Cairns

[NardoLoopa]

I understand that Cairns were added as a nod to the backers who had early faith in HL, which made TLD possible.  Before I go any further, I just want to personally say, "Thank you" to those folks.

However, I find the existence of Cairns rather immersion breaking for a few reasons, as well as aesthetically anathema to the solitude presented a desolate white landscape.  So, were I to have my druthers, I'd like a way to turn them off.  Or, barring that, a way to remove them one by one by clicking them in one play-through, which removes that Cairn from all future plays-through.  I realize its unlikely for HL to support either of those options.   So, I have a few other suggestions:

1) Make the cairns a bit more worn.  Desaturate the red.  Make the cloth ragged, as if it has been there a while.  This might help them fit a bit better with the lore.

2) When you click on a Cairn, have the rocks fall over.  A fallen cairn would let you visually know that you've already looked at that one.  Maybe the red cloth flies away.

I suppose reading text that explicitly refers to the process of funding a video game within the actual playable experience is tolerable, though I can't say welcomed (though, maybe if I were an original backer I'd cherish my own cairn).  It is easy enough to not click on them.   But it really does change the experience of running through the transition cave from PV to the Dam and happening across 20(?) of them in a row.  Maybe it's just a holding location until other maps are implemented.   I cannot decide whether I'd rather they were all sequestered to caves, just to keep them out of the rest of the game.

[Mroz4k]

I am afraid I have to disagree. The red cloth makes sense - the point for the cairns is to be somewhat visible. Plus, let's not forget that they are a collectible - they are supposed to stand out a little bit so they are easier to find. But, if there was a setting to make them appear "more withered" as a choice of a player, I guess that would be fine by me. Also, I accepted their existence as a very useful sometimes - if one remembers their locations on the map, they can be useful landmarks during bad weather in certain parts of regions.

And, then there is that fact that these people have helped to make the game happen before it even existed. I love this game, I respect the backers for their commitment and I wouldn't turn it off even if I had the choice. And I admit that I am a little bit jealous, too  
 

40 minutes ago, NardoLoopa said:

I suppose reading text that explicitly refers to the process of funding a video game within the actual playable experience is tolerable, though I can't say welcomed

This I can sort of agree with. The fact that there is that sentence about the contribution by a backer of certain number can be immersion breaking - this is especially notable with the notes, which describe some storyline within the game, and under them there is a generic signature of a BackerXXXX. I think this could have been handled a bit better - perhaps when the cairn or the note is activated for the first time in that particular game, a flash would show up somewhere on the top of the screen. But, that is my opinion  (another way I could see the cairns handled - instead of the word "backerXXXX" it would have the 4 digit number of the backer in the description of the cairn. That is still a proclamation of a thank you to that respective backer, but it is more mysterious this way, and less immersion breaking)

If I were a backer, I don't think I would really care if my backer number was mentioned or not, I still did my part and contributed to making the game happen. But that may just be my own opinion on the matter - not everyone would feel that way. Since I am not a backer (sadly joined the game a few weeks after the alpha rolled out), I am still trying to do my part and help support the game by using my head, searching for ways to improve the content within the game  

 

[k0s0ff]

Strange all of this