Temporarily Removing the Cougar

[Raphael van Lierop]

 

Hello players,

Over the past few days, we've heard your feedback loud and clear: you aren't happy with our implementation of the Cougar. 

I want to make it clear that the design we selected for the Cougar was my decision, and we shipped it as intended (apart from the bugs, of course). But there are a lot of different ways to deliver on an intention, and so I've decided that the fairest thing for our players, as well as for the dev team, is to pull the Cougar out of the build until we can do some revisions and come up with something we are happier with. 

We don't want to simply fix bugs and react to player sentiment. The changes will go beyond just fixing the bugs in the current version. That doesn't mean we will deliver 100% the version that everyone is hoping for. At the end of the day, we have a clear vision for THE LONG DARK and we'll continue to work towards that vision.

For now, we're taking the Cougar back, and will work on it until it's ready. I can't say for sure how long that will take, but it'll likely be more than a couple of weeks. We'll deliver a re-envisioned Cougar before we deliver Part Six of TALES.

Thanks to everyone who shared constructive feedback and impressions over the past few days. Your input is useful and highly valued. I hope you enjoy the other features in Part Five, until we bring the Cougar back to you.

- Raphael

***
 

Details from the Dev Team:

 

* As a result of this, you will find the Cougar is no longer available in the game starting tomorrow (Friday) on Steam, and early next week on the consoles.

* If you already have existing raw materials collected from killing Cougars, those items will remain in your inventory. You will still be able to craft the Cougar-related items, but you will not be able to find more Cougar materials to repair them. If you have unlocked the Cougar Feat, you will still be able to use it.

If you have any questions or run into issues, please report them to our Support Portal.

 

[bysinda]

Aww...was it received that badly? What's wrong with it? I haven't had the chance to see it yet...don't know if I should be upset or relieved 🤔 😅

[Cattleman]

Wow... I'm sure this was a hard decision for you to make. I have been kinda middle of the road on what I thought about how the cougar was implemented... I liked some of it but was somewhat disappointed with some as well. I'm sure you and your team will revise and make it even better. I anxiously await the cougars return to Great Bear Island.

[Snowtippedwolf]

Haven't had a chance to play the cougar, so I can't speak personally about it. But watching all the other bits about it made me feel like this was not an immersive experience. I realize it can be hard to implement everything in a way that aligns with both creative vision and community desires. Looking forward to the revamped cougar!

[RossBondReturns]

Please don't make it like a wolf, Timberwolf or anything else.

If you make it huntable it should be ridiculously difficult.

I thought it was well implemented and you followed through with exactly what you said it would be base on what you said.

That's all I'll say.

[Grignard_TN]

Wow, I can't speak for the players as a whole, but I really appreciate your effort. My impression of the cougar wasn't that it was inherently bad, but it just didn't feel like it was a part of the world. I know you all work hard on this, and the negative feedback must have been painful. I think just a few changes could make the cougar a game defining feature of the Long Dark.

Lets see the cougar somehow be a part of the world. I understand that it is a stealth predator that has far more ability than our survivor thats great. Lets have more in game cues to its presence. The hud elements seem out of character, in my opinion, for the long dark. Others have mentioned things that could give evidence of the cougar's presence. Scratches on a safehouse door. Dead animal remains. Definitely keep the music and noises from the cougar.

Give us some option, however difficult, to stop the cougar before the struggle. As it stands, our only option is to accept a vicious mauling that is teleported on top of us. I get that it is an alpha predator that is far better than the survivor at existing in the world. As is it feels like its not part of the world. Perhaps make the revolver an option for stopping the struggle. Perhaps noticing tracks or some such could give us an opportunity to be aware or get the jump on the cougar. I don't know about others, but I want it to be difficult, but not a scripted event.

Mostly the cougar needs to somehow be a part of the world, in my opinion. I know it must be incredibly difficult to achieve what you're trying to do while acheiving that. The LD has gotten me through some tough times; This game means a lot to me. Any criticism I'm making comes from a place of love of this studio and this game. You've continued to update content when there was no real financial incentive to do so. It means a lot to me that you're continuing to work on this.

[Bumbleebee95]

Oh no! I hope you can quickly get the cougar to where you are happy with it.

