Boundless for newcomers is endlessly frustrating

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So as some of you may know, I just recently bought this game, coming straight from “SkySaga: Infinite Isles”. And upon leaving the end of Alpha in SkySaga while awaiting for it’s transition into Beta and finally entering this game meanwhile, made me realize that those things I felt that SkySaga were suffering from suddenly didn’t feel just as bad anymore. :open_mouth:

I’m sorry to say, but Boundless really isn’t a place for newcomers. Even if I’ve played several Minecraft-spawns, I’ve never felt this helpless before. Generally speaking, the learning curve on every other similar game I’ve played is significantly easier to comprehend, even though they too were early access. The worst of them all used to be Minecraft, but at least it has a Wikipedia that has helped all the way from the gecko. The Boundless Wiki, well… Not so much. :unamused:

Not meaning to sound hateful and unappreciative, I know that it’s still early in development, and there still is a looong way to go before it’s launch-ready, but considering the pricetag and the amount of time already put into the development of the game, I feel that things should’ve been more thought through by now. Ofcourse it’s not all bad; from the point where you start the game untill you enter the teleport to the selected location, and just running through the list of things you’re told to do, it’s okay I guess, pretty self-explanatory with the help of the guidance in the upper right corner, first tier things to do is pretty simple, but after that, everything becomes severely vague. :confused:

Tried to look up what to do next online after having mined alot of stone and wood and having stuff refined and made, established a base near my beacon, and went straight for the Boundless Wiki, expecting nothing less than the informative Wiki for Minecraft, but no. Instead of actually learning how to create a workbench or how to get the crucible working, I just click link after link, bringing me to a new page explaining what they are and what they do, not how they operate or how to make them. :sweat:

So naturally, pretty soon thereafter before declaring the Wiki worthless at this point, I turn to the forums, and there I had to connect the dots from several topics that you could only get 2nd tier items after creating the workbench, and that in order to at all be able to create the workbench, one would have to obtain socalled “Ancient Tech Fragments / Components” and vaguely hinting the whereabouts of these socalled, because apparently noone still actually knows for sure where one is guaranteed to find them. :dizzy_face:

I mean… Really? All this trouble to just being able to create a workbench? I can understand needing to find rare ores and items to created stronger tools, but this? It just seems over-the-top excessive to me. And the frustration gets to the point that I’m going to have to take a huge break from this game before going at it again, because not only does it feel like every single “useful” item out there takes time to obtain because they are so scarce, but also the time needed to mine ANYTHING using the stone tools due to them being ridiculously underpowered is seriously infuriating. :rage:

Everything just feels off in terms of balancing. Not only compared to similar games, but also compared to real life. I mean, cutting leaves shouldn’t take just as much time as cutting through wood, that really should go without saying! And digging through dirt and gravel taking just as much time as mining stones… it’s all just weird to me. Basically, every tool there is, and every type of block I’ve tried mining, takes equally as much time. And generally speaking it takes WAY too much time. And that’s just wrong, becomes so tedious that it really ruins the fun and willingness to continue playing. :triumph:

Another thing about mining: the game utilizes both hands, but still holding two of the same tools in each hand should (perhaps not logically, but either way) mean that you could mine things faster, but it doesn’t, and that really bums me out. SkySaga for instance allows this, and doesn’t come off as being too “OP”, just a nice addition to the game. :rolling_eyes:

And I really don’t get the selection of tools the developers went with. Once again, compared to real life, I wouldn’t have chosen a sledgehammer as my first choice if I had to go mining some rock, it would naturally be using a pickaxe. And weirdly enough, looking more like a pickaxe than anything else, the tool for mining dirt is called shovel although looking nothing like it? And mining gravel with either a hammer or pickaxe would basically be pointless and futile without a proper shovel to dig those microscopical pebbles and grains up. :unamused:

Also, the first weapon one is able to craft being a weird stone slinger of sorts (with endless ammunition for some reason) just doesn’t seem like the natural choice if I were to be stranded in real life and had to go hunting for food and needed to fend for myself against the threats of the unknown wilderness. I would’ve attempted to make a crude club attached to a stone or something before anything else. Just sayin’, don’t be hatin’ for being realistic about it… :pensive:

