May Dev Diary

[PilgrimReaper]

I, like many others in this thread, appreciate that you make a point of taking care of the people working at HL, appreciate the quality over quantity, as well as the honesty and realistic self-assessment.

Looking forward to the next parts, whenever they become available. 

[mfuegemann]

I am thankful for the honest words about Your experience and the state of the project - Tales and EP5. Sure, the technical problems and the interloper tale thing have been annoying, but for me the new content brought new motivation to play the game even more.
Focus on quality - content- and bug-wise - and give us updates on the progress of new the parts and EP5. Then some weeks delay are no problem at all.

[odium]

i was really miffed by the huge delay between PC and console release, that felt really bad as a console player to have all the new content spoiled for months before even getting to taste it.  now that the two have been brought back even i am not bothered by the future delays.  i didnt think the 8-10 week cadence sounded feasible from the get go so i prepared myself to not see that.  i also dont have enough plsying time to even get to the new maps yet so im basically set for content through the end of the year. the $20 is inconsequential to me, i would gladly pay more for the countless hours i have gotten from TLD over the last 8 years.  

[Nervous Pete]

Hullo Hinterland.

Like others I sort of rolled my eyes at the eight-to-ten week cadence thing and was a bit surprised it was in there. There's that famous saying, 'no plan survives contact with the enemy' and with a huge system-dependent sandbox world that enemy is inevitably hidden bugs. Lots of them. All the same it's better to admit error now than wait until the end of the year with a mea-culpa, and I appreciate how painful this must have been. 

I'm a PC / Switch player. I used to be completely PC, but since the release of the Switch (my first Nintendo console) only The Long Dark, Cities Skylines and American Truck Simulator get a look in on my machine now. As a Switch gamer I have to say that we're kind of used to delays enforced by porting difficulties brought on by the nature of the system. Cities Skylines never saw one DLC released on the Switch.  I'm used to that kind of disappointment. 

However as a Nintendo convert I've also got used to the Nintendo's laudable notion of waiting until things are ready. As Miyamoto said, "A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad." It's tempting to frame this quote as something of an excuse for developers, but after waiting six years for a sequel for Zelda: Breath of the Wild I have to say that the sheer staggering scale of the achievement of Tears of the Kingdom has made the wait and suffering the repeated delays completely worthwhile. Indeed for the moment Long Dark is whimpering at the window like a faithful hound as it watches me run through happy glades throwing a stick for an eager bounding new Zelda game. 

But I'll always return to The Long Dark, because it is a world and a story that speaks to me, and I find that when I play it I live within it. This is part of the reason why I'm having such trouble steeling myself to go to the far territories. I'm still preparing. It's an odd feeling turning your back on the familiar places you've learned to call home in the old regions of The Long Dark, and marching off away from the cooking range of the Pleasant Valley Farmhouse towards that distant railroad bridge and into the unknown. 

So am I disappointed to read your post? Yes. But far, far less than your hard-working team are probably feeling in themselves. Like Miyamoto I can learn to wait. 

From me, standing on top of Korko with a rocket strapped to its back, to your team, diligently beavering away. Catch you later in the Far Territories.

Edited May 19, 2023 by Nervous Pete

[Voodoo_92]

Absolutely understand. Thanks for the passion and the love you take to make this game a great experience. Doesn't matter if it takes time. 

[peteloud]

I admit that I am disappointed with the change from early-access to DLC but I do appreciate your being open and honest about the difficulties that you are having.

I've been playing TLD for years, I can wait a few more yet.

[Jeremy4200]

I have plenty of time to wait! I'm set out on a 1500 day survival objective for myself and I'm only on day 365. So there's plenty of game play till released.  Take time and make it great. This is my all time favorite survival game other than the forest and green hell. I play the long dark more.  It's pieceful to the mind!

[SlippedGear]

12 hours ago, Admin said:

Thank you for all of the kind messages in this thread, and for your continued support of THE LONG DARK. We will make sure to share new information as it becomes available, and we will keep working to provide the best possible game experience. 

I can't speak for everyone, but myself certainly. I much prefer QUALITY over quantity (or release dates). So many games now seem to release in terrible states of unfinishedness. I have been with the game for a long time now, and I can relate to your frustration, if not understand it. But I would much rather have the game be completed over a longer period of time than haphazardly "finished" out of frustration leaving a buggy mess for us players in the end. I have already purchased the expansion and would like to know if there is a way to pay more as I feel like I have underpaid for the game as it stands. Do you have a means for us to donate or tip you for your work? Perhaps a Paypal link or should I just buy on more than one platform? Thank you so much for your continued work on this project! Please keep up the good work!

