Ver 1.76 doesn't have much for me

[peteloud]

I am reluctant to say it, but the latest Ver. 1.76 is a bit of an anti-climax.  I have hung back from starting a new game so that I could have some interesting new features and capabilities, but the stone cache and spray paint doesn't add much to the way I normally play the game. (I normally play Stalker and my games average over 1,000 days, and I don't use mods, or fandom.com to make it easy).

 

Normally I store food, wood, pretty much everything I might need in a future journey or emergency in each cave and cabin in which I stay.  As I travel around, when I kill an animal I butcher it and leave the meat out in the open where it is easy to access later.  If I need food or am near a shelter I will carry some meat with me but I try to minimise carrying meat so that I minimise attracting wolves. So the stone caches, although they seem to have some benefits, are something a don't need, and I have better things to do than to collect and carry around millions of stones.

 

Having played thousands of game days I am familiar with the layout of the land and where there is shelter, although I still sometimes get lost in HRV.  I already leave trail markers, usually a line of 3 or 4 cat tails, tinder or sticks to guide me to shelters for when I get caught out in mist or a blizzard, so the spray cans doesn't seem necessary.

Both the stone caches and the spray cans might have uses that I do not appreciate.

It might well be that some players find these features beneficial, and if they do, Well done HTL.  I always appreciate the removing of bugs from the game, so I am not negative about the update, just that it doesn't have much for me.  I often wonder why HTL put so much effort into improving the game for old hands who have already bought the game, although I am thankful that they do.  To keep the game alive and expanding the important issue is to sell the game to newbies to generate income.

 

Edited May 23, 2020 by peteloud
grammer

[ManicManiac]

Fair enough.   I don't have much use for most of these things either.

I still like the update, mainly for the variety it's adds in terms of player choice, and giving players a little bit larger toolbox to develop their own individual styles of play.  Even if most of the features are not useful to me, I can (and will for the most part) choose not to use and simply ignore them. 

However, I still love the content of this update.  I think Hinterland has made some good and interesting choices for what they've decided to add to this already wonderful experience.

Edited May 23, 2020 by ManicManiac

[odium]

i mostly agree,  but anything good for the game is good for us vets too.  eventually we will get updates or maps that cater to our liking.  i understand why they would rather appeal to newer players vs us that paid $10-20 years and years ago.  i would happily pay for content but hinterland doesnt seem on board with paid dlc

[ajb1978]

I for one love the rock caches.  I've used them to create five containers in a cave in HRV to store things in, so I don't have to manage piles of dozens, if not hundreds of identical items.  When I re-entered HRV this last time, i found 80% of my crap had found its way into a lost and found, and it took 5 tedious trips back and forth to get it all in that cave again.  But now that I have 5 rock caches to keep my stuff from falling through the terrain, that will never again happen.

Likewise I used this to create additional storage containers at the Spence Homestead, as well as another stockpile of fuel at the Poacher's Camp.  And I used a few in the Paradise Meadows barn to store my extra hides, since having 5 moose hides up and vanish is always disconcerting.  (I eventually found them in a lost and found outside the post office.)

The spray cans almost immediately came in handy for me as well.  When searching for polaroids, I discovered a few locations that had furniture I had not yet demolished.  I was able to tag them with spray paint so I don't forget again, and it shows up on the map as a very nice reminder for when I've got a day to kill.  And I marked the paths through the ice caves in HRV so I don't have to keep checking my hand-drawn doodle on a post-it note.

Having a release to address a lot of little things is never a bad idea.  I really like the rock cairns, and the spray paint is a nice convenience item.  I don't personally need or use the maps any more, but it took me a couple years to get to that point.  There's still new players coming in every day that don't have the benefit of 5+ years of exploration under their belt.  This update is more for them.

Semi-related note, I'm completely amazed Polaroid is still around as a company.  With cell phone cameras in everyone's pocket I thought they'd have up and died, but nope, they're still making Polaroid cameras to this day!

[ManicManiac]

1 hour ago, ajb1978 said:

I for one love the rock caches.

Agreed.  I think the rock caches were a wonderful addition, and one that I will too will find quite useful.

[Guest Paphalophagus]

For me personally, this update is pretty unimpressive, to the point that I'm just going to bypass it.

It seems to me they could have added these trivial things in a bigger update that actually added something interesting to the game. Again, just my humble opinion.

As for what they actually fixed; another mostly lackluster list, especially considering how long it's been since a fix or update was released.

I am glad everyone else sees benefit in it though. That will help keep the negativity down to a dull rumble.

 

[odium]

51 minutes ago, Paphalophagus said:

For me personally, this update is pretty unimpressive, to the point that I'm just going to bypass it.

It seems to me they could have added these trivial things in a bigger update that actually added something interesting to the game. Again, just my humble opinion.

As for what they actually fixed; another mostly lackluster list, especially considering how long it's been since a fix or update was released.

I am glad everyone else sees benefit in it though. That will help keep the negativity down to a dull rumble.

 

i try to take into account the times they are working through as well.  im sure the covid outbreak and all that entails had some impact on productivity, even though developer jobs can be done remotely.  its probably not the same as getting the whole squad running 100% in an office together.  

[MarrowStone]

hey @ajb1978, do rock caches block wind? Do we have a possible wind break for fires or players?

I personally really like the survey list and polaroid to help with faithful cartographer. It reminds me of that game We'd play on the forums on trying to locate screenshots. And the lore on the cards is great to make the place feel even more lived in. 

Edited May 24, 2020 by MarrowStone

[ajb1978]

1 hour ago, MarrowStone said:

do rock caches block wind?

Nope.

Although I've discovered the tiny little support pillar in the Paradise Meadows barn nearest the workbench actually does.  I used that tiny little pillar as cover while I crafted some fishing hooks and lines.  Silly, but useful!

Edited May 24, 2020 by ajb1978