Tbone555

Do yall remember when the UI actually looked like a survival journal? That was awesome and I have no clue why they ditched it for what we have now. Does anyone else miss it?

I feel like this hasn't been talked about in a while. Usually there wouldn't be much need to have primitive firestarting but I found myself in such a need the other day in hushed river valley when I ran out of matches. Plus it would just be a new thing to mess around with anyway. I think it would tie in nicely to the firestarting skill. Perhaps matches and strikers and such would offer MINIMAL skill gain while starting fires primitively would result in much larger skill gain. The obvious way would be using the bow method, and there might even be a little minigame similar to Stranded Deep's firestarting. Ie, tapping LT and RT to drill the stick with your hands and create friction. Except I would like to see it much harder than it is in that game. Starting a fire by hand is not easy and until you're top level firestarting it should continue to be a pain. But it's there if you have no matches. Or you're bored and want to learn a new skill.

4 hours ago, Dum_Gen said:

There is probably no character model apart from hands - you can't even see your feet. Besides, the devs struggled to add hands model changes when you wear different clothes.

So it is too much work with minimal output. 

Ah, but you're wrong my friend.

In most first person games that include this sort of photo mode, you are correct in that the character model doesn't exist. It's just the hands. However, once this photo mode is activated, the hands are hidden from the scene and replaced with a static 3d model. Probably in a similar way we saw Will during the third person cutscenes in pre-dux. (Which is proof that there is already a pre existing 3d model for will.) This is the same trick id used in doom eternal. Doomguy doesnt have a third person model. He gets replaced with the static model upon toggling photo mode. One of the older development tricks in the book. The model doesn't have to have different clothes, simply using the standard Mackenzie / Astrid models would be enough. Only thing that would really have to be added is creating these models in different poses for the photo mode. It wouldn't be as high effort as you think.

So this is literally the most photogenic game I've ever played and while taking screenshots during gameplay is already amazing, since hinterland has seemed to nail 3d modeling characters I have a suggestion.

A true photo mode. Where we can zoom out and catch our character in the shot in 3rd person in a variety of poses and be able to alter the camera. Poses would include our survivor standing holding tools or weapons, and perhaps "combat" poses where he might be flinching or aiming the revolver, holding his hatchet up ready to attack, etc. for photos involving hostile wildlife. What y'all think?

8 hours ago, acada said:

Nice idea. I would take it little bit deeper. When the wolfie is fully healed, you could release him. So from now there is one friendly wolf in the BI.

But will he go back to some pack? Or will he remain loner? If he is in pack again, I think you lost your friend. When the pack attack occurs and you kill some wolfs, your former friend could be there. And if we should be really pushing the idea, there could be one carcass with some recognizable marks.

But if he would be loner, you can recognize him from far and approach him with juicy raw steak. 

I love that idea! That would be wild to release him and then one day have to kill a wolf with a unique scar that you healed and recognize your friend. That would be such a surreal experience.

17 hours ago, Fitz said:

I love this idea. It does run completely counter to the main premise of the "lonely apocalypse" and would take a lot of work to introduce; either of which mean this will probably never happen, but I still really like it. I've wanted some sort of dependent (animal or child) to care for for years. I still doubt that it'll happen though.

That's the idea of him not being a "companion" where he would follow you around everywhere. Knowing that you've been alone up until this point. And finally finding a friend in this cold, quiet apocalypse... just to have to release him and watch him run away into the woods, knowing you're alone again. That's really the whole point of that's experience I suppose 

I only mentioned the idea of having a follower companion because I know a lot of people have been asking for it. I personally wouldn't like that, I think it would take away from the experience. But if hinterland did want to go that way this would be a nice test trial to play with the idea

So let's talk about the wolf in the cannery behind the keypad door. I have questions, such as how and why is he even in there since there seems to be no other way in than the closed door and the dock is collapsed. But that's a discussion for another topic. I see nothing but potential in this wolf.

