RossBondReturns

3 hours ago, Deseoso said:

Okay, I'll hold my hands up and say that I feel better about the release of the DLC now. I was not aware that there was a second team working on the DLC. I was picturing that they had put all the work on Chapter 5 on hold so they could produce something else that they could charge us for. I am glad to have it clarified that that is not the case. I was dreading that this was going to be another repeat of The Gallery games, Call of the Starseed and Heart of the Emberstone. If you are not familiar with them, they are two of the best VR games I ever played but they were part one and part two of a trilogy story that the developers never bothered to finish in favor of working on a completely different project with no intention to ever finish the story they started.

 

Hearing that they are still working on chapter 5 has changed my mind and I probably will pick up the DLC because Hinterland have always produced very high quality content. I'm sure the DLC won't disappoint and will hopefully tide us over until Chapter 5 is finished. Thanks for the clarification.

That's awesome, I'm glad I could bring peace of mind and clarity to the situation- I hope you enjoy the DLC.

Speaking of that, please remember, that the whole thing is being released across the year with 5 Updates 8-10 weeks apart.

I am hoping this is made clearer on the Expansion page if not now...after the New Year.

So people can see what update one has added and perhaps what is planned for Update 2.

It could be referring to the corpse that is always on the newly fixed bridge to the new transition- and marking the new transition at the same time.

1 hour ago, hozz1235 said:

I don't think we're expecting it to be laid out for the next 12 months - that would be unrealistic and set HL up for, potentially, false promises.  I DO think it is fair to communicate what will be released as they finalize it - maybe a week(?) before Part 2 comes out, or days, or heck, THE day.

I 100 percent agree with this.

I just think certain people are blowing this out of all proportion to reality.

I was working when the update went live...and yes I know it went roughly...but it was fixed within an hour or two and we've been playing since then.

I've been through other games in the past that have bolloxed major updates...was it annoying, you betcha...was I saying- "That's the LAST STRAW I will never trust them again ever, and neither should all the other fans that have devoted so much time to this game!"

No- of course not.

Will the next release be better...absolutely.

5 minutes ago, The Riddler said:

Please change the roadmap on the website so that people understand exactly what will be available and when @Admin

The problem with that is that they themselves simply don't know when certain things will become available.

In fact if  you read the small print at the bottom of the Expansion page it says:

Where each item fits into the release plan depends on development progress and priorities. We will strive to deliver every item on the Roadmap, but some items may be swapped out for others based on progress and community feedback. In the event that we choose to swap an item out from the Roadmap, we will always endeavour to replace it with something of the same “value”.

This is not something as simple as saying well this will go there and that will come way down the line. Some things that might have seemed easy to do might take much longer and vice-versa.

2 hours ago, Deseoso said:

I have to say I am a little annoyed. I find it rather cheeky that you bring out an expansion that you expect people to pay for when you haven't completed the base game that we have all already paid for. When I saw that the expansion was out I reinstalled TLD thinking I could finally play episode 5. I was very surprised to still see the message that it will be unlockable in the future. I don't know about other players but I point blank refuse to pay money for an expansion to a game that you haven't completed yet.

 

Imagine if Peter Jackson had made The Fellowship of the Ring and then The Two Towers but then decided, "Ah, can't be bothered to make Return of the King. Lets make part one of The Hobbit instead." I guarantee people would have been rightfully angry and many would simply refuse to go see his new film until he finished Lord of the Rings.

 

When can we expect the game that we already paid for to finally be finished?

Just to put this in perspective, this was the first survival game I ever got...but I initially really got it for story mode. I assumed I would never get into playing survival mode. After  nearly 5,200 hours the vast majority of which was in survival how do I feel about story?

I feel as if they've done a fantastic job!

Originally Hinterland was planning on short Telltale games length episodes...they were thinking 2-4 hours each. To say that was a little off would be an understatement, I can easily play 6 hours in Chapter 1 itself. The full game is going to be at least quadruple the size that they had originally planned! Then they remade Chapters 1 and 2 much improving them- and then a while after that Crossroads Elegy...and then in spite of working remotely they got Chapter 4 out to us last Christmas.

