StillNomad

Wouldn't mind working from this home, though.

Guess who didn't save his code before the deadly and inevitable BSOD. He was working from home, BTW. What with the virus and all. 

Interesting theories. I gravitate towards him being either Will's imagination to keep him sane through the trauma and him being Will's spirit protector/knowledge giver to help him through the crisis.

Whatever he was, his absence in E4 was felt. I hope the devs have him in E5. I felt he was an important character in the Story mode. 

4 hours ago, Razum said:

https://github.com/Xpazeman/tld-remove-clutter
Just so people can find it 

Thanks. I didn't post a link solely for the reason that discussion and links to mods were looked down upon by the mods. I remember reading some forum rules about this when I joined. Maybe things are a bit relaxed after the dev diary spoke about opening up to mods. 

I agree with the suggestion that indoor temps be dynamic and more in sync with the type of shelter it is. It totally makes sense. Not only would it be more realistic, but it also gives us a challenge to keep maintaining it. Will it mean more of a chore to keep fixing stuff or will it give more meaning in late game? 

I also like the suggestion above of a drafting table and creating more QoL stuff. ( a feature that exists in Among Trees, but I dont want it to be that easy and I dont want it going all out base building either). TLD is a fantastic game that is already on a knife's edge of being rustic, barren, basic, difficult and has enough features to retain those qualities while there is a constant suggestion to add stuff, some of which the devs have brought in while some suggestions will sort of topple it from the knife's edge making it a totally different game and not TLD. 

On 2/24/2022 at 4:32 PM, UpUpAway95 said:

4)  Agree that TLD is a game that doesn't really need a construction mechanic (e.g. like Fallout 4).  It would be nice to be able to clean up some of the buildings in the game more (i.e. like being able to pick up all the papers on the floor and dismantle all the furniture remnants, like bed frames inside) if we wish.

Currently there is a mod that allows you to do this.

On 2/12/2022 at 7:00 PM, Seahawk said:

# 1 let us cut down trees plz

#2create more stuff that we can interact with like using a haybale to use it as cover 

#3 to create more good and immersion do seasons plz

#4 make us interaction for building houses or repair them 

#5 last one of them all more food utens and other even more realistic immersion and etc.

1. I wouldn't want to chop down fully grown trees and change the beautiful landscape. However, the game could allow you to chop down fallen trees for a lot of wood. The game could respawn fallen trees at a set interval, like every 50 days after a long lasting blizzard. But there's plenty of sticks / limbs everywhere for the devs to not even think about this.

3. Seasons would be interesting but obviously not full blown spring or summer (god no, I love the cold). But as suggested above, it could just about melt enough ice to make certain areas inaccessible so that the challenge remains. The melting/weak ice will force wild life on solid land. Imagine having to be forced to walk a path frequented by bears/wolves, or risk the weak ice on ML or CH.

Maybe warmer seasons could also help vegetation to grow back (rose hips, mushrooms, cat tails, etc). Warmer temps could also mean food/meat goes bad more rapidly which would be a challenge and go against stocking long term. There could be a possibility of picking up infections, etc 

4. Repairing / maintenance of houses would be nice. A blizzard could destroy the shutters or other parts, that you'd have to fix else the indoor temps could drop (as suggested in the dynamic indoor temps post). Could be an interesting mechanic and a sense of purpose in late game.

On 6/8/2022 at 10:08 AM, Stone said:

- Quakes destroying structures: periodic quakes begin turning warm locations into ruins. Psuedo random but eventually all warm indoor locations become like the mountaineer's hut or worse.

- Survivors needing help: occasionally you'll enter a zone and see a flare launched. This will be from a survivor stuck in a sheltered but outdoor spot who's health makes them unable to travel. You need to provide food, fire and some key craftable clothing and medical aid to enable them to move on. They might thank you with a simple but useful item - matches, sewing kit, etc.

