Need more wolves in Pleasant Valley (Stalker)

[ChillPlayer]

I'm not sure if this is a problem too on the other maps because I've spent all the time since the release in PV, but the wolf situation there is pretty useless. Once a wolf is dead it seem it takes a very long time until the area gets repopulated. After I killed three wolves around the red barn, for weeks there was no other wolf. The same with deers, there's that nice area in front of the farmstead that happend to have a deer and a wolf. I shot both, thinking I can repeat that every other day like in CH but no, 15 days later still not a single deer there. There are two other areas near farmstead where I've found a deer but same situation there, once it's dead there's no other deer.

But the general population of wolves and deers is too low to. I actually died because of lack of either wolves or deer. Not wanting to waste a bullet I chased after deers over the whole mountain ridge from below the signal tower to the waterfall near dead end, in search for a wolf to kill it. But I couldn't find a wolf except in two cases were the deer passed a wolf 3 feet behind it's back, completely ignored by the wolf (this behaviour of "only noticing prey in front" is really annoying btw).

Eventually I managed to kill a wolf without a deer, my condition was down to 22% thanks to a blizzard and I hurried back home. I never made it home though, because ironically 200m before the barn a wolf got attracted by the raw meat, I missed the shot and 60 days of stalker became history.

TLD;DR: need more wolf/deer opportunities in PV, repopulation of an area should be faster, like it is (used to be?) in CH, were I never even managed to clear out the area down the hill of the island, left alone the whole sea area, neither of wolves nor deers.

[Denyo]

I'm not sure if this is a problem too on the other maps because I've spent all the time since the release in PV, but the wolf situation there is pretty useless. Once a wolf is dead it seem it takes a very long time until the area gets repopulated. After I killed three wolves around the red barn, for weeks there was no other wolf. The same with deers, there's that nice area in front of the farmstead that happend to have a deer and a wolf. I shot both, thinking I can repeat that every other day like in CH but no, 15 days later still not a single deer there. There are two other areas near farmstead where I've found a deer but same situation there, once it's dead there's no other deer.

But the general population of wolves and deers is too low to. I actually died because of lack of either wolves or deer. Not wanting to waste a bullet I chased after deers over the whole mountain ridge from below the signal tower to the waterfall near dead end, in search for a wolf to kill it. But I couldn't find a wolf except in two cases were the deer passed a wolf 3 feet behind it's back, completely ignored by the wolf (this behaviour of "only noticing prey in front" is really annoying btw).

Eventually I managed to kill a wolf without a deer, my condition was down to 22% thanks to a blizzard and I hurried back home. I never made it home though, because ironically 200m before the barn a wolf got attracted by the raw meat, I missed the shot and 60 days of stalker became history.

TLD;DR: need more wolf/deer opportunities in PV, repopulation of an area should be faster, like it is (used to be?) in CH, were I never even managed to clear out the area down the hill of the island, left alone the whole sea area, neither of wolves nor deers.

I will assume you"re continuing the game before update? I mean,you already had survived certain amount of days and just waited for update,to move to new region,right?You didn"t start new game? If that so,just wait,that you start new game.:-) I had also very few wolves in CH area in my previous game.Then I died and started new game.Now,even if I"m in ML map,there are so many wolves,that I almost run from them all the time. And,now ussually appears in packs.Or one infront and one behind me.They are smart,doing to me same thing,as I do to deer,lol.One wolf is chasing me towards another one. I cannot be a single minute relaxed,when I"m outside,even if I use mostly hills and steep banks to travel.It is so excited,lol.All the time 100% intension.

[ChillPlayer]

Okay so at least CH is okay. I was specifically speaking about PV, the new map but you confirmed somewhat what I already suspected, that the problem is with the map itself and not a general tweak. I haven't found a place where I could rely on a deer and wolf on a regular basis, like the frozen sea in CH, around Trapper's or outside the Camp Office.

That's why I find the wolves useless in PV because if you encounter them there is only a low propability that a deer's nearby and if you find one it will be the only one for weeks in that area. The wolves in PV are just an annoyance without any practical use, compared to the other two maps.

[mrrrmrrr]

Completely disagree. You're thinking from a min/maxing standpoint. Wolves aren't livestock...

