Collectibles/Easter Eggs & Immersion/Discovery Map

[markala5]

Well, apparently we're secretly finding pens or something because we can keep writing in the journal & never run out of ink... Lol, seriously though, this is one immersion thing I don't want. I'm only jotting this down 'cause in-game I have such a terrible sense of direction you all have no idea, I can't navigate worth a damn. I get lost between the Trapper's Cabin & the Unnamed Pond, I've faded into the long dark many times in the same place because I keep wandering into wolves and bears, oh my, lol.

Immersion Collectible Ideas:

- example: Camp Office in Mystery Lake, Mountaineer's cabin, Pleasant Valley store, Gas Station Coastal Highway, Lighthouse should have region pure-topo maps somewhere, pick 'em up and stash it folded inside our journals, and as we discover places character's handwriting appears on it, optional for us to write on it personally too, but character roleplay-blah, I mean, if I was wandering the Canadian Wilderness with that much ink and paper I'd try to make a map, how effective/accurate it is is the question (no convenient 'you are here' dot for us, we gotta learn to read topo w/out a compass)

- Postcards? Like Easter eggs, not necessary but enjoyable to those who want another challenge

- Randomized ID's on the dead bodies we keep finding/looting(maybe certain ID spawns are rarer than others), IDK I'd RP my char making up stories about them to keep themselves sane. (notice most of these ideas are little things we can stash in our journals)

- remember that photo taped above the bed in the gas station? Wouldn't picking them (photos) up and keeping them be cool? Not letting people's memory die or whatever, with the photos just sitting there 'til they deteriorate. Maybe just pick up pictures or whatever, sorrynotsorry all my TLD characters are shameless packrats.

[Wastelander]

While I, personally, think that collectibles and easter eggs shouldn't be a priority right now, it's never wrong to discuss an idea, especially a good one - and yours is one! Although it has been discussed before, I think it's good to breathe new life into it. 

1 hour ago, markala5 said:

- example: Camp Office in Mystery Lake, Mountaineer's cabin, Pleasant Valley store, Gas Station Coastal Highway, Lighthouse should have region pure-topo maps somewhere, pick 'em up and stash it folded inside our journals, and as we discover places character's handwriting appears on it, optional for us to write on it personally too, but character roleplay-blah, I mean, if I was wandering the Canadian Wilderness with that much ink and paper I'd try to make a map, how effective/accurate it is is the question (no convenient 'you are here' dot for us, we gotta learn to read topo w/out a compass)

 

I rarely advise Hinterland to look at how other games did stuff because I prefer Hinterland's vision on things, but Miasmata had a good cartography feature. Basically, you had to climb high points to triangulate positions to get a sort of inaccurate map. It's hard enough to be challenging, it's not powerful enough to be considered OP and it's useful enough to still warrant interest, which is a perfect balance if you ask me.

1 hour ago, markala5 said:

- Postcards? Like Easter eggs, not necessary but enjoyable to those who want another challenge

 

Nice icea! Especially if we find ones that have stuff written on them, from the previous owners of the huts in Mystery Lake, adds some depth and plot to the game. I like it!

1 hour ago, markala5 said:

- Randomized ID's on the dead bodies we keep finding/looting(maybe certain ID spawns are rarer than others), IDK I'd RP my char making up stories about them to keep themselves sane. (notice most of these ideas are little things we can stash in our journals)

 

ID's are a good idea as well, as well as random wallet contents - on one corpse you'd find a drivers license, on another one the ID of a park ranger, then a student ID... it's surprising how much the contents of a wallet can tell you about a character. Coupons, receipts (the saddest thing would be finding a body outside Quonset Gas Station who apparently died shortly after purchasing diapers)

1 hour ago, markala5 said:

- remember that photo taped above the bed in the gas station? Wouldn't picking them (photos) up and keeping them be cool? Not letting people's memory die or whatever, with the photos just sitting there 'til they deteriorate. Maybe just pick up pictures or whatever, sorrynotsorry all my TLD characters are shameless packrats.

Same here  And yeah, that's also a good idea.

Another thing I might add would be randomized skins on cups - this is probably a bit hard to program, but Hinterland doesn't have a team of industry veterans for nothing, right? Just to add a little variety. 

[Gaboris]

+1 from me all the way.

[Dirmagnos]

Ive been strong proponent of topographic map, plus compass, plus notebook.

