OCTOBER DEV DIARY

Raphael van Lierop
 Share

Recommended Posts

Looper Pathfinder

Looper

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, Raphael van Lierop said:

Global Wildlife Refresh. Now that the Cougar is finalized, the team is able to complete the Global Wildlife Refresh. Every wildlife spawn in the entire game has been redone, including all predator and prey animals, so you’ll need to find some new play patterns as you move through Great Bear Island and the Far Territory. It’s a whole new world of wildlife out there

My god - it will be a new game:) - one can simply not underestimate this one.  

Very nice update!   

  • Upvote 4
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 135
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Raphael van Lierop
Raphael van Lierop

DEVELOPER DIARY OCTOBER 2024   Hello players, As the end of the year approaches, we have many many things to update you on, so I’m going to dive right in. This dev diary is a big o

Raphael van Lierop
Raphael van Lierop
Raphael van Lierop
Raphael van Lierop

Re: all the questions about mod support and the form it will take -- we're focused on getting Part Six out the door before the holidays. We probably won't have much specific to say about our implement

Posted Images

Leeanda Pathfinder

Leeanda

Posted
Posted (edited)
16 minutes ago, ElSuperGecko said:

God help us, we're going to need ALL of the wood...

My main run just passed a 1000 days so I'm glad I'm on pilgrim and Don't make fires very often lol.. I still have nearly all the pallets at the dam to break down too,..  😁 

Though I do wonder if we'll need to chop limbs up for the new stuff...  

I've also got multiple hatchets just from beachcombing .

Edited by Leeanda
  • Upvote 4
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sherri Pathfinder

Sherri

Posted
Posted (edited)

OMG this is, frankly, a shocking amount of awesome news. I don't think I've ever read an update about any game I've ever played that was this packed with exciting things coming in the future!! :fire:

  • Cougar Revamp: Sounds perfect. Exactly what I was hoping for.
  • Episode 5: I can't believe how this sounds with the scope of what's going to be in there! We get to play as both Astrid and Will? *chef's kiss*
  • Tales Part 6: Pardon my 'french' but that is a holy-sh*t level of goodies packed in there. I am super excited about these updates. I was really hoping the camera can result in framed prints to hang up - check! Safe house customization looks bananas good. I would have been happy with cleaning up garbage and dead bodies... but really we can craft new furniture?? GUYS! The RUGS are even changed in the before-after picture!! WHAT?? AMAZING. This looks really, really fantastic. The Trader also sounds cool. It's really really great that it's a toggle for those players who I know are not keen on another person being in the world. But for me, I'm really jazzed to 'meet' this mysterious person over the radio and see how this mechanic works.
  • New IP & Games coming from HL? YES PLEASE!! *insert take-my-money gif*. 
  • Switch Struggles: Oh man I feel for the team dealing with this. It's really tough and I hope you all have good luck working on this.

Hinterland, really, you have outdone yourselves with what's coming out of the pipe. Or should I say fire-hose of awesome coming to knock all our woollen socks off! This is incredibly exciting! 

Thanks for this detailed update!! :coffee:

Edited by Sherri
  • Upvote 3
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ansible Prepper

Ansible

Posted
Posted
18 hours ago, Raphael van Lierop said:

We can focus on working sustainably and supporting our game and community without being primarily driven by maximizing profitability. But we can only do that as long as we generate enough revenue to cover our costs.

18 hours ago, Raphael van Lierop said:

If you have enjoyed THE LONG DARK and want to see Hinterland continue to exist as a developer, putting more games out into the world, then I hope you can see the importance of us being able to share more about what we are making.

18 hours ago, Raphael van Lierop said:

And independence is at the heart of everything we do.

18 hours ago, Raphael van Lierop said:

And that everything we do is to preserve the independence we have. We can’t do it without your support, and I hope that by sharing some of this thinking I’ve given you a glimpse into my reasoning for incubating and eventually sharing news of new projects, potentially before the current one is completely finished.

This was a fantastic update, however, the above quotes stick out to me more than ANY of the game updates.

Thank you Raph for your openness and thoughtfulness when it comes to the future sustainability of not just The Long Dark, but also of Hinterland Studios itself. I've written in the past about what I call the "Jenga Effect", or the Fallacy of Perpetual Growth, and it seems like your thoughts are along the same lines as mine.

It's good to see the CEO of a company looking towards the long term future, rather than just short term annual or quarterly gains and losses.

Which brings me to the reason for actually responding to this update - have you considered any kind of "subscription" model for Hinterland Studios? Not as a REPLACEMENT for game sales and DLC sales, but rather as a supplement to it. Something similar to, but not necessarily involving a Patreon, I think would be a great way to help supplement and fortify the company's long term viability.

I'm thinking of perhaps a subscription service which would give subscribers deeper access into the inner workings of the company itself, a chance for the regular fan to "peek behind the curtain" to see how the gravy is made, while at the same time helping to continually financially support a company that they appreciate.

I, for one, have purchased both the game and the DLC, but wish I could throw more money your way beyond that, and I don't want "stuff" like you'd find in a merch store, I already own more "stuff" than I should probably have sitting on my shelves collecting dust.

