Hwo do you feel about quitting and reloading + interloper stuff.

[togg]

I'm on my 12th attempt with interloper, I think that the current mechanic about saving is working great. In the past, beginning days, I've backed up my save sometimes, but it felt bad to play again after that. This time I've just reloaded when I didn't manage, it didn't felt so bad, did you do it if you're in a death situation and no other save was triggered?

I'll describe pretty fast how I ended up in that situation. Skip it if you just want to comment about your experience with reloads

 

I've spawned in PV, I've started the usual route (main house, then houses on the bridge, then outbuildings) but this time I didn't want to repeat another damn time the trip to CH etc, I've died there too many times and I was a little bit bored by the forced path thing. So I've decided to go to ML, which is imho clearly harder. I've come back to the main house but taken a little detour. Anyway I ended up on the radio tower with some good deer meat. The radio tower was packed of things, one of the best loot for Interloper, and I didn't remember there was a bed there!

So I'm on the radio hut, with full stats in the 4 things BUT 38% health (don't ask why, I don't even remember now). 8h daylight left I think, a really good day. I was not risking cabin fever but I didn't wanted to wait. I was pretty confident on the path and my ability to avoid bear without surprise. The only real problem: I have to get to camp office since I don't have a bedroll. I've heard you can find one there, which is another brilliant move for interloper, same as the lantern in the mines.

I start to move, I found one deer carcass still on PV, I harvest the meat, big mistake here to not cook every coffee I have. I get into the cave with a branch, I found things, then before exiting the cave I find another deer. I harvest meat, cook, and harvest one gut.

It's night, I'm at 36%. Here it happens the tragedy. I eat some sardines that I've found in the cave just before going outside, they're at 30%. BOOOM. Food poisoning. A save triggers. This is incredibly bad. Treating the disease doesn't help much. I go outside, direction hydro dam and I loose 1% condition extremelly soon. When I also start to get frozen I'm already at 25% I think. I reach the broken window in a super bad shape, also having to use my only stim. I reload a few times trying to make another fire etc. Then I realise that I have two flares and I should only do the fires inside the cave or inside the dam. I manage to get to the window in better shape with the flare, this time I've never freeze. I enter the window. I use another flare to navigate the dam. After the door another save triggers. No Fluffy, I try to go to the camp, I start to freeze of course, I poorly choose the river path, I'm not a super pro so I've still a lot of doubts about the maps. I use the stim, I can't make it, I can almost see the camp office but it's too late.

 

 

 

I reload, second attempt. I cook the two coffees left in the bin inside, I drink them. I go outside in a kind of decent shape. After that super long walk on the river I'm sure that the rail path is shorter. I use the stim, I get there just fine! 10 hours rest needed. Now I'm on ML with 13% health (you don't regain condition with food poisoning still up, it's THE WORST) and a wonderful sunny day ahead of me. The bedroll was there in the morning, damnit.

 

 

 

TLDR: I could have probably done this first time if I would have play better after that food poisoning, at least I've learned something. Like I said I don't feel that bad about those reloads, I mean if the game doesn't save when you exit there's probably a cosmical reason. Maybe the devs wanted to allow non skilled player to try different things.

 

[selfless]

I think the save mechanic was originally put in to keep players honest about looting interior spaces.  And no save-on-exit was required so players could restore from getting "stuck" in unrecoverable positions that were bound to be present in a test build.  Save after injury was then also added to keep players honest back when wolf attacks were what was killing most players.  

But the system is quite useful.  Being able to replay the same scenario over and over is great, especially in a game where setting up takes hours of gameplay to for certain situations.  And as the game design continues to move toward longer and longer playthroughs (departing from its original intent of being an 8-hour game start-to-finish) maybe it is time to consider dropping the pretense of permadeath altogether?  They have already stated it will not be a part of the story anymore...  

[cekivi]

Personally, I really like the save feature for experimenting with different mechanics. For instance, I once shot all my arrows to the point where they were broken in an effort to learn how to use the bow (I still can't really use it ). Then I just reloaded and boom - all of my arrows are back

 

[TWM]

3 hours ago, togg said:

This time I've just reloaded when I didn't manage, it didn't felt so bad, did you do it if you're in a death situation and no other save was triggered?

