Topic

Chasing the flying creatures (batterfly, butterfly) is annoying!

The title says it all. Clicking on these things is nigh impossible, and if you haven't figured out you can hit a key press to pick which action in the menu you like, it's also nigh impossible to effectively massage + milk them. I've been close to dying because of the effort it took accidentally singing to a butterfly.

The menu for the butterfly should also not bounce around despite the actions of the little insect.

Bonus suggestion: an item which makes butterflies amble near you when they're within a certain radius. Something you create with a beaker perhaps. Something like...Butterfly Love Potion No. 9

:)

Posted 24 months ago by Rastem Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • first jump, then click enter.

    easy.
    Posted 24 months ago by LarsLikesMilk Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I've found a few people mentioning this. The reason I posted again is because throughout the entire game, one is encouraged to use the mouse except for one mention of hitting L to get your Quest Log. So naturally one uses the mouse for most everything.

    Learning how to use hotkeys could be something worth doing in the game, but right now it's an oversight, not a feature, and thus worth mentioning.
    Posted 24 months ago by Rastem Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Today's tutorial intro was well done. I liked that it got you started and mentioned the arrow keys. However, there is still nothing about the dang butterflies that tells you about he enter key except the other players. Also, TOTALLY agree that the menu should NOT move despite what the butterfly is doing. Ditto on the pigs and chickens though they are easier because they are grounded. When you click on them the menu should open and that's that. It should be center screen until action is complete.
    Posted 21 months ago by Holly Waterfall Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Wiki to the rescue: www.glitch-strategy.com/wik...
    Posted 21 months ago by Hburger Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Well okay Hburger, but I still enter my plea. It is difficult and should be addressed.
    Posted 21 months ago by Holly Waterfall Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Catching butterflies is cumbersome! (Myst are you reading?)

    Jump, enter. (space bar, enter)

    That's the first step. Jump to hi-light and hit enter.

    Jump, enter. Jump, enter. Do this until you snag a flutterbye.

    If you snag the flutterbye, you'll get the options to sing, message.. and something else, can't remember. But it requires another tap of the enter key.

    I know you can do this Myst!!!!
    Posted 21 months ago by Pirate Apples Subscriber! | Permalink
  • A neat trick I learned this time round is once you've hit enter and got the dialogue, you hit G for massage and K for milk! That way you don't have to fart around with the wobbly menu bar (I was always hitting "sing" and then you'd have to start all over again!). With the key commands, milking a butterfly is actually _easy_!!
    Posted 21 months ago by Tradescantia Subscriber! | Permalink
  • i agree that it's difficult. It was one of the things that just about drove me to tears early on. I suck on keyboard controls....but so much of this game is easy peasy and I like that there are some challenges. I may never win the Amazing Races. I fall off almost everything I try to climb. But if I could do it all I'd be bored within a week.
    I also think that having to ask people for help is one of the things that helps build the community.

    I'll never be a butterfly fan, but they should be hard to catch.
    Posted 21 months ago by caley dunn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I like that it takes a bit of figuring out & frustration. It makes it that much more satisfying when you learn little tricks from trial and error or from asking other players. It also makes getting a butterfly milker feel like Christmas.
    Posted 21 months ago by leah Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Maybe if there were a good reason to add some more insects to the game we could get an Entomology skill, enabling the creation and use of butterfly nets. I'm thinking silk worms.
    Posted 21 months ago by Qwasi Subscriber! | Permalink
  • You can use the keys for milk and massage? Now there's a tip worth filing away!
    I'm not much better at catching them using the keyboard than with the mouse. Once you've tagged one and its menu lights up, give it a few seconds to come closer and slow down - its easier to use the menu then. I keep forgetting and head for the menu straight off.

    I agree some thing could be added to the tutorial as a guideline.

    Easiest answer is just not to bother - there's plenty other cuties to pet!
    Posted 21 months ago by Twoodle Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I got as far as Level 8 yesterday... there was nothing in that stretch that made it necessary or important to catch a butterfly. (I know there is a quest in there somewhere, but I didn't get it on my path.)

    Ah... but I always leave cooking till last, and only barely started animal husbandry. Is it important on those skill trees?

