What is something that shouldn't be done in long dark cause scummy or ruins feel of the game or you feel is an outright exploit so shouldn't do

[MaiveTheSheep]

This is especially pertaining to interloper and to people putting out streams or videos
There are currently ways to level up fire starting and cooking much faster
basically should you only do fire durations as long as possible/necessary
and should you only cook the biggest chunks of meat as you view that as more proper and fitting the game

[ThePancakeLady]

Play how you want. there is no one single "proper" way to play the game. 

If it feels bad to you, don't do it. If it doesn't feel bad to you and the game allows you to do it- have at it.

[MaiveTheSheep]

@ThePancakeLady I just remember when I was a kid in Halo 3 pvp I quickly found a thing I thought was a feature so used it, especially since it took skill to pull off consistently which I did, and ended up being a bug that people thought was an exploit and so got punished for something I thought was fine.
I just sometimes worry that happening again.

[Leeanda]

There really is no right or wrong way to play the game....  It's totally your decision how you want to play it.. 

[MaiveTheSheep]

@BugReportEnthusiast
You can still do .1 kg last I checked a week ago. But it's not animation canceling, it's using numbers. if you have 1.1kg of meat on a bunny for instance, go to 1.1 and then backwards it goes by .5, making it so you then harvest .1 kg at a time
as long as the number doesn't end in 1 or .5 then you can get really small cuts of meat
for instance if something has 4.3, you start cutting .3 bit till you get to 3.1, then you can switch to .1

it's not animation canceling, it's numbers game.

[ThePancakeLady]

41 minutes ago, Lunerse said:

@ThePancakeLady I just remember when I was a kid in Halo 3 pvp I quickly found a thing I thought was a feature so used it, especially since it took skill to pull off consistently which I did, and ended up being a bug that people thought was an exploit and so got punished for something I thought was fine.
I just sometimes worry that happening again.

 

9 minutes ago, BugReportEnthusiast said:

I think the 0.1kg thing was patched out with the new harvesting animations btw, since you can't cancel midway anymore and still get meat

This ^^^. If you are watching older streams from before the most recent big updates- a lot of stuff will be inaccurate and out-of-date in those videos. 

And in Interloper- spamming 1 stick fires to try to get fire to your destination without using all of your precious matches (which are much more limited in Inteloper than in other modes) has been a survival strategy for many years- not an exploit. A way for an Interloper to stay alive and warm.

 

It's a singleplayer game- play it the way that feels best to you, you aren't hurting anyone else by doing whatever works best for you.

[redpandatrident]

I find it really annoying that they made it so that canceling harvesting literally negates all the harvesting you did. If I'm harvesting 10 kg of meat and want to cancel it 3/4 of the way through because a blizzard rolled in, I can't do that or else somehow the 7.5 kg I just harvested magically goes back onto the moose. 

Plus, judging by what other people have said, it didn't even succeed in removing the exploit, just making it more tedious. 

[ManicManiac]

There are obviously some strategies and/or tactics that some might strongly dislike, but there are others for whom these things are perfectly fine and perhaps even their preferred ways of play.  As opinions get exchanged and discussed, I think it's worth the reminder...  please keep it civil and respectful.  Many times over the years, I've seen topics like this one become lightning rods for conflict.  

As has been said before, it's perfectly fine to disagree and discuss those differences of opinion (of course)... but please, let's refrain from taking another's opinion personally and start exchanging barbs and otherwise getting hostile with each other.  On the other side of that coin, also please refrain from antagonizing others by initiating the exchange of barbs, insults or snide remarks, or be otherwise deliberately antagonistic.

That having been said...
I'd also like to add a neutral opinion.

I would posit that the ones who are most qualified determine/declare whether a strategy or tactic is an "exploit" would be Hinterland themselves.  They are the ones who I think are best suited to judge whether or not a strategy or tactic goes against or even flat-out breaks their designs or intentions of their desired gameplay elements (because it's their game and they are the ones creating it).

Beyond that... anyone of course might not like a particular strategy or tactic and in their opinion consider it to be an exploit (that's fine).  However, others may see some of those same strategies and tactics to be just clever/creative play (by using the items and systems in place in creative and unexpected ways).  Calling back to what I mentioned earlier, if Hinterland determines that a strategy or tactic is indeed an exploit... then they will likely change it.

In the meantime, I think it's fair to say that just because something is possible in game, that some folks may not like... it doesn't mean it's wrong, or bad, or lesser, or "scummy."

As some others have already mentioned... it's a single player game, and it's a game where player choice if a very power thing in shaping how we experience it.  There really is no wrong way to play.  Each player gets to choose for themselves how to play it, and I think that those folks should also be able to dissect their strategies and tactics without having to worry about being judged for the gameplay methods they choose to employ. 

