Do you regret?

[djb204]

I see a number of posts from people who are bored with the game because they've looked at player created maps online. They now know where every hatch is, where every weapon spawns, where every road and trail leads, etc. The sense of exploration and accomplishment you get from discovering places in The Long Dark is over quite quickly because the curiousity got the best of them. An exploration game loses its appeal pretty quick when players take shortcuts in the form of online maps, etc. I personally will not look at these maps for that reason, and I still have never found one hatch. I prefer to learn my way around through the natural course of exploration, trial and error to keep magic of  this game alive for along time. I don't want to rush through this game, and I advise players who truly enjoy this game not to ruin the experience for themselves. Too many times I've rushed through other open world games, and I began to crave new areas to explore. The immersion started to fade and all of a sudden the game felt a lot smaller then it did when I first started playing. That sense of scale had vanished, which is sad considering how huge this world still feels to me, and getting lost is part of the immersion. Once you stop getting lost, the game loses something. But back to the question at hand. For the players who have been everywhere and have done everything, and know where everything spawns, etc. Has that feeling disappeared for you? That sense of exploration? Do you regret taking shortcuts? In general, do you wish you took your time?

[Scyzara]

46 minutes ago, djb204 said:

For the players who have been everywhere and have done everything, and know where everything spawns, etc. Has that feeling disappeared for you? That sense of exploration? Do you regret taking shortcuts? In general, do you wish you took your time?

It hasn't disappeared, it's just a bit dormant until a new map is revealed. 

And I can't regret taking shortcuts because I don't have the impression I took many. I've explored most of the maps before community maps of the respective area were published. And I don't believe it makes much sense to blame maps for the fact that TLD becomes much easier once you know the landscape and don't get lost any more. Even if you don't look at community maps at all, you'll still learn the lay of the land by heart sooner or later. That's just the natural course of all games with premade maps.^^

I think the only occasion when I actually used maps to take a real "shortcut" was when I learned all bunker locations. And I don't regret that at all.

Given the size of the maps, the remoteness of some bunker locations and the fact that there's always just one bunker per map, starting a search without the slightest clue where to look might have become frustrating rather soon. Don't get me wrong, I found my first bunker in PV before it was listed on a map and it was an awesome and incredibly exciting find, but I definitely wouldn't have wanted to find all potential bunker locations myself. Pretty sure that would have been extremely time-consuming.

 

[illanthropist]

There's posts on here of me testifying to not using maps but I confess I did cave in the end, like @Scyzarato find a bunker but stopped again after that.  I was in favour of maps in game at first using fog of war mechanics but I came to appreciate that covering old terrain time and again makes you more familiar with the surroundings.  By paying attention I think there are enough subtle differences to keep you on the right path, the use of half fallen trees or stick clusters etc, kudos to designers.

I think stumbling across a clue as to the location of a bunker might be a nice edition for the future as some are really remote and they are more than just an easter egg

 

[Ohbal]

I do regret it. Even though I explored ML and half CH before looking at the maps, I lost that "exploration" factor for DP and TWM. Even if I just had a quick look at the maps to familiarize with the elements I would find. 

I intend to not make the same mistake again! Next maps, I'll be map-less

[Dirmagnos]

I use maps and i am bored. but its hardly because of the maps(i actually love those). Mainly because game lacks content for a long run, once you looted out everything, then there is nothing else to do. And after you visit every locations for like 30+ times, it tends to get tedious, since its all about salvaging, again and again and again, every run.

[Vhalkyrie]

I have 335 hours played, and I'm not bored.  I played my early games and got wiped out.  I started up a Pilgrim game and explored all the regions without player maps so that I got a feel for the lay of the land.  My Voyager games are played with maps that I refer to on my iPad, but at this point, I'm so familiar with the areas, I don't really need them.  I don't at all feel like I rushed through the game.  I just think the TLD sandbox was build to test/balance the environment systems, so there are a finite end of things to do.  I mostly spend my game time figuring things out, like predicting the weather, how to live matchless, writing stories, etc.

