Proposal on how MP could work.

[Space_Taco]

So, I know this idea has been already asked for (Multiplayer), But I didn't see the functionality or how it would work if it was ever implemented,

So I decided to write a plan on how it could possibly work and function, I am not a software specialist or a programmer. But I definitely think some of the matter here is possible.

So the system that I thought was pretty much sophisticated and was partially done in other games that I know, Multiplayer here is separated into 4 Modes

Note: This is not an official proposal by hinterland studios, This is just my personal opinion on how MP could work.

 

(The Proposal)

Mode 1, Survivalists

 

This mode would be a Team up mode, Before the game is started the host would set up the game settings and, the map area, etc. Meanwhile, if the players joined the game and the game hasn't started yet they will just be at a chat screen waiting for the game to start. up to 4 Friends could play together as a team to survive. It would have LAN Support, To join each other they would simply click the join button on steam (Optional). or join from a server list ingame in case of people looking to play with other random people.

After the host starts the game and the others will join him, Once the players are in, They will be able to choose between Female or Male characters, and what they want their names to be, There would be 4 Different Female Characters and 4 Different Male characters that they will be able to choose from. If a person chooses a character, the other person cannot choose it.

There would be a simple chat system, With filters or not. They will be able to interact with each other in many different ways such as Healing each other, Trading items, and more. If a Person dies, He will respawn near one of the 3 Other players, The host could set in settings that if one dies he needs to wait until the round ends, which would disable respawning, thus if all players die, The game ends.  This mode could be an unlimited mode and the game could go infinitely or the host could set the game up, that it won't end until a certain task or goal is completed by the set of players.

Sleeping would require all players on a bed or a bedroll for time to skip and time would skip a certain amount of hours and the amount of time could be changed by the host. If not all players are on the bedroll or bed, sleeping would be replaced by resting which would do the same effect of sleeping but without skipping time, and would recharge the player's rest amount much slower.

if the host had disabled respawning and if all players die the game ends when the players would have an option to continue playing the game and the game starts again. If they select no, they would exit the game.

Mode 2, Death Match

 

This mode would be supporting 8 Players playing against each other, There could be map votes before a game starts, The players would spawn randomly in a region and they will be restricted to that region. For example, they can't leave Mystery lake region as there would be Invisible walls preventing players from leaving the region to end the match faster, The mode would have the same multiplayer system as "Survivalists", except that sleeping is probihited and instead you can only rest and Healing and trading will be disabled, Players would have to hunt for resources and weapons, The last person to survive wins , They would need to kill other players in order to win the game. The max time could be set up by the host. If the max time goes out and there is no winner, The game ends with no winner.

And just like "Survivalists", The players would have the option to continue the game for it to restart or to exit it.

Mode 3, Multiplayer Challenges

 

This mode would be a Challenge mode supporting 4 players, With a variety of 5 ingame multiplayer challenges, A custom option could enable custom challenges made by the community other than premade ones, They would have their own rules and systems other than "Death Match" and "Survivalists".

It is very hard to determine the basis, because of the possible varieties and options.

 

Mode 4, ( Your suggestions )

Your suggestions and ideas on MP that I couldn't think off, Feel free to contribute your ideas on this topic.

So this is a sum up of all the modes I came up with, If you have any questions, suggestions, and comments please write them down below. 

-Space_Taco 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[VR00MER28]

I think multiplayer would be great. 

[EricTheGreat12]

Space_Taco, I appreciate the amount of effort that you’ve put into this idea; it’s not often that you see someone trying to make sense when proposing an idea on these forums unfortunately....

But again, Hinterland has said time and time again that multiplayer won’t be happening. It’s frustrating when people don’t get the message

[Mroz4k]

6 hours ago, EricTheGreat12 said:

Space_Taco, I appreciate the amount of effort that you’ve put into this idea; it’s not often that you see someone trying to make sense when proposing an idea on these forums unfortunately....

