Some thoughts on The Long Dark


Karl Grylls

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Some thoughts on The Long Dark

 

Hello Forum,

first of all, i want to thank Hinterland for this beautiful, exiting and great game. I enjoy this since autumn 2015 and it never bored me. Now i found the time to take my chance of bringing my ideas into this alpha game and maybe influence it a bit my way ;)

But let me come to my thoughts. I know some of these things are already enlisted on the road map, others may have been posted here in the forum. But i can not read all of the postings here, so please indulge. So:

  1. when using the radial menu for crafting some items, i would like to have an option allowing me to decide how many i want to craft. For example, i want to craft 3 old man's beard wound dressings. I have to use the radial menu every three times from the beginning on. I think it would be a good improvement when you can choose the amount of crafting. So when i mouseover the item, can there be a pop up of some numbers above it? Very much like this: 69if8356.png Please notice my incredible paint skills (alternative: clicking on the symbol produces always one, by clicking on the numbers it produces the choosen amount)

 

  1. it annoys me to hold the spacebar for the menu. It would be better to press the spacebar once and then a second time to get back to the game

 

  1. combining knife and rifle to a bayonet to get a second line of defense would be great

 

  1. add skill books for archery and repairing. They havn't come with the last patch or via hotfix, so i guess this is intended. But i can't see a reason why.

 

  1. rose hips and reishi are nice, but boring by time. There are plenty of other plants for medical use: sage, thyme, birch leafs, solidago, peppermint, american witch hazel, etc. that can enrich this wonderful game.

 

  1. Point 5 counts as well as for the kitchen: basil, salt, pepper, rosemary, lavender, caraway, garlic.... there are a lot of overlaps to 5. But these spices could help keeping up the moral and the "willpower" and "mental strenght" that you listed on (or is it "in" in english?) the roadmap

 

  1. vitamins. Surviving for more than 200 days, i noticed that nobody could live with only one type of food. Of course there are peaches, granola bars and tomato soups in the game, but not that many. They are consumed after a few weeks. After that it's only meat, meat, meat, fish, meat, meat, meat. How about vegetables? Pineapple rings, apricotes, corn, peas, carrots (all of them in cans), dry mixed fruits, dry apple rings, dates, cranberries and very important in the late game: vitamin pills! People become tired when they suffer from a lack of vitamins, and i think this could make the game more interesting.

 

  1. I think fir cones as tinder and/or burning material would be a nice add. In real life they even deliver some sap which can be used as glue

 

  1. how about a spear? And in different qualities? (for example rudimentary with a carved spearhead, primitive with a stonehead, etc, etc)

 

  1. i always see the same two trees. Wikipedia is telling me about the canadian pacific coast: douglas fir, red-cedar and hemlock spruce. Different wood types could have an influence on the quality of crafted stuff (see also 9)

 

  1. I wondered why animals only have 3 types of items: meat, gut, skin. Sawing the antlers of a deer in order to craft grips for knives, buttons,... bones could be used for bone glue and to craft arrowheads, or even to make a primitve flute like in the stone age (making music will increase the "will power" as well). Bones could be used as needles for stitching

 

  1. sinews from deers and antlers can be used to build a better bow. The survival bow is a rude, primitive one that breaks after ~50 shots (?). By using the mentioned materials, the correct type of wood and having the skill, it could become possible to build a bow of better qualitiy

 

  1. I don't know if the new clothing system is a good one. I like having different variations and qualities of items (it freshens up the game). But all these slots on clothing are making the character heavy. Of course you dont't have to use all of the slots, but maybe it becomes too cold then... Sorry, but I really believe this system needs some polishing

 

  1. when i see patches and patches passing by, delivering more and more items and mechanics, it becomes necessary to carry more and more stuff (saw, signal pistol,...). Sure, you don't need all of these items at once, but even then you have to carry nearly 30 kg (that goes along with point13). A sledge, that can be hauled would bring relief. It should be possible to leave it behind very quickly in case of danger

 

  1. more animals. The existing four becoming monotounos by time (sry for saying that). I always wanted to have a hat made of raccoon fur ^^ So we need a raccoon. And owls, eagles, foxes, hogs, reindeers. Some smaller birds without any possible interaction (like the crows) flying around would bring some life in the game. And have you ever imagined standing (for example) at the Hibernia near the coast, and suddenly - out of nothing – there's a whale breaching and breathing? Or jumping? Or just rising the tail fin silently? Amazing!

