The Long Dark Sandbox Updated to v.321: "Tireless Menace"


Raphael van Lierop

Recommended Posts

1 minute ago, Dirmagnos said:

Not necessarily.

Considering that under normal circumstances wolves/bears would avoid humans as is, and with LD wolves being extremely aggressive, by any standards, flares may not have desired effect, or any at all on that matter. If animal is bold enough to attack humans, then its quite possible that hes other instincts may be suppressed as well.

Especially considering that flares do not exist naturally in nature, while fire does and most animals are familiar with it. If wolves are not intimidated anymore by humans height, that is a major sign of strength in animal kingdom(if you stick out, it means you can afford it), they may as well ignore flares that are more show than actual fire. As if Event made animals smarter, capable of some version/degree of rational thought, eg tall doesnt mean strong, and bright doesnt mean fire.

It really all does depend on what the specific effects of Event are on the animals though. As we don't know for sure, I assume all of my, your and everyone else's statements are unfounded supposition, right? ... Unless I missed something somewhere...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 196
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Great job on the update! Looks great and the changes to game play and interface sound very promising. It may take some getting used to, but I think you have made some solid improvements!!!

Tried the Bear challenge last night and was eaten twice before I figured out how to use the new menu. Looking forward to playing more now that I know how to open my backpack!:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, Sima said:

It really all does depend on what the specific effects of Event are on the animals though. As we don't know for sure, I assume all of my, your and everyone else's statements are unfounded supposition, right? ... Unless I missed something somewhere...

Yup, everything about the event is just speculation at this point. 

However, I think that throwing a torch / flare to a "before-the-event" wolf / bear shouldn't make them flee for miles. They may give a step sideways, hesitate for a seccond... but the "danger" is now on the floor, and doesn't move; while their prey isn't weilding this "burning menace"  anymore... basically you threw the one thing that was keeping the predator from attacking you. 

If at some point throwing the torches/flares is brought back, I could understand that if you actually HIT the predator with a burning object it could indeed flee though. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Ohbal said:

Yup, everything about the event is just speculation at this point. 

However, I think that throwing a torch / flare to a "before-the-event" wolf / bear shouldn't make them flee for miles. They may give a step sideways, hesitate for a seccond... but the "danger" is now on the floor, and doesn't move; while their prey isn't weilding this "burning menace"  anymore... basically you threw the one thing that was keeping the predator from attacking you. 

If at some point throwing the torches/flares is brought back, I could understand that if you actually HIT the predator with a burning object it could indeed flee though. 

 

I can very well see how that logic would make sense from the animal's PoV, and I'm only inquiring/discussing not trying to defeat your statements or argue in any way, but wouldn't, say, 5 or 6 flares in a circle on the ground around u, emitting the sound and heat they would, put off the animal from stepping in albeit for a short while? That's really the premise of my statement

I suppose in answering my own question they'll probe and test this hazard until they find a way through. Anyway, I think I should stop "derailing" the thread with my wild imagination :$

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think we are still not so far from the topic in question ;) 

What you mention could also work, yes, but you should be really quick to build a fire circle with torches (you need to light them first!) while attacked. The movie "The Edge" has been mentioned earlier. I think that strategy of the fire circle should work fairly well, but building that security is something that takes time (time you would use to build a camp and spend the night), not something you can use to easily scare the predators. 

By the way, I'm having a blast with the hunted challenge. Got eaten twice already... :durbear:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, Sima said:

It really all does depend on what the specific effects of Event are on the animals though. As we don't know for sure, I assume all of my, your and everyone else's statements are unfounded supposition, right? ... Unless I missed something somewhere...

Id rather go with educated guess based on presented facts. For all intenses and purposes animals could have been possessed by evil spirits. That theory also has its merits, considering that now player can magically contract intestinal parasites from wolves and bears, but not deer or rabbit or fish(fish is also carnivore, but it seems that its not on the list; thats why we have to cook it, parasites are essentially an artificially added double for food poisoning, an unnecessary one-sided patch without fixing an actual problem that wolves are way to easy to kill, making them easy source of meat).

