Survivalmode late game features in The Long Dark

[Satouthedeusmusco]

While there are always a lot of things I think many players would love to see more off like new regions and more animals there is one very fundamental thing I feel The Long Dark is lacking in right now. And that is late game.

 

For those not familiar with the term, video games that focus around gradually strengthening your character can often be divided into multiple stages. Early game, mid game and late game. The early game of The Long Dark is very well defined, you spawn, you explore your surroundings and start scavenging for useful gear. All your skills are at level 1 (except maybe your fire-starting). Once you’re sufficiently clothed and have access to important tools you transition into the mid game which focuses on crafting. You’re gathering saplings to craft a bow. You’re trapping rabbits so you can make the hat and gloves, you hunt wolves to make the wolf coat, and bears to make a sleeping bag. Your character is beginning to level up his skills. Then, once you’ve crafted everything you want, there is the late game. And right now this is something that The Long Dark is lacking in. In many games, the late game is a goal you build your character towards. This is where you’d be doing big boss fights or delving into the hardest dungeons in RPG’s. This is where you would raid in MMO's. But once you’ve crafted everything in The Long Dark there isn’t much more to do besides continuing to survive and maybe explore some far off regions.

To be fair, The Long Dark does have a little bit of late game. The moose is incredibly rare and hunting it might serve as a goal. Ammo crafting could be a late game goal. And the Hesitant Prospect update is definitely a step in the right direction with the addition of a new hardcore region in the corner of the map that features a hard climbing challenge that rewards the player with two unique and incredibly valuable items. But besides that there isn’t much more.

 

This is why I suggest the addition of more late game content. I’m sure the develops at Hinterland can think of quite a few themselves, but just for the sake of fun I’m going to list some of my personal idea.

 

Timberwolf migration: Either 60 (Voyager), 45 (Stalker) or 30 (Interloper) days into the game Timberwolves will begin migrating from bleak inlet to other regions. This adds a new late game challenge of having to deal with dangerous Timberwolves in other regions. As a side note, why aren’t there any Timberwolves in Timberwolf mountain?

 

Storms: A good dozen days into the game you see hundreds of crows suddenly lift off from the trees and fly away. All your character say is “That can’t be good. A storm is coming.” You’d then have to prepare, and quick. Because in a few day a massive blizzard is going to make being outside certain death. You’d have to hoard up lots of firewood and food before the storm arrives. Once the storm is over animal carcasses across the map would have respawned as a reward for surviving players as well as an opportunity to collect some much needed meat for any player that just barely scraped by.

More late game regions: Just like Ash Valley more late game regions can be added that feature special loot that cannot be found anywhere else in the game. In Wintermute we learn that Great Bear Island houses some of Canada’s most dangerous criminals. Maybe there can be an incredibly hostile region of the map that features the prison complex where the criminals were housed. The prison could have unique guns the prison guards were armed with that are not found anywhere else in the game.

 

Events: Perhaps, a couple dozen days into the game, special events can happen that significantly change the landscape of Great Bear. Maybe an electrical fire breaks out in coastal highway due to an aurora, burning much of the Coastal Townsite and unearthing a dark secret (or something). Maybe an avalanche occurs in Timberwolf mountain that cascades down to pleasant valley. Covering a part of pleasant valley in snow while opening up some part of timberwolf mountain. Maybe the Carter Dam finally collapses after all those years and opens up a path to a new region behind it. Perhaps a freighter ship strands in Desolation point, a dangerous and cold “dungeon” to explore and find unique loot in. Maybe there is some kind of super aurora that influences the behavior of animals all over the artic zone, causing some polar bears to migrate into great bear which would serve as an incredibly deadly late game super predator.

 

Projects: The game could feature special “projects.” Things that would take an incredible amount of time to complete that have a special reward at the end. An example of one such project could be a digging out a collapsed chamber in one of the games mines. This would burn tens of thousands of calories and take dozens upon dozens of hours to complete. There could be a special bunker somewhere on the island that can only be opened by gathering enough explosive from the games various mines to blow open the door. The explosives would be incredibly heavy, and the player would have to take multiple trips across the entire length of the island before finally gathering enough of them to blow open the door. And at the risk of sounding heretical, perhaps there could be some kind of way to “win” survival mode. An idea I had would be reconstructing an old broken down steamboat in bleak inlet or desolation point. The play would have to gather metric tonnes of coal from the mines. They would have to scavenge for parts that could fix the boat all over the island. They would have to study up on how the boat actually works so that they know how to fix and operate it. They’d have to study astrology so that they can plot a course using the stars at nighttime (compasses don’t work anymore after all). And lastly they’d have to actually repair the boat which might require the use of power tools that only work during the aurora.