Let's say he's taking shelter from the timber wolves. He was bitten and is bleeding all over the place, whimpering in the corner. Surely death is approaching... until you stumble across him. In this what if scenario you would have two options. You can put him out of his misery. Or, since he's too weak to fight you... you can wrap his wounds and sit with him for a while. Comfort him. Offer him some water or a bit of meat. Then when you return he might be up walking around. He would still growl at you and be skittish and wouldn't approach you. But he wouldn't charge you. You could continue feeding him and it would work like a trust meter of sorts. The more time you spend with him and feed him the more he would be comfortable around you until eventually you have your very own pet wolf. Now let's be realistic. This wouldn't be like dog meat from fallout. It would simply be a moral dilemma. Do you take on an extra mouth to feed to save this poor wolf's life against a mutual enemy, do you shoot him yourself and waste a bullet to ease his pain, or would you simply loot and walk away listening to his whines and leave him to his fate? Maybe he pulls through and next time you come to make some ammo he'd  be waiting for you, more aggressive than other wolves due to starvation and isolation. You can nurse him to health, visit him every day and even pet him when he warms up to you. But this wolf is more of a friend than a pet or a companion. He won't go exploring with you. But when he is healthy, and you're ready to move on to the next map and can't take care of him anymore, you would let him out of the building and he will simply scurry off into the woods. This would be killing two birds with one stone as it would offer a new awesome experience and gameplay mechanic to focus on, but also set the ground work for possibly having a companion to follow you one day. Like a little test trial.

I've finally gotten around to playing the most recent update. I tried it a little when it first came out but didn't give it enough play time for a full post about it. It is rather phenomenal. I love the timber wolf behaviour and my first experience with this update was starting a fresh game on the new map at dusk on stalker. I found the new cannery location and it was a massive breath of fresh air until I noticed I was being surrounded by Timber wolves. And not only that, but the lights began flickering to life. An Aurora on my very first night in this brand new map in a new location. I was freezing, tired and hungry. But ecstatic. It was an amazing experience. The wolves chased me into the buildings and I tried sneaking from building to building going between the storage containers and debris until they sniffed me out. At this point I found a naval flare and it did stop them from charging me, then in the spur of the moment I saw the climbing rope going to the top level and you bet I scurried up that thing as fast as possible. Walking along the planks, finding the notes and exploring with the wolf pack snarling up at me was a truly terrifying experience. Shimmying along the narrow wooden beams knowing if I slip there's no coming back. And then finding what I assume was husband and wife clutching to each other frozen in the corner of one of the buildings. Brand new character models aswell. It felt so surreal and told such a tragic story that I even refused to loot the corpses. It sickened me to think of robbing these bodies, which is something I've never had a real issue with before. These two just seemed more... real to me. Anyway. It was an incredible experience. Almost like a horror game. It's a new experience that I've never had with this game before and it breathed fresh life into it for me. Honestly, well done Hinterland. I love it.

I do have some issues with it though. Entirely constructive criticism. I already reported this and hinterland replied they're doing their utmost to fix the problem, but on xbox one the autosave locks the game up for a good 10 - 15 seconds. This wouldn't be a problem anywhere else, but during timber wolf encounters the game saves when you get bitten. It really pulls you out of the whole timber wolf experience when fending off the pack and your game freezes every time one takes a nibble. Not a big issue, just a little immersion breaking and again hinterland has told me they're working on the problem. Hope to see that ironed out soon

I love the ammunition crafting. it's so handy but there is one little problem... I got to almost level 5 in the skill, in one in game night. The progression is way too fast. I only made about 50 revolver rounds and was an instant expert. Only about 10 of those rounds are poor quality aswell. I think the progression should be a little slowed to up the challenge but that is just my opinion.

finally, the flares man. They just don't work. In my experience they stop the wolves from charging as long as they're held. If I throw it the wolf stands right on top of the flare and doesn't scare off so I lose the flare in an attempt to scare off the wolves. This makes actually fighting off the timber wolf pack absolutely impossible without the revolver since that's the only other thing you can use to scare them. If you have timber wolves on you, and no revolver with no shelter to duck into, you're pretty much completely screwed. The flares have not scared off wolves for me in a very very long time. Ever since they were changed from flailed to thrown. They're pretty much absolutely useless to me and I always pass them up when I see them. They also have the same effect on the normal wolves. I throw the flare and the wolf either just stands on top of it or walks right over it and charges me anyway. Very annoying, that is.

also regarding the timber wolves I absolutely love that you gave me the option to turn off the pack morale meter. I thought that was really stupid. It's a lot more immersive and tense to not know if you're actually doing anything to them. I imagine it's a nice tool for new or casual players, but again, I just really respect that you give me the option not to use it

and that wraps up my little review. I hope it's helpful and doesn't come off as overly critical. Just my own views and experiences. Cheers, hinterland, and thank you for another absolutely amazing update and the brand new experience. Y'all are absolutely awesome! 

