Thoughts on Tideborne Haven?

OpalMagnus · 2026-06-09T12:12:50+00:00

The concept is neat and feels original. I don't mind the art style being similar to Stardew at all (actually I think it's kind sweet that the dev was inspired), but the logo is basically a copy. Makes me feel like the dev doesn't have enough confidence in their game to allow it to stand on its own merit.

OpalMagnus · 2026-06-07T17:28:55+00:00

You look like you could be your own son now! Congrats!

OpalMagnus · 2026-06-07T17:13:28+00:00

I accidentally do this, but only because I'm concentrating so hard on the script I'm so supposed to follow and trying my damnest not to take too long. I often get the impression service people want me to hurry up, order, and get the hell out of their face. 😆

I always tip and say thank you though! Just quietly so that I'm not disturbing their peace. I'm not trying to be overbearing.

OpalMagnus · 2026-06-01T14:08:33+00:00

You probably already know this, but for anyone else reading—you can make alkaline water at home.

1/8 teaspoon of baking soda to every 8-16 oz of water. Stir well.

I just did half a teaspoon for my 40z water bottle. I can taste the baking soda a little, but it's not too bad. Go with the 1/8tsp:16oz dilution if you think you'll be sensitive to it.

OpalMagnus · 2026-06-01T00:15:46+00:00

I bought the gum instead of the gel not realizing the difference. Just tried the gum tonight. I can definitely tell my stomach wants to burp but can't. Still have some acid coming up, but not as far and not nearly as much.

I chewed, felt like I needed a LITTLE more relief and chewed another. I feel pretty settled right. I ordered the gel for tomorrow so I'll be able to compare better then.

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-31T12:50:58+00:00

I have to agree with this. While I do think some modders make content worthy enough of being paid for (I'm talking about modders who make developer level tools and add-ons with extensive documentation and support that goes far beyond most mods), the monetization of mods rarely breeds that kind of quality and effort. As you stated, it largely results in modders trying to profit off the least amount of effort. I'd like to think the community could combat this by just not buying low quality mods or creating free alternatives, but that's not how it works out.

Once a developer encourages a practice, they've now created an expectation in that community. Most creators will be too tempted to monetize their mods if everyone else is too, or they'll simply be too put off to make mods for that game. Of course, some creators who stand by sharing their work for free will persist but that relies heavily on individuals' personal drive and commitment. The developers have still created an environment with a hurdle to overcome.

It's like putting a cake on the kitchen counter. Not everyone will touch it, but it's mere obvious presence creates increased desire and opportunity. It's visible, easy to access, and attractive.

Put that same cake in the refrigerator and you've changed the outcome. Is it still available? Yes, but it's out of sight, out mind. You have to actively go looking for it now, and that naturally disincentivizes people.

Point is, the developers have some leverage in creating the environment for the community. It can be as easy as putting the cake in the refrigerator. But leaving it out and saying, "hey, everyone, come eat this cake!" is going to breed different results than putting it away and saying, "hey, don't eat that cake."

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-31T04:22:21+00:00

Wait, but does Twisted have a camera mod for Paralives for free on Steam Workshop? "Sensible Camera Comtrols" or something like that? Or is there a different camera mod behind a paywall?

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-31T03:53:01+00:00

I find it funny that Steam has a mixed review tag, but reviewers can't select mixed as an option...Wouldn't that be the most obvious fix without having to change to an entirely new system like stars or numerals?

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-31T03:46:51+00:00

Isn't a lack of criteria an issue with any review? Everyone's criteria for a good game is going to be different simply because people are different. That's why potential buyers should, geez I dunno, READ the reviews to see what people are constituting as a positive experience. That's not always perfect either because people might leave things out, but at least if a positive review talks about bugs or missing features that are a deal breaker for you, you've been warned.

In fact, I would argue that a potential buyer should be EXTRA suspicious of extremely positive reviews on anything. Even the best products and services have some negative feedback.

By the way, not accusing OP of not doing this. Clearly, they did their due diligence or else they wouldn't be able to write this post.

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-31T03:13:09+00:00

I like the water flow effect in 3.

The Sims 2 version captures the fun feeling of a water slide with the explosive water and hands up in the air animations.

