Buckets524

10 hours ago, Archonax said:

Ah! You must be talking about story mode -- I forgot that it had a traditional game map. Give Survival mode a try -- the map doesn't exist until you 'create' it by surveying with charcoal in multiple areas, you don't get a placement marker that shows where you are, and you don't even know which way you're facing without referencing landmarks. I think it'll give you the experience you're looking for.

I actually just gave survival a try to take a break from missions and all that. I am glad I did the story as a primer but survival is a real challenge. Especially with a low gear quality at start - making a fire, navigation, and pretty much ever other thing is much much harder.

i thought it was a bit funny when I looked at the map and realized it was exactly how I imagined it when I wrote my suggestion post x)

What if it had only a 5% base success chance, only marginally improving with accelerant and proper tinder. Then it could also have a much longer preparation time before success/failure. If it took like half an hour game time, you would freeze pretty quickly if you didn’t plan ahead.

i think it should be granted early on since matchless starts are impossible (if they can’t be found the first few places you check and you have starting gear set to “low.”) it’s limited effectiveness / reliability / durability would then make it obsolete once matches were acquired.

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To clarify, I'm not trying to be condescending or insulting in any way (not in the slightest) - I'm genuinely just trying to be helpful. 

I don’t find it condescending at all. There are a lot of discussions that have been visited and revisited so many times that there is almost nothing more to add. I was aware of threads about watches, sleds, and guns (but they suggested more rifles, which is unnecessary since the .303 is more than sufficient and a very appropriate ‘only long gun’ to have)

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Welcome to the wilderness.  

Thank you I certainly feel welcome and not only do i love this game, but also really appreciate the community so far. I like how passionately players are involved in the game’s continued maturation. I really like open alphas and betas for this reason, and especially games which release with the intention of implementing some extraordinarily significant updates.

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I simply dislike this idea. Not because of the addition of another item to maintain, but because it would be redundant and in my opinion a waste of prioritization of the dev's time.

I can understand this point. I figured it would be a realistic addition due to the ubiquitous nature of watches, but there is already a sufficient mechanic in place to judge the time. I guess I always felt odd sleeping two hours at a time until day, but that is precisely what I do when camping. Usually I have to keep the fire going, anyway.

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I believe the devs have given their opinion on compasses in the past -- while they are a useful survival tool, the inclusion of a compass would make the player less likely to rely on building knowledge of an area for navigation and thereby reduce their involvement/immersion in the experience. I agree.

I understand the focus on navigation by landmarks. I guess I feel like the immersion is interrupted by use of a map that has my exact location at all times. Part of survival in the wild is using one’s ability to read a map. If I could get turned around without such simple recourse, or plan my routes with awareness of a real risk of getting lost, it would reinforce my use of landmarks even more.

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While I do enjoy firearms, I don't see any benefit to adding a new firearm to the game. I'd be loath to have this survival/exploration/wilderness game turn into a 'shooty-shooty animals go poof' production.

While I whole heartedly agree that the game would be pretty much ruined by a huge arsenal of firearms, shotguns plat such a different role than rifles. Small game and birds are their main uses. However, seeing as fowl is not among the usable species, it is really unnecessary. If birds could be hunted, then the relevance if the shotgun would be much greater.

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In a similar vein to the compass reasoning -- walking in the quiet is a large part of the 'game feel' that The Long Dark has. In my opinion, having faster modes of transportation would negatively impact the world's presence.

Yep, I totally understand that point. I think I just love skiing and the idea of cross country skiing while living off the land is pretty appealing 😛 it is such a different direction that the devs would be better served playing to the games current set of strengths and addressing actual deficits. A sled is also a broken idea - the player can already carry more weight at the expense of movement speed. I realize while playing that it is unrealistic to always remain unencumbered, and that adds to the gameplay in a pretty vital way.

thank you both for your replies! I love the game and am excited for the additions that will be made, even if none of them are on this list. Looking back at the updates over time I have developed an exceptional trust for Hinterland. They will continue to do things right while staying true to the game and honoring community input.

*correction: horses are fine in the snow, apparently. That would be cool, though animals are crazy.

ice picks would be cool, too. Allows player to climb up, which ropes don’t. It could be riskier and trigger one of the danger mode interactions where the player must tap a key quickly.

As far as tools go, I think a mechanical watch that requires maintenance would be awesome. Low condition could make time-keeping inaccurate. Survival mode could have option to start with watch, or not. Wintermute could begin with the watch inoperative and needing repair. The sun/moon diagram could possibly be removed or have an option to have it, or not.

A compass that does not work during the northern lights. The benefit this confers to the player could be offset by including an option to disable the player blip on the maps.

Shotguns. I appreciate that the Canadian setting means no assault rifles and overall less firearms than the US. Shotguns are allowed for hunting and home defense, and I imagine they would be pretty prevalent in the game’s locale.

Transportation:

Skis and snowshoes. I know this has been discussed quite a bit. They are tried and true ways of getting around. The weight of skis are a drawback, as they would lessen the player’s ability to carry as many items. Skis could come in cross country and downhill varieties. Snowshoes are not the fastest. All would require maintenance.

Sleds. This has also been talked about a lot. I think the potential change to gameplay balance could be mitigated by having sleds be slow and exhausting, as well as being unwieldy on hills and not viable on all terrain. Sleds are extremely common, but aren't necessarily as easy as someone might imagine. I don’t think animals should be able to pull the sleds. Training for sled dogs must begin as pups, and wolves would never be a viable option. Horses are not of use in the snow.

I am curious what others in the community think of these ideas.