The game is designed for you enjoyment. If you enjoy the game more by exploiting the save game system in your favor every once in a while, why beat yourself up about it.

And if you feel guilty because it kind of feels like cheating - thus detracting from your enjoyment - well then don't exploit the saves. It's your playthrough, not mine. You don't need my permission to rig the game in your favor; have at it, José!

I just started a run on interloper, started out with rags for wear in Timberwolf Mountain, tried repairing my wool sweater at 24% twice (!), and failed both times. Now that's not just frustrating, it's potentially lethal. But the second time, I realised I had just woken up, read a book while waiting for a blizzard to pass, and I could simply quit the game and restart from save.

Hey, if the devs want to offer that exploit, I'll take it! Yeah sure, it's cheating in a way, but it's not like I'm putting anybody else at a disadvantage by doing so. So who cares? I cheat a little, and now I feel less frustrated and I get more enjoyment out of the game, which was the object of the game. So everybody's happy. I'm happy, the developers are happy (since I tell everyone who's willing to listen they should be playing this game), and no-one's a loser for me cheating a little.

It's not like the game allows you to cheat a lot to begin with. It's got permadeath and no manual save options, for f*cks sake. It's pretty hardcore as it is. There are people who are freezing and report failing to make a fire over and over and over...

It just happened to me the other day: I was playing a Timberwolf Stalker start, decided to hike up the mountain, get some decent clothes along the way, rest in the caves, etc. So at day 2, I hike that way. Clothes are shitty, so I start freezing. By the time I reach the cave, there's wolves everywhere. So finally, I make a run for it. Safety at last. I start a fire. Fail. Second attempt - ooops, too late, now I've got hypothermia (which means I've got a condition, instant *save*).

I just walked out of the cave and let the wolves have her. I mean, what's the use in continuing at that point?

That's how frustrating this game can be. So yeah, I cheat a little here and there. What of it?

 

[togg]

1 hour ago, selfless said:

  Being able to replay the same scenario over and over is great, especially in a game where setting up takes hours of gameplay to for certain situations.  And as the game design continues to move toward longer and longer playthroughs (departing from its original intent of being an 8-hour game start-to-finish) maybe it is time to consider dropping the pretense of permadeath altogether?  They have already stated it will not be a part of the story anymore...  

 

Exactly, the thing is not the effort and being punished when needed per se but the time involved in it. I already play a lot, I couldn't play more than this. And this kind of situation are the one that happen at the end of a long playing process, taking your skills to a certain level is too time expensive, and I like the long dark for how compact it is. I already generally know how usefull coffee, flares etc are. But the details are complex.

But I like permadeath here, I think it ads something to the game.

[togg]

47 minutes ago, TWM said:

Hey, if the devs want to offer that exploit, I'll take it!

 

That's the spirit :))

I just wanted to know what you people do with it, thanks for sharing your experience.

[mystifeid]

It's a game. There are no rules save those you set for yourself.

2 hours ago, togg said:

taking your skills to a certain level is too time expensive

Exactly. Recently I've had a lot of spare time (about to end btw) so if I die, I die. I don't have a problem with starting again. It allows me to try different things and I'm so annoyed that I have become used to pushing very very hard in the beginning.

But most people would not have a fraction of the time that I have available to play TLD, so my advice is simply to do whatever you must to enjoy the game.

Having said that, there are still times when I quit/reload. For example, occasionally after removing load I find my character is moving as though the pack still weighs 50kg+. Reloading seems to fix this problem just fine.

[LucidFugue]

Some of the reasons I've abused the save system:

Speedrunning challenges (mostly to check an interior for loot then reload and take only what is useful) 

Multiple failed repairs using up precious resources like cured leathers

Getting totally lost in the wilderness because I missed my landmarks and / or got caught in a blizzard

Practising with the bow. 

 

I think I feel most guilty about the third because I'm usually avoiding a life or death scenario that way, but it's still a learning experience so I don't beat myself up about it. 

