Temporarily Removing the Cougar

[ManicManiac]

Do folks mean perhaps something akin to how the Demon Bear works in The Hunted (Part 1)?

Spoiler

Appearing very nearby to chase and maul our survivor.

Edited Sunday at 09:58 PM by ManicManiac

[Veskaida]

13 minutes ago, ManicManiac said:

Do folks mean perhaps something akin to how the Demon Bear works in The Hunted (Part 1)?

I think it is "Old Bear" from "The Hunted" part 1 and 2, "Demon Bear" is from

Spoiler

Wintermute

If you mean a mob which

Spoiler

spawns near the player periodically or is invincible

then I would prefer not, though I can see the parallels.

I've played "The Hunted: Part One" as a 'lived-in' challenge (for hundreds of days), and it's fun and interesting (would recommend it), but the spawning behavior for the Old Bear is predictable once you've dealt with it for 100+ days.

Personally I would prefer:

• A mob similar to wolves and other wildlife which has an extremely large detection radius, and stalks the player evasively (perhaps for long periods of time. Could even see mechanics with Field-of-View, where the Cougar avoids the player if looked at/retreats, but if the player is not looking at it for long periods of time it will approach to attack, even waiting outside buildings for the player similar to how

Spoiler

Timberwolf packs will wait outside structures for the player for hours/days),

• An 'event-style' enemy, like what was originally portrayed. Perhaps like

Spoiler

Timberwolf packs attacking from multiple directions, but with "fake-outs" (cat calls 😺, footstep sfx, etc, like what was delivered) but with one of those sounds actually being the Cougar having spawned nearby and charging at the player.

• A "pursuer" type enemy (PURR-suer 😺), similar to how the Cougar behaved on Misery Mode (10 days to appear, resided in-Region for 10 days). Reminded me a bit of "Nemesis" from the Resident Evil franchise, or similar 'pursuer-type enemies'.

[Glflegolas]

The cougar wasn't terrible the way it was implemented originally -- with the exception of it teleporting directly on top of the player. Providing warnings via icons also seems rather immersion-breaking.

My thinking for how the Cougar could work better is as follows:

• after being in a region for a certain number of days, dead carcasses begin to randomly appear. This would be the initial warning.
• If the survivor doesn't leave the region after 2-5 days, scratch marks appear on trees, and they will start to occasionally hear Cougar sounds.
• 2-4 days later, Cougar attacks become possible. Since real cougars are most active at dawn and dusk, I suggest that these be the highest-risk times of day.

I believe that @ManicManiac's point in the previous post makes sense, have the cougar spawn close (maybe 100m) to the player, then start silently heading towards the player slowly. If the survivor turns to face the cougar, it would run off to the side, only to resume stalking when the player is no longer facing it. It's possible to shoot the cougar at this time, though given its evasive nature, landing a hit would be hard. If the cougar manages to get to within 20m of the player, it will charge. If the survivor manages to turn around in time, they get the option to fight back as in a wolf struggle -- or even take a shot if they're quick enough. If their back is turned, they can't retaliate. The post-struggle loss event seems okay the way it was.

[ManicManiac]

@Veskaida
Yes, I was referring to the behavior/mechanic...

Spoiler

and not the immortality 

 
Perhaps I was mistaken...  However, I'd always thought (and if the Wiki is to be believed) it was the "Old Bear" in Wintermute (also referred to as a Demon Bear by Jeremiah when he was recounting the old story about the three hunters).  So I always assumed that this was the same bear featured in The Hunted Challenges... I guess I also figured that the names Demon Bear & Old Bear were more-or-less interchangeable.

In any case, not trying to be pedantic about it...  

Edited Sunday at 11:19 PM by ManicManiac

[ManicManiac]

1 hour ago, Veskaida said:

I've played "The Hunted: Part One" as a 'lived-in' challenge (for hundreds of days), and it's fun and interesting (would recommend it), but the spawning behavior for the Old Bear is predictable once you've dealt with it for 100+ days.

Yes!  This is one of those personal challenges that I've been curious about for a long while, but never really got around to doing myself.  Well done!

Edited Monday at 12:38 AM by ManicManiac

[Even Dark]

21 hours ago, Luca Loquax said:

NO SARCASM!

Today we seem to be swallowed by massive mega-corps that do not even see us as numbers.