However, small weekly updates instead of the current "few times a year" updates? A private forum, Discord, or chatroom for subscribers/supporters only, where they might have a chance to talk directly to the developers and offer more active input into the game design process? Those I would ABSOLUTELY throw my  money at, and I'm sure many others would too.

And I'm not really aware of any other game companies doing such a thing, so it'd make you even more unique than you already are.

Most companies have public forums like this, but it's very much an asymmetrical form of communication. It'd be something special and unique if some "uber-fans" with a bit of extra money to burn could give you that money to have a greater level of communication with the staff.

But, I also understand the headaches that may cause, so... it's just a thought.

I just know that as a Mystery Science Theater 3000 fan, being a big part of the community and intricately tied into the direct development of the show made me feel a stronger bond and investment into the final product, and made me want to root for its success even more!

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
RossBondReturns Pathfinder

RossBondReturns

Posted
Posted

Someone mentioned about worrying that Film Cartridges would be left unpicked up like Spray Cans...I am grabbing every single on of them.

I love how this sounds...the whole thing.

My earlier post was from work on my phone.

Also I can't state how important it is for Raphael and the team to get in discussion with modders about a good slate of tools and helps as modding moves forward.

  • Upvote 4
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Hinterland
Raphael van Lierop Pathfinder

Raphael van Lierop

Posted
  • Author
  • Hinterland
Posted

Re existing Modders -- yes for sure, we will reach out and open a dialogue about wishlist stuff, best practices, etc etc. Out intention is, amongst other things, to make sure we can set up as stable a platform for modding as we can, knowing that as the game continues to be updated we don't want to be breaking stuff if we can avoid it. It'll be easier to dedicate resources and focus to this when much of the other stuff on our plates is done. But yes, we absolutely want to connect with and grow the existing modding community, in partnership. 

  • Upvote 7
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Hinterland
Raphael van Lierop Pathfinder

Raphael van Lierop

Posted
  • Author
  • Hinterland
Posted
1 hour ago, Ansible said:

This was a fantastic update, however, the above quotes stick out to me more than ANY of the game updates.

Thank you Raph for your openness and thoughtfulness when it comes to the future sustainability of not just The Long Dark, but also of Hinterland Studios itself. I've written in the past about what I call the "Jenga Effect", or the Fallacy of Perpetual Growth, and it seems like your thoughts are along the same lines as mine.

It's good to see the CEO of a company looking towards the long term future, rather than just short term annual or quarterly gains and losses.

Which brings me to the reason for actually responding to this update - have you considered any kind of "subscription" model for Hinterland Studios? Not as a REPLACEMENT for game sales and DLC sales, but rather as a supplement to it. Something similar to, but not necessarily involving a Patreon, I think would be a great way to help supplement and fortify the company's long term viability.

I'm thinking of perhaps a subscription service which would give subscribers deeper access into the inner workings of the company itself, a chance for the regular fan to "peek behind the curtain" to see how the gravy is made, while at the same time helping to continually financially support a company that they appreciate.

I, for one, have purchased both the game and the DLC, but wish I could throw more money your way beyond that, and I don't want "stuff" like you'd find in a merch store, I already own more "stuff" than I should probably have sitting on my shelves collecting dust.

However, small weekly updates instead of the current "few times a year" updates? A private forum, Discord, or chatroom for subscribers/supporters only, where they might have a chance to talk directly to the developers and offer more active input into the game design process? Those I would ABSOLUTELY throw my  money at, and I'm sure many others would too.

And I'm not really aware of any other game companies doing such a thing, so it'd make you even more unique than you already are.

Most companies have public forums like this, but it's very much an asymmetrical form of communication. It'd be something special and unique if some "uber-fans" with a bit of extra money to burn could give you that money to have a greater level of communication with the staff.

But, I also understand the headaches that may cause, so... it's just a thought.

I just know that as a Mystery Science Theater 3000 fan, being a big part of the community and intricately tied into the direct development of the show made me feel a stronger bond and investment into the final product, and made me want to root for its success even more!

Thanks for all these kind words and the lovely thoughts about continued financial support.

I personally think that the way we have made TLD over the years would have aligned really well with an inexpensive subscription (like $3-4/month), only because the pay-once-and-then-get-free-updates-for-life model is kind of tough to make work over the long term. But I don't think people really want any more subs in their life and we probably missed the window on that model by about 5 years. Even the amount of DLC we have put into TALES is ridiculous considering the price we're asking (I say that with some amount of bias, but I also stand by it -- if you split $19.99 into 6 parts you end up with like $3.50/part which is pretty cheap!). So I definitely think we need to come up with a better business model for games like TLD, but I also think there's so much gross and exploitative monetization going on in the games space right now that people are really pushing back against anything that isn't a straight up purchase, and I totally understand why (I'm a gamer and consumer too!).