[Vareta]

I really like this idea especially the storm, kinda makes me remember the final storm on frostpunk, and just thinking of hauling up in the trappers homestead with -20 degrees even inside, is extremely interesting and exciting. Even lorewise it makes sense, its not hard to imagine that with all the aurora shenanigans there would be extreme weather.

[Derek0311]

For the sake of your argument, how about we assume that the player starts the game sometime in the spring.  The winter was extremely cold, like the story says it is.  But the sea ice won’t open a passage back to the “main land” till next “winter.”  So, you have to survive 9ish months, while preparing for a journey south across a land bridge.  There will be no resources out there but after a number of days of walking, you escape.  As I say it, it sounds dreadfully boring but you’ll have to figure out how to navigate.  Maybe you see some seals... a nowahl wish you well and “hoping you find your dad.”  Not sure.  The point is after you get half way, there’s no turning back.  You could stay on the island forever...that’s an option, but self rescue is another way out.  I don’t know, just a thought.

[djanico]

Many moons ago I suggested that there be a Dog/Wolf as an  ingame companion (Search "Would love a Doggo"). This Dog would spawn after XX Days somewhere in Bear Island, you would get a cue from McKenzie ("Im so lonely... there must be someone out there") that would trigger the event.  Adding a Dog companion would give you perks for sleeping (cuddling heat bonus), tracking, hunting, alerting and possibly defending at low tiers (wolves only). But would also incorporate more difficulty as your dog must eat, drink and can also get injured. So now you are surviving for two.

 

Edited December 15, 2020 by djanico

[theisaactrain]

On 12/13/2020 at 1:15 PM, Satouthedeusmusco said:

Timberwolf migration: Either 60 (Voyager), 45 (Stalker) or 30 (Interloper) days into the game Timberwolves will begin migrating from bleak inlet to other regions. This adds a new late game challenge of having to deal with dangerous Timberwolves in other regions. As a side note, why aren’t there any Timberwolves in Timberwolf mountain?

 

 

 

Storms: A good dozen days into the game you see hundreds of crows suddenly lift off from the trees and fly away. All your character say is “That can’t be good. A storm is coming.” You’d then have to prepare, and quick. Because in a few day a massive blizzard is going to make being outside certain death. You’d have to hoard up lots of firewood and food before the storm arrives. Once the storm is over animal carcasses across the map would have respawned as a reward for surviving players as well as an opportunity to collect some much needed meat for any player that just barely scraped by.

 

 

 

More late game regions: Just like Ash Valley more late game regions can be added that feature special loot that cannot be found anywhere else in the game. In Wintermute we learn that Great Bear Island houses some of Canada’s most dangerous criminals. Maybe there can be an incredibly hostile region of the map that features the prison complex where the criminals were housed. The prison could have unique guns the prison guards were armed with that are not found anywhere else in the game.

 

 

 

Events: Perhaps, a couple dozen days into the game, special events can happen that significantly change the landscape of Great Bear. Maybe an electrical fire breaks out in coastal highway due to an aurora, burning much of the Coastal Townsite and unearthing a dark secret (or something). Maybe an avalanche occurs in Timberwolf mountain that cascades down to pleasant valley. Covering a part of pleasant valley in snow while opening up some part of timberwolf mountain. Maybe the Carter Dam finally collapses after all those years and opens up a path to a new region behind it. Perhaps a freighter ship strands in Desolation point, a dangerous and cold “dungeon” to explore and find unique loot in. Maybe there is some kind of super aurora that influences the behavior of animals all over the artic zone, causing some polar bears to migrate into great bear which would serve as an incredibly deadly late game super predator.

 

 

 

Projects: The game could feature special “projects.” Things that would take an incredible amount of time to complete that have a special reward at the end. An example of one such project could be a digging out a collapsed chamber in one of the games mines. This would burn tens of thousands of calories and take dozens upon dozens of hours to complete. There could be a special bunker somewhere on the island that can only be opened by gathering enough explosive from the games various mines to blow open the door. The explosives would be incredibly heavy, and the player would have to take multiple trips across the entire length of the island before finally gathering enough of them to blow open the door. And at the risk of sounding heretical, perhaps there could be some kind of way to “win” survival mode. An idea I had would be reconstructing an old broken down steamboat in bleak inlet or desolation point. The play would have to gather metric tonnes of coal from the mines. They would have to scavenge for parts that could fix the boat all over the island. They would have to study up on how the boat actually works so that they know how to fix and operate it. They’d have to study astrology so that they can plot a course using the stars at nighttime (compasses don’t work anymore after all). And lastly they’d have to actually repair the boat which might require the use of power tools that only work during the aurora.

