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Does this update include the improvements of the storymode (survival school optional, more freedom how to progress with the quests ...), or will these things be adressed in the next update?

Wintermute is doing well in that regard. Both episodes teach you the basics of survival in TLD and it is doing it in a balanced way for new players, that's true. But that's not the issue. See, if you look at it objectivly than Wintermute so far is nothing more than a smaller version of the "whiteout challange" and a 1 to 1 copy of "the hunted part II" with a few cutscenes. The main point of TLD, not taking the hand of the player, is simply not there when it comes to the story. Hinterland could have done this diffrently without any more effort. I can give you an example how it could've been done ( 1 of a million possibilities). You arrive in Millton, you try to enter the house but you get shot at (maybe even wounded) and you simply can't enter. So you go away and either continue finding a way out of Millton (which you will find out isn't there) or start exploring Millton right away. By doing this you discover slowly the story behind the person who shot you and because this person seems to be your only chance to get out of Millton (that you discovered by yourself by exploring) you go there again. With the knowledge about the person and Millton you can now talk to her and at least gain trust so she doesn't shoot you anymore and talks to you. This would be an example of how you could tell the story by actually playing the game and at the same time reward exploring. You discover the story about grey mother yourself, so you can have empathy and you also have a proper reason why you couldn't just keep on moving in the beginning. So everything would make sense. And this is no opposition to Raphael's wish to tell "his story" - it still is his story that is been told, but it is the player who discovers it by playing and not a few lines you have to read. Again, that's just an example but i think the point of the missing storytelling gets clear.

The problem is not "fetch quests" or the story itself. The problem is the lack of enviromental storytelling, aspect of survival, decision making and the non-existant exploring aspect. Yes, there are plotholes within the story, boring characters, bugs and so on - but even the best games have those. The Long Dark does very poorly in these points that are a must in every open world game. Let me explain. Exploration - You follow a path and discover a building and if it's a good level design, you automaticly want to go there and find out what this place is about. Who lived there? What happened there? What does this place tell me about the world/main story? Oh, a hidden key, i should take it and maybe it'll be useful later. And whats that up the hill? Lets have a look. Maybe that's a way out? ..... Storymode actually punishes you if you try to explore because you have to do things in the exact order as it is supposed to be. It doesn't matter what you find in a house or behind a rock. All you have to do is get tons of firewood and because of the weight limit and your needs you don't do anything else than that - collecting wood. And you do this so that grey mother tells you her boring story and you have to listen or just quit the game. You have no choice, you have to listen, you have to do what she wants and you can't say no or chose a diffrent way. Imagine you would find out yourself about her story by EXPLORING Millton. There you find a sweatter that belongs to her daughter, but you find it at the barn. You find out that family X had trouble with family Z, but their children loved each other in secret .... My god, there is so much potential. I say this because i think Raphael is wrong in his view what has gone wrong (about critique from players). I am one of the "long time Interloper players" and i don't mind the "tutorial like" intro. Actually the very first part at the crashside was well made and fun to play. Nor am i too concerned about a bumpy release regarding bugs. Wether you like the story or not, isn't so much important for a good game. It is about how you tell the story. Storymode ignores everything that makes Survivalmode so unique and strong and is just bad regarding storytelling. There is no connection between survival and the world/story of Storymode. You get punished for exploring because places you discover don't tell a story but are there to be visited at a specific point in the game. You can find items, but they don't have anything to do with anything. The world is beatiful, but empty. There is nothing to discover or explore. You have to go there because the game forces you, not because you want. And that's the issue.

Like most of the mechanics, the problem is tuning and balancing that nobody at Hinterland wants to do (or just no time). It's not necessary to change or remove mechanics or features. I'm more for adding and tweaking than removing. More options just give the player more freedom and allow diffrent playstyles. I think the timer for cabin fever could be more random and it could be happen less often. But again, this would also lead to a lot of needed tuning for other things like the resting mechanic, wolv behavior and so on. For the time beeing, cabin fever does what it's supposed to do, it prevents players from hibernating. Is it a bad design and inbalanced? Yes, but it works for now.

I've checked it and there is, like many other words, no direct translation to english. In german, it translates literally to "Winterstille". It expresses the silence in the wintertime (no birds singing, frozen rivers ...). Also people are more indoors because of the cold and are generally more quiet (prayerful?) towards christmas, "the end" (of the year). So part of the word also refers to the "end time" - what, in a apocalyptic dimension, is the theme of TLD. The word fits perfectly because TLD actually is the only game i know that gives you that feeling. All people who live in a country where you have 4 seasons (real summer and real winter - snow) know this expression.

I am with Patrick on this one. For the survival aspect it is key to know where to go and where to find specific items. The actual game is about finding out these things. Both aspects are removed by using a map. The problem is, that people obviously want to know - again, that's the main element of the game - and so there is by nature a demand for that. By doing it in public, you deny lots of people the experience TLD has to offer. Or let me put it like that: If you have played hundreds of hours TLD using this, you actually haven't played TLD at all. Even more dangerous is, that normally people wouldn't think that it is a "cheat" to"just look at a map" and therefor it is very likely that many people will use it. I would like to ask you to remove it completly from public.

hehe, wanted to see what comes to your minds when looking at this. The reality is not as bad as you might think. This picture is made two feed away from misanthrope's house (on the hill). There is a fishing hut between Jack Rabbit and Misanthrope's that i use as my outdoor-base. I just went quickly to the hut to pick up food that i have stored there. So i wasn't in danger at any time. On my way back the blizzard appeared and i couldn't remember to have seen such a low temperature and with all the red bars, the snapshot even looks more dangerous I went inside with 73% condition, ate and healed up to 100%

well, at least i'm not thirsty

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