I've changed my mind about Timberwolves and Bleak Inlet.

[Azdrawee]

When Errant Pilgrim launched, many people, including me, have been incredibly disappointed with the new addition of Timberwolves to survival. Not only that they didn't quite fit the style of animals we've been used to, but their implementation has been incredibly unfinished and buggy. They never gave up after sensing the player, they got stuck on terrain, they were incredibly difficult to fight, their AI was glitchy.

With the release of Hesitant Prospect, I've decided to jump into my old save, and needed to make some ammunition to continue playing, so I decided to visit the region once more, and I'm pleasantly surprised to say that I had a great time. The AI has been improved a lot, to the point where I haven't experienced a single glitch during my entire time in the region. They now give up after a while of not being able to reach the player, their sounds feel much less annoying, and they generally behave in the way I'd expect them to. Hinterland also implemented an option to turn off their morale bar UI, which has been a common request from the community.

I feel like Bleak Inlet offers a very welcome change of pace, making Timberwolves a very threatening and interesting obstacle in your way to the cannery (at least on difficulties with guns). I never thought I'd say this, but I actually want them to be added into new regions, assuming the reward for beating them is reasonable.

[Glflegolas]

Hmmm. I haven't fought timberwolves since the update, but I do find it odd that they're exclusive to Bleak Inlet, along with Pleasant Valley in Story Mode.

Maybe a wolf spawn node should have a rare chance (1 in 20 or so) to spawn a timberwolf pack instead of a normal wolf in all regions of Great Bear? This could be a Stalker-exclusive feature if it's something that's likely to become annoying.

Edited December 27, 2020 by Glflegolas

[dbmurph22]

Nice to hear!  I've been playing a lot more Bleak Inlet the last 3-6 months because I was doing some Bleak Inlet only runs (Bleak Existence!) (and watching others do similarly) and I've come to appreciate things.  I wouldn't mind seeing some Timberwolves sprinkled in some other areas at this point for sure - especially since BI is uniformly Timberwolfy (leaving out our friend in the workshop).  It would be fun to see some regular wolf and timberwolf mixes.

BI is a unique map, plus with not only the Timberwolves, but also the unique tools available at the Cannery, and maybe the harshest winds in the game it gives you some things no other region can.  It most definitely can be a slow appreciation but I hope more folks give it additional chances.

[UTC-10]

As I understand it, Bleak Inlet was to be the test bed for determining whether Timberwolves should become a predator that could spawn basically anywhere on the map.  Like the Bear Spear, the Timberwolves might not be ready for general introduction or may never be ready for general introduction.  One thing that is sure, if they are generally introduced to all applicable regions, there will almost certainly be no going back to a pre-Timberwolf world. 

[piddy3825]

Yeah, I always thought Timberwolf Mountain should have some timber wolves on it...
I mean, come on it's all in the name, right?  right now TWM is all bark and not much bite. 

oh, and I want the hides to look different too, please.  with a different timberwolf pelt cloak or cape or something like that

[gotmilkanot]

I also think they deserve their own pelts which could be made into a cowl like the one Jeremiah is wearing in Ep 2:

[UpUpAway95]

On 12/27/2020 at 3:24 PM, Glflegolas said:

Hmmm. I haven't fought timberwolves since the update, but I do find it odd that they're exclusive to Bleak Inlet, along with Pleasant Valley in Story Mode.

Maybe a wolf spawn node should have a rare chance (1 in 20 or so) to spawn a timberwolf pack instead of a normal wolf in all regions of Great Bear? This could be a Stalker-exclusive feature if it's something that's likely to become annoying.

This is basically what I recently suggested on the recent thread about making Interloper more challenging.  I think it would be a great addition that would take away some of the predictability regarding the wolf spawns in the game.  The experienced player may know where wolves spawn, but they couldn't predict what sort of wolves would be in the area at any given time.

ETA:  I'd increase the odds though... maybe 1 in 10 or even 1 in 5... and perhaps add a maximum of 2 or 3 timberwolf packs active in the game world at any one time.

Edited January 1, 2021 by UpUpAway95