I wish I could up-vote this twice, I really like these ideas, and I think Hinterland should really note some of these things, I think the thing that would work the best in the game is the Timberwolf Migration. I could just imagine walking down the railway line in Mystery Lake, and then that dreadful Timberwolf music starts playing. I think the events would be a very good addition too. As for the projects, I think that that would be a region exclusive thing. I feel like the project you gave an example of is more of Wintermute thing, I feel integrating all of the things you talk about would be a little too much for survival mode. But other than that, I like all of these ideas and I hope AT LEAST one of them will come to the game on day. 

[breh]

I have done some research and the area where great bear is meant to be located is very close the russo-canadian border or as my brother calls it polar bear land so i think adding the polar bears would be really fun but just to balance it maybe they only spawn in like the northern areas just for a bit of balancing

[Satouthedeusmusco]

On 12/19/2020 at 8:08 PM, breh said:

I have done some research and the area where great bear is meant to be located is very close the russo-canadian border or as my brother calls it polar bear land so i think adding the polar bears would be really fun but just to balance it maybe they only spawn in like the northern areas just for a bit of balancing

Sweet. Maybe polar bears could spawn in an "ice plains" region at the very top of the map. Could be a late game region that you'd go for specifically to hunt polar bears. Very hostile, would have almost literally not firewood anywhere in sight and it would be very open with no snow shelters being the only way to hide from the elements.

Since it would be an ice plains region there could be a "stranded" fishing boat somewhere stuck in the ice as one of the only shelters in the ice plains. I think that would be pretty cool.

And perhaps this could be the first region with fishing holes that aren't in fishing huts.

[dbmurph22]

Osteoporosis.

[Fragtzack]

Thumbs up for the original poster "big storm" idea.

[Satouthedeusmusco]

Another idea of a “late game region” I had would be ice flats in the far north. Frigid expanse

. I’d be the coldest region of the map with little wind cover safe for one or two stranded boats and some minor topographical relief. You’d essentially be walking on ocean ice. Why go there? Polar bears. A polar bear hide coat would be the overall best, if the heaviest, coat in the game and also give a stealth bonus due to its white color. Polar bears would be incredibly hard to spot in the desolate white landscape of the ice flats though. And obviously very dangerous.

Essentially this would be another way to create a late game region. A specific kind of wildlife that only spawns there. This isn’t like the way timberwolves are implemented now since hunting timberwolves isn’t better than hunting normal wolves. I still think there should be a timberwolf migration mechanic or that timberwolves should be present in more regions.

[one_shurbbery]

I love the idea of timberwolves moving to different maps over time, presumably in search of prey (aka you). 

[Stone]

Some nice suggestions, some a little scary (death by timberwolf army!)

What do people think about this: late game improvements should ultimately be about extending the wonderful early/mid game dynamics indefinitely.

I suggest this because the community largely likes the way things are but just wants more purpose when they've done everything and the game challenge drops away.

Personally, I'd say that means anything that requires they player to travel and, in doing so, re-introduces the challenges that came with that earlier in the game. Late game players are very well equipped so that challenge probably needs to force decisions and loss of gear.

Something I thought could do this would be other survivors passing through that are in need of help. They could simply appear at an indoor location (hinted at by putting up a flare). They'd then require a challenging shopping list of assistance -  maybe they need supplies and full set of outer clothing to be on their way. Once you gather that stuff, nothing fancy needs to happen, they can simply despawn when you're away/sleeping. They could thank you with a small but un-craftable reward. And of course the players 'other survivors helped' count goes up one. 😄

[Satouthedeusmusco]

On 3/10/2021 at 1:57 PM, Stone said:

Some nice suggestions, some a little scary (death by timberwolf army!)

What do people think about this: late game improvements should ultimately be about extending the wonderful early/mid game dynamics indefinitely.

I suggest this because the community largely likes the way things are but just wants more purpose when they've done everything and the game challenge drops away.

