Laika Ivanova

I'd say scrap it and consider adding it back once development of the game is finished so it doesn't affect development until then.

I'll take that as an uncountable exception because of the sheer size of it 😆 But no, that was amazing when it happened back then. Getting the motion capture in and completely revamping the whole thing was incredible (although I did love the handmade animations from EP4 as well).

Great news. Something rather unusual to hear from Hinterland, I think we never had something like this before, but given the feedback it's the right thing to do. Personally I was almost happy with how the Cougar worked, minus the lack of proper counterplay when mere moments prior to it's attach because it just didn't seem right to me that I can't possibly make it out in the wild before it initiates a struggle. Should it be easy? Of course not. The Cougar is supposed to be disgustingly terrifying, so when it does come for me, it should be fast and practically silent while doing so. But there should be a small window for the player to react offensively to maybe prevent a struggle from happening, not just the option to walk and avoid as that seemed to me like bruteforcing a certain playstyle. But it's great that you see that many aren't happy with the current version of the Cougar and decided to take it out for some time until it's, hopefully, better in some way. Until I noticed that you can't even spot it I was extremely paranoid, constantly looking around while the music played. I really hope whatever changes you will make keep this in mind. Couple words about the rest of the update: I'm really happy that the option to retroactively enable Scurvy on existing saves was also added alongside the Cougar. What did put me down a bit was the bannocks recipes for recycled cans: I was hoping for some more new recipes for them, but maybe we can get them in Part 6. The Tale was amazing, but I'm a lore enthusiast so I'll take anything in that regard. Sundered Pass also looks quite nice with the street leading up.

Good good. Can't wait for the Tale wall to be fixed so I am no longer stuck with a certain someone.

Yeah, the fact they give us a choice regarding existing saves is great. I just wish that would work with Scurvy as well (some told me it also activates Scurvy but my first post Tales Interloper save doesn't activate Scurvy that way). Anyway, I can support the idea of less or no UI elements regarding the Cougar and instead having more in world signs. Just, get rid of the out of the blue instant attack. I get the idea behind it and I respect Hinterland for trying something new, but this just ain't it for a game in my opinion.

I would play now, but on my main save I got locked inside the final Tale location 😅

I was told the marker on the bottom left on maps shows how many days need to pass for a Cougar to LEAVE a currently infested region. It does not reflect the state of the map you are on, but the one it is in itself.

Not necessarily. They just have re-used some code for mob behaviour for the runaway cutscene when you have a chance to shoot it, which may have been easier to implement by reusing some code. This would explain the odd behaviour the Cougar has when spawned in.

I'm gonna keep it short, since I already explained the bad stuff I've encountered yesterday: Generally, I am really happy with the Cougar. The way information is given to the player is great. Damage wise it's also good. I am just unhappy with one thing: The fact there is zero way of hitting it prior to a struggle. It's less the lack of ability to kill it prior to one, but the lack of immersion in my eyes. There should be a way to spot it 1-2 seconds before it initiates a struggle, then I'd be completely happy with how it works.

It's worth noting that the Cougar is capable of attacking while inside a car and I don't know if it's intentional or not based on what happened. The map timer said it would take 5 days still until it would appear, but when I got back to the transfer hub (I left to do the Tale) it was still at 5 days but also gave me a notification that the Cougar does appear now. What happened next was terrible. I slept ONE hour inside a car which was interrupted and threw me from the sleep blackscreen straight out of and glitched me under the car. There was no cougar, no struggle, nothing. I instantly went from sleep blackscreen to the "getting up after a struggle" animation while suddenly being outside of the car but at the same time glitches under it. The game did luckily spawn me back right next to it and I was able to survive with a sliver of health, but yeah. Cougar seems very buggy in terms of spawns. Information that may be relevant: Difficulty: Voyageur Day: Around 75 Existing Save: Yes Pre Update: Spent a lot of time solely inside the Transfer Hub. Occasionally went to Forsaken Airfield but the past 20 days were 90% inside Transfer Hub. Post Update: Loaded in Transfer Hub, immediately had the map telling me that Cougar takes 5 days until spawning. No other notification. Left towards the new region to do the Tale. When I got back to Transfer Hub, I got a notification for the Cougar in the middle of my screen and now also had a marker above my need bars and ominous music. Map still said 5 days. I slept one hour inside the Blue Truck which got interrupted as mentioned already. Clothing took no damage at all, I simply got the new affliction and as I said it all went all glitchy. Also worth noting: After the attack I went to Forsaken Airfield where the map marker now went from 5 days to 4 days, as well as no other markers for that region as of now. I m scared to go back to Transfer Hub after finishing the Tale tho. Waiting for a patch.

My guess is that it will track time over a certain period, just like cabin fever. Aka if you spent X% of the last Y days in one map, cougar spawns.