 

  1. More animals, more plants, more spices, more vegetables: that could allow recipes

 

  1. I'm a fan of sorting the items by weight and also by volume. Carrying a jerrycan filled with 2 liters, a water canister of 5 liters, and some cans of soda is possible (by weight). But imagine you have to sort all of these by volume. That's gonna be hard, hrhrh :D

 

  1. In my opinion, the possibility of placing items into the world is one of the best innovations the game experienced so far. And i think it would be great to improve that. By now, it is only possible to put items side by side. But sometimes i want to stack items in a shelf or something like that. But until now i can't build a tower of let's say sewing kits. Another thing is the rough sensitivity when placing items like that. Is it possible to improve that? And a third thing i noticed: placed items seems to have an "exclusion zone" around them. So it's not possible to place them near by near or to swap them, but this is coming along with the ability to stack

 

  1. more skins for corpses. I wander through the world of The Long Dark minute after minute, hour after hour. Every corpse is looking the same. Same clothing, same gender, same height, same weight, same hair... It would be nice to see more variations of them, perhaps you developers can put yourself in your own game this way? And in the future.... who knows? Maybe one day i will come along and find a dead Raphael, who got murdered by his own team for let them working too much and was left behind in the middle of nowhere at Forlorn Muskeg ;)

 

 

That's a load of ideas, i know. Maybe Hinterland is already working on some of these, maybe they will. I know some points are standing for countless hours of work and are utopic. But maybe some of them will make it in the game. I would love to see.

And i'm looking forward to discuss with you about these ideas. But some are pretty over the top, we should discuss the realistic ones ;)

 

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Oh, i forgot two things, the first one is the most important one (for me) and responsible for why i'm posting here O.o

 

I know, Canada is not Alaska. But is there a possibility to bring in a reference to Chris McCandless into the Long Dark? Like an old truck with some personal items. In any case it should be some major visual reference. And additional, can you bring in some quotes of him when starting a new game?

And the second one: I think the Long Dark is a great chance to honor the native north americans. And as a sign of esteem, there could be some quests obtaining to there lifestyle. When i thought about that, the story of the spirit bear, better known as the kermode bear came up to my mind: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermode_bear Even their territory fits to the environment where the Long Dark takes place!

This would be great content for the game :)

 

//Here's the article of the kermode bear from national geographic i read years ago: http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2010/Icon-for-an-Endangered-Ecosystem.aspx

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5 hours ago, Karl Grylls said:
  1. I think fir cones as tinder and/or burning material would be a nice add. In real life they even deliver some sap which can be used as glue

 

Please, no more tinder materials. Tinder is the most common item in the game and becomes absolutely useless mid-game as Level 3 Firestarting eliminates the need for tinder. We don't need any more items that just ends up being litter.

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4 hours ago, Drazon said:

+1 for more variation on corpses. When everything else is done before/after the launch.

Thank you:)

I agree with you. I think when Long Dark evolves to Story Mode, this should be the Update that changes the Game so entirely, it will feel like a "complete" new one.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Karl,

as promised my thoughts a little bit later... :$

 

First of all: I also want to give a "Thank you" to the developers and the hole Hinterland Team. You created a great Game which grabs my attention since release and i am not loosing it although i played it now for over 650 hours, make over 700 Let's Play Videos and countless hours of Streaming. Never had such a fascinating game! Keep up your work!

Now back to topic:

The new Map, i just took a short look, was neither necessary at this time nor it was announced or promised for the Sandbox. But in my memories the most of the (german) community has requested a new map since Timberwolf Mountain. So i don't know if this was a reaction for the "Long Time Players" to have something new to discover in a more difficult and new map. I don't think the new map has any influence on the roadmap an the release of the story mode witch wasn't terminated to spring 2017 as i mentioned, look at Raphael's Steam Post: Story Mode Progress

Quote

As I’ve said before, I won’t provide dates until they are close enough that we are 100% guaranteed to hit them, but I feel really good about where Story mode is at the end of 2016, and we’ll have lots of exciting stuff to share -- including new announcements -- some time after the holidays.