This is interesting. Surviving for oneself is one thing. Surviving because another life depends on you is just another level. I think the sense of responsibility could help with later game play and give more meaning. But I doubt the devs will see this kindly. The amount of work they'll have to put in for character animation will probably far out weigh the intended outcome. It is quite possible to work around this and go the forest talker way (in E2 I think, IDR, where you supply them with something and interact with them through the door)

The random events to destroy indoor shelters could spice things up. This will totally change the way you set up your bases. You'll need to think ahead how to stock up, travel to spread important gear around the map. Some places could be like the Mounaineer's Hut in TWM or the destroyed fishing hut in AC that allow you go inside, some could like the burnt cabins like in Mystery Lake - gone forever. 

I do agree with the OP,  a high risk - high reward mechanic does encourage exploration. 

Some more screenshots that I slightly tinkered with in PS. I get a feeling the game camera kind of meters the scene like a digital camera does in bright snowy conditions as 18% grey making it sort of 'under exposed'. I just adjusted the levels and some other bits. This is one of the big reasons I love walking around the Great Bear region. Fantastic light. 

The rich, saturated coloured sunrises and sunsets in TLD are a given. But I also love the minimalist foggy conditions and the wonderful, calm yet eerie mood it lends to the scene. 

1 & 2 from Ash Canyon

Mystery Lake

On 6/16/2022 at 6:45 AM, piddy3825 said:

 yeah, right?

You know, if Hinterland wanted to throw us a bone this October, maybe they could do a re-release of the old 4DON as a special?  Maybe make it a limited time appearance in the timecapsule or something?  Wouldn't that be cool?

I would highly request HL to do this. I bought the game post the 4DON events and would so like to play this. Even without having to tinker with time capsule, they can simple have it open as a challenge, like the DW. That would be so cool. Not being able to play this Long Dark special is really a heart ache. Hello @Admin, please?

This is a good update and quite a lot is revealed AFA the future direction of TLD is concerned. The team has done a fabulous job considering the covid situation and to come up with innovative ways to achieve the target. Kudos there.

I took the survey which was interesting. Glad to see Hinterland is coming up with ways to sustain the development and improvement of TLD, especially the Survivor mode. Few thoughts I'd like to express.

1. Paid DLCs. I have rarely bought DLC for a game. Once bought, its mostly be all and end all for me. Content in terms of skins, features, irrelevant superficial extras don't interest me. Exception to this, however, is genuine game content. I've bought Euro Truck expansion packs which offer new regions. I think TLD DLC is something I will pay to use. Having new regions such as Ash Canyon is such a good expansion to the survivor mode and will keep me coming back for more. Medium size content packs for me.

2. Customising the player character: I speak only for myself here. I dont feel the need to have representation in this game. I dont care. I am not insecure in life. I dont mind playing Will/Astrid as the character. I don't think having an Indian looking main character will somehow make me feel more immersed in the game than it already does now. Please spend the studio's precious resources in improving other areas. I dont know why this is even a thing these days. Add more survivor dialog, add funny things the character can say, weird stuff, thoughts spoken out loud, etc. 

3. More wildlife: Boy, this one would certainly improve the gameplay. Carnivorous as well as herbivorous animals would be nice. Hunting and using their pelts for more useful items would be genuinely interesting. Wouldn't mind seeing newer types of vegetation even some specific to certain areas. Also wouldn't mind the harvestable vegetation regrowing their 'harvestables' (blasphemous, I know).

4. Extending / Entirely new story (as paid DLC) This could help extend the TLD shelf life as well as possibly bring in newer players. 

5. Late game: Somehow this is where things start becoming tricky. There definitely needs something that makes late game persistently challenging. The forums already has a lot of topics on this.

6. Don't care for multiplayer. 

7. A novel based on the TLD theme/characters would definitely be interesting. It could be a complete novel, yet with certain questions unanswered (yes, I know. Good luck there), only to act as fodder for a sequel.

All the best. 

Few suggestions to improve game mechanics (may have already been suggested in the past)...

1. Fire starting: When a torch is lit and I'm trying to start a fire, it would make sense that the fire starting options should show the torch as the first choice rather than having to cycle through various selections of matches, magnifying glass, fire starter and then finally the torch (or flare). Sometimes going the other way also doesn't help as the torch is in the middle of these options. Especially critical when there is only one torch with low condition. In a real world, one wouldn't light a torch, then keep it aside and use a match to start a fire.

