I really couldn’t care less about decorating my plot. It’s fun to an extent but I want more quests and challenges and it seems everything is focused on plot building in the latest updates. I’m maxed out on all quests and relationships and it appears as if this new update didn’t change that.
Am I alone in wishing the devs would focus on game play instead of decorating?
DiscussionIkr, the characters always talk about the city out in the bay, and it makes me so curious, like what else's could be out there, where did Subira come from, what's the orders headquarters look like. So many questions and possibilities.
Me too!! I feel like one of the recent friendship level 5 quests is setting us up for that soon. I sure hope so anyway!
I’d prefer some server stability and things that don’t glitch when I hunt them like bugs and animals
LOL isn’t this the truth
Yes completely agree. I’m here for the plot not more decor.
Not alone. Definitely wanting more maps and npc storylines. There's really is no reason for to talk to npcs anymore and it makes me sad. Been trying to pace myself since open beta and every patch that they drop without a map makes me a little sadder every time. I just need a little more variety to the grind!
At least the new outfits and plot stuff is exciting.
I feel you!! I'm enjoying the new decorations, but part of why I'm invested in them is they're the most compelling part of the game to me rn ....... and that doesn't have to be the case lol. There could be a lot more meat in the gameplay of the game.
Yes this exactly!!
That’s fair, but maybe to some other players decorating is their favorite activity in the game. The devs will never please everyone all at once, but I find their content releases to be quite balanced to make everyone happy
I think I’d have to disagree about it being balanced. Defo not looking for them to take away decorating updates. But it seems to be about 90% of their updates at this point. To each their own though!
I agree but sometimes it feels like it’s all or nothing. They either give you too much to decorate with and not enough activities. I do enjoy the new building blocks. It’s created a lot of new space on my plot, but you can only do this for so long and then you wanna go do something else I want more interactions with other players more quest more places on the map to go give us something new to do, and please get rid of the crashes. Logging back in every 10 minutes is annoying.
Yes. I want story and new locations, not cosmetics, building blocks and furniture.
I think it’s coming but with the 2 rounds of layoffs I’m thinking things have probably been delayed significantly. That’s why I try to buy something from the premium shop whenever I can.
Yes I also do try to when I can but if the quests don’t continue to expand I’ll find it harder to justify 😕 hopefully they make it through these layoffs!
If I’m not mistaken, they are working on new stuff but I think they’re currently pushed back after the layoffs. I know data mining is controversial but I was too curious not go see what was found 🫣. Based on what I saw they’re working on new maps so I have hope for the future and it’s one of the reasons I don’t mind buying stuff. Because I def wouldn’t if this is all we would be getting.
Yea decor being the end game kinda limits the game for me. I know there are plenty of people who love designing and building massive things, but I feel like a ton of people get satisfied at a certain point and therefore stops playing.
It's the same thing with the plot, which is mostly driven by the villager relationships. And while their stories were really interesting and it was a lot of fun to develop those relationships, it also kinda reaches a point where once you get to the end with your favorite character the motivation to continue decreases pretty drastically.
I like decorating and have tons of quests left to do. I’ve been playing since closed beta, and I still don’t have a shepp. For a while they did focus quite a bit on quests and relationships, and I stepped away for a few months, and now that they’re introducing more decor, I’m back. Plus, didn’t they just add friendship level 5 recently?
Level 5s are only for a few people and to be honest those quests are half baked. So happy they’re giving the decorators updates, just looking for a little more for us questies out there! 🙂
I feel you but also I love the doctor updates. I haven't played in months and still already have lvl 4 friendship with all but I think 3 people, and besides those lvl 4 friendship quests and completing bundles, I've done every quest and am just kind of existing at making money to decorate at this point.
I will say though, that completing collections is a GREAT way to give yourself a goal. There's so many collections and it's near impossible to speed through getting them all. If you're bored and feel listless, making those your goal could help a lot! :)
Thank you!! The collections defo take a LONG time. I’m working on star quality bugs right now. Maybe when I get a gaming PC I will like the decorating more. It’s so hard on the switch 😆
Ah, I'm using PC and it can be a pain even on that, so I can imagine it's even less fun for people on Switch. Completely valid.
Any plans to expand the maps?
I’ve heard they will but nothing definitive!
I really love decorating my plot. But also, I haven’t maxed out the quests and such, so I get where you’re coming from.
yeah, i really miss the grind fir quests. wasnt the last thing they added the roots temple?