    Probably, there should be a mini-game, akin to the Gatsby Spinach Jumping Quest, that would lead you to butterfly catching finesse. (Also, butterfly nets have been mentioned before, and it's not a bad idea... they could be optional, even, and used by people who prefer them to catching butterflies with their hands. Just like in real life.)
    Posted 21 months ago by clare Subscriber! | Permalink
  • For those that don't want to remember the various hot keys, you can scroll through the wobbly menu using the up and down arrows. That said, butterflies are painful.

    As Clare points out, may people choose an alternate path, because the skills appear useless by comparison. While there is as much xp/favor/money to be earned by catching butterflies, the process can be painful, so it's becoming a lesser used feature of the game.

    I don't see it as a reason to shuffle the center of the Skill Tree into oblivion, Catching butterflies is a great way to gather a supply of morale. I often hear, especially out of new players, they have difficulty keeping their morale up. The concept is still only roughly introduced with more of a 'give them a fish' approach rather than a 'teach them to fish' approach. We got a bunch of items in the new tutorial, but nothing to say 'nibble pigs to gather meat to keep your energy up - massage butterflies to gather milk to keep your mood up'. Yes there are quests to learn that, but they come far too late if you don't opt for AK or Cooking skills right away.

    We have had days and weeks and months to learn all of this, but fresh eyes will continue to join the world, and become confused, frustrated and (if this weren't alpha) leave. Games are supposed to be enjoyable, not frustrating and confusing. The fact this thread and others have gotten to be months old and there is still confusion/pain over it says something more can and should be done.

    I still like the idea of a butterfly net, or similar tool to perhaps make it easier in the long run, but I also think the tutorial is missing an opportunity to really teach the keyboard interface by not including at least one butterfly in the early tutorial.
    Posted 21 months ago by Travinara Subscriber! | Permalink
  • As a noobie who had lots of troubles with the butterflies yesterday, I found that this was fun! I tried and tried and got frustrated. And since I have gamed a little bit, I knew that it was not meant to be that frustrating! So I voiced my issue, and received the help I needed: enter and g! Piece of cake, maybe, maybe not for us keyboard challenged. It is a part of the game I am remembering the most.
    The process was terrific. For me games are meant to be challenging, self and dev directed, with answers to be found somewhere. If there is no way to find the answer, I would have been very turned off. It is like the puzzles in hidden object games, if they are the kind I don't like, I just wait a minute and press the skip button. IMHO, the degree of ease was just right in solving this butterfly catching puzzle.
    Posted 21 months ago by 1padme Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Once I found out I could stand in one place and wait for a butterfly to fly overhead and then just hit space bar and enter, I got better at catching them. But it took me a bit longer to figure out that I didn't have to go around chasing the bouncing menu. Just arrow up and down through it. Then it took me until today reading the Wiki that I needed some lotion. lol
    Posted 21 months ago by Pirate Apples Subscriber! | Permalink
  • ROFL well I did it the hard way, still not quite used to the transition from mouse to k/b. Still, I felt a sense of achievement when I managed to complete the quest! However, when I need any more milk, I certainly will be using the tips from here....Thanks ':)
    Posted 21 months ago by ♥joby♥ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "The fact this thread and others have gotten to be months old and there is still confusion/pain over it says something more can and should be done."

    I respectfully disagree. I don't see the difficulty in dealing with butterflies to be something flawed with the game - if anything, it makes the game more interesting. If everything in Glitch were as easy as mining (click rock, click mine, sit and wait for rocks and gems to appear in your bag) then the game would quickly fade into rote grind and perhaps be better suited as a child's game than as an adult game.

    Exploration and experimentation lead to a far better pay off, emotionally, for me than having everything handed to me on a platter. An example: that Rook quest. Wow, the first time I got that the last test, I already had the levitation skill, so after getting trounced by a smashing cube rock 3x, I just levitated over to break the egg. This time, with no levitation skill, it was more difficult to make it to that tree to get across. Frustrating even. But -- after 15 tries -- when I did break the egg, I felt immensely more satisfied having completed the quest than I did when I levitated through it.

    Perhaps butterfly milk could produce more rewards for the difficulty in handling the critters, but changing how to handle the critters isn't necessary for the game to be a good game.