But then again, considering that theres been a lot of talk about bringing electricity back into the game, it would mean that conventional laws of physics are also no longer applicable in world of LD. So if it would turn out to the true, then everything that we talk about is just pure random guessing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd just like to say it looks amazing since the update, the ice is so much better. I had to sign up especially to say so! I'm really interested in seeing this game develop.

If this is a new thing or not I'm not sure, but I'm finding more occurrences of objects being scattered about and not necessarily on tables or in cupboards. Finding a scarf, hat or coat lay on the floor is rather spooky, you wonder who left it and why or if they were attacked etc and limped away. Obviously with no npc humans at the moment that's not going to be the case but it is a little more atmospheric, perhaps more so that the frozen corpses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Ohbal said:

I think we are still not so far from the topic in question ;) 

What you mention could also work, yes, but you should be really quick to build a fire circle with torches (you need to light them first!) while attacked. The movie "The Edge" has been mentioned earlier. I think that strategy of the fire circle should work fairly well, but building that security is something that takes time (time you would use to build a camp and spend the night), not something you can use to easily scare the predators. 

By the way, I'm having a blast with the hunted challenge. Got eaten twice already... :durbear:

Yeah, now that I think more about it, it serves very little purpose other than to prove that it would work... for a short while :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2cents:  Update looks great, that is to say, in keeping with and expanding upon the grandeur of the game so far.  There are 2 things which (at first look) seem a little wayward from that though.

1) Cabin Fever seems an artificially instilled pressure -- like having a 'fun of shooting things' meter that increases health.  Couldn't / shouldn't this be left as something for the player themselves to feel or not feel. rather than impose in-game?
If part of its purpose is to diminish the rewards of the 'hibernation' survival technique, I would think there to be more organic/simple ways to detract from the 'benefits'.
There may well be interesting implications that can emerge from the cabin fever ailment, like needing to sleep outdoors now and then - but again, such a necessity (which would be neat) can be more organically driven, by, for example, if you could temporarily deplete the wildlife around your 'base' to the point that you must go farther afield, maybe camp out for a day or two at one of those hunters outposts or fishing huts, etc..

2)  The sandbox challenges might be kinda fun as little exercises, but I would like to see something that isn't so limited in scope (bear) or time-frame (flare).  Remove the time limit on the flare mission with maybe a motive to fire from potentially more than one location.  Or find letters here and there that may be of interest enough to look for more - fill in a story.? (I donno bout that one).  Some kind of motive in keeping with how endless and expansive as the sandbox itself can be - that's what makes it cool.

This being said, my opinions have been known to turn on themselves before, after seeing an angle or perspective I had previously missed.
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great Update !!!

First, sorry for my english... but I´ve a problem with the Animal respawn-rate.

I´m at the Gas-Station at day 54 - actualy playing 1h with the update. I go outside and around

the Gas-Station are 4 wolves - I shot them all. Next day on the lake again 4 wolves nearby + 1 bear I´ve

actually shot a few days ago. Really heavy! Is this just because the start with the update or will this respawn-rate go on???

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First, thanks to Hinterland for great game. It is first early access game I bought. And I never was into crafting-survival games, didn’t play any before. But setting of this game took my attention when I saw letsplays of it. It is so atmospheric and ‘real’ that can take me for hours from reality. Special thanks for no zombies!!! :)

 

Quote

* Mac and Linux rendering now uses OpenGL 4.1, which should result in some performance improvements for players on those platforms.

 

I updated from v.302 to v.325, and I observe fps degradation subjectively about 20-25% on my macbook pro (2015). Now I have 15-20 fps, which is not much playable, and now need to reduce quality. :(

Is it expected degradation because of image quality improvements?

 

Also, localization note. When playing in Russian, in radial menu > camp crafting > Fire option is translated as ‘Shoot’. This is rather confusing. )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now that flares are no longer throw-able, how are they different from  torches. What does "Brandishing effectiveness" mean is it a percentage chance to scare off wildlife, or maybe less fatigue required how are they better ? and the new item Brands how are they different from torches ? Maybe the range at which they are effective ?  I know that I have to play it but I am too curious on first look it seems redundant to have 3 items doing the same thing. I hope that at least you changed  the buttons I always hate when I missclick a stick on the ground and my char is waving the torch like there is no tomorrow :) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, vancopower said:

Now that flares are no longer throw-able, how are they different from  torches. What does "Brandishing effectiveness" mean is it a percentage chance to scare off wildlife, or maybe less fatigue required how are they better ? and the new item Brands how are they different from torches ? Maybe the range at which they are effective ?  I know that I have to play it but I am too curious on first look it seems redundant to have 3 items doing the same thing. I hope that at least you changed  the buttons I always hate when I missclick a stick on the ground and my char is waving the torch like there is no tomorrow :) 

One really important difference is that a torch can be blown out by the wind/snow while a flare will keep right on burning. Might come in handy if you have to stare down a wolf during some bad weather. Just a thought. :geek:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I kind of agree with the parasite thingie. I'd be in favor of changing the icon to avoid confusion, and more than likely the chances of developing parasites should be tuned as well. But let's give the update a couple of more days of testing. I'm quite interested in knowing how we would threat the parasites once you get them. Does anybody knows how this works?

And the cabin fever could also use some tweaks. Tons of good suggestions already on this thread. 

Thanks a ton for the update HT!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Patrick Carlson said:

One really important difference is that a torch can be blown out by the wind/snow while a flare will keep right on burning. Might come in handy if you have to stare down a wolf during some bad weather. Just a thought. :geek:

Yes that is a big difference thanks. Here is another thought: why can't we put back the brands in to the fire or at least harvest them for sticks when they are ruined it is silly to have them litter our world after they are used up :) or maybe I am just a clean freak but it bothers me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, cekivi said:

Brand is a synonym for "fire stick" :)

 

13 hours ago, Raphael van Lierop said:

Brand sounds nicer.

For those folks wondering about the term "brand" in lieu of torch or fire stick, from the definition of "Firebrand" in Merriam-Webster:

Quote

Did You Know?

The original firebrands were incendiary indeed; they were pieces of wood set burning at the fire, perhaps for use as a light or a weapon. English speakers started brandishing those literal firebrands as long ago as the 13th century. (Robinson Crusoe held one high as he rushed into a cave on his deserted island and saw by the light of the firebrand . . . lying on the ground a monstrous, frightful old he-goat.) But the burning embers of the wooden firebrand quickly sparked figurative uses for the term, too. By the early 14th century, firebrand was also being used for one doomed to burn in hell, and by 1382, English writers were using it for anyone who kindled mischief or inflamed passions.

I've seen "brand" used in this context (short for "firebrand") for a long time in many pieces of fiction, including historical fiction and fantasy. In such cases, "brand" refers to a makeshift torch created by starting a stick or piece of kindling burning, but it does not burn as long (nor start burning as quickly) since it lacks the pitch/pine tar typically used to create a torch. So it doesn't bother me as much seeing this in TLD. In fact, I like it better because I could never understand how a "torch" pulled from a fire in TLD is equivalent to a "torch" created at the workbench. Come to think of it, I could never understand why I needed a workbench to craft a torch . . .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has there been a change to how fishing lines work in this update?  Prior to this update I was doing a lot of fishing trying to stock up.  I had 6 fishing lines and after 2 solid days of fishing all 6 were still at 100% condition.  After the update, I grabbed 4 lines and went fishing.  All 4 were broken within a day and a half.  I never checked my inventory in the interim to see if they actually went down in condition before they broke, but I had no warning.  A message used to pop up in red that said "fishing line ruined" or something.  Now there's just a sound mechanic when the line breaks.  I had no idea that I couldn't fish anymore until I tried and it said fishing line required.

Is anyone else having this problem?