We know that there is a lot of story to wrap up and a lot of places to explore- it is easily going to be the longest Chapter yet.

In order for them to facilitate a faster output on the final Chapter they mace the choice to Separate the Survival and Story modes entirely. This made it so that changes could be made to Story without having to exhaustively make sure there were no issues or bugs across both story and survival. That is why it would take forever to update the game.

Now that both are separate they now have separate teams as well- with one team working on the final Chapter of Story mode and the other working on the free updates to the survival sandbox and the TFTFT DLC.

This enables the survival sandbox/TFTFT to be worked on concurrently and separately from the team working on the final chapter of Story mode. Which in turn allows the Sandbox/TFTFT to be updated as often as the sandbox was updated in the Early Access days. This also means that while we are indeed waiting for the final Chapter of Story mode we are continuously getting updates to refine the game further until the final Chapter drops (currently Dec 2023 at the earliest).

The main reason that TFTFT came about is actually because the fans requested it. They wanted Hinterland to expand the island and refine the gameplay and they are the ones that wanted to pat $19.99 (or their countries equivalent).

People can choose not to get TFTFT and still get sandbox updates every 8-10 weeks for free. All of this work will help the team working specifically on the final Chapter as well.

To make it abundantly clear you do NOT have to purchase TFTFT if you don't want to get the DLC...you will still get free survival updates all year.

Also to make it crystal clear, anyone who purchased TLD well get, AS PROMISED, all 5 Chapters of the story for free with than initial purchase.

I am not worried or concerned with how long story mode is taking to reach completion, because when Hinterland have dropped a new chapter it has always been of the highest quality.

So I look at it this way, I get what was promised by Hinterland with my original purchase- and I eagerly await Chapter 5 because I know based on all that Hinterland has done with TLD, that the wait for Chapter 5 will be absolutely worth it.

And yet while I wait I choose to show my thanks to Hinterland for all the time and effort they've put into TLD over the years by purchasing a DLC that one isn't required to purchase- and I get to play brand new TLD throughout the time of anxious waiting for Chapter/Episode 5 of the Story.

Hinterland are not being underhanded, they are being generous.

Yet I also choose to purchase the DLC because

Speak for yourself mate...

Forgiven and forgotten right here.

This game is absolutely art, and fine art at that, and it keeps getting better and better!

Aurora on a Knife's Edge

I ran into a Bear while looting Final Approach.

Then I must've got very unlucky in my Stalker run because I was finding less loot.

I was finding it, much to my delight, tougher than it had been.

Camo...the gold plated one is Curator's.

Yes that was lovingly referred to by me as the "Dev Testing Trailer" before they hotfixed it.

Since then they've been shipped out to various spawn points in the entire Map of Great Bear.

54 minutes ago, hozz1235 said:

Perhaps a toggleable setting for those who do like that "annoucement"?

Or as I noted in my post...if it's for a limited time to get used to the new spawns great.

If it's not we have a way to check instantly if we want to know. (Check the Map) It'll be blank but you'll know the region.

It just seems wrongheaded. Hinterland says they want us to not know where you are with new player spawns...and then on spawn the game tell you right away what region you're in.

I prefer Curator's for Knockdown Power and Looks.

The sight on Barb's is amazing...and it feels great.

haven't tested Vaughn's yet.

30 minutes ago, ChillPlayer said:

Ah okay, thanks. But it is not confirmed yet what has already been released? From this thread so far only Rifle, Lantern and Bow have been found - I have the first two, guess I'm heading to HRV now.

For the record I looked all over HRV and didn't find it.

I found Barbs Rifle somewhere in CH (not spoiling location) just region it also spawns in multiple places.

I found Spelunker's Lantern  (Between TWM and AC) but it spawns in multiple places.

I love the major piece of hidden loot that can spawn in a easy to miss location in Transfer Pass.

Also it seems as if the amount of predator wildlife that spawns in Far Range Branch Line is random...my 3rd time through there was plenty.

12 minutes ago, Leeanda said:

I wasn't saying they didn't ,I'm just replying to the comment about wanting less info on it.   It's all well and good wanting to discover by yourself but who will buy something if they don't know anything about it. 

that's all I meant really. No malice or anything of that nature. 🙂

Yeah, I understand.

