Starting Off - What do YOU do?

Gameplay
41

It’s true that building houses doesn’t net you any stone or ores; but the town worth increase for buildings is dramatically higher than you get for stone or even ores. Bars a worth a considerable amount, but my tents are long demolished by the time I have a blacksmith up (and it’s one of the classes I rush to.)

The key is to furnish the buildings as well as building them – that way you’re also levelling up crafters, gaining some more expensive items, and now it’s also a way to boost happiness.

Of course, it’s even better when you can do some mining and building tasks at the same time! If I’ve settled near the mountains I’ll get a mining task underway even while I’m chopping trees to build tents and beds with. I normally settle on the foothills though, so it’s a bit of a walk up to the stony parts.

As I said before, it comes down to whether you plan for them to live in the mountains or in a tunnel somewhere permanently, or if you want them to live in houses eventually. In the case of the former, temporary rooms in the early tunnels are great. In the case of the latter, tents or other temporary accommodation (or even just having everyone sleep in a communal hall which will later be converted into something else) will fulfill a couple of objectives at once.

There’s no “better” option, it’s just about what works better for each player and their long-term goal :merry:

2 Likes
42

I guess it is just as important how you choose to give your hearthlings shelter in the start of a game, as how many resources it cost. Let me explain what i mean with this.

If you would love to build a mountain cave mining tribe kinda game, digging into the mountain gives you positive vibes from the start?
But if you want to sleep under the starts and be a part of the wilderness, hudling up in a cave would give some serious negative results?

If you can already during your third night in a new game, save the game and turn of your computer, wellknowing that you have started on a great positive project, you will certainly look forward to keep playing that game and not starting a new one because something just dont feel right?
And what use have alot of resources or lack of them, if they dont bring you joy?

So in my view both options are equally valid, it just depends on who looks at the situation… :merry:

3 Likes
43

That’s exactly what I was trying to get at – I’ve built “Dwarven” towns before and enjoyed the experience, so yeah there’s certainly nothing wrong with that approach.

Building tents gives some different benefits, and some different drawbacks. Most importantly though, it creates a different story/game experience; and that is what I find to be the key to Stonehearth.

And going straight for a large dormitory/barracks/future throneroom/etc., having everyone sleep inside while construction is still taking place, is an equally valid and rewarding option.

It all comes down to where the town is headed in the future. If tunnels are the first step to making that vision happen, then sure it makes sense to use them as rooms too. However, if tunnels aren’t one of the first steps toward that vision (even if they’re, like, the 5th step right after establishing camp and crafter roles and an army) then it makes sense to look elsewhere for shelter.

Or, slap down some beds around the campfire and sleep under the stars! It’s possible (although more difficult) to maintain morale while taking that route, and either way you’ve got the beds to move into their new locations later.

I guess the phrasing of that original post I quoted is what gets me so fired up about the subject, it really doesn’t matter how people choose to shelter their hearthlings but the implication that there’s a “best” way to do it makes me feel like there’s a myth I need to bust, hahah.

But yeah, mines are great in the early-game, and they do help you bump up your town worth alongside all the other things you can use to do that. If your food sources happen to be right next to the mountains, it probably is an easy place to make a home. Most of the time, though, most players won’t settle right up next to the mountains; so the travel time to get to food sources (after all, it takes a couple of days to get farms up for everyone) can be a hidden time-sink.

But at the end of the day, as long as people enjoy the story they’re playing out… go be a Dwarf, go build a tent, you do you and it’ll be just fine :jubilant:

4 Likes
44

Just keep in mind other people might’ve found other ways to level their crafters. I would rather not step into detail as I have not yet seen my strategy used before but I don’t rush anything, I don’t build buildings that are going to be gone within 2 months of ingame time. Instead I work on my surroundings and get cheap accomodation. By the time I’ve played 1 ingame week most of my crafters are at 4-6 lvls and my first army combination of 4 units is ready to fight. I usually have about 2500 gold at this point and push this into animal feed to relief stress on the cooks as soon as possible. By week 2 I will have gained at least 10 hearthlings in order to get all the roles filled properly. At the end of the first month ingame time, I will have around 30 units of which 8 fight and 8 craft. A stack of 30k gold and never enough storage for all I need. My workers and builders can make anything within a day or 2 no matter how intense the building process is.

