ESCAPE THE DARKWALKER Feedback and Discussion

[tulkawen]

Thank you Manic. Uff that's pretty tuff, considering that you need to walk through some zones few times. Milton zone is huge, the fog starts as soon as you exit the cave connected to Mystery Lake, so you get the rope climbs in too and if you want to return it's not real.

[ManicManiac]

@tulkawen

That's where planning a route becomes crucial.

If a player plans carefully, they could potentially move through 7 Regions and 3 Transition Zones without any backtracking.  The other three "dead end" regions, would require a little backtracking through the connecting region... but if the player travels direct routes it can be done.

We've all ready had some survivors that have collected all 10 diary pages (meaning they were able to visit all 10 of the proper regions)... so it seems very doable.

[tulkawen]

I've managed to collect 7 pages by starting at Desolation Point, went CH, ML, Muskeg, RR, then ML again and Milton. But it had taken me insanely long time to get across Milton. Approximately by the trailer one way, the fog caught me and I was running through the connecting cave to HRV while my health was draining from the fog. The entity got me at HRV after I found my HRV note, but I was trapped at this point.

I feel that maybe we should have more than 1 charge of this stuff. Just because having 1 will limit too much which paths you can take. You don't want a singular route to be the only way to do it. Perhaps having 2 or 3 charges would give us a bit more flexibility. The fog will ultimately catch up to us all.

Edited November 1, 2020 by tulkawen

[Luca Loquax]

m00f!  I gots mine!  Yay!

 

Well done Raph and Devs!

 

Thank you! 

[ManicManiac]

21 minutes ago, tulkawen said:

Just because having 1 will limit too much which paths you can take.

Honestly, I think that was kind of the point.  We get one emergency bailout... but for the rest we really have to be very strategic with the paths we choose to take across Great Bear Island.

21 minutes ago, tulkawen said:

I've managed to collect 7 pages

Good job, by the way... on my first run I only managed to get 4 (I foolishly got lost out on the Muskeg and died due to Wolf & Darkwalker attack).

Edited November 1, 2020 by ManicManiac

[chillgamesh]

On 10/31/2020 at 2:34 AM, Kranium said:

BUG REPORT: tried to warm up a cup of coffee, on the ground beside a green fire, while I had a nap > woke up to a cup of burned inedible crap?!!!? In the regular game, it just keeps warm indefinitely, unless the fire goes out...

Nope, that's normal for survival mode. You have to pay attention to how long your food is on the fire. Training your cooking skill will give you shorter cook times and longer keep warm times.

[boy_scout_kevin]

I had no idea this existed until I saw a girl playing it on Twitch. Of course, I had to buy it on Steam (I played the GOG version before) and wade right in. It's amazing how well TLD morphs into survival horror. I do have a question, though: if we can only use the "dispel fog" glyph once, what do we do about the fog the rest of the time?

 

P.S: I'm really enjoying DW, aside from the fact that it forces a play style that is antithetical to my normal gear-up-and-hole-up mode, and feels more than a little unnatural. It will take some getting used to. My very first run, I cleared Milton as well as I could as the counter counted down, then headed to the old lady's house thinking that if I hunkered down and stayed *real* quiet the DW might pass me by... =D

Edited November 1, 2020 by boy_scout_kevin

[peteloud]

Normally I look forward to new developments in TLD but I can not find any enthusiasm for a game  that is running away from a zombie-like Darkwalker and messing about with cans of spray paint.  There are a million horror games.  What I enjoy about TLD is that it is a realist simulation.

Don't diss me as being a newbie wimp, I have won my spurs in TLD.

 

Edited November 1, 2020 by peteloud

[Dan_]

Manged to get it past the splash screen via the fix provided through the technical section. Got six notes and both badges, my route went through DP-CH-PV-ML-MT-FM, I can still go through to BR but I won't. Got a close call in the Dam where the thing got within 35 meters of me and nibbled my bacon down to little condition, had an excruciating walk through ML with little condition and fatigued ( was my first and only try ), managed to pull ahead of it by the derailment and from there keep sleeping, never stopped running and got to the end without ever seeing it again.

