Sprinting, conditioning, visual queues.

[suorm]

Hello! I love this game! Here's some feedback

Controlling sprinting with a button is an archaic form. Instead use the scroll wheel of the mouse, just as you use the analog stick on a controller. Roll it all the way up and you're sprinting. Roll it all the way down and you're going very, very slow. Roll it anywhere in between and you're going as fast as you want. Give more control to the player. Please do this!

The speed you can go should affect your condition and be affected by it. If you're sitting still outside, you should normally get cold, tired, hungry and thirsty. If you move slowly, you should get less cold but also a bit more tired, hungry and thirsty. If you move quicker, you should get even less cold but also even more tired, hungry and thirsty. The rate you normally get tired should depend on how frequently you run faster than your median speed. If you usually run faster than normal, the rate you get tired should get lower and lower. If you don't run and you don't push yourself to move quickly through the wilderness, the rate you get tired should get higher and higher. The rate you cover ground should depend on how frequently you run at top speed. If you run full speed frequently, you should build more speed. If you don't, you should lose top speed. This idea could be expanded to any task, not just movement -- so wood foraging, skinning deer etc.

Finally, instead of icons or text in the UI, use perception changes and colors to indicate how the 4 condition bars change. No icons, no text, no nothing. Everything of that sort breaks immersion for me. So if you're getting hungry, make everything slowly fade to gray/red shades and intensify a bit the colors of deer, wolves and bears -- the stuff you can hunt. If you're colder, make everything slowly fade to gray/blue shades but now intensify a bit the colors of cabins and houses -- places where you can get warmer. If you're getting tired, just make everything slowly fade to darker shades, and maybe include a blinking effect. If you're getting thirsty, make everything slowly look more cloudy or distorted, as it would happen if you got dehydrated.

So that's it! Thanks for reading through my suggestions! Keep up the great work Hinterland!

[LucidFugue]

I'm not sure why we really need such fine control over speed. The way you have described the impacts makes me think I'd want to run/sprint everywhere so my conditioning improved. The only reason I'd want analog style speed inputs a is for stealth, and this game doesn't really have a stealth system. We previously had a walk/run and everybody ran everywhere. That's why sprinting was introduced with such clear penalties.

[Eachna]

I like some of these ideas but some things to keep in mind.

* Some of us use touchpads. While you can simulate a mouse wheel it's more finicky/less precise than a real wheel. Others use console controllers (there's an xbox version) and there's no scroll on them.

* Color blind people may not like color changes. A "better" option might be to just be able to turn off the HUD notifications (via a game option) and leave the hardcore purists to figure out what's going on based on character cues (heavy breath, groaning, etc.)

If the devs have any interest in going in and turning off the icons, they might also want to create a set of larger icons for the vision impaired. I've run across a few mentions of people saying they can't see the tiny icons.