In all fairness to the game, I haven’t explored an awful lot of the world yet, just traveled a short distance only to find some sort of encampment, but as it stands right now, I feel that the selection of different blocks to mine are currently extremely few and overly bland and gives for some really uninteresting cave-exploring really. Which is odd, because some of the buildings I’ve seen in the encampment almost seems like they have blocks that are otherwise not obtainable anywhere. :thinking:

I haven’t given up hope just yet, but sadly, after just two sessions since buying the game last week, I think I’ve had enough of Boundless for a handful of days. Sad that it has come to this, but there’s just so much that feels backwards and just a pain to deal with, that I need a break to muster and regain the strength to at all be willing to continue. I really wish things could be different. Hopefully in time it will… :disappointed:

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For Crafting recipes etc go to boundlesscrafting.com

When it comes to hammer for stone that is actually the right tool to use for stone :stuck_out_tongue: Pickaxes was used for ores mainly in the beginning (irl stuffs)

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I guess I forgot to say no one gets the info out of the wiki really. We mostly use boundlesscrafting.com and talk in the discord. There you’ll find more help.

Boundless doesn’t use the same system as many other sandbox, where you’ll find things exactly the same everywhere. You’ll have to look at the biome and specific heigh. Also the resources have just been recently distributed, thus why it’s been a new process for all of us.

As for the blocks variety and caves, I actually find the variety a lot more attractive than other games. Minecraft has had so few blocks and still worked for ages. If anything, I feel like the gross of the work the last couple years has been spent in developing a good engine to run the game.

I’m sad that the things I found charming, don’t really appeal to you. In all fairness, some of the thoughts and changes you’ve been thinking about. Are already implemented in the test version.

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I think it is a huge mistake to expect things to look or work like they do in minecraft, eventhough a lot of us MC vets would like to see some of the traits and perks of MC, I think it is highly unfair to expect anything close to a similar experience, maybe the time it takes to mine different types of blocks will get rebalanced later in the development of the game, but still… It is NOT minecraft, it is a different game.
Plus, the minecraft wiki took YEARS to develop by experienced players pitching into it, and still with the constant updates to the game there were a lot of things that it did not explain about the game…
I still think boundless is the best game ever !!!

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Hm, I guess I’ll try that next time I decide to give it a go. As of right now however, I have a pounding headache. :confounded:

Huh. Didn’t know that. Haven’t exactly looked up the facts behind the tools’ proper usage before, but either way, personally from a aesthetically point of view I would’ve preferred a pickaxe to mine the stones with. However, if the devs insist on using the pick as a designated “shovel”, they could at least call it a dirtpick or something along the lines instead. A shovel’s a shovel, a pick’s a pick… :wink:

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Oh wow, okay I didn’t know that! :flushed: Like I said, I’ve only just explored a small area because I instinctively focused on setting up base and starting mining as much as I could possibly bear. But either way, these things really should’ve been informed ingame at some point instead of me needing to rely on a forum to find that out. :wink:

Okay, so that’s definitely cool! I like that materials are exclusive to a biome, and that they are found on specific, different heights. Neat! :slight_smile: I guess I’ll have some exploring to do next session. Speaking of which: I’m looking for those Ancient Tech thingies, and I started off near a desert. I read rumors of there being a higher chance of finding some near desert mountains. Is that info viable? :thinking:

My bad. I just drew to the conclusion that after exploring the first interlocked cave, that every cave would be the same from here on out. Now knowing that materials are exclusive to their respective biomes, I am a bit more positive towards it. :wink:

Please do elaborate further upon what exactly you find charming that I didn’t, because I hope you don’t find it charming that it takes equally too much time to mine anything at all? I would’ve enjoyed mining more if the different blocks were realistically balanced as well as logically befitting a game so that it doesn’t take too much time to merely grab a couple of stone blocks…

The what now? Test version? Is that something that’s openly obtainable for anyone, or is it only for those that have paid for a more expensive game-package…?

