Getting Started – Settings

When you start the game you are met with a loading screen and then the “Main Menu” with a fly-through of a town behind it. I recommend that first time players take a moment here to go into the “Settings” menu and adjust their “Graphics”. The fly-through behind the menu will update so that you are able to see how the game may visually function based on your settings.

I have a setup which is not made for gaming so I often have to run games as “Medium” quality in order to provider a smoother experience. This game was no exception. I do also recommend taking the time to consider grass distance – this also affects the distance at which other vegetation can be seen so if you are hunting for a specific vegetable then, you will not be able to get on a hill and spot a patch if this is set too low.

World Creation – Basic

There are two “Game Modes” currently. The “Populated Island” and the “Empty Island”. Most people probably will probably want to get right to the game. If this is you, then you will want to select “New World” and choose “Populated Island” so you can get right in. This is a good way to see the “final” product of the world and there are no problems with using the default world settings.

Do not start on an “Empty Island” expecting any sort of civilization to be present. In this Game Mode you will be one of the first settlers to this new land.

I will go into detail about the World Creation settings here for those wanting to understand the game prior to jumping in, those starting new worlds, and of course, for my own reference. The World Creation options are the same for both Game Modes.

World’s Name: Enter a 15 character string of what you think is a cool name in this box. The “world” is actually and island for those of you looking to for the most fitting names.

Day duration: This affects the REAL TIME length of each in game day. For example, the default value is set at 20 minutes. This means that 20 minutes of your play time is the equivalent of 1 full day for your character. Essentially the clock will be moving at 1.2 minutes for every 1 second of play time. The minimum value here is 10 minutes and the maximum value is 120 minutes. I won’t go through the myriad of other options but the simplified formula is 24/day duration = in-game minutes/real-time seconds. Okay now you ask, “Why do I care?”. I’m open to comments here, but for me this affects how long I can explore, look for plants, chop wood, hunt, or mine above ground while still being able to see. There is a real threat for predators/bandits to sneak up to you (probably more in future updates) and in general it’s inconvenient to perform those tasks in the dark.

Season: This affects the starting month and season. The game does record “time” which can be seen when you sleep. The game progresses through all 4 seasons. This will affect the animals, vegetation, and visuals. The default option is June (Summer).

• Summer: June-July-Aug.
• Autumn: Sept-Oct-Nov
• Winter: Dec-Jan-Feb
• Spring: Mar-Apr-May

Animal numbers: This affects the density of animals per each square kilometer. The default value is 50, the minimum value is 10 (you can’t have no animals), and the maximum value is 100.

“When Doing” perks progression: You are able to choose character “Perks” which determine what you are able to do in the game. The default value is “unchecked” which means that when you are chopping wood, then you will gain points towards the next park in that progression tree. If you turn this feature off then you will only be able to learn Perks through interaction with other characters which requires a certain friendship level and gold amount.

Hardcore Mode: As the game states – all saves for the World will be deleted when your character dies.