HINTERLAND

[SnowWalker]

The letters of this word flow out of my mouth and up and all around in a wondrous and beautiful air dance. I can't tell you guys how much joy you have brought to me with this game over the years. I've always said, I would be totally okay if story mode never came to fruition and stayed in sandbox forever. You guys have given us almost everything we've so long wanted in a survival game and you were all always there for us if you could be. I commend each and every one of you for this beautiful, gorgeous, dangerous game. CONGRATULATIONS!

And Thank You All, so, so, so much!

[Stoibs]

1 hour ago, SnowWalker said:

I've always said, I would be totally okay if story mode never came to fruition and stayed in sandbox forever.

I mean, then there's those of us who literally only backed this *for* the storymode who have been twiddling our thumbs for the past several years on end with nothing to show for it since we actually don't want or like sandbox things, so there's that side of the coin and fanbase to consider also.

Frankly at this many years on I'm still not thrilled that it needed to become an episodic title, but I suppose *FINALLY* getting some sort of release is better than nothing. Been a very long time coming thats for sure.

[SnowWalker]

16 minutes ago, Stoibs said:

Frankly at this many years on I'm still not thrilled that it needed to become an episodic title, but I suppose *FINALLY* getting some sort of release is better than nothing. Been a very long time coming thats for sure.

 I'm sorry you've been disappointed. Not I. I didn't know about this game until I played it at my brother in law's four years ago. It's everything and more, to me, as a survival game. It takes time and a lot of money to do a game right. We don't want something half baked because of pressure. A lot of creators are going with the episodic way these days and it seems to be working. Hinterland at least doesn't ask for more money for more episodes. like some game creators I can think of, which is commendable, I think. I just hope it won't be too long in between new episodes, but I'm very happy about the fact that it will be a long story. Sandboxing this game has brought me many, many hours of pure joy.

[Patrick Carlson]

Thank you @SnowWalker. It's much appreciated.

@Stoibs We understand where you're coming from. All along we've wanted to be true to everyone who's supported us, and we're almost there now. 

[Ruruwawa]

I'd like to add my thanks and congratulations!

30 minutes ago, SnowWalker said:

Sandboxing this game has brought me many, many hours of pure joy.

+1  
Team Hinterland, you exceeded my expectations for the sandbox many months back.  I feel safe expecting the same for story mode since the character and quality of the game has been exceptional in every iteration I've played. 

Good luck tomorrow!  I hope the launch goes so smoothly you have time to bask in the excitement with the rest of us.  

[Mroz4k]

I think I speak for a lot of people, many of us probably saw the game or its trailers at first and then just impulsively bought the game.

For me that was almost three years ago, I first saw an EMD make a vid on this game and I bought it after ten minutes o the episode. Never have I looked back and I can't say I have ever regretted it for a bit. Just like @SnowWalker said, this game has given me what I wanted in a survival game four times over. Been hopeful for The Forest when it first came out to be realistic, it deviated from that survival aspect to more of a hack-and-slash strange game. Was like this for many games. 
My only regret was that I wasn't around a little bit sooner when the Kickstarter was running because back in the day I would sign my soul along with a generous backing on that campaign.

I take an occasional pause from playing for a month or two, but I don't think I have ever been committed to a game as much as to the Long Dark, at least in a good way (been flat out addicted to an MMO for 5 years, in a very unhealthy way). There were a few mistakes along the way but those often got removed right away, and the fact that this game has grown from that initial Mystery lake map with no plants and wolves that were scared of a thrown unlit flare is still astonishing to me. I often find myself chained to the central European location meaning I can't freely enjoy the outdoors in a way I would like to, there are towns and tourists everywhere and its hard to find anything that was not touched by human hand a hundred times over - and this game has given me an escape in a way. I am happy for the Story mode to come out, but if it had stayed a sandbox only, I would have been more than satisfied. It has been a real privilege to be a part of this community, even if I only took a more active role recently. Thank you.

[Packet802]

4 hours ago, SnowWalker said:

The letters of this word flow out of my mouth and up and all around in a wondrous and beautiful air dance. I can't tell you guys how much joy you have brought to me with this game over the years. I've always said, I would be totally okay if story mode never came to fruition and stayed in sandbox forever. You guys have given us almost everything we've so long wanted in a survival game and you were all always there for us if you could be. I commend each and every one of you for this beautiful, gorgeous, dangerous game. CONGRATULATIONS

I agree!  I spent $19.99 on this game 18 months ago and have gotten hundreds of hours of fun open world sandbox enjoyment out of it.  This game ranks in my top 5 with other games like Skyrim,  and GTA5 as far as time spent playing.

On the other hand there are plenty of other $60 AAA title games that I bought and played for less than a day and quit because they sucked!   I have more than gotten my money's worth for this game as it is now.

I'm also mindful that story mode is not likely to provide the same hundreds of hours of play like the sandbox has.  I might not be able to quit playing it and be done in a couple weeks!  Hopefully story mode is also open world sandbox so we can keep playing sandbox style while waiting for the next episode to open up. 

[SnowWalker]

19 minutes ago, Packet802 said:

Hopefully story mode is also open world sandbox so we can keep playing sandbox style while waiting for the next episode to open up. 

They are not dropping sandboxing. We can still sandbox as much as we like, as always in the sandbox category,  not sure about the story mode though.