Prairie King, or Why I fell out of love with this game

[TrulySilentLie]

Fector's Challenge... Because this game was intended to be a twin stick shooter with heavy reliance on RNG and wonky controls that demands 110% levels of perfection from the player.

 

I am a trophy hunter, I got this game because it seemed like a soothing, calm, nice game that if I just kept at it, the trophies would start unlocking one by one. It would be easy, but take time, which I think is a fair trade for a trophy list to still be a feat to acquire.

 

Then I started to look into this trophy...

And now, at around 50% into the game, with so many goals for my farm, with so much investment in my in-game marriage, with my plans to befriend the townspeople, all of that just melted away, and all I can feel is the empty hatred from my attempts at beating this minigame that has nothing to do with how the rest of the game is played, and the game demands that I play it flawlessly for 20 minutes straight?

 

Good bye Stardew Valley, in the trash you go, I don't need more rage right now, and if I pick you back up, it'd probably be if some miracle new update is issued that changes the insanity of this trophy

 

tl;dr: Fector's challenge ruined the game for me and now all I feel when trying to play it is bitter taste of complete failure

[AJ_Radio]

This just makes it that much more of a respectable platinum for those few who persevere and actually do get the trophy.

[Reinachii-]

It really isn't that hard...

[KiraBobbySan]

I guess I'm not much of a trophy hunter but I would never judge a game based on its trophies.

 

I also do not have the platinum for this game, nor intend to because I do agree that the trophy in question is very difficult, but there is so much more to offer here. Stardew Valley was one of the most unique experiences I ever had playing a game (I never played Harvest Moon or others that may have inspired it). It instantly became an all time favorite, and there is a charm about it that no other video game can replicate. I even just recently played Graveyard Keeper which is a carbon copy to Stardew in terms of mechanics and gameplay, while just adding in the darker and fantastical elements, but the characters and character interactions just could not touch its predecessor.

[Griffon234]

Mm I wouldn't say the controls are wonky, but it definitely has a huge reliance on RNG, especially on the last three stages, on powerups to survive, and potentially being able to cheese the last boss with a sheriff badge or a machine gun.

 

It is definitely difficult, and it is definitely frustrating, but once you can finish Prairie King consistently, you'll be able to recognize good runs and bad runs early and just reset, as well as have no trouble until 3-2/3-3. It will just become a matter of time at that point. I think you should try again, perhaps in shorter bursts to avoid tilting. Maybe practice a bit a day.

 

One thing about recognizing good/bad runs... If you're unable to get at least 1 damage and 1 weapon speed upgrade by the end of world 1, it's probably better to just reset. Likewise if you're going into world 3 without 2 damage upgrades.

 

Good luck, if you do end up getting back to it in the end.

[TrulySilentLie]

Currently have dropped the game, unsure when/if I return to it. And I like to complete games, which has changed more and more towards trophy hunting, so knowing there is a very difficult trophy/hurdle, the only real way I can enjoy the rest of the game now would be if I passed that hurdle.

 

If I were to review the full game, I might include a warning for trophy hunters, but it wouldn't affect the overall score for the game, since it is a small trophy for a side activity. I just don't feel the trophy suits what the game was advertised as/why I bought the game. I might be able to overcome the challenge if I work hard on it, for weeks, but doing all that for just one trophy, and where that added work has no benefit whatsoever to being better at the rest of the game? I see little point to it then. Many other hard trophies at the very least are related to the rest of the game, it's part of the main content, so I see more things I can do with the time spent on getting better/getting a good run for that trophy.

 

But yeah, I very much think this is a game I'll just keep resenting now for presenting me with a calm, fun experience, and then throwing a trophy on my that requires 20+ minutes of perfection, where I've played other games that are intentionally challenging through and through that doesn't have any trophy as mean spirited as this, imo.

[SnowxSakura]

I got this today after about 8 hours of attempts and all I gotta say is fuck prairie king. The controls are wonky, there's little to do with skill and mostly good rng and good coin/power up luck. This mini game is terrible

[Whirled03]

I agree with the TC too, the mini-game feels out of place within the game, and you can go through the entirety of SV never even noticing that it exists in the first place. Dedicating two trophies, and one particularly difficult one to it is incredibly bizarre that does border on trolling the player.

 

I thought the controls are little unresponsive too, but that's mostly the aiming on the PS4. For whatever reason, the right analog stick feels like it didn't get mapped too well; it almost feels like there are certain dead zones in it. It does feel much better on the Vita though, which is primarily where I've made my attempts.

 

@Griffon234 and @SnowxSakura

 

May I ask what console you got your plat on? I decided to download SV again on my PS4, and noticed that there were a couple of minor things they changed to JotPK with the most recent patch. It now pushes Coins/Items out of the enemy gates (which is great) but I also got to the final boss, and I couldn't kill him with a full MG use, despite having all Gun upgrades. It makes me wonder if his HP got increased, but I'm not sure.

