News/Reactions of Hinterland

[MueckE]

Hello guys,

i've noticed, that there is almost no response of the developers here in this forum. I do understand that the devs can't be directly involved so much (in the forum) because of the time and so on - but i would like to see some signs of life from time to time.

There are a few topics that always come up again and nobody seems to care about (because there is no accurate response).

I only read things like: he devs know it ..... but what is the actual plan? What can we expect for the final game? What is planned to add and how do the devs want the game to be at the end?

Whats about the wolf-topic and hibernation? I can not find a proper answer to these questions in the forum.

So i wish there would be something like a "press conference" / a statement or whatever where all these questions are answered. After this everybody would know what we can expect of the final game, what items/mechanics will be in there (or whats planned) and how the issues with game mechanics will be solved and so on.

[Bill Tarling]

reps from the studio are active and responding every day... maybe not to every single individual post because most of the questions have been answered repeatedly over and over and over...

For roadmap, that remains confidential (as the studio has said many times)... there are all kinds of interviews (printed, audio, video) covering various aspects of the game and future plans for it... You can also check the original Kickstarter pages for more details, or even the Reddit User Q&A with the studio... there's also the recent Joystiq interview with Raph which was done at E3.

All mechanics and settings are constantly being readjusted... again, wolves, hibernation, and most topics have been covered extensively over the past year. The devs continue to work on various aspects, and test new approaches, but don't release certain changes until they're satisfied with the direction.

For staff members, you'll often see Bethany, Jeremy, and Melody fielding as many questions as they can, as well as some of the core devs also joining in when they have a quick moment.

The studio's main focus is on the next major update, but they do drop in... just don't expect them to reveal all the new stuff they're working on because they don't like to reveal spoilers.

[bethany]

Hey there!

I'm always here patrolling the forums, and I can tell you I read every single post with a couple of exceptions in the tech forums, which Jeremy and Melody do a great job covering. I post every day and try to stay as active as possible in the forums, and am always around to help if you have questions. If anything totally crazy or interesting comes up, I always pass it along.

Everything regarding story mode and the future of the game is pretty secret. I can tell you we're aiming to release the first episode of our story at the end of this year, and that sandbox will continue to grow and evolve, but can't give more information than that at the moment.

The "wolf-topic" -- Not sure what you mean? Wolves are discussed at length in several threads here, in Steam, and on Reddit. The same rings true for our "frequent flier" topics, hibernation being one. There is a HUGE thread here in the official forums on hibernation. You can read it here if you like. I gave as much of an answer as I could about four pages in, but here's a direct link, in case you don't want to search for it.

As far as a "press conference" goes, our creative director has done a fair bit of communication, especially in the last couple of months. Apart from the various E3 articles floating around, he did a great interview with Joystiq/Engadget Bill mentioned -- You can watch that here. He also did an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on reddit a couple of months ago, which you can find here. There was a larger AMA right at the beginning of the Kickstarter campaign with our core team that's also available in reddit's archives.

Those two links should get you started in answering some of the questions you might have. Unfortunately, if we don't detail things further, it's likely because we're unable to do so.

Like I said, I'm always around, so feel free to send me a message if you have any questions. The rest of the community is here as well, and is very helpful and eager to share their experiences.

[MueckE]

Maybe my english is not good enough

I mean, if there would be a statement like:

"in the final game, the wolfes will act like this or that. We work on diffrent pathing and AI

so all the issues with wolf behavior currently in alpha will be gone ...

Furthermore we plan to do this and that so players will not be able to hibernate anymore ...

or

The final (sandbox) game will be almost like it is right now, except little tweaks ...

In the future, we want to add these items and mechanics .... and we want the game to look like .... "

-> There wouldnt be a thread about hibernation (one of thousands) because we would know whats

going on. If i would know right now, that hibernation will not be possible anymore in the future because

specific things will be added, i would have one thing to not worry about anymore and alot of things to look forward. Or maybe there is no plan, no concept and the only goal is to create the singleplayer

and if there is enough time, tweak a little bit the already existing mechanics?

