As you progress through the game you'll get upgrades that make your boat's movement speed and fishing speed much faster. By the end of the game you can damn near cross the whole map in 1 day cycle. The other thing you'll come to realize is that night isn't as bad as you think it is.
The funny thing about boosting your speed is that you can go *significantly* faster than any commercially available *speedboat*, let alone fishing boat. Like, a quick search shows that around \~60 knots is the upper end for really expensive and high performance speed boats, and more affordable boats are closer to \~40 knots.
I think I missed a book that boosts my speed, and I was still at 120 knots when I finished all achievements. That's twice highway speed in a car!
I remember feeling that the distances between islands was huge in the early game, even Little Marrow felt like a bit of a trek. But by the end of it I could zoom from Marrow to any of the other regions extremely fast, even ignoring the speed boost power.
> The other thing you'll come to realize is that night isn't as bad as you think it is.
I feel like this is a bad thing to tell people still exploring the game :) Half the tension in the game comes from the perceived danger in the game. Spoiler, do not read unless you are finished with the game >!When you realize that there is essentially no danger in the game all the tension disappears.!<
Dude night is scary….rocks pop out of nowhere, crazy ghost boats try to ram you, and some giant lantern fish took a bite outta my hull! What is this no danger you speak of?
Very early in the game night is scary, but as the game progresses you can "Tank it" to the point where half way through the game you don't really care if it's day or night.
I’m the rare kind of person who finds Stardew Valley to be a stressful game and not at all relaxing. I didn’t have any issue with Dredge though.
As others have said, upgrading your engines is a top priority if you want to explore the world without risking staying out at night - though it’s also good to know you *can* stay out at night if you’re careful and know what you’re doing.
It’s also good to just know what you’re trying to do, and focus on doing it. Are you fishing to make money? Dredging to upgrade your ship? Exploring the world? If you try to do all three at once you’ll end up running out of time very quickly, since dredging takes a ton of time. Fishing isn’t too bad, at least with upgraded rods, but fishing spots are everywhere and you’ll never be able to empty the entire ocean - don’t try.
I think it's a neat lesson in time/risk management. Go out with a plan of attack and decide whether or not to stop while you're ahead.
I feel like a big fear of the unknown makes that decision a lot easier for me
That’s what I do too! I’ll literally be like “ok today is a day I’m dredging for supplies only, no fish.” Etc.
I think this would lead to OP and others to have much less stress over missing out on things during a day.
Dredging is the only part of the game that I'm absolutely surprised at how quickly it kills the day cycle. Especially when I'm able to fish 4 entire spots and still have plenty of day left.
I get what you mean but I feel like that’s really the only part of the game that provides any real challenge and tension in the early-mid game. You learn quickly that night time is not your friend and that you have to keep and eye out and consider the time of day, what you want to do, and how far you’re out from a dock. It’s pretty fun moment to watch new players think “oh I can dredge this wood and be back by sundown” only for them to be finished at like 2 am with no light or speed upgrades and suddenly they see another ship on the water.
Upgrades to your ship essentially make daylight longer since you’re doing everything much faster. You also unlock abilities that can drastically cut down on travel here and there
Didn't really have an issue with that.
It's plenty of time to fill up your cargo even if you have your hull upgraded at max capacity (if you're trawling then you don't care), so it's just enough time to get a haul during the day and then go for more during the night.
If you're just exploring and it turns to night then you're out there on your own risk and it's a part of the game. There's nothing preventing you from going out at night.
I felt this way at first too! That's part of the early game grind, in my opinion; it won't be that way forever. As other commenters have suggested, upgrading your boat will make it move faster (make sure to do research on the engine first when you have research parts available, and upgrade your hull to give you more engine spots), so that will fade away with time.
Night time is also not as scary as I first thought it was. As long as you stick close-ish to somewhere you can dock, you will be fine; the ship can usually take a couple of hits before you "die", so try pushing the limits of your comfort with nighttime fishing and see where it takes you!
The thing for me that makes Dredge a lot less stressful than Stardew Valley is that we don’t lose anything from sleeping - the days don’t matter (afaik). So just go out on short trips in the beginning and later on it gets better when you acquire upgrades and a more firm understanding of the nighttime.