For folks with actual faces and names to care about our experience and to be THIS responsive, practically in real-time is vanishingly rare; darn near extinct.

I have been with Raph and TLD since the whole game was just Mystery Lake region.  I think I paid $14.99 USD for early access and checking my steam account... I am up to 4,500 hours played.  The paid DLC is still a drop in the bucket re value per cost ratio. 

Raph and Devs are not just working at their job, they really care about their creation and us; the least we can do is be grateful that Raph did not take a huge payout from Mega-lo-corp and turn TLD into just another "ip". 

I am NOT diminishing your invalidating your concerns!  I lost a 1000+ day survival game to a stoopid glitch and I get it.

Please remember how much less of an experience and community we would have if issues were forwarded to bad.support.@megacorp.com/tld/ 

Thank you Raph!

Thank you Devs!

Thank you to the Mighty, Undefeated Leeanda for moderatorfication!

Thanks to all of you for being awesome companions in the Silent Apocalypse.

Mmmm cougar stew....

The difference is I love the game and hey I spent 6200+ hours omg more then you?...... but that doesn't matter it is not importent if we are talking about the full version. we are talking here then about the full version right?

I'm not a true fanboy (love it is is the best!) and I see it objectively, with criticism instead of saying everything is good.  
I also bought the game, and finishing the main story was never a priority. do we remember dark walker or the dlc well, i mean rudiger story? i dont care about this story before i know what is with astrid....... For my part, I would like to know what will happen to Will and Astrid. DLC good but I would have preferred a DLC for the main story, all are waiting for this!... maybe.

That's just the difference and that's why it's not so easy to evaluate. I'm currently testing misery,
I don't think you want to know, what I currently think about it . 

Question: is this the new interloper?

spoiler i love it i need that its great i love ptarmigans cocking now, i like the pain and and and and and but.... later on ^^

 

and as allways it is just my opinion not more not less

Edited Monday at 10:25 AM by Even Dark

[Appcet]

Any update ?

[Veskaida]

On 7/1/2024 at 3:23 AM, Even Dark said:

The difference is I love the game and hey I spent 6200+ hours omg more then you?...... but that doesn't matter it is not importent if we are talking about the full version. we are talking here then about the full version right?

I'm not a true fanboy (love it is is the best!) and I see it objectively, with criticism instead of saying everything is good.  

I disagree. In my reading of that user's post, I think that they were framing their personal experiences with TLD and their support for Hinterlands' decision; I do not not see this post as trying to be aggressive or authoritative like you're suggesting.

For Example: I purchased TLD in 2014 on Steam and have played most major releases since. I enjoyed TLD then and now, and I liked the implementation of the Cougar in v2.29, but I can see why there could be criticisms or room for improvement. I would have been happy if the Cougar remained in TLD unchanged, but I also support Hinterlands removing it: I interpret that as them valuing player feedback and caring for the community. (same as Wintermute Redux, Animal Harvesting "Incision Cut" changes, or even making a Community Poll with Cougar as an option prior to TFTFT, etc).

On 7/1/2024 at 3:23 AM, Even Dark said:

Question: is this the new interloper? spoiler i love it i need that its great i love ptarmigans cocking now, i like the pain and and and and and but.... later on ^^

This is a thread about "Temporarily Disabling the Cougar", if you have want to discuss Misery Mode or Ptarmigans, that is probably best for another thread.

3 hours ago, Appcet said:

Any update ?

No. I don't play TLD on console/switch (so I can't test if the Cougar removal patch is live there), but I think based on this announcement that v2.30 (or it's console equivalent (Cougar removal patch)) will arrive some time this week.

"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."

This announcement was 9 days ago, so it'll likely be at least another few weeks for a Cougar rework/redesign and release. I believe "Part 6 of TALES" is planned for release in 2024, so some time before that patch.

Edited Wednesday at 09:27 PM by Veskaida

[nihilityrue]

I was amused with my interaction with the cougar before it was pulled. I wanted that cougar hide and it made me take a completely different approach to get it. Who is really hunting who sort of thing. I can see how the encounter might be rough on interloper...but like...? You get what you deserve on those levels. Overall I appreciated that it was different. I have plenty of predators to stumble into as is....but I am curious to see how the cougar makes a come back. And I am extra hype for some base customization. Thanks for making such a fun game. It has held my attention for years and over multiple runs. Love it. 

[RossBondReturns]

While I understand the choice made by Hinterland to remove and fine tune the Cougar, I am sad that I never got to face it during it's initial introduction and IMHO believe that many who never got a chance to interact with the original version of the Cougar got burned as well.

Not everyone runs out and starts a new sandbox to experience and test new things like waiting in one region for a Cougar.

Some want to continue a long term run and perhaps eventually run into a Cougar in regular play...over time.

Those of us that chose to do that will only ever experience the revamped Cougar.

Once again while I agree with the decision to remove the Cougar I was frankly stunned and a bit disappointed by how quickly it was removed.  

[ManicManiac]

I will remind folks again...
All sides of the discussion are welcome, as long it stays civil and respectful.


[[[ some rude/insulting/disrespectful/condescending remarks have been removed ]]]

[Rick1234]

First post here, and let me start this way. I am grateful to Hinterland for their continued support and development of the Long Dark over 10 years. This is essentially the only game I play (I am not a video gamer) and it captures on a computer the love I have for the mountains, the outdoors and nature. It is a masterful representation of the Great Northern Forest and all the beauty that Canada has to offer.

I registered here over a week ago to post a constructive disagreement about the way Cougar has been implemented. In the meantime, Cougar has been removed and I would like to express how I would add it to the game.

1) We don't need a wolf replica, some kind of superwolf. Agree with the developers here. Wolfs patrol a zone, Cougar should "appear", or ambush the player. However, the cougar cannot magically teleport onto you, it should exist in-game before the struggle. Personally, I would teleport the cougar to the closest place where you cannot see it (like behind the nearest tree or large rock) and then let it attack you. This will add to the excitement of navigating a forest, and will give the player a chance of defending himself. Once the cougar has appeared in a region (no more than one per region), it should stay there if the player fails to kill it. However, its behaviour should be to escape if the player is too far away (like a rabbit), and to attack only if the player is very close, and the Cougar should be able to detect the player from far away (unless out of its line of sight). This will produce a new, interesting, hunting mechanic.

2) Feedback on the cougar's presence should only be in-game: a dead rabbit, some footprints, a roar with louder sounds when the animal approaches, etc. One of the strengths of the game is its immersive nature, please do not break that with out-of-game messages like "Warning, Cougar approaching". Out-of-game messages should be limited to how the player feels (afflictions etc..).

3) Personally, I think the one-shot-one-kill mechanic is too "gamey". If a player manages to hit the cougar, the animal might die later on, forcing the player to search for the dead carcass.

Edited 8 hours ago by Rick1234

[xanna]

@Rick1234 Welcome to the forum 😊

[Mroz4k]

I have a question for others within the community - would you consider the cougar mechanics as-is to be fine, IF there was another way to run into it that would, in fact, allow you to "hunt the hunter" in a sense that it would allow the player to spot cougar BEFORE it instantly teleported onto the player? Mostly asking those who arent already satisfied with how cougar worked in the first place, but everyone´s opinion is valuable.

Basically:
mechanic A: Stay in region for X days, cougar appears, you leave outside, you get teleported on and mauled and can kill it with revenge-shot (assuming UI issues would be handled to be less intrusive). (in RPG terms: "raid by a boss on your base" - defense strategy)
mechanic B: Perform some action somewhere that is hard to do, in a remote area without close indoor places to hide or high ledges animals cant get onto - this "challenges" the cougar who then attacks the player in SOME way that is not instant teleport on top of the player. If failed - same struggle, chance for revenge shot, etc. Biggest issue here is, it would be in remote location where recovery would be harder. (in RPG terms: "you challenge the boss on his own territory" - offense strategy) 

__________
I believe most people dislike Cougar because they want to hunt it for the rewards, but want a chance to avoid the struggle, and with the way it was implemented, that struggle was unavoidable.

20 hours ago, RossBondReturns said:

While I understand the choice made by Hinterland to remove and fine tune the Cougar, I am sad that I never got to face it during it's initial introduction and IMHO believe that many who never got a chance to interact with the original version of the Cougar got burned as well.

I feel ya. I missed out on it, too. But that is no different than those who missed out on a chance to support via Kickstarter, or those who wish to know what the game was like when Mystery lake was the only place, or see original Forestry lookout, and so many other things that were at some point in the game and arent anymore. Perhaps, in future, a mod will exist that will make it possible.