Now, to be clear... 
Much of what has been discussed already are tactics that I generally avoid (again that's just for myself). 
However, I won't deride those practices... or the folks who do choose to use them.  

Again, I think that since it's a single player game... folks can choose to play however they wish.  There's no wrong way.
If something's currently possible in game that we don't like... we can simply choose not to do it.  
As we discuss these sorts of things on the forums, if Hinterland determines that a particular thing or aspect is broken or not working as intended then they will likely address and fix it.  This is what I mean when I say that I think Hinterland really ought to be the ones to judge if something in the game is truly an exploit or not... for the rest of us, it's just opinion. 

Edited May 4 by ManicManiac

[MaiveTheSheep]

@ManicManiac
My main worry is I like self imposed challenge runs, I know there are already some out there (like outerloper), but i have some ideas myself too and I like the idea of showcasing doing that and putting it on youtube andor streaming. But also in past when I did this and didn't showcase it to others I would utilize other aspects of the game to make it so I more likely completed the goal and well, in this case it would be surviving as long as possible while doing the challenge.
I worry that contrast will get me treated with deride or ignored even if I am the one that came up with a challenge and they liked the challenge idea.
To be tossed aside

I think there is beauty in challenges whether in life, in games, self imposed challenges, of someone making the most of it; utilizing other things to not only push through but excel. Maybe that's cause what I had to deal with growing up or just the way my mind works, but I know many aren't like that and atleast with games they view challenges as needing to fit the "spirit" of the challenge instead of the actual rules. I do "rules lawyering" and "gaming the system" in ways i don't find to be cheating as a general principle to either make the most of things or showcase flaws with rules. but many people in all aspects of life seem to find issue with that even when it comes to simple things like games. I don't know why as I've never been given a satisfying explanation but I know that's how the world typically works right now.

But I worry that getting in the ways of my goals, even simple ones like say I came up with a challenge run, I'd want other people to try it to see if they like it, but I worry the way my brain works will impede that cause stark contrast with normal ways of thinking about "challenge runs"

I'm trying not to start stuff and controversy, I just have worries.

The .1 kg thing I found out how to do myself within first few days of playing that works in this current system with no animation canceling (just simple maths), to the point it seems others are thinking only way to do that is the patched animation canceling. And I just naturally found it. And knowing me I will find more things. And I worry that making me viewed as lesser just cause I utilize all the tools at my disposal.

[ManicManiac]

@Lunerse
I wasn't trying to imply anything about anyone's intentions.

I can certainly understand, I love making up personal challenges for myself as well. 
I've chronicled most of the significant ones here on the Forums.
Several others have come up with their own personal challenges or custom codes.
As far as I'm concerned, that kind of creative play is extolled and appreciated.  

Granted no one person will catch every bit of snarky rudeness or toxic/antagonistic posters... but I certainly encourage any who see posts that violate the Forums Rules regarding conduct and content, should absolutely use the report function to flag those posts.  The volunteer moderators (both of us), as well as the admins will no doubt adjudicate those reports as soon as we can.

I'd hope that no one would deride someone for trying to invent a new personal challenge or additional personal rules/provisos for a run that they play... and sharing those ideas with the community means others can also try it out or modify those parameters and the experience gets to grow and be enjoyed by others.

I have always felt for this game, the power of player choice can have a huge effect in how any player experiences the game without the need to actually change the game for anyone else.

I definitely encourage folks to share their ideas for personal challenges, custom mode settings, and ideas for runs/personal challenges with additional "house rules."

With the chronicles that I share... it's up to the folks in the community if they would like to read it, consider it, or try any of it for themselves.  From my perspective, it feels good just to share it, so the ideas are out there.  Whether folks engage with it or not, is of course up to them.   

 

As for the temptation for us to utilize strategies that perhaps we don't like... then I think it just comes down to personal choice.  If we think that something feels "cheesy," then it really is just a matter of deciding to refrain using those strategies & tactics and to abide those personal rules we set for ourselves.

Again (as I mentioned previously), we can all play however we choose.  And there really is no wrong way to survive on Great Bear Island.
I don't think anyone should be derided for how they choose to play a single player game (be that you or anyone else in the community)... after all it harms no one else at all, and only affect how they themselves experience the game.

As an example... some folks will be playing and get into a situation they don't like, or something they are trying to do fails, and they just (Alt-F4) the game (or switch off their console) in order to reload the save and get a do over.  Personally, that's something I don't like and something that I choose not to do... but I won't ridicule anyone else that chooses to do that.

