

It's not even about difficulty. It's that it is gameplay that I find unappealing, and everything on "my" island points to it whether I want it to or not.

My house is full of mammets. My private treehouse and bathhouse are full of mammets.

Every building on my island revolves around the business of constructing goods, fetching materials at an industrial scale, or keeping the workers happy. The courtyard is full of clanking noises from the machinery.

All I needed was a private island with a building all to myself and some basic "A or B" choices about my decor, and instead I have an industrial complex.

[TheSuperior]

It's not even about difficulty. It's that it is gameplay that I find unappealing, and everything on "my" island points to it whether I want it to or not.

My house is full of mammets. My private treehouse and bathhouse are full of mammets.

Every building on my island revolves around the business of constructing goods, fetching materials at an industrial scale, or keeping the workers happy. The courtyard is full of clanking noises from the machinery.

All I needed was a private island with a building all to myself and some basic "A or B" choices about my decor, and instead I have an industrial complex.

Everything here.

I do not want to be in that instance any longer than needed to clear my challenge log, feed my animals, and go.

I have had more relaxation walking around a dungeon in Explorer Mode. I was initially happy with Tataru buying us a whole island, but it's really just Tataru's Capitalism Machine, not our island, which was what was advertised and made a big deal about via the art. There are no mammets or manufacturing plants in the concept art. It was all, from the slides alone, insinuated that it'd be all about mounts, minions and sprawling fields.

Rude pint sized mascots are a staple of Japanese... humor? But I just found everything about the mammets trite and I'd like to craft for my own aesthetic. Not Tataru's.

[sagacious]

I use to live by an Ohio farm and I tended animals and fired loud sounding shot gun pellets at trees. My friend also taught me how to milk cows and we aided in a lamb's birth. I would rather stay at my island than the high priced mansion I have. I am level ten and still go out trapping animals, get a apple, or take a selfie while waiting on a alligator. This content is perfect for me as I can role play being a farmhand/owner thank you square.

[TwistedTea]

It's not even about difficulty. It's that it is gameplay that I find unappealing, and everything on "my" island points to it whether I want it to or not.

My house is full of mammets. My private treehouse and bathhouse are full of mammets.

Every building on my island revolves around the business of constructing goods, fetching materials at an industrial scale, or keeping the workers happy. The courtyard is full of clanking noises from the machinery.

All I needed was a private island with a building all to myself and some basic "A or B" choices about my decor, and instead I have an industrial complex.

Huuh? But this is the island of your dreams! You don't want to build stables or any sort of shelter for yourself or animals. It's your dream island, you obviously want buildings for mammets and to go absolute Dead Ends with deforestation and improvements for Tataru's business.

Yeah, SE totally missed the goal of Island Sanctuary being a casual,relaxing experience.

[Deveryn]

Yeah, SE totally missed the goal of Island Sanctuary being a casual,relaxing experience.

No. The players did. They don't know how to relax. This can all be enjoyed without spreadsheets, weather forecasts or movement macros.

[sagacious]

No. The players did. They don't know how to relax. This can all be enjoyed without spreadsheets, weather forecasts or movement macros.

and it can be enjoyed with spreadsheets, weather forecast and movement macros to finish faster and ride a motorcycle.

[Darthgummibear]

No. The players did. They don't know how to relax. This can all be enjoyed without spreadsheets, weather forecasts or movement macros.

People are doing those things because the systems in place lend towards those behaviors. Plus, the island isn't an inherently robust experience and a lot of people are only doing it to get the rewards they want as fast as possible so they can pretend it doesn't exist.