[hauteecolerider]

2 hours ago, Vhalkyrie said:

I have 335 hours played, and I'm not bored.  I played my early games and got wiped out.  I started up a Pilgrim game and explored all the regions without player maps so that I got a feel for the lay of the land.  My Voyager games are played with maps that I refer to on my iPad, but at this point, I'm so familiar with the areas, I don't really need them.  I don't at all feel like I rushed through the game.  I just think the TLD sandbox was build to test/balance the environment systems, so there are a finite end of things to do.  I mostly spend my game time figuring things out, like predicting the weather, how to live matchless, writing stories, etc.

This.

[cekivi]

Remember that the maps aren't completely static. Although the procedurally generated elements are minimal there are some (e.g. corpse locations, loot drops). There should always be something to explore.

Personally, I play until I loot everything out, then just enjoy the scenery for a few days and start a new playthrough. At the moment, there's not much to do in the game beyond 200 (or so) days simply because the sandbox was never really designed with endurance gameplay in mind. It was originally just supposed to be a test platform after all

Lastly, I don't think the maps detract from your play experience. I don't use them the first time I explore a map but once I think I've reached every location than I'll hop online to the wiki and see all the stuff I missed! Then I have even more things to explore! For me, the using a walkthrough/map/cheat guide the first time out rather diminished my experience of Fallout 1 and 2 in high school. As a result, I learned my lesson early on when guides enhance versus curtail your game experience!

[Hotzn]

No regrets here. Explored most of the maps myself. However, I failed to complete the Steam achievement "Exploration" - was missing one location but had no idea where. I had been looking and thought I had been everywhere at least twice, and I did not feel like combing through ML and CH again and again. So I looked at a map, and indeed I somehow had managed to not find a single cabin (or I had found it but thought I had already been inside). Got the achievement and was happy for the maps, because they saved me from a tedious search. So yeah...

[Ruruwawa]

I don't regret using the maps (I tried to not to use them except when I was really lost).  

What I regret is reading forums to learn how to play better, because practically every "how do I...?" thread advises new players to "just cheese it".  (Dunno about this forum since I'm new here, but that was my experience with reddit, Steam and google searches.)  It led my gameplay in a direction that I found super boring -- almost the the point where I felt like I'd wasted my money on the game.  

But I liked the concept and really enjoy the feel of the game, so I stuck with it long enough to figure out which advice was legit and which just exploited broken or incomplete alpha mechanics to bypass gameplay.  Since giving the cheese the boot I've been having a lot more fun.  

[cekivi]

Fleeing from danger is a good tactic though

If you'd like specific advice though the "how to play" forums are quite extensive.

[Ruruwawa]

13 hours ago, cekivi said:

If you'd like specific advice though the "how to play" forums are quite extensive.

The forums here are good!  Wish I'd found them when I first bought the game.

[grimreefer24601]

The thing that bores me is when I get all of the best gear.  Then the game become easy.  A place like TWM becomes the easiest map because when you know how to reach the summit you're inundated with great gear.  Nothing else left to accomplish at that point.

 

Sometimes I avoid the Tail for that reason.

[GoldenH]

It was a long time before I let myself look at the maps. I only did it when I considered a map "complete" to see if there were any hidden areas, I usually found one or two. But that didn't bother me.

I livestreamed the game on twitch, and a number of viewers were always popping in to give me hints and watch my encounters with the wildlife and weather. Even though they sometimes spoiled things for me, on the whole it was positive. I would often keep playing the game when I stopped streaming for the day to do maintenance, like hauling.

Unfortunately I think the amount of hauling is what killed the game for me. Because hauling was so important I eventually learned safe routes between all the maps. Then I learned safe routes between the important places on the map... doing circles trying to see if the saplings or mushrooms would ever respawn. Of course they didn't.

In the end that's what really killed the exploration for me. When it stopped being exploration. When I knew the map as well as I know the paths and trails in the woods behind my house. The thing that really contributed to this was the spawn locations for important items like the rifle and knives.

I feel like I didn't just learn the map. I learned how the maps were built, where shelter would be, how long I could travel before dark. I learned how to learn, and interpret the signs the game was giving me. I learned the AI to the point where I could sneak around wolves with a broken leg carrying fresh meat. When I spawned I knew where to go to find shelter, or quickly ran across another area that pointed me in the right direction. I knew how much food and water to stock to survive disease, and in the end I was even counting the hours before I had to cook my meat so it would last longer.

