April Developer Diary

[Ghurcb]

I think a serious miscommunication is taking place here... What do you mean by "season pass"?

A lot of people probably think, season pass here is a monthly payment. Like a subscription for content. You stop paying - you can't enter this new region anymore. 

The way I read it, "season pass" means, you pay for DLCs before all of them came out. That way, you pay once and get all the DLCs that will be released in the following years. OR you can purchase the them separately as they come out. 

Did I get this right? 

[bobtux]

Awesome !!  :D <3 

[Guest jeffpeng]

2 hours ago, Ghurcb said:

Did I get this right? 

You did. You did get it right exactly. But that's also exactly what I meant: it's a bad term for a great concept many people do not get right. Basically it really is "prepurchase all content coming in timeframe X at a discount" - but what a significant portion of people hear/read is "pay for my content again and again every few timeframe X". That's why I think other wording would be adequate.

Edited April 30, 2022 by jeffpeng

[bladerunner900]

It all sounds good to me. Personally, I would be more interested in future DLC for Survival and possible season passes. It would of course, depend on how long the season would last and how many updates (DLC) that would cover. Have you perhaps considered the possibility of a Lifetime Pass?

Edited April 30, 2022 by bladerunner900

[ChillPlayer]

To see that survival mode will be constantly expanded is the best news I've read in a long time. I am super excited about that and the fact that we can finally somewhat reward you for your work hopefully also means that you can dedicate more resources into the expansions. I've several long-term survivors who ran out of things todo, just camping at one site and they can't wait to explore new regions

 

 

[Bearimpaler101]

8 hours ago, Kranium said:

You folks are so awesomely Canadian. Keep on keepin' on. ❤️

😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

[piorun314]

Funny but it came to my mind you might stop develope TLD due to low income. I agree there is no good balance between time I have played and price I paid. I am happy to pay for new content. Its clear for me there will no be game development without funds.

PS. Please fix HDR issue for PS4 😀 I cant wait to continue my Survival journey.

[Serenity]

6 hours ago, Ghurcb said:

A lot of people probably think, season pass here is a monthly payment

No. It's a very common concept

[Luca Loquax]

Hooray for Canada!  Yay!

[Triple_D_50]

Of course, take my money!!!

What a splendid day it was all those years ago, when this game found me on my Ps4. It has even helped me rehab my broken wrist(a plate and 7 screws).

I've yet to find a video game that has satisfied me more, just always entertaining...or wonderfully frustrating to no end.

I believe you are on point sir, and I wish you, and Hinterland all the luck 💜

[Guest jeffpeng]

10 hours ago, bladerunner900 said:

Have you perhaps considered the possibility of a Lifetime Pass?

Hm. I mean I can see all sorts of challenges with how to price that. It's hard to predict how long the game will receive paid content updates. Maybe a year, maybe two, maybe another 8-10 years. TLD is already way past the lifecycle of a typical game and is now joining the club of a few select games that are actively developed and expanded after such a long time. And unless you start jettisoning old platforms your game will become very, very dated at some point. (Not that Minecraft ever cared about that, for example.) That being said:

I sorta-kinda like the idea. I guess there would be a not-too-small group of people that would just drop - wild number flinging here - fifty bucks, knowing they'd get whatever DLC whenever it's ready, and also have a chance to help secure the studios financial health by making a rather big advance payment, knowing (and at this point we kinda know) the company will act in good faith and deliver.

Depending on how (in)accurate that 50 bucks guesstimate is .... I'd be up for that. Today.

[hozz1235]

Thank you for the well-written diary @Raphael van Lierop.  Lots of exciting stuff!  I look forward to the season-pass and new content.  I also anxiously await the next project which comes from your quiet musings

[TropicalSurvivor]

I can only say thank you Raph and Hinterland team

[Nervous Pete]

Thanks Raph, lovely post - heartfelt and informative. I love the picture as well, is that your office? Well, it is now in my Hinterland head-canon. 

It must be difficult moving on but at the same time pretty exciting. Hell, I'm faced with the same emotion in survival mode whenever I up-sticks with my long-running base from one region to another. It's going to feel a little strange at first without you at the helm, but you've made the right decision. You don't want things to begin to feel stale, you want new challenges.

Katie Sorrell's work has been incredible so far, so I'm looking forward to seeing where she takes us next. If Pleasant Valley was her first region she must have hit the ground running as it's still my favourite on the island. (Katie if you're reading this then another cosy region would be lovely, thanks. Brutal bleak wilderness is great, but I also like to spend time in the cosier Pilgrim aspect of The Long Dark and having a region that really feels like a home away from home for me would be something special.) 

I'd be very happy to lay down some coin for more Long Dark content. I bought this back in the day for about a tenner in British pounds back when Timberwolf Mountain was released. I felt immensely relieved when it came out on the Switch also enabling me to buy it a second time, I was beginning to feel a bit guilty about the ridiculous value for money I'd been getting. I think the system you've set up is fair, and anything that enables me to make my chosen base a bit cosier will definitely get a big thumbs up from me. (Burying bodies would be a start!)

So once again, thank you Raph and thank you the Long Dark team for taking us on this incredible journey. Here's to the undiscovered region! 

[Sito]

Raph, you and Hinterland rock! I have over 4000 hours of enjoyment in this game. The many updates and improvements that you have given for free just show your commitment to the quality and experience for your players. You have a loyal following. Take my money! I am happy with paid DLC however that will work but I know you and your company are honorable and dedicated to the game, your fans, and not money grabbers. I look forward to many more thousands of hours in the Long Dark and whatever new project you come up with. 

