Admin

There is nothing to announce about new store offerings at this point. We'll note the interest, however.

Hello community, Today we’re pleased to announce that The Long Dark is out in retail stores across North America for Xbox One and Playstation 4, as a result of our partnership with Skybound Games. If you’re outside North America the game will be out on September 7th. Each retail copy includes a downloadable soundtrack, as well as a printed Field Journal with a map of Great Bear Island. You can also still buy the game as a digital download for PC, PS4, Xbox One, Mac and Linux – see the full list of stores here. To celebrate our retail launch, we’ve released a brand new trailer for the game which you can watch above!

Update: @Raphael van Lierop is busy with game development tasks and isn't able to release a Dispatch this week. Please continue to post your questions here and he will be back next week.

Please ensure that all posts are questions. Please do not comment on or debate someone else's questions. We want to keep this thread as easy to navigate as possible. Thank you.

To help make sure this thread remains focused on collecting questions for the Milton Mailbag please refrain from posting anything here that is not a question for @Raphael van Lierop . Any other posts will be removed.

Welcome to the forums @paulrysavy and great first post!

I moved this thread to the Fan Art section because I think it deserves to be there - and that's where I keep looking for it. Keep up the good work!

Quick update with 2 items: Please ensure you're asking questions. Don't debate other people's questions or make "Wish List" type suggestions. There are other forums and other threads for that. Our next Mailbag will be in two weeks as the team focuses on the content announced in this week's Dev Diary. Please keep leaving questions as we think this has been valuable so far. Once again thank you so much for your support and your excellent questions!

Posts deleted. As a reminder please keep your posts brief and questions. If someone asks a question please don't respond unless you're directing them to where it was previously answered. If you want to debate a topic go to the appropriate forum and start a new discussion. Thank you all for the great questions so far.

Posts deleted or moved to Wishlist forum. Please keep your posts brief and questions. We understand that some setup may be required to frame your question, but try to be as succinct as possible. Thank you all for the great questions so far.

While this thread is getting long please do at least read the previous Dispatches as they have answers that may save you the time asking. We will be deleting any posts in this thread that aren’t specifically questions so please try to refrain from back and forth. Thank you.

Removed posts discussing mods. The Long Dark does not currently have official mod support. Please do not discuss particular mods that may exist, or direct people to them. Thank you.

Please try to keep this focused on asking questions directed to @Raphael van Lierop and the game team. You can debate in other threads, but we want to keep this easy to scan and grab questions out of. Thanks.

Merged some threads with this. Please keep it to simply stated questions. You're more likely to get an answer if it's a simple question that's not buried in a paragraph of preamble. Please don't reply to other people's questions with debate. You can debate the merits of a suggestion, or question elsewhere. This is a place to collect questions. Thanks again! We're getting some great questions and we're happy to see that people seem to like this!

Locking thread. If you have a question please direct it here to the main thread. There's also a General Discussion forum if you want to kick off something that's not a direct question to @Raphael van Lierop. Thanks!

Yes, please try to focus on questions. You can ask "Will you ever ad X", but we don't want this particular thread to be the place where it's debated whether X would be good for the game.

We merged a bunch of individual threads into this one, so that they questions don't get lost. To increase your questions chances of getting addressed by @Raphael van Lierop please: keep them in this thread make sure they haven't been asked earlier in the thread or answered in a previous Milton Mailbag keep them as brief and to the point as possible Thanks for all the great questions, and keep them coming.

Thanks for the questions so far, and keep them coming! We'll regularly be taking questions from this thread for future Milton Mailbags. And don't forget to make sure you read the first two, so you're not asking a question we've just recently answered. Milton Mailbag Dispatch #1 Milton Mailbag Dispatch #2

Hello The Long Dark Community: Last week we ran the first of a new feature that we're calling "Milton Mailbag" where we take questions from the community from the official forums and Twitter and @Raphael van Lierop answers a few of them. We want to keep trying with this experiment. To give forum users a chance to ask questions, we've started this "Milton Mailbag" subforum. A few things to keep in mind: In this thread you can ask us questions and we'll consider them for inclusion into a future mailbag. Please keep this thread just to questions. Start a new thread in this subforum if you want to debate or discuss anything. We're not going to answer every question, and will also be taking questions from other sources. If we don't answer your question one week we may always circle back and get it again later. We may also adjust how we do this going forwards. Thank you very much for taking part in this!

