More Variation of available items.

[Supermarioman1]

I would like to see Different clothes and weapons with different pluses and minuses. Also i would like to see up-gradable weapons such as scope mounts, silencers etc. Add some more content and give the game more life.

it is an excellent concept for a game but without more things to do and look for it is short lived

 

[EricTheGreat12]

Think about how much content is too much content; too much bonuses and the game becomes too easy.

 

While there is a lot to be desired in this game, the way that it is now is just right. If you think the game is too stale, try something new

 

[Reahs]

Silencers and scopes?

rlly

[TerribleSurvivor]

I don' t really understand why you would want to have silencers? I mean, this game isn´t about warfare and stealth killing your human opponents (like "Uncharted" for example).

A scope would be a little too much of a good thing. The tough aspect about the rifle is that you have to make every shot count. That would be a little too easy with a scope...

[Seshins]

Silencers are a very common hunting item - here in NZ 99% of hunters have silencer equipped rifles. It's more to prevent spooking animals in the local area following the rifle shot.

But in saying that i think hunting is just one aspect of TLD and there isn't much need for silencing your weapon to prevent spooking the deer - they run a few tens of metres and stop anyway.

[CaveDweller]

Brace yourself

I can see where you are coming from. However, have you given consideration to why you want those things, and why you play TLD?

Specifically I'm wondering if you have every delved into the vertical vs. horizontal progression debate?

With regard to MMOs, vertical progression is the act of levelling a character and gearing up. Character development is linear with a focus on upgrading items to solve increasingly difficult challenges. Then the whole cycle starts again (often described as tier systems).

Horizontal progression on the other hand pushes players to think and act outside the confines of linear progression. Resources are supplied in such a manner that individualistic strategy building is encouraged, possibly even necessary.

This is the beauty of TLD, the start-game focusses on vertical progression, and the end game on horizontal progression. It isn't that the game needs 'more to do' but rather that each individual must find their own 'meaning' in the game, to make their own character arc. For example, when I achieved 'Stone Age Sniper' the rabbit stunned was chased down, skinned and gutted by hand, with each piece forming part of a shrine on a high rock in Deer Clearing (also stones and fire used). Whenever I visit that spot with my character the shrine is there for contemplation.

The other dominant element of TLD is that although the start-game is essentially vertical progression, there is a strong undercurrent of success based on player skill and knowledge rather than gear. This is part of the reason that some new players find TLD inaccessible to start with - there is no real ease-in period as with typical MMOs. This is part of the logic behind the settings for each 'difficulty level' (re. lower levels create an accessible introduction to the game). But even here TLD is still TLD as the learning curve hasn't been adjusted, just the consequences for poor or ill informed choices.

I don't know if there is a general understanding of the above in the TLD community. To evidence this I would refer you to the back-lash from seasoned players when Wintermute was released. Think about it for a second, the vast majority of complaints were around being forced into 'learner mode' and the 'find and fetch' missions - linear/vertical progression. Not many people complained about the story line and fleshing out of events surrounding the silent apocalypse - non-linear/horizontal progression.

And finally, take a look at YouTube channels for TLD. There are a lot of people doing the 'I can play Interloper' style episodes - but why does someone like Geltaz stand out from the crowd? Sure he's insanely good at the game, but so are a lot of people. Sure he invests a lot of time in video production, but so do others (granted his are particularly beautiful). What sets him apart is the non-linear way he explores problems and strategies while engaging the audience by voicing his inner monologue.

So, I leave you with this question - are you a vertical or horizontal progression player? Most people are a bit of both, but if you have no real interest in horizontal progression then no amount of extra gear is going to make TLD a long-term proposition for you.

[Celeblith]

@CaveDweller I really like your treatment of different gaming perspectives. I wasn't even aware of the debate between vertical and horizontal progression, but your explanation really made me think about how and why I play video games. I'm going to look for more discussion on this, but I really hope you post more about it as I'd be very interested in reading more of your thoughts on the matter.

[CaveDweller]

@Celeblith Apologies for the dreadfully slow reply, my work tends to have very heavy periods for several weeks and I stop engaging with the rest of the world

In any case, thanks for the compliments but you'd learn more from a good Google than my rambling meanderings could ever provide! What's probably more important is the fact that TLD is one of the games that tends to promote introspection, it certainly made me question why I game.

Winter is coming; sure hope I have enough sticks.

CaveDweller