Time to post news on how work progresses

Capi

By Capi
in News Archives

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 252
  • Created
  • Last Reply
togg Pathfinder

togg

Posted
Posted
On 22/4/2017 at 8:57 PM, CalNieDaGtarGuy said:

In a roundabout way, yes. PC Gamer had a tiny article on it and i'm sure IGN or RPS had or will cover it eventually. (If that's what you mean by media, anyways)

mmm, then I really don't understand this way of doing it. I mean, I'm not mad or something just because I have so many things to do and game to play that I don't care that much but I don't understand who is the target of this omission. Journalists care less probably if you give so little informations and you're not an enormous software house. Players are excited as it should but would they be less excited if they knew what this countdown is about? There're mainly two options: 1) it's for sandbox or something else strange and they will be disappointed. 2) It's for story mode, I can speak for myself, I would be more excited if I was sure about it.

 

So I really have no clue about the choice. But whatever :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TWM Pathfinder

TWM

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, togg said:

There're mainly two options: 1) it's for sandbox or something else strange and they will be disappointed. 2) It's for story mode, I can speak for myself, I would be more excited if I was sure about it.

Which is one of the reasons why I don't believe this countdown will turn out to be for Story Mode.

A second major reason for my scepsis being: if it is for Story Mode, I don't see time/room for another Sandbox update. What, you imagine there's going to be a Sandbox Update within the next ten days (which will need people to work on several bug fix patches afterwards) and also the Story Mode after those ten days?

Keep on dreaming.

Thirdly: if you Google '(The)+Long+Dark', you'll notice that the site with the countdown is pretty much tucked away. Plus, there's no similar banner with a big countdown on the official Hinterland Site. No fanfare, nothing. Not even a link to the alternative site, not even under News & Updates. In fact, the only way I can find pointing to the alternative Long Dark site with countdown ticker is on Steam Community.

I don't know... you'd think if Raph and his team were going to launch the game proper, they'd want to seize the opportunity to create some buzz... get the word out; but hardly a sound.

Which leads me to conclude that the Countdown is for... the launch of this particular Long Dark website, which may or might not even (!) coincide with the Sandbox Update.

Remember what the announcement says:

Quote

There will be one more Sandbox update before Story Mode launches. More details about that update will be available soon.

'More details about that update [i.e. the final Sandbox update] will be available soon. How soon? Well, maybe when the counter reaches zero, who knows? So worst case scenario: all you get for your nervous excitement is an announcement; wouldn't that be a hoot? Well, it would be if you have a twisted, dark sense of humour, like me (I'm a bit of a misanthrope who thinks nature pulled a sad joke in creating self-conscious intelligence, so I'd be chuckling...)

What I expect will happen though, is Sandbox Update + launch of a separate Long Dark website with teaser trailers, roadmaps, etc. That's a reasonable estimation. Everything considered, that would make most sense. Yet, it's still just a guess.

So in short: don't expect everything all at once, just because they've got a site with a counter hidden away. It's probably not such a big of a deal as you make it out to be.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pillock Pathfinder

Pillock

Posted
Posted
40 minutes ago, TWM said:

So worst case scenario: all you get for your nervous excitement is an announcement; wouldn't that be a hoot? Well, it would be if you have a twisted, dark sense of humour, like me (I'm a bit of a misanthrope who thinks nature pulled a sad joke in creating self-conscious intelligence, so I'd be chuckling...)

I wouldn't put it past them to have the countdown reach zero on May 4th, then afterwards just have it start counting forwards again, still without any word of an announcement on anything...

Now that would be funny. (If possibly a little damaging to their reputation.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
togg Pathfinder

togg

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, TWM said:

Which is one of the reasons why I don't believe this countdown will turn out to be for Story Mode.

This makes sense to me but it doesn't in general. Stressing your community like this for a new site and new waiting seems rough.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TWM Pathfinder

TWM

Posted
Posted
30 minutes ago, togg said:

This makes sense to me but it doesn't in general. Stressing your community like this for a new site and new waiting seems rough.

Wouldn't be the first time for Hinterland, and it probably won't be the last.

Here's the thing though: we don't know what the considerations are that have to be taken into account. So we could speculate all day long and for weeks on end, based on conjectures like "but surely if x was the case, then you'd want at least to communicate ¬y, because otherwise the result would be so-and-so, which would be disfavorable, am I right?", but that's just like creating a mental loop for yourself and thinking in circles, based on merely conjectural assumptions.