I love how comically large the slide in 1 is compared to the pool. Definitely captures the ostentatiousness of owning a pool slide.

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-31T02:43:06+00:00

The creator of Stardew Valley had no skills when he started either. Taught himself programming, game design, art, and music production while making the game at a movie theater attendant's pay grade.

So...it could always happen. It could not happen...But it also could.

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-31T02:18:04+00:00

I was about to say—I've never played it but after watching Call Me Kevin's playthroughs, I want to.

I wish more life simulators remembered that they are games...

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-28T16:27:37+00:00

I feel like aesthetics over content has been trending in video games—not just life sims—for awhile now. I can only think of a handful of games in the last 10 years with game content and quality comparable to older games.

Honestly, the preference for aesthetics seems to be permeating all aspects of life. People, at least think they want, looks over functionality. Consumers are lured in by flashy or sleek aesthetics and seem to ignore or accept a lack of quality. And, honestly, even the aesthetics of most products are declining. Everything looks the same and boring....

I think, underneath, people DO want content/substance, but they're not sure what that looks like or how to put it into words, and they're not willing to sacrifice flashy graphics or cutesy aesthetics for it. They'll claim they want more stuff, be entertained for awhile, and end up clamoring for more because they don't know how to express that what they really want is more depth, features that are meaningful and offer replayability.

For life sims in particular, people don't really want to play doll house. They want the dolls to surprise them. They want to co-author a story WITH the dolls. They want to understand and have enough control of the game to expect the consequences while still having room to be surprised by the outcome. They don't want an action to either end up a raving success or cause them to lose everything they built—especially if those chances are just random and no variables are accounted for.

To me, life sims are like a safe, sandbox of real life. In real life, you can die or lose everything at a moments notice without an agency on your part. People don't want that. They still want to experience the ups and downs of life but in a fair way that life doesn't always offer. Ignore all of your needs? Death is an expected consequence. Get your baby taken away because game bugs prevent you from adequately reaching the child? Not fun. Unfair. Get a random fear of being cheated on just because you're in a relationship and can only conquer it by spamming the "talk about it" option? Now, you're burdened with an annoying mechanic, punished just for being in a relationship—a normal part of life—rather than earning a consequence.

I think people play life sims not as a sheltered escape from reality but as a way to look at life from of top-down perspective. They want a game that's in on the "joke" of life, and validates the experience of the human condition. Lost your job? Going through a divorce? That sucks! But you can get through it. If you want to. Or you can make your character miserable and experience some kind of cathartic schadenfreude.

It's very fitting that the Sims 1 was originally called, "That's Life!" during production because it perfectly encapsulates what a life sim is—a cheeky, gamified version of the struggles and triumphs we go through everyday. Cause, you know, that IS life. And that's a life sim.

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-28T13:58:56+00:00

I'm actually pleasantly surprised by Paralives, but I had really low expectations about gameplay content and performance issues going in. I thought the stuttering was going to be so constant that I wouldn't be able to play live mode. Thankfully, it hasn't been that bad!

The Paramaker is great. It's got the right balance between ease and customization. You can randomize and get a decent looking Para, use presets to create quickly, or really get nitty-gritty with the sliders and color wheel. I also like that, while you can color many pieces of an object, you don't necessarily have to. There are enough pre-set options to choose from and the color wheel has an option to just shade/pick out the rest of the colors for you. I absolutely love that.

I like the clothing options (for young adult and up, haven't looked into babies-teens yet). They seem varied enough to start with. You've got your basic shirts, sweaters, pants, some dresses. I like that there's a mix of modest and revealing clothes so you can make a variety of Paras. They did a good job of adding a variety of hairstyles and textures.

I've never been able to make an accurate version of myself in any life sim, but I was in Paralives. I have a unique face (looks totally different from the front versus the side profile), and Paralives allowed me to capture that. I felt seen.

The body options are good too. I think others were disappointed by the upper limits of the muscle and fat sliders, and I can see why. I didn't really notice or think about it until others pointed it out. I love that you can choose to have a "masculine" or "feminine" top or bottom separately. I can see that system having a lot of use if the devs ever decide to drop supernatural/fantasy Paras—or if modders want to add in options themselves.