But again, Hinterland has said time and time again that multiplayer won’t be happening. It’s frustrating when people don’t get the message

First of all, yes, you are right, in a matter that this kind of effort is rare. Though it should be a norm.

And secondly, you are a liar. Never did I actually see Hinterlands proclaim that - in fact, not that long ago, Raphael was looking for experienced coders with experience in Co-op games - which suggested that they are, at the very least, looking into this possibility.

There are only very few things Hinterland ever claimed they WONT do, and multiplayer is not amongst them.

As for the actual suggestions - they dont really follow the nature of the TLD - like permadeath, and other relatively realistic aspects of the game. I think most would find these modes would have "nothing to do" with the game at all. Besides, it doesnt really go into the detail how would the question of "advanced time" be solved in these modes.

1. is okay, I guess. Just not TLD at all. Reminds me a lot more of Dont Starve Together.

2. is just lame. Has nothing to do with TLD, is more of a Fortnite or PUBG. Besides, the game doesnt have nearly enough weapons for this to really make sense. Adding more weapons for sake of simple mode is pointless. Finally, people killing each other could affect the ESRB rating.

3. Ugh. I get the excitement, but this is just every other survival game out there, ever. Would be cool, if you could get multiplayer to work in the first place.

 

[selfless]

@Mroz4k  @EricTheGreat12 It's pinned to their Steam Page.

"The Long Dark was designed from the beginning to be a single-player experience and we don't have any plans to add multiplayer. It doesn't quite fit with type of experience we are trying to build and yes, the technical challenges of trying to add multiplayer to the existing game would be pretty significant.

However we do understand many people are interested in a multiplayer experience, and don't fault anyone for finding the idea compelling (it IS fun to imagine). We've seen quite a few requests for it, and it might be something we consider for a future game -- but not this one." 

 

[mystifeid]

1 hour ago, Mroz4k said:

And secondly, you are a liar.

Liar? Really??

Inflammatory statements make the forum toxic and drive people away. Instead, what about "You may be mistaken about.... because..."

One thing that worked for me was typing my response into a text editor then sleeping on it before editing it with a cooler head. Then posting it. Eventually I was able to stop doing this.

Quite a few times I've had great debates only to find at the end that I really like the other person. Don't cut yourself off from this experience.

[EricTheGreat12]

1 hour ago, Mroz4k said:

First of all, yes, you are right, in a matter that this kind of effort is rare. Though it should be a norm.

And secondly, you are a liar. Never did I actually see Hinterlands proclaim that - in fact, not that long ago, Raphael was looking for experienced coders with experience in Co-op games - which suggested that they are, at the very least, looking into this possibility.

There are only very few things Hinterland ever claimed they WONT do, and multiplayer is not amongst them.

As for the actual suggestions - they dont really follow the nature of the TLD - like permadeath, and other relatively realistic aspects of the game. I think most would find these modes would have "nothing to do" with the game at all. Besides, it doesnt really go into the detail how would the question of "advanced time" be solved in these modes.

1. is okay, I guess. Just not TLD at all. Reminds me a lot more of Dont Starve Together.

2. is just lame. Has nothing to do with TLD, is more of a Fortnite or PUBG. Besides, the game doesnt have nearly enough weapons for this to really make sense. Adding more weapons for sake of simple mode is pointless. Finally, people killing each other could affect the ESRB rating.

3. Ugh. I get the excitement, but this is just every other survival game out there, ever. Would be cool, if you could get multiplayer to work in the first place.

 

It’s on the thread pinned at the top of the Steam forums, and has been mentioned by Mel and Patrick on the this site. 

 

You tend to be reasonable in most discussions, so I’ll ignore the “liar” part. Let’s have conversations that don’t turn into what reddit was like during the countdown....

[Space_Taco]

15 hours ago, VR00MER28 said:

I think multiplayer would be great. 