 

The Vita doesn't have the most current patch, so I might still attempt on it instead.

Edited January 28, 2020 by Whirled03

[SnowxSakura]

27 minutes ago, Whirled03 said:

I agree with the TC too, the mini-game feels out of place within the game, and you can go through the entirety of SV never even noticing that it exists in the first place. Dedicating two trophies, and one particularly difficult one to it is incredibly bizarre that does border on trolling the player.

 

I thought the controls are little unresponsive too, but that's mostly the aiming on the PS4. For whatever reason, the right analog stick feels like it didn't get mapped too well; it almost feels like there are certain dead zones in it. It does feel much better on the Vita though, which is primarily where I've made my attempts.

 

@Griffon234 and @SnowxSakura

 

May I ask what console you got your plat on? I decided to download SV again on my PS4, and noticed that there were a couple of minor things they changed to JotPK with the most recent patch. It now pushes Coins/Items out of the enemy gates (which is great) but I also got to the final boss, and I couldn't kill him with a full MG use, despite having all Gun upgrades. It makes me wonder if his HP got increased, but I'm not sure.

 

The Vita doesn't have the most current patch, so I might still attempt on it instead.

I did it on PS4, I had 2 gun upgrades, 3 ammo upgrades and a MG for the boss. I had mostly terrible luck with coins for most of it, but the power ups were decent in world 3. Don't have the plat though, still have other things to do(all stardrops, 10 million gold, craft everything, cook everything, get married have 2 kids)

 

 

Edited January 28, 2020 by SnowxSakura

[Whirled03]

@SnowxSakura

Thanks for posting that.

 

I meant I had 3 "Damage" upgrades, but regardless, it's good to see that it's still doable to kill him that quickly. I think I only had 1 into Bullet Speed, maybe I need to try upgrade it to 2, which I think is what you had.

 

Or perhaps I just need to luck out with the final boss's behavior lol I have never seen him do what he did in that video (fire straight up). For me, he always starts out firing in kind of the way the first 2 bosses generally do (with shots going side to side).

 

I think I've gotten to him 3 times without dying; 2 of those times I got him down to half before he killed me. I had another attempt where the game froze at 3-2. Such an infuriating trophy.

 

I'm sure you'll get the plat though, the rest of the game is nothing more than a grind.

[Fleks_Mhteam]

On 13.1.2020 at 11:34 PM, TrulySilentLie said:

Fector's Challenge... Because this game was intended to be a twin stick shooter with heavy reliance on RNG and wonky controls that demands 110% levels of perfection from the player.

 

I am a trophy hunter, I got this game because it seemed like a soothing, calm, nice game that if I just kept at it, the trophies would start unlocking one by one. It would be easy, but take time, which I think is a fair trade for a trophy list to still be a feat to acquire.

 

Then I started to look into this trophy...

And now, at around 50% into the game, with so many goals for my farm, with so much investment in my in-game marriage, with my plans to befriend the townspeople, all of that just melted away, and all I can feel is the empty hatred from my attempts at beating this minigame that has nothing to do with how the rest of the game is played, and the game demands that I play it flawlessly for 20 minutes straight?

 

Good bye Stardew Valley, in the trash you go, I don't need more rage right now, and if I pick you back up, it'd probably be if some miracle new update is issued that changes the insanity of this trophy

 

tl;dr: Fector's challenge ruined the game for me and now all I feel when trying to play it is bitter taste of complete failure

 

I must admit that your arguments left me a little bit puzzled and while your opinion is yours, objectively this sounds like a bunch of nonsense.

 

First of all you started playing the game recently, so years after it came out. There are threads on this site and others concerning fector and with a few clicks you can sort out the trophy list by rarity and have a grasp at what awaits you. You blame it on the challenge but you apparently didn't even took the time to look it up before starting the game.

 

There are almost 7000 unearned trophies on you profile and you are having half a nervous breakdown because of a single one instead of simply playing a game you apparently enjoy.

Bashing it because of your own inability is pretty low, sure Fector is not easy but it is by no means impossible and it is absolutely not wonky. After some training I was able to do it pretty consistently and I think most of the achievers will tell you the same.

 

I hope you can get over your frustration and keep on because you would miss out on a great game otherwise.

 

 

[SnowxSakura]

41 minutes ago, Whirled03 said:

@SnowxSakura

Thanks for posting that.

 

I meant I had 3 "Damage" upgrades, but regardless, it's good to see that it's still doable to kill him that quickly. I think I only had 1 into Bullet Speed, maybe I need to try upgrade it to 2, which I think is what you had.

