Cougar

Ice Hole

By Ice Hole
in General Discussion

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Ice Hole Pathfinder

Ice Hole

Posted
Posted

The cougar in my opinion could be the deadliest creature in The Long Dark. 


The cougar was mentioned in the developer's road map and there are locations on every map that could be cougar territory.  Just think about areas that have deer and bunnies but no signs of a predator.  Some of these areas are now protected when the moose is around.  My game play has altered. Now I have to be wary when inside what was just deer and bunny territory because a moose might be nearby. 

Cougars will add another level of danger to the game.  The surprise attack from a stealthy opponent.  The cougar has will be hard to animate.  Path finding on uneven terrain is currently difficult for bears and wolves.  For cougars path finding needs to be smooth.  The cougar could even be used to restrain us to valid map zones.

 

Cougar Territory

There are routes around maps that avoid all wildlife.   So when the cougar is introduced theses are the areas the cougar will roam.  Maybe following and stalking us.  Waiting, lurking and using stealth and when we are most vulnerable spring and attack.  I see many areas where an attack from above could be the cougar's tactic.  Leaping from fallen trees and rock overhangs to catch us by surprise. 

 

Cougar Animation

Cats in my opinion are top acrobats.  They move gracefully with forethought and precision.  They prefer high ground and watch their prey patiently.  Having an animation that accurately represents this will be challenging.  Currently animals in the Long Dark get caught up on terrain and are unable to path find effectively.  Bears can climb trees in RL but currently are limited to the ground.  With cats this cannot be.  The cougar should be the most agile in the game and be able to go places the player cannot.  The cougar's animation when transitioning should look smooth and clean with out abrupt movements.   This to my knowledge has never been represented in any game and MOBs always seem to move clunky when path finding on uneven terrain.

 

Testing Grounds

There are areas where players climb into and are not yet finished.  Theses areas should be early cougar testing grounds.  Where players might hear growling or hissing and if they continue to stray get attacked by a cougar unseen.  Just killing the character outright.  No struggle.  Just dead.  That should teach mountain goats to be wary and keep them confined to valid map zones.

 

Cougar Fun Facts

Article on Pumas  http://www.esf.edu/efb/faculty/documents/laundreandhernandez2003huntinghabitatpumas.pdf

 

This kitty plays the stealth game.  Currently when looking for trouble I look for movement.  Imagine these murder mittens in the shadows just waiting for you to step a little closer.

How will the cougar change everyone's game play?  My play style during early experiences in The Long Dark was to keep looking around.  Not knowing if wolves would pick up my trail and follow and I would keep stopping to look around.  If the cougar is stalking us then the idea to keeping aware returns.  The cougar could add so much more depth (death) to The Long Dark.

edit:

Hunt Cougar

The cougar should not be easily tricked like the wolf.   Using bait on wolves should not work the same for cougars.  They are wary and cautious. Ignoring your attempts to bait them into a trap.  Hunting cougar should be most difficult.  Catching them by surprise should be the only way to take them down.   Cougars drag their prey into secluded areas unlike wolves which eat where the prey has fallen.  Shooting is difficult because the cougar's dodging ability enables them to avoid getting hit.  The bear and wolf might charge at you but for cougar this never happens.  Instead stealth is their modus operandi.

 

Defend Against Cougar

During struggles the cat always wins.  For example they always catch you off guard and jump on your back.  Meaning you can only repel them and never wound them.  Fire keeps them at bay similar to wolves.  Wearing wolf hide or bear hide is another method to scare off an attack.  The opposite effect happens when wearing deer or bunny hide.  

 

 

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jerry486 Prepper

jerry486

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Posted

"restrain us to valid zones" - haha, love it. Replace death walls and land mines with out-of-bounds texas ranger cougars. "You faded into the long dark. Reason: You tried to be a smart-a$$ and the cougar got ya, please stay in valid areas and stop trying ot break the game."

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jerry486 Prepper

jerry486

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2 hours ago, Khan_Drichthyes said:

As you get attacked, you hear a voice call out, "Knock 'em out, John!":D

Haha! Or the Ralph's echo'y voice (as from the older update videos on Youtube) - "Hi, this is Raphael at Hinterland. We have added a cougar, so .. yeahhh, take that"

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Guest

Guest

Posted
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Outside the trappers cabin in ML, there is a teaser cougar sound that plays once you exit. Also heard it exiting the lodge. Freaked me out thinking it was a moose or bear and ran back inside. :D

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TerribleSurvivor Pathfinder

TerribleSurvivor

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On 17.6.2018 at 8:26 AM, Vonwoah said:

Outside the trappers cabin in ML, there is a teaser cougar sound that plays once you exit. Also heard it exiting the lodge. Freaked me out thinking it was a moose or bear and ran back inside. :D

Is there some kind of audio-visual evidence for that (e.g. YT-Vid)? Because i never noticed that in my games.

