Blind Ahhhhh Start to Mid Game Tech (so far)

[SterlingRed]

I jumped into Ahhhhhh blind shortly after it came out. Along the way I had to check on a couple of specific things but for the most part found the changes to be reasonable to figure out given my experience with the mod. The following is a list of things I noticed while playing up to my current progress with nether access, mechanical power, crucible, and sustainable food.

* The early game experience is amazing! Brutally hard, but every action can be learned from to get a better start next time, death (other than night spawns or jungle) is preventable. The tweaks recently, regarding clay in particular, really smoothed out the early progression from campfires to ovens.

* I found myself starting a new world when dying several times in a row if I had not achieved anything permanent. I didn't see the point in continuing in a world I had no progress in whose livestock had been devastated in several areas. After I got the hang of the new early game and could consistently survive to get brick ovens, I quit doing that and stuck with the same world.

* I kept trying to place items that couldn't be placed (like the axe, pickaxe, and shovel) to save them for later or save on inventory space.

* Caving with crude torches is terrifying and frankly amazing! I had to completely change how I approached caving. The persistent and increasing feeling of paranoia and anxiety as you get deeper and the trail of torches behind you start going out is phenomenal!

* I found myself pulled in several directions at once in terms of what to do next. The old early game was pretty linear, this one is great; there are many parallel things to work on.

* I did not use knitting that much early on when I was learning. The time investment for the minimal protection didn't seem to make a tangible difference. Eventually I realized that it could make the difference between 0 hearts remaining and half of one and started using it more.

* As I depleted my region of webs, it provided some pressure into getting hemp going to create a sustainable source of fiber that didn't mean risking death by spider.

* As I moved up in tech, I realized clay just might be one of the most valuable resources in the game now. I never seem to have enough. I've died by slimes while purposefully entering swamps to fight them so that I could use the slimeballs instead of clay for making blocks stick. I like that fighting slimes is a real temptation.

* Before Ahhhhh, I'd never used hardcore packing other than to automate pottery. Now setting up a packing machine was an early goal for me just to have access to block types that didn't fall. With the piston shovel, it's just damn cool! I was surprised to discover the storage blocks could still be made in the crafting grid without needing hardcore packing.

* Not being able to smelt chunks in the kiln has caused a much longer use of brick ovens into the tech tree (compared to furnaces before). I find the fuel usage (and only logs not falling early game) has prompted me to do more tree farming than before.!

* Bricks popping off in the kiln vs not in sun drying felt a little weird. I found sun drying to be a more desirable production method for them instead (pre auto kiln) as a result of the large amount I could produce without needing to be present. It felt like with bricks, the kiln was a step backwards. However, I did like that the production method used earlier in the game wasn't just made obsolete and was still relevant.

* I've found myself using platforms way more than I used to. Not as lifts, but as non falling blocks.

* After getting a saw, I miss baskets and hampers. I know chests are one of the rewards of a saw, but that feeling of working hard to free up just a few more inventory spaces, or save a few more items in case of death (or certainty of death) is gone and I miss it. The jump to basically infinite storage is jarring.

* Accidentally setting everything on fire a few times is incredibly frustrating, and yet comical and just sheer awesome gameplay.

* After burning through two flint & steels I could not figure out how to light a nether portal. I had to look it up. I think that's more of a problem as an experienced player being used to the way it used to be. I think a new player might make the intuitive jump to try a campfire.

* After getting used to all early block types (except logs) falling, I don't miss the old cobblestone or dirt. It feels...normal. It is weird however that loose dirt and loose gravel are pretty much the same. Really dirt is more functional (grass, farming) and gravel is just garbage now since I can use dirt or cobble as gravity blocks when needed.

Overall, it's been the best gaming experience I've ever had! I love every minute of it. Progression feels natural and I haven't felt any immersion breaking moments. Thank you for making it this way!

[FlowerChild]

Thanks for that man! I appreciate the detailed feedback.

A couple of specific points:

-Dirt and gravel are quite different for pathing, as gravel provides a movement bonus. I often save my gravel for paths as a result, whereas I tend to use dirt as filler.

-Yeah, the Basket / Hamper / Chest progression is still not as smooth as I would like, but definitely a step up from the old Basket straight to Chest. I may continue to expand on the storage progression down the road.

[SterlingRed]

Thanks for that man! I appreciate the detailed feedback.
-Dirt and gravel are quite different for pathing, as gravel provides a movement bonus. I often save my gravel for paths as a result, whereas I tend to use dirt as filler.

I completely forgot about the bonus. Thanks for pointing that out! Sorry the feedback was a wall of text, I tried to keep each point succinct.

[FlowerChild]

Sorry the feedback was a wall of text, I tried to keep each point succinct.

Nah, was good man. I didn't drift off and wake up over a bloody corpse, so you did a good job of it :)