I was content with the way it works my only note is I would like if the new HUD features could be toggled off like with the timber wolf moral meter as I prefer a more minimal HUD

[Grignard_TN]

What about making seeing the cougar ( and possibly getting a shot off at it ) skill based? Perhaps make the sum of you weapon skills and perhaps carcass harvesting and fire making affect the probability of seeing the cougar in the wild?

[conanjaguar]

7 minutes ago, Grignard_TN said:

My impression of the cougar wasn't that it was inherently bad, but it just didn't feel like it was a part of the world.

Sums up my thoughts exactly!

[Smellyfries]

I'm definitely disappointed with how the Cougar was implemented, I was really hoping for something along the lines of a hidden threat that stalked the player for being in a region for too long, but not along the lines of an announced event that would give plenty of warning, and ultimately result in the Cougar being a QTE. I was expecting a stealth predator that still seemed as though it was living in the environment around us, hunting rabbits, maybe even wolves, leaving behind physical evidence for the player to notice (or not) and warn them of the impending danger, whilst leaving more signs that the Cougar was turning its attention on you, like physically sound closer than normal, or maybe even physically seeing it when previously you did not. The hud element also really stretched the immersion that the rest of the game was going for.

Guess to sum up, I really feel like the current implementation of the Couger is not for The Long Dark. 

However, we all make mistakes, and I greatly appreciate you recognizing them, and taking the Couger out for a rework! I'll gladly wait for the Couger to be worked on, even if it means waiting a few more weeks, because I believe you'll make them a perfect addition to The Long Dark in the future!

Additionally, thank you for all the other additions added in this update, I've been really enjoying them! I've been really enjoying coming back to The Long Dark for some more chilling adventures!

Edited June 28 by Smellyfries
Fixing Typos

[Koruandthistle]

My TLD community is more on Twitch/YT and I hadn't really seen that much negative feedback? But I get if you feel it hasn't been delivered as you wanted it to, then changing it to fit that is best. I was a little disappointed that it wasn't an actual creature you encounter in the world, and more of a game mechanic, but what I had seen of it seemed like it was an exciting addition? Good luck with the fine tuning of it - and I'm always happy to see how much you listen to the player base, especially when feedback is offered constructively.

[ManicManiac]

[[[ Some rude/hostile/accusatory/disrespectful comments have been removed. ]]]

Another general reminder:
I'm encouraging/reminding everyone to be mindful to stay civil and respectful.
All sides of the conversation are welcome (of course)... as long as it stays respectful.

Edited June 28 by ManicManiac

[ManicManiac]

Personally, I was originally planning on holding off for a couple more days before venturing out on Great Bear Island.  I usually do after any release, just in case unexpected things turn up that need hotfixes.  

I was really looking forward to battling the cougar, but I still look forward to meeting it face-to-face in the future.
The temporary loss of the cougar does make me a bit sad, but I more than understand.

My thanks to you and the entire Hinterland Team, always.

Edited June 28 by ManicManiac
edited for clarity

[Africanboi7]

I personally haven't had the opportunity to have encountered the cougar yet & no complaints with the mechanics, but any changes due to feedback (positive or negative) I will accept with gratitude.

As always, thanks for the hard work Hinterland.

Edited June 28 by Africanboi7

[Lexilogo]

I felt somewhat disappointed in the Cougar's implementation personally and was anticipating it would get changes in a future update, but did not see a full rollback coming. IMO it's commendable and I think looking back on this in future, it will have been the right decision.

[UTC-10]

1 hour ago, bysinda said:

Aww...was it received that badly? What's wrong with it? I haven't had the chance to see it yet...don't know if I should be upset or relieved 🤔 😅

The Cougar is more of an event than a discrete critter.  Something really different in ordinary game play.  More like the Dark Walker than a wolf except you really don't know the Dark Walker is there until it is on you.  