The tents are worth it because wood is completely free. This does not justify all the times lost in gathering, chopping, hauling, building and demolishing your stuff. If you decide not to dig in you waste a solid 2 days ingame time on the first week. Priorities for the early game should be only houses for crafters and storage for items. 10 mean beds on day 1 can get you towards that farming hoe easily.

Doing the math beats the logic any day, this does however not mean I don’t get your point. I have played like your style for months before I decided to look into it. It looks better if anything at all, but certainly isn’t more advantageous.
Do what you like to do, but don’t state things that simply aren’t true. Your mines should always exist, for whatever playstyle you maintain. There is not enough ore and stone to be bought from traders. You can even keep this silly little room with 10 beds and 4 lights till the end of times, just in case someone needs a rebuild or something. It’s a caveman inn for the price of +750 gold(networth) at least if you sell it raw to the shop. If you make everything into stuff it will save you 2 days of time in day 1. It’s the only thing that matters on day 1 next to scouting and getting a farmers hoe.

1 Like
45

It’s really interesting seeing how important money and time is for you in your gameplay. My gameplay is slow and more about the hearthlings and their story. Never really thought of playing in a way where the purpose is efficiency and wealth. I guess it is because once my town reaches that point, I feel like my town is finished? Like there isn’t a point for me to play if everyone can do anything and they have everything?
Amazing how differently this game can be played by different people.

3 Likes
46

Slight move off topic (VERY SLIGHT) -

Money and temporal development are the two crucial fulcrum points at the base of a triangle with food stock being the top fulcrum. With these three pillars, A town is good to go.

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47

I prefer to get more built for the first quest to pop up at some point. Money always helps a bit and once you have 30K ofcourse there’s not much to sell at this point you will try to make the most efficient possible town for your headcount.

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48

I gather resources like you and put down crafter stations on the ground, then I build a structure for them to sleep in and one to eat in (One time i tried doing a hotel thing, but that structure wouldn’t build). Then once everyone has basic needs satisfied, I move on to building houses/workshops for the crafters, like a house for the carpenter to sleep and work in, or a herbalists on top of a tree - stuff like that.
As for the second question, I’d be interested to see slightly more fleshed out starting structures, like @ZwoeleBeer mentioned, tents would be really interesting, or early game items that would eventually be replaced, like stockpiles with crates, and stuff like that. I think it might give an interesting early game progression that would be satisfying to watch, so that your early towns don’t look as empty.

2 Likes
49

I’m a VERY slow player. I wanna plan things out and once I get it “figured out” it’s just a matter of fine tuning as I go along. That way I have a basic idea of what I want where and why. It’s not uncommon for me to have a town worth 30k+ net worth with just the walls around my city and not a single building lol. My town is just getting started! I like to have all the options I can get for decorating before I start building, personal preference. My playstyle delays the “Okay I’m done…” moment as I still have a ton of stuff to do. There’s usually a new unstable build by that point, and I wipe everything and start over. The planning and the atmosphere are relaxing and pleasant.

While I’m playing and planning, I try to figure my hearthlings out. Why is my potter a night owl and a feather weight? Because she’s a spry old bird (I made her with white hair) and trained under a Master Potter from Rayya’s Children. It’s common for desert peoples to sleep during warmer hours, and be up for the cooler part of the day. (Something I think the devs need to tweak about the RC faction) I realize for some folks just building a home/shop for all their hearthlings and mastering all the crafts is enough. They can do everything so what’s the point? The devs have put so much work into making hearthlings unique, that I feel if you’re not developing a story for all involved you’re missing out on part of the gameplay and the magic of the game. They’re giving us the tools, some basic lore, and a canvas…now, tell us a story. :merry:

4 Likes
50

Domino’s Guide on how do Die in 10 Steps

1 Select Temperate Biome/Ascendancy on hard

2 forget to pick the merchant caravan

3 forget to assign a farmer

4 die of starvation

5 die from goblin invaders

6 repeat steps 1-5

7 repeat 6

8 repeat 7

9 repeat 1-5 again

10 take a break and watch TV