Yes i can read all day long here in the forum about topics discussed by players, but nothing from the devs.

Maybe i am wrong and just didnt find the answers. Maybe there is a weekly or monthly update-post (not regarding hotfixes - posted after an update) where the devs explain how far the developement is, whats the overall goal is, what the problems are, what they are working on (except story things) and so on ...

"In the end, the game will be like this and that, with these features, balancing, mechanics ...

It will look like ...., the wildlife will be (like now?) like this .... "For this goal, we are currently working on this and that, we have done this already and will not change it anymore ..."

Edit:

Here is an example =

"variety and more behaviours is definitely something we want to do. Animation is something we're also working on. (how, what exactly can we expect?) We're always tuning the game, so nothing is static and how it feels now is not how it will feel a month from now (and what is the plan how it feels at the end?)

...we're always expanding the game and would like to get more survival skills in there. (expand to what extend? How much more landscape? Which skills exactly and how do they fit in the concept and goal of the game?) .........

Is the sandbox a "side-project" of the storymode or vice versa?

Is there a specific plan after all or is there only a plan for the storymode and

the sandbox is created only to test things?

Are you going to say, that the devs have no clue about the final wildlife in the game, which animals

there will be and how exactly they will behave? (if so, it would be an information too)

[Random Fires]

Maybe my english is not good enough

Yes i can read all day long here in the forum about topics discussed by players, but nothing from the devs.

I think your english is good.

Actually, I think a few of them are highly active. I think you will find that on most official forums, devs are not active at all. Forum members are usually stuck with one representative who is the default moderator of the forum, and information is passed back and forth, rarely directly.

I get where your coming from. Where's this all going? Will R+L=J? Where's X? These are very strange times for gamers, and perhaps developers too. Preview programs, alpha's, beta's, none of this stuff was so open to regular gamers before. You can shelf the game, and wait for a more finished product, or keep playing, keep reading and watch this evolve. Also throw into the mix, this game is not just one of survival, but discovery as well.

You can usually get some extra info by reviewing some of the active profiles, and searching their posts.

Just today I've learned of an in-game feature I had not previously known about, and that's after 50 hrs of play.

"Rest Neo, the answer are coming."

[octavian]

Are you going to say, that the devs have no clue about the final wildlife in the game, which animals there will be and how exactly they will behave?

Yes, because it's true.

[MueckE]

Are you going to say, that the devs have no clue about the final wildlife in the game, which animals there will be and how exactly they will behave?

Yes, because it's true.

See, this would be an information i really would like to have (ofc doesn't have to, but would be nice)

It is very interesting to see how diffrent devlopers make their games.

Also it would be good to know the goal of the game to be more helpful with suggestions here in the forum.

I mean, lets say there is a specific concept about how the wildlife will be in the end, than it makes

no sense for me (and all others) to suggest/wish things that dont fit in there.

On the other hand this would be very constructive if there is only a vague plan for the game, no final goal

set, and the community actually is kind of developing too with their suggestions and so on.

If thats the case, i for example wouldnt waste time on waiting and hyping the next update or a specific release-date.

I would just play the game from time to time and would have fun with it.

[octavian]

Just play the game and have fun with it regardless MueckE, and make sure we see your name on the forums, because nothing else really matters :mrgreen:

[bethany]

It seems that no matter how much something is discussed or announced, new threads about that same topic pop up all the time, so I'm not too worried about that. Either way, it's nice that players are eager and willing to discuss things.

It's likely you won't see the kind of statement you're hoping for. We haven't released a road map, and usually don't discuss how features will work in the future because we are constantly evaluating and tuning (and like to surprise you a little). That's part of the fun of being in early access!

Just sit tight and come along for the ride. It'll be a lot of fun discovering the changes yourself =)