manolitode

Congrats on your first summit on loper :) I say pick up your cattails and go for DP and do some crafting. While you seem capable you are also very under-equipped. If you go for the gold mine without AC map knowledge you're likely going to die on the mountain. It's about time you get a bow and start doing some hunting. There aren't many bears in AC but there are plenty of wolves so you need tools. It's preferable to go to any unfamiliar region with a full belly, well fed and a full set of animal clothing. But AC also means a lot of climbing. If you have a moose hide satchel you can climb with enough weight of coal to keep you warm at least through one night of blizzard in the wild. And even better, 15 sticks and 5 pieces of cloth. Long story short, you've been fast and visited some important locations. But you haven't prioritzed safety and the cold is about to catch up with you.

You may not believe it but there are reasons to love Pleasant Valley: Why Pleasant Valley deserves your love - Survival Mode - Hinterland Forums. I never start a serious playthrough anywhere else anymore. Once you know where to look, PV can be a gold mine.

It goes with saying but don't go goating up and down the mountainside with your best playthrough ever, exploring every inch of every cliff. Use a clean new voyager run for exploring, and you won't have to wipe so many tears. I talk from experience.

There are plenty of enjoyable "points" in TLD if you like survival games. Level up fishing, find the tools you need, cure your first gut, kill your first moose, craft and find unique items, loot the plane on TWM summit, craft a bow, fill your endgame base with all the stuff you could possibly need, learn how to safely go head to head with wolves. Not everyone enjoys tasks like these but if you do there are hundreds of hours worth of gaming within a single playthrough.

Great update! I usually start my morning with half an hour of TLD survival so it's really neat to hear your thoughts about the future. And the good news about episode 4. You can tell from the survey that you have paid close attention to the voices of this forum. Paying for additional content make a lot of sense to me.

Them folks up there in Canada are simply way too cool for jumping.

More long-term objectives would be much appreciated. While we do get a longer game with every new map that is added, this only happens once a year or so. And it's a double-edged sword. On the one hand every new region means more possible time spent per playthrough. On the other hand more items equals more monotonous dragging stuff back to our base, at least for us obsessive hoarders So what type of end-game content would you like to see? Lots of games go for the design-your-home or design-your-village idea, which has been discussed plenty of times before on this forum. Thinking of AAA games with such expansions that I've played, the concept was usually more intriguing than the actual implementations in the end. I would very much like to see the crafting ladder expanded. Meaning bearskin coat and moose-hide satchel is not the end. Instead you could use plenty of hides to craft larger tools. For instance, combining two bear hides and a couple of cured guts that you can twine around trees at your base to deter wolves from the area. Or you could combine 4 moose hides and 15 guts to craft an insulating floor for your fishing cabin, gaining a little warmth. A more simple yet palpable addition to endgame would be a more significant temperature drop starting from around day 200. Meaning you have to take measures to start preparing for the great cold before that. Preferably we would not be able to stay warm in certain caves and buildings anymore.

I believe the cured gut could be modified.

When the aurora serve as a flamboyant backdrop to your nightly dreams.

No, I don't see how it would be ideal and I don't make the case that it is. The way I understood the developers' posts in another topic this week it is survival that draws most new players. Maybe because Wintermute release has been slow enough to discourage new players, but it could also be the other way around, that Wintermute development has been assigned less resources since it doesn't draw enough new players. It sounds reasonable that momentum would have had some effect on sales, I won't debate that. I just don't think that 15 months without a new release kills most narratives as you suggested earlier. 15 hours for 5 episodes? I spent at least 15 on the first 2 episodes. Anyway, yeah I'm okay with waiting out of habit. As for agreeing or not agreeing, I don't see why we couldn't agree on other issues just because we have different attitudes toward entertainment release intervals.

I think you're 100 % right that the time elapsed between releases can be critical, that the waiting time in itself isn't desirable and that it could as a consequence result in a smaller playerbase. Though I disagree with your previous notion that the audience has disconnected with Wintermute or that it "won't survive 15 months of radio silence". The occasional waves of discontent online about the waiting time is a proof to the opposite, a lot of players still care for the story and can't wait to see it unfold. And even though it's not very helpful to compare a videogame to a Netflix series (brace for a long parenthesis: though the time of entertainment in a 6-10 episode series is about the same as a TLD episode but obviously that depends on your playstyle), or a videogame to a videogame for that matter, a lot of other stories have survived (and thrived) just as long or way longer waiting times. That's just a fact. Recurring episodes with an even interval would be preferable for sure. Speaking of "episodes", I don't want to make this about semantics but I'm curious if the fact that the Wintermute chapters are called "episodes" may have contributed to the playerbase expecting more frequent releases. The word "episode" signals a certain frequency and extent, yet there are full seasons of other games out there that is completed within about the same time as a TLD episode. The John Wick movies have been released every 2-3 years and they're called "chapters". The concept of episodes, seasons, chapters etc are flexible and don't adhere to a given timeframe, it totally depends on the context. I know plenty won't agree but I find it helpful to adjust my expectations to the context, which in The Long Dark world based on previous releases means expecting a couple of years between episodes.