Hello community, We’ve hotfixed The Long Dark to v1.30 (35412), which includes the following fixes: NOTE: Depending on your region it may take up to 24 hours for the hotfix to reach you. Version 1.30 (35412) Release Notes * [WeGame Only] - Default language set Chinese * [Xbox One Only] - Fixed UI appearing incorrectly when System Language and in-game language are mismatched * [PS4 Only] - Fixed issue keeping certain music cues from playing. * [UWP/Xbox Only] - Fixed UI issue causing older (v1.16 or earlier) valid saves to appear deleted. * [Gameplay] - Fixed rare crash that can occur when lighting torch from a fire ###END OF CHANGELIST###

Hello community, We’ve just hotfixed The Long Dark to v1.27 [34908] on STEAM. This includes the Unity game engine update that we discussed in our most-recent Dev Diary, as well as numerous other fixes you will see detailed below. NOTE: The Unity upgrade included in this hotfix has changed the location of the Debug Log for Windows users: Debug Log Location in Windows (new!): ⦁ In Windows, open File Explorer ⦁ At the top of the window, switch to the View tab ⦁ Go to the Show/Hide section and check the Hidden Items box ⦁ On the left side, Scroll down to This PC and click on the C drive ⦁ Navigate to the following folder: C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\LocalLow\Hinterland\TheLongDark (Note that your Windows username will be the name 3rd folder you click through) ⦁ Inside TheLongDark folder you will find a file named output_log.txt . This is your game debug log. The Long Dark v1.27 [34908] Changelist *Numerous Art optimizations to improve performance. *Numerous Environment optimizations. *General optimizations *Update to Rewired Controller API for improved compatibility using gamepad/controllers on PC/Mac * Fixed several rare crashes * Disabled crash reporting for Modded games (to reduce the amount of non-relevant crash report data) Art *[Both] Moose sign scratches now appear with the correct color and texture across all Regions. *[Both] Fixed issue where player could become trapped when walking while crouched behind chair in Milton Credit Union office. *[Both] Added Charging Station sign to the Orca Gas Station in Milton. *[Both] Starfield no longer visible through light snow in Milton. *[Both] Fixed issue causing a snowy hillside to appear inside a Broken Railroad Region Cave. *[Both] Fixed scaling issue with toilets in Carter Dam. *[Both] Blood Decals now appear correctly when Harvesting or Quartering. *[Both] Fixed issue with some Rose hip bushes appearing to float above the ground in Mountain Town Region. *[Both] Fixed issue causing footsteps to sometimes look distorted in the snow. *[Both] Fixed a gap in the terrain in Mountain Town Region, near the entrance to Mystery Lake. *[Both] Fixed issue with inconsistent appearance of arms during Wolf Struggles. *[Both] Fixed issue with terrain near the Collapsed Tunnel in Mountain Town Region that was impeding player movement. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue where Ambient Occlusion improvements weren't visible on a bridge in Desolation Point. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue with incorrect snowy terrain appearing in a Forlorn Muskeg Cave. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue where exiting buildings could result in a black screen. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue where the Tractor near Quonset Garage was incorrectly illuminated. *[Survival Mode] Improved presentation of thumbnail images in the Survival Mode loading menu. *[Survival Mode] Improved road and bridge textures in Desolation Point *[Wintermute] Items in the Hunter's Blind near Alan's Cave in Mystery Lake Region now have the correct texture. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where chimney smoke would incorrectly appear coming from homes in Milton. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where a gap could be seen in Jeremiah's neck during Episode Two cinematics. *[Wintermute] Fixed issues with incorrect Rifle movement in Episode Two cinematics. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue with incorrect item texture on Lake Cabin Key #2. Gameplay & User Interface *[Both] Added Clothing UI Icons and tooltips when pressing R3 on gamepads. *[Both] Removed reticle when aiming the Survival Bow (as intended) *[Both] First Aid icon no longer disappears from the screen when Cooking or Boiling Water. *[Both] Fixed issue causing awkward First Person arm movements when accessing inventory with Flashlight equipped. *[Both] Fixed issue where Slope information would incorrectly appear when climbing up and down ropes. *[Both] Clothing items no longer display incorrect damage textures at low Condition. *[Both] Improved positioning for various Scrub Brush placements in the environment. *[Both] Fixed issue where double-inputs were occurring with the Steam Controller when accessing inventory. *[Both] Fix for being able to climb up steep objects the player should not be able to climb. *[Both] Fixed issue causing players to get Cabin Fever in Wintermute. Cabin Fever is now disabled in all three Wintermute Experience Modes. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issues keeping Faithful Cartographer achievement from triggering. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue where the Stone Church icon was not displaying correctly after being mapped. *[Survival Mode] Removed fall death triggers on cliff wall above Milton Basin. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue that prevented players from Harvesting certain Tree Limbs in the game. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue where the Moose Hide Satchel was not showing the correct bonus when the game was set to display Imperial Units. *[Survival Mode] Improved ease of mapping the Cinder Hills Coal Mine entrances in Coastal Highway and Pleasant Valley. *[Survival Mode] When selecting a Region in a new Survival Mode game, it will now always default to the last Region the player loaded. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue where no on-screen message would appear when approaching transition between Mountain Town and Forlorn Muskeg Regions. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue where the Harvesting UI could sometimes default to “Take All.” *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue where the Paradise Meadows Farmhouse could appear unlocked by default. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue causing various tools to spawn incorrectly in Interloper and Custom Experience Modes. *[Survival Mode] Players can no longer continue Crafting after a single Match burns out. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue where subtitles remain on-screen after character voice over ends. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where crows would circle locations with no corpses present. *[Wintermute] Fixed various issues blocking progress during the opening survival missions in Episode One. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where voice over subtitles were missing after sustaining a fall injury. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where Water in inventory was incorrectly counted, preventing Coffee and Tea brewing. *[Wintermute] Grey Mother's Soup no longer remains hot for too long when added to player inventory. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue causing Fatigue to apply incorrectly when Rope Climbing. *[Wintermute] Players can no longer Inspect Jeremiah’s Coat in Episode Two. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where text could flicker during Trust interactions with Jeremiah in Episode Two. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where smoke would not appear from the Trapper’s Cabin chimney, even though a fire is burning inside. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue in Episode Two Lake Gunshots Mission where the mission marker was not resolving correctly upon completion. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where error message "Failed to Restore the Game From a Previous Save” could appear incorrectly in Episode One, causing the player to return to the Main Menu. *[Wintermute] Improved UI feedback when attempting to access empty sections of the Journal. [Wintermute] Players can now transfer stacked items to Grey Mother during a Trust interaction. *[Wintermute] Changed location of First Aid Kit at the beginning of Episode One to make it more noticeable to players. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where Methuselah would appear at the wrong time in Episode Two. *[Wintermute] Added container for player gear in Grey Mother's House and Jeremiah's Cabin. Using these containers will not affect Trust levels with either character. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where mission objectives from previous save games could appear at the beginning of Episode One. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where the incorrect UI label was displayed when players attempted to create a new save game. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue with Rifle sometimes not responding during Episode Two mission "Jeremiah's Folly." *[Wintermute] Improved first-person camera motion to make it easier to interact with Metal Shard at the beginning of Episode One. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where Breaking Down catwalk planks in the Upper Dam could keep players from finishing Episode Two. Audio *[Both] Fixed issue with audio that was sometimes causing too much reverb effect when exploring outdoors. *[Both] Firing a Rifle indoors no longer affects pitch and speed of voice over audio. *[Both] Fixed issue where outdoor audio reverb could be heard inside the Hunting Lodge in Broken Railroad Region. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue where character voice over reverb could be heard in caves, even when voice-over audio was turned off. *[Survival Mode] Walking on the frozen river outside Milton now produces the correct footstep audio effects. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue causing incorrect audio to play when Crafting Tinder from paper items. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue where fall injuries could lead to voice over audio that was out of sync. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue where exploration music cues were not playing as intended. *[Wintermute] Improved Fire audio during Grey Mother cinematics in Episode One. Cinematics *[Wintermute] Fixed issue with cinematic freezing at the end of Episode One, which prevented the game from continuing. *[Wintermute] Improved Mathis character position during Episode Two cinematic. *[Wintermute] Improved Jeremiah's character position and audio syncing during Episode Two cinematic. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue causing the camera to incorrectly rotate during cinematics. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where audio and visual effects were out of sync when Will trips and falls during the Episode Two cinematic in Broken Railroad. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue causing Will and Jeremiah character models to vanish from the first cinematic when loading Episode Two and skipping the introduction. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where a chair would appear incorrectly during a Grey Mother cinematic. Lighting *[Both] Fixed issue where interior lighting could create unintended shadows. Collision Fixes *[Both] Fixed issue causing players to get stuck on a fence in Mountain Town Region. *[Both] Fixed collision issues with bridge leading to Paradise Meadows Farm. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue where Bears could be stuck on broken ice in Desolation Point. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issues with player/terrain collision when walking around Hibernia Processing and on approach to the Lonely Lighthouse in Desolation point. *[Wintermute] Fixed collision issue that allowed Will to partially walk through Grey Mother's rocking chair. General Fixes *[Both] Crows will no longer sometimes fly too low and into the ground as the weather changes. *[Both] Crouching close to Bears no longer lets players move inside the carcass. *[Both] Fixed issue where blood splatter effect could appear too bright against the snow. *[Both] Fixed issue where Region and Location details were incorrectly displayed in the loading menu. *[Both] Fixed issue where Region and Location details were incorrectly displayed in the loading menu. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue where Wolves would sometimes be out of position when feeding on carcasses. *[Survival Mode] Added no-spawn areas to the docks at the FIshing Camp in Coastal Highway, to keep Wolves from getting trapped there. *[Survival Mode] Adjusted Soda Can location in Mountain Town Region to make it accessible. *[Survival Mode] Fixed issue where various doors were incorrectly showing a locked icon when Inspected. *[Survival Mode] Improved camera position and framing of Moose carcass during Harvesting. *[Survival Mode] Closed off an unintended exit from the Milton Basin area in Mountain Town Region. *[Survival Mode] Fix for Wolves appearing on the Quonset Garage roof. *[Custom Mode] General Resource Availability setting in the Custom Toolbox now more accurately reflects the corresponding Resource level in each Experience Mode, i.e. if it is set to "Low," no Hunting Knives will spawn, as in Interloper. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where players could walk through the tree at the crouch tutorial location in Episode One. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue with Wolf feeding animation at Paradise Meadows Farm in Episode One. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where Region information was appearing at incorrect times when transitioning from interior to exterior locations. *[Wintermute] Fixed several issues that could block progression during Grey Mother missions in Episode One. *[Wintermute] Improved camera position when interacting with Astrid's Case at the beginning of Episode One. *[Wintermute] Added a decimal point to Deer Meat amount in player's inventory for Episode Two, adding clarity to the completion of the "Survival School" missions. *[Wintermute] Removed feeding Wolf from Forlorn Muskeg Region that would appear unaffected by the Aurora. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where an error message could appear after progressing to Day 5 in opening Survival Bowl section of Episode One. *[Wintermute] Players can no longer place a Storm Lantern on Grey Mother's head. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where inventory items could be lost after cancelling out of a Trust interaction with Grey Mother. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue with icons sometimes not appearing on map in Episode One. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue where player would sometimes be standing on a chair after finishing dialogue with Grey Mother. *[Wintermute] Fixed issue with mouse inputs instantly loading manual save files in the Story save menu. *[Wintermute] Added fade to black transition at the end of Episode Two cinematic in Jeremiah's Cabin, to avoid potential gameplay interruption. ###END OF CHANGELIST###