With map, its just a map, not minimap. It shows some major point of interest, as they would be marked on normal topographic map. And player may add automatic locations when he discovers them and manual to point of interest, like corpses of saplings. Map do not show player location in any way, no directional arrows, no nothing. Map markings are not retrospective, eg finding first dam and then map wont mark dam on the map, player has to visit it again. Notes could be written or pictograms. All notes are made with pencil and can be removed.

Didnt like miasmata cartography feature. Completely counter-intuitive and the way it was implemented didnt make much sense nor was particularly useful.

Compass acts as addition to map to provide easier navigation. Upon finding it its just added to map as item in the corner.

Notebook allows for extended record keeping, as keeping scores of supplies in various locations or salvageable materials. Also not retrospective. When player explores location and finds items, but do not take them with him, they are automatically marked and list can be viewed thru clicking on location map, bringing up specific information regarding that location.

Not really fond of ID idea. In every game i saw this feature it left me completely cold. When you find first one, youre like "yay", but then it turns out it doesnt do anything and every next one is just "ok, another ID, who cares".

[akodo1]

I like the idea of being able to find maps for each region that you can view but don't display your actual position.

Working compasses seem to be counter to the geomagnetic event.

Wallets could be fun, beyond just IDs (not too thrilled on that) but finding cash that could be used as tinder, possibly have locked places that you can't get into (maybe cabins, or containers inside of cabins) that you find keys to when you are rummaging in people's pockets.

ALSO, I think each corpse should have you either find 1-3 cloth or be able to harvest 1-3 cloth.  (No, not harvesting meat...it's one thing to pass your revulsion enough to rummage through pockets and take some cloths, it's another to butcher and eat)

 

Edit to add - some bodies should be to have your character make a statement about it, especially about how the person died.  'looks like he froze to death' 'the wolves got to him, but I can't tell if that was before or after he was dead'  'Oh my god...he's got a bullet through him'  

[markala5]

Doesn't the Aurora render compasses useless? I'd assume following compasses after the event would be like changing direction every few seconds, very unreliable. It's a dead body, ID's sort just build that, yeah these people may have been survivors like us, but something happened and now they're dead, fading away into the long dark like they'd never even been.

Cash makes a great tinder! What about finding a zippo lighter in some pockets? Not good for a lot of uses (unless you refill it w/ kerosene) but can totally help stave off the 'limited matches that degrade super-fastish' problem in long term games(aside from the devs adding primitive firemaking techniques that is).

[Wastelander]

1 hour ago, Dirmagnos said:

With map, its just a map, not minimap. It shows some major point of interest, as they would be marked on normal topographic map. And player may add automatic locations when he discovers them and manual to point of interest, like corpses of saplings. Map do not show player location in any way, no directional arrows, no nothing. Map markings are not retrospective, eg finding first dam and then map wont mark dam on the map, player has to visit it again. Notes could be written or pictograms. All notes are made with pencil and can be removed.

 

I like the way maps were handled in Far Cry 2 or Stranded 2, the latter being closer to your example. You even needed to find a pencil to make marks on the map  The game in and of itself wasn't so great, especially with unimmersive graphics, but the map-mechanic was great.

[Dirmagnos]

8 hours ago, markala5 said:

Doesn't the Aurora render compasses useless? I'd assume following compasses after the event would be like changing direction every few seconds, very unreliable. It's a dead body, ID's sort just build that, yeah these people may have been survivors like us, but something happened and now they're dead, fading away into the long dark like they'd never even been.

Cash makes a great tinder! What about finding a zippo lighter in some pockets? Not good for a lot of uses (unless you refill it w/ kerosene) but can totally help stave off the 'limited matches that degrade super-fastish' problem in long term games(aside from the devs adding primitive firemaking techniques that is).

Why ? Why would compasses stop working ? Compass follows Earths magnetic field lines, those do not just jump every second or even ever day. Even with major events like pole reversal changing to em field would be so slow that its highly unlikely that anything significant would happen during player lifetime.

Only way they would stop working is if em field would completely collapse or be scrambled to a catastrophic degree. Funny enough, the fact that there will be auroras means that em field is still present. You cant have first without second.

Money tend to be poor material for burning and even worse tinder due to chemicals present in them.

Idea for lighter and specifically zippos have been around forum be4. So far nothing.

[akodo1]

the magnetic field that allows compasses to work is also what catches particles and makes light for the northern lights, so no they won't mess it up.