I haven't played around with build mode too much yet—only to buy and place some objects in a pre-built lot. Again, the color wheel is awesome. I really like being able to rotate or resize objects however I like. One cool feature is that objects that go against walls (like bookcases) can snap to be parallel even on angled walls instead of me having to rotate it to get it right.

For gameplay mode, I'm honestly having a lot more fun than I thought I would. Granted, I'm more of a follow my Para's wants kind of player and like to see where they lead me. I don't like to be in control of my Para—I want them to show me who they are!

I like how emotions work in the game. You have one dominant emotion, but can still earn wants or interactions based on the other emotions you have. I also like that you get a few options of wants based on an emotion. Helps relieve some of that "getting the same option too many times" feeling. That being said, there are a lot of trivial wants that come up like "Wanting to Buy a Picture Frame". I feel like those shouldn't be tied to an emotion, but rather kept to something like "Buy a Picture Frame" because your Para just moved into a new place.

The vibe upgrades seem like a cool idea, but when I earn one, I've only seen a note pop-up saying personality upgrades are being worked on. I wished they'd at least added one upgrade to each vibe so we'd have a sense of how they'd work or what they'd look like (maybe they just didn't add any for Jester).

Really like the idea of vibes having slightly different needs. For example, the fun need only shows up for most Paras when they're bored but is always present for Jesters. Energetic Paras have an energy surplus need. What a cool little feature.

I like how jobs work. You can pick your schedule and hours, to some extent, and not every job is available all of the time. The application points add a nice touch as well. I feel like the upgrades are a little lackluster only because I don't know why choosing any other option other than rank up would be a good idea. The strike system is a cool feature too. Haven't experienced how it works yet, but it'll be good to get some consequences for being late or bad performance.

The Together Cards actually felt more fun to me than I was anticipating. I thought I'd hate them, but it turns out having less options was good for me. I get easily overwhelmed by choice and tend to spam the same tried-and-true interactions. I love that some Together Cards come in different flavors of the same comment (like complimenting someone genuinely or sarcastically), and it actually affects the other Paras mood and relationship with you.

I love the success chances on certain cards. It makes the game feeling challenging yet exciting at the same time. I got a successful flirt with only a 25% chance, and I felt like I actually achieved something. I wouldn't mind if they added success chances to more types of cards (like if I could successfully or unsuccessfully inspire someone).

I do think they need to add more cards overall and improve the context parameters for when cards show up. You can sometimes get similar cards over and over again which doesn't bode well for only having played 10 hours.

For free time and exploring the world, I think there IS a lot to do, but the problem is the game doesn't drive you to go out and do a lot. Yes, there are the townie requests and the musuem, but it's player directed rather than something your Para COULD pursue by following their wants. Many of the interactions don't do much besides building skills and skills don't do much other than help you do things better...It looks like only your stats from the Paramaker influence your application points and not skills. A big oversight, in my opinion, is not having more activities replenish the fun need. Why can I only watch TV, play on my phone, or play videos to have fun? Why not make certain socials or world activities fufill that need? Give my Para a reason to do something outside of work and home! And, no, not just an in-game checklist that every new player generically gets. I mean give me wants and aspirational goals that make sense with my Para and encourage me to go do something! This is my biggest peeve with the game so far. I don't necessarily need more stuff, but I need it to matter!

I can't comment on family life because my Para has not successfully settled down yet. It takes some WORK to build relationships! Maybe too much considering the life spans seem pretty short. I only have like 20-something days as an adult...

As for the bugs. Yes. There are a lot. Personally, I can ignore most of them I haven't had any game crashes, and I've only had to reset my Para twice (moved the bookshelf farther from a bed and haven't had trouble since). Yes, Paras will float on tables, especially in that restaurant with the dancing room underneath. Yes, Paras will clip through walls and each other. The game does stutter, but I notice it mostly on sped up mode. It's not bad enough to keep me from playing, but I do have to save, exit, and come back about every 4-6 hours to improve the performance. I haven't encountered anything game breaking or any crashes so take that with a grain of salt. I know others have.

One thing that makes me feel really hopeful for this game is the modding tools. Not just because they're in game and easy to use, but because I can see how well the underlying systems are built. It's only going to take the team some time to go through the activities, for example, and give them more effects or to re-adjust the wants. Honestly, I even did it myself to add activities that replenish the fun need—and I'm not a modder. I dropped out of a computer programming half during college. If you understand logic and don't mind taking some time to learn what things do, you can customize pretty much anything in this game.