Honestly, this is anxiety simulator, superbly well-done and I once again tip my hat to the masterpiece that is the sound design of this game, because running around the dam yard with that thing breathing down my neck I shivered for real, never once in my life that damn gate took so long to open! Hahahahah

I had my dose of anxiety for the day that's for sure. Once again, superbly well-done and I appreciate the thought process that led to such an awesome event! Thank you!

[Kranium]

7 hours ago, chillgamesh said:

Nope, that's normal for survival mode. You have to pay attention to how long your food is on the fire. Training your cooking skill will give you shorter cook times and longer keep warm times.

Can't say I've ever burnt coffee when I set it on the ground near a fire. I'm not talking about directly on a cooking slot.

[Guest jeffpeng]

17 hours ago, peteloud said:

Normally I look forward to new developments in TLD but I can not find any enthusiasm for a game  that is running away from a zombie-like Darkwalker and messing about with cans of spray paint.  There are a million horror games.  What I enjoy about TLD is that it is a realist simulation.

Well I for once actually really like it because it isn't the realist simulation I'm used to - but it looks and feels the same. It's a nice change of pace (and quite literally so) and it introduces a few interesting mechanics. That's not to say I want TLD to be that - but it's interesting. It brings urgency to the game, something you rarely experience in TLD, and that transforms the game quite a bit.

What I have to say, however, is that I catch myself not playing it as much as I could. Probably because over the course of the year I've sort of developed a serious allergy to stress, probably due to a culmination of some marrigial hardships (which are mostly resolved by now and kinda normal once every few years, or so I've been told), the current state of the world being a crazy dystopian nuthouse and probably the worst period of crunching I ever had a work. And yeah, ETDW is stress for me. It's designed that way - and it works. So .... when I seek some escapism I still play my "Long Term Stalker" game.

And.... yeah.... preferences are different. Personally I found 4DON a little bit .... hum.... stale after the first time completing it. But I can understand people missing their annual Halloween TLD event they have grown fond of.

[Dascomb]

I’ve just finished darwalker it doesnt took too much time ı found 6 of 10 pages and heres some advise for you:

darkwalker is never appears on your back it always appears front of you 

ı rarely faced darkwalker(3 times) so it didnt appears too much The only   therat  İs fog its only appaers when you in the map 

[BearIsland]

This would have been the first year I was able to do the Four Days of Night and I was really looking forward to it, so it is a bit disappointing to think I might not get to try it now. I hope it comes back in a future year. I played the Darkwalker event just long enough to get both badges. It was fine; the frustration and fun were about balanced. There seemed to be more of an element of luck over skill than I personally prefer. My first playthrough, just shy of three hours, I rarely encountered the Darkwalker and ended up getting killed by a bear; I had to risk getting too close to exit the map before the toxic fog. I also didn't realize in most of that playthrough that the green fires were on the map (d'oh!) - I didn't even try mapping since it was dark so I'd never bothered to look at the map to see what was there. I had way more fun with it once I realized it wasn't just good luck to find them before the toxic fog. The second playthrough was shorter - although I did get the six fires I needed for the badge - and I was constantly getting cornered by the darkwalker. Because it can cut right through obstacles and elevations, and you can't, there are limited directions you can go to get away from it; it was really frustrating that sometimes there is only one possible way to go in some maps (particularly in HRV) and if by bad luck that's the direction the Darkwalker is in you really don't have any strategic options. To me strategic options are what this game is all about, so this was not entirely my cup of tea. But I appreciated the art and music, and I always appreciate a game that creates spookiness without gore; the Darkwalker event is a nicely turned out minigame even if ultimately it wasn't my thing.

Edited November 2, 2020 by BearIsland
typo

[NardoLoopa]

I've only earned the first badge, so far.  The second eludes me because I have trouble negotiating the mines w/o succumbing to the fear AOE, even when DW is moving away from me.  But over-all this is more joy than frustration due to mechanics.

Perhaps my single favorite thing about this over 4DON is that isn't not on a real-life schedule.  Last year I *cough* encouraged the cancellation of a dinner party so I didn't miss the second badge. (talk about messed up priorities).