 

Or perhaps I just need to luck out with the final boss's behavior lol I have never seen him do what he did in that video (fire straight up). For me, he always starts out firing in kind of the way the first 2 bosses generally do (with shots going side to side).

 

I think I've gotten to him 3 times without dying; 2 of those times I got him down to half before he killed me. I had another attempt where the game froze at 3-2. Such an infuriating trophy.

 

I'm sure you'll get the plat though, the rest of the game is nothing more than a grind.

He always does that exact pattern if you move up and over a little bit like I did in the video(I copied someone else)in the about 5 times I fought him

[SatcomAngel]

You ruined the game for yourself.

[Joe Dubz]

I wouldn't let this one mini game ruin your entire experience with the rest of this wonderful game! I was able to at least finish the mini game, albeit not perfectly. But that was enough for me. I do have not the patience, nor the wherewithal to stick that one out. You'd be surprised tho what taking a break and coming back can do! I wouldn't throw in the towel just yet if I were you. Just switch it up and come back later. 

[starcrunch061]

Nah. While I haven't played this game, I've played plenty which have a completely out of place minigame that is thoroughly frustrating, and the bragging rights you get are suspect at best. I'm playing one now that requires you to jump rope 1000 times. In an RPG. I platted another one (twice) that required you to do a silly "slippery" game, twice, perfectly. Yet another required me to play the old "SNAKE" game. I could go on.

 

And sure - I don't have to play it. Or I could "git gud". But often, even when I do, I wonder what the point was. I am a "slippery game god" by two separate accountings. Hurrah? I'll never play the slippery game again. It has no role to play in the RPG in which it was found. But I guess I can tell other people on the site that...I could do it a third time, if it came down to it.

 

Hard trophies are great, but they should be organic to the experience.

Edited January 29, 2020 by starcrunch061

[SnowxSakura]

9 minutes ago, starcrunch061 said:

Nah. While I haven't played this game, I've played plenty which have a completely out of place minigame that is thoroughly frustrating, and the bragging rights you get are suspect at best. I'm playing one now that requires you to jump rope 1000 times. In an RPG. I platted another one (twice) that required you to do a silly "slippery" game, twice, perfectly. Yet another required me to play the old "SNAKE" game. I could go on.

 

And sure - I don't have to play it. Or I could "get gud". But often, even when I do, I wonder what the point was. I am a "slippery game god" by two separate accountings. Hurrah? I'll never play the slippery game again. It has no role to play in the RPG in which it was found. But I guess I can tell other people on the site that...I could do it a third time, if it came down to it.

 

Hard trophies are great, but they should be organic to the experience.

It's really strange how a simple peaceful calm farming game has such a rage inducing minigame that completely goes against the spirit of said game. I got pretty close to throwing my controller a few times.

[Whirled03]

9 hours ago, SnowxSakura said:

He always does that exact pattern if you move up and over a little bit like I did in the video(I copied someone else)in the about 5 times I fought him

I was wondering about that. I got to him a bit earlier today and I basically did what the video did, and yes, he started firing straight up. I will definitely start doing that from now on lol

 

7 hours ago, SnowxSakura said:

It's really strange how a simple peaceful calm farming game has such a rage inducing minigame that completely goes against the spirit of said game. I got pretty close to throwing my controller a few times.

It does get me curious though - I wonder if JotPK was some undergraduate project done by ConcernedApe? I remember reading that he was a graduate of the Computer Science program at the University of Washington Tacoma, and if that CS program is anything like my state's University's, I've been forced to make my own mini-games in my courses.

 

In my opinion that completely adds up; to include a smaller project that you worked on in a fully-fledged game. Looking at it that way, the inclusion of these trophies make a lot more sense.

[Griffon234]

11 hours ago, Whirled03 said:

I agree with the TC too, the mini-game feels out of place within the game, and you can go through the entirety of SV never even noticing that it exists in the first place. Dedicating two trophies, and one particularly difficult one to it is incredibly bizarre that does border on trolling the player.

 

I thought the controls are little unresponsive too, but that's mostly the aiming on the PS4. For whatever reason, the right analog stick feels like it didn't get mapped too well; it almost feels like there are certain dead zones in it. It does feel much better on the Vita though, which is primarily where I've made my attempts.

 

@Griffon234 and @SnowxSakura

 

May I ask what console you got your plat on? I decided to download SV again on my PS4, and noticed that there were a couple of minor things they changed to JotPK with the most recent patch. It now pushes Coins/Items out of the enemy gates (which is great) but I also got to the final boss, and I couldn't kill him with a full MG use, despite having all Gun upgrades. It makes me wonder if his HP got increased, but I'm not sure.

 

The Vita doesn't have the most current patch, so I might still attempt on it instead.