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biomes, specifically refer to the area on top of it, and it’s not biome-specific, it is more of biome-PREFERENCE, meaning things are more likely to spawn under their preferred biome, and then the secondary, but they ALSO can spawn elsewhere.

and all BLOCKS spawn in the same locations, and regenerate to the same shape and spot, but resources spawn differently

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I don’t expect things to work like they do in Minecraft, nor do I want them to. If I wanted it to be identical to Minecraft I would’ve just stuck with Minecraft and used mods and tweaks to enhance my experience. But I’ve been there and done that ages ago. I’ve long since grown tired of Minecraft, but still I want a voxelbased sandbox MMORPG in it’s stead, and I expect that new game to be able to bring ingenuity to the evergrowing genre. And Boundless most definitely has that, just that I think that it’s a long way from “almost there” yet. :wink:

Fair enough, but still, even in the early stages of both MC and it’s official Wiki, it would still help me figure out what I was trying to to. Also, know that I know to check boundlesscrafting.com as an alternative, I might just withdraw my previous statement about the current Wiki-state. :wink:

Maybe I’ll think so too after some finetuning has been done to it. :wink:

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Just know this…if you can hang in there through the tutorialess beginnings and frustratingly scarce iron searches I gareuntee you will fall in love with this game. Just please be patient and trust in the community to help you through it. There are so many awesome players who are more then happy to help newcomers get on their feet. I’ve seen it many times.

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Things are being worked out on the tutorial side of things. Devs are planing on having the necessary resources on starter planets to have information available to them, no specifics as to which resources. But my guess is the things required to get off planet. As Xanotos mentioned, materials have preferred biomes, but can spawn anywhere really, just that you’ll have a higher chance to get them in the designed biomes. Resources Locations this thread should prove pretty useful.

Caves are similar, but indeed they offer a nice variety. We have caves of mostly sedimentary, then there’s a variation between the three types of stones and gravel, sand on other stuff here and there. With higher ceilings, and variation to the ground.

I like the slower approach at the start compared to other sandbox games, to take time to sink in things and comprehend. I believe having a more RPG feel, greatly benefits, instead of going for a sandbox classic start, where you’re left wandering. True enough there’s aspects of the game that need improvement, but I wouldn’t call it bad, just that they could be further improved upon.

Leaves, dirt and sand, are balanced in the test version, with requiring less hits. I like as said before, the slower pace. When balance comes later on, really balance should be done before 1.0, after the progression system is worked out. The only balancing we might need right now is augmented resources, and having different settings for resource distribution on starter planets, not to keep it different, but to try different settings and discover what works best. Once that’s sorted, every starter planet, should hold the same distribution.

I feel like mining with both hands, probably should be a skill, as it requires dexterity IRL. I like having one hand at a time do an action.

I love the tools selection. And I love the slingbow, additional note, there’s also gonna be a lance. I love the blocks.

The test version is open to all of us, it currently has the last two updates, very big ones. That are to be tested and given feedback, so it can be worked on, and then moved into the live version.

To access it, do the following:

From your Steam Library, right-click on Boundless and select Properties
Click the BETAS tab, then select “testing - unstable new feature development” from the drop down
Close that window, wait for the game to update… load and play as usual!
just remember to change back to “NONE - Opt out of all beta programs” when you want to go back to the live servers

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Welcome to Boundless, @KaKistoZ!

It’s true that without tutorials this game can feel a little daunting at first, but thankfully Boundless has an incredibly helpful community - so if you’re ever unsure of anything, just ask here or on the community Discord and someone will help out.

Tutorials are just around the corner, and as mentioned above are already implemented on the testing branch.

In the meanwhile there’s Boundless Crafting, @Jiivita’s YouTube tutorials or a host of other YouTubers you can watch as they experience and tackle the first steps of Boundless;

@Steggs101 was a blundering mess at first, but now he’s settled and even sporting something even veteran players don’t have! His videos can be found here.