Edited May 1, 2022 by Sito

[Kitsune_Wizard]

On 4/29/2022 at 2:33 PM, Wiggles said:

I am new to the TLD world. I will tell you, I was addicted the first life I played and died in. The same day. LOL. My last game was 128 days. Unfortunately, after I died my PS4 blue screened and corrupted all my data. I think your next venture will be just as phenomenonal. Thank you so much. This Grandma can play all day.

 

Hello. If you're on ps4 and have playstation+ PS+ auto uploads your save data every now and again. Simply select The Long Dark from the playstation menu, then press options, then press download save data. It won't get back all your save data, just the save data from the last auto upload, or about a day or two since you lost it.

I had to do this a couple times because of data corruption bugs. Thank god for PS+ backups.

[Meracus]

If just al game companys worked and operated like you guys at Hinterland we would a much "nicer" and healthy video game market. I feel in love withe the game from the first time i tried it a looong time ago and somewhat feel in love of you open communication to the community with what your thouths are and future plans.

No matter what happens now and in the future both TLD and Hinterland have a spot in my mind and heart.

[Captcavey]

My introduction to TLD was back in 2017 where I watched survivors roaming around Great Bear island on YouTube. It fascinated me. The look of the game was the hook for me. Later that year, when story mode came out, I parted with my money and took my own flight into that cold desolate landscape. It's 5 years later and I still play this game on Mac and PlayStation (yes, I bought it twice).

Playing this game has been a journey. I started off in Wintermute which introduced the mechanics/crafting/etc. and I took what I'd learnt straight into Interloper...

After I almost immediately died in a blizzard, I realised I needed to learn the environment so I took baby steps, even playing pilgrim to learn the maps and locations of 'things' (I highly recommend this!) Now, 5 years later, I am comfortable entering Interloper but I always, without fail, get that feeling of 'how am I going to survive?' as the screen fades from black into a world that wants to kill me. It's epic every time. 

When I think of what I paid for both copies of the game, it feels like I robbed Hinterland. I think you've over delivered on your promise with this game which has been a great thing for the players. All too often it feels like game manufacturers are trying to find the sneakiest way of prising money out of people but with TLD it feels more symbiotic. It feels to me like I paid for something and I've been brought into the Hinterland world, nothing has been sneakily hidden (the Dev diary updates have been open, honest, and concise) and the game has given me days, weeks, (probably months now I come to think of it) of enjoyment. It's been an exceptionally good deal.

Hinterland/Raph, you have been good to your word. I thank you for that. It sometimes feels like honesty is a dying thing in our modern world but not here. Not in the Hinterland. That counts for a lot. I look forward to the evolution of TLD and will look out with great interest in your next project Raph.

Thank you.

[Captcavey]

Ps. Skis. I'd pay for skis. ⛷️

[Clairec321]

Thank you for the update. I for one am delighted to hear you are introducing DLC for sandbox. I am excited for new content and things to do. I absolutely love TLD and totally support paying for more content. The game is reasonably priced for the size so adding more really is worth paying for.

Thank you fir all your hard work Raph and I wish you all the best in your new adventures. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with next! 

[Nitzy]

I've always been a believer in giving money to companies who put in as much love and care into their games as you do. 

At the end of the day, you're still a business and can't run on initial sales forever while still constantly updating the game. 

I'm 100% thrilled at this announcement and think that your approach toward story vs survival is the right way to go. In my opinion, this is a survival game with a story mode attached. I enjoy the story mode, but I've put over 300 hours into survival, as have most of your players, so survival should probably always be your main focus. I'm still very excited to see the conclusion of the story though!

Long story short, take my damn money already!!

 

[NickBeast17]

Thanks for the update! Can`t wait for the dlc  

[Neromancer]

Thanks Ralph

for  the Number One Game of All time, in my personal Opinion. I played since Pong and never found another Game with such a  touching Story.

the Monetization of Hinterland is certainly on the other side of the "Rockstar/Fifa Vertical" - be more expensive please

Ralph did you ever considered buying a VR Headset and take Vorpx and play TLD in VR(still with Controller), it is inspiring, this is where "future" Games could go

write a Book about Gamemaking-culture, call it the "Anti Kotick Effect"

thanks for the long bright Journey

 

Edited May 1, 2022 by Neromancer
spelling

[JaySovereign]

On 4/29/2022 at 9:07 PM, Admin said:

Thanks for sharing your concerns. We have no plans to remove content for people who have bought it. While some season passes take this approach, that's not our plan nor our intent.

Additionally, we want to emphasize this bullet: 

• We want to make sure our existing players who choose not to buy any more content (or are unable to afford it) are still going to have a great experience of The Long Dark, and won’t feel left behind. So we’ll also continue to provide some free updates to the base Survival game, so anyone who doesn’t buy the pass will get something. These updates will generally be smaller, more modest improvements compared to what you will see being added to the paid content stream, which seems only fair. 

We look forward to bringing you more great content in the future in a way that is sustainable and meaningful. 

It's still an issue because if I buy this pass for a bunch of money and then stop payments, all the money will be wasted and gone because all the content will be gone. This is really making me reconsider even buying this game to begin with, I can't believe you guys would decide to do something so...corporate and greedy. Not like you at all.

 

Edit: If I'm not understanding this correctly, please point out what's really going on here as I'm very confused over this.

Edited May 1, 2022 by JaySovereign

[JMK]

Behind Hinterland 100% !!! The game cost for me is now down a cent an hour and dropping, I feel like scamming the studio.

I can't wait to pay what the game is worth to support new developments and if you want to open a kind of subscription, I'm ready for it.

I❤️TLD