1 hour ago, RegentRelic said:

The bear spear as it is would be over powered but, hinterlands has stated multiple times that they want to tweak it and it to survival play.

Haven't heard much about it lately, just checking in on the progress

don't misunderstand, I'm not complaining about it or anything haha I'm really glad to see this update and it looks absolutely spectacular. I'm tempted to leave work early to go play it tonight. But alas, I gotta make that money. This 12 hour shift ain't gonna work itself 😛

This update looks amazing and I can't wait to play it, but is the bear spear still coming to survival mode? It's so awkward to me hunting bear with the rifle and this is what I'm waiting on the most

14 hours ago, diggity said:

May I recommend Kick Ass coffee by Kicking Horse^® Coffee.   Black and strong and beautiful.  They also do Half Ass, Smart Ass, Grizzly Claw & many more.  Canadian eh.

I'll put it on the list! There's another I wanted to try, I think it's called black powder or something like that. They had a banned commercial you can't find on YouTube anymore. Showed a guy wrapped up in a blanket in the middle of a war zone sipping his coffee and there was a little jingle that said "when your day is in the suck... just don't give a ****"

It was the most amazing thing I believe I've ever seen in my life. I was just like "yeah I'll take twelve" 

14 hours ago, Carbon said:

The idea that the game is not striving to be a faithful simulation isn't at all a grey area, it's a fact. As I said, though it may veer closer and farther from some known reality doesn't say anything contrary to the established fact that it is a fantasy. I think it's a valid conclusion to claim that the current sprain system isn't at all realistic in any sense and why should it be? And where exactly is the game striving for realism? I can't think of one system that accurately portrays any objective reality. Ok...it snows. There's one. It gets windy. Two. But past these more banal examples, I really can't think of anything objective.

 Maybe the reason why this keeps coming up in the context of TLD (and not in Star Wars games) is that the fantasy isn't so far from a common and well-known reality and our familiarity with aspects/elements of particular aspects of the game leads us to believe that  represented reality 'X' in the game should more accurately mirror the real 'X', but there is no foundation for this assertion. Why should in-game 'X' be more like 'X' in real life? So, a kind of Appeal to Nature variant mixed with a confirmation/familiarity bias? I'm not well-read on all aspects of ludology or game criticism enough to label exactly what's going on here concisely, but I guess that there is something akin to what I described. We know 'X in real life' and judge 'representation of X in game' according to our understanding of 'real X'. We thus have difficulty suspending our disbelief towards those aspects of which we are more familiar. I don't see anyone making complaints about the harvesting/repair systems though, probably because we don't know much about those things, as a contrary example.

Anyhow, the railing against reality as a yardstick by which to measure the game might go away simply because of redundancy, but it will never go away because it becomes a valid premise to justify a conclusion about an aspect of the game. We should be happy enough to state and discuss our opinions on these matters and not strive to dress them up as truths or valid arguments.

Again, @diggity, no disrespect intended at all. Just talking.

The realism argument is a small issue to the bigger picture. The way it currently is, even from a video game standpoint, it could use some more balancing. It just doesn't work, real or not.

5 hours ago, Carbon said:

I wasn't being passive/aggressive, I was simply showing that arguments based on 'realism' are invalid and suggesting a solution. You don't have to treat the sprain. Again, most community challenges have come about by players setting their own rules - typically limitations - and adhering to them. It's a choice and to set your own limitations is as valid as the game's hard-coded rules. It's your run and you can make your own story and rules...play it how you want.