Personally, I'd say that means anything that requires they player to travel and, in doing so, re-introduces the challenges that came with that earlier in the game. Late game players are very well equipped so that challenge probably needs to force decisions and loss of gear.

Something I thought could do this would be other survivors passing through that are in need of help. They could simply appear at an indoor location (hinted at by putting up a flare). They'd then require a challenging shopping list of assistance -  maybe they need supplies and full set of outer clothing to be on their way. Once you gather that stuff, nothing fancy needs to happen, they can simply despawn when you're away/sleeping. They could thank you with a small but un-craftable reward. And of course the players 'other survivors helped' count goes up one. 😄

 

I do kind off think other survivors go against the spirit of survival mode with absolute isolation being one of the atmospheric elements that many really enjoy.

I'm not entirely sure if making the player experience the early to mid game agains is the best way to go about things. My preference still lies at late game challenges that shake the game up a bit. And I personally think more late game regions with special loot would be the least invasive way of adding late game. Ideally these regions would be ultra hard. Way harder than what is already in the game.

That or my projects idea that gives the player a reason to walk the lenght of the island mutliple times. A problem I found right now is that there aren't that many reasons for the player to leave the region they setup shop in. Projects that require resources from multiple regions would be a good reason to do it, as well as being a late game mechanic that the game really needs.

[milan]

What is the main purpose of our survivor, to stay forever or to make it back? 
Perhaps call for aid by scavaging spareparts from radiotowers and repair one specifik tower? Looking for books that would give skill in electronics, radio, construction.

[ManicManiac]

I'll echo what I mentioned in previous threads:

Quote

I personally don't think there is a late game problem.  I do think there might some issues with late game "expectations."  Which to me is not the same thing. 

I really like the idea that once we get proficient with our survival tasks, that it's really up to us to find creative ways to just live in Great Bear on our own terms, and for how long.

 

On 9/21/2020 at 4:00 AM, ManicManiac said:

I think that in the survival sandbox the onus should be on the player.

I've been playing this game pretty consistently for about 6 years now.  I've never felt bored, and I like that once I got proficient in my survival tasks... it was up to me to find creative ways to just live on Great Bear, and for how long.  I've never needed the sandbox to prompt/force me to do things or to go exploring...

I think that in the sandbox, tending to our character's four basic needs & overall condition (of the character, as well as gear and tools) should be the only driving factors... the rest ought to be up to the player.

 

 

Edited March 14, 2021 by ManicManiac

[Omnijack]

I love the idea of late game 'Projects' and I'm always in favour of more crafting options.

My suggestion for a project is - Create a distress beacon to broadcast a repeating message. To build this, you need cockpit radio equipment from Timberwolf mountain plane crash, and transport it to Forlorn muskeg radio tower. Learning to make it work could require gathering and reading 3 books (20 hours each) about electronic engineering and radio assembly. Perhaps specialised tools, or just loads of scrap metal (I.e. 100 pieces).

For truly Herculean project size (I realise this is a bit out of scope, but it's Wish-list forum, so I'm dreaming big)..... Once you radio beacon is assembled at the tower, it needs a power supply to transmit with, so we're gonna build a steam generator. Using a makeshift generator scavenged from Carter lower dam, powered by coal burning and 50 litres potable water.... runs into 4 car batteries....to empower radio beacon.

Fir those of us that want an ending : keep coal burning for (1-10 randomised) days until a rescue arrives.

for no ending: your beacon transmits unto the unknown, you can take comfort in the idea that IF there's someone out there, you've done your best to contact them. (But no rescue ever arrives, you just have 'at least you tried' as an achievement).

[Mroz4k]

Individual projects were suggested before, I do like the concept. The radio idea is not bad, but it's not about building it as much as it's about fixing it up. Also remember Aurora is a thing so in the end you will fail but at least you tried. Honestly, could be a good badge in game. 

The probably most commonly suggested late game goal is building of one's very own cottage. Which, assuming it's done realistically, would be a pretty amazing goal. 

Hard no to events suggested in original post. Any sort of scripted event of that sort would murder the immersion. That said, the general idea of events has merit. If there were small localized but randomised events that took place around the place but would dissapear if not interacted with, it might help with the late game. If this was a way to potentially get hands on rare limited gear like gun ammo, I'm sure most players would travel around the map to look for such events. 

 

[Stinky socks]

I guess it's always viable to just leave the game alone and do something else. I hear resident evil 8 is pretty good!

[Eldeon2]

The end game challenge that TLD need is SCARCITY. 

