The Wind Shield

[selfless]

I love the wind shield, and here's why: It's a negative sense and I think that's hilarious. Maybe, though, it's not so appropriate...

I always think of the HUD as filling in for the senses that cannot be displayed visually or audibly. Sensing when things got warmer or colder made sense. Sensing when the wind is blowing on you would make sense, too. Sensing when the wind is blowing because its not blowing on you, becomes comic. I understand that there are other clues to blowing wind: wisps in the air, snowflakes falling diagonally, blowing sounds, so having the HUD indicate that the wind was in-fact blowing may be redundant. And finding an area where wind is not currently blowing is critical to starting a fire outside. And maybe there is no longer any lack-of-wind period outside and a default of there's-always-wind-unless-its-blocked becomes rational. Still...

I liked warmer/colder. It felt right...

[klesh]

While the incredibly censored thought of a game knowing that you are closer to a goal you only have in your head is ludicrous, I'm sure 5 minutes of playing without the devs standing over them listening to reactions would allow the player to figure this out on their own. One commented on youtube even fessed up to being one of the people that couldn't figure it out:

I'm one of the idiots that made this mistake. I don't know what to tell you, seeing "Warmer" and "Colder" next to each other just instantly makes me think of that way of indicating that you're getting close to something. There's a thousand ways to phrase what they're actually meaning, which is that you're exposed to wind. It also didn't make sense to me that I suddenly felt warmer just from walking a couple of feet in a certain direction with no apparent change in terrain.

Why is it even expressed in a relative sense, rather than "exposed" or "in cover"? I just assumed I was getting closer to something, like a cabin, supplies, or whatever. I assumed it was a gameplay mechanic to give people at least something to go by rather than just wandering randomly. In short, I think it's mostly the phrasing that's problematic, but I like the icon, it's a good solution.

Would this kind of person look at the wind + shield icon and expect they are nearing a vehicle with an intact windshield that will be some use for survival? I think it was comedian Ron White who said "you can't fix censored".

For me, I recall the moment I figured this out. It was within the first few moments of the game.

I remember crouching behind a rock hiding from a wolf... warmer.

Stick my head out to look around the corner for the wolf.... colder.

Inch my way back behind the rock... warmer. Viola, I figured it out.

The problem I see with icons is they better be right on the money, or they too are open to interpretation.

For instance, the star in the Inventory. In this game star = condition. Really? I mean, one can figure that out too, but in today's world a star is often "favorite". It cam mean a million things because the icon is just a star, its context is what tells you its meaning. What about the "food" icon... it looks like a battery perhaps, it really barely resembles a can of food (open the top of the can, or use a generic looking meat-steak that actually looks like food). One clicks it, and notices it results in food being listed.

So, it will be interesting to see where the minimalist UI concept goes. All words removed for icons?

Edit: After a warning from Hinterland staff, I have omitted words that are found to be not in keeping with the community here.

[selfless]

Funny, now we do get to play warmer/colder. With the selection crosshairs. Get close to a selection, appears, faintly. Get closer, glows brighter. Move away, fades.

Great for finding lockers in the dark

[bethany]

I'm one of the idiots that made this mistake. I don't know what to tell you, seeing "Warmer" and "Colder" next to each other just instantly makes me think of that way of indicating that you're getting close to something.

This was certainly part of the thought process behind changing the text-based notification to the wind shield icon. It was something we noticed a bit before, but we also ran into quite a few people at E3 that had the same idea. Obviously, this wasn't the only reason things changed, but it was definitely taken into consideration.

I feel the icon more appropriately suits the minimalistic nature of the HUD, and gives us some more accurate insight into how effective our efforts to shield ourselves from the brutality of the landscape really are. "Warmer/Colder" was nice, but I find an extra layer of comfort in a visual indicator that tells me I'm successfully shielding myself from the wind. It also serves to make building fires much more efficient. It's true there are other cues that tell you you're being shielded from the worst of the weather to a certain degree, but that little shield has already helped save my butt more times than I can count.

[KD7BCH]

I love the wind shield, and here's why: It's a negative sense and I think that's hilarious. Maybe, though, it's not so appropriate...

I always think of the HUD as filling in for the senses that cannot be displayed visually or audibly. Sensing when things got warmer or colder made sense. Sensing when the wind is blowing on you would make sense, too. Sensing when the wind is blowing because its not blowing on you, becomes comic. I understand that there are other clues to blowing wind: wisps in the air, snowflakes falling diagonally, blowing sounds, so having the HUD indicate that the wind was in-fact blowing may be redundant. And finding an area where wind is not currently blowing is critical to starting a fire outside. And maybe there is no longer any lack-of-wind period outside and a default of there's-always-wind-unless-its-blocked becomes rational. Still...

I liked warmer/colder. It felt right...

It is sorta overdone isn't it, and it isn't exactly like wind is not modeled because it is, you can see it in the form of the wispy snowflakes or blowing snow, and you can hear it, and you can "feel" its effect slowing your movement when you are moving into it, so yeah the dashboard indicator is sort of like having an idiot light on the dash everytime you start climbing a hill in a car, only they don't have that because they expect drivers to take notice of the energy condition based on how the car is handling.