The Long Dark Version 1.21 [33995] Changelist * [Both] Fixed issue where displaced arm animations could appear for certain harvesting actions. * [Wintermute] Updated Green Survivor description text; Predators are less deadly in this Experience, but will still attack you when unprovoked. (i.e. Green Survivor does not match Pilgrim settings.) * [Survival Mode] Fixed issue where items could disappear from the Milton House after breaking down the blanket. * [Survival Mode] Fixed issue where stored items would be duplicated and could appear in more than one location at once. This affects the following locations: Lake Cabins, Fishing Huts, Jackrabbit House and PV Crossroads House. Please note this fix only applies to games created using Version 1.21 and onward. * [Survival Mode] Fixed issue where a map icon may automatically appear for specific locations when they are entered (ex. Stone Church in Desolation Point) rather than through Charcoal Mapping, which would result in them not counting towards the Faithful Cartographer achievement. * [Survival Mode] Fixed issue with the items placed in one location could appear in a different location instead (i.e. we created a teleportation device!). This affects the following locations: Farmhouse, Farmhouse Basement, Dam, Dam Trailers. Note that this fix applies to existing games. ### END OF RELEASE NOTES ### - The Hinterland Team

The Long Dark Version 1.21 [33995] Changelist Note: We expect to have PS4 and Xbox One versions of this patch ready to release sometime on Thursday, Dec. 21. * [Both] Fixed issue where displaced arm animations could appear for certain harvesting actions. * [Wintermute] Updated Green Survivor description text; Predators are less deadly in this Experience, but will still attack you when unprovoked. (i.e. Green Survivor does not match Pilgrim settings.) * [Survival Mode] Fixed issue where items could disappear from the Milton House after breaking down the blanket. * [Survival Mode] Fixed issue where stored items would be duplicated and could appear in more than one location at once. This affects the following locations: Lake Cabins, Fishing Huts, Jackrabbit House and PV Crossroads House. Please note this fix only applies to games created using Version 1.21 and onward. * [Survival Mode] Fixed issue where a map icon may automatically appear for specific locations when they are entered (ex. Stone Church in Desolation Point) rather than through Charcoal Mapping, which would result in them not counting towards the Faithful Cartographer achievement. * [Survival Mode] Fixed issue with the items placed in one location could appear in a different location instead (i.e. we created a teleportation device!). This affects the following locations: Farmhouse, Farmhouse Basement, Dam, Dam Trailers. Note that this fix applies to existing games. ### END OF RELEASE NOTES ### - The Hinterland Team

The Long Dark Hotfix to version 1.19 [33943] on STEAM Note for GOG Users: GOG has the Update to 1.19 as well, and is performing their own internal QA, which is typical procedure. As soon as they are complete, the Update will be live for you as well. When it is, you will be on full parity with every platform. Includes the following fixes: * [Survival] Fixed the Faithful Cartographer achievement. Fixes are retroactive but may require performing one mapping action per region to update the Achievement "checklist". * [Survival] Fixed issue with stored loot being reset in the Pleasant Valley Farmhouse. Previous loot should now be restored. * [Wintermute] Fixed issue where player could end up with second, untreatable "Plane Crash Injuries" due to conflict between manual save and checkpoint. * [Both] Fixed crash on 32-bit Windows XP systems. * [Both] Fixed crash when changing resolution on DirectX 9 systems. ### End of Release Notes ###

