I had a similar issue. I thought the compass wasn't anything special, I thought it was just another resource, maybe I could trade it for other things or something. I literally bought the compass as the last thing, I had my hut up to 10, a spear, armor, and a water bottle, and was thinking the game had a great beginning but a really boring ending where you just spam wood and huts and get leather for collectible items. Perhaps changing it from a compass to a map would help, I was thinking the compass represented metal, I think a map would more clearly indicate exploration. Or maybe the builder should remark that a compass/map would be useful to find more resources.