Sherri

So. Many. Predators. A bear in front of Trapper's cabin? Not cool. (Sadly I was hoping for more challenge without more predators. I know, I know, it says it in the difficulty description.) Day 4 in ML, still don't have a single tool or weapon. These animals are definitely going to get me... lol

Wow! This is awesome.

I don't really mean this as a win scenario. But just a way to conclude a save-file without jumping off a cliff.

I'm super excited about this teaser image. I wonder if there will be several NPCs inside?

I originally posted the idea of a helicopter or boat rescue after a set period of time, but many, many comments pointed out how silly that is given the geomagnetic event and lack of electricity. So... I propose an alternative: When starting a new Sandbox, you can pick a survival goal you want to reach: short, medium, long, super long, random, etc. After a slightly random # of days related to the length you chose something happens... An Earth Quake!! Felt everywhere on Bear Island. This opens up a new path out of one of the regions - say a new rock slide or a new pass appears. If you make it to that path, you get a nice end-game picture and a "You escape into the great unknown..." type of message. An alternative to suiciding or just abandoning your save game. There could be achievements based on number of 'escaped' games you've completed of various lengths. This would not need electricity, and would not run counter to the Wintermute story because for all we know our survivor didn't make it off the island. Or maybe they found other people, and built some rafts. Who knows... but you get a open ended conclusion to survival mode that isn't death. A satisfying option that would be totally optional if you don't like it.

They could perhaps have one of the rockslides 'settle' or an earthquake occur after X number of days and that's when a pass out of the known maps opens up and you get a chance to travel there and take a 'you escape into the mysterious beyond...' ending. I actually like this better than my original helicopter idea. I think I'll make this it's own thread.

One of my fav things to do in my current (Voyager) run is snipe the bear from the Mountaineer's Hut. This one decided to die on my doorstep. Nice! I'm actually finding TWM to be a good place to speed run my final days to the 500 day achievement. The hut is warm enough, and with cooking 5, I have Deer, Fish, Bear, Wolf and Rabbits all within eyesight of my base. I currently have 3 rock caches full of meat. LOL (Might be time to go up to Stalker hahaha.)

I'd settle for a path out of Bear Island and a 'you escape to the great unknown....' sort of ending. Anything other than death.

Sneak peak at the new pet system! lol

Something my kids and I do every winter if we get a decent snow. Even my 4 year old can manage this. Up and down over and over, no sprains. LOL I agree with @Vince 49 the sprain system does add significant stress to the game and discourages exploration. Which seems counter to what the game is about. For me, the main thing that bothers me is the jump scare effect that the current sprain system has. It startles me every time. I jump in my seat, mouse goes wild. The few times my 8 year old has briefly watched me play, he nervously warns me about the sprain indicator non stop because he's also nervous about how startling it is. Even more than encountering a bear or wolf. I find the frequency has become much more reasonable and I don't think it should be removed from the game. But perhaps make it less startling. I love, love, LOVE @Danielviomusic's idea of a mountaineering skill which would level up and reduce sprains. That would be AWESOME. At max level you'd never sprain and never even see the stress-inducing slope indicator. Man that would be a great feature.

OMG please don't make anything HEAVIER.

Another event idea, since I love love the archery in the game but often have arrows at a premium, would be to flood the game with bow and arrow crafting supplies and have goals for hunting X number of animals with a bow. Makes for good practise too. Or set up targets in various locations that you need to bullseye as you explore.

I enjoyed the challenge with a taste of temperatures I haven't experienced yet in the game. Those first few days of the event where you're slowly dying outside, and you need a fire even inside were really exciting and challenging. But with so much loot, I quickly got enough high-quality clothing to nullify the most of the cold. I didn't bother with the syrups because I don't like repeating saves just for a achievement. I think this was quite fun and a nice event. Thanks Hinterland! If you guys were to do another similar event, I'd reduce the loot in the world or maybe have the temperature drop at a moderate rate over the course of the month-long event. So by the end of the month it was like crazy cold outside and inside even with good clothing. Also, I would add more goals that can be reasonably achieved in one save/run. Goals around keeping a fire burning or chopping wood would have been cool to add to this event since we are trying to stay warm indoors anyway.

Bug or feature? In the hut on Timberwolf Mountain, I'm getting some bizarre red graphical effects on the fireplace. I think it's a strange combo of circumstances involving the building being partially outdoors (hole in the roof). It seems to happen at dusk/sunset. Doesn't happen at any other fireplace in the game, that I've seen. Running latest version of the game on a Windows PC.

Obviously you're within your rights to be mad that you're still waiting for what was promised you. That's valid of course. But at some point you have to make a sunk-cost analysis and ask yourself if... knowing what you know now... and ignoring the costs you've already sunk into the game, whether it's still worth your emotional investment. Since you aren't going to have to pay more money, that's the only cost left that this can take from you. If it's not worth it, then drop the game and quit sinking your time and energy into it and these forums. Or... decide that it is still worth it, and keep waiting. But spending more time and energy complaining, and I'm not just talking about Dum_Gen... is just giving more valuables (time, energy) to something you're bitter you spent $ on in the first place. IMHO.

