March 2021 Developer Diary

[odium]

Awesome update, so great to see a developer take input from the buyers enjoying their projects.  

 

the survey was a great idea!  i would love to see, (and happily pay for) any survival related dlc.  the only thing i wasnt able to clarify in the survey is; as much as i would love TLD dlc, if that prohibits progress on a new game i dont necessarily think that is best.  in my ideal world we get continued survival paid dlc while a new survival based game is in the works.  i would love to see a similar type open world survival game with maybe a pacific island stranded vibe, deep jungle amazon etc.  i love the narrative that survival mode creates thru roleplaying as the player, and personally i could endlessly play these types of games as long as fresh content keeps coming in! 

[Ahatch]

Thank You Hinterland

I have played the Long Dark about as much as classic titles like Warlords II. Just an awesome game that just keeps getting better. Can't wait to explore the next cool region  

[R0ughHab1tz]

I'm very grateful for this game. As a Canadian I'm glad I'm supporting local. I started a thread recently about supporting you further financially. Yes it's amazing there's a one time purchase and it's good to hear your still getting sales to be put money back in but at the same time I wouldn't have minded if I had to spend $5 per episode. It's very well done and thought through it's worth the extra purchase.

 

With the long dark having its own little niche it can be improved on but it does have its limitations. I hope to see a new and improved game in the future that can easily be expanded and hopefully still have the same feel as this game.

Keep up the great work. I'm glad I found this game on the Nintendo switch store. I can play it anywhere I go as I travel for work.

[stratvox]

2 hours ago, Ahatch said:

Thank You Hinterland

I have played the Long Dark about as much as classic titles like Warlords II. Just an awesome game that just keeps getting better. Can't wait to explore the next cool region  

Loved for Warlords II. I still have a copy of that about somewhere, I should try and fire it up again. Such a great game, perfect for beer and pretzels around the home PC.

[AdamvR]

20 hours ago, UpUpAway95 said:

There really wasn't an option to describe the sort of "binge playing" I do with most games... playing them almost 27/4 constantly for a few weeks and then moving on to binge on a different game for awhile.  I just saw options that described x hours per week (presuming that playing time remained consistent over the number of years the game has been owned).

 

I would guess there are multiple people who play a game for a while (very) intensively, and then move to another one, and then maybe come back later, as opposed to having a weekly schedule of 2.25 hours for X,  3.5 for Y and 17 minutes for Z.
Nevertheless, I found the question easily answerable after a moment of thinking, and using the secret formula of:
time spent on the game (according to Steam) / time passed since purchasing.
to be exact: X hours / Y months • 4.35 (as average weeks in a month) 

I'm not sure if all platforms offer that counter, so it might be trickier in some cases

Edited March 21, 2021 by AdamvR

[Stinky socks]

5 hours ago, stratvox said:

That's why they call it a tease

Agreed, I feel teased..

This is going to be great! It's like Sam Fisher meets metro2033! That prison will be a great sneaking place! I wonder if we'll be able to put an oil filter from cars onto the revolver as a makeshift suppressor for some stealth combat!

[StillNomad]

This is a good update and quite a lot is revealed AFA the future direction of TLD is concerned. The team has done a fabulous job considering the covid situation and to come up with innovative ways to achieve the target. Kudos there.

I took the survey which was interesting. Glad to see Hinterland is coming up with ways to sustain the development and improvement of TLD, especially the Survivor mode. Few thoughts I'd like to express.

1. Paid DLCs. I have rarely bought DLC for a game. Once bought, its mostly be all and end all for me. Content in terms of skins, features, irrelevant superficial extras don't interest me. Exception to this, however, is genuine game content. I've bought Euro Truck expansion packs which offer new regions. I think TLD DLC is something I will pay to use. Having new regions such as Ash Canyon is such a good expansion to the survivor mode and will keep me coming back for more. Medium size content packs for me.

2. Customising the player character: I speak only for myself here. I dont feel the need to have representation in this game. I dont care. I am not insecure in life. I dont mind playing Will/Astrid as the character. I don't think having an Indian looking main character will somehow make me feel more immersed in the game than it already does now. Please spend the studio's precious resources in improving other areas. I dont know why this is even a thing these days. Add more survivor dialog, add funny things the character can say, weird stuff, thoughts spoken out loud, etc. 

3. More wildlife: Boy, this one would certainly improve the gameplay. Carnivorous as well as herbivorous animals would be nice. Hunting and using their pelts for more useful items would be genuinely interesting. Wouldn't mind seeing newer types of vegetation even some specific to certain areas. Also wouldn't mind the harvestable vegetation regrowing their 'harvestables' (blasphemous, I know).

4. Extending / Entirely new story (as paid DLC) This could help extend the TLD shelf life as well as possibly bring in newer players. 

5. Late game: Somehow this is where things start becoming tricky. There definitely needs something that makes late game persistently challenging. The forums already has a lot of topics on this.