[ChillPlayer]

No but a bullet spend on only a deer or only a wolf is a wasted bullet. Not min/maxing, just surviving

[Denyo]

No but a bullet spend on only a deer or only a wolf is a wasted bullet. Not min/maxing, just surviving

Cheers to this answer. :lol: :lol:

[Denyo]

Btw,Chill...are you going to broadcast now On Steam? I would like to watch abit of your playing,to learn more about how to play game.:-) I dunno,where else to ask you that,so I decided to ask you right here.:-) Your nick there is ChilKiller,right? I"m registered there by my real name: EDVA.RD.POKORNY

[ChillPlayer]

just join my broadcast, I am running around for hours without a single wolf, darn...

[EDIT] This is really frustrating, I've tried it for three nights to see how a wolf reacts to the Torch but no matter where I run there are no wolves. Around the farmstead there's a patch of forest that usually is infested with wolves, I geronimoed bravely into it but not one wolf. PV really feels alot more like Pilgrim than Stalker lol.

There seem to be only two bears in PV, is that right or did anyone found three or more? Because more bears is also something we need

[ChillPlayer]

Nope found a 3rd bear, one more hide to roll err go

[Denyo]

[EDIT] This is really frustrating, I've tried it for three nights to see how a wolf reacts to the Torch but no matter where I run there are no wolves. Around the farmstead there's a patch of forest that usually is infested with wolves, I geronimoed bravely into it but not one wolf. PV really feels alot more like Pilgrim than Stalker lol.

I described in my thread,how wolves react to torches :

viewtopic.php?f=57&t=3850

[Cosmoline]

But the general population of wolves and deers is too low to. I actually died because of lack of either wolves or deer.

The purpose of TLD is not to give you a perpetual source of food. And in real life deer, wolf and bear are smart critters. They don't like to keep coming back to a shooting range. And they remember where things happen. They know where it's safe and where it isn't. You can routinely find moose wandering around Anchorage without a care in the world, but waste weeks trying to find any in a GMU where there's an open season. Deer are all over the suburbs down in the lower 48 but vanish come hunting season. Heck the moose here know when October 31st rolls around because of the pumpkins. They migrate into town to eat them!

The dev's goal, as I understand it, is to replicate the feeling of a true arctic survival scenario. That means game that REMEMBERS and it means we shouldn't be able to just sit there and wait for the next wolf or deer to spawn and stupidly waltz in front of us. When you shoot something, the only things that come running to investigate are predators looking for a gut pile to eat. Last long run I made it to the leaderboards just sitting and herding deer to wolf over and over and over again. The new map doesn't seem to give us that option. I got one combo kill in the orchard next to the farmhouse, and in the five days since not deer nor wolf has shown up. That's some good AI. Ideally, as in real life, we should have to start treking out further and further to find game making it more and more difficult to survive as the game continues. To my mind, a TRUE hardcore/stalker mode would have non-respawning wildlife.

[Hylander]

Last long run I made it to the leaderboards just sitting and herding deer to wolf over and over and over again. The new map doesn't seem to give us that option. I got one combo kill in the orchard next to the farmhouse, and in the five days since not deer nor wolf has shown up. That's some good AI. Ideally, as in real life, we should have to start treking out further and further to find game making it more and more difficult to survive as the game continues. To my mind, a TRUE hardcore/stalker mode would have non-respawning wildlife.

I agree completely - it adds a new dimension of interest to the game. PV has an amazing lack of loot in Stalker mode, especially if you start there. In my current game (which I started there) I found a rifle and exactly five rounds, and I'm current on day 12, with crafted boots, coat, and mitts (and no ammo left).

[ChillPlayer]

Yeah well I just had 7 people watching me for 60 minutes running around in search for a wolf or a bear, nada. Sorry but this has nothing todo with Stalker, I might aswell let my Rifle at home. The PV map is as big as both old maps together but has less than half of the wolves that are in ML, at least that what it feels like. Farmstead and Red Barn never see a wolf too, I don't know which God you have to piss off to get greeted by a wolf in one of those two places.

And please stop playing the RL card, it has nothing todo with RL that a deer can practically kiss a wolfs ass without it killing the deer, nor that the instant I have a scrab of raw meat on me I get stalked by wolves from half a km away and it especially has nothing todo with RL that I primarely see wolves at day but none, zero, 0, nada, at night. I've spent over 100 days now in PV so believe me, I know where there should be wolves. But during night they seem to be sleeping in the den. Like in RL right?

This is the thing that bugs me the most with this update, it actually is the only thing that really bugs me. So much, that I think I'm going back to CH very soon, I've had it with running around for hours without anything at all happening except for maybe a blizzard, if I'm lucky...