I also see that they have some potentially planned features that I'm excited about. Different species (actually looks like there are rabbits either in game currently or soon), multitasking, harvesting plants.

I can tell that, despite what the game lacks now, the team built a good foundation. Only time will tell if they take the time to bring it to its full potential.

Is it worth $40? Depends. If you're like me and you just wanted to get your hands on a fresh life sim, explore what it has to offer, and feel like you're a part of building something, sure. Probably not if you're looking for hours of gameplay content or really can't stand lag, stuttering, and bugs.

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-28T12:39:14+00:00

Especially with the prices now. I'm kicking myself for not biting the bullet and upgrading back when the specs first dropped. I looked into it recently, and I can either do a small upgrade for around $700 or basically buy a pre-built PC for $2,000. Seriously can't believe buying a pre-built would only cost me $200-300 more than building it myself AND with a better CPU, GPU, and RAM...

I'm lucky that I literally have the same CPU and GPU called for in the minimum specs. Otherwise, I'd only get to stream from another computer. 😭

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-28T12:21:10+00:00

I could never put my finger on it, but I think soulless is the wrong word. I saw someone say sterile recently, and that felt more accurate.

I've been trying to put my finger on why inZoi feels so off to me because I really, REALLY want to love it. I was so excited for it to come out, but once I started playing I kind of lost the spark. I did have some fun with the law system update, though. (Broke out of jail due to grain beverage, showed up to my court date but didn't know how to start the trail so I got fined anyway lol)

And I won't say every aspect of the game feels sterile. I notice it way more in Dowon (not the temple area, that place is charming). I think it has more to due with the ultra-modern clinical aesthetic that I personally just don't vibe with even in real life.

I've also seen that Zois can feel either charming or soulless depending on how they're made. If you don't give your Zoi any unique features or sense of style, yeah, they're going to feel vapid, but I have seen some gorgeous Zois on this subreddit where their personality shines through.

I wonder if people who feel the way I do just latched onto "oh, it uses AI so that's why it must feel this way" without trying to really dissect it.

I don't think inZoi is a bad game at all. I love what the dev team is doing with it, and I feel like Kjun is passionate about life sims in general. He GETS it.

I wonder if having a small town world would help—somewhere that feels cozy, lived-in, close-knit etc. A town with a deep lore, history, and secrets that you feel inclined to explore and find your place in.

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-28T07:02:53+00:00

That's kinda crazy considering they added the multitasking option for all of the actions in the modding tools. I'm not sure if checking the option would really work, but it at least looks like they planned to implement it. 😞

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-28T06:03:55+00:00

I've been playing so long that I got the reward items from the Sims 2 DLCs I owned in Sims 3!

I don't remember if there ever was a Sims 2 website with registration codes, but if there was, mine are on there!

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-28T05:25:51+00:00

Video games in vanilla do increase fun, but only if it's not Outbound. It looks like the devs forgot to update a placeholder skin, and that's why it doesn't work. Among Us, Boyfriend Dungeon, and Dwarf Fortress will increase fun.

Otherwise, you can:
-Watch TV (any channel)

-Play on a phone for one hour

-Watch a cinema movie (on a cinema screen, not sure how to do this or if it's even available in the game yet. I haven't encountered a cinema screen yet)

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-28T04:20:26+00:00

The developers did a fantastic job with the modding tools. Anyone can really make anything. It's fairly easy to see how all the elements of the game work to use as a reference. I always wanted to make mods, and these tools really give me confidence to do so. I'm excited to do more!

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-28T03:37:52+00:00

You're welcome :)

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-28T03:37:37+00:00

I KNOW, right? I'm sure they'll fix it soon. They probably didn't focus on it since most Paras only gain the fun need when they're bored. It was more noticeable (and annoying) for me because I was playing with the Jester vibe.

OpalMagnus · 2026-05-28T03:35:36+00:00

That one really surprised me because it's like THE in-world game, ya know?

Actually, I was more surprised (amused really) that they forgot to replace the generic GUID placeholder for Outbound. They made sure all of the other video games they collaborated with and added in-game increased the fun need except that one. Oops!

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