 

Now let's check your Points: :)

 

  1. Great Idea i think, but i am not always a friend of automatism and queueing. In this case i would agree
  2. I don't mind... for me it feels good as it is.
  3. This would open some opportunities. Maybe we need duct tape to combine this effective
  4. Essential!
  5. Nothing to add! Vote for this! :)
  6. Would be great, but for me it is not that urgent. B|
  7. Same as point 6. As a vegetarian i indeed wish to eat more healthy in The Long Dark, even on Interloper...
  8. Only as an alternate tinder material as mentioned above. The sap/glue thing again opens some opportunities.
  9. For me not essential, but i prefer more craftable items, so.... 9_9
  10. YES! More variety!
  11. Same as 10.
  12. Same as 9.
  13. Oh dear, my sore spot...
    • I think the clothing system is great at the bottom line
    • a little logical error is for example the weight of the raw materials compared to the final product (see bearskin coat)
    • at least the crafted items need a little more temperature bonus for it's costs (time, cabin fever, wear)
    • BUT: We all have to accept the different usage of the different clothing types (hunting, discovering, farming...) because it is a great an realistic opportunity (In my case, i don't wear tons of clothes when i go outside for a marathon :P)
  14. A sleigh would be awesome! In my last Stalker Adventure i had to move over 250kg from one map to another. That's indeed boring!
  15. Same as 10 :-)
  16. same as 9.
  17. That's a bit to much realism for me without a sleigh... :D
  18. Oh yes, please! That would also be awesome! =)
  19. Same as 10.

Another idea which was mentioned by one of my viewer:

  • We need Candles! I can't believe no one in the outback of Canada has some candles at home!
    • low light but enough to craft
    • maybe craftable from resin and some branch

 

I really hope to see some of this Ideas in future!

 

Have a nice day folks!

Clows

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 9.1.2017 at 6:33 PM, Pausenclows said:

Now back to topic:

The new Map, i just took a short look, was neither necessary at this time nor it was announced or promised for the Sandbox. But in my memories the most of the (german) community has requested a new map since Timberwolf Mountain. So i don't know if this was a reaction for the "Long Time Players" to have something new to discover in a more difficult and new map. I don't think the new map has any influence on the roadmap an the release of the story mode witch wasn't terminated to spring 2017 as i mentioned, look at Raphael's Steam Post: Story Mode Progress

FM is connected via ML. Check the "Great Bear Island" Map, you will see that this Map most likely was planned (FM is on the left side, that the Map doesn't show anymore). The other two Regions are still unknwon. I assumpted falsly, that FM is one of the two Regions that Hinterland brought in via Patch in order to apologise for not bringing Story Mode. Well, i was wrong and the Map of "Great Bear Island" is an old one. Who knows what happened in the meantime? So i was wrong and glad of it.

 

 

  1. Oh dear, my sore spot...
    • I think the clothing system is great at the bottom line
    • a little logical error is for example the weight of the raw materials compared to the final product (see bearskin coat)
    • at least the crafted items need a little more temperature bonus for it's costs (time, cabin fever, wear)
    • BUT: We all have to accept the different usage of the different clothing types (hunting, discovering, farming...) because it is a great an realistic opportunity (In my case, i don't wear tons of clothes when i go outside for a marathon :P)

Okay, i'm still waiting for your Clothing Tutorial on your YT Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-jYNRTnSC0ySelcNuVxY0A).

I know you got a new job at February 1., so i hope we can watch it before that date, because after that you won't have that amount of free time anymore. And you will produce it in german AND english, won't you? ;)

And to all the other players: Do you agree with my list? What is the most thing you want to see in The Long Dark in the future? Shall we make a poll, where everybody can pick up to three things she or he wants to get most of all? (ehm...was that correct english? xD).

I would like to discuss with you :)

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  • 2 months later...

So, i found my old and nearly first post on page 11. In the meantime, some new players joined the forum and brought new ideas here. As i wrote before, i want to discuss the ideas above and the new ones. And of course i still try to stoke a discussion and conversation. Of course i hope some of my ideas find the way into the game, just like everyone else does :D

Do you agree with my list? What do you think will Hinterland adding to The Long Dark in the next Update on 5. May? Will we get a spear like i and many other people want it? Or is it going to be something very different?

Let's revive this post

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I got some reputations during the last hours for my long post. That's nice, thank you. But i would like to start a real discussion and that is not possible by only getting reputations. I need real feedback via postings!! I understand when many of you think "the update is coming next week, let's wait and discuss then". But a real conversation and a real change/influence can only be triggered by communication.

I guess most of you think tl;dr right?

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