 

I played it on PS4 friendo. I have a physical copy however, and played the game unpatched because the latest patch fixed the Marnie's Farm/naming bug, and I didn't want to waste my time manually finishing the museum or grinding out money for Legend.

It'd be really interesting if they changed JOPTK so you couldn't finish off the final boss with a machine gun/sheriff badge before it can do anything. If they did, Fector's Challenge is a lot harder now IMO.

Edited January 29, 2020 by Griffon234

[Property_Damage]

defeated by a 20 minute trophy

[TrulySilentLie]

On 1/28/2020 at 7:26 PM, Fleks_Mhteam said:

 

I must admit that your arguments left me a little bit puzzled and while your opinion is yours, objectively this sounds like a bunch of nonsense.

 

First of all you started playing the game recently, so years after it came out. There are threads on this site and others concerning fector and with a few clicks you can sort out the trophy list by rarity and have a grasp at what awaits you. You blame it on the challenge but you apparently didn't even took the time to look it up before starting the game.

 

There are almost 7000 unearned trophies on you profile and you are having half a nervous breakdown because of a single one instead of simply playing a game you apparently enjoy.

Bashing it because of your own inability is pretty low, sure Fector is not easy but it is by no means impossible and it is absolutely not wonky. After some training I was able to do it pretty consistently and I think most of the achievers will tell you the same.

 

I hope you can get over your frustration and keep on because you would miss out on a great game otherwise.

 

 

 

Nervous breakdown? I lost interest, I've dropped the game, easy as that. I was intending to go for everything in this game, because that's what felt natural, and this one trophy just frustrated me to no end so I decided to play other games that I could enjoy instead. I'm working on my backlog too so those 7000 are going down a little, but it's slow. Dunno why that would have anything to do with this conversation though.

And if you looked at my trophies, you probably also saw how many I did end up getting for the game, I played one year, enjoyed it, then it was time to start going for trophy requirements so my enjoyment of the game was already dwindling a little, it was starting to just become tasks to complete, and so this one trophy being so frustrating to me, showed me there was no platinum to be had from this game so I might as well cut my losses. It's not a perfect game and I recently did play through one I ended up enjoying more than SV in the same genre, so I'm good.

[taterman]

I have a few major trophies left. 

 

-Find all the artifacts (Complete museum)

-Find all stardrops (which will pop when I complete the museum and get that stardrop)

-10,000,000 G

-Fector's Challenge. 

 

I am not doing any farming or animal cultivation, just artifact hunting and hoping my Bone Flute, Skeletal Scapula and Hand show up. I am saving everything that I get from Gem Replicators and wine (using Blueberries and ancient fruit from my greenhouse, fermenting in the basement as well), then doing Fector's Challenge, and only after that is done will I be turning in every piece that I've collected and saved for 10,000,000G. Just to end my experience with Stardew on an overwhelmingly positive note and the highest revenue day of my SDV career. 

 

But... Fector's Challenge may make me rage. I have played it only a few times and I can already tell it's gonna give me trouble. Wish me luck, pals.

[CryptoNorge]

I genuinely wish everybody the best of luck for fectors challenge. That trophy is a beast. I have it, but never again...

[taterman]

On 2/12/2020 at 2:05 PM, taterman said:

But... Fector's Challenge may make me rage. I have played it only a few times and I can already tell it's gonna give me trouble. Wish me luck, pals.

 

I WAS RIGHT.

 

I have played JOTPK to try to get this trophy for 8 cumulative hours today, today was my first dedicated attempt to do so. I got to 3-2 without dying, and never made it that far in the 5 hours that followed. I don't get it, man. This is the most obnoxious trophy I've ever seen. ConcernedApe, I love you for what you created, but why did you have to make this trial such a horrible, agonizing experience? 

 

Sigh. I'll try again later...

[taterman]

UPDATE - I DID IT! I've tried anywhere from 4-10 honest attempts (which usually only took place if I got 7-10 coins on the first screen) since my last post (so, for the past five days)

 

This does not change my opinion of this trophy, however. All of this time, I could've been growing crops, making money, exploring caves, but no, I had to get obscenely good at a twin stick shooter I'll never play again.

 

Screw you, Fector. I beat you.

[Whirled03]

13 minutes ago, taterman said:

UPDATE - I DID IT! I've tried anywhere from 4-10 honest attempts (which usually only took place if I got 7-10 coins on the first screen) since my last post (so, for the past five days)

 

This does not change my opinion of this trophy, however. All of this time, I could've been growing crops, making money, exploring caves, but no, I had to get obscenely good at a twin stick shooter I'll never play again.

 

Screw you, Fector. I beat you.

Congrats, I'm jealous ?

 

I keep trying to go back to practice but I usually get bored of it after 1 or 2 failed attempts lol after so many attempts it's hard to keep motivated.