 

Because of this I feel like each new map is just going to provide a small new experience. So I am waiting until the release of story mode to play the game again - I am just hoping that the randomness will be increased somehow and the AI and Weather changed so I know longer know how to deal with it. Even a food and fatigue change would be welcome - new survival strategies required would give life to the game again!

I am only 280 hours into the sandbox. I have visited every place on the map (except for the hidden bunkers - I have never seen many of them spawn and some of the ones I have found are quite tricky!)

Probably the worst thing I was spoiled by twitch was the spawn locations of the rifle and bow, (I knew some of them, knowing all of them is terrible). Probably the worst things I figured out on my own was how much fatigue affected your ability to fight wolves and the exact temperature I needed to be 'warming up'. The worst thing I read online was the clothing exploits, eg taking them off before fighting wolves or in a blizzard.

[hauteecolerider]

7 hours ago, GoldenH said:

I feel like I didn't just learn the map. I learned how the maps were built, where shelter would be, how long I could travel before dark. I learned how to learn, and interpret the signs the game was giving me. I learned the AI to the point where I could sneak around wolves with a broken leg carrying fresh meat. When I spawned I knew where to go to find shelter, or quickly ran across another area that pointed me in the right direction. I knew how much food and water to stock to survive disease, and in the end I was even counting the hours before I had to cook my meat so it would last longer.

 

Kind of like real life, isn't it? Before maps and GPS, this is how we humans learned to navigate our world. I find that I'm really enjoying this aspect of the game, though it took some getting used to in the beginning. I kept hitting the "M" key (for maps in another game) to check on where I was or how much progress I've made toward my destination. It was a learning curve, but I resorted to real world skills like checking the direction of the sun, learning the lay of the land and the unmarked paths, and so on. 

I love Whiteberry's maps, but I use them only to see what I missed. I think it's more fun to learn the new maps by moving around in them and discovering new things on my own. 

[TheRealNFK]

I've succumbed to weakness in the past and studied the maps for ML and CH when they were the only ones. Right now I'm trying to stay strong and avoid looking at maps about PV, DP, and TWM. My current save has left ML and started CH, once I feel I have set up enough supplies at the gas station, I'm going to visit Desolation Point next, although I'm still a little spoiled because I already know the forge is there. It will still be my first visit, so I won't know the exact layout, distances, and locations.

When I first played the game with only ML, I actually did a little basic mapping on my own, just free handing significant landmarks on paper first, then eventually using f8 for coordinates and plotting them on graph paper. I want to try to recapture that exploration and survey feeling when I start the maps I missed by taking such a long break.

[Survive757]

I bought this game back when it only had Mystery lake, and to this day I still have not found the underground prepper bunker that is there, I have never used a map in this game and I try to play it as if I was really in that situation. Its frustrating to die if you have trouble remembering where to go but it makes the experience all that more awesome.

[MueckE]

well in a specific way it still is exciting, not for the aspect of survival, but just for exploring. The reason is that hinterland is changing things constantly without saying something about it

for example: Just a few months ago, i discovered that the cave at "Mysty Falls" in PV is a real cave also i suddenly saw hollowed trees standing around or how spawns have been changed

When you go from Mystery Lake to tunnel collapse and turn right (careful, there is a wolf :p) than there was a possible corpse-spawn a little but downhill towards Max/Trappers. Suddenly that specific sorpse didnt spawn for me anymore. One day, i turned a left towards the wall of the mountain to look for saplings (there is a sapling spawn) and followed they way with the wall to my left and found the missing corpse. They just changed it secretly and normally i wouldnt have found it because i would go straight from tunnel collapse to Max to trappers. Since then, i play a little bit like if i would play for the first time when i start a new run. And yes, i still can discover new things and that makes it worth it to explore

[hauteecolerider]

Some of those corpse spawns are randomized, just like the burned out cabins in various maps . . .

It's weird. When I first started playing TLD, I kept meeting Ranger Dave in the Camp Office in ML. But for the last four spawns, he hasn't been there . . .

Camp Office's starting to feel mighty lonely . . .