I agree with your compliments to HL but I don't identify with your line of thought when it comes to story. Could you explain further why you think waiting time kills a good story? It seems clear to me that many manage to reignite their love for a tale after ever so long waiting times. I didn't play God of War since 2018, I still feel for the characters and don't mind waiting for the next game. The same goes for Netflix series, you wait 1-2 years for the next narrative from the Crown, Ozark, or whatever you like. Whether it be video games, books, TV-series or movies, we are used to waiting. It seems Raph just confirmed ep 4 and 5 are certainly up for relase, just in case you missed it, here's the link: The Case for Paid Expansions - General Discussion - Hinterland Forums

I had the same experience as the OP when I first began my interloper adventures. I too knew all the maps inside and out and had survived for 200+ days on stalker several times. Still, interloper killed me after 1 day. On the next attempt, 3 days... But as I kept banging my head on the blizzard walls of loopendooper 3 days became 5, and 5 became 8, and 20 and 30 and 100 and 300 etc. I still needed a couple of months to master interloper, meaning I could survive long enough to craft the tools and full set of animal clothing on a regular basis. I didn't need looting tables or google clothing locations, so you don't either. You'll learn some of it by playing over and over anyway and the things you learn through your own experience will stick with you for longer. Someone mentioned luck as a factor in mastering interloper. That is only true til you know your maps, then it's (pretty much) all experience. Predator patrols follow fixed patterns, natural food locations are a little flexible but mostly fixed. And even though the daily blizzard may take you by surprise occassionally you can almost always predict it early enough to return to a shelter. Those who say Interloper is too easy may think so, a few may say it to brag a little. I think it's reasonably difficult as it is, any harder and it would discourage too many new players. I still find Interloper challenging when exploring a new region, like Ash Canyon recently. Because I don't know where the indoor locations are located. Sure, you can counter the risk by carrying snowshelter materials and act as a walking coalmine. But I prefer to travel light and experience the thrill of exposed exploring.

A burning flare with some burning time left will not be extinguished when you walk through a waterfall. Also, a fire you light with a torch can use the very same torch as starting fuel.

Even if you climb on a fallen tree, you have reasons to be wary. If you're at too low a height the predator will sometimes be able to pull you down and maul you. Also, there seem to be non-safe fallen trees, at least the fallen tree close to Deer clearing in TWM where a wolf followed me up the tree trunk. Also, when you find yourself cornered on a rock, you'll be better off once you explore which seemingly undescendable cliffs actually constitute safe ledges.

Here's an idea. My storages and your storages overflows with feathers. I can only recall one occasion where I was short on feathers. Why not make feather access - and thereby arrow availability - a little more challenging? To keep us on our toes even after that first trip to the forge. I propose that 1) the amount of feathers found by corpses is decreased in windy conditions and blizzards, though not necessarily zeroed. 2) there is a feather respawn time by corpses after blizzards, meaning there is an overall smaller chance of finding feathers on any corpse/carcass encounter. 3) feathers respawn one by one. 4) single feathers can be found anywhere but very sparesly, meaning you'll be rewarded for being observant on spots where you wouldn't normally expect to find anything. 5) that the combinations of point 1-4 are implemented with an equation that makes feathers significantly less available than currently. The fact that some feathers in the real world can freeze in the snow and stay there and some can get carried away is not the main point here. The purpose of this implementation would be increased challenge, the realism of wind-carried feathers would be a bonus.

Don't explore new areas until you're decently clothed. But if you have to, bring coal to stay warm. Don't forget to crouch when you exit a building in a wolf-infested/bear area. Don't expect to survive.

I agree word for word. Different backpacks is how you'd want to solve gear loadouts. Sure we can use lockboxes and switch items manually but very few bases have lockboxes (though stone boxes solve this to some degree), there has to be a less cumbersome solution. As for removable backpacks, it's an idea that seem 100 % intuitive to me. In fact I spent my first frustrating hours playing TLD not believing that there wasn't a drop backpack-button. There is the difficulty argument against it, that there's too much of an upside being able to explore more freely. Well, the downside of not carrying gear is huge, no tinder, no sticks, no ammo etc. And I would like to do more scouting without having to rearrange the backpack and drop all stuff in the snow. Other counterarguments is that removable backpacks mean it would be easier to outrun a charging wolf. That could be prevented by a drop backpack animation that lasts seconds, as has been suggested by other before.

While it's pretty harsh to have to start a whole new playthrough in order to find a new dog, the life of the dog would mirror the life of the survivor. You only get one shot and need plenty of miserable failures and efforts to master it. It's a concept that appeals to me but I realize it doesn't suit everyone. Perhaps something like a 100+ day interval before the next encounter would work, as long as the dog is very rare (I'm thinking much rarer than a moose encounter) and vulnerable. This scenario about taking care of the already wounded dog seems like a pleasing way for the player to feel instant affection for his companion. Less dark than what I proposed, I think I'd enjoy playing both scenarios for different reasons. Caring for a pack of dogs opens up some interesting options for travelling and combat as you suggest. I know you said it's a stretch but if the dog pack could handle wolf fights for you there wouldn't be much challenge left for stalker and interloper players. Also, the option of being able to go fast with a pack of dogs pulling a sledge, what does that mean for the overall difficulty. Can you outrun a charging wolf (not just a stalking one)? A charging bear? I like the idea of just the player and the one dog being dependent on their strong bond for survival. It might still feel like a solitary The Long Dark experience, with more dogs I'm not so sure. But it would be a nice project to take care of a whole pack of dogs and bring them to Bleak Inlet. Pack vs pack

Having a dog companion seem to work really well in some other games but I'm not sure how well it would do in The Long Dark. Adding a dog to lategame would make it more interesting for sure. Lets say you can find a dog after 100+ days. You find him by a deer carcass, growling at you. He is quite aggressive after being hunted by berserk wolves for some time. So he attacks you and if your condition is okay you manage to fend him off. If you choose the knife, axe or hammer you kill the poor dog instantly and there's no chance of finding another. If you choose the prybar or fight him barehanded he limps off wounded. At that moment, you can choose to either kill him... or bandage him, feed him and give him water. And that's how his loyalty towards you start to grow and is maintained. The benefit of tracking sounds like a decent idea. While I'm not so sure we need hare hunting to be easier it might make life a little more comfortable. Tracking other animals as well seem like an appropriate idea in order to locate an unfriendly animal or a deer a few seconds earlier than usual. In that case, I would support this if food and water costs for having a dog was high. And if there was a deep level of options, and not just repetitive stuff like feed/hunt/pet. The dog should be quite vulnerable, if you bring him to a bear or wolf fight then the risk of losing it should be high. Anywho, it would change a lot of mechanics and I'm not sure what effects that would have on the whole.

A fair assumption. After all there is a lake in Mystery lake, a coast in Coastal highway, a mountain in Timberwolf mountain, a broken railroad in Broken Railroad etc. No timberwolves in Timberwolf mountain being the exception, though some folks sometimes mistake Pleasant Valley for an unpleasant place.

Agree, FM is nature's great pentry and the many wolf encounters with thin ice increase the challenge. When I try to loot the whole region I usually divide the map in half where the railroad runs and spend 2-3 days per side looting, depending on weather and condition. Even if I try to pick up all cattails I have to miss a couple on each playthrough. I guess it's all relative but after years I still don't think FM is that easy. You get caught in sudden (very, very sudden) heavy fog so you try and get to the railroad except you're not going in the direction you think you're going. Suddently there's two wolves stalking you so you're kind of trapped and choose a shortcut over thin ice but for some reason the 4 second rule (or is it 5?) doesn't apply on this particular spot. Now you're soaked and an otherwise splendid playthrough is suddenly at risk.

Canadians like to keep one (and only one) granola bar under their bed.

Indeed, that pretty much nails it.

Depends on how you define growth, I suppose. They're hiring, it's usually a positive sign. Would be interesting to see how their revenue numbers have fluctuated during the last 5 years but I don't know where to find such numbers for Canadian companies. Disappointing for some perhaps, unethical I think is a stretch considering how little many of us paid for the game. A sidetrack on ethics, the motto on HL's page provides a clue to their developing time: "We believe passion for work and balance in life are not only compatible ideas, but necessary ones". If HL live up to that, and people are encouraged to work their 8 hours and go home their families, then that's part of producing an ethical product from my point of view that makes the wait worthwhile. But then again I'm not a part of the industry, perhaps a similar motto decorates the walls inside Ubisoft's lair.