I begin in a new world of Eco by Strange Loop Games. The tutorial told me how to jump, move, get food etc. Okay I got a workbench and a tool bench. A fire is burning to provide with perfectly charred survival food. What now? What should I do first?
The answer you may be looking for is a home or some strategic activity that will put you ahead of other players. In other words, you may limit yourself to your individual needs with a competitive mind. Don't be fooled by the asteroid and the trade experience, Eco has another huge objective that is far more important and the most precious “ecological system” is not made of virtual plants and animals.
Strange Loop Games created a cooperative game
Working together is usually very important in Eco. Players with a bit of experience know it is also the best way to save time. For example, you could dedicate 15 minutes to help a logging expert build his first room. Why would you do that? No profit man ! I won't help others for free ! While this may sound counter-intuitive to most, this might be one of the best way to start.
By working with the carpenter, you could soon begin the construction of your own home with the help of a new friend with a 10% bonus on his table and a calories bonus when adding work. Trees and time saved in this manner are invested in other projects, which could lead to further efficiency: the virtuous cycle of cooperation. If you worry about money or working with nothing in return, you can just ask the carpenter to join one of your own project for 15 minutes afterward too.
Eco's secret tech tree
In Eco, there is an obvious tech tree made of research to unlock, worktables to build and recipes to complete. This ends with the electronic age where lasers are assembled. However, most players fail to notice another tech tree : cooperation.
It's simple to say "work together" but it you think of it, working together requires trust, communication and a clear idea of everyone's contribution. Research on teams, especially teams of students (they don't know each other before the course so it's handy) often show that many activities are needed before the indicators of efficiency begin to rise. In fact, collaboration is achieved when students develop a way to work/communicate that seems natural and require little explanations.
We all knew what to do, sometimes without even speaking to each other.
In Eco, the cooperation tech tree to reach that goal could be the following :
- level 1: meet another player (ex.: briefly chat)
- level 2: small exchange, contract, trade
- level 3: complete a minor community project (ex.: plan a road layout)
- level 4: planning of exchanges on long term
- level 4: complete a community project together (ex.: build a town hall)
- level 5: share a long term project (common electricity plant, team's library, coop, company)
For example, a logging expert or chef who doesn't exchange resources within the first hour is clearly a cooperation fail with regards to level 2. This is not caused by some missing technology or resources (ex.: bricks or steel), so the traditional tech tree is not the issue : this is a case for the cooperative tech tree. Settling too far, failing to propose fair exchanges, failing to express your needs, lack of trust, lack of confidence are all obstacles to collaboration.
The best way to start? Work on the cooperation tech tree
Here are some ideas on what you can do when you start in order to work your way up the cooperation tech tree and seize every early opportunity for a great start.
Start by saying Hi
Just say hello in the chat. It is a cooperative game so you might as well acknowledge there are other players.
Start by sharing your objective
Press "o" and look at the objectives. You might learn useful stuff about the community you just joined. Now write something. Even something like "just looking for a place to settle and a job to take" can trigger suggestions from the others. Again, sharing your objectives and needs is a basic step in joining a group. I personally write down a project I want to make followed by the first 3 skills I plan to take.
Start by making a store
There are major advantages to fair exchange of resources in Eco. A store gives the opportunity to do just that with everyone on the server and it works even if you are offline. The items you buy and sell can also be a way to communicate your current needs and how you want to help others. You need about 98 hewn or mortared stone to make a 3x3x3 room for a store, which can be done in about 30 minutes without specific skills.
Start by making an joint building or sharing infrastrcuture
I made a separate post about joint buildings. Briefly, this can be just two people who agree to build a room next to each other and remove the wall to get more space and save on material. From the cooperative viewpoint, this project allows you to get to level 3 instantly and is a serious beachhead for future cooperation.
If you meet good players, you may even start by sharing residency in a house or sharing the cost and use of a workshop.
Help someone
You found 20 units of coal? Drop 5 or 10 in front of the chef. You just finished your home? Share few extra hewn logs with your neighbor. Drop useful items in front of your new neighbors. Be like a scout : make at least one generous action per day. You want these gestures to be rather small because Eco is a game of exchanges and equilibrium: many ruined the game by giving away large amount of items.
The best way to start : join a community project
Since you want to create meaningful links between you and other players, here is my personal answer about what you should do first in this game: invite near citizens to create a simple 5x5x5 room that serves as a townhall. You'll need 4 land claims and nearly 200 hewn logs or mortared stones.
I see many advantages to this community objective, mainly
- you introduce yourself;
- you agree on the location of the building;
- you agree on the layout or at least designate an architect;
- you must trust those who claim the land;
- you learn how well each player is willing to put effort in a community project.
And above all, you get a glimpse right from the start at how other players are willing to collaborate. Who is making an honest contribution? Who believes getting closer around a common building is a bad idea because he wants a "lot of land to expand"? Who is leaving debris everywhere? Overall, how well do people communicate? It’s useful to have some data about this as early as possible.
On a more practical level, the townhall is the perfect place for early community resources such as:
- First days survival store where basic items are bought and sold at the same price (animals, vegetables, stones and logs). Tips: set the store to "no credits" and balance prices.
- Fab Lab / Community workshop
- Community research center
- Starting point for city road layout
- So...hem...the real townhall perhaps? With capitol and other stuff...
Benefits of town hall regarding early building production, research and exchanges largely outweigh the time it takes to build it (about 30 minutes for 2 players, 20 minutes for 3 players, etc.). All you need is about 200 hewn logs (about 13'000 calories or less) and a 2x2 land area.
Some players are likely to refuse the project. This doesn’t make them bad players: they just don’t clearly see the practical advantage of this task (they still have things to learn about the game or they settled too far). Also, they might just be intimidated by this sudden project and need time adjusting. Or perhaps you just failed to communicate clearly the details of your project. I find it easier to discuss the project first and then agree to work on it later (ex.: let’s start in 20 minutes). This usually leaves me time to make provisions so I can really focus on this project.
There is no single recipe in Eco
Obviously, this is just a single way to start a game and there might be better projects to choose depending on your day of arrival, number of active people, etc.
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