From what I can see there isn't a problem with the Cheat Death feature itself, but rather the fact the time spent on it could have beem used somewhere else. The feature is entirely optional, so Permadeath is still a thing, kind off at least due to Cheat Death not being forced. The main problem I see with Cheat Death is the potential usage it's gonna get besides on purpose "Die three times on Misery Mode and see where you go" and the rare actual death in any experience mode. I don't have numbers, but looking at the community it seems like the vast majority will get bored of one save and start a new one before ever actually dying and being able to use the feature. Cheat Death is good for when the game bugs out and you accidentally die in a long running save, but that specific case sounds more like a band aid to me and isn't the main reason it is gonna be implemented in the first place if I understand correctly. Cheat Death itself isn't bad, it does have some very situational use. I just think it would have been better overall to add something for long term survival or improve the early game a bit more for those that do struggle to learn the game. That being said, we are talking about an optional feature here that doesn't affect any playstyle or experience of anyone unless they deliberately interact with the mechanic, a good sign regarding the update if you ask me because everything else seems very promising.

If there is anything to take away from the fact that people are drawing this connection then it is that the design choice behind the Cougar will most likely be just as successful. Interesting tho that the similarity was on accident. I'm curious how sound will play into it. That was also a big factor that made the Darkwalker so appealing to me. But you did mention the world giving hints towards the Cougar's presence, that will probably play into the atmosphere I assume. Knowing it's there. Knowing it could be close.

Now that I think about it. The Darkwalker was received so incredibly well that they ended up adding it as it's own Challenge. The cougar sounds like it functions a bit similiar in principle that it "seeks you out". Maybe the Darkwalker influenced the design idea behind the cougar somewhat.

I know, I'm not complaining about it. I'm still excited for Part 5 because of the Tale (I'm a lore addict).

I forgot to mention it in my original post, but I do appreciate the usage if Noisemakers to temporarily "disable" the Cougar. It gives the Noisemakers more use outside of their pretty much limited timberwolf deterrent (I know they can be used against normal wolves as well, but common 😂). On another note tho: I won't ever do that. I'll let that big kitty come to me so I can show it who's boss 😎

Just the possibility of that being able to happen, anytime. Anywhere. Oh god I love it.

Canadian Uber Eats is finally gonna be canon

I do admit, this gives me a bunch of mixed signals regarding the game design, but overall I think it's a solid update. Still a bit disappointed that there is nothing about the Trader or Safehouse Customization, but oh well. My thoughts on this update: 1. Cougar: Personally, I love the idea. It sounds gimmicky, but it's a great idea in my eyes to force people to actually move. As someone who practically lives on Jackrabbit Island this will be interesting to see. I am not gonna leave my precious island behind so I guess I will replace my moose carpet with cougar carpet. Or die, but that only ever happened once when I was new. 2. Cheat Death: Personally, I think that was wasted resources that could and should have been spent elsewhere. People who want to cheat death could and have done for years already so adding it partially into the game is wasted time in my eyes. Either you already cheated or you didn't. But I guess this may be interesting for some custom challenges people do or for some weird individuals out there who think cheating is morally ok if the devs allow it. Up to you. It's singleplayer after all. 3. Mountain Pass: Not much to say about it, but I like the idea that temperature gets worse the higher you go. Also the concept art makes me curious. I know that Forsaken Airfield wasn't received that well, but I like the fact it was easy to navigate. I don't have issues navigating around maps like Hushed River Valley or similar, but I prefer maps with big streets. Easy to chill on. 4. Third Tale: Not gonna say anything besides the fact that I am excited to play it. 5. Misery Mode: As I have spent practically 90% of my playtime on Interloper and having no interest in starting over yet again in a higher difficulty, I'll pass on this one. I love the idea of a new, even harder mode, but personally I think I'll take this as an opportunity to do what I have been planning on doing for a while now: Going back to Voyageur, or more precisely: A Voyageur-ish Custom Mode. Farewell Interloper (I will watch some peeps play Misery Mode tho because I enjoy seeing people suffer. Speaking of suffering tho: Whoever had the idea of making the Cougar a "Get off this damn map, idiot", I applaud you. It's sadistic in the greatest way).

The game definitely deserves it's 10M. But I think the main reason why it ended up being this successful was the constant updates that kept evolving the game over time, coupled with the already well executed foundation.

I find these old recordings interesting to look at. It makes it a lot easier to forgive myself for not being able to produce a high quality environment in my own game.

The main reason for me to be on here is direct communication from devs. If Hinterland would be equally present elsewhere I'd probably wouldn't have considered to register on here.

My name and PfP is based off a character I designed myself years ago, all the way back in 2017. It was only last year that I've finally found a suitable artist to proper visualize her.

You, Sir, are a genius!

Oh, how did I forget! Yeah ngl the Beachcombing is also right on top with Frontier Cooking. I got so used to the new beachcombing that I forgot that it was just refreshed in the Expansion Pass.