Necessities for the game

[Erica C Masters]

Two things I have noticed we need on the main game screen/interface (NOT menus). We need the in-game time displayed as we are moving around, and a compass.

I know what is to the north, what is to the south, etc. But I don't know which way I'm traveling unless I open the map. And every piece of grass looks similar, so it's hard to use the terrain to tell which way I'm going as I am actually moving. If I make a wrong turn because of terrain or something in the way, I have to open the map to look up my position and direction again. But if I know that I'm supposed to be heading straight north, I can adjust myself in the game after avoiding the obstacle, and then head north again. This would be especially important when I realize there's a spider nearby (which I can not kill) and I start running away from it. I'd like to be running in the direction I'm trying to go, instead of the opposite, or far off to the side!

The in-game time display would help me figure out how far away "sleep time" is, how far into sleep time I have stayed awake, etc. I know certain things from the SCA.B turn green when it's sleep time, but I just traveled all the way to the eastern edge of the map, only to realize it was sleep time when I got there. My shelter was on the far WEST side! So instead, I chose to work through sleep time and finish my task (gathering LOTS of clay for a new and upgraded shelter). Then I was wanting to know how far in to the "sleep time" I had gone, and whether or not it was worthwhile to travel back across the map to sleep, or just keep going in to the next day. A clock that is always visible would have helped me figure that out before I did all of that running.

I feel like both of these things are necessary to keep from getting purely frustrated over tiny things in the game. 

[Kissker]

in multiplayer it can be especially confusing, as we see our icon with it's "facing this way " cone - as well as other players.  So while 'we" are default selected to have a circle around us, that is not the first thing I notice, as I am used to 'finding my cone" to direct myself.

I agree we need a compass/watch for easy glancing at.  Maybe something we can toggle (both, compass, watch, off) and just shows a little indicator in the corner or top of screen.

[Erica C Masters]

Yeah I can't do multiplayer. People I know are far too scared of spiders.

[WingmanOfLife]

I just look up and use the landmarks ( tree, house, hedge and so on) to find my way around.  Once you know those and have spent enough time in the yard you won't be getting lost much more.

[stryderFOX]

We definitely need the time and compass on our hud. This will help us focus more on the task we are doing without having the need to stop and check the time and direction we are heading. Maybe it can be an upgrade for our scab through burgle just like the RS detector.

[Highclass]

You can tell where you are by looking up. The big red tree is north. 
you can tell what time Of day it is generally by the amazing job the devs have done with the lighting effects.  If you really need to know the exact number just open your menu quickly. 
 

i would ask that these requests be options if the demand is that high. They would be QoL improvements, but definitely NOT necessities. 

[McSquirl Nugget]

2 hours ago, Highclass said:

You can tell where you are by looking up. The big red tree is north. 
you can tell what time Of day it is generally by the amazing job the devs have done with the lighting effects.  If you really need to know the exact number just open your menu quickly. 
 

i would ask that these requests be options if the demand is that high. They would be QoL improvements, but definitely NOT necessities. 

Agreed,  if they're implemented they should be an option to turn on/off.  The compass is not needed, as you and others said it's quite easy to tell which way you're going by using a little common sense.

I'd rather see a compass we can make, easy enough to do with water, a leaf, and something magnetic that would float on the leaf.

as for the clock, again make it an option we can turn on/off.  it's quite easy enough to tell time by the rising and setting of the sun, and when you can sleep by the change of color in the SCA.B.  There's nothing in the game that requires a specific time to do something, at least that i've found yet.

[Erica C Masters]

You guys say it's quite easy, but this is coming from someone who has played the game only since this past weekend (and hardly then because I have to avoid a roommate who will try talking to me THE ENTIRE TIME). I don't know most of the markers or directions. I even looked something up online and was told to "head west" and ended up south. That was in part from running from a spider, bumping in to things, turning, not knowing which direction I was facing anymore, and continuing to run because I was still in danger. It's something I needed from the beginning, when I first logged in. And just FYI, when you're busy running from something, you can't exactly open menus left and right to check the direction, time, location, etc. So NOT having it on the HUD can be a matter of life or death - especially if I take the wrong turn and have to go back through that creature's area to get where I really need to be!

I'm also not familiar with lighting effects yet either. I know when it's daylight, and not daylight. That's it. I'm guessing you have to climb up on top of the leaves or grass to see the sun? And what about when you're in a cave like the one near the weak laser's wire? There are no lighting effects there, just pure darkness until you figure out how to make a torch.

But if you read back about the clock thing, you'll see that I went to the far side of the map, not knowing how long I had left in daylight. It started to get dark just as I got there, and a few seconds later my HUD turned green. Okay, got it. But if I knew that darkness was *approaching* without having to open menus to see it, I probably wouldn't have traveled over there to begin with. I would have stayed in the area near my shelter doing "local stuff" and waited until the morning to travel across the map. Again, newbie here and not very familiar with much yet. A compass that tells me I'm traveling north would also be helpful when I know I need to travel SOUTH to get back to my shelter. And that's because I hadn't yet figured out the trail marker system (I actually thought it might be like the tethers in Astroneer, or the pathfinder tool in Subnautica, where it lays down several things to help you find the exact PATH to travel to get back - as opposed to a single marker that you put in the very spot you want to get to later, so I avoided it for a while). The entire first day was spent trying to figure out the mysterious machine, so I hadn't even thought about trail markers until AFTER it said "it's getting dark, you should probably set up a shelter to sleep in" or something. So the compass is definitely necessary, and once you do learn the layout, you can traverse the landscape better.

