Originally posted by Zethren527:

Too many things to do all the time. Day your debt by running around. Sell trash by running around. Play tetris with tables. Pet the cat whenever I see it. Watch out for thieves. Make sure I'm selling EXACTLY what people want at all times. Be stressed that I only get 3 customers a day that only by 1-2 items. Be smart about maintaining natural resources. Build and maintain a farm. Manage my money so I have enough to open my shop each day (which isn't included in paying the debt for some reason?). Manage my crafting. Manage my inventory. Manage my inventory capacity. Manage my hunger, thirst, sleep, animals, JESUS, WHEN DOES IT END?!

Why do I have to run around doing 100 things all the time at the same time always? It seems like the dev wanted this game to contain almost literally every mechanic in any management game ever without realizing that it was a stress inducing nightmare. Am I just doing something wrong? Did I miss one of the hundred tutorial messages that said I could ignore some of these things and it would be fine? Is the demo just an extremely poor representation of the actual game?

Hey there!
I'm sorry that you've had such a stressful time with the demo!
The game is still in EA and I'm still balancing things based on player's feedback. I want to make it as cozy as possible in the near future, that was and still is my main goal. It's true that there are a lot of things that you need to do, but it was never my intention to add as many mechanics as possible. I just need to find a way to balance the experience and make it feel less like a chore.

Right now I'm gathering as much feedback as possible and planning the next updates to fix/polish the current systems in the game. I'll also be adding employees with the next major update and that should take some of the stress of player's shoulders.

Thank you for taking the time to post this, it means a lot!

Yea, I don't think there is anything wrong with having a lot of things to do, I think the main issue is that it feels like we're required to do all of those things on a time limit and all at once. I'm personally a person that likes to optimize so having so many things to manage is going to be a bit of pain for me regardless, but most of the tasks seem to be somewhat time sensitive. I understand the debt needing to be paid on a regular basis, but combine that with farming, raising animals, too few customers each day (resulting in low profits), those customers almost always having specific requests, needing to pay a fee to open the shop after the 'free pass' expires... it all combines into something that feels like being punished for trying to run a cozy little shop.

I love the idea of harvesting resources and crafting so we can sell what we like. I really enjoy the aesthetic. I love the cat and the fact we can name it. The game looks so promising and I really hope you keep at it. But yea. The demo made it feel pretty overwhelming as is. And, again, I'm an optimizer so I may have just been assuming I needed to do more than the game actually asked of me due to all the tutorials being frontloaded. It feels like some things can also be streamlined or that we could get employees or something to handle some of the more mundane tasks to lighten the load. I'm 100% gonna keep my eye on this. I appreciate that there are still devs that care to communicate with the people playing their game.

I think this game is OVERLY generous with how long the day is and the debt pay back timer. It's incredibly easy to get rich super fast (grab 2 buckets by the well and milk the wild cows over and over to make cheese for like 30+ gold each). You can tell customers you don't have what they want and they will still buy other stuff.

If you're worried about your Needs, the optimal route for talent points is straight Left from the start. Reduce the Food and Drink decay rate just with the first couple points and you'll basically be free to do whatever you want all day without having to worry about anything.

there have been a few times i didn't have enough to do. so i made a new game LOL

You can specialize in one or two products. And by denying other products you can shape their wants.

Tested demo too after reading your comment and i was a little scared. And nop. There is a lot going on but i don't think it's unmanageable. It may feel harder at first because you are broke and still are discovering where everything can be found.
I'm pretty sure that when you played a bunch, it becomes just easier. And at some point, i can understand Punkylicious that had to start over.

Teddy's Haven being the same vibe but much more casual with no day's length, no combat, no money pressure, etc can be a goos alternative for you. I'm honestly looking to buy both. They scratch the same itch but with different gameplay which is absolutely the best thing to me.

Teddy's Haven is a bit rough on not-top-tier hardware, Cozy seems a lot better optimized (and looks not so shiny like Teddy, to be fair).
Besides that Teddy is really nice, like you said very chill. Could even be too chill for some people, there is nothing challenging at all if you don't consider decorating or collecting stuff a challenge. :)

Originally posted by DUP:

Teddy's Haven is a bit rough on not-top-tier hardware, Cozy seems a lot better optimized (and looks not so shiny like Teddy, to be fair).
Besides that Teddy is really nice, like you said very chill. Could even be too chill for some people, there is nothing challenging at all if you don't consider decorating or collecting stuff a challenge. :)

Hey that's why I like Teddy. Some days, I just like the 0 challenge and no thinking. And that's why I believe that despite the similar setting (medieval shopkeeping) they are both complementary. It just depends on your mind that day.
Teddy is like the Disney Dreamlight Valley of shopkeeping ahaha. You just run around in circle doing simple things which still are satisfying and exactly what you need some days. xD

Personally, I've found the game to be very forgiving. But, I had to consciously put brakes on myself before I fell into a more relaxed routine. I had to make myself slow down and not worry so much about the debt. I just pick what I want to do for the day and do that. You've got a big chunk of time to pay of the debt during each step, so I made myself slow down and use every day up until the last day before it was due.

So, I spend a day running around and gathering stuff, then crafting. I'll spend a couple of days setting up my displays, then actually stocking things. Then, I open the shop for the day. And, don't be afraid to turn people away! I don't even bother trying to give them their specific wants. I sell what I have and turn them away if I don't have it already displayed. It hasn't hurt me, at all.

I also have Teddy's Haven and adore it! It is very chill I play it on days when work has been stressful and all I want to do is decorate and make technicolor cheese.

After trying the demo out, the primary shop gameplay appears to be: Pick up item, place item on table, pull lever.

Any amount of being overwhelmed by this seems like a conscious attempt to be overwhelmed.

Wow this game isnt that hard. If you think it is then its not your thing and move on.

died for the first time today in the mines forgetting to healing pot on the king boss. the game was so nice that the globin king dragged my bag to the front of the mines for me.

"the main issue is that it feels like we're required to do all of those things on a time limit and all at once."

Old thread I know sorry, but this is the problem I am having too. I/m pretty sure I want to buy the game but I'm not 100% yet and I feel like I need to speedrun the demo just to check out the features you have access to in the demo. I have cognitive impairment which generally makes me slow with game play as I often need to think things through with each feature, read slow, take my time, etc.

I'm on my second run through of the demo because I ran out of time the first time and this time I'm rushing through stuff just to try and see it all. It's not a pleasant experience for someone with acessibility needs like me :/

Originally posted by HunterSilver:

After trying the demo out, the primary shop gameplay appears to be: Pick up item, place item on table, pull lever.

Any amount of being overwhelmed by this seems like a conscious attempt to be overwhelmed.

Agree

Originally posted by Palo Wagner:

Originally posted by HunterSilver:

After trying the demo out, the primary shop gameplay appears to be: Pick up item, place item on table, pull lever.

Any amount of being overwhelmed by this seems like a conscious attempt to be overwhelmed.

Agree

Disagree. The demo has more to it than just "Pick up item, place item on table, pull lever." If that was all the game was, I would most assuredly not buy it. That comment completely ignores that there's a map to explore, NPCs to interact with, gathering, chopping, mining, reading notes, building, crafting, decorating.....

"Pick up item, place item on table, pull lever." is such a disingenuous argument and reductionist oversimplification.

Trying to take a fair stab at all these things to try out all the mechanics offered requires rushing things to make sure you can see try out most things (not even everything) in the alloted three days.