Yeah and if I’m being honest I wasn’t a fan of that temple. Just involved going back and forth and back and forth, not much thinking involved and lots of loading pages lol
YES! i agree. we came from Temple of the Gales!, the first 3 were so good and well thought out!
Exactly!! I loved the other temples
But its a life/farming sim so like thats kinda the point of the game. Not disagreeing, I want more quests n stuff as well but yeah
If anything I just wish theyd fix bugs before adding new content that comes w even more bugs
You are not alone. I’m ready for bug fixes and storyline expansion. Like come onnnnnn
I agree I do enjoy decorating my plot. The gameplay is most important. With the new update it’s been a nightmare. Nothing new to do no new quest no new challenges and I play on switch and it’s constantly crashing every 5 to 10 minutes. I have to reload starting to really lose interest in this game.
Yea i get you. I understand people like decorating their plots but eventually even those people will get bored if there isn't anything else to do in game. I really would love to see quest updates or maybe even new maps later on down the line
Up until the last updates the devs were mostly focused on game play and other aspects. There was always a little tweak here and there for the decoration. But it has been mostly gardening and other skill related things in the home instance and within the rest of the game.
I assumed that devs who make decorating things are not going to be the same devs that work on new quests and challenges.
This…does make sense lol that did not occur to me with the layoffs. A real bummer if that’s true. I’m no dev but I wonder if decor is easier/less time consuming than gameplay?
Since most furniture in the game is nonfunctional, making it isn't that hard for someone who knows how to do it. It's essentially a matter of creating the shape and then the textures that cover the shape and then adding whatever animations and functions already in the game. A friend of mine worked in game dev for Paralives and her entire job was creating objects. She had nothing to do with programming gameplay or functions
Gameplay might require new animations and a lot more testing to make sure it works, and quests will require lots of planning and eye on the big picture they want to tell.
I definitely want a lot more quests and challenges and the game is really due for more areas for gameplay, but I don't actually think it's a matter of either/or. Or at least it doesn't have to be. I hadn't considered the layoffs though. It IS possible that the reason we're not getting a lot of gameplay stuff right now is because they're busy with something big. At least we can hope so.
I sure hope that’s the case! I love this game and am mostly just sad to be getting bored haha
Decoration is easy. Content takes time and work. I thought it seemed pretty obvious that all these plushies and things are just the devs jingling their keys at us to keep us happy while they work on the bigger updates.
I wish the quests were a bit deeper. Like the found item ones from chappa piles are often just 'talk to x person' then it's done. I guess you get a bit of lore but I'd like to be a bit more involved and it just be a bit more work to get that lore yano?
Yes I feel the same! I like when I have to think through or figure something out.
Decorating is an important part of the game play for games like Palia. So the claim they would not focus on gameplay is wrong. For every player that is begging for new quests and such there is a player who is desperately waiting for new furniture options and decorating stuff. I kinda get your point and understand where you are coming from. But at the same time you should not frown upon stuff that is important for others.
I don’t think anyone is frowning upon it, just asking for some more variety to the game/updates!
- Decorating IS progression. The closest thing to this game is probably Animal Crossing...not Stardew. At least right now. Therefor the main way to incentivize play is decor items.
- The Decorating system is actually the weakest point of the game for me still with limited housing options, limited ways to organize housing requiring a massive harvest house to do anything, and plot limits hemoraging the need for further progression and grind. I think they need to continue to focus on it so it's more fulfilling and less limiting.
- Gameplay will come in larger patches that are likely massively systemic:
- They've been focused on foundational stuff like UI, playability, etc. And frankly the game is 100% better for that. I do think we are getting to the point where thye need to move away from improving legacy UI and start implementing new systems.
Combat, Elderwoods, Swimming, Farming, Husbandry, Alchemy, etc. These things when added will come with very large gameplay packages. You can't "piecemeal" gameplay stuff the way you can just drop a few decor items here and there.
You can't just be like "here is a sword go kill deer"...you need the things the sword is made to attack. As well as you can't just drop part of a larger map, it takes more work than it's worth to make the rest inaccessible.
You can't just drop potions but not why you need them in the first place...aka, a healthbar and combat. Or w/e.
Yeah decorating is lame.
I want a cooperative MMORPG.
These game devs are probably TGC in disguise. I uninstalled the game directly when I got that feeling.
What is tgc
The creators of Sky COTL
I'm definitely looking forward to some new quest/maps. Especially a city or the Elderwoods!