Simulator Game Burnout

Hello everyone, I’ve seen a lot of my friends play these types of games (mainly rimworld) and saw the complexity of this game and decided to pick it up. While it is very interesting, it’s also very daunting to me.

My guess is that I’m more used to rpg and fps games with a set goal of some sort whereas this game is very open ended with what to do. I am overwhelmed by all of the options in the game and I am wondering if there are others that feel the same. If so, how have you overcome this feeling or learned to enjoy the game?

An idea I have is to just go with the in game tutorials and see what happens without worrying about the outcome, maybe I’m caught up with doing everything optimally when I should just enjoy the experience.

Any ideas are appreciated, thanks!

heartsofwar,

You might want to consider looking at Caves of Qud; its an open world with tons of simulated aspects, but it has a more traditional RPG / Roguelike approach instead of fort / base simulation. Think Dwarf fortress adventure mode on steroids…

The ironic thing is what someone has already mentioned; save scumming not only prevents the ‘fun’ shenanigans, but it also creates a false sense of accomplishment. There is so much to do in these games that repetition is key to learning the basics for progression. If you save scum, but then lose your fort after 100 hours of play-time, you are going to feel the loss like a punch in the stomach because that is your conscience fearing doing everything all over again because it knows that you don’t have that knowledge.

What I would recommend is to start slow and semi-avoid save scumming. For example, Steam DF auto saves every season I think. Do NOT save scum more than this. Play the tutorial and if you fail, force yourself to restart at the last seasonal save. Over time, you will find that you would prefer starting over without the tutorial… you can still maintain seasonal saves, but again, eventually you will likely rely on them less.

Repetition is the key…

AnarchistArtificer,

I have also had trouble getting into games like this, but advice from my friends is that it’s actually less about the simulation, more about the stories and hilarity that can emerge from the simulation. In particular, I was advised to name each of my starting dwarves, and also to be less “smart” in how I played. In Rimworld, for example, I would load earlier saves if I lost someone important, and I was depriving myself of the kinds of chaos that these games are best at, like the glorious exuberance of rebuilding a colony from one person after a dreadful invasion.

SteveNashFan,

I think the quickstart guide on the wiki is fully updated to Steam version: dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Quickstart_guide

It’s what I used, besides surfing Youtube tutorials.

You can also dip your toes in with the free ascii version, and use the quickstart guide for that version on the same wiki.

lenuup,

They are probably horribly out of date, but I used the Tutorials on the wiki to get a senese of the game, mind you that was around 2013. Then I just set a goal for a run like, building a working water delivery system, trying a certain trap design, constructing a tower over the ocean, etc. Or just trying to keep my dwarves happy. My second or third fort was on a volcano and I tried to design a magma fall in the dining area. And when I felt burnt out on the game I just put it away for half a year.

ForgetPrimacy,

You reminded me Dwarf Fortress exists, I might give DF another go now, thanks.

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