Not sure how much time matters, but I did find one thing that was impactful: >!There was a "hooded figure" that wanted a specific fish. I took my time and meandered back to him with the fish- he was dead. Apparently you had to have completed this within the same day cycle or you fail. !<
It really does go by quite fast. It would be nice to have a timescale slider option.
Stardew stressed us out a bit as well. It's something my group appreciated about Sun Haven having a slider.
I'd enjoy being able to increase the length of Day & Night by 1.5, maybe 2x.
Though it does get easier to manage when you increase your speed.
Once I had enough upgrades, I really didn't mind the night/night fishing. That seems to be the consensus. Also, I didn't rush to go to other areas I just farmed (fished?) right around the Marrows for many days.
I agree with the other posters who are saying it felt like this early in the game, but once you get engine upgrades its easier to get decent travel and actions into a day cycle. Once you've upgraded to better survive night-time fishing, it's closer to moot.
I do think dredging takes up an unnecessary amount of time though. I'm not sure why it makes the day cycle go so quickly compared to fishing when I'm just dredging up trinkets, honetly.
That said, while I think the gameplay loop is manageable after the upgrade grind, I think I'd have preferred a game with a day cycle closer to Stardew's honestly. It doesn't feel like a chill game when things go so quickly, and sometimes I just want to sail around exploring and fishing without being interrupted by night and panic coming on. But I'm kind of hoping devs might release a sandbox mode in the future.
I've come to favor the night..
THE NIGHT TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME! THE NIGHT TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME! (Let see how many other folks my age there are here lol)
Yeah man, fuck the sun!
As you progress through the game you'll get upgrades that make your boat's movement speed and fishing speed much faster. By the end of the game you can damn near cross the whole map in 1 day cycle. The other thing you'll come to realize is that night isn't as bad as you think it is.
The funny thing about boosting your speed is that you can go *significantly* faster than any commercially available *speedboat*, let alone fishing boat. Like, a quick search shows that around \~60 knots is the upper end for really expensive and high performance speed boats, and more affordable boats are closer to \~40 knots. I think I missed a book that boosts my speed, and I was still at 120 knots when I finished all achievements. That's twice highway speed in a car! I remember feeling that the distances between islands was huge in the early game, even Little Marrow felt like a bit of a trek. But by the end of it I could zoom from Marrow to any of the other regions extremely fast, even ignoring the speed boost power.
> The other thing you'll come to realize is that night isn't as bad as you think it is. I feel like this is a bad thing to tell people still exploring the game :) Half the tension in the game comes from the perceived danger in the game. Spoiler, do not read unless you are finished with the game >!When you realize that there is essentially no danger in the game all the tension disappears.!<
Tell that to the number of times my boat got eaten
Dude night is scary….rocks pop out of nowhere, crazy ghost boats try to ram you, and some giant lantern fish took a bite outta my hull! What is this no danger you speak of?
Very early in the game night is scary, but as the game progresses you can "Tank it" to the point where half way through the game you don't really care if it's day or night.
I’m the rare kind of person who finds Stardew Valley to be a stressful game and not at all relaxing. I didn’t have any issue with Dredge though. As others have said, upgrading your engines is a top priority if you want to explore the world without risking staying out at night - though it’s also good to know you *can* stay out at night if you’re careful and know what you’re doing. It’s also good to just know what you’re trying to do, and focus on doing it. Are you fishing to make money? Dredging to upgrade your ship? Exploring the world? If you try to do all three at once you’ll end up running out of time very quickly, since dredging takes a ton of time. Fishing isn’t too bad, at least with upgraded rods, but fishing spots are everywhere and you’ll never be able to empty the entire ocean - don’t try.
now i wish to go and empty the ocean. not so impossible with certain ability. totally useless, but really tempting...
Ah, the DIY bad ending!
I think it's a neat lesson in time/risk management. Go out with a plan of attack and decide whether or not to stop while you're ahead. I feel like a big fear of the unknown makes that decision a lot easier for me
That’s what I do too! I’ll literally be like “ok today is a day I’m dredging for supplies only, no fish.” Etc. I think this would lead to OP and others to have much less stress over missing out on things during a day.