    I'd rather more work be put into reducing the lag throughout the game than in changing game dynamics, which might address some of the issues with butterfly handling. Lag makes everything frustrating, and not in a "how do I conquer this challenge" way. From getting the jump correct to selecting the correct item on the screen, lag is something that is a fundamental game flaw whereas the difficulty in learning how to do something in game should be appreciated as a part of how to live in this world that we are building.

    Then again, I'm amazed at what some players expect out of a game. "Make it easy" seems to be a dominant theme among some players, which would take all the fun out of the game for me. Yes, there are times (catching fireflies, for example) when I have felt for a moment like "this is too hard"... but then this very cool dynamic of experimentation happens between players trying to solve a problem. With the help of another player, I learned that teamwork can net both players more fireflies more quickly than going it solo. That's the part of the game that I really, really love... and that would vanish if everything were as simple as "click to get".

    Also, finding out what works best for your character is part if the game, no? Why should the tutorial explain that massaging/milking butterflies will keep your mood up when you can just ascertain that by trial and error? There is no real penalty to death in the game, but you do figure out quickly that you need a better strategy to survive than the one you're using. Better to learn that early in the game with something as low level as butterfly milk, so that you're better prepared for the massive amounts of energy and teamwork that go into project building.

    I'm at level 10 now and haven't had to interact with a butterfly at all so far (not being on the animal skills track just yet). But had I gone down the animal track, at least at some point I'll also never have to deal with a butterfly again once remote herdkeeping is learned, because the collectors will do the work for me. This is also learned through trial and error, and becomes part of your character's storyline (how they learn, evolve and act/react within the world).

    To add a tangential, someone in the Help chat accused me and someone else at levels 9/10 of 'cheating' because they'd been playing for some hours without progressing up the level tree. I found that telling in terms of this whole "make it easy" thing... that perhaps some just want to play something no more complex than Farmville to pass the time. I didn't cheat to get to 10 (I'm not sure how one does cheat at that anyway), I just knew enough this time through to know how to level up quickly (donate, budget your energy/mood, complete quests, collect things like cherries, planks, whatever). If anything, I thought I could have played even more aggressively than I was to get XP, but my main focus was on getting quoins to get a house quickly. The XP came as a bonus to that goal. But the point is -- I've learned how I want to play the game, and it surprised me that other players don't consider that "how to play the game" is the game - if that makes any sense. It's the learning that tickles my endorphins, not the product that gets slapped into my bag when I complete an action.
    Posted 21 months ago by zeeberk Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I didn't do any butterflies this time around but the first time I played, it was HILARIOUS to wobble around trying to catch the buggers! I was running and clicking (never thought to jump) and then when I did catch them, clicking the wrong action had me laughing so hard I was in tears! (same with the crab... you must flatter the crab first?! a hoot!) I'm of the opinion that the missteps and their funny consequences are essential to how you learn the game (or at least how I learned the game in my two weanie alpha tests).

    I do think that something like a gleam or a noise might catch the attention of a new player to the interactability (I know, not a word) of the butterfly. Or maybe an idea bubble that says "pretty" when the butterfly passes by UNTIL that first attempt at catching one. I don't think this would be hand-holding.
    Posted 21 months ago by Mistress*of*Fishies Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @zeeberk: +1 for your entire post.

    And it seems very normal to me that some actions in the game need practice and experience to be mastered. It is normal, in any existing game, that you're not able to play as well as an old player on your first day.

    + I really think interactions with butterflies are fun. I like jumping after them. ^^
    Posted 21 months ago by Moumoushou Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I believe the problem here lies within the secrecy of the hotkeys; If they, infact, make milking butterflies a much easier task (which they should, given the nature of hotkeys), then I think they should be made known to the player either through the tutorial or some easily-accesed and preferably pointed-to help menu in-game. There is a difference between a challenging mechanic and one which isn't all that challenging but whose solution boils down to something hidden to the player, and the average new player isn't going to come ready with the knowledge that this game even has hotkeys, let alone what their functions are. I know I sure didn't!