2. Left/Right keys for menu selection: In the fire starting menu, it is possible to use the left / right keys to cycle through options. Similarly, we can use the up / down keys to navigate to the tinder, fuel, starter options. Same for sewing choices when repairing an item. But this is not possible when selecting a tool to either harvest a carcass or chop wood or furniture. Would make sense to use the keyboard for quick cycling through the choices across the board.

3. Grouping of similar items: In the inventory, some items are automatically grouped when their condition is same (hides, guts, medicine tablets, matches, bullets, etc) but some items aren't (flares, meat, torches, sewing kits, fishing hook + line (forgot what it's called), food or cooking cans, etc. obviously provided condition/weight remains the same). May be there is a reason for it (choice of which to use from inventory itself depending on condition could be one?) but I just think grouping more items can help visually clear up the inventory. In the cooking menu, obviously it makes sense to see individual items. 

11 hours ago, UpUpAway95 said:

I think it would be better if Hinterland left TLD as a single-player game because:

1) Not every player is willing to connect their gaming account directly to their cell phone account.  I would also hate to be interrupted during a business meeting by a person's phone alerting them that their TLD avatar's preset timer was running out or that the fishing line broke or that the weather changed and the avatar is now freezing.

---

8 hours ago, Schrodingers Box said:

those too weak to deal with isolation will not survive The Long Dark-  just like any sole survivor IRL experiences,  the mental game is the toughest part to manage.  

...

 Sole survival is the most brutal scenario.  You don’t get what you want. You get what you create.  THAT is the essence of The Long Dark. 

(this response is to those in the MP camp)
Any argument made by those who prefer TLD to be left as it is (based on their own personal preferences, mine included which is to enjoy time away from 'life' in a fantastic isolated environment) can be perfectly told to not play co-op / MP modes of the game. There are plenty of other games which offer SP / MP modes where I've personally never tried MP at all and yet those two worlds (SP/MP) can co-exist. Similarly, people needing in-game company to play can also look at other games that offer excellent MP/Co-op components.

The fact that Hinterland has limited resources to make a co-op / MP happen (plus the technical challenges of current game mechanics, which when attempting to change would only end up complicating things) makes me not want them to spend time on it. I'd rather they spend their limited time/resources on E4/E5, more maps, improving the environment, more challenges a-la Darkwalker, (even paid DLCs) etc than a component of the game that is 180 degrees apart from what their idea is. Not to mention how the post-covid normal has impacted how we work which limits productivity to a certain degree. 

My thoughts are summed up quite well by the quotes above. 

Ok, I'm going to suggest something totally radical (and risk getting flamed)  in this thread as it is talking about console control options.

I dont know how difficult it is to have a keyboard / mouse support for the console but here are my reasons
1. No question control using kbd/mouse feels real, like a human neck movement compared to the CCTV like camera movements of the in game camera.
2. TLD is not multiplayer. So it wouldn't offer anyone a tremendous advantage over other players in any way. Anyone wanting to use a controller still can.
3. The thumb is over worked for camera / character movements (+ other actions on top of the controller) and risk for RSI is greater. Right now, my thumb upto my forearm is tender after a holiday season of gaming, so much so that I'm wearing support for it. I've been gaming for a long time (PC) and haven't had such issues before (maybe I was younger). Kbd/mice have gotten more ergonomic over the years + the positions can be arranged for personal comfort. (This point is valid for others games as well, not just first/third person games)
4. The CCTV like camera movements may have more tendency to induce motion sickness. I had a group of old friends come over for gaming session and couple of them (and including my wife who sometimes like to watch) started feeling uneasy after a while in FPS style games, something they've never experienced ever before.
5. Better hardware access in a console for those who dont have (or can't go for ) a high end PC. (I play on a MacBP 2015 booted in an external Windows 10 x64 drive, Steam platform. The quality is greatly reduced to enable frame rate of 25-30 for comfortable gameplay. )

I recently downloaded TLD on my xbox one x under the xbox gold pass and the control wasn't really good. The graphics quality alone wasn't good enough by a margin for me to start playing the xbox. Would it be difficult for Hinterland to offer KBD/Mouse support for TLD on consoles? There are many games that do already and more are coming up.