With TALES, we were so mindful of having given free updates for so long beforehand that charging for something felt weird, so I think we really overcompensated for that by just jamming as much stuff in as we thought we could do for that price, and frankly I think we did two DLC's worth of stuff for the price of one as a result of that psychology. I'm sure there's a good case study to be done there somewhere.

But I know this isn't really what you are talking about here...

Re: MST3k -- the last few seasons on Netflix helped us get our kids through COVID, so I have a lot of love and appreciation for that show. We have a lot of family in-jokes thanks thanks to various movies that are now staples whenever we need something absolutely silly.

I'm a big film nut and I subscribe to the A24 Member's Only thing ($99/yr) to get insider access to stuff so I know what you're talking about. I do think there's something there, but I also worry about the folks who wouldn't be able to afford it feeling left out and kind of disempowered or neglected as a result. It's a tough balance. I think some tweaks to the Early Access model might be part of the solution here, but it's a much bigger discussion about industry trends and community dynamics that I'm not sure anyone has quite figured out yet. For every community member who says "we'd love to give you more money!" there's at least one other who uses words like lazy, greedy, exploitative, etc. Often it has nothing to do with us or anything we've done, just general frustration with how the games business has evolved and how exploitative a lot of it has become (in certain corners...not in the independent space as much, I would argue). 

Anyways, obviously this is something I think a lot about and I don't have a good answer. 

  • Upvote 6
  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites
TWMountain Prepper

TWMountain

Posted
Posted
22 minutes ago, Raphael van Lierop said:

Thanks for all these kind words and the lovely thoughts about continued financial support.

I personally think that the way we have made TLD over the years would have aligned really well with an inexpensive subscription (like $3-4/month), only because the pay-once-and-then-get-free-updates-for-life model is kind of tough to make work over the long term. But I don't think people really want any more subs in their life and we probably missed the window on that model by about 5 years. Even the amount of DLC we have put into TALES is ridiculous considering the price we're asking (I say that with some amount of bias, but I also stand by it -- if you split $19.99 into 6 parts you end up with like $3.50/part which is pretty cheap!). So I definitely think we need to come up with a better business model for games like TLD, but I also think there's so much gross and exploitative monetization going on in the games space right now that people are really pushing back against anything that isn't a straight up purchase, and I totally understand why (I'm a gamer and consumer too!).

With TALES, we were so mindful of having given free updates for so long beforehand that charging for something felt weird, so I think we really overcompensated for that by just jamming as much stuff in as we thought we could do for that price, and frankly I think we did two DLC's worth of stuff for the price of one as a result of that psychology. I'm sure there's a good case study to be done there somewhere.

But I know this isn't really what you are talking about here...

Re: MST3k -- the last few seasons on Netflix helped us get our kids through COVID, so I have a lot of love and appreciation for that show. We have a lot of family in-jokes thanks thanks to various movies that are now staples whenever we need something absolutely silly.

I'm a big film nut and I subscribe to the A24 Member's Only thing ($99/yr) to get insider access to stuff so I know what you're talking about. I do think there's something there, but I also worry about the folks who wouldn't be able to afford it feeling left out and kind of disempowered or neglected as a result. It's a tough balance. I think some tweaks to the Early Access model might be part of the solution here, but it's a much bigger discussion about industry trends and community dynamics that I'm not sure anyone has quite figured out yet. For every community member who says "we'd love to give you more money!" there's at least one other who uses words like lazy, greedy, exploitative, etc. Often it has nothing to do with us or anything we've done, just general frustration with how the games business has evolved and how exploitative a lot of it has become (in certain corners...not in the independent space as much, I would argue). 

Anyways, obviously this is something I think a lot about and I don't have a good answer. 

I'm delighted to see the future plans for TLD and HL. I wanted to ask if you have considered selling a game artbook or concept art collection alongside the original soundtrack (the DLC). I can confidently say that many players would be interested in purchasing it. After all, TLD's visuals and art style are truly unique, and we hope to gain a deeper understanding of the game's development journey, as well as the thoughts behind the creation of these characters and maps.

  • Upvote 1
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
yoli Pathfinder

yoli

Posted
Posted

Thanks for sharing all these great news and updating on other projects we don't often hear about. I hope the team will be able to self-sustain its independence for a long time and users will help for it. About what's coming up for TLD, I am especially excited with the official mod support, this will make TLD "live forever" as other games with mod systems. FYI something I am not interested in though is the new Custom Settings system, I will probably not use it, but some may like it...

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Hinterland
Raphael van Lierop Pathfinder

Raphael van Lierop

Posted
  • Author
  • Hinterland
Posted
3 hours ago, TWMountain said:

I'm delighted to see the future plans for TLD and HL. I wanted to ask if you have considered selling a game artbook or concept art collection alongside the original soundtrack (the DLC). I can confidently say that many players would be interested in purchasing it. After all, TLD's visuals and art style are truly unique, and we hope to gain a deeper understanding of the game's development journey, as well as the thoughts behind the creation of these characters and maps.

Yes, an artbook is on the list. We owe it to some of our Kickstarter backers -- we just needed to wait until the art was all done before we can finalize it. 😅

  • Upvote 7
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing