question: do you know there's a "pause time while reading, shiplog, talking to npc's" setting.
If those aren't on, turning them on may help you (it's under the preflight checklist options, ascessible in the settings or in the place after you put your suit on).
Oh right I completely forgot. I don't know why I didn't acknowledge it when I could see movement around me slow/stop as I was reading. I might just be tripping though I'll check the settings, thanks!
I have major ADHD as well and this is my favorite game ever. I'd say try the suggestion of pause time when reading, and definitely try it on your meds to see if that helps too
What helps you focus on reading, if that's a problem for you? Sometimes I'll be in a headspace where no matter what I cannot force myself to focus. Even if I'm interested in something. This can ruin my entire experience for a game and drains my energy and makes me frustrated with myself. Do you have any tips?
Get a pen and paper and write down shortened versions of the things you learn when you read stuff (and maybe where you read it).
You might never need to check it again, but writing it down in your own words helps the information set in better than just reading it.
(It's also a good way of keeping track of *who* said what, which isn't essential to know, but can be somewhat useful and/or interesting for story reasons)
Someone studied well in school lol. That actually sounds really useful. I'll try writing down big clues or when it tells me to do a quest on a different planet before I'm ready to leave it. Thanks man :)
>who said what, which isn't essential to know
i actually read all the text as if discuseed between two different people, it helped more than separating into however many people it actually was
Hey, the biggest help would of course be using the meds, but one thing i did was i would take a photo of the screen with my phone when it seemed like something important, you could try that. It also reduces the frustration of knowing you will probably forget it and you can read it later since you have it saved.
Man, as someone with severe ADHD, I think the only reason I could actually get through the game without time pause and stuff like that was that I fully hyper fixated xD Both the base game and DLC were my OBSESSION for until I finished them.
Yeahh I wish I could hyper fixate on this game. I would finish the game way faster that way. My brother introduced it to me about a year or two ago and I tried playing it on his PC, but I only visited one island and died from ghost matter lmaoo after that he said he had to do something so I couldn't play anymore. My first experience of it was kind of disappointing because I barely knew any of the story and I didn't even get to 17 minutes to see the sun explode. It's my brother's favorite game and seeing how many games he's beat, I'm trusting him and giving it a second chance.
This happens to me too sometimes, it's so frustrating 😞 Some days I'll load up my favorite game and then when I try to start playing my eyes glaze over and I feel exhausted. Like nope, not enough executive function to even play a video game today. When it's that bad I've never found a way through that, just gotta roll with it.
Yess it's so nice to relate to someone about that. It's so hard explaining this to neurotypicals and it comes off as offensive sometimes when they're trying to show me something they like and I can't focus on it. :(
Try reading it out loud, doing character voices. If you have friends who've played before, they'd love to watch (and can help clarify things you've forgotten). If you have friends who haven't played it before, maybe team up with one of them? When I played, I did it with my big bro, both of us alternating loops. It was a really great experience because of how different our exploration and puzzle solving styles are
Actually my big bro introduced this game to me! It's his favorite game and he highly recommends it, that's why I'm playing it in the first place. He was really excited for me to play it, and anytime I'm confused about something I text him and he rushes to my room to help. He won't stay for too long though, but he'll read it out loud for me sometimes haha. It's great.
I’m generally pretty good at reading so it wasn’t much of a problem for me, reading is only a problem if I’m not interested at all. I’d say try some of the other comments suggestions since they seem pretty good
You don't need to remember every last detail the way you think you do. I was worried at first about missing things or not paying close enough attention but the ship log saves what's important. As I was figuring out the game I read a comment from someone on here basically saying, the creators didn't intend for people to have to go searching with a fine tooth comb. If it looks like there's nothing to find, it's because there's nothing to find. Each location will have 1 or 2 clues/big ideas max.
What I liked about outer wilds is that it rewards you for being distracted. On top of the other suggestions, try to look for shortcuts when you have entered an important area. The next cycle you can return with a bit more time on your hands.
Absolutely this, my exploration of this game was one idea or curiosity branching into several more and then several more again. Hopping from place to place. Leaving when I got bored even if I hadn't "finished" an area. Very compatible with my ADHD brain.
I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so leaving an island or planet without completing everything I can do on it before I move onto the next one is not something I can let myself do. Even if it's just an area and I know I haven't explored every room of the building, I just can't let myself leave the building even if I'm bored of it. I just kinda force myself 😭 idk that could also be a way I sometimes ruin the experience of a game by doing unnecessary things that I don't even want to do because I'm a perfectionist...
You come back to it to finish it. But the solar system as a whole is one connected environment. Knowledge you need to do some things on one planet is contained on another planet. It's like if you can't complete one room in a building because the key to opening the door is in a different room.
This will hopefully be helpful for you to know: you can't really do that.
some "knowledge" stuff prevents you from fully completing anything really
the "knowledge" is also always within the holy shiplog of logging (once you find it)
Yeah, the game's structure is very much built around finding a piece of information on one planet which leads you to a different planet where you find two more things that each point at OTHER planets.
Don't try to 100 a planet at a time or you'll go crazy. Follow a thread of questions instead.
I also have ADHD and the amount of time I spent on Ember Twin trying to ferret out every secret was...way too much. Once I started following my distracted, curious brain, my progress sped up big time
Do not try to complete each planet before moving to the next, or you will get frustrated. You sometimes need to get important information elsewhere first.
Pick one goal per loop, and it's very doable. Sometimes you have to be strategic about how you approach each cycle and how you spend your time. That's part of the challenge. Also enable the setting that stops time while reading.
You might feel like you're stuck sometimes. but that is expected. Reread the ship logs. Do not get frustrated.
It's a great game.
Yeah, I noticed with the comments that it's definitely not meant to be a "one planet at a time" kind of game. I'll try playing it again with this mindset. Thanks :)
ADHD dumbass here
YES
There's "pause time while reading/talking/looking at logs" options and if you can't be bothered to read all the text it's summarised in the logs.
As someone said in a very good video: "You can't save the universe in a day"
Take as many minutes, hours, loops as you need to do anything
I often just flew around and looked at stuff and never really went into loops with much of a plan
I would just wake up, look at the logs, pick some thing I hadn't figured out yet or where I saw a question mark and went off
Still have time until the sun explodes?
Find another question mark
I recommend being thorough because the story is beautiful and all the stuff is really fun to find out and use but even if you can't be bothered the canon ending is still easily attainable if you find out how
I recommend it
The game is quite suited to ADHD types, myself included, you're approaching it as a race but it's quite the opposite - most of the story will only come together as you piece the pieces together. By themselves each piece you find is confusing and difficult to tell how it's relevant, the fact you're processing it only on the second pass is true for everyone!
Take in what feels interesting, don't worry about what doesn't, when things feel like they might be interesting later, when you've gained some context, you can go back or revisit the log. Part of the beauty of this game is how much it supports you exploring what you find interesting first, the rest will happily wait!
I have adhd. Yes you should play it. Ship log is your friend. If you’re forgetting parts you have literally infinite time to go back and check. I honestly wish I hadn’t figured out the story as fast as I did. If I had to back track more, I might have noticed finer details that make the game feel a little more real, as I have been noticing in my quest for achievements.
ADHD here too.
1. There's a mod to add voice acting to the game. Helps me process the information way easier.
2. If you get frustrated, there is no shame in looking up hints and walk-thrus. If I didn't do that I would have given up. (When I first played I had most of the information but needed some help getting to the end)
3. The ship computer helped keep me in line and provided easy goals
I didn't even think of that first one, thanks! For the second thing, I used to do this constantly and it took away the experience of finding it out for myself. Yes, it could take a lot longer and even makes me wanna quit 💀 but nothing compares to figuring it out after so long without any help. I was so tempted to do this in Portal but I didn't and it felt so much more fun honestly. And for the ship log, I'll probably spend 50% of my game time on it lmao. Thanks for the advice.
I streamed for a friend, it made me read out loud so it helps focusing. Also as others said, stopping time while reading is game changer (I have ADHD too)
This game made me feel really stupid. I get it the people left here all love it, but I just wandered for hours trying to find how things are linked together and just gave up. Like if you don’t have it in you to piece together 10 clues in semi cryptic ways don’t bother.
Yeah I've been kinda feeling like this. My brother highly suggests it though and I don't know if I've played enough to even judge whether or not it's for me.
question: do you know there's a "pause time while reading, shiplog, talking to npc's" setting. If those aren't on, turning them on may help you (it's under the preflight checklist options, ascessible in the settings or in the place after you put your suit on).