6. Don't care for multiplayer. 

7. A novel based on the TLD theme/characters would definitely be interesting. It could be a complete novel, yet with certain questions unanswered (yes, I know. Good luck there), only to act as fodder for a sequel.

All the best. 

 

[odizzido]

8 hours ago, stratvox said:

Ummm... you folks do know that TLD does not use the DRM features in Steam, right? I am able to run the game without Steam by invoking it from the command line, without any steam libraries loaded or anything like that, right? I'm not sure why they would change that policy for their DLC...?

Nope I had no idea. I always assume steam games use DRM. If they give me a steam key I would possibly consider DLC.

[odizzido]

57 minutes ago, StillNomad said:

3. More wildlife: Boy, this one would certainly improve the gameplay. Carnivorous as well as herbivorous animals would be nice. Hunting and using their pelts for more useful items would be genuinely interesting. Wouldn't mind seeing newer types of vegetation even some specific to certain areas. Also wouldn't mind the harvestable vegetation regrowing their 'harvestables' (blasphemous, I know).

 

Certain veggies could potentially be grown indoors. If they implemented a house heating/insulation mechanic then we could grow a few veggies by the windows if we managed to keep the temperature up inside.

[Admin]

Let’s stop arguing over font colours. 
 

Also let’s try to be sensible when using colours and font sizes. Some emphasis is useful but don’t use them just to troll or be annoying. 
 

Thank you. 

[UpUpAway95]

On 3/21/2021 at 11:53 AM, AdamvR said:

I would guess there are multiple people who play a game for a while (very) intensively, and then move to another one, and then maybe come back later, as opposed to having a weekly schedule of 2.25 hours for X,  3.5 for Y and 17 minutes for Z.
Nevertheless, I found the question easily answerable after a moment of thinking, and using the secret formula of:
time spent on the game (according to Steam) / time passed since purchasing.
to be exact: X hours / Y months • 4.35 (as average weeks in a month) 

I'm not sure if all platforms offer that counter, so it might be trickier in some cases

AFAIK, the Xbox One doesn't have such a counter beyond the stats in the ingame journal (which I've reset several times). 

What I really was getting at was a place where I could have added an additional comment or, in this case, added an  explanation of a couple of my answers.  Still, I do appreciate that Hinterland are polling their player base before making their decisions.

[Kycko]

On 3/19/2021 at 3:21 AM, NardoLoopa said:

a procedurally generated area would be ideal

Oh, yeah! Procedural generation makes each game more interesting.

Maybe Hinterland will make another survival game with it? 😊

Or maybe they can add an option to randomize current region's connections? That would be awesome... I know each region very well, but every time I start a new game I don't know where I would be if I go to another region.

[ManicManiac]

On 3/19/2021 at 4:51 AM, NardoLoopa said:

a procedurally generated area would be ideal

3 hours ago, Kycko said:

Procedural generation makes each game more interesting.

  I would have to respectfully disagree.

I really don't think procedural generation would be a good thing for this game.
I much prefer having regions that are smartly designed, balanced, and crafted with intention.
I think if No Man's Sky taught us anything at all... it's that if we just toss some assets at an algorithm then eventually things just look really "same-y" or it could generate some random chaos that may not even look like earth (or even traverseable) let alone work as a location on Great Bear Island.

Don't get me wrong, procedural generation gels with and works really well for some types of games... but I really don't think it would work well with this game.

Edited March 23, 2021 by ManicManiac

[Mdevey]

I’d pay for dlc, hell at this point I’d pay for episodes four and five if I could just simply play them. I’m about to buy a ps5 just so I can play the forest,  to save myself from running through episodes 1,2 and three for the 50th time.  

[Stinky socks]

Hinterland will start a GoFundMe and you can donate all you want:) please stop with all this "I'd pay for this and that".

[odizzido]

It would be interesting to see the survey results if hinterland were to post them. Keeping in mind of course the people who got the game, played it for 5mins and got too frustrated and never looked at it again are far less likely to have taken it.

[VippiN]

It's been so long since Episode 2 finished, and that's where I put down the game. I loved the game, but when I want to reinstall it, I would prefer to play it when I can play through to the end of the entire story. Not just through again until the end of Episode 3 and be in the same situation years from now. What I would do is pay $10, if that would confirm an expedition to the process of completing the story. I imagine others would too.

 

Also, when I played the game up until Episode 2 and 'completed' the available single player experience, some trophies did not unlock on PS4 and it did sour my experience. Has this been resolved? As this would give me a reason to reinstall today as a challenge.

Edited March 26, 2021 by VippiN

[BlueMaxW]

On 3/23/2021 at 4:09 PM, ManicManiac said:

  I would have to respectfully disagree.

I really don't think procedural generation would be a good thing for this game.
I much prefer having regions that are smartly designed, balanced, and crafted with intention.
I think if No Man's Sky taught us anything at all... it's that if we just toss some assets at an algorithm then eventually things just look really "same-y" or it could generate some random chaos that may not even look like earth (or even traverseable) let alone work as a location on Great Bear Island.

