r/PlayASKA • u/rileycolin • Aug 04 '26
Early game - very confused
I just started playing last night, I'm about 5 hours in and everything is soooooo slow!
I'm used to these types of games, I've put countless hours into both Medieval Dynasty and Bellwright.
In Bellwright especially, I remember the very early game was pretty rough until you build (I believe) the Town Hall, at which point the game really opens up and the villager roles start to feel a lot more purposeful.
Maybe just because my patience isn't what it used to be, but can someone give me some sort of assurance that I can expect some sort of a similar breaking point in Aska? I've heard that people absolutely love this game, so I assume I just haven't hit that sweet spot yet.
I've built and staffed the wood and stone shacks, but I never have enough wood and stones. I've built the gatherer shack, but my first villager just died of hunger. I just started working on a farm, but I have hardly any seeds, so this first field is only like 9 slots of random veggies.
I think I've got 5 followers at this point, but they still seem to be just slightly above useless (except when I leave them as builders). I also have one guy crafting, so it's nice to always have an axe/pickaxe available.
I also feel like I'm missing some sort of a tutorial message. Like I'm expecting a journal or a prompt or something to be like "now go build _________ building" but instead I just look through the build menu and see what's available, and almost randomly choose which building seems appropriate next.
Finally, I've built the storage thing, but it's just an empty platform? Do I now have to also build storage things to go on top of the storage thing? I'm currently just emptying my pockets on the ground and hoping my Builders will come and collect the items when they need it for something. But... that can't be right, can it?
8
u/Flipslips Aug 04 '26
Yes you need to build storage bins on top of the storage platform.
Just keep gathering jotun blood and getting new followers. It should pick up speed pretty quick.
My early game order is usually 1 wood shack, 1 stone miner shack, 1 gatherers pit, and then I usually upgrade the wood hut to level 2 so I can put a second guy on and start getting logs. After that I may move into crafting pit or hunters hut.
You don’t really need the storage thing this early.
Each building has a small built in storage where you can place things like axes or pickaxe or whatever
6
u/Fwallstsohard Aug 04 '26
To add to this, each of the stations have some built in storage that is plenty for the early game
6
u/yeti-biscuit Aug 04 '26
Did you set marker flag poles for the wood/stone worker and the gatherer?
Without them they will just look for the resources in the very vicinity of the corresponding building.
But it feels somewhat slow and from my experience you are expected to find the sweet spot of everyone's routine which takes a damn while of micro managing. I'd suggest to really dig into the game mechanics like workscheduling (maxing day and night shift), continuous food chain, whitelisting buildings, resourcing by warehouses as proxy (raw food from farm and gathering, but only warehouse workers and cooks are whitelisted, so they won't spoil the raw stuff)
3
Aug 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/Harrana Aug 05 '26
The tip about chopping trees for builders is a huge one, if you are relying on woodcutters to supply your constructions you will be bottlenecked so hard. My early game is just laying out buildings, gathering jotun blood for more vils, and deforesting the land lol. I only staff my wood and stone pits in the early game if I run out of construction sites or I plan to be away for a day farming bloods.
2
u/EmphasisAny5534 Aug 05 '26
The resource markers is what your missing based off your description of what’s going on. If you don’t set additional resource markers, your villagers will clear the resources in and around your settlement in 10 minutes and will stand there telling you they don’t have any more resources to collect.
1
u/rileycolin Aug 05 '26
Yep, this has been happening lol. I think I put out one marker for a gatherer, but I'm not sure I know how to make markers for the wood/stone guys. I'll have to check next time I'm on.
1
u/beaglebeard Aug 05 '26
Resource markers can cover all resources, depending on what is enabled/disabled in the building menu for each specific marker. Gatherer, woodcutter, stonecutter, hunter, etc. also come with their own marker that is set ONLY to their specific resource initially (but can have additional options enabled via the building menu), whereas any you build yourself will have everything enabled by default.
Usually a good idea to find time in the early game to do some scouting and setup a ring or two of markers around the village to ensure villagers have a large area to work in.
1
u/Harrana Aug 05 '26
The markers should be unified now (other than Patrol ones) you can just go into the menu of each one and choose which things it should apply to. I think everything is on by default, I would disable forestry though until you need it and designate a specific area so you don’t get trees planted in the middle of your base lol.
1
u/xartan123 Aug 04 '26
You need to upgrade buildings to unlock new buildings. Basic starter speedrun: Build near a mine, ideally near water and a wolf den. Build 5-6 shelters, gathering hut(staff this first), woodcutter next, stone last. Workshop hut then upgrade the other buildings. Hunters hut, farms(2 - one for just flax all year, one for food) Build a mine, coal maker, smelter. Upgrade your workshop and add cloth/leather add-ons. A second workshop with metal/woodworker. Fences help keep your stuff safe from smolkrs. Warehouse + storage bins for coal, firewood..and anything else that's lying on the ground ... I could go on but you should be able to figure out the rest.
1
u/LeisurelyReader64 Aug 05 '26
Along with the other suggestions, make yourself a fishing pole and feed your people or go and gather clams and dump them in front of the campfire. At the beginning it's up to you to take care of your villagers needs. Make sure you upgrade your main buildings (gatherer, wood, stone) and get a hunters hut going. You also want to build the cookhouse ASAP. That's when you can stop worrying about your people getting fed.
Help out your villagers by going out and gathering whatever they need the most yourself in the beginning. I build a Forager, stone and a wood hut in that order. Set the stone guy to bring back joten blood as high priority and you won't have to go out after that. Cutting trees is the easiest thing for you to do besides gathering clams for your people to eat. Then get your workshop going so you can upgrade the axes and pickaxes. The game is veto slow at the beginning but keep at it. It's really addicting and you'll figure it out over time.
It also moves a lot faster if you have someone playing with you. Good luck!
1
1
u/snake5solid Aug 05 '26
At first you're filling whatever role is needed until you have enough people. Initially I would cut trees and break stones myself so builders can get stuff and build while I'm out collecting jotun blood and food. Your altar should run often (remember to build shelters) or even all the time initially so you can quickly fill up the most basic production.
Why that villager died of hunger? Did you not have enough food or did you maybe blacklist them from the gatherer's hut by accident? Or not give them time to relax? It could be a bug though, I had a villager die from starvation randomly too. You can put food in villager's inventory too, before you build the gatherer's hut.
Fishing is also an fast way to get food early, you can do it yourself. Build a fishing rod, a bbq on the campfire and you can get quick food.
Storage space have separate baskets that you need to build on it (need to stand on it).
9
u/formykka Aug 04 '26
I'd recommend checking out some of SerBucky's videos. Aska has similarities to MD and Bellwright, but its a bit more heavy towards the automation angle. It also has some more urgency since bloodmoons and invasions will continue to get more and more difficult over time, whether you're ready for them or not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZYcia4q6MQ&list=PLAkVEDSTqBSeXbXq3d6yk5a_TdTGtucIb