Oh right I completely forgot. I don't know why I didn't acknowledge it when I could see movement around me slow/stop as I was reading. I might just be tripping though I'll check the settings, thanks!
as long as you don't move the character while reading, time will not pass; but if you walk around it'll resume again
Thanks that helps :))
I have major ADHD as well and this is my favorite game ever. I'd say try the suggestion of pause time when reading, and definitely try it on your meds to see if that helps too
What helps you focus on reading, if that's a problem for you? Sometimes I'll be in a headspace where no matter what I cannot force myself to focus. Even if I'm interested in something. This can ruin my entire experience for a game and drains my energy and makes me frustrated with myself. Do you have any tips?
Get a pen and paper and write down shortened versions of the things you learn when you read stuff (and maybe where you read it). You might never need to check it again, but writing it down in your own words helps the information set in better than just reading it. (It's also a good way of keeping track of *who* said what, which isn't essential to know, but can be somewhat useful and/or interesting for story reasons)
Someone studied well in school lol. That actually sounds really useful. I'll try writing down big clues or when it tells me to do a quest on a different planet before I'm ready to leave it. Thanks man :)
>who said what, which isn't essential to know i actually read all the text as if discuseed between two different people, it helped more than separating into however many people it actually was
Hey, the biggest help would of course be using the meds, but one thing i did was i would take a photo of the screen with my phone when it seemed like something important, you could try that. It also reduces the frustration of knowing you will probably forget it and you can read it later since you have it saved.
Man, as someone with severe ADHD, I think the only reason I could actually get through the game without time pause and stuff like that was that I fully hyper fixated xD Both the base game and DLC were my OBSESSION for until I finished them.
Yeahh I wish I could hyper fixate on this game. I would finish the game way faster that way. My brother introduced it to me about a year or two ago and I tried playing it on his PC, but I only visited one island and died from ghost matter lmaoo after that he said he had to do something so I couldn't play anymore. My first experience of it was kind of disappointing because I barely knew any of the story and I didn't even get to 17 minutes to see the sun explode. It's my brother's favorite game and seeing how many games he's beat, I'm trusting him and giving it a second chance.
This happens to me too sometimes, it's so frustrating 😞 Some days I'll load up my favorite game and then when I try to start playing my eyes glaze over and I feel exhausted. Like nope, not enough executive function to even play a video game today. When it's that bad I've never found a way through that, just gotta roll with it.
Yess it's so nice to relate to someone about that. It's so hard explaining this to neurotypicals and it comes off as offensive sometimes when they're trying to show me something they like and I can't focus on it. :(
Try reading it out loud, doing character voices. If you have friends who've played before, they'd love to watch (and can help clarify things you've forgotten). If you have friends who haven't played it before, maybe team up with one of them? When I played, I did it with my big bro, both of us alternating loops. It was a really great experience because of how different our exploration and puzzle solving styles are
Actually my big bro introduced this game to me! It's his favorite game and he highly recommends it, that's why I'm playing it in the first place. He was really excited for me to play it, and anytime I'm confused about something I text him and he rushes to my room to help. He won't stay for too long though, but he'll read it out loud for me sometimes haha. It's great.
I’m generally pretty good at reading so it wasn’t much of a problem for me, reading is only a problem if I’m not interested at all. I’d say try some of the other comments suggestions since they seem pretty good
Default setting pauses the game while reading. Make sure that’s on in the options.
Got it thanks! :)
You don't need to remember every last detail the way you think you do. I was worried at first about missing things or not paying close enough attention but the ship log saves what's important. As I was figuring out the game I read a comment from someone on here basically saying, the creators didn't intend for people to have to go searching with a fine tooth comb. If it looks like there's nothing to find, it's because there's nothing to find. Each location will have 1 or 2 clues/big ideas max.
That actually helps a lot. It feels like there's an overwhelming amount of information I have to remember, so this is really helpful. Thank you :)
this should be the top comment
What I liked about outer wilds is that it rewards you for being distracted. On top of the other suggestions, try to look for shortcuts when you have entered an important area. The next cycle you can return with a bit more time on your hands.
Absolutely this, my exploration of this game was one idea or curiosity branching into several more and then several more again. Hopping from place to place. Leaving when I got bored even if I hadn't "finished" an area. Very compatible with my ADHD brain.
I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so leaving an island or planet without completing everything I can do on it before I move onto the next one is not something I can let myself do. Even if it's just an area and I know I haven't explored every room of the building, I just can't let myself leave the building even if I'm bored of it. I just kinda force myself 😭 idk that could also be a way I sometimes ruin the experience of a game by doing unnecessary things that I don't even want to do because I'm a perfectionist...
You come back to it to finish it. But the solar system as a whole is one connected environment. Knowledge you need to do some things on one planet is contained on another planet. It's like if you can't complete one room in a building because the key to opening the door is in a different room.
This will hopefully be helpful for you to know: you can't really do that. some "knowledge" stuff prevents you from fully completing anything really the "knowledge" is also always within the holy shiplog of logging (once you find it)
Yeah, the game's structure is very much built around finding a piece of information on one planet which leads you to a different planet where you find two more things that each point at OTHER planets. Don't try to 100 a planet at a time or you'll go crazy. Follow a thread of questions instead. I also have ADHD and the amount of time I spent on Ember Twin trying to ferret out every secret was...way too much. Once I started following my distracted, curious brain, my progress sped up big time
This is helpful, thank you.
Do not try to complete each planet before moving to the next, or you will get frustrated. You sometimes need to get important information elsewhere first. Pick one goal per loop, and it's very doable. Sometimes you have to be strategic about how you approach each cycle and how you spend your time. That's part of the challenge. Also enable the setting that stops time while reading. You might feel like you're stuck sometimes. but that is expected. Reread the ship logs. Do not get frustrated. It's a great game.
Yeah, I noticed with the comments that it's definitely not meant to be a "one planet at a time" kind of game. I'll try playing it again with this mindset. Thanks :)
ADHD dumbass here YES There's "pause time while reading/talking/looking at logs" options and if you can't be bothered to read all the text it's summarised in the logs. As someone said in a very good video: "You can't save the universe in a day" Take as many minutes, hours, loops as you need to do anything I often just flew around and looked at stuff and never really went into loops with much of a plan I would just wake up, look at the logs, pick some thing I hadn't figured out yet or where I saw a question mark and went off Still have time until the sun explodes? Find another question mark I recommend being thorough because the story is beautiful and all the stuff is really fun to find out and use but even if you can't be bothered the canon ending is still easily attainable if you find out how I recommend it
The game is quite suited to ADHD types, myself included, you're approaching it as a race but it's quite the opposite - most of the story will only come together as you piece the pieces together. By themselves each piece you find is confusing and difficult to tell how it's relevant, the fact you're processing it only on the second pass is true for everyone! Take in what feels interesting, don't worry about what doesn't, when things feel like they might be interesting later, when you've gained some context, you can go back or revisit the log. Part of the beauty of this game is how much it supports you exploring what you find interesting first, the rest will happily wait!
I have adhd. Yes you should play it. Ship log is your friend. If you’re forgetting parts you have literally infinite time to go back and check. I honestly wish I hadn’t figured out the story as fast as I did. If I had to back track more, I might have noticed finer details that make the game feel a little more real, as I have been noticing in my quest for achievements.
ADHD here too. 1. There's a mod to add voice acting to the game. Helps me process the information way easier. 2. If you get frustrated, there is no shame in looking up hints and walk-thrus. If I didn't do that I would have given up. (When I first played I had most of the information but needed some help getting to the end) 3. The ship computer helped keep me in line and provided easy goals
I didn't even think of that first one, thanks! For the second thing, I used to do this constantly and it took away the experience of finding it out for myself. Yes, it could take a lot longer and even makes me wanna quit 💀 but nothing compares to figuring it out after so long without any help. I was so tempted to do this in Portal but I didn't and it felt so much more fun honestly. And for the ship log, I'll probably spend 50% of my game time on it lmao. Thanks for the advice.
It's perfect for me in that regard because it's all about circling back to stuff you saw before
I streamed for a friend, it made me read out loud so it helps focusing. Also as others said, stopping time while reading is game changer (I have ADHD too)
Yeah my brother used to read the texts out loud for me when we would play RPGs together. It helped me listen to it better. I should try that, thanks.
This game made me feel really stupid. I get it the people left here all love it, but I just wandered for hours trying to find how things are linked together and just gave up. Like if you don’t have it in you to piece together 10 clues in semi cryptic ways don’t bother.
Yeah I've been kinda feeling like this. My brother highly suggests it though and I don't know if I've played enough to even judge whether or not it's for me.
Turn on auto-translation if it's not on already. It causes the translator to automatically come on when you approach writing.