And as @jeffpeng said,  I like DW because it isn't typical TLD, yet still within TLD.

And similar to @BearIsland, I didn't notice the fires on the map until a couple of games in.  Wow, talk about game-changer.  Had a good laugh at my ignorance.

[ManicManiac]

45 minutes ago, NardoLoopa said:

And as @jeffpeng said,  I like DW because it isn't typical TLD, yet still within TLD.

Right on.  I agree with you both on that point.

But to be clear, I wouldn't really want it to creep into the game permanently... but I do enjoy things like this as a limited event/challenge.

Edited November 2, 2020 by ManicManiac

[peteloud]

5 hours ago, NardoLoopa said:

And as @jeffpeng said,  I like DW because it isn't typical TLD, yet still within TLD.

OK, Jeff, Nardo and ManicManiac, perhaps I have been too conservative,  I'll find a time to stop my current game of starting a Voyager run in HRV and give this new DarkWalker game a try.

[piddy3825]

7 hours ago, Dascomb said:

darkwalker is never appears on your back it always appears front of you 

ı rarely faced darkwalker(3 times) so it didnt appears too much The only   therat  İs fog its only appaers when you in the map 

so what I hear you saying is that if I walk backwards the whole time, it'll still be following me?  💀

[Makex]

Route was, DP - CH - Ravine - BI - FM - Mystery lake - Mountain Town - HRW. For me this was exciting. I don't like jump scare type of games and this was spooky enough for me. Seeing those glowing green foot steps get closer to you... long dark is never going to be the same after this.

[piddy3825]

1 hour ago, peteloud said:

 I'll find a time to stop my current game of starting a Voyager run in HRV and give this new DarkWalker game a try.

I've shared your sentiments a few times on these forums and I too have mixed feelings about this event.  But, as a diversion from the self imposed quest of another vanilla run in the sandbox, it does kinda have some appeal.  At any rate, if you wanna make it just a little more interesting and challenging for yourself, try finding a bottle of syrup in each of the regions you find note in.  Just adds another layer of fun if you ask me!  

[chillgamesh]

speaking of maple syrup... started my last run in Broken Railroad and I managed to find TWO of them right away. But then I got myself hypothermia like an absolute noob and barely survived 30 minutes. 😰

[Grignard_TN]

I made it all of 1 hour and 1 minute in my first run at this ( starting in DP ). Of all the things to kill me I was paying more attention to moving quickly and looking around and I fell right of the railroad bridge in ravine. Got that badge by the smallest of margins.

[ManicManiac]

My second (and presently ongoing) run is so far my most successful, despite a random starting location.
I've had to work my way through each region starting from Mystery Lake (7 pages collected... 3 more to go)... and the way it's going, it looks like Bleak Inlet will end up being the last stop.

Edited November 3, 2020 by ManicManiac

[Guest jeffpeng]

11 hours ago, ManicManiac said:

But to be clear, I wouldn't really want it to creep into the game permanently... but I do enjoy things like this as a limited event/challenge.

Well I've been thinking about that. And as it is ... no. Surely not. But there's something to say about urgency and how it changes - one might argue: improve - the game. I mean, as you know @ManicManiac, and a few others that might have stumbled across the occasional post I made on these revered forums, I am a big proponent of player action and rewarding it from a game design perspective. (Also, dear reader, feel free to skip this post if you are more the on-topic-TLDR-type.)

I do realize that there have been measures taken in the past to encourage player action, most notably the Well Fed system, and I also understand that there are already mechanics in the game that reward an active play style (or punish a lack thereof), especially early, such as item decay, the world getting colder, and, later on, drying up of renewable resources such as game and firewood if you rely on the same spot too much. There also is Cabin Fever, a halfhearted attempt to force the player to spend more time outside, which is as effective as I am with that same agenda regarding my son once he figured out that he can just take his tablet outside.