Besides, as a former soldier, the compass is something you had everytime you went to an unknown place. I can't imagine some scientist would make a human carrying case (the thing you spawn out of when you start playing) and NOT think about a compass to navigate with.

Also, while lighting is fairly good above ground, I still don't see the sun enough to know it's exact position in the sky in this game. There's a lot of grass blades in the way of that. A HUD clock would also let me judge *how long* it takes to get from one point to another, so I can judge how far to go with X amount of time left in the day.

As a new player, I still think both of these are necessities from the get-go.

[McSquirl Nugget]

1 hour ago, Erica C Masters said:

You guys say it's quite easy, but this is coming from someone who has played the game only since this past weekend (and hardly then because I have to avoid a roommate who will try talking to me THE ENTIRE TIME). I don't know most of the markers or directions. I even looked something up online and was told to "head west" and ended up south. That was in part from running from a spider, bumping in to things, turning, not knowing which direction I was facing anymore, and continuing to run because I was still in danger. It's something I needed from the beginning, when I first logged in. And just FYI, when you're busy running from something, you can't exactly open menus left and right to check the direction, time, location, etc. So NOT having it on the HUD can be a matter of life or death - especially if I take the wrong turn and have to go back through that creature's area to get where I really need to be!

I'm also not familiar with lighting effects yet either. I know when it's daylight, and not daylight. That's it. I'm guessing you have to climb up on top of the leaves or grass to see the sun? And what about when you're in a cave like the one near the weak laser's wire? There are no lighting effects there, just pure darkness until you figure out how to make a torch.

But if you read back about the clock thing, you'll see that I went to the far side of the map, not knowing how long I had left in daylight. It started to get dark just as I got there, and a few seconds later my HUD turned green. Okay, got it. But if I knew that darkness was *approaching* without having to open menus to see it, I probably wouldn't have traveled over there to begin with. I would have stayed in the area near my shelter doing "local stuff" and waited until the morning to travel across the map. Again, newbie here and not very familiar with much yet. A compass that tells me I'm traveling north would also be helpful when I know I need to travel SOUTH to get back to my shelter. And that's because I hadn't yet figured out the trail marker system (I actually thought it might be like the tethers in Astroneer, or the pathfinder tool in Subnautica, where it lays down several things to help you find the exact PATH to travel to get back - as opposed to a single marker that you put in the very spot you want to get to later, so I avoided it for a while). The entire first day was spent trying to figure out the mysterious machine, so I hadn't even thought about trail markers until AFTER it said "it's getting dark, you should probably set up a shelter to sleep in" or something. So the compass is definitely necessary, and once you do learn the layout, you can traverse the landscape better.

Besides, as a former soldier, the compass is something you had everytime you went to an unknown place. I can't imagine some scientist would make a human carrying case (the thing you spawn out of when you start playing) and NOT think about a compass to navigate with.

Also, while lighting is fairly good above ground, I still don't see the sun enough to know it's exact position in the sky in this game. There's a lot of grass blades in the way of that. A HUD clock would also let me judge *how long* it takes to get from one point to another, so I can judge how far to go with X amount of time left in the day.

As a new player, I still think both of these are necessities from the get-go.

i get what your saying.  that's why i said it should be included with the option to turn it on or off.

Until then you can easily tell when it starts to get dark.  the sounds change for one.  the ambient light in the game grows darker, and you can't see as far.  Look up at the grass above you, you can see the light climbing up the blades as the sun sets.  Pretty much the same as when you're outside taking a walk or whatever and the sun sets, they did a great job mimicking that in the game.  once the sun sets you got about 2 hours in game before it's full dark 20:00.  so that's what 20 minutes real time?

for directions.  the Oak tree is in the north.  you can see that from almost everywhere in the yard.  If the tree is to you right you're heading west.   The house is to the south, if the house is to your left you're heading west.  between the house and the oak tree you should be able to find your way, if you can't see one you'll be able to see the other.

I'd still love to have a craftable compass we can carry, easy enough to make.  i've made them for my son and nieces and nephews while camping numerous times.  something magnetic like a pin or needle (we'd need that added to the game) float it on a leaf in water and it'll point north.  we could use part of an acorn shell for the 'cup' to hold the water,  a piece of plant fiber to float and whatever they give us that we could magnetize that the floating fiber could hold to point north.

That could be a Tier 1 compass,  Tier 2 i'd like to see a new Burg-L chip unlock the compass and clock on the SCA.B, with a button option to view them.  running out of button options on controllers though,  so they'd have to implement button combos.