There is no known geo-magnetic event that would kill all technology, so we can get really crazy with what is going on.   Maybe there's something the equivalent of the Manhattan Project going on in Portland, but it goes haywire and it's generating it's own field but at power levels that vary every day.  It's enough for anyone in the general region to have their compass affected, and it isn't a constant thing so you can't just figure a new reference.  Who knows.

Point is, compasses rely on geomagnetic field.  Something happened involving geomagnetism on a global scale.  It's going to seem counter to the storyline if a compass works, at least not without some elaborate backstory of exactly what happened, it's scope, magnitude, and duration.

Leaving it vague and having anything to do with electronics or magnets not working seems the best way to do it.

[Dirmagnos]

On 9/17/2016 at 5:51 AM, akodo1 said:

There is no known geo-magnetic event that would kill all technology, so we can get really crazy with what is going on.   Maybe there's something the equivalent of the Manhattan Project going on in Portland, but it goes haywire and it's generating it's own field but at power levels that vary every day.  It's enough for anyone in the general region to have their compass affected, and it isn't a constant thing so you can't just figure a new reference.  Who knows.

Point is, compasses rely on geomagnetic field.  Something happened involving geomagnetism on a global scale.  It's going to seem counter to the storyline if a compass works, at least not without some elaborate backstory of exactly what happened, it's scope, magnitude, and duration.

Leaving it vague and having anything to do with electronics or magnets not working seems the best way to do it.

In 1989 massive solar flare created gm storm that knocked out power in Quebec for 9 hours. So yeah, it is possible. Even slight changes to Earths own em field can lead to electronics being fried all over the globe.

Also Manhattan project is a completely different thing. Not to mention that it wont make much sense - why usaf, even tho they are crazy imperialists in my eyes, would kill canadian power grid(if not global) ? They would lose far more than they would gain. Not to mention continue to perpetuate this pulse - damage is done. And you cant have runaway reaction in this field on something that is based on modern technology.

Again ! Why is it counter to storyline ? How exactly is it counter to storyline ? Aside of "because i wannt it to be so" ? And i want an Apache attack helicopter that is unaffected by Event, has unlimited fuel and ammunition(and its completely in tune with storyline, you have my word for it) !

[Wastelander]

Calm down everyone.

We don't know yet what the disaster in TLD is all about, that'll be revealed in the story mode. It could be grounded in science or be completely from the realm of fiction, but until story mode rolls out to the point where it's explained, it's pointless to argue about it, not to mention that it's pretty off-topic for the thread.

As for the topic at hand: I want more diaries. Diaries are always a good addition to a game.

[Dirmagnos]

I wouldnt mind a few closed houses/rooms in various areas(randomly selected) that either require key or combination to open. Key/combination can be found anywhere in the world.

[MarrowStone]

Id like the survivor to utter some unique dialogue when discovering new things.

Perhaps calling out for survivors upon entering Coastal highway? Asking if anyones home when entering misanthrope's homestead? 

Another cool thing would be to add a feature where all the corpses dont spawn on day 1... so one day you go to a usual spot, and find a body... with fresh footprints leading up to it....

[akodo1]

On 9/19/2016 at 8:12 AM, Dirmagnos said:

In 1989 massive solar flare created gm storm that knocked out power in Quebec for 9 hours. So yeah, it is possible. Even slight changes to Earths own em field can lead to electronics being fried all over the globe.

Also Manhattan project is a completely different thing. Not to mention that it wont make much sense - why usaf, even tho they are crazy imperialists in my eyes, would kill canadian power grid(if not global) ? They would lose far more than they would gain. Not to mention continue to perpetuate this pulse - damage is done. And you cant have runaway reaction in this field on something that is based on modern technology.

Again ! Why is it counter to storyline ? How exactly is it counter to storyline ? Aside of "because i wannt it to be so" ? And i want an Apache attack helicopter that is unaffected by Event, has unlimited fuel and ammunition(and its completely in tune with storyline, you have my word for it) !

 

Yes, changes to earth's own EM field can fry certain types of electronics, but generally not all machines which is not explicitly stated but somewhat implied.

Also, let me explain what I meant by manhattan project.  #1 Secret.  #2 delving into areas of physics even relatively educated people of the day were ignorant of.  #3 extremely powerful.    I did not mean to imply an attack, but rather an 'accident' related to this secret and strange physics 'thing'  that either is creating it's own competing magnetic field or is affecting/altering the existing geomagnetic field.