Yes indeed 

14 hours ago, EricTheGreat12 said:

Space_Taco, I appreciate the amount of effort that you’ve put into this idea; it’s not often that you see someone trying to make sense when proposing an idea on these forums unfortunately....

But again, Hinterland has said time and time again that multiplayer won’t be happening. It’s frustrating when people don’t get the message

Thank you, But I didn't see Hinterland saying that multiplayer won't be happening, can you send me a link to that announcement? 

6 hours ago, Mroz4k said:

 

1. is okay, I guess. Just not TLD at all. Reminds me a lot more of Dont Starve Together.

2. is just lame. Has nothing to do with TLD, is more of a Fortnite or PUBG. Besides, the game doesnt have nearly enough weapons for this to really make sense. Adding more weapons for sake of simple mode is pointless. Finally, people killing each other could affect the ESRB rating.

3. Ugh. I get the excitement, but this is just every other survival game out there, ever. Would be cool, if you could get multiplayer to work in the first place.

 

2

Firstly, It's just a basis to start off with, Many things could be changed. Secondly, I Don't think ESRB Rating would be changed since it's already 16+ and Blood and Killing are already there, The only thing which could put it up at 18+ would be the use of alcohol or Nudity and Sexual content.

Thirdly, Yes it is similar to some games out there, But just like I said, It's just a basis to start off with, many things could be changed. And yes, multiplayer would be cool. 

5 hours ago, selfless said:

@Mroz4k  @EricTheGreat12 It's pinned to their Steam Page.

"The Long Dark was designed from the beginning to be a single-player experience and we don't have any plans to add multiplayer. It doesn't quite fit with type of experience we are trying to build and yes, the technical challenges of trying to add multiplayer to the existing game would be pretty significant.

However we do understand many people are interested in a multiplayer experience, and don't fault anyone for finding the idea compelling (it IS fun to imagine). We've seen quite a few requests for it, and it might be something we consider for a future game -- but not this one." 

 

Honestly, Hinterland should know that Adding multiplayer won't affect the singleplayer experience, If people don't want to play multiplayer, Then don't. They could play singleplayer. 

 

[Vinceofpyrenees]

No multiplayer please. Just coop. Survive with your friend. That would be great. 

[Prestermatt]

Yeah, I'm going to put in my "none of this sounds remotely appealing" vote and then be quiet, since as I've been arguing elsewhere, we all play the game for different reasons and want different things out of it.

[Space_Taco]

1 hour ago, Vinceofpyrenees said:

No multiplayer please. Just coop. Survive with your friend. That would be great. 

Survivalists mode supports up to 4 Players and is intended for surviving with your friends, You can go with 2P if you want.  

31 minutes ago, Prestermatt said:

Yeah, I'm going to put in my "none of this sounds remotely appealing" vote and then be quiet, since as I've been arguing elsewhere, we all play the game for different reasons and want different things out of it.

Again, This is just a basis or a frame to start on, This could be hugely modified and changed. This is just my own opinion on how it could work, for people who doubt it. Plus, If you don't want multiplayer then don't play it. This isn't harming anyone, You could always play singleplayer, and many things here could be changed to make it "Appealing". 

[Doc Gonzo]

12 hours ago, Mroz4k said:

First of all, yes, you are right, in a matter that this kind of effort is rare. Though it should be a norm.

And secondly, you are a liar. Never did I actually see Hinterlands proclaim that - in fact, not that long ago, Raphael was looking for experienced coders with experience in Co-op games - which suggested that they are, at the very least, looking into this possibility.

There are only very few things Hinterland ever claimed they WONT do, and multiplayer is not amongst them.

As for the actual suggestions - they dont really follow the nature of the TLD - like permadeath, and other relatively realistic aspects of the game. I think most would find these modes would have "nothing to do" with the game at all. Besides, it doesnt really go into the detail how would the question of "advanced time" be solved in these modes.

1. is okay, I guess. Just not TLD at all. Reminds me a lot more of Dont Starve Together.