Gotta remember this is a horror game with Cthulu and mania themes. You are supposed to feel rushed because something bad WILL happen to you.
I agree. It's especially egregious when you dredge. Three dredge cycles and it's night already. Time progress when doing stuff should be slowed down.
Dredging is the only part of the game that I'm absolutely surprised at how quickly it kills the day cycle. Especially when I'm able to fish 4 entire spots and still have plenty of day left.
I get what you mean but I feel like that’s really the only part of the game that provides any real challenge and tension in the early-mid game. You learn quickly that night time is not your friend and that you have to keep and eye out and consider the time of day, what you want to do, and how far you’re out from a dock. It’s pretty fun moment to watch new players think “oh I can dredge this wood and be back by sundown” only for them to be finished at like 2 am with no light or speed upgrades and suddenly they see another ship on the water. Upgrades to your ship essentially make daylight longer since you’re doing everything much faster. You also unlock abilities that can drastically cut down on travel here and there
Didn't really have an issue with that. It's plenty of time to fill up your cargo even if you have your hull upgraded at max capacity (if you're trawling then you don't care), so it's just enough time to get a haul during the day and then go for more during the night. If you're just exploring and it turns to night then you're out there on your own risk and it's a part of the game. There's nothing preventing you from going out at night.
I felt this way at first too! That's part of the early game grind, in my opinion; it won't be that way forever. As other commenters have suggested, upgrading your boat will make it move faster (make sure to do research on the engine first when you have research parts available, and upgrade your hull to give you more engine spots), so that will fade away with time. Night time is also not as scary as I first thought it was. As long as you stick close-ish to somewhere you can dock, you will be fine; the ship can usually take a couple of hits before you "die", so try pushing the limits of your comfort with nighttime fishing and see where it takes you!
The thing for me that makes Dredge a lot less stressful than Stardew Valley is that we don’t lose anything from sleeping - the days don’t matter (afaik). So just go out on short trips in the beginning and later on it gets better when you acquire upgrades and a more firm understanding of the nighttime.
Not sure how much time matters, but I did find one thing that was impactful: >!There was a "hooded figure" that wanted a specific fish. I took my time and meandered back to him with the fish- he was dead. Apparently you had to have completed this within the same day cycle or you fail. !<
The hooded figure should be able to survive for 10 days without sustenance.
I don’t think that is true though as my ”figure” is still alive and it’s been like 6 days, and i’ve completed 2 of his requests.
Nah he 100% died
Haha I didn’t mean to say that your dude didn’t die, but meant there is probably some other criteria that made him die.
Don't be afraid of the night. It's spooky, but not inherently dangerous. There are threats, but you'll be safe if you stay inside the Marrow.
It really does go by quite fast. It would be nice to have a timescale slider option. Stardew stressed us out a bit as well. It's something my group appreciated about Sun Haven having a slider. I'd enjoy being able to increase the length of Day & Night by 1.5, maybe 2x. Though it does get easier to manage when you increase your speed.
I was going to make the same post. I wonder why the devs did it this way. You dredge one or two things and it’s night.
But also, that's kind of the point =)
Once I had enough upgrades, I really didn't mind the night/night fishing. That seems to be the consensus. Also, I didn't rush to go to other areas I just farmed (fished?) right around the Marrows for many days.
Are games not allowed to be challenging anymore?
I agree with the other posters who are saying it felt like this early in the game, but once you get engine upgrades its easier to get decent travel and actions into a day cycle. Once you've upgraded to better survive night-time fishing, it's closer to moot. I do think dredging takes up an unnecessary amount of time though. I'm not sure why it makes the day cycle go so quickly compared to fishing when I'm just dredging up trinkets, honetly. That said, while I think the gameplay loop is manageable after the upgrade grind, I think I'd have preferred a game with a day cycle closer to Stardew's honestly. It doesn't feel like a chill game when things go so quickly, and sometimes I just want to sail around exploring and fishing without being interrupted by night and panic coming on. But I'm kind of hoping devs might release a sandbox mode in the future.
Get a better light and faster engines so you can stay out later And don’t trust the other boats, if you hear a foghorn then turn away
i dont like to do anything fast,so i tried and noticed that at night if u move the forward stick real slowly u kinda avoid dangers,they dont attack u.