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Guest

Posted
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14 minutes ago, TerribleSurvivor said:

Is there some kind of audio-visual evidence for that (e.g. YT-Vid)? Because i never noticed that in my games.

You can hear it throughout Shardul's video when he's in Mystery Lake. Hard to hear in this stream, but I would hear it clear as day.

Starting at 42:21 upon exiting cabin

I haven't been hearing it lately.

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TerribleSurvivor Pathfinder

TerribleSurvivor

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Well i think that cougars wont be teased or mentioned by hinterland in any way. They will not even appear in the patch notes because they are so freaking sneaky! But once introduced they will cause unsuspecting players to lose their 400+ days interloper run once pouncing them from behind MWHAHAHA!

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Ice Hole Pathfinder

Ice Hole

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You know I had to go and re read the patch notes.

Searched for the word "cougar". 

You just won't believe what I saw.

 

The Long Dark (105891) patch notes : 

General Fixes

 * [All] Fixed Crows spawning below ground.
 * [All] Fixed Intro Movie not respecting Master Volume settings.
 * [All] Updated localization.
 * [All] Fixed duplicated resolutions appearing in Options.
 * [All] Fixed FOV being limited to 100.
* [UI] Fixed inventory actions becoming broken when switching between Keyboard/Mouse and Controller.
* [UI] Improved responsiveness of Resolution Selector in Options.
* [UI] Fixed Main Menu flashing briefly before intro video when running the game on Mac or in DX9 mode.
* [UI] Fixed missing Title when viewing Map Screen in Mountain Town.
* [UI] Updated Region Description formatting to be more consistent.
* [UI] Updated UI art to include Climbing Socks. 
* [UI] Fixed Feat progress bars to better represent progress.
* [UI] Updated Main Menu Custom Mode text to be easier to read.
* [UI] Fixed Fish appearing with missing or bright colours when taken from a fridge and inspected.
* [UI] Fixed Earmuffs appearing on Paper Doll when equipping other Accessories.
* [UI] Moved "Sort" icon in the Inventory screen.
* [UI] Updated Clothing UI tooltips for all platforms.
* [Linux] Fixed light shaft rendering incorrectly.
* [Linux] Fixed audio not playing for some players.
* [Wintermute] Fixed checkpoint screenshot showing image from previous save.

Gameplay

* [All] Fixed momentary freeze when opening Inventory for the first time.
* [All] Fixed Light Source menu being unavailable when Flashlight is the only light source.
* [All] Scaled size of Fish to work with new cooking system.
* [All] Consolidated UI actions around a single verb - "Use".
* [All] Updated controller actions to support new Quick Placement feature.
* [All] Fixed Aurora not always appearing correctly when player is Passing Time/Resting at specific intervals.
* [All] Updated cooking surfaces around the world for new Cooking System.
* [All] Updated Campfire placement
* [All] Fixed UI not always updating after performing an action such as Purifying water.
* [All] Fixed Clothing Screen stats not always updating after changing clothing.
* [All] Fixed Living Off the Land achievement progress being reset when drinking tea crafted from Reishi Mushrooms or Rosehips.
* [All] Fixed items falling through certain rugs.
* [All] Fixed missing audio when crafting Tinder from Sticks.
* [All] Updated instant kill regions on cliff faces to be more forgiving in some locations.
* [All] Fixed incorrect text appearing when interacting with an active Fire during windy conditions.
* [All] Updated Disclaimer screen not respecting game language when set to Dutch.
* [All] Player can no longer eat ruined food from the Inspection screen.
* [All] Fixed Weak Ice warning persisting if player loads game while standing on Weak Ice.
* [All] Fixed Bear becoming stuck in animation when not in player’s view.
* [All] Fixed player being able to become stuck when attacked while Crafting.
* [All] Fixed Campfire rewarding extra Charcoal. 
* [All] Removed Cougar. 
* [All] Fixed extra arrow being generated after Harvesting a corpse then saving and reloading. 
* [All] Realigned Wolf positioning when it feeds off a Moose carcass.
* [All] Adjusted the speed of Rifle shot sound effect when firing indoors.
* [All] Fixed unintentional movement when player is using the Radial Menu with a Controller. 
* [All] Fixed misaligned blood decal after harvesting corpse.
* [All] Disabled Radial Menu while holding a stunned Rabbit.
* [All] Lantern now shows Gallons when Imperial Units are selected. Was showing Ounces previously. 
* [Survival Mode] Fixed Locations Discovered in the Stats screen to account for Regions with variable number of interiors due to ruined structures. 
* [Survival Mode] General fixes for a wide variety of minor locations to make them easier to Survey. 
* [Survival Mode] Fixed rare scenario where WINTERMUTE map could appear in your Survival Mode map list.
* [Survival Mode] Fixed Moose getting stuck in running animation when it dies while running.
* [Survival Mode] Fixed not being able to Survey Wolf Carcasses that spawn into the game.
* [Survival Mode] Fixed arrow trails remaining after firing an Arrow in certain scenarios.
* [Survival Mode] Removed Stone Church from Faithful Cartographer requirements, as it was causing an issue with legacy game saves.
* [Survival Mode] Fixed Moose entering hold position when player is holding a light source.
* [Survival Mode] Fixed wildlife resetting location after player transitions to a new Region/interior.
* [Survival Mode] Fixed player becoming stuck when saving and loading while on stairs.
* [Survival Mode] Fixed non-interactable brush near Lonely Lighthouse.
* [Survival Mode] Improved Moose pathfinding when under trees.
* [Wintermute] Fixed player being unable to save if they delete all their Story saves, while playing Wintermute.
* [Wintermute] Fixed several locations where Bear could become stuck during Jeremiah's Folly mission.
* [Wintermute] Fixed missing textures on Cache boxes.
* [Wintermute] Fixed controller input registering during Episode One ending, resulting in UI popup.
* [Wintermute] Autosave option now only appears when playing Wintermute.
* [Wintermute] Fixed issue where Player could not enter Hank's Hatch during the Episode Two side mission if they unlocked the hatch, but were missing the letter.
* [Wintermute] Fixed deer carcass disappearing at the opening of Episode One if Player interacts with, saves, then reloads game.
* [ Wintermute] Fixed Cabin Fever icon appearing in Story Mode, even though the player can not get Cabin Fever in Story Mode.
* [Custom Mode] Adjusted how Wildlife Flee chance is applied.
* [Custom Mode] Adjusted loot tables.