But ... there is still a strong case to be made to sit out your days, with the occasional de-cabin-feavering in a nice warm spot of your choosing, and starving yourself to success, with a deer lasting you two weeks, once you are established - which is something I really dislike. Now, sure, the old argument "If you don't like it don't do it" is valid as ever, but if you strive to play the game as effective as possible it's hard to argue that keeping a healthy diet long term is just playing the game wrong from a reward standpoint, and not having to eat eliminates the need of moving at all. In fact it's even a bad idea to do so since you are just inviting risks, which, as Erwin Schrödinger would tell you, will eventually amount to certainty. Of death. (Poor cat, btw.) In short: inactivity is rewarded, an inactive game is boring, the player loses interest in the world they have been living in and rather start a new game than actually facing the inevitable.

Now I am also not a big fan of negative reinforcement. Not when it comes to bringing up a child, motivating coworkers or playing a game. It's always more fun to get something when you do something opposed to having something taken away if you don't do something. Although this usually amounts to the same effect, the former is perceived much more encouraging than the latter.

Now if we put ETDW, player action and positive reinforcement into a blender - what do we get? ETDW forces the player to move - fast, and a lot. That's player action - but we don't want to punish the player for being inactive, but rather reward them for being active. There are a few knobs we can turn to achieve that.

For instance could a region the player hasn't entered in a while gradually warm up a few degrees, and then start to cool back down the longer the player stays there. How to justify that from a realism standpoint? Well you don't. How do you justify that after crossing the tunnel to HRV weather becomes a living nightmare? It just is because game play. Another angle could be that game replenishes faster if you are not in a region - that you can even explain with you not disturbing wildlife - or that predators become less aggressive since you are just not getting on their nerves for some time. Bottom line nature would favor you for not sticking around too long, and that's actually a quite interesting social commentary, when I think of it.

Another thing that could be introduced is having new loot sparsely pop up here and there. There already are hints that other people frequent the island - aside from all the dead people we "meet". A new can of soda at a campfire, a broken arrow sticking in a tree, a pair of heavily used shoes left behind in a house, a fired shell casing lying in the snow. Not much. Just enough to make traveling a tiny bit more rewarding, just enough to keep the game world interesting enough to go places.

How this even is remotely related to do with ETDW? Well ETDW makes you move. It forces you, heavily. This proposal would also make you move. Not force you to - but encourage you to keep playing the game actively. It would put more emphasis on all the new mapping features, it would make having way points and lean to shelters more sensible, it would give you more opportunity to explore and keep you an active part of an active world.

Would I want that in the base game? Yeah, I guess I would, but a great many people would not. And I get that. Changing something one has grown accustomed to can be very upsetting (which I, using the same keyboard model for 14 years now, can heavily sympathize with), but if there was something permanent to take away from this event and put it as a persistent mode into the game, I think such a "Nomad-Setting", properly balanced, could be an interesting thing to have and would put a fresh spin on how we play TLD for those in for a bit more .... action. Like traveling and making campfires. That sort of action.

 

[Screenshot Pilgrim]

I started a second DW in Desolation Point. To CH (I liked the placement of that fire, spooky approach), then Ravine - ML - MT - FM (a wacky, jagged route I took from Hat Creek, to the fire, to the Bleak Inlet cave, with several weak ice warnings).  In BI, took the outer route around to the road, past the Cannery, to the fire(#6), then made a last stand atop the Broken Lighthouse.  All I used were lures and the fog disperse.  I wish I had saved the latter, so I could have hung on long enough to see the DW come up to get me, but I got choked out first.  I put a ward up at the end for a screenshot, along with burning all the flares I had left.  

I'll catch up on reading a lot of posts about the event in the coming days, but probably won't go again myself.  It looked and sounded great tho.

[UTC-10]

I completed two runs.  On the first, I completed the participation badge then got devoured on my way to the sixth page.  On the second, the primary objective was to get six pages and, after some thought about how things went in the first run, I completed the six page collection in a bit less time than my unsuccessful first run.  On both runs I was not really scared but there was a good deal of tension which made the time I spend on each run seem like nothing.  The fact that death was the final result also freed up my thoughts since there was no tomorrow there.  To me, it made a positive difference.  I spent about 2:20 (1st run) and 2:08 (2d run).  That was probably about as long as I would have wanted. 

I wonder if there might have been a badge for those who did get all ten pages? I would never go for all ten pages.  I am not that energetic.  But others might have appreciated some kind of recognition.