Also, do cured pelts now decay when outside of storage?  I had a wolf pelt that finished curing in the middle of the night and when I woke up and went to put it in some storage it was at 99% condition.  I've never had pelts decay before.  Is this new?
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, fearofspam said:

Has there been a change to how fishing lines work in this update?  Prior to this update I was doing a lot of fishing trying to stock up.  I had 6 fishing lines and after 2 solid days of fishing all 6 were still at 100% condition.  After the update, I grabbed 4 lines and went fishing.  All 4 were broken within a day and a half.  I never checked my inventory in the interim to see if they actually went down in condition before they broke, but I had no warning.  A message used to pop up in red that said "fishing line ruined" or something.  Now there's just a sound mechanic when the line breaks.  I had no idea that I couldn't fish anymore until I tried and it said fishing line required.

Is anyone else having this problem?

Also, do cured pelts now decay when outside of storage?  I had a wolf pelt that finished curing in the middle of the night and when I woke up and went to put it in some storage it was at 99% condition.  I've never had pelts decay before.  Is this new?
 

Yes I too have noticed the fishing line breaks more easily. In my case it happens every time and usually in less than an hour of fishing so I pretty much gave up on fishing for now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On April 21, 2016 at 2:58 PM, stray_cur said:

2cents:  Update looks great, that is to say, in keeping with and expanding upon the grandeur of the game so far.  There are 2 things which (at first look) seem a little wayward from that though.

1) Cabin Fever seems an artificially instilled pressure -- like having a 'fun of shooting things' meter that increases health.  Couldn't / shouldn't this be left as something for the player themselves to feel or not feel. rather than impose in-game?
If part of its purpose is to diminish the rewards of the 'hibernation' survival technique, I would think there to be more organic/simple ways to detract from the 'benefits'.
There may well be interesting implications that can emerge from the cabin fever ailment, like needing to sleep outdoors now and then - but again, such a necessity (which would be neat) can be more organically driven, by, for example, if you could temporarily deplete the wildlife around your 'base' to the point that you must go farther afield, maybe camp out for a day or two at one of those hunters outposts or fishing huts, etc..

2)  The sandbox challenges might be kinda fun as little exercises, but I would like to see something that isn't so limited in scope (bear) or time-frame (flare).  Remove the time limit on the flare mission with maybe a motive to fire from potentially more than one location.  Or find letters here and there that may be of interest enough to look for more - fill in a story.? (I donno bout that one).  Some kind of motive in keeping with how endless and expansive as the sandbox itself can be - that's what makes it cool.

This being said, my opinions have been known to turn on themselves before, after seeing an angle or perspective I had previously missed.
 

I wholly agree with your cabin fever assessment.   In the sandbox mode we should be free to use that world as we see fit.  Let hibernators hibernate if they wish.  I ran in to cabin fever because I was crafting a lot of arrows and fixing tools.  Then the weather was foggy and a blizzard set in, so no reason to explore or gather.  Then I got cabin fever in the middle of the night, and couldn't sleep or pass time because i was rested.  Had to let one real hour pass before I could do anything.  Not the end of the world, but still...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On April 20, 2016 at 3:56 PM, Raphael van Lierop said:

Did this actually happen to you in the game? or are you speculating? Because I don't think what you describe here would actually happen, based on how the systems are tuned.

If you have an affliction that requires rest, you can Rest without concern for the limitations. You only have to worry about Cabin Fever if you spend a *significant* number of hours indoors.

So, this sounds like maybe complaints about mechanics based on reading the changelist, without actually having tested any of the new systems in the game? If so, please play first and then come back with your criticisms, supported by your experience and not what you think your experience might be.

I think I figured out what happened to me, and it was just a prefect storm of bad timing.  I was crafting a lot of arrows and fixing some clothing, a day or two straight.  Then I got food poisoning, then I was weak so didn't go gather wood, etc. which gave cabin fever... etc.  Strange timing more than a game problem.  I still do think the cabin fever is unnecessary, but it's not going to stop me from playing and it seems other folks like it, so...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.