 Pain does affect my playing (I can't speak for everyone): the character whinging constantly and the blurred edges are a strong motivator, particularly if I get a sprain early in the day and have a lot of ground to cover. It's just annoying to continuously hear and see that and I don't want to have that continue. The pain meds being finite are the punishment - or deterrent, if you want - to getting sprains. Not having them or needing to take the time, energy and materials (wood, precious matches or needing a sunny day if you're lucky enough to have the mag lens) to brew RH tea are all negative side-effects of sprains. The bandage returns mobility but trying to carry on in pain drastically affects my enjoyment of the game, so I'm strongly motivated to avoid getting sprains.

 The point is that pain does have consequences and meaningful ones (again, for me) all within the context of the game. So your calls for these consequences to be more severe are just your opinion and to base those calls on reality has no foundation given that the entire premise of the game is essentially a fantasy. Yes, the game is a reflection of reality, veering closer in some aspects and farther in others, but it's not trying to re-create reality. And yes, as I said, perhaps your ideas will be implemented, as this is our place for discussion. But certainly we are allowed to politely debate these ideas with one another which is what I believe I'm doing.

No disrespect intended at all and I apologize if you took anything I wrote that way. I responded not to simply be contrary or antagonistic, but to voice my opinion toward your ideas, that's all.

 

I apologize about that then, I definitely took your response the wrong way.

I suppose the pain mechanic varies from person to person. It doesn't much effect me but I can see how it could get annoying. 

Okay, maybe two days is a bit much. From what I've seen on this topic people mostly have an issue with the duration. I personally wouldn't mind it, but this is a game for all of us. So. Scratch that. How about the exact same idea I originally stated, but 4 hours of rest for heal. Painkillers would take away the pain effect, and a bandage would stop you from limping and let you walk full speed. But you still have to get to your shelter and rest that foot up for a few hours if you wanna do any running.

6 hours ago, Carbon said:

 Well, invalid premises will beget invalid conclusions.

 The "realism" argument is equally exhausting and exhausted. At every moment we are asked to suspend reality, an idea toward which I'm sure you don't require detailed information. An argument that founds itself on realism in a game which not only makes no claim to be a simulation but actually makes claims to the contrary on each and every startup just seems....invalid.

 It's simply your opinion that the mechanics are "broken", hence this topic being in the "wish list" and not in a formal bug report. Your idea has gone from a desire to now stating that the system is broken but language alone doesn't change opinions into arguments. It's not broken, it just isn't the way you want. I see no more suspension of disbelief in ignoring meds and bandages than using leather taken from running shoes to make hiking boots new; they both require the 'forgetting' of reality. Heck, the very premise upon which the entire game is founded requires this, yet we play.

 I really don't want to argue at all. It's not that you're wrong in reality - we've all had bad sprains that don't go away in an instant - but it's a game and there is a lot of creative license taken at each and every moment. It's good that we can state our ideas and I don't doubt that the developers read those ideas and take them into consideration. Perhaps you will be vindicated with a patch or an update incorporating your ideas. But they are just opinions based on a faulty premise in the end.

 After all, anything is possible in Disneyland.

 Take care mate.

The wish list is also here for the community to discuss the impact of these ideas and debate about their possible balancing in the game before any action is taken to the idea, so you can drop the passive aggressiveness there, bucko, that is unless you have something useful to add to or argue against the topic.

And as I stated above, it's only fair with the afflictions we have now. There's a cause and effect to every affliction in this game, except sprains. The sprain mechanic is so useless it may as well not even be there. It effects us none at all, and that isn't an opinion. It is, very factually, unbalanced, sorry to say.

6 hours ago, sierra 117 said:

Rosehips, and reishi mushrooms do not respawn.

You may have had a play through which was still ongoing during a major update/ map change.

Which sometimes can cause these resources to respawn/reset with map/region changes.

As far as i am aware the only things that respawn(not including beachcombimg) are coal  and birchbark

Oh, I didn't know that, thanks for letting me know. Yeah I must of been playing through a map change and got confused. Still, my point remains though. Even if painkillers are very finite it truly doesn't make a difference. Most of the time when that pain affliction pops up I forget I have pain killers in my pack, that's how little it matters. The screen effect doesn't make much difference and is actually kinda neat to look at, being a new addition to the game

On 12/1/2019 at 8:56 PM, ajb1978 said:

Agreed.  And inform the player more precisely what their sprain risk actually is, and when the dice are rolled.  Exploration is a huge point of the game, and punishing the player that severely for playing the game correctly is a great way to piss pretty much everyone off.  So if sprains are made so severe that they cripple you for two game days, then they should be as rare as dysentery.