Art/Environment 

* [All] Fixed missing texture from the Burnt Flare when viewed in Inspection mode.
* [All] Fixed Smoke "glowing" at night or in fog.
* [Art] Updated Gun Rack scaling to better match Rifle size.
* [Enviro] Tweaked many item placements.
* [Enviro] Fixed numerous locations where objects clip into the environment.
* [Enviro] Polish pass on all Regions.
* [Enviro] Fixed floating snow banks.
* [Enviro] Fixed instances of bushes clipping into trees.
* [Enviro] Fixed Climbing Rope texture not appearing correctly.
* [Enviro] Fixed stretched texture on fallen tree trunk.
* [Enviro] Fixed numerous locations where players could become stuck.
* [Enviro] Updated various tree groups that were missing collision.
* [Enviro] Fixed some Ropes being difficult to interact with from the bottom.
* [Enviro] Fixed floating Rosehip bushes in Timberwolf Mountain.
* [Enviro] Fixed trees and bushes populating the same location in Desolation Point.
* [Enviro] Fixed Flag clipping into Lake Cabins.
* [Enviro] Removed extra exterior window on certain cabins.
* [Survival Mode] Fixed Moose scratch texture on trees appearing stretched.
* [Wintermute] Fixed Aurora during Episode One introduction sequence flickering at certain angles.

PS4

 * [PS4] Added Italian and Polish translations of all in*game text and subtitles.
 * [PS4] Performance improvements.
 * [PS4] Fixed several memory*related crashes.
 * [PS4] Fixed button prompts flickering when tabbing between menus.
 * [Xbox] Fixed flickering when bringing up the Home Panel via the Xbox button.

Xbox

 * [Xbox] Performance improvements.
 * [Xbox] Added Italian and Polish translations of all in*game text and subtitles.
 * [Xbox] Fixed issue where conditions for Achievements could take an extended amount of time to be reported.
 * [Xbox] Fixed Japanese text flickering when scrolling through certain menus.
 * [Xbox] Fixed screen overlapping when signing out of profile on certain screens.

Windows 10

 * [UWP] Fixed Launching the title in Norwegian preventing Player accessing Survival mode.
 * [UWP] Fixed issue causing mouse to lose focus, resulting in game minimizing unexpectedly.
 * [UWP] Fixed debug info remaining on screen after pressing F8 for a screenshot.

### END OF CHANGELIST ###

 

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Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, Ice Hole said:

105891

Wow! Where did that number come from? :D

In between
* [All] Fixed Campfire rewarding extra Charcoal.
and
* [All] Fixed extra arrow being generated after Harvesting a corpse then saving and reloading. 

This must mean something!

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Guest

Guest

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Posted

All I want is a cougar to jump from a tree, or high up on a rock to attack me. I want to be attacked in more physical ways. Gives the player a reason to look at the beautiful trees more often. I see a lot of looking down.

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Garring Wolfbait

Garring

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Posted
10 hours ago, Ice Hole said:

gyro sandwich and salted water

click here if you have know idea wtf I am referring.

Holy crap i just noticed your profile picture.

what's wrong with his profile pic?

thanks about the gyro sandwich and salted water, really helpful

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