    A new player relies on the tutorial for the foundations of their Glitch experience. Some may have a better idea of things than others, but it would be asking a bit much to make people either refer to the out-of-game wiki or Encyclopedia or ask in help chat for every small question they may have. One might argue that Glitch is a social game, so players should have to rely on others for knowledge, but socializing doesn't boil down to many players asking the same "how do I do X" question again and again; that is why there are FAQs. This kind of re-states something I said earlier, but accessibility is one thing; difficulty is another. Everyone deserves to know about hotkeys and their functions, not just those who ask in help chat or those who refer to the wiki.
    Posted 21 months ago by Vexia Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Is this Help page not useful for finding that info?
    beta.glitch.com/help/

    The tutorial does indicate that there are hotkeys for moving around in-game. Perhaps adding a similar layover for using the hotkeys within menus might be helpful (like, maybe adding it to the bit about patch watering in the tutorial).
    Posted 21 months ago by zeeberk Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Yes, the help page would be useful to read before venturing into the Giltch universe for the first time which is why I think something of equal or greater value should be clearly mapped out (or better yet, refered to so that it can be accessed later, such as "check this place out for some nifty hotkey hints" =P) for the player in the tutorial. It's not enough to know that there are hotkeys; the real help is when we know what each hotkey does. That prevents players from doing something they don't want to by trying to guess at hotkeys which could cause added frustration. Think about it this way if you're into console gaming: Do you rely on the mini players-guide that comes tucked away inside the game case to teach you how to play a game? Usually not. This may not be how it is with you, but players have come to expect some kind of in-game teaching tool to get them going. That's why games HAVE tutorials and a lot of them have helpful hints on the start menu or between loading screens. If Glitch is going to be freemium (that's free with a premium purchase option), then I think it should try to keep player frustration to a minimum because people are more willing to give free games a try but less of a chance! It's a cruel world out there...
    Posted 21 months ago by Vexia Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think that's my point... it's been an ongoing complaint, and as usual the fix is simple, easy, and in the end reduces the confusion. More can and should be done or it will turn off a number of high caliber players down the road. It's well and good to make the players work harder later on, but butterflies are something people experience at a very low level depending on their skill choice. The effort was made at introducing the keyboard in the tutorial this time around, that effort needs expanded. This is not the sort of place where people read first, play, then ask questions... they play first, ask questions, then maybe read. I thought the point of testing was ALSO to point out where things may be cumbersome in real-world play, silly me... I'll just go back to cheer leading.
    Posted 21 months ago by Travinara Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 Travinara!
    Posted 21 months ago by tweetypie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Here's another thought about the butterflies... maybe you could have a net, but it would work only up to level N. So it could be like training wheels, to make that initial phase, when there's so much to learn, less frustrating.

    I don't know what N is, but I think it could actually be fairly small. Alternatively, new players could start with butterfly nets, which are not sellable, auctionable, shrinable, dropable, or givable, but have N uses before they disappear with a pouf and a cloud of sprinkles.
    Posted 21 months ago by clare Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Clare, it's funny you should say about the nets. 1st time I played, I didn't get on too well with catching the butterflies so thought maybe I needed to obtain a net. As I didn't see any offered by the vendors and the Quest didn't say I needed a net, it was just trial and error when I played my second session.
    Posted 21 months ago by ♥joby♥ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm going to add my two cents (which probably transfer at a horrible exchange rate) and I didn't get a chance to read all the posts entirely...

    I too had a hard time with the butterflies (duh), but it did offer a couple interesting things to the game:
    1. I had to kick my mouse habit, almost cold turkey. (I'd be lying to you if i said i still didn't sneak some mouse during my morning coffee)
    2. I had to ask, "why can't i get those crazy flutterby's to love me like the chicken and pigs do?"

    Now both of these things are benefitical to my game play in my opinion. It forces me to actually play with the keyboard; AND I had an immediate curiosity about those things that elude me. I should not that I am one of those that will play first, ask questions, then possibly, maybe read (if i have to). With that said... eventually, yes, after a few levels, I would hope it is easier to catch those butterflies and perhaps even eat them out of spite. Or harness them and force one to carry by sack of goodies.

    Just my two cents... wondering what that is in Bahts...
    Posted 21 months ago by RainyRain Subscriber! | Permalink