What do you like?

[ajb1978]

So in the most recent Milton Mailbag, Raph said "We often hear a lot about what people DON'T like, but not enough about what they DO like," and that is a very good point.  I am guilty of that, being quite vocal when something rubs me the wrong way, but when something happens that I like, I just quietly enjoy it.  So with that in mind, possibly this thread might be useful to Hinterland going forward, or perhaps it just becomes a place where we can rave instead of rant, what 10 things do you like in the game?  Anything.  Can be your favorites, can also be just simple little things you enjoy.  No negatives or wish-list items here--just things you like!

I'll start this show.

Likes:

• Hidden bunkers and supply caches.
• Skills that improve with practice or reading
• Finding goodies squirreled away in corners or under objects
• Hunting wildlife that each has its own unique traits
• Crafting gear from resources in the world
• Cooking multiple items at once
• Climbing certain cliffs without a rope
• Listening to the radio during an aurora
• Ambient noises based on what you're doing (creepy creaking Raven Falls Ravine Trestle, I'm looking at you)
• Each ailment having a specific cure (i.e. no generic Doom style medikits)

[ThePancakeLady]

• No 2 runs ever being exactly alike.
• Climbing... I second that. Being able to climb without rope, up or down, to see views few others have seen.
• Not being told how I have to play the game (being allowed to have my own lousy playstyle- and being allowed to love it).
• The music.
• The ambient audio, the little sounds that make the world sound (and feel) alive.
• The art. I really love the unique "painterly" style, and the carefully chosen color palette.
• The caves, especially the deep ones and the ice caves in Hushed River Valley. They look and sound like caves (except for the always flat commercial cave floors... lol!). Ex-caver. <3 caves.
• The humor. The not over-the-top humor found in food and clothing descriptions and names, the humor of having my gal say "I hope no one needs this anymore..." as she picks up yet another stick.
• The photo ops. I like to take screenshots. By the thousands. Sue me.

Never feeling like I can count on things to go the way I planned. That sudden wolf that I didn't hear, the storm that rolls in while I am on my way to a hunting ground, the bear-moose-wolf hazing line circling the car I just had to dash to. I enjoy having to think on my toes, and change plans at a moment's notice.. because RNJesus "loves" me. 

There's the first 10 things that came to my mind. There s more, and there is less. But we'll leave it here, as it is.

[Drifter Man]

• Beautiful views on a clear day
• Weather crossing my plans
• Weather helping my plans
• Infinite options, making meaningful decisions about where to go and what to do
• The thrill of hunting
• The songs of the aurora
• Finding rare items I thought I had no chance of finding or that I overlooked before
• Endless learning, there is always room for improvement in how you play
• Regions and locations with unique character
• Great forum community
• ...

[Samsonguy920]

@ThePancakeLady

- Not being told how you have to play the game.

Yes, Yes, So much yes. I can't iterate enough how tired I am of blowhards who have that one way and they have to tell everyone about it like it came from the Bible or Quran.

- The ambient audio, the little sounds ... that make your hair stand up on end and make you wish you stayed in the cabin you just left ten seconds before. 

Just last night in Coastal Highway after stocking up on what I could, I would head on out and work my gradual way to the new region. I am hugging the hills to avoid wolves, and see some crows. I figure a bit more loot on the way out would be great. Halfway up I start to hear something else and not sure if it's my footsteps or the AC in my room. I stop and immediately figure it to be footsteps, or pawsteps. They aren't loud so I figure it's a wolf and give it a bit of time to maybe walk away. Only they get louder, and over the rise appears a bear.  My heart immediately goes up into my neck the same time the bear stops upon seeing me. I turn around and start walking, and look behind to see the bear has proceeded to follow. Not running, but it was heading for me. This is when I decide it might be good to actually run.  This is when I discover I got a bit too loot-happy and I am unable to run.  Coincidentally, this is also when I begin to feel the need to go to the bathroom.  Happily, the bear was satisfied that I did leave when I did and did not pursue me.  Sadly, as soon as I was sure the bear was not ready to take a bite out of my butt, I dropped some items that I was planning on breaking down later. Wasn't about to make it easy for a wolf to jump me.

All that being said, I wouldn't have passed up that experience for the world.

- The music

Such beautiful chords that bring such life to the world. They, too, managed to raise my tension level as the game decided that right after I play with a radio, during the day, it should start playing a track of music.  The timing was way too perfect and had me way jumpy. This happened before the above-mentioned bear encounter, to boot, which might have helped me as I was being very watchful with as nervous as I was.

Sums up the look of my character by the time I signed off for the night.

Love this game. It gets me on edge almost as much as Alien Isolation does, but A:I doesn't give me as wide range of choice which adds to the fear factor there.

[Mixxut]

Woah, there are a lot of things listed already and I don't want to repeat what other people have said. But I think I can add a few more.

 

• The story mode

I know a lot of people were disappointed in the story mode, but I enjoyed almost the every second of it.