(And I've been playing this game 4 years now, and never once had dysentery.)

I humbly, completely disagree. Let's look at dysentery. Why have you never got dysentery? Because you have much more sense than to drink unboiled water. Wanna know how to avoid a sprain? Don't try to walk up a damn near 90 degree slope covered in deep snow. It's simple to avoid. Personally, I don't get why you would want to know the EXACT chance of getting a sprain at every possible moment. Isn't that all the fun of a survival game? Not knowing when tragedy is going to strike and doing your best to prepare for it and avoid it? The long dark has always been, or used to be, very punishing for it's players. And they were proud of that. It didn't "piss people off," it drove the players to learn the game to avoid getting themselves in those situations. But alas, the long dark is becoming less and less of a gritty hardcore punishing survival game and more of a casual gamers nature walk as time goes on. And I can't say I'm pleased with the change.

18 hours ago, Lohaan said:

Consider the effect this will have on challenges...such as Hopeless Rescue. Get one sprain and your speedrun is finished. This will kill speedrunning altogether... I like the idea of how painkillers should work because they are totally useless at the moment apart from making a nice effect for your screenshots.But also....keep in mind that realism is not a good benchmark for this game. There is so much about it that's not realistic. And the devs are trying to make an interesting experience rather than a realistic one, so making it "more realistic" is not going to necessarily make the game better. But agreed on your original point...the sprains system is still kinda meh...although we've learned how to get around sprains to some degree. 

That is a valid point, and something I didn't think about. Maybe as @Skelegutplays mentioned above, this could be solved by introducing a new item, a bottle of prescription painkillers. With prescription painkillers and a bandage, it would completely negate the effects of the sprain and allow you to move normally for a few hours. During survival mode, the drop rate would be rare, whereas during specific challenge modes they would be more common to compensate for needing to move faster. However I don't personally believe that making a mechanic easier to compensate for a challenge mode is the right move for a survival game.

As far as realism goes, I think my point is a fair one. You get bit by a wolf, you bleed, you don't disinfect it, you get a nasty infection, you don't boil your water, you get dysentery, etc. Etc. There are plenty of realistic consequences for neglecting your survivor. Then we have the sprains. You fall down trying to spiderman your way across a cliff, or walk up a way too steep hill and get a sprain... well... doesn't matter. At all. There's no consequence whatsoever if you can just slap a bandage on it, be 100 percent and call it a day. The sprain mechanic may as well not even exist. Painkillers either for that matter. It's very very unbalanced.

17 hours ago, Carbon said:

 I think the challenge is more about finding and consuming finite, non-renewable resources than hobbling the player for extended periods.

 I suppose if you feel strongly about it, don't take the meds or use the bandage and limp around for your requisite 2 days. If you make this choice, you get what you want while everyone else is also happy not having to do that. This is how the Deadman challenge was created: players setting and adhering to rules they set for themselves.

This is not a valid argument and I'm really tired of hearing this. "If you don't like it just pretend it's not there."

No. This is a survival game and I will utilize every mechanic to my benefit, in the name of survival. "Pretend it's not there" does NOT compensate for unbalanced game mechanics.

Please tell me which of these resources are finite. There is enough cloth in one map to make more bandages than you could ever use in a single game. Bandages are in no way finite. And as I stated, painkillers do nothing but remove a screen effect. Sure they are finite to an extent. Keep in mind rose hips grow back and they have the exact same effect. But they are completely useless. The pain mechanic simply doesn't matter in its current state, and neither of which resources you speak of, are finite. In fact they are virtually infinite.

10 hours ago, Hawk said:

If HL were to make changes similar to what you suggest, they would also need to reduce the possibility of getting sprains, IMHO.

 

Not necessarily. Sprain chance is quite low, unless you're walking up a ridiculously steep hill, in which case I can see slipping and twisting your ankle, especially in deep snow. Making the sprain mechanics actually matter would really push some deeper survival decisions as well. Imagine the deer you're tracking dies on the side of a steep cliff. Well as of now that really doesn't matter whatsoever since your guy has magic bandages that instaheal a sprain. Wish I had some of those right about now. Anyway, you'd have to think "well there's a high chance I'm gonna slip and really hurt myself, and be out of commission for a couple days. is that meat REALLY worth it?"