A note from The Long Dark’s Creative Director, Raphael van Lierop *** Hello everyone, The team’s hard at work on finalizing the (still un-named) December update and with a bunch of new players joining us thanks to the Steam Autumn Sale, it seems like a good time to preview a few of the treats we have in store. Mooooose! First off, you’re all waiting to hear more information about the Moose. The model, animation, audio, and core behaviour is all finished. We’ve populated the world with Moose — it’s a pretty rare animal so don’t expect it to be easy to find — and we’re now just tuning the AI behaviour and some of the Moose’s unique capabilities to make sure it feels balanced. This guy does not look happy to see you. Keep your eyes for these scratches on the tree bark; this might indicate Moose are in the area! We have some other fun updates to Survival Mode coming in December, but I’d like to talk about a couple of things we’re doing for Story Mode in the December update. WINTERMUTE Experience Modes A common piece of feedback we received after launching WINTERMUTE was that the first two episodes were far too easy for our experienced Survival Mode players. This made the introductory segments feel slow-paced and too “tutorial-y”, and yet these sames parts could be quite punishing for players who didn’t know anything about the game. It was challenging to balance Episode One for brand new players, and also players who had put 1000s of hours into the Sandbox, and we were reluctant to add the notion of “difficulty modes” for the Story experience, because we wanted everyone to share that experience the same way. Also, having multiple “difficulties” would create a ton of additional tuning and bug-fixing overhead for us while we were trying to finalize our first two Episodes, and we were nervous about taking that on in addition to all the other finaling tasks on our plates. However, we really want everyone who plays WINTERMUTE — new or veteran — to have a great experience with this narrative mode, and we were sad to hear so many veteran survivors just didn’t enjoy Episode One as much due to the level of challenge, so in December we’ll be rolling out three new Experience Modes, specifically for WINTERMUTE. These loosely map to “difficulty”, and are similar to how we tune our Survival Mode Experiences, but to be clear, these are specifically tuned for WINTERMUTE (i.e. they are different from the Survival Mode experiences of Pilgrim, Voyageur, etc.). Three new Experiences should provide a good range of choices for WINTERMUTE players, from the Greenest to the most Hardened survivors. This should give both the newest, and most veteran player of The Long Dark, a little more control over the type of experience they have when playing WINTERMUTE. (Please note the new Experience Modes for WINTERMUTE will only work on games started *after* the December update.) WINTERMUTE Save System Another issue we encountered, post-launch, were challenges around our implementation of the Save system for WINTERMUTE. Unlike Survival Mode, which is Permadeath (i.e. once you die, we delete your game), WINTERMUTE has a two-slot save system. Saves were triggered using the Bedroll or resting in a Bed (as in Survival Mode), and also by Autosave (as in Survival Mode), but we found that this introduced too many restrictions for players, discouraged experimentation, and also often resulted in players getting “stuck” between two bad saves, sometimes in an irrecoverable situation. This was terrible for some people, and we feel really bad about it. So with the December update, we’re rolling out a completely overhauled Save System for WINTERMUTE. You can now save pretty much anywhere, with between 20-25 save slots (depending on platform) shared between WINTERMUTE, Survival Mode, and Challenges. We also let you reload from an Autosave, or a Checkpoint (these are triggered by mission progress), so between those systems, we feel that players will have LOTS of choices in terms of how often or how rarely they want to save, and will have a much better chance to recover from a bad situation, or create their own “branches” when they want to experiment with different things in a given Episode. For anyone that already has Saves for WINTERMUTE, this revision doesn’t change anything. You’ll find your existing saves in the list, and you should be able to create new saves using the revised system. And to be 100% clear — WE HAVE NOT CHANGED THE WAY SAVES WORK IN SURVIVAL MODE (or the Challenges). Both are still permadeath experiences. In addition to Milton being playable in Survival Mode in December (mentioned in our October Dev Blog), we have some other cool stuff we haven’t shared yet – we still want you to be surprised! — but hopefully this outline gives you a bit of a better idea of some of what you can look forward to in the December update. Thanks for reading! We’re really excited to see how you like the December update, and to all the players who are joining us for the first time — Welcome to the Quiet Apocalypse! Raphael