Well but I guess on a bigger picture you need a place like PV when someone wants to spent some quite time, you can't have all the action from CH or ML's derailement constantly everywhere, this would shift the focus of the game in a wrong direction. But I still wished all this big area wouldn't be such a waste of space, there could be much much more going on.

[The_Hawk35]

Actually deer are remarkably stupid. I have watched them quite literally step over a gut pile of another deer along a path less than 30 min after I had finished cleaning the previous deer.

Wolves are a lot smarter however (most predators are).

[frunsi]

it's like you're complaining that the game is too hard and too easy at the same time.

stalker was way too easy IMO once you had everything looted and just stayed in the trapper's homestead, you could count on one deer and one wolf almost always being present every time you'd exit the building. the way it is now, you're much less likely to encounter those super-easy meat reservoirs (only 1 bullet for 15kg meat). now you have to travel further to find food, with bigger risk of getting caught in a blizzard or not finding your way to the base, or just not finding anything at all. the game now forces you to take bigger risks into account, and with the wolves being more rare and also more aggressive than before, it makes for a whole new challenge.

[mrrrmrrr]

I still think this is a good thing--the point of new maps is to add variety. If you want lots of wolves, go to coastal highway.

As it is, it seems like each map has its own risks and rewards that you have to consider when choosing where to hunker down for the long haul. If each new map had the exact same qualities and conditions as the previous ones then what would be the point of even adding them? The relative absence of wolves in PV seems to be an aspect of diversity which encourages different playstyles for each of the maps, which is great. The game would be pretty boring if it just came down to sleeping for a week, stepping onto your front porch and engineering a cheesy double kill, sleeping for another week, etc....

[ChillPlayer]

Yes I acknowledge this all but fast forward to a month from now when the hype over the new update has chilled down, who will want to stay there, for what reason? I see reasons to stay in CH or ML but not many in PV, at least not for a long time or even permanent home.

Though part of me is not sure if this is hinterlands try to break the sleep/eat cycle, because this really doesn't work well in PV. By the time you've repaired your cloths from the blizzards and found new deer/wolf meat, the meat of the last duo is almost gone, I don't see myself sleep/eating for weeks in PV, which by itself is a good thing.

But part of me is disappointed because of the announcement of "new mystery wildlife" (of which there are only three examples of one species) and the general impression that this will be a tough map. Well, my understanding of "tough" is different than running around for an hour RT without encountering anything, even more so when I'm streaming and people want to see the new "exciting" map. It's only exciting because it's new and once the new car smell is gone, it really is just a big vast training ground for marathon runners. And people are seeing this, I'm not sure how many of my viewers thought after watching me that they will buy the game, and how many thought they'll get bored to death. Because that literally is how this map kills you, it bores you to death.

So in essence, ML is a good starting place where you gather all you need, CH is where you live like a king as long as you can and PV is the place for retirement where you go when you're out of ammo because you just don't need it there. No fishing either though, retirement in PV means basically lots of rabbits

[Cosmoline]

Being bored to death is doing the same herding to the same respawned wolf for the 100th time on day 220 at the trapper's cabin. I haven't had the same experience with this map that you apparently have. It hasn't brought me as many ambushes as the CH map did in the last version, but that's a good thing in my book. I have to watch my back just the same, and the added difficulty in finding game makes it more of a challenge, not less.

If you want more instant near-death excitement, just start eating bad food or take all your character's clothes off.

[rw28]

I don't understand the complaint. I think wildlife that doesn't respawn over and over is a step in the right direction. I mean, before the update happened 1000+ day runs were possible with just the two maps. Lets say they did make the wildlife spawn the same way it does on ML and CH. Now how many days are possible? 1500? 2000? And is that what anyone really wants? Tediously pushing through many, many repeated long stretches where you have absolutely nothing to do but sleep, drink and eat gets excruciatingly boring and a shortage of wildlife will help fix that by making the total possible survival time shorter. Getting set up, traveling, exploring, looting, etc is all incredibly fun and satisfying but sitting around in a base, hunting once in a while and then sleeping the days away for months is not fun.

[Scyzara]

I actually like the differences between the three maps very much. Each one is focused on a different aspect of survival so you can choose which one fits your needs best for your personal playstyle (not everyone wants to survive as long as possible by any means, some people just love taking risks or avoid boring/repetitive actions as it makes the game more fun to them).

ML has rather few wolves, a mediocre amount of loot, short-term survival is moderate easy (if you're new to the game at least), long-term survival very easy.

Main challenge: None (way best starting map imo to learn the game mechanics).