@Scratchnwiff is also a new player, and a great YouTuber. I believe he’s working with @Jeffrotheswell, @EnisledLady and @Xanotos on the Elop Portas aqueducts. Here’s his stuff.

@DanBeforeTime does a mixture of building and exploring/gathering videos. If you’re looking to build a tree-house, his videos might be inspiring!

I’ve not seen a whole lot of these others, but there’s also @TheCurmudgeon; found here, and @ApoNono; here.

I hope some of that helps!

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Thanks @Pseudonym84 for the shout-out and @KaKistoZ, I do agree the lack of tutorials beyond the beginning part is a bit frustrating, I even questioned the pick/shovel thing myself, but the potential of this game is great, as I’ve said before. Now I don’t mean empty potential like"oh this game would be sooo good if…" And nothing ever really transpires after that. The devs are implementing things bit by bit (rather large bits IMHO) on the previously mentioned testing servers. And no, they are open to all who have the game with the above instructions :slight_smile: I just recently tried it myself and aside from more tutorials and entry level player friendly mechanics which I know the devs have been working on, there’s a lot that changes the feel of the game, like blocks with different durability, specific tools for specific blocks, and a whole skill system with branching skill trees so u can gear your character towards specific professions. There are also graphical enhancements but I haven’t seen them all.

Like @Pseudonym84 said I’m also a new player. I haven’t progressed further than iron tools and only just built a refinery after all this time. Yet I have already had so many cool experiences through exploring, building and meeting people and collaborating with them with my meager skills.

I think the game can be broken down to “what do you want get from it” . At this pre alpha point in time, it throws you into a populated universe and lets you choose your path right off the bat. Explore different worlds and biomes for different resources, advance your technology, build a home or a town or a city or a shop, or join a new or established city and help shape it. It may not be fully polished yet, but as you said, it’s early access.

Although it’s unfinished, I believe there is something to be said abt discovery in this game. The wiki may not be all encompassing, but @Stretchious’s crafting compendium mentioned by @Pseudonym84 is amazing and in game you can kind of test finding out new recipes by placing different materials in different machines etc if u prefer to do it yourself

The community, as I’m sure you can tell, is very helpful and friendly and I dare say rivals any gaming communities today. So I think it’s great you chime in with your thoughts here. Really hope you find what you’re looking for as the game develops and hope to see you in game sometime.

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dude, why do you even complain?
pre alpha is pre alpha.
We shall thank developers that they allowed us to play their game.

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As I said in your first thread about should you get into Boundless, update 161 is kinda sorting out most of the stuff that you mentioned. I’m not sure yet in what amount since I don’t play testing version.
One point on which I do agree, and it might be specific for my style of building, is that mining takes crazy amount of time. That is very penalizing for me since I build by exploring concepts, more like sculpting than having clear plan from the start. So, taking blocks off when I realize I don’t need them takes too much time, I forget what I wanted to do until I remove all the blocks I want. I hope that will be resolved with skills and that mining speed will become a bit faster (4x faster would be nice, that would make iron tools speedy as minecraft stone tools).
Anyway, I feel your pain, I have started making my builds in minecraft creative and than re-doing them in Boundless when I get the things right. As it is now Boundless feels very very very grindy to me. I hope that will change until 1.0 (btw I have almost 90 hours in Boundless, so I had time to consider how it works).

@Karokendo I don’t think that is nice way to go about discussion :slight_smile:

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Just wanted to add my 2 cents worth and hopefully maybe cheer you up that you are not alone. About 2 to 3 weeks ago, I was in the same shoes as you, but maybe not that serious. I had some serious problems locating enough Iron, Tech Fragments, and Tech Component.Until I found out from this forum that Vena V has all of 3 Tech Components on the entire planet and I need 2 of them to make a Spark Core. Imagine my frustrations then. But, this was also the place that I found out that Solum was the place to go to get all those components becoz there is like 1000% more Tech Components there and about 3x more Iron. So, off I go to find a cave to explore. After a few hours I found all I needed. Truly, I really understand where you are coming from. It sounds like you needed an outlet to vent your frustrations, and also a little lost as to what to do.

