Pace of exploration

[tomas_herbertson]

At the risk of sounding like a "things aren't like they used to be!" grouch, I want to point out a concern I've noted since the most recent big update (the Nov 26 one) went live.

One by one, all of our disincentives to keep us from sprinting have been dwindling. Decreased fatigue penalty, far reduced risk of sprains when running up and down hills (since it's now more closely tied to falling damage)... now we even get a temperature bonus for sprinting (without freezing sweat, hypothermia, etc).

The thing is--I liked when sprinting was a risk and a desperate-situations fallback, not when players could zip around the map like rabbits. The enforced slower pace was one of the more dramatic departures TLD took from conventional gaming, and it really helped enforce the hostility of the elements, coupled with emphasizing the beauty of the environment: you couldn't help but look around in wonder during the trudge. I want to crunch sloly, punishingly through the snow, taking in the cruel beauty of my environment, hunched over in my computer chair in reflex against the cold... not sprinting around making quick wolf-checks between stopping off at various supply hotspots.

Yeah, I could limit myself from hitting ctrl, but I'm not convinced that players coming in from other games and other modes of play, with the "achieve the goal, get to the finish line, earn the achievement, beat the campaign, then move on to the next game" mentality... they won't see the value of changing gears if the gameplay doesn't give them disincentives to keep playing in that same mode, I don't think.

I think the maps are too small to allow players to run too and fro willy-nilly, to boot. If they could sprint far enough in a direction to become wholly lost, beyond civilization... cool. But as it stands, unless you're caught in a blizzard, fog, or out at night, or something, even if you're not familiar with the maps, you'll still probably happen across a new cache or run into the map edge relatively quickly.

I didn't complain about the decreased fatigue penalty at first, because when it came right after the Coastal Highway dropped, when the rate at which we froze solid had just been hiked up dramatically... but that's eased on down a bit, it seems now (IIRC various patch notes).

I want back gameplay that actively incentivizes slow, careful gameplay!

[Dark]

I think that the best way to solve the 'running' issue would be to increase the energy / calorie consumption to at least the 4-5 times the walking rate. This way people who run much will burn very much energy and end up starving because of this. Also running should be dangerous in snowy terrain and and on slippery ice, where you could sprain your ankle, while careful walking prevents this danger. In my opinion running should be only necessary in a "run or die" situation, like beginning to freezing and if a wolf is near or etc.

[Bill Tarling]

I agree Mossy Toes about preferring when there was a penalty for marathon sprinting. It worked great in v.152-v.153 where fatigue was heavily penalized for non-stop running. It made you stay aware of reserves as well because last thing you wanted to happen was a wolf encounter when you couldn't run any more.

I absolutely loved that fatigue/running mechanic -- but unfortunately I think the devs decided to remove it because players complained it "interfered with exploration" [translation], but at the same time I can understand that many players also just want to be entertained without dealing with and of the survival aspects (many of which may at first appear mundane) in the game.

[Dark]

I also liked the limitation on running but i think it was not as it should be. We need a 'tiring / fatigue' system that let us sprint only for short periods of time. The problems were that, it had too fast an impact on the encumbrance and overall fatigue. I did not complained about it, but it truly limited the exploration of the map. And i have more problem in my mind with the current implementation of no limitation for running.

Perhaps a solution could be in three different modes of movement:

1. Walking. Slow but no effect on fatigue and etc.

2. Jogging. Faster 1.5 - 2 times, but has a higher consumption of energy 4-5 times, has an impact on fatigue based on carried weight slowly, also warms a bit, but can be slightly dangerous on certain surfaces.

3. Sprinting. Very Fast 3-5 times the walking speed, has a very high consumption of energy (10x), warms stronger than jogging, but is only possible for shorter periods, has a high impact on the fatigue, and can be very dangerous on certain surfaces.

This is just an idea. Perhaps we all can eleborate on this.

[elloco999]

I agree with many if not all of the reasons why running should not be something you do all the time. But although you may like that going from A to B takes a lot of real life time, I don't.

I usually take my time when playing a game. I take 2-3 times as long to finish a game as many other players. I always try to finish all side quests in games that have them, not just the portion that is needed to reach the finish line. So I don't think I fall in the "achieve the goal, get to the finish line, earn the achievement, beat the campaign, then move on to the next game" category of players.

I'm actually all for not running all the time, but I don't want moving from A to B to take (a lot) more time in RL. I don't mind it taking more in game time.

[Boreal]

I feel like it was balanced by the intense amount of blizzards I've been experiencing. Maybe it is just me but...

In my first play through for this update (Coastal Highway) I found myself stuck waiting in certain areas due to it being way to cold outside. My limited vision made me also worry about wolves (they seem to be harder to fight off now). Blizzards might not be a problem when you have better clothing but I can't say anything about that yet.

In my current playthrough, 11 out of the 30 hours have been intense blizzards. Running fast without much penalty didn't really make it easier yet. That may change but I can see how external effects such as blizzards (maybe more could be added) could prevent players from just running across the map without adverse affects. I would really like to see a fatigue penalty for running in snow which could be eased by creating snow shoes (leather, gut, soft wood + work bench)

[Dark]

There are limitations, as the fatigue seems to rise faster due to running. And i also like the phenomena of being hindered by the blizzard and winds, while running and walking in certain directions.