[akodo1]

16 hours ago, MarrowStone said:

Id like the survivor to utter some unique dialogue when discovering new things.

 

I was thinking that today after my guy uttered how he'd never been so hungry before that they should program the game so that after he says that 10 times he then adds onto it, 'well except yesterday, and the day before that...'

[Dirmagnos]

19 hours ago, akodo1 said:

Yes, changes to earth's own EM field can fry certain types of electronics, but generally not all machines which is not explicitly stated but somewhat implied.

Also, let me explain what I meant by manhattan project.  #1 Secret.  #2 delving into areas of physics even relatively educated people of the day were ignorant of.  #3 extremely powerful.    I did not mean to imply an attack, but rather an 'accident' related to this secret and strange physics 'thing'  that either is creating it's own competing magnetic field or is affecting/altering the existing geomagnetic field.

Well, it all depends on magnitude. While it wont happen overnight, there is no way of saying that this buildup(like pressure in volcano) havent been going on for a decades prior to Event, resulting in a bit greater than normal shift.

Hmm, id rather use CERN then(with its Large Hadron Collider or any other toys where they throw stuff on the ceiling and see what sticks) as example. But sure, it could be result of yet another science project, military or otherwise. for all intenses and purposes those lab coats in Switzerland managed to created self-sustaining black hole(we get black holes all the time, but most of them are extremely small and have life time of fraction of a second) that now slowly but inevitably sucks Earths matter into itself and messes up with planetary gravitational fields.

[Kyopaxa]

I love all ideas, and as others said, don't show our location on maps.

What about being able to find other journals in corpses too? We could have different stories about what happened to them. Some journal stories could be connected to each other, like someone waiting for some other person to come back, then you find the journal of that other person too and connect the stories.

[Wastelander]

10 minutes ago, Kyopaxa said:

I love all ideas, and as others said, don't show our location on maps.

What about being able to find other journals in corpses too? We could have different stories about what happened to them. Some journal stories could be connected to each other, like someone waiting for some other person to come back, then you find the journal of that other person too and connect the stories.

"Dear diary,

this is probably my last entry. I'm out of matches, my fire is but a smoking pile of ashes now and I hear wolves howling nearby. Abraham had promised me he would come back with painkillers so I could keep on walking. Walking south, in our hilarious attempt to reach some place warmer. But the sprain just made it impossible. He promised me he would come back - and I believe in him. I believe that he tried to get back to me until his last breath.

If anyone finds this, please tell Abraham Jolynskis family in Alberta.

I love you, Abraham."

Aaaand some distance away in the dam::

"To whoever reads this

As you can see I'm not in great shape. Little [word smudged with blood] got me good. Who'd expect a wolf here? Anyways, I'm not gonna make it. I'm sorry, Jules.

There are two bottles of medical grade painkillers in my left pocket. My girlfriend has a severe sprain and needs them to move on. Please bring them to her if you have any kindness in your heart. Her name is Julia. Tell her Abraham sent you. Tell her that he loves her and that he won' come back. Her camp is near the [several wordses smudged with blood].

Thank you, kind stranger. I just hope you find me - and her - quickly enough.

Abraham Jolynski"

Something like this? 

[Kyopaxa]

@Wastelander Exactly what I was talking about. Very dramatic indeed, thanks for the writing.

[alone sniper]

@Wastelander  That was AMAZING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
                
I think we need topic to share our written diary so Hinterland can pick the best one up !!!!

[Wastelander]

3 hours ago, alone sniper said:

I think we need topic to share our written diary so Hinterland can pick the best one up !!!!

I appreciate it, but that was just a sample - directly providing material for Hinterland could lead to potential financial and legal problems I guess since what I've written there is technically my intellectual property (correct me if Im wrong). While I, personally, wouldn't mind freelance-writing for Hinterland, their writers are more than good enough on their own and probably don't need my input  Have a look at their bios on the official site - they did some seriously awesome projects in the past. 

[alone sniper]

On 9/23/2016 at 1:10 AM, Wastelander said:

I appreciate it, but that was just a sample - directly providing material for Hinterland could lead to potential financial and legal problems I guess since what I've written there is technically my intellectual property (correct me if Im wrong). While I, personally, wouldn't mind freelance-writing for Hinterland, their writers are more than good enough on their own and probably don't need my input  Have a look at their bios on the official site - they did some seriously awesome projects in the past. 

I know.
Hinterlands' guys are great !!!