Finally Made It Through Winter in Don't Starve

Last July, after having been playing the survival game Don't Starve long enough (two years, to be exact), I finally pulled my off long-time objective: to survive the winter. Perhaps now is a good time to reflect what I experienced and how I survived such an amazing ordeal (hehehehe). How come surviving winter can be this hard, you ask?

Well, it's not that hard to survive winter. But it was my carelessness that ruined each and every one of my failed attempt. Sometimes it's due to the lack of planning. Sometimes it's due to luck. Then, you have to consider the new updates. I played Don't Starve from the very beginning until its release, so everytime a new update came out, I had to get used to the changes made. That could make a difference, too. But this time, I played it right from day one.

Introduction

As you can see, there are a few characters to choose from. The other characters were unlocked before, but I'm going to choose the original character, Wilson because I'm so used to him. He doesn't have any bizarre ability like the other characters, save from his ability to grow a magnificent beard, which will be crucial for his survival during the bitter-cold winter.

Day 1- 10

Ah, the first sign of Beefalo presence!

I spend the first and second day collecting basic resouces such as grass, twigs and flints. On the third day, I found a good spot to make as my permanent base. After making it official by building a fire pit on my new-found home, I roamed around the woods for berries, but not too far from my comfort zone. It's always a bad idea to travel very early on in Don't Starve. I did that before when I first started playing this game and died on the fifth day not only because I had no weapon, but also because I did not have enough food. I got insane and hungry at the same time and ended up eaten by a monsters which were a product of my own unstable mental state of mind.

Anyway, I spent the next few days looking for signs of Beefalos, the cow-like animals that are a good source of meat. Then, I found a mining site on the 8th day and started mining away for gold. After obtaining enough gold and other required resources, I immediately built a science machine which enabled me to build more advanced structures and tools for my survival.

Day 11-20

So confident was Wilson, he stood still.

On the 12th day, I got attacked by a pack of wolves while roaming around the woods for berries. But I was prepared to be the one who would make it out alive this time. A few day earlier, I made a log suit to protect my body and a spear to fight the bastards back. Needless to say, I was triumphant but lightly hurt. On the plus side, I brought home not only berries but monster meat as well. Now, any Don't Starve player knows that monster meat should not be consumed raw because they will make you sick. Eat more of them and you'll go batshit crazy.

But there is a way to consume them like other healthy meat without having to worry about the side-effects. First of all, cook them by the fire pit. Then, mix the fried meat with fruits and vegetables using the cooking pot and the final product is safe for you to eat. Anyway, I made sure that I would always go out for food-hunting every 3 days and I also made sure I spent the whole day food-hunting instead of doing something else. Distractions can be fatal in Don't Starve, as it was in my case before.

Holy crap, this is a horrible crime on mother nature!

On the 14th day, something interesting yet funny happened. I tried to obtained charcoal by burning down a few trees, but the flame spread and I accidentally burned the entire forest (not the whole map though, but just the part of the forest of which I was at). The spiders, native of the forest, got angry and started chasing me around. But I got away and spent the next few days going back and forth from my home to the burned site to collect the seemingly infinite supply of charcoal.

On the 20th day, signs of the upcoming winter were apparent. The atmosphere became thicker and colder. The butterflies and bees were nowhere to be seen. The rabbits' fur changed from brown to white. I spotted some new species of birds as well, which I assumed enjoyed the winter. The days ended sooner and the nights lasted longer. My preparation will make a difference.

Day 20-41th

An unlikely alliance.

The winter period. Most of the time I just stayed at camp. The campfire never went out because I had a huge supply of fuel. Food was not a problem this time. I was fully prepared. Before the winter, I trapped about 20 rabbits and stored them in chests instead of killing them right away. By doing this, I can avoid food spoilage and I'd only slaughter the rabbit on meal time.

I did travel to the area around camp, but never too far. Occasionally, I'd go to the pig area further to the west (a turf which they shared with a couple of colonies of spiders) and bribed the pigs with some meat and we'd pick up a fight with the spiders. Of course I always stood back and let the pigs do the job. My job was to pick up the silk dropped by fallen spiders and destroy their defenseless nests while they were away on battle with the pigs. I stopped travelling there after the 25th day. By this time, the winter was at its peak.

That I'm-bored face.

Unfortunately, I can't recall much what I did during the winter. I only took very few screenshots because I was so focused on surviving. Besides, I hadn't planned to come up with this article to tell my tale. All I can remember is that I spent most of the days dozing off in the comfort of my sleeping bags. I only woke up to eat and stayed warm. Occasionally, I'd roam around the area for berries but it wasn't that necessary because I had already made a berryfarm.

Nothing interesting happened during the winter,  because I restricted myself not to travel too far even for hunting.  Hence, the occassional wolf attack during the winter was very welcomed. If I couldn't look for food, then it was better to have them coming to me. Other than that, nothing else that was interesting ever happened. What was interesting was my struggle to survive. My food supply was enough to keep me fed for about 20 days. I stayed by the fire most of the time, making new tools and improving my current ones.

Day 41th-44th

Day 44. Damn FRAPS for not working on Don't Starve. 

Alas, after playing and trying for two years, I finally saw the end of winter. Surprisingly, I found myself losing interest to continue or do anything else. It felt strange, all the excitement was gone just like that. Perhaps it was because I had been trying to survive winter for a couple of years with my countless playthroughs. It may come as a shock to you because two years is a long and enough time for me to finally get a grip on the game and surviving winter would be easy for me.

It is easy, I never said it was hard. But Don't Starve is a very intriguing game. Heck, starving should be the least of your concerns. I only starved to death once. What kills me all the time is Don't Starve's unpredictability. You may have plans for the day but your curiosity will screw it for you. There were more than 5 occasions in which I was sure I would survive the winter, but then I would wander around, pick fights with bulls, follow those weird winter creatures, and then end up dead.

I, Wilson, survived the harsh winter, and am bringing my hippie mode back on.

Another pointless post, yes. It was supposed to be a day-by-day playthrough but I lost track of things. But hey, there is more to Don't Starve than to survive as long as you can. There's the Adventure mode, which I haven't try out yet. I don't want to try it out with this character though. I liked my Wilson.

He survived the winter!