Again: we don't know what's going on at HQ, so we're not privy to all the information, and therefore, which considerations have to be taken into account.

So chillax! Have yourself a zen cup of tea. Shrug your shoulders. A couple of times if you have to. When it comes, it comes. If it doesn't come in ten days, it'll come some time later. Probably a couple of months from now. Two at least, but probably four. Or five. But it might be six. Or seven. You never know.

What's the rush anyway? Is this an addiction? Do you need your fix..? Like calling on the dealer: when is it gonna come, man. I need my shot of adrenaline and wonderment...

Better to quiet the mind, stare at the pond, or get your fix from twitter or something. Or travel to a real life great outdoors destination. Experience the real thing.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CalNieDaGtarGuy Pathfinder

CalNieDaGtarGuy

Posted
Posted

Very true. I don't want to leap back into the circle but it just seems that Hinterland would be absolutely slaughtered if this countdown were for anything but story mode. My only speculation on the announcement is that it says 'more info will be provided on that update' and not this update. I am anxious, and I would be mad, but I guess I'd just have to move on. I think the letdown would be enough to make me walk away forever, and so, out of sight, out of mind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wetblue13 Survivor

wetblue13

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, CalNieDaGtarGuy said:

Very true. I don't want to leap back into the circle but it just seems that Hinterland would be absolutely slaughtered if this countdown were for anything but story mode. My only speculation on the announcement is that it says 'more info will be provided on that update' and not this update. I am anxious, and I would be mad, but I guess I'd just have to move on. I think the letdown would be enough to make me walk away forever, and so, out of sight, out of mind.

I actaully think it is an count down to another count down for story mode :D jk but i do think its just a countdown to a big announcment. Meaning i do agree, i think so as well with more info and stuff.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TWM Pathfinder

TWM

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, CalNieDaGtarGuy said:

it just seems that Hinterland would be absolutely slaughtered if this countdown were for anything but story mode.

Oh, I don't doubt they'll get a lot of flak on the user boards here and on Steam when that counter hits zero and it doesn't deliver what people had imagined.

But that wouldn't be the first time. Won't be the last either. I've seen this happen a couple of times before. Ambiguous communication, people start to get worked up and imagine things. 'What if it's this?' 'Do you think it's going to be that?' 'See, but it has to be, because why else wouldn't they just come out and say it's not?'

From a pr-standpoint, I'd think it would make more sense to nip that in the bud and cut it to size in an early stage, instead of letting people's imaginations run wild and getting peoples hopes and fantasies up only to have those disappointed later. It seems just begging to aggravate your most active, loyal consumer base, the people spreading word-of-mouth and turning them off.

At least so it seems to me. But at the end of the day, what do I know? I'm just an end-user of the product sitting behind a computer, typing away my thoughts...

You know, a year ago, when Raph came out with these road maps, I said: people, looking at this, it could take another year, maybe a year and a half before Story Mode actually gets launced. At which point Raph interjected, and said something to the effect that I misinterpreted the schedule, that they were going to do work on Story Mode side by side with Sandbox Update or something to that effect.

I don't want to be smug about it, but we're a year further down the road and it turns out my estimation was correct. And if it takes another six months I won't be suprised (nor disappointed) either.

The point being: it always takes way more time than even the developers themselves realise, in part because they keep setting the bar ever higher as they go along. Which is a good thing in a sense: at least when the Story Mode finally comes out, it won't be a half-baked product like so many other titles out there that start with a compelling premise, get rushed because of time and budget constraints, an then are let-downs.

When Story Mode does come out, I know I can trust it to be an experience that sticks with you, like a novel that you think about years later. And if that takes another six months, so be it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Doc Gonzo Pathfinder

Doc Gonzo

Posted
Posted

@cekivi and I are in agreement.  I've been playing since early 2015 (not as long as some of you I realize) and I'll believe it's story mode when they say it's story mode.  Hinterland and Raphael have created a phenomenal game that has provided me with countless hours of entertainment, I don't need story mode to enjoy TLD.   

Updates are usually tested by those that participate about a week before they're released I think. Am I not remembering that correctly?  I'm guessing it's a mega-update, one with enough 'oomph' to warrant a countdown timer.  Does the countdown timer (assuming it doesn't indicate the release of Story Mode) seem a bit tone-deaf?  It feels like it is to me, and I work in public/media relations. I could've never, in an official capacity, concurred that a countdown timer was appropriate for anything other than Story Mode and it would have to be crystal clear it was for Story Mode.  The player base (I mean have you read the steam forums -- they can be downright vicious) would be very perturbed otherwise.