 

[Hotzn]

I only reload if I have to stop playing and resume later or - not very often lately - if I want to carry out a specific experiment which requires reloading. During normal play, I never reload. If I die, I die. Just like life - no reloading. I don't mind other people reloading if it is good for them.

[AZHockeyNut]

It's up to the player. I just hate it when people appear to brag about X days on something that few, if anyone else, can do like they are an expert at it, when it reality it is constant reload and such. Fine if you want to do that but be upfront to the newbies and the lesser experienced players that you died 26 times before you actually made it to day X on interloper or some other similar scenario.

OK

 

Down off my soap box now lol

[Ape88]

Um considering the first three times I tried to play on interloper I ran into wolves in the first day (with no warning I might add because I certainly didn't hear the wolves before they were about to attack) yeah I would be cool with a quit and restart option.

[togg]

For exemple, I had to try this since I still wasn't sure about the mechanic. The bear walk on normal speed, no time passing, while you harvest stuff for 20 min. He is not afraid of the fire either.

 

 

I've wasted a full deer carcass that I could have protected but at least now I know how it works. I should have learned this in Stalker but that mode it's too easy now.

I've also a few doubts for the special spot on the world that I've never visited but only see on the map like Lake Overlook, I want to try the little stuff that I'm missing but doing it in interloper is extremelly punishing if you don't know perfectly well what you're doing.

[continuity]

as a general rule I don't exploit the save system at all, but I do make an exception if there is a bug or something like that. one time where I do tend to do it is when I'm exploring nooks and crannies in maps, which can sometimes mean you get stuck on a ledge in a mountain with no way up or down.

[togg]

yes, last time I've reloaded was in a previous sandbox because I had dropped two guts on hibernia near the beds and one fell on the floor before after the night, one disappeared after the reload. It was a mess but at leas I have discovered that there's

a safe

there!

[Best_Leopard]

Nothing against those of you who do, but I'm really surprised how many people quit and reload!  I could only see myself doing it if there was a bug and I got stuck somewhere.  It's not about feeling guilty or "cheating" for me -- the reason I don't do it is the same reason that I've never looked at player-made maps or watched LPs: pure and simple enjoyment of the game.  For me, TLD is at its most fun when it's challenging and scary, when everything is on the line.  If I know that I can back out of a decision and try again if I don't like how it's going, it doesn't feel as "real" and exciting for me.

[togg]

Yes after that you reload for resurrection everything feels fake

[Kyopaxa]

I understand reload is great for experimentation, but at the same time, it really has destroyed the game several times for me.

In my last interloper game, I had done almost everything and was finally at the plane crash, having collected a lot of things. Then before going back down, I decided to do some stupid experimentation and started to climb even more the peak, going sideways on ledges, trying to arrive as higher as possible... until a bad move happened and I fell down. Died, game saved, game lost.

Then I realized that I did that stupid thing because I was relying on a reload, otherwise I would never have done that, or maybe I would have done it but certainly with over 9000 extra care. I really think the "safety net" of the reload system ruins the excitement considerably and changes the way we play. I envy those that can just ignore that the reload is there and enjoy the game at its fullest, I wish I could do that, but I can't. For me, if Hinterland implements an optional game mode where they prevent you from reloading as much as possible, server side if needed (but ONLY for that game mode, don't all jump over me XD), I would love it.

[togg]

oooh this is extreme in the other way aroung. backup your save if you really want that safety net

[MarrowStone]

The original reason why there's  no save option is because there used  to be leaderboards for how far you got in the game, and the devs probably wanted to keep people on edge and not feel safe.

How each player treats the game is up to that player individually, it doesnt bother me that some choose to reload. Especially now that there's  no leaderboard to compete in.

 Personally, I like to bite the bullet, and devise a plan on how im gonna get out of the mess. Sometimes I pause the game to allow myself a more realistic amount of time to think. It doesnt always work, but i find it more immersive than hitting save every time i doubt my choices like in other games, (i have a bad habit of saving too much, in fallout 3 alone I have 500 saves...).

 

[Vinceofpyrenees]

I wish i could start a Interloper game in ML. I'm borred about PL and always the same starts. REALLY.