 

• The challenges

I like every single one of them! (Yes, even nomad) Hopefully more challenges get added soon

 

• The survival skills (and the research books)

It feels so good when all of your survival skills finally get to level 5!

 

• The "new" HUD

Sue me.

 

•  Forging your own tools

 

•  HRV

I like almost every single map in this game, but the fact that HRV is completely untouched by humans makes it so cool! It's not my favorite map, but it has something that other maps don't. I mean it doesn't have what other maps have because.... houses... Yeah you get it.

[MarrowStone]

Great idea! This reminds me of the "What do you like most about TLD" thread, but I am happy you started this one as well. Maybe this one should focus more on input on more recent changes to the game rather than the game as a whole?

[s7mar7in]

This thread is a great idea @ajb1978, and this game deserves so much praise. Here are the first (10) "Likes" that come to mind:

• Learning, (something new each time I play).
• Simplicity, (keyboard, mouse, earbuds, Hinterland coffee mug, 15 minutes free-time)
• Traveling the woods by following nature's landmarks, (like when we were kids, naming rocks and trees).
• Exploring the abandoned world for clues to the bigger story.
• Organizing supplies to create a base-camp, (and then satellite camps/cozy caves).
• Discovering peaceful areas, (above tree-line at forestry lookout for an example).
• Listening to the old man near the Carter Hydro bonfire, till all hours of the night, (Story Mode).
•  I love the way the gameplay changes with increased skill levels, (please give me a hundred skill types).
• The feeling of "reaching the end of a hard day", (taking in the beauty of a night sky from the safety of a front door campfire).
• The excitement that comes from reading the "change list" as the game continues to grow. 

Well Done Hinterland. 

[MarrowStone]

16 hours ago, s7mar7in said:

Listening to the old man near the Carter Hydro bonfire, till all hours of the night, (Story Mode).

He was bugged in my game and so Ive never had a chance to listen to him.

 Hoping he will wait for me when I return after the Redux. Otherwise I'll have to watch a video or something of him.

[Pillock]

The new cooking system gets big thumbs up from me.

The art, the location design - especially the views you sometimes get in certain weather.

I like the feeling when you escape death by the narrowest of possible margins.

And I like it when you're learning the game, or learning a new region or a new set of game mechanics after an update, when you figure out how to do something by your own intuition because that's what I'd do in real life. It's amazing how something so obvious as that is so overlooked in game design, I think.

I like making plans. And I love it when a plan comes together.
(But I think I love it even more when the game bowls you a googly and wrecks them up!)

[MrBlack]

This game is awesome... 

Been playing over a year, and it's breathtaking. Many of the things I like have already been mentioned, but I have to say that the game's unpredictably is worth mentioning.. Once you feel that you are on the saddle with this run, even after 400 days in, you get tackled... The game does a perfect job reminding you that we are dealing with nature and its forces which are unconquerable.... It's not "Man conquers nature" but more of a "nature allows you to live and you do your best"... It's the reaction you get those first seconds that you realize that an earthquake is on... Never played another game that can make me panic so hard...

Also the watercolor feel, like you are in a memorie.. 

Also, I ve been loving the new cooking system, once you get the hang of it you get to realize that you can do more actions than before. I am an old warcraft player and changes like the cooking system do not spoil my mood... I remember back in WoW days when an update was made you literally had to learn to fight all over again, talk about muscle memory mindf**k! 

Good job Hinterland! Keep it up!  Mr black will be watching! 

[Ducky335]

 I love the Custom Difficulty Settings. I recently purchased the game on PS4, after playing it for nearly 2 years on PC. And suffice to say, I can't aim or hit what I want to hit to save my life xD

Which basically means wolves are literally my worst enemy. So I tweaked my settings to remove them, as well as remove bears because they're a bunch of hulks and I don't mess with that type of murder. And to compensate for the lack of predators, I went and bumped the environmental hazards to near Interloper levels.

I'm currently on Day 13 and having the time of my life. While it's quite liberating to not have to look over my shoulders for wolves, the intensity of my blizzards and freezing conditions are apocalyptic.

The addition of Custom Difficulty Settings is by far the best thing Hinterlands has given us, at least in my opinion.

[TreeBeard]

It's been a while... but:

• the new cooking system - lovely
• putting an open tin or cup of chai next to a fire barrel and letting them 'simmer'
• new details in game are welcome (bits of scenery etc.), the world seems less sparten, but more lonely
• bears - controversial, but I love watching the buggers amble about
• fishing - gotta love me a bit a of fishing, with a fire behind me and a view of the world outside
• elusive moose - nope, still not bagged one, but can't wait
• customization - wooop!

Stay frosty y'all.

[Fuarian]

-the Aurora Borealis turning on lights and computers

-sunsets and sunrises

-ambient music

-putting together bits and pieces of story through the environment. Corpses, vehicles, lost items, etc...

-finding the stories that occur within each region, especially Hushed River Valley