Edited May 5 by ManicManiac

[ManicManiac]

@Lunerse

I think that the folks who wish to leverage and push the boundries of whatever they can of the items and mechanics available to them... it's every bit as valid a gameplay style as any other.  🙂

Edited May 5 by ManicManiac

[Sebastian1992]

@Lunerse Make your own play style, we all difference, if game wise, real life  or personality...... Nobody is perfect......

Edited May 5 by Sebastian1992

[TheCoolCario]

Alt+F4 to escape death. But I only do it to keep my 3 year saves alive

[LunarLime]

I don't think either of these are scummy.

Heck, I think even modding the game to give yourself level 5 in everything right off the bat with console commands isn't scummy. It's a single player game with no public leaderboards (anymore), so just do what you want. It effects nobody but yourself.

The only thing I would say is pretty scummy is blatantly cheating (Like with mods) and getting a high days survived count, and bragging about it. Especially if you're claiming you did a challenge run, like Deadman or NOGOA.

[Pencil]

I think it's perfectly realistic to do both of these. Practicing your cooking with smaller bits of meat doesn't seem wrong to me. 

Obviously starting a fire with a stick should give you skill. Trying to light that first stick is the hard part in lighting a fire. 

I see it as the survivor simply practicing/sharpening their skills.

[MaiveTheSheep]

i think this is very important for moose meat especially in people's minds for why some people feel it ruins the spirit of the game (according to the poll)
say moose killed and 44.6 kg of meat, if you just do the whole thing and cook those big slabs of meat then 45 points in the skill (almost enough to make from lvl 1 to 3...just 30 more items cooked)
if take .5kg cuts then 90 (essentially lvl 1 to 3.2)
if take .1kg cuts then 446 (way past the 350 items cooked to get to level 5)

however i think it's fair cause 2 major drawbacks
1. scent, even a small rabbit of .6kg is enough to make it so strong scent for wolves if only the .1kg cuts
2. the time for animation, the full animation plays out, which with the moose example is a very very long time. if you do big cuts the same animation happens but the time speeds up and you only need to do it once. the .1kg is actually longer animation time i believe then what it says the time it will take. so you have to have a longer fire, and more chance of it becoming too windy and blowing out your fire if outdoors

however even if it wasn't fair and came with no drawbacks, I don't see why someone that wanted to do it shouldn't, I haven't seen (or come up with) a self imposed challenge that directly opposed to it
it does make some challenges easier to live sooner (cause more reliance on predator meat or more limited food in general like one idea i have for a challenge) but i still don't see why it shouldn't be done. There is beauty in having struggles in life or games and finding ways to make things more manageable for yourself in ways that don't hurt others. and i definitely don't think people should be viewed as lesser for technically being able to tolerate any one specific thing but choosing a nonharmful solution to make it more manageable (for another in game example, there is accessibility features that i don't think should be viewed as lesser for doing even if it makes it much easier for them. like someone that can only do 2 left clicks a second average choosing press and hold option for struggles to make it more manageable. and that same person can still choose to do challenges including self imposed if they so desire)

course I'm not saying you have to do the strat I found on my own and if hinterland themselves say they are planning on removing it as a feature I would never do it again even before the fix was implemented

tl;dr do what you want, play the game in ways you would enjoy the most
 

[nautofon]

Anything possible with a vanilla game is certainly fair, I'd say.

For what it's worth, one of the most OP features in my view is the pause button. The passing of time is accelerated in TLD, so stopping time to think in peace for a few seconds is not necessarily unrealistic. But oh boy can it make a difference in a pinch.

Should it be done? Does it ruin the feel? Well—up to you, I suppose... 🙂

[conanjaguar]

I agree that "shredding" meat is a bit shady but it's a valid strategy, as others have pointed out. Like all strategies, however, it does have its drawbacks... time firstly! I personally don't have the patience to "shred" anything larger than a rabbit, let alone for all the clicking involved to eat all of those little morsels . Also, "a piece of meat is a piece of meat" works both ways; predators are just as attracted to 0.1 kilo of meat as to a whole kilo.

However, I feel that lighting single-stick fires isn't scummy. You're still lighting a fire, after all! Admittedly, the same time drawback goes for this as well but it's worth it...

In the end, though, it's up to individual preference... if you don't like being able to do something that doesn't feel "right" to you, then you certainly don't have to do it! Likewise, if you like to do it, then by all means feel free to do so!

[Semple Fi]

So if this were real life, would we call it “practicing” lighting fires? Or “practicing” cooking in small batches? 
Is “practicing” and “learning” IRL scummy? Or efficient?