HOTFIX! The Long Dark Sandbox v.326

[Raphael van Lierop]

HOTFIX! The Long Dark Sandbox Hotfixed to v.326

We've just hotfixed The Long Dark Sandbox to v.326, to address a few bugs and to make some tuning changes to mechanics we added in "Tireless Menace". 

Intestinal Parasites

We've rebalanced Intestinal Parasites. 

Parasite Risk: Raw Wolf and Raw Bear meat behaves the same as before. For Cooked Wolf and Cooked Bear, you will gain Parasites Risk per piece you eat, per day. The risk will stack, and is expressed as a % in your First Aid screen. Every 24 hours, we will check against this Risk. If you don't contract Parasites within that 24-hour period, we reset this Risk to 0%. 

Parasites: Full-blown Parasites can now be treated with 5 Doses of Antibiotics or Reishi (Voyageur) or 10 Doses (Stalker). There is still no chance of contracting Parasites in Pilgrim. 

Reishi Tea: You can now brew a cup of Reishi Tea using 2 Reishi Mushrooms (reduced from 3). 

Cabin Fever

We've also re-balanced Cabin Fever: 

* To get Cabin Fever, you now have to spend the majority of 6 days indoors. 
* If you develop Cabin Fever, you will now be prevented from Resting *indoors* for 24 hours. 
* We've added a "grace period" of 50 Days in Voyageur (25 Days in Stalker), during which you will not develop Cabin Fever. This is to "simulate" the idea that Cabin Fever only becomes an issue if you have been isolated for a long time. 
* There is no risk of Cabin Fever in Pilgrim. 

***** 

We may make further changes to these systems as we continue experimenting with them and reviewing community playtest feedback. 

The full changelist for v.326 is below: 

THE LONG DARK SANDBOX HOTFIX to v.326

* Intestinal Parasites tuning (see above for details) 
* Cabin Fever tuning (see above for details) 
* Removed affliction indicator when player only has at-risk afflictions; this indicator still appears for "full" afflictions. 
* Reishi Tea requirement reduced from 3 Reishi Mushrooms to 2 
* Fixed issue with multiple wolves spawning in Desolation Point cave 
* Fixed issue that could allow rifles to spawn outside Trapper’s Cabin in the Hunted Challenge 
* Fixed issue with shutters disappearing on some Lake Cabins 
* Reduced Bedroll per-use Condition decay 
* Changed R3 to Click RS in Controls options 

###END OF CHANGELIST###

[GELtaz]

Nice! Update has been out for 2 days, already 2 HotFix, Thank you!

[cekivi]

Thanks @Raphael van Lierop for getting new updates out so quickly! Can't wait until the weekend when I can finally test them

FYI: Any word on whether birch bark tea to treat parasites will make an appearance in a later update?

[Kyonshi]

Alright, just read it. What's the incidence of contracting intestinal parasites for eating COOKED meat? I think it is an interesting design idea, but if this is inspired from real-life occurence, it should have a non-present risk for cooked meat. I can understand for raw meat. But i dont think this should be taken under consideration for cooked meat... My opinion though.

Can you explain what is cabin fever? I dont really understand that in the context of The Long Dark setting, as being in a secured shelter is one of the most mandatory situation for the best chance of survival in the game... If Cabin Fever is introduced, will the occurence of extreme cold/blizzard events will be recalibrated?

[Salty Crackers]

It's great how fast you respond to feedback! This fixes a few issues for me.

[McGuffin]

Nice thx!
So just to be sure, Parasite can't be cured by Reishi in stalker at all?

[hauteecolerider]

1 minute ago, McGuffin said:

Nice thx!
So just to be sure, Parasite can't be cured by Reishi in stalker at all?

No, the Stalker requirements for curing Parasitism is double that of Voyager (10 doses vs. 5). Also Reishi Tea can be brewed from just 2 mushrooms, not 3.

@Raphael van Lierop: Awesome! I'm still playing Pilgrim on the new update, but I'm liking what I'm reading. 

I still want my birch bark tea, though. But I like that you addressed some members' concern about the Parasitism risk not resetting when wolf or bear meat isn't consumed for so long. Also that you removed the first aid icon when the risk of parasitism is triggered. I do want to know, does this apply to the risk of infection as well? I noticed one time that the first aid icon behaved similarly with that, and I think I had to wait until a full-blown infection actually occurred before I could do something about that. 

[McGuffin]

4 minutes ago, hauteecolerider said:

No, the Stalker requirements for curing Parasitism is double that of Voyager (10 doses vs. 5). Also Reishi Tea can be brewed from just 2 mushrooms, not 3.

That's what I have read, I just want to be sure it's not a mistake.

That sounds odd to not be able to rely on natural remedy in stalker

[Raphael van Lierop]

27 minutes ago, McGuffin said:

Nice thx!
So just to be sure, Parasite can't be cured by Reishi in stalker at all?

Yes, they can.

[Raphael van Lierop]

23 minutes ago, hauteecolerider said:

No, the Stalker requirements for curing Parasitism is double that of Voyager (10 doses vs. 5). Also Reishi Tea can be brewed from just 2 mushrooms, not 3.

@Raphael van Lierop: Awesome! I'm still playing Pilgrim on the new update, but I'm liking what I'm reading. 

I still want my birch bark tea, though. But I like that you addressed some members' concern about the Parasitism risk not resetting when wolf or bear meat isn't