I also agree with another poster in this thread.  I'm more looking forward to the next update verses the eventual release of Story Mode.  When all is said and done, I'll likely end up with less than 5 percent of my total play time in Story Mode.  I'll go through it and then load up a fresh sandbox.

That's my two cents anyway ...

Whatever it is I'm sure we'll enjoy it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cekivi Pathfinder

cekivi

Posted
Posted

The full steam announcement is here:

Quote

Hello everyone,

In collaboration with Valve, The Long Dark will be available for 50% off its current $19.99 Early Access price during this week's Steam "Midweek Madness" sale, which starts tomorrow (April 25th).

This is to acknowledge all the community support you've given us over the years, and to offer one last chance to purchase the game at the Early Access price point.

Thanks for your support, and we can't wait to share what's coming next!

- The Hinterland Team

Note that the sale won't start until 1 Pacific Time so there's about 2 hours to go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cekivi Pathfinder

cekivi

Posted
Posted

@CalNieDaGtarGuy: Well, I have two thoughts :)

  • Odd that there wasn't a news post on our forums too
  • I'm still not convinced that this means story mode is ready. However, I do think there's a very good chance that the sandbox will now be released as a standalone game.

My reasoning is quite simple:

  1. It was also announced on Steam that there will be one last sandbox update before story mode.
  2. Every other update has had community testing before it was finalized.
  3. @Raphael van Lierop is a perfectionist (as seen in the huge quality improvements to the game over the years). It is unlikely the game will launch without extensive testing.

Note that this reasoning is not perfect. Hinterlands has be hiring a lot of QA people recently so they have likely done a lot of story mode/final sandbox testing in house already. So, I will remain happily surprised to be proven wrong ^_^

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Nervous Pete Pathfinder

Nervous Pete

Posted
Posted

Hmm, good point. Well I guess the countdown could be for the final 'locked in' sandbox update, where all the mechanics are in place (cooking, fire-making, aurora effects, warding off cold-calling bears attempting to sell Forlorn Muskeg real-estate) and a fixed release date is announced for a period of time after, allowing for playtesting for bugs only and nowt else, wishlist be damned. Basically this will close off 'feature creep' before the final set release. (Naturally next 'season' of The Long Dark will allow for more features to be added post story-mode.) 

I think a big sandbox mechanics update and new website only would be accepted as the countdown reveal, so long as the new website presented a definite 'barring ironic destruction of civilisation through geo-magnetic solar storm this is the release date' window for story mode in the near future. I'm not sure if a further wait of six months or more would go down well, as it would raise the spectre of yet further delays and reveal the counter to having unnecessarily got our hopes up.

Of course, I wouldn't be mildly fretting if I wasn't so deeply in love with the game and so curious as to how their concept will finally manifest itself. 

 

   

Link to comment
Share on other sites
RossBondReturns Pathfinder

RossBondReturns

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Ruruwawa said:

Did Forlorn Muskeg have community testing before it was released?  I remember it as a surprise, but maybe I'm wrong about that.

Technically they opened the tunnel to the Muskeg but nothing loaded when you went through. Except sometimes some sound...on a black screen so no the Muskeg was not tested in the Test Branch that I can remember.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Doc Gonzo Pathfinder

Doc Gonzo

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, RossBondReturns said:

Technically they opened the tunnel to the Muskeg but nothing loaded when you went through. Except sometimes some sound...on a black screen so no the Muskeg was not tested in the Test Branch that I can remember.

Just chiming in to say RossBondReturns is correct, we didn't test FM but the tunnel at ML was different but you couldn't explore FM during the test.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
selfless Pathfinder

selfless

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, RossBondReturns said:

Technically they opened the tunnel to the Muskeg but nothing loaded when you went through. Except sometimes some sound...on a black screen so no the Muskeg was not tested in the Test Branch that I can remember.

I can understand your not remembering given that it has been almost 5 months since then, but test branch was indeed used, though only for the clothing mechanics not the new map.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cekivi Pathfinder

cekivi

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, RossBondReturns said:

Technically they opened the tunnel to the Muskeg but nothing loaded when you went through. Except sometimes some sound...on a black screen so no the Muskeg was not tested in the Test Branch that I can remember.

I thought the other mechanics for that update were though. Just not the map itself....?

Thanks @selfless:) 

Note to self: refresh forum before replying :D 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing