Changelist/Release Notes -- Sandbox Alpha v.05

[Raphael van Lierop]

The Long Dark -- Sandbox Alpha v.05 Changelist

July 9th, 2014

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NOTE: Please remember that The Long Dark Sandbox Alpha is in a constant state of flux as we continue to fix bugs and tune the game. Gameplay features or tuning values are often experimental, and may be modified or even removed between updates.

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NOTE FOR MAC USERS (v.05): We are having some issues with Steam updating between versions. Until we solve this problem, you are advised to take the following steps before updating the game:

1) Right-click THE LONG DARK app name in your Steam library.

2) Select “Delete Local Content”. This will remove all files but the app name will still be in your Steam library, it’ll just be greyed out.

3) Right-click THE LONG DARK app name and select “Install”.

Steam will now download a fresh version of THE LONG DARK, updated to v.05.

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General

• A new NavMesh has been generated for Mystery Lake Region. This should hopefully address any unusual wildlife locomotion issues (stuck or floating).
  
• Added new random player spawns, for a total of 10.

Art

• Fixed several environment art bugs.
  
• Modified daytime lighting settings to remove the “yellow” bias. Daytime lighting is now more bluish.
  
• Fixed Flare and Lantern lighting so they are more effective at night. The Lantern now has the same lighting settings when held or placed.

Audio

• Added new sounds for Harvesting.

Gameplay & Tuning

• Melting snow on a fire now produces Non-Potable water. Non-Potable water can make you sick.
  
• Non-Potable water can now be purified by Boiling (on a fire), or using Water Purification tablets, from the Inventory screen.
  
• Timings for Melting Snow and Boiling Water have been tuned.
  
• Modified global temperature settings so that warming occurs starting at 7AM. It was previously set to 5AM.
  
• Updated all clothing Condition decay values. This is to address clothing decaying too quickly after the v.04 tuning pass.
  
• Non-worn clothing will only decay at 10% the Base decay value.
  
• Tuned the weather transition frequency to account for the longer day length. Weather will now change once every 1-3 game hours.
  
• Reduced blizzard duration range to 4-8 hours (from 6-12).
  
• Tuned the Wolf struggle to make it a bit more challenging.
  
• Updated all Wolf spawn regions, and added new Wolf and Deer spawn regions to the world.
  
• Added NoSpawn trigger zones around in-world locations that should be safe from Wolves. You will no longer wake up to a wolf attack in the Hunter’s Blind.
  
• Removed the Sewing Kit pre-requisite to stopping Blood Loss. You can now staunch Blood Loss with a Heavy Bandage. Antibiotics and Rest are still required to make a full recovery.
  
• It is now possible to forage for Wood indoors. Indoor foraging only produces Reclaimed Wood.
  
• Reduced pill bottle capacities. Antibiotics now contain 6 pills per bottle (was 12). Painkillers now contain 5 pills per bottle (was 10).
  
• Reduced the random item capacity of both First Aid Kit types. The smaller kit now holds fewer random items than the larger kit.
  
• Made food poisoning more dangerous. Increased the hourly Condition drain to 10/hr (from 5/hr). Increased the hourly Fatigue increase to 20/hr (from 10/hr).
  
• Reduced the chance of getting Food Poisoning from canned goods (Peaches, Beans), and MREs.
  
• Randomized all Corpses (Deer and Human) in Lake Region, apart from a few that remain for environmental storytelling purposes.
  
• Reduced the Exhaustion encumbrance penalty to 15Kg (from 20Kg).
  
• Increased the Fatigue increase per day to 150 (from 110).
  
• Increased the Encumbered calorie burn multiplier to 5x (from 3x).
  
• Increased the Condition damage caused by Freezing from 200/day to 300/day.
  
• The Rifle now degrades upon use, and can be repaired.
  
• The Crowbar now degrades upon use, and can be repaired.
  
• Increased the rate at which Cold and Warmth increase/decrease your Freezing status.
  
• Added a new Raw Material type: Leather. Leather is required to repair boots. It can be harvested from existing boots, or from Deer.
  
• All gear items now have proper time costs for Harvesting and Repair. Some gear items now yield multiple Raw Materials when Harvested.
  
• The Player Log now tracks more events, and is saved to Log_####.txt. (Refer to the Alpha forums for more information on how to find this.)
  
• Added more loot and explorable locations to LakeRegion.
  
• Removed all errant Firewood from the world. These were placed before we had the Wood Foraging feature, and are now out of date. Individual Wood gear items can still be found in interior locations. Foraging should be used as the primary means to find fuel for fires.
  
• Tuned all Fuel sources. Hardwood, Softwood, and Reclaimed wood all now have reduced burn times, but are also lighter to carry. Wood Foraging has been tuned to be more generous. Net result is Fuel is easier to find and carry, but you need more of it.
  
• Created new LootTable for “Dresser” type furniture objects. These now primarily contain clothing items.

Menus, HUD, UI

• Moved all graphics and audio settings into the Options section of the Main Menu. Added ability to tab between Audio, Display, and Controls settings.
  
• Mouse Sensitivity and InvertX (??) options added to the Controls settings.
  
• Removed the Unity Launcher.
  
• Fixed bug where the Harvest interface would not allow you to select individual items within a stack, and would Harvest the entire stack of items.
  
• Harvest and Repair interfaces have been separated, and are both available from the Survival Panel. Items for Repair are sorted by Condition.
  
• The current Day # will be displayed when you wake up from rest. We only display this once per full day.
  
• The Player Log interface has been improved.

Misc.

• None.

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