3 hours ago, Grunt said:

...asking if I'll need to climb to reach the escape point... 

If you have Astrid with broken ribs, then the short answer to your question is  No.  But (based on my experience till now), the moose is not on the lowest level. Without spoiling the fun of finding the exit for you and others, let me say that to reach Pleasant valley, you would need 2 climbs. One is definitely at the PV-TWM transition. The other, you can decide if the climb down in AC or TWM is better. I prefer the climb down in AC to reach TWM. 

I hope I haven't confused you more. 

I couldn't find the 'add spoiler' option, so just changed the text color. Not sure BB/HTML code works and the preview doesn't do anything to hide the text. 

Just want to chime in about the save systems. If the game was to save the progress only when you quit the game, it would be massive loss of time and effort if the game just crashed to the desktop. This has happened to many people including me. The crashes used to be random. Saving after one of the many events in game prevents the loss of progress due to this. And of course, other reasons people have mentioned above. I'm all for making the game more intentional and 'real to life' but sometimes we just have to factor in these glitches that might be the result of some serious frustration.

I am in agreement with all the suggestions mentioned above. Completion of map after all named areas are mapped, adding annotations to your own map and better map readability in terms of depth (although I know there's a limit to what a cold survivor can achieve with a thick piece of charcoal). I'm glad @ajb1978 mentioned Broken Railroad. That map has so many black holes and bad corners, it drives me nuts.

On annotations, the spray paint does have its advantages. But it is missing an important icon and that is "Shelter". For eg, I could use this icon to mark so many nooks and crannies in Ash Canyon to denote places that provide shelter to some degree. Presently, I use some other icon dedicatedly to denote shelters in the map. 

Another addition to mapping could be the ability to rotate maps to align with the region. This will help in mentally aligning yourself with the compass bearings (if that makes sense)

After resolving my FPS issue on Ash Canyon, I spent a good couple of IRL days this weekend. Hinterland has done such an outstanding job in creating this map. It is unique and the textures, layout and topography is beautiful. The mining settlement 'Miner's Folly' reminds me of the setting from the movie 'Wind River'. If they set out to create a 'powerful loneliness', with this region they have surpassed it. That feeling of looking down into the valley from a high point such as the 'Wolf Jaw Viewpoint' and not finding any signs of life with the snow picking up is so powerful.

Couple of screenshots...

A cozy place under a rocky outcrop, warming a cup of coffee and watching the flurries...

Looking into oblivion...

Lovely touch to have birch saplings that look like they've already been harvested. Gives a feeling that someone may have been here before... maybe another survivor...

Just to chime in on the discussion on screenshots. F10 does capture high resolution in game screenshots. These are stored on the Desktop. The F12 (or whatever key you may have set) is for Steam and that does not capture high resolution screenshot, only a screenshot based on the graphics setting in the game. I had made some pretty good looking screenshots only to find they were of lower quality. On a Mac, because you have to press fn + F10 (and you need big hands if you want to do it using only one hand), I had configured the ']' key to capture quick Steam screenshots. 

On 12/11/2020 at 4:13 PM, StillNomad said:

I just updated to v1.90. This problem existed in v1.89 as well. When in AC and specifically looking at ashy trees, the FPS drops to 1-3fps. When looking towards the sky or ground, the FPS goes back up (to 20-25 in AC). All other maps work well with 25-30 FPS and gameplay isn't affected. When looking at other trees/forests in other regions, there is no significant drop in FPS. I wonder if the textures have something to do with it. I watched a YT video today and the textures for ashy trees look more detailed. I've submitted this on the Support portal, but I post this here to know if anyone else has this particular issue. I play on a MacBP 2015 with a Win10 x64 external SSD on Steam (yes, not ideal I know, but it has worked well till now and still does in other regions. Just not in AC looking at trees). 

Ok, so I have found a temporary fix to this issue. I removed the [-force-glcore] arguments from the properties and this seems to have eliminated the FPS drop issue. The only problem is, I had added those arguments due to the frequent crashes I used to have while playing the game and the arguments had fixed the crash issue. I wonder if the game will start crashing again now that I have removed them. Again, this FPS drop is only in AC. I hope this helps the devs.