Man, the only episodic game I ever cared about this much was Half-Life. We were promised an ongoing episodic story. We got Episodes 1 & 2. Then Valve pissed off with Steam and Left4Dead. Siiigh. I'm still bitter about that.

As a female gamer I appreciate the often rare chance to play a female character. God knows I've played enough male characters, not that I mind much. LOL I really appreciate games like this, and Mass Effect that take the time to fully voice and create both gender versions of the player character. I like how Mass Effect used the last name Shepherd in all the dialog so that the NPCs didn't have change what they were saying. I wish Red Dead Redemption did this. Playing a female bad-ass cowgirl would be awesome.

I found it jarring but pretty funny. I do think the story needed to take the infinite fire away from you. Maybe dumping your stuff in a box outside would make more sense. But I did get a good laugh at the ungrateful ole hermit booting me out. An NPC in the next episode is much more friendly.

Maybe this is something I take for granted as a software developer... but I would never ever buy a game on kickstarter or pre-order that is unfinished and only be happy if it finishes on time. In the software development industry - as in games - it is not uncommon for huge projects to go WAY WAY beyond initial estimates. Double or triple or more times the initial estimate is even common. Software is notoriously hard to estimate. Features creep in, core team members leave, pandemics lock down the entire planet (boo Covid-19), technologies change from under you - heck one project I developed was on time until the language and framework we used both released new versions and it took us months to adjust - because of something totally out of our control. No two software projects are alike. It's not like Hinterland had built an identical game before and knew how long it would take. We can make educated guesses - but even for experienced software teams estimating very similar projects, it is HARD. Hinterland promised that the Story episodes would take a certain amount of time... but folks... that was only a very, very, very rough guess. If you are going to feel ripped off, if an unfinished game you buy does not come out close to the promised date, you might as well stick to only buying finished games. I know what it's like, so for me, just the fact that they are still working at it - and we've been getting content in the meantime - is enough for me. (Incidentally this is why more and more software development studios now bill clients on retainer instead of a fixed price for a project. Because it's so hard to estimate a flat amount of time that a project will take. Better to have a client pay you to work on it X hours a month until done.)

Agreed. I really need to get better at detecting when I'm debating with a teenager. LOL

@Killerboom204..... @Hadrian isn't saying he relies on luck (as some of his critics have said). Which I agree with as a long time viewer of his channel. He plays with most settings on Interloper, some settings like weapon spawns a bit easier so he doesn't have to beeline to the forge everytime which would get repetitive for a YouTube series, and some settings harder than Interloper. I'd say it averages out at an 'almost interloper' level difficulty. Add to that, he plays while also concentrating on a running commentary of jokes, stories, and other thoughts as he plays... which means the guy is playing near-Interloper with only 2/3 of his mental focus. Also, he caps his series at 100 days. He doesn't HAVE to plan out his survival way in advance as you mention that you do. With a cap on survival length he can feel free to be a bit more cavalier in order to keep the series more interesting for viewers. Your criticism @Killerboom204is not warranted. Nor worth your energy.

Ideas for maps: Dense forest - hard to see in the distance. Fun to stumble upon landmarks in the woods. Large building/complex - many parts of it missing roof/walls so counts as outside. Few wildlife. Large logging camp. Abandoned surface/strip mine. Abandoned first-nations village. Shipyard on the coast. Forest fire zone. Few full grown trees. Lots of stumps and burned out houses.

The longer I play for, the more I realize that the only thing I want is more maps. (Other than Wintermute chapters but those are already in the works.) I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I'd pay $ for a pack of more maps to explore. Another game I play had a big $25 DLC come out and it made me think... that games like TLD which have been out for a while must be pretty saturated into the possible player base. So for it to continue to be financially viable for developers to keep releasing content, they have to find a way to get money from existing players who already own the game. So, please count my vote as someone more than happy to pay for more maps. If development is getting to a point of diminishing returns.

I vouch for the strategy of: - bring lots of sticks. - get survivor to 100% before you set out. - travel with your back to a wall & limited approach for the wolves - I used the river. - The instant the timberwolf music begins, get beside a wall, drop survivor & make a quick fire & add a few sticks. - By the time the fire is roaring, the wolves will be pacing nearby. Watch your back! Put a bullet in a couple & they will break. Or repeat throwing a blue flare at them & pick it back up. - The instant they break, sprint back to your survivor & continue on. You will always get 2-3 scripted encounters per survivor. If you take too long, you'll get more I think. You don't have to rescue all 3 in the same day. Fire starter liquid is very helpful.

I've been getting desperate for rifle ammo. Found lots on Signal Hill in PV.