The nature of the event meant that you know it is coming, when it arrives in the region, and then when it attacks that comes as a surprise*.  It does vicious damage. And it will keep coming at you over time if you remain in the region unless you can kill it in a tiny window of opportunity after it has finished attacking you and is departing or you leave the region (or stay exclusively inside).  I recall that it was mentioned that there was an affliction Severe Lacerations that lasted a few days after the attack.  The danger from this affliction is that you are seriously debuffed (condition and stamina) and it can cause bleeding while you are recovering i.e. don't sleep for long periods for instance if you bleed you can die.  

Avoiding it entirely requires vacating the region where you attracted it for a period of time.  

The Cougar covers all difficulties even Pilgrim which is why I disabled it for my Pilgrim game.  I do not want to deal with it ever.  Yikes. 😲 

Of course YMMV.  

* I am kind of reminded of a dark night, moderate snowfall, in the woods, and then the WOLF was just there chewing on me.  

[Grignard_TN]

7 minutes ago, Lexilogo said:

I felt somewhat disappointed in the Cougar's implementation personally and was anticipating it would get changes in a future update, but did not see a full rollback coming. IMO it's commendable and I think looking back on this in future, it will have been the right decision.

I was expecting that it would be modified...I did not expect a rollback of the cougar I must admit.

[Serenity]

The cougar fight mechanic is tricky. It should be special, difficult, and not be able to be toyed with / abused the same way wolves and bears can. But I understand that people don't like it teleporting to your location either.

For me, the bigger issue is how its presence is communicated. I feel like the teasers oversold it, but implying that you'd notice it in the world. Not necessarily seeing it directly, but finding hints that it was there. And I think many other people probably also expected more than what was intended from that.

Edited June 28 by Serenity

[ThePancakeLady]

I understand the decision completely. There has been a lot of really angry feedback on Steam, in particular. 

But I am also just a wee bit bummed- I was finally starting to appreciate the Ballistic Vest and getting used to rushing to get it and finding ways to have it with me in any region I moved to.

I will wait for The Floofinator's return, and my chance to practice being a human scratching post again.  

[gispyer]

I don't understand, to withdraw the Cougar system to redo I can understand, but why directly shut down the current Cougar mechanism, not itself already has a switch, players who are already open to retain the existing mechanism, players enter the game itself has let them choose whether to open, why the unified withdrawal

[itsLydt]

The cougar has such great potential, glad to hear it's being reworked a bit! Thanks Hinterland 

[rush247]

18 hours ago, bysinda said:

Aww...was it received that badly? What's wrong with it? I haven't had the chance to see it yet...don't know if I should be upset or relieved 🤔 😅

Adding to @UTC-10 's comment.  There were text warnings about when it would arrive in the region, immensely immersion breaking.  It makes it feel like you're playing one of the challenges, not a regular survival mode game.  You couldn't see it coming at all, like it spawned right on top of you, sometimes it would make you clip through buildings while the attack was happening.  You can see some of this in videos on YouTube, here's one by Tomisina.

https://youtu.be/xq5r-VWWUKE

Edited June 28 by rush247

[turtle777]

I'm ok with tweaking and making the cougar better, but I really hope it doesn't just become an easily huntable predator. We already got enough of that. I liked that it was different and difficult.

At the minimum, I'd prefer if it became insanely harder to hunt in Interloper and Misery.

-t

Edited June 28 by turtle777

[turtle777]

26 minutes ago, rush247 said:

Adding to @UTC-10 's comment.  There were text warnings about when it would arrive in the region, immensely immersion breaking.  You couldn't see it coming at all, like it spawned right on top of you.  You can see some of this in videos on YouTube, here's one by Tomisina.

I agree it's not good for immersion.

I think it can be easily fixed: just use noises, and let the cougar be seen from the distance.

After a few days of noises and sightings, it will attack.

Perhaps, make the distance cougar close enough that pot shots could get the cougar on an off chance, but if provoked that way, it will speed up the attack.

-t

[Snowtippedwolf]

57 minutes ago, ThePancakeLady said:

I understand the decision completely. There has been a lot of really angry feedback on Steam, in particular. 

But I am also just a wee bit bummed- I was finally starting to appreciate the Ballistic Vest and getting used to rushing to get it and finding ways to have it with me in any region I moved to.

I will wait for The Floofinator's return, and my chance to practice being a human scratching post again.  

Timberwolves can still help you with that desire, if you're interested 😅