[Leeanda]

15 minutes ago, The Riddler said:

@Admin @Raphael van Lierop

1. Stop calling these notes Dev Diary.

Since the COVID pandemic, almost all the notes with the titles "Dev Diary" have ceased to carry information about the development of the game. You discuss the team, the change of leadership, the rest of the team and many things that do not relate to The Long Dark. Please release separate notes with such information, for example, "Development Team Diaries". I open Dev Diary to find out how the game is developing and what new things will be there, but unfortunately there is no such information there.

Fans wait 3-4 months to get notes about the game, watch new screenshots or videos, but they get stories about the work of the team.

2. What has the team been doing all year 2022?

You have released 1 update in 2022. There weren't even any events. I thought you were doing beta versions of DLC all this year so that in 2023 you could have time to release updates every 8-10 weeks. Now you are reporting that you do not have time to make updates so quickly. What have you been doing all year 2022?

 

3. In Dev Diary, you said that you wanted to release better content in DLC than in free updates.

As a result, paid updates are exactly the same as free ones. New locations, new clothes, new products. Of course there is a shortwave, but it seems to have been developed for Episode 3, but then canceled.
 

You have 10 years of development experience, but you've been making the same mistakes for 10 years. Constant postponement of updates, lack of communication with fans. And there are too many ports for consoles. Usually the game is released in full, and then ported to all consoles. You decided to port the game in the middle of development.

There is a feeling that 5-10 people out of 75 are doing The Long Dark now. Everyone else is doing two new projects.

If in 2015-2017, the team managed to work at such a pace, and now it does not have time, then the management has become too soft and everyone is working relaxed.

Please don't presume what we want...     I for one appreciate the info whether it refers to the game or the team .    I've enjoyed interacting with the staff lately as I'm sure others have too.  It's not my,yours or anyone's place to demand what they write about or where.

[Pencil]

Thanks Hinterland! Just wanted to show I support your decision as well. We can wait for quality content 

 

@The Riddler not really sure where you are getting this information. From what I see you are the only one that complains about the content of the dev diaries. And for the record, they've made a diary for February, March, April, and May this year (not every 3-4 months). 

 

[bascolais]

hi Hinterland,

as a gog player, I'm one of the few that could be deceived by this message deciding not taking official milestones or giving deep information to users, but I'm not.  I think the challenges you gave to you was very tough, and of course, whithout comprehension of the difficulties by us, we're easily upset by not seeing what was told. this is particuliarly true when we talk about something linked to emotion (as a game we love). moreover, having too tough challenges significate big problems internally and so the quality of work decrease (even not willing it). I experience that everyday (I work in railways industry, managed by delays, so always... too far unreachable goals )

so good news to be in a more realistic way, and it is better for us too.

for finance, I think that all work deserves money, moreover with such a succesful game, so no pb to have paids dlc, and why not for survival too. I think that we spent many hours on this game, more than more costly games.

so congratulation for taking the return of experience into account, and to share that with us.

Edited May 19, 2023 by bascolais
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[hozz1235]

12 hours ago, JaySovereign said:

When Tales came out, I raised a point that it was like you all were on crunch, something you bragged about not doing to your employees. This sounds like you all are tired and losing passion for your game in order to get updates out as fast as possible. Pretty similar to crunch, if you ask me. Unless you're certain this won't happen again, I doubt I or anyone else will ever buy anything else from you again unless you can show us it will be released reliably.

They do advocate "no crunch".  I believe what happened, is they were attempting to please the fan base and their attempt to keep to the 8-10 week cadence.  They realized they were unable to do that and the effect it was having on the team, so they owned up to it and stated things as they are.  Nothing wrong with that, IMO.