Wow, that was quick. Thanks to Hinterland.

I just updated to v1.90. This problem existed in v1.89 as well. When in AC and specifically looking at ashy trees, the FPS drops to 1-3fps. When looking towards the sky or ground, the FPS goes back up (to 20-25 in AC). All other maps work well with 25-30 FPS and gameplay isn't affected. When looking at other trees/forests in other regions, there is no significant drop in FPS. I wonder if the textures have something to do with it. I watched a YT video today and the textures for ashy trees look more detailed. I've submitted this on the Support portal, but I post this here to know if anyone else has this particular issue. I play on a MacBP 2015 with a Win10 x64 external SSD on Steam (yes, not ideal I know, but it has worked well till now and still does in other regions. Just not in AC looking at trees). 

On 12/9/2020 at 2:24 AM, Denis646 said:

5 years and not achieving anything

That's a very myopic way of looking at things. If you have followed TLD since its Early Access days, you will find the game has changed In more ways than you can count. Most of the changes brought about in the game was because the developers listened to the players' feedback. There have been several additions to the game and several areas have been reworked. One must understand while playing TLD that it is a game that is a little different from the standard, run of the mill survival game (of which there are plenty). The environments are beautiful, the sound is magical, the game mechanics are quite challenging in most places. It takes time to learn and enjoy. The audience, therefore, is also different to, say, a survival horror game you mention above. TLD is more than just it's story mode. People like to spend time in the environment for more reasons than just playing to achieve milestones.

On 12/9/2020 at 2:24 AM, Denis646 said:

so it is a hundred times harder than The Long Dark

So what? Is a game being hard to play the only benchmark for a game's success? Hinterland can tweak settings in their next update and make it impossible to survive, but that is not what TLD players need. A game that consistently keeps on improving, gets new content in the form of maps and game elements, new challenges, etc. all as free DLCs is really commendable. Yes, there will be bugs and issues, and I've seen them release updates to fix them.  Besides, have you played the game on Interloper? It is challenging and will test your knowledge about the game mechanics.

On 12/9/2020 at 2:24 AM, Denis646 said:

Chernobylite this game for a year so processed that words cannot Express

First of all, I have nothing against this game, may it succeed. But I won't play it, it is not for me. This game is still Early Access. One look at the steam store page will tell you how many issues this game has. It is playable, it is good based on the feedback, but with plenty of issues. Plenty of areas where the game shows why it belongs in the Early Access box. So I think it is unfair to compare an EA game with something that has seen the test of time and made it this far with such a massive following. 

I hear you when you say the Story mode has taken its time getting to E3. But I still enjoy playing TLD in Survival mode, the challenges, especially with new content they keep developing. So all is not lost. If you still didn't like it, you had the option to ask for a refund in a stipulated amount of time, which you should have done. Maybe TLD isn't for you, just like it isn't for a lot of people. What can you do? One cannot please everyone when developing a product. 

Ash Canyon looks nothing like other regions from whatever little I've seen so far. Gives a sense of claustrophobia due to the towering cliffs and makes you look so small (which one is compared to nature). Hinterland has done an excellent job in coming up with unique maps. On the plus side, I did feel the frame rates appeared consistently smoother (I play on a MacBP 2015 with a Win10 x64 on external SSD, Steam). The addition of other animals during the load screen is also cool. The game visually looked a little better to me. No scientific evidence, just plain eye balling. 

I forgot to check if the update messed up my feats or not as some people reported that to happen. I just dove straight into the survival mode. Will check later after work. Good holidays coming up. Happy holidays to the folks at Hinterland. 🥳

Absolutely cool. Great work.

Is for me?

Not fair. Bear has the last laugh. Dies on weak ice. (Forlorn Muskeg)

Bear with a missing leg? Seems to have history. (Forlorn Muskeg)

Old man's beard hanging in thin air. (Mystery Lake, Walking towards Frozen Creek from Unnamed pond)

Glenn is genuinely interesting to listen to. So many points that one can correlate with while playing the game. The behaviour of wolves, the infections from bear meat, the lack of food making you things, the cold, the solitude. Kudos to Hinterland for building an environment for us to experience this lifestyle from our homes.