My personal experience with the game in live at the moment is that sometimes you really have to forget about the quests and go about doing what you had hoped to come to this game to do. I’d guess one of those things would be to build; so go build, if you cannot have the blocks that you want for the look, maybe try an alternative. The alternative is to leave the planet you are on through someone’s gateway and go off world to looks for it. Unlike most MMO, you are not prevented for taking care of yourself on a harder planet just because you are low leveled. At level 0, you can still take on a Spitter in Alturnik or Vulpto with a stone slingshot or even your standard totem, it may just take a little longer. In other MMOs, not a prayer.

In any case, I hope that you are not playing alone, or built your base in somewhere lonesome. Its more fun to have real neighbours around and find some people to build with, or come out with your own projects. You are welcome to take Jeff’s gate to Andoween and come help me start a new town there. If you need another beacon but can’t craft any, I’ll see what I can do about that. In all, just remember that this is not a game that locks you out of content if you are under leveled. You just need the right tools to get there and once you get past that mental block you will play more freely. May you find the wisdom and energy to come back after your rest.

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I found this game easier before the latest resource distribution update. Which one I think is just… odd. So if you not start the game at Solum (US East) now, you will have a hard time if you play on your own. Its not too good for new players on other starting planets, but they are testing things so early access conditions still apply. Anyway try to meet other players and ask for help, most of us are very helpful, and one of the greatest things about this game is the outstanding community (including the devs).

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Personally, I wouldn’t call @KaKistoZ approach here complaining, rather a respectful, frank and thought out presentation of their experience as a new player. This should be very valuable information to the devs and help to make this game better for all. From what I’ve seen so far in my two months or so as an active member of this forum, not many new players take the time to give this much honest feedback. I know some of us are very passionate about Boundless, and knee-jerk react into defending the game, but lets try not to be too hard on new folks. It can be confusing for a new player, as well as frustrating finding the needed materials to progress, particularly after the resource distribution change. I too found the game very confusing at first and it took months of coming back to it now and then, with updates, before things actually clicked for me and I fell in love. I’m confident @KaKistoZ will get there and fall in love too. =)

Overall, this thread is a great example of a helpful and informative community! Welcome @KaKistoZ! As some have mentioned, boundlesscrafting.com is the place to go for crafting information, as well as an excellent resource for finding out where “that stuff” you need may be located, at least to point you in the right direction. For details, the forum and discord are invaluable at this point as the tutorial is still quite lacking in the live version, as is the wiki IMO.

Big changes are on the horizon though! Changes that I think will push this game to the next level and make it a much less daunting experience for a new player while adding awesome progression, and much more for more experienced players. As for the timeline Boundless took to get to this point, I don’t think any of us are really well enough informed to make a fair judgement. By that I mean we don’t see the day to day challenges an indie team like this faces. Making a game is a big deal! As I understand, the game went through a total rewrite over most of last year from one programming language to another, which in itself it a monumental task. It is only recently the devs have really had the opportunity to start shaping this game into their vision, along with guidance from their community. Stick with it @KaKistoZ, you will not be disappointed! :smiley_cat:

Forget to draw @james attention here as I think this is worthy information. :wink:

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Even tho I been playing boundless for a while now I do agree on the new tutorial being a little too time consuming and confusing, I dont usually know how express myself in terms game feedback but I agree with @KaKistoZ in so many stuff he said I feel the need to say so. I spent so much time just opening every single Objective just to see what it was about and wasted another bunch of time accidentally doing stuff without having the “chop trees with wooden axe” objective, I felt lost. For the moment I ve gone back to the non testing server but Im hoping this guys gets heard. Cheers!

Still love the game :smiley:

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Ok guys I was wrong, the problem is not (mainly) with the distribution, just with the ‘what-you-want-to-leave-a-planet’ things recipes and with the tutorial, but both will be polished until 1.0!

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Err… Care to elaborate on that sentence? I’m sorry to say, but even after giving it my greatest effort over several tries; I still don’t understand that sentence lol :joy: