Making the game harder and random maps

[Adam12341]

So I have played the long dark for quiet a while now and I start finding it boring. I know where everything is located on all the maps, I know the spawns of most of the rare items. I just want to have something that changes the game like placing the houses in different location or just have  different terrain.

The thing that could make the game more interesting would be by adding a random map generator that would randomly place every thing on the map and make the terrain custom. It should also have a ability to choose from for example, mountains, forests, taiga, beach or coust and a little bit of everything. This would make the game much more interesting so I hope you like it and maybe add something like this hinterland. 

[Pillock]

I'm not really qualified to answer this from a game-programming perspective, but I assume that it's not as simple as liking the idea and then just enabling it in the game. Creating a random landscape generator that results in believable environments is, I imagine, quite a large undertaking that would consume many months or even years of development time.

For a start, you don't want the player thinking to themself, "What the hell is that mountain/cliff/river/lake/tree/house/road doing there?" This is a danger when you want a computer to invent a realistic-looking environment. 

Also, by designing carefully each map individually, the developers can make sure they are all well balanced for the intended gameplay experience, as well as looking and feeling like real places. It's probably more efficient in terms of development time investment to design and create more maps manually, ensuring each one has its own longevity and replayability, than it is to develop a programme to generate maps that might not end up being very suitable or fun to play in.

[nicko]

I'm no expert either but thinking about it a random map /location could be a cool sandbox game.

Though I guess a new huge world / map / regions would have to be developed first So maybe another x amount of  years dev? who knows?

Also story mode should be out soon plus more updates to sandbox so you won't be bored for much longer. Else just try a harder level of play?

[Adam12341]

3 hours ago, Pillock said:

I'm not really qualified to answer this from a game-programming perspective, but I assume that it's not as simple as liking the idea and then just enabling it in the game. Creating a random landscape generator that results in believable environments is, I imagine, quite a large undertaking that would consume many months or even years of development time.

For a start, you don't want the player thinking to themself, "What the hell is that mountain/cliff/river/lake/tree/house/road doing there?" This is a danger when you want a computer to invent a realistic-looking environment. 

Also, by designing carefully each map individually, the developers can make sure they are all well balanced for the intended gameplay experience, as well as looking and feeling like real places. It's probably more efficient in terms of development time investment to design and create more maps manually, ensuring each one has its own longevity and replayability, than it is to develop a programme to generate maps that might not end up being very suitable or fun to play in.

Yes your right but it takes a long time for the devs to create maps. You are right but this is something that is meant to be added maybe in the late game. I am not a beginner and I know how game programming works and how long it takes. I have myself been working with games before. I still think you agree with the fact that the game gets boring after playing for a long time and knowing where every thing is.

[Dirmagnos]

Creating random map generator is extremely hard and timeconsuming undertaking, not to mention that resulting maps would be rather generic. Generated maps have never been even remotely as good and unique(in a good way) as manually created maps.

[Maninpants]

A random map generator and/or player- made maps would be most most welcome and that's an massive understatement. I love being lost and that panick, reason, to find somewhere or something in order to survive. Without it, and after you know the limited amount of locations, the game feels like a cupboard searching simulator and gets old very fast. An easier quicker temporary but ongoing solution could be, as suggested already, a random placement of caves etc, random unlocked/locked buildings/cars etc etc etc so it keeps the tension where it should be instead of out the camp office, turn 90 degrees left, walk straightish and left a bit, arrive at trappers homestead...

I want to be lost in the winderness. Player created maps and/or map packs (for a good price and a good amount of them) would be amazing.

[djb204]

On April 10, 2016 at 2:00 AM, Adam12341 said:

So I have played the long dark for quiet a while now and I start finding it boring. I know where everything is located on all the maps, I know the spawns of most of the rare items. I just want to have something that changes the game like placing the houses in different location or just have  different terrain.

The thing that could make the game more interesting would be by adding a random map generator that would randomly place every thing on the map and make the terrain custom. It should also have a ability to choose from for example, mountains, forests, taiga, beach or coust and a little bit of everything. This would make the game much more interesting so I hope you like it and maybe add something like this hinterland. 

When the full game releases, you will have more places to explore. Storyline locations that are not in the alpha, but WILL be in sandbox mode come full release. Not to mention the possibility of DLC. Also, If you look at the latest trailer, you will see that more structures are being added along side more detailed interiors etc. The game is still changing and growing and might be drastically different in the final version. Keep in mind this is just the alpha version intended to give you a glimps of what the final product will be like.

 

though I do understand from a personal experience how a game can lose that sense of exploration and discovering new places one you become familiar with the entire map. It's happened to me on numerous occasions in other games, which is why I won't look at the user created maps online. I don't want to know where everything is. I'm going to stretch the exploration experience out of The Long Dark as long as I can. DLC in the form of new regions would be amazing too. It will keep the game fresh for a long time.

[dbldrew]

I agree once you know the maps you know exactly where to go to find supplies. I have been trying to only hunt while standing up, or trying "naked and afraid" style to add some challenge. the game gets easy and boring.

Maybe have a few dedicated buildings but most other resources, like dead deer, dead humans, mushrooms, maple, birch saplings, deer blinds, smaller shelters all spawn randomly on the map. It will force exploration.