The game currently follow linear/exponential curve - you spawn, loot and scavenge for better clothing, weapons and tools, then improve your character and skills and this in turn allows you to stay outside longer, do things faster and hunt more. After mid game, you just stockpile 40kg of moose or bear meat left and right. The game is no more about surviving, its about thriving.

What we need is massive reduction in respawn rate after mid game (100+ days mark). The world stuck in perpetual winter should be slowly dying. No more shooting a free deer on your porch every 6 days. With respawn rates getting longer as the game continues, lack of food forces the player to migrate to hunt prey. More migration means longer exposition to the elements, which in turn means more wear and tear on your clothing and tools. Late game should be about scouring the map to find that precious source of calories - searching every pond or valley (also complements faithful cartographer and cairns achievement).  Combined with worse weather - longer blizzards and days without fish nibble, the game will follow the bell curve and provide challenge in survival once more.

[Crisfersan]

I agree with you with the point of making the survival experience like a progressive challenge, getting harder, demanding you to move to another areas, and so on. Right now as it is, you can survive without moving from one single place. It would totally make the game more exciting than it is right now. But i doubt hinterland will include any of this ideas into the game, as they are focusing more in the story mode, or adding some new items and locations. But the mechanics are not improving.

Edited May 30, 2021 by Crisfersan

[Mroz4k]

On 5/30/2021 at 12:10 PM, Eldeon2 said:

The end game challenge that TLD need is SCARCITY. 

Im inclined to disagree. It depends on what your playstyle is. For a general interloper player, this might be it. Same for probably most Stalker players. I personally would not like it. I do play with a progressive world, as in wildlife becomes more scarce and game becomes colder over time, but I dont think that dwindling everything would be the way to do it. I personally would really love to homestead it up. Play off my Dick Proenneke dream, just quietly living off the land in the long dark.

Im sure some players would appreciate it - but I think the endgame in the game is at the point where it is right now mostly because the game was designed around just not surviving long enough to actually get to the "endgame". AKA it is by design, I think. The earliest versions of the game had a very limited amount of time that was even survivable in the beggining. This was when the Mystery lake was the only region, and by the day 50, you either died because your clothes broke and there was no more cloth to be had to repair them and you froze, or you simply ran out of ammo as bows were not a thing then, and each game had a very limited amount of ammo to begin with. Or matches ran out and there was no mag glass that spawned in your game. I do even remember flare-hunting strategies for when one ran out of ammo. You almost always had to use wolves to hunt a deer and then shoot it for the double kill to maxx out your meat haul from a single bullet.

To point, the game became about strict meta-gaming which was the only way to make it as far, and the game was very swingy in a way it matter what kind of a world spawn you got. Wouldnt be that clear today but it would still happen. I dont think anyone here really wants to see that come back.

There are different survival theories, but I think what the game has in it is mostly a part of "immidiate survival", but eventually, you have your basics covered, and that is where one would usually switch over towards more of either mid-term survival (basics covered, looking for something to improve one´s quality of life), or even towards homesteading, which is basically switching from survival to a sustainable, long-term routine. The game has next to nothing to add for the homesteading.

But I think the TLD is aimed to be short-term survival focused therefore I dont think much grand long-term functions are going to have high priority.

[AndyAsh]

Timberwolf migration is really nice 

[Eldeon2]

On 6/1/2021 at 11:05 PM, Mroz4k said:

The earliest versions of the game had a very limited amount of time that was even survivable in the beggining. This was when the Mystery lake was the only region, and by the day 50, you either died because your clothes broke and there was no more cloth to be had to repair them and you froze, or you simply ran out of ammo as bows were not a thing then, and each game had a very limited amount of ammo to begin with. Or matches ran out and there was no mag glass that spawned in your game. I do even remember flare-hunting strategies for when one ran out of ammo. You almost always had to use wolves to hunt a deer and then shoot it for the double kill to maxx out your meat haul from a single bullet

I remember those days and actually miss them. I remember sleeping naked and putting my clothes into drawer in Camp office every nigh, so they don't disintegrate in 10 days. I remember min-maxing every bullet to get wolf + deer combo kill, because if you found 10 you would be lucky. I remember when surviving 10 days was an achievement, a badge of mastery. The world back then was small, empty and resources were so scarce, that you had to use them very carefully. Piece of cloth back then was worth more than technical backpack right now. I would think, plan and calculate, if it is worth more to use that last piece of cloth to repair toque or mariner coat. It was like a deadman challenge for every item and resource. Right now I can repair every piece of my clothing every day to 100% and still not run out of cloth in hundreds of days. So what is the point of resource management, if i can't use all available resources even if I waste them as much as I possibly can? This whole aspect of the game becomes meaningless after mid game.