CH has tons of wolves, a very high amount of loot, but short-term survival can be difficult and long-term survival is also not easy (at least since 1.92).

Main challenge: Avoiding wolves/surviving wolf attacks.

PV has few wolves, few loot, short-term survival is moderate easy, but long-term survival (probably) difficult.

Main challenge: Combination of huge distances+weather+lack of shelter/food.

I really like this diversity, makes the overall game more fun to me.

I also noticed the really long respawn times for deer and wolves in PV (never ever had a bear respawn), but I had no trouble dealing with a lack of prey (yet). (Have just been in PV for about 40days, so maybe this will become a greater issue later on).

I would agree that PV is probably the most challenging map for long-term survival, but I'm fine with this. There's no real need for all maps to be equally "easy" to survive in in the long run as you can always switch maps.

If you feel you want more action and risks, go CH. For long-term food security go ML. If you have fun dealing with shortages of literally everything, stay in PV.

[Aedaric]

Just need to point one thing out--three days ago (in game) I killed a deer, a wolf, and a rabbit in the fields south of my lovely farmstead here. I went south a bit more and picked the Prepper Cache clean...because for whatever unknown reason the game has decided to ONLY give me this bloody cache seven or eight times in a row now, so, eh, whatever... anyway.

Now I get to choose what I want for dinner and breakfast for the next few days! Right outside! Oh, and there was ten wolves between the cache and the Three Strikes Farmstead and mine, plus big burly. Since the one in the back right is hard to see, that's not a rabbit. = P

[ChillPlayer]

That picture you posted Aedaric is exactly the reason why I started this thread, except in my experience there were no wolves for miles, just two deers.

Alright at least everyone agrees that the situation is as I described and it wasn't just bad luck on my side. I welcome the diversity of the maps too, I just still can't help to feel that this map has a lot more potential to be exciting than it is right now. If they wanted a quite place, why did they have to make it so big and empty?

If you feel you want more action and risks, go CH. For long-term food security go ML. If you have fun dealing with shortages of literally everything, stay in PV.

yes that's how I translate it too, the current map layout corresponds well with the three phases I once described, gathering, living, dying. I get this now, it took a while but acknowledgment settles in. It's just... the farms, wow I really love their designs, the area wow, beautiful waterfalls, lot's of caves (which I like alot) and bears. There's a lot to love about the new map, but the constant running for miles takes away a huge part of that excitement for me.

It's not a challenge, I can still get my meat if I'm willing to waste bullets but I have to be constantly running. If they would be to implement a sweating/wetness system as discussed in other threads, this map would be unsurvivable for more than a week. The contrast to the other two maps is just too high for my liking and again, I don't see myself spending long times there in a serious attempt to survive for many days. That's the pitty I feel, because I very much would like to spend all my time there, it's a welcomed change from the other two environements, but water doesn't flow up the mountain and so I don't see why I have to make things harder for me.

If someone wants to role play Les Stroud though, this map is the right place to do so

[Cosmoline]

Keep in mind also that they're likely to be putting more wildlife into the game as it's built. If it seems too empty now it should liven up. I'm still holding out for some moose.

[ChillPlayer]

That's the one hope I have for this map Cosmoline

Actually there's even a way to make the map less boring while still not repeating the wolf/deer metagame of the other two maps: add more bears and let bears attack wolves. Think about it, instead of stearing the prey (deer) to the predator you actually lure one predator to the other. Now that would make for some amazing gameplay I think. Up the kg per bear to at least the amount a deer yields et voila, same same but very different

Or skip wolves completely in this map and replace them with bears, with different behaviour, different tactics to use and so on. There are better ways to make this map challenging without repeating the metagame of the old maps, than just getting rid of the animals and turn the player into a marathon runner.

If you already announce "new mystery wildlife", why not live up to it and bring new wildlife that actually change or at least influence the present gameplay? Four bears are no routine breaker, it's just something you get excited about four times in one run and that's it. There's no incentive other than curiosity to even fight the bears, the bed roll is just a gimmick and nothing we really need.

So yes, my hope for this map lies in future updates. There is so so much potential for this map, it could be the coolest map in TLD so far to live in, I certainly love the terrain and layout of the map, it just needs more cool stuff in it

[EDIT] just learned that there are actually four and not three bears. Doesn't change the meaning of what I've said but I thought I need to correct this.

[pikkue]

I'll join the club today,

Population has vanished as it seems.

And still I wasnt able to track down a wolf once, cuz of the disappearing bloodtrail.

Waiting for a hotfix.