Alright so 2 days ago, I hopped off the tailgate of my dad's pickup and landed on my foot sideways. Yeah I know. Ouch. So I went to the doctor to get it xrayed because I was pretty sure it was broken. I really couldn't tell since my adrenaline was pretty high.

Anyway. They slapped a bandage on the sprained ankle and to my surprise I still wasn't able run at full speed incase of a surprise wolf attack.

My suggestion is this. You get a sprained ankle. The pain affliction, whereas now where it makes painkillers totally useless, should impair your focus much more. For example, you can't do maintenance on your tools or crafting, unless you take pain killers. The pain killers should let you keep your focus for a short while but the pain should persist through the duration of the sprain, making pain killers a balanced and useful mechanic instead of the sugar pills they are now.

Now. The bandage. The bandage should let you move slightly faster and get rid of the limping screen effect. That's it. Still no running. And the heal time should be 2 days of rest because it's still a video game. In reality a sprain could take several weeks to heal, but I don't think anyone would want that here.

Wrist sprains would be very similar. Same thing with the painkillers. But with a bandage, we should be able to shoot a firearm or pull a bow, however VERY inaccurately. Accuracy would increase with use of painkillers, but still more inaccurate than a healthy wrist.

I know the long dark is a game, but it is based around realism. So it should be a scaled down version of how it would REALLY be. Sprains do not magically go away with slapping a bandage on them. Although this is an improvement from the original sprain mechanic it's still just not right

Guys.

GUYS.

I just had a wolf run INTO a hunting stand to attack me.

Is nothing sacred anymore!? We're not safe anywhere!!

7 hours ago, ThePancakeLady said:

Read the text at the top of the page. They tell you what regions we have to play in for 4DoN, there are only 4 of them.

It's literally the first sentence under the big splash screen image...

I must of missed that. No need to be a smartass, thank you though.

So is desolation point closed off for 4don or was the transition moved elsewhere?

20 hours ago, Ghosty 1944 said:

Is there anyone in the United States that has the update on xbox one?

Mine updated last night. You should have it by now

Will we be getting the bear spear in the next update? I can't wait to jump back into survival mode after the next update, however I think I'm gonna wait until all episodes are done to play wintermute again. Very excited for the survival mode update! The game has come such a long way since predux

1 hour ago, Martin Prchal said:

No, I never got to meet Fluffy. I have heard many stories about her for sure. However, I have met her cousin in HRV.

56 minutes ago, dead frozen dude said:

She were a sweet girl, weren't she?

(Screenshot timestamped 24 July 2017)

I like to think that upon being evicted from the dam due to lack of space via renovation, fluffy packed all her things and moved out to coastal highway where she found a mate and had lots of puppies and had a long and fruitful life. I miss you fluffy. Forever in our hearts 😢

16 hours ago, Martin Prchal said:

I came after the cooking update and I have to say I don't know how you guys did it the old way 

It was a dark, but much simpler time. I can't remember when they updated the dam - did you ever get to meet fluffy? I miss fluffy. She was my first death!

Of course we all prefer the game in its updated state, but it's very important to remember where we came from! I'm so glad that I was lucky enough to hear about the game and buy it in game preview early on in its development. I remember watching Jacksepticeye play this on YouTube thinking "man this is never gonna make it to Xbox."

And a month later it was released on game preview! I jumped at the chance. And I can't help but reminisce on the old days as I play the game as it is now. I would love to some how get hold of an older build of the game just to go back and experience that again

12 minutes ago, TheEldritchGod said:

Bah. Include it to scare bears and you can make it a plaid flare for all I care. Either that or give me my bear spear in the survival game. Damn I love that thing.

+1. I love that thing too. It reminds me of The Edge. I'M GONNA KILL THE BEAR! SAY IT!!!

the flare gun works wonders against the bear btw, if you're having trouble with bears. Bottom of the ravine or top of timberwolf mtn. Idk how the revolver fairs - I haven't been unlucky enough to NEED to try it and I hope I never am. I try to give bears a wide berth