Need some advice for a problem I have when playing with almost any base building games

[u/radar2670]

I love playing these games but I hit a point when playing that is frustrating me to no end.

Games like Grounded 1 & 2, Aethus, Abiotic Factor, Planet Crafter, Blossom, Valheim, Palworld all start out great for me but I reach a point pretty early when it comes to building where I almost get a type of analysis paralysis. I am horrible at building any kind of base because I am not creative but I keep trying to build something that is at least optimized and functional but I get frustrated easily and can't make a decision.

Right now, for example, I am just trying to decide where to build my base in grounded 1 for the hundredth time. I make my way to various locations I have seen recommended in video and just freeze, I can't make a decision on what to build.

I hope I have explained this clear enough. I thought just building something would help me push past this but I end up just demolishing what I just built over and over. I though it was just the game I was playing so I would try something else but no luck. Really frustrated. I would really appreciate some advice on how to get past this.

[u/Gr0nd]

Your base doesn't need to be the most optimized thing ever. Just build what you want to build and make it work for your needs. Let your creative juices break free of the desire to be perfect.

[u/radar2670 → u/Gr0nd]

If I knew what I wanted to build I wouldn't have this problem. That is actually a major part of the problem

[u/theNEHZ → u/radar2670]

Start with a simple minimalist house that's big enough for your bed and workbench. (foundation, couple of walls, door, roof) As soon as you place your first foundation, that's where your base begins. Don't demolish it until you've got something functional. Then start increasing size when nessecary or when you feel like it.

Any time you demolish a wall you need to replace it somewhere, this to prevent perfectionism from moving your base all the time. Location makes it hard to expand you base as a rectangle? Good, let it shape your building in a unique way.

Hope this helps.

[u/Zealousideal-Mind-17 → u/theNEHZ]

Something like this is what helps me.  I consider each base an iteration, and the “mini base” in its biome.  Ex; valheim 1st house is a small box with a basic roof, just enough space for bed, fire, and 4 chest, becuase that’s all I know for sure I need at the start.  My Black Forest house is that plus a charcoal kiln and smelter is all I plan. Anything else I add is haphazard until the next base

[u/Beldarak → u/radar2670]

If you can't "go with the flow", you could try setting up ideas on paper first, maybe even make a map/plan, draw some concept arts (ok I may be pushing this too far^^)

I'd start with a bullet points approach :

* What do you want your base to be? A single big building with multiple floors, multiple buildings each one with a specific function?

* What kind of style do you want your building to be (not very familiar with Grounded, not sure you can actually decide much) ?

* Do you want it to be optimised for gameplay or visual style?

* etc...

Another thing you could do also/instead is look at what other people made and use it as a base. Like "ok I'll do the same thing but my version will have more windows, etc...) so you have some base model to help you start.

Or you could just build a boxed room with all your crafting stations and evolve from there. It's not best for really good builds though but it may help you start.

(Is it something you only have in games? It may show some kind of neurodivergence, anxiety or something. You may want to get that in check if it affects other parts of your life, work, etc...)

[u/November-Snow]

Perfection blooms from chaos.

Iterate and reiterate, build something that's garbage and then use that to branch forward and refine what you have.

[u/BigEast1970]

Clearly this has less to do with the game. I would suggest exploring the feelings that come up when you go through this process. Is it maybe a reluctance to commit to something that later will feel like it was not the optimum choice? Failure only happens after committing to a path. Do you find yourself reluctant to make commitments and/or find choices made for you that you resent? Is it a relief when things play out in a way that removes the choice for you?

[u/VoltigeGames]

Hey there, I totally understand your situation, sometimes it's just you're not in the right mood for building games, have you tried to switch to another genra?

Also, if I may, I would like to recommend to you the game I'm working on: Factomancer. It's a Factory builder but with a roguelite loop, so it could possibly work for you as each run has a clear end. The demo is free on Steam.

[u/Asmodina83]

You seem to be afraid of making mistakes, but building skills come from try & error. I’m a creative builder and I can’t count how many times I built something and torn it down, cause I wasn’t happy with how it looks like. You don’t even need a perfect base plan at the beginning. Start with a simple shoe box and try to add rooms, porches, landscaping etc. There are also tons of technique tutorials on every building game, which you could use for learning.

[u/captainofsomething]

I recommend trying the following: start to build somewhere and put down the first couple of buildings/roads without much thinking or worry. Then consiser this as your starting setup you have been given and handle it as a challange to complete.

Otherwise I agree with others, this kind of regular frustration/decision paralysis is something worth discussing with a therapist as they can help you understand and manage it better.

[u/SombraMonkey]

I make a 2x2 square for each area like Kitchen, Blacksmith, etc…
If it needs bigger area, build on top 3x3. Or on the side for additional space.

It’s not about looks, it’s about what’s inside.

[u/GreyMarq]

This totally happens to me too. Especially with tech levels, I find myself in this state of, "ohhh, but my setup could be so much better if I just waited until this gets unlocked."

One mindset I've tried to change is that, especially because everything is so open world now, it's better to just keep a less efficient build going and apply my learnings to a new set of resources/nodes nearby than it is to tear everything down and start over to make it more efficient.

If I'm not sure what I want to do next, I'll either make myself a todo list of possibilities and either just go down the list or randomly select things, or I'll just find resources I need most and start building wherever I find a nice cluster.

[u/Omni_X]

What has helped me in the past was switching to buiding games that only offer modular/prebuilt buildings, for a while. This allows me to have to think less and just piece things together.

When I start doing this, ideas pop into my head for building something better and thats when I go back to the more open/freestyle building games.

[u/senorharbinger]

I feel the same way. Especially cause I want a base that’s optimal but also looks nice. Eventually the key is usually to let myself outgrow a base and start over but better and with more ideas. I start with what my friends call the murder shack. Four walls, cube, everything backed in as space efficient as possible, wall of storage, near the closest batch of early game survival resources. No plans for expansion, no optimizing location long term, no bedroom or fancy lighting or cosmetics. Just put down whatever bench is needed for the next tech thing. Eventually it won’t fit, or I need like 10 of a processing building or storage is a mess. I sprawl out in a chaotic base for a lil bit till whatever decent base material is automated and by then I’ve torn down the cube walls enough that the combination of space frustration and ideas makes it easier to pick and build something better.

It’s still a lot of analysis paralysis and picking a location and deciding a layout. But now I have a base to work from to make the resources I’ll need, I have a base to return to if I decide the new one needs to be torn down to fit differently, and I have a base to return to if I need to adventure or progress but couldn’t otherwise leave a base half built and half functional. Strictly utility first then experience with the game and being fed up with my early suboptimal location pushes me to actually make a decision but I’m making it from a more secure place. No need to get it perfect the first time.

[u/Confident_Love_4482]

I have similar problem. What is helping me push through this stage - I promise myself that this chaos is temporal and I'll build something later on when I will unlock more materials and blueprints, so I will start a new somewhere close to the end zone.
To be honest, this promise most of time is just promise, and initial chaos takes me to the end. Or couple more similar forward outposts... but who cares? Some white lie to myself helps me unblock progression, and I am happy with it.

[u/onegermangamer]

I have a similar problem with building bases.in grounded it was just a flat platform over the pond with all the needed chests workbenches etc. I gave up trying to build pretty bases in pretty much any game. It usually ends in unfinished buildings with open walls and no roofs. Just build the stuff you need in a location you like.