[Leeanda]

@admin ...if you need testers for  anything I'd be more than happy to volunteer 😊

Edited May 19, 2023 by Leeanda

[AHostileFish]

Not going to lie, the first part had me sweating, thinking it financially was no longer feasible to continue, but thankfully that was not the case. I have purchased this expansion pass and will gladly buy the next expansion pass when it comes out; TLD has been, and still is, my favorite game to date, bar none. You all have done a wonderful job with this game, constantly adding new features, new updates, and most importantly the game play itself never gets boring with new obstacles every time you open up a new world. Now with the loot spawning in different places, it feels like a new game as my old habits lead me to places where I know there should be loot... just to be shocked when its not there, which I think is a great feeling to be back on the hunt for items I need, rather than habitually going to specific locations. The team should be so proud of everything accomplished to date, and I hope I speak for others when I say we will gladly wait as you release the updates as you see fit. We know you do the very best you can, and I much prefer quality over rushed game play.

[JMK]

I appreciate Hinterland's philosophy as much as the game, and this letter makes my appreciation only greater.

[lazlo_vii]

My 2 cents: I am not worried about release cadence. I am worried that I spent money solely on new features and not fixing old bugs. I rarely play TLD these days because the old bugs drive me mad.

Don't get me wrong, new and shiny is just that but at the end of the day the thing that keeps my coming back to the same old games is that the expected behavior isn't on the wish list.

[Jose Zuanon]

Hinterland and The Long Dark never let me down. Raphael, I know that you and the entire team are working hard on this project. In an independent studio, setbacks and delays are to be expected. Quality!

 

[Sito]

I upvoted every comment except the few negative ones. I have over 4000 hours in this fabulous work of art. I wont even call it a game because I don't just play it, I live in it. Every base is like my sanctuary in a dead and broken world, but a world with such fabulous beauty. Every excursion in to the cold perilous outdoors is an adventure.

Hinterland, you have done a fantastic job on this art. All your team is to be commended for the combined effort to produce something that has a fan base reflected in the vast majority of comments here. Take your time. And remember, when you polled about DLC what was the overwhelming response? TAKE MY MONEY!!!

 

[JMK]

12 minutes ago, Sito said:

TAKE MY MONEY!!!

I agree 100%, take his money 😁

[damonbayard]

Dear Hinterland

Keep your spirit and moral up, get some rest and recoup.  We are in this one for the long haul anyways, the only game I play and will continue to play.   I will pay for more content in the future also, keep building upon what excellence you have already laid down.  Bravo for all your hard work.  Thank you for keeping us updated and for being transparent.  

 

D

ps TAKE MY MONEY

Edited May 20, 2023 by damonbayard

[greatwisebob]

I dunno man, I don't need an update every eight weeks.  Sounded awesome, turns out it was a little ambitious, that's fine.

Look, one of these days I'll open Steam and there'll be a trailer or an update or something.  Sweet.  That's pretty much the thought process on my end. 

I think there's probably quite a population of us out there that put roughly that much thought into it even though TLD is our favourite game.  The folks chirping the studio online aren't going to be a super reliable statistical sample of consumer sentiment.

Hope you're all getting some fresh air for the May Two-Four.

[greatwisebob]

Also, shout out to the guy up there complaining that a small studio's resources are being leeched away by other projects as if our fragile minds are not going to be completely annihilated by the sequel announcement

[Uncle Bob]

Thanks for the update. After enjoying the game on Switch and Steam, I bought it for our 14-year-old on Switch with plans to get him a copy on Epic. I also bought copies for my son-in-law on PS and my oldest son on Steam. We all enjoy the game, even though we all play in our own style. Yes, I will soon have bought six copies of this game. That might let you know how much we enjoy the premise and gameplay.

I appreciate that you have set ambitious goals. That's probably how you set up an indie gaming shop in the beginning and now have a bunch of people enjoying your work. My family doesn't have a problem with you having to amend your timelines or trying to make money making this game. We understand that ambitious goals don't always line up with what actually is achieved.

I have had to give bad news about projects in my professional life on more than one occasion. I think you did the right thing letting us know what was going on and reasonably giving your fanbase the best information you have at this time. You also won points with us when you avoided throwing your staff under the bus.

We will continue to enjoy The Long Dark, look forward to the new stuff coming, and watch for the info you all put out. So, pass the ketchup chips and a grape soda because we are in for The Long Haul.

 

[Drifter Man]

No complaints from me. I hope you can enjoy making TLD as much as I enjoy playing it.

2125 hours in game since... 2016, I think. I've paid a whopping $0.02 per hour of fun

[Aztec]

Take your time, i believe when i paid for the tales i paid for the game's continued existence, not for a deadline that you keep while being stressed. Thank you for your honesty.