[cekivi]

Who knows? Maybe in another update or two Ranger Dave will still be alive to interact with in the cabin...

[Vhalkyrie]

20 hours ago, Survive757 said:

I bought this game back when it only had Mystery lake, and to this day I still have not found the underground prepper bunker that is there, I have never used a map in this game and I try to play it as if I was really in that situation. Its frustrating to die if you have trouble remembering where to go but it makes the experience all that more awesome.

I still have never found a bunker on the ML map.  I found one on PV, but ML is still...well...a Mystery. 

[cekivi]

3 hours ago, Vhalkyrie said:

I still have never found a bunker on the ML map.  I found one on PV, but ML is still...well...a Mystery. 

I've also never found the Mystery Lake bunker despite once using a You Tube video to try and find them. However, that was just after an update so the bunker locations had been tweaked.

[wilkinscw]

For me, it's a bit of both worlds. On the pro-map side, I find it extremely hard to believe that a bush pilot (or any pilot, for that matter) would not have detailed maps of the terrain they fly over. So for me, glancing at a map here and there to figure the best route to take isn't out of the realm of possibility for a downed pilot. On the other hand, to preserve some sense of mystery,  I never look for what animals spawn in what areas, or what locations might have a rifle. I leave that sort of thing to chance. I've found one bunker (ML) full of clothes the other day when I was desperately searching for a maple sapling (had two rounds for my rifle, and the survival bow I'd found at Unnamed Pond was down to 2% durability).

[Nasdaq401]

On April 14, 2016 at 2:35 AM, djb204 said:

I see a number of posts from people who are bored with the game because they've looked at player created maps online. They now know where every hatch is, where every weapon spawns, where every road and trail leads, etc. The sense of exploration and accomplishment you get from discovering places in The Long Dark is over quite quickly because the curiousity got the best of them. An exploration game loses its appeal pretty quick when players take shortcuts in the form of online maps, etc. I personally will not look at these maps for that reason, and I still have never found one hatch. I prefer to learn my way around through the natural course of exploration, trial and error to keep magic of  this game alive for along time. I don't want to rush through this game, and I advise players who truly enjoy this game not to ruin the experience for themselves. Too many times I've rushed through other open world games, and I began to crave new areas to explore. The immersion started to fade and all of a sudden the game felt a lot smaller then it did when I first started playing. That sense of scale had vanished, which is sad considering how huge this world still feels to me, and getting lost is part of the immersion. Once you stop getting lost, the game loses something. But back to the question at hand. For the players who have been everywhere and have done everything, and know where everything spawns, etc. Has that feeling disappeared for you? That sense of exploration? Do you regret taking shortcuts? In general, do you wish you took your time?

100% agree.  I still enjoy the game but the maps RUINED it for me. I'm patiently awaiting new areas! I have a brand new pencil and notebook I bought at a dollar store specifically for it! I really am excited !  Just going to be hard to wait for a new area since it doesn't look like we will get any for atleast 6 months or so

[KD7BCH]

On 4/14/2016 at 1:35 AM, djb204 said:

I see a number of posts from people who are bored with the game because they've looked at player created maps online. They now know where every hatch is, where every weapon spawns, where every road and trail leads, etc. The sense of exploration and accomplishment you get from discovering places in The Long Dark is over quite quickly because the curiousity got the best of them. An exploration game loses its appeal pretty quick when players take shortcuts in the form of online maps, etc. I personally will not look at these maps for that reason, and I still have never found one hatch. I prefer to learn my way around through the natural course of exploration, trial and error to keep magic of  this game alive for along time. I don't want to rush through this game, and I advise players who truly enjoy this game not to ruin the experience for themselves. Too many times I've rushed through other open world games, and I began to crave new areas to explore. The immersion started to fade and all of a sudden the game felt a lot smaller then it did when I first started playing. That sense of scale had vanished, which is sad considering how huge this world still feels to me, and getting lost is part of the immersion. Once you stop getting lost, the game loses something. But back to the question at hand. For the players who have been everywhere and have done everything, and know where everything spawns, etc. Has that feeling disappeared for you? That sense of exploration? Do you regret taking shortcuts? In general, do you wish you took your time?

That was their choice.