I just think that the main impetus of the thread is that they didn't clearly tell us...and yet...they actually did.

Each section of the video even had titles.

I'm not sure how they could've made it clearer.

I will say though that I have heard sounds that are new that could be equated to a stalking Cougar.

The game has added such sounds before...but they were used for other things...like settling rubble in caverns.

I honestly wouldn't mind if they added the Cougar silently since it is a silent stalker.

For instnace in the video they could touch on many of the things in the, say, upcoming update/next DLC drop...and then say find out more in the Release Notes. And in the release notes it says...We also added the Cougar...Shhhhh.

And they could have more listed in the release notes...but have those be optional...so those who want to can be surprised.

If you have no tea...and have been attacked by wildlife getting insomnia can be deadly.

Because you fail to get sleep which means you continually loose condition.

And if you were attacked by a Bear and a wolf...(like happened to me) and have no Tea...then yes the stacking issues of Condition loss on condition loss can bring death.

2 hours ago, Leeanda said:

People should be told what they're paying for.  

If you watch the update video they had a section which clearly laid out what the Paid DLC branch were getting in the update...and what the free branch was getting.

It was clear and well done.

Can't wait for the next update...loving the DLC so far.

On 12/9/2022 at 7:26 PM, MarrowStone said:

Are acorns in the game? I passed under several of the oak looking trees in the Forsaken Airfield and found none. 

Acorns are not added yet.

I will probably write a longer post later but I am very very happy with both a year long DLC...and the chance to support Hinterland by paying for said DLC. They have over and abundantly delivered as far as I'm concerned.

Here's a link to a tweet I made to all involved that Raphael Shared and liked:

My post of Thanks to Raph and the Team for an amazing start to TFTFT!
 

After a few more runs I have to agree with this post.

There is zero reason to put up the information on what region we have spawned in.

You added new player spawns so we would be confused about where we might be. I had a great one a few minutes ago that I was wondering where I was at until Timberwolf Mountain Region appeared on my screen. And as soon as that came up...I figured out exactly where I was in TWM.

I've also noticed that generally speaking each player spawn is within perhaps 30-40 steps from a New Location Trigger. So within 30 seconds a location trigger would pop up and from that if you know your locations you yourself would know where you are. (4 out of 4 starts since the DLC drop this has been the case).

Also if people really want to know what region there is, all they have to do is push the button for the Map whatever that is on their gameplay device...and a blnak map comes up with the Region they are in.

The player might know where they are, the character spawning in sure as heck shouldn't.

Now if this is for a limited time for new players it's understandable...but if not it makes no sense.

You said you wanted us to not know where we were, you wanted the new loot spawns and player spawn to combine to make things new again. Item Spawns are working great...but telling us where our player spawns...when you tell us right away. It's incompatible.

Insomnia without tea...and if you are already hurting for Condition will quickly further ruin your condition.

This could easily lead to a spiral into lower or lower condition.

Sometimes waiting is not an option, because waiting will worsen your condition on top of the insomnia.

If your condition is low enough, and you have no tea, you will continue to loose condition because you might not even get an hours worth of sleep at a time.

Leading to a spiral of lower and lower condition.

Also a word on tea...tea is very handy in the game as drinking it enables you to sleep better speeding up recovery by allowing better sleep. In my 5,000 plus hours I've used Tea many, many times long before now.

It works very well against insomnia allowing you to grab 3 hours or so of sleep per cup...but if you run out of cups that could be a huge issue.

There is an autowalk function under accessibility I believe (don't use it myself).

They are all over the place to encourage regular gameplay and not just running right to the Far Territory.

Hmmm interesting, I don't remember that happening on my two post DLC runs.

My first spawn was at night...but looking towards the lighthouse from a distance.

I think this could be to help new players a little bit because all the player spawns are new and not everyone know that quick push m for map trick.

I can totally understand that- I have many thousands of hours...but we are constantly having new players join the community- and having the region pop up would be helpful for them.

Such a warning/hint could be removed after some time...like signs for a new roundabout or 4 way stop are once people are use to them.