Don't get me wrong, procedural generation gels with and works really well for some types of games... but I really don't think it would work well with this game.

Raph did float this great idea one time about following an endless train track with randomly selected premade zones that had randomly generated loot, wildlife, flora, weather, and structures as an alternate game mode and the game would just generate more as long as you can keep going. IMHO, that gametype would fit perfectly with this game.  That would fit under the "randomly generated" banner, right?  That doesn't sound bad to me as long as there are enough different zones.

[Stinky socks]

So, your only way is forward then? I mean the further you travel, the more you have to have stuff saved, like where you left stuff and where you dropped tools and where you set up a base.

How would that be handled if you generated miles of area and decided to go back? Hell of a database to keep everything in memory for a game!!

[BlueMaxW]

8 minutes ago, Stinky socks said:

So, your only way is forward then? I mean the further you travel, the more you have to have stuff saved, like where you left stuff and where you dropped tools and where you set up a base.

How would that be handled if you generated miles of area and decided to go back? Hell of a database to keep everything in memory for a game!!

Nah. The only way is forward. Once you exit a zone it is in the past. Earthquakes and Auroras and stuff broke it. Tough world, but that's the game we play. Keep in mind, any new zone might well have better loot than what you have on you.... but what are you willing to drop if the next transition requires you to climb?

I hasten to point out that Raph DID NOT announce this as any official gametype. He casually mentioned the idea in a Milton Mailbox a few months back and my imagination has run with it..  I do not work at Hinterland and I am not authorized, qualified or capable of speaking for them. This is pure speculation on my part. 

I would love this gametype, though.

[Stinky socks]

Hmm, perhaps there would be less incentive to come back when you are not in a closed loop of great bear..

[JaySovereign]

14 minutes ago, BlueMaxW said:

Nah. The only way is forward. Once you exit a zone it is in the past. Earthquakes and Auroras and stuff broke it. Tough world, but that's the game we play. Keep in mind, any new zone might well have better loot than what you have on you.... but what are you willing to drop if the next transition requires you to climb?

I hasten to point out that Raph DID NOT announce this as any official gametype. He casually mentioned the idea in a Milton Mailbox a few months back and my imagination has run with it..  I do not work at Hinterland and I am not authorized, qualified or capable of speaking for them. This is pure speculation on my part. 

I would love this gametype, though.

The Long Dark but as a rogue-like/lite? I already love the idea.

[BlueMaxW]

7 minutes ago, Stinky socks said:

Hmm, perhaps there would be less incentive to come back when you are not in a closed loop of great bear..

The game (survival mode) isn't about making a home. It's about survival. A random path of implied escape that leads to my death is better than sleeping to my death. Let me die fighting!

[BlueMaxW]

I would like to explain a few of my choices on the survey.

-I ranked the board game option high because that sounds like a great way to cover awkward silences on backpacking/ camping trips with my bros. Please make sure a magnetized/miniaturized/travel version is available.  

-I also ranked CO-OP STANDALONE very high. I was defensive to nerds who were trying to make TLD into RUST in the past because I wanted the hinterfolk to focus on refining the single-player experience. But Survival Mode with a pal would be really nice. They could make that an entirely different development branch. I would be willing to buy that as a different game if it was implemented.

-I ranked "first person presence" higher than "customization". Because I want to have a clue what I am wearing before my stats start dropping. Getting frostbite after a wolf fight because I didn't notice my mittens got ate is a bummer. A skyrim-like display that shows your outfit choices in first-person would really help with immersion.

-I ranked Survival Mode higher of importance than Story Mode. *dodges tomatoes* NOT because I don't love the story mode story,  I do! I just make an ass of myself in all of those quicktime moments because they freak me out. I would rather watch a better player on youtube (like Accurize2) play the story parts and let me watch it like a movie. I prefer to play Survival Mode because the story is mine. Even if I screw up or get something wrong it just becomes part of the story... or the end of the story. If I get it wrong in Story Mode, it becomes frustrating. I have to redo it. I don't wanna argue for a good story. I just want to press "PLAY".

-I ranked "Big Package" DLC higher than the other options because I don't want to have to come back and keep checking for little updates. I want to give Hinterland my money, but I'm not going to be a sucker. This player does not play that "microtransaction" game... Not that they were threatening me with that... I'm just saying a whole pack with new maps, new items, new gameplay mechanics, and possibly more story sounds like a better deal.

-I also ranked the possibility of TLD audioplays very highly. I hope others did as well. So much of what would be needed for that is already in place. I believe what we get for this would be of very high quality.

 

I have had too many beers and I have taken too much of your time.  Thank you for listening to me ramble. 

[Stinky socks]

8 hours ago, BlueMaxW said:

The game (survival mode) isn't about making a home. It's about survival. A random path of implied escape that leads to my death is better than sleeping to my death. Let me die fighting!

Yes that's very poetic, but I'm planning to live a long and happy life all the way into my retirement, gnawing on the last wolf steak when all resources run out.