Thoughts on Salem (possibly the worst game i ever played)

[femputer]

I recently got hold of a beta key and was excited to try this game after watching some videos on youtube. Initially I was intrigued, as some of the gameplay mechanics seemed interesting; permadeath, and how an ingame community would react to an environment that encouraged people to group together whilst giving players the freedom to murder and commit crimes.

Most of this is superficial and has been implemented in a manner that makes the game dull, the skill and proficiency system especially is very boring/time consuming. Having to collect the materials to create 'inspirations' for study seems like a good idea as it provides a suitable obstacle for progression, whilst encouraging players of different abilities to work together efficiently by focusing on cookery or maybe crafting. Only you later realise it takes a very long time to study an inspiration, a process that in my opinion should be instant - considering the time it can take to gather, craft, and cook. 'Study' or waiting for a proficiency bar to fill up can take something like 10 minutes, an insane amount of time to wait considering you have already gathered and crafted the things you need for that inspiration. The gameplay requires you to progress in this way before you can do anything new, so there is alot of waiting.The likelihood is that 'silver' will be used to skip this waiting period. If this is not the developers intention then it is a very bad balancing mechanic.

It is obvious to see that the developers main concern is monetizing this 'free to play' game, which is a shame as the 'survival' concept is very interesting. There are other ways to monetize a free to play game, like offering customization options for appearance, this often works as people are willing to spend money on this sort of thing when they are passionate about the product.

As for the graphics, everything looks very outdated for something made in 2012, the landscape is bland and barren. Items like flint and stone are represented as tiny squares on green carpet.

To look at this even on the most basic level, I would say is not fun or even challenging. There is very little to do ingame but wait, not much to look at, or even a sound track. How does something like this pass for a game? There is no content! It is supposed to be a multipayer game but no one has bothered implementing server chat.

[Dallane]

if you are waiting 10 mins to study anything then you have done something VERY wrong. You might want to make sure your black bile is full and learn to skills to study faster.

sorry you didn't like the game its not for everyone. give it a try later and make friends. working with other people really improves the game.

[femputer]

As a matter of fact, i have played with several different people of various abilities. Started settlements with new players, joined exerienced villages etc. I understand what black bile is and how it works. When studying, I kept fish and berries with me to keep it full, as well as taking the -time- to learn literacy and formal education, the process is still very very slow and is an obvious time sink. Consider the gameplay is based on survival, in part - learning the skills to survive; once you have gathered/manufactured the materials necessary to craft inspirations, you shoudnt then have to wait again several minutes for an imaginary bar to fill up. It doesnt seem like you have really read what i have written. Even survival mods for games like starcraft ii, show more innovation, and realism, kobold tribes is a good example - if you have access to that game. Salem as i have experienced it is grind, i expected so much more.

[Dallane]

As a matter of fact, i have played with several different people of various abilities. Started settlements with new players, joined exerienced villages etc. I understand what black bile is and how it works. When studying, I kept fish and berries with me to keep it full, as well as taking the -time- to learn literacy and formal education, the process is still very very slow and is an obvious time sync. Consider the gameplay is based on survival, in part - learning the skills to survive; once you have gathered/manufactured the materials necessary to craft inspirations, you shoudnt then have to wait again several minutes for an imaginary bar to fill up. It doesnt seem like you have really read what i have written. Even survival mods for games like starcraft ii, show more innovation, and realism, kobold tribes is a good example - if you have access to that game. Salem as i have experienced it is grind, i expected so much more.

yeah sorry not everyone has photo memory like you. some of us have to take time to learn things

[colesie]

The designs aren't finished for a lot of things at the moment. Foragable items, windmill grinders, the list goes on. Keep in mind the graphics and coding are all done by a very small group of people and that things come in time. There could very well be a full graphical overhaul sometime if the game does well enough upon release.

[femputer]

You are missing the point, this is a game, and a large chunk of the gameplay is based on being totally idle.

Edit - There is a huge audence for this type of game, as there are not many survival games out there, mincraft was one and is a cult success. I am dissapointed as the impression i have from paying the game is that the developers have focused on monetizing the game withot a second thought for the gameplay.

[colesie]

You are missing the point, this is a game, and a large chunk of the gameplay is based on being totally idle.

You obviously haven't played hnh then lol. Try waiting 120 hours in order for your study to finish. Salem is sped up considering the fastest studying curiosity in haven is like 30 minutes.

[staxjax]

All I can say is...get more black bile. 50 black bile and you'll be studying them inspirationals in a matter of seconds. Once you get a good establishment up and are able to pump out some food, it will almost completely eliminate the waiting period.

Also, I don't really see an idea here. Moving this to general discussions.

[Tonkyhonk]

players dont have to know how HnH is like to find how fast the inspirationals get consumed, but players should learn to know there are many things they can do while studying.

[grimreaper92]

mmmmm play haven and hearth its not worst game ever but the study time was horrible.......u oviously not playing right