On 6/1/2021 at 11:05 PM, Mroz4k said:

Im inclined to disagree. It depends on what your playstyle is. For a general interloper player, this might be it. Same for probably most Stalker players. I personally would not like it. I do play with a progressive world, as in wildlife becomes more scarce and game becomes colder over time, but I dont think that dwindling everything would be the way to do it. I personally would really love to homestead it up. Play off my Dick Proenneke dream, just quietly living off the land in the long dark.

Yes, I agree this is not for every playstyle. However, I would really like to have the custom sliders go far more deeper. Currently, even with everything on lowest settings, there is still too much stuff and too much wildlife (food). If you can survive of one spawn indefinitely, what is the point of moving and exploring? Where is the challenge? I think that good game design should increase difficulty with player skill, so that the game doesn't become too easy and boring. Especially survival game, which is in nature very repetitive. What makes this game interesting (for me) is surviving in the face of hardship, not in the face of abundance.

Note: On interloper, the progressive world decay is limited to only 50 days. At this level wildlife is still too abundant and afternoons are quite warm.

On 6/1/2021 at 11:05 PM, Mroz4k said:

There are different survival theories, but I think what the game has in it is mostly a part of "immidiate survival", but eventually, you have your basics covered, and that is where one would usually switch over towards more of either mid-term survival (basics covered, looking for something to improve one´s quality of life), or even towards homesteading, which is basically switching from survival to a sustainable, long-term routine. The game has next to nothing to add for the homesteading.

I do like the idea of homesteading and crafting/customizing base, but it will only move the lategame start to a later date. It won't solve the core issue - sustainable long term routine is repetitive and therefore boring. You need to introduce a factor of randomness and difficulty to keep the game interesting. If you don't know, where will your next meal respawn - could be anywhere from Broken Railroad to Desolation Point - the thrill and hardship for survival is back.

 

On 6/1/2021 at 11:05 PM, Mroz4k said:

But I think the TLD is aimed to be short-term survival focused therefore I dont think much grand long-term functions are going to have high priority.

Probably true, but sad. I would guess that players had spent much more hours in survival sandbox than story mode. And challenging lategame/endgame will add to massive replayability of the game for years to come.

[Stinky socks]

Well. It turned into exploration survival.

 

[Guest jeffpeng]

I think ... TLD has a very specific "win condition" and with it a very specific "late game" that is so different from what the rest of the gaming industry does that it is hard to understand. And this means it is hard to improve.

Don't get me wrong: I do agree that there needs to be more incentive to be active later in the game as just sitting it out really is not what the game should reward you for - but to some extend it does. It's just that I do believe that adding the typical late-game incentives wouldn't really work with this game. Most of this is due to the fact that the win condition is something like this:

"Survive long enough so that your reach the open end of a long book that has no particular story"

And there is something very special and inherently poetic about this. Sure, you could read that as "Survive long enough so that you are too bored to continue" and sadly sometimes this is actually the case. But it is still your choice. You decide when to "retire" a survivor. And there is an almost spiritual element to what this actually means:

You are playing a game without a happy ending. You are playing a game without a goal. It might be over at any moment, and the longer you play, the more likely it is that it will suddenly end, to the point were losing it is inevitable by sheer accumulation of chance. The only way to win it.... is to accept your fate and to be content with what you achieved.

If you didn't follow: This is a lot like what real life is like.

I'm not certain that this is actually intended. I'm dead certain it wasn't when survival mode was first introduced (heck, it was basically an engine test back then). But it is how I understand the game now. And adding typical late game elements to it would take away a lot of the magic that makes this game almost infinitely replayable despite that there is not happening at lot in it.

Would I like for it to be harder at times? Yes - and luckily I can do that myself. Would I love to have more things to do later in the game? Yes - and luckily I can find goals if I want to, even tho I realize that this isn't the perfect solution for most people. Would I like to have new and intriguing lands to explore despite the chance of never coming back? Yes - and I sincerely hope we'll see much more of Great Bear Island. But at the same time.... I somehow really don't want the game to change what makes it special. And I guess.... having no real "late game", having no end goal, having no win screen and no 100% completion run ... is an important part of that.