2. is just lame. Has nothing to do with TLD, is more of a Fortnite or PUBG. Besides, the game doesnt have nearly enough weapons for this to really make sense. Adding more weapons for sake of simple mode is pointless. Finally, people killing each other could affect the ESRB rating.

3. Ugh. I get the excitement, but this is just every other survival game out there, ever. Would be cool, if you could get multiplayer to work in the first place.

 

@Mroz4k you're an articulate player who is obviously knowledgeable and passionate about the game.  Why then call @EricTheGreat12 a liar?  Why not call him misinformed, incorrect or any other number of less inflammatory words?  Calling him a liar implies that he intentionally told an untruth, which I doubt any reasonable person here would believe.

 Is English not your first language?  If it's not then obviously some degree of understanding is warranted. But if English is your first language you could maybe examine your wording more closely.  

I typically enjoy reading your posts until you do something like this.  Calling him a liar leaves me wanting to skip the rest of your post, which isn't a good thing because you tend to write interesting thoughts and opinions.

 

 

 

[Pillock]

8 minutes ago, Space_Taco said:

This is just my own opinion on how it could work, for people who doubt it. Plus, If you don't want multiplayer then don't play it. This isn't harming anyone, You could always play singleplayer, and many things here could be changed to make it "Appealing". 

Yeah, I think you've put some good ideas there. Hinterland have been known to change their priorities for gameplay elements in the past, but I still highly doubt they're going to do a multiplayer mode for The Long Dark. Still, there's no harm in sharing ideas, and I agree that it is an appealing concept. It's just that they already have their own ideas about a lot more SP content that they want to add to the game, and that's what they'll focussing on, probably for years to come. Stuff like more Story seasons, different time-of-year modes, more wildlife, more complex survival systems... By the time they've done all they want to the Single Player game, they may well retire from supporting The Long Dark and start making something completely new (and possibly unrelated to this game), given that they will have been working on the same project for many years by that point.

[Space_Taco]

3 minutes ago, Pillock said:

Yeah, I think you've put some good ideas there. Hinterland have been known to change their priorities for gameplay elements in the past, but I still highly doubt they're going to do a multiplayer mode for The Long Dark. Still, there's no harm in sharing ideas, and I agree that it is an appealing concept. It's just that they already have their own ideas about a lot more SP content that they want to add to the game, and that's what they'll focussing on, probably for years to come. Stuff like more Story seasons, different time-of-year modes, more wildlife, more complex survival systems... By the time they've done all they want to the Single Player game, they may well retire from supporting The Long Dark and start making something completely new (and possibly unrelated to this game), given that they will have been working on the same project for many years by that point.

Well, Time reveals the truth.

I guess. 

[EricTheGreat12]

Selfless gave you the link to their post on the Steam Forums; there is your proof. 

 

If you need proof on this forum, feel free to look at previous posts by Patrick and Mel

[omoon66]

Death match. I posted this on the “Post all your bad suggestions” forum. That’s what PUBG and Fortnite is for

[MRE_MAN]

It’s good to see you’re passionate about the idea of TLD featuring  multilplayer; however, I cringe at the thought. And time and time again the devs have said they wouldn’t pursue this. One of the greatest elements of TLD is Man (Singular) vs Nature. Adding more than one person to the game would both ruin the core idea and complicate things from a gameplay standpoint.

 

And they’ll have to pry my MREs from my cold dead hands before any other player gets them!

[ThudYeo]

I'd love Co-op, because this is one of the few games I've ever been able to get my wife interested in playing.

[stratvox]

11 hours ago, ThudYeo said:

I'd love Co-op, because this is one of the few games I've ever been able to get my wife interested in playing.

Haha! So true! 

I should mebbe make clear that I think this is a good thing about the game....

 

[hozz1235]

Very colorful 

[gnomegnine]

The players would spawn randomly in a region and they will be restricted to that region.

I have had that exact idea for multiplayer PvP for a few months now.