Random maps


Dennis

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Love the game! Thank you HINTERLAND team!

I don't know how complicated it is programming-wise, but I think it would add a whole new dimension to the game if random maps were available (and they do not have to be necessarily big). One of the most critical elements of survival I think is knowing (or not knowing) the lay of the land. As it is now, after you have been killed a couple of times in the game you already know your way around and surviving becomes easier and easier with each respawn. Knowing the territory and where you can get shelter and loot, as well as knowing where the wolves or deer spawn allows you to plan your survival ahead.

Even with a larger territory you will become familiar with it after a while, while with a random map, even if it is not large, there will always be an element of risk when you have to decide whether to stay at a more or less secure location for a little while longer, or go out into the unknown for search of new loot.

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I think this has been asked before.

I would be curious what the team have to say, but afaik it would not work well with the story aspects of the game. I also think if an engine is not developed with procedurally generated content in mind from the start, it is extremely hard to make it work, and I fear that is the case.

But the positive is, a hand placed map is superior to a procedurally generated one, and too much procedural generation results in huge, depressing worlds.

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as is the case with games like Starbound, where you have whole worlds to explore, but they all feel kind of empty.

I too would love to see procedurally generated maps or random maps, but only if there's no downside to it. i'd rather have a great story mode and a ton of fun playing the sandbox than having penalties in those and focus the efforts on a randomized survival mode.

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One of the main aspects of gameplay is to reward the player for knowing landmarks on the map for better survival. This is what the Hinterlords planned all along so randomness would completely kill that idea.

Everything else is random though, even more random than any other open world game. Most of them worked on big open world titles so them saying this holds a lot of ground.

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  • 1 year later...
One of the main aspects of gameplay is to reward the player for knowing landmarks on the map for better survival.

Incorrect.

The premise of The Long Dark is the player is forced to crash land in remote wilderness. Therefore the landmarks would not be known to the player at the start but rather learned as play progressed. Obviously, this is true only during the first time playing.

Having the player know where things are right from the start -- knowledge gained from previous play -- is in direct opposition to, and incompatible with, the premise.

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