I think it's safe to say that NodeCore is the best game I've played in Minetest, hands-down. The game features a lot of polish and accessibility features that I haven't seen elsewhere, and since I last played the dev has clearly put a lot of effort into making the game control in a smooth and convenient fashion.
The design of the game is also quite unique, by making every craft and interaction occur in the world itself rather than an inventory screen and often involving the interaction of natural forces and materials. This makes many normally-trivial things harder, but also gives the player an incredible skill ceiling, with all kinds of optimization and automation becoming possible as the game progresses. But it's never as simple as getting the "does thing X but faster" block--the player must design their machines using the environment. It's one hell of a concept, and I caught myself a few times spending a lot of effort trying to puzzle out faster ways of doing what I could already do because doing so is genuinely useful and engaging.
On the other hand, I suspect it's this very concept that makes me less interested in playing. When I play games, it's usually to unwind and not have to do serious thinking about design and interactions (my job offers plenty of that, thanks). As such, as much as I admire NodeCore and can tell that it's good, it's also a game that's never held me for very long. It also doesn't help that progression is at times tied to guesswork, having to work out how a new object works by brandishing various nouns and verbs at it can be tiring even if you know it'll let you do something cool in the end.
Regardless, if you haven't given the game a try I really implore you to do so. You won't find another game like it, and the quality is apparent. For those who enjoy what the game has to offer, NodeCore is a veritable feast.
I think it's safe to say that NodeCore is the best game I've played in Minetest, hands-down. The game features a lot of polish and accessibility features that I haven't seen elsewhere, and since I last played the dev has clearly put a lot of effort into making the game control in a smooth and convenient fashion.
The design of the game is also quite unique, by making every craft and interaction occur in the world itself rather than an inventory screen and often involving the interaction of natural forces and materials. This makes many normally-trivial things harder, but also gives the player an incredible skill ceiling, with all kinds of optimization and automation becoming possible as the game progresses. But it's never as simple as getting the "does thing X but faster" block--the player must design their machines using the environment. It's one hell of a concept, and I caught myself a few times spending a lot of effort trying to puzzle out faster ways of doing what I could already do because doing so is genuinely useful and engaging.
On the other hand, I suspect it's this very concept that makes me less interested in playing. When I play games, it's usually to unwind and not have to do serious thinking about design and interactions (my job offers plenty of that, thanks). As such, as much as I admire NodeCore and can tell that it's good, it's also a game that's never held me for very long. It also doesn't help that progression is at times tied to guesswork, having to work out how a new object works by brandishing various nouns and verbs at it can be tiring even if you know it'll let you do something cool in the end.
Regardless, if you haven't given the game a try I really implore you to do so. You won't find another game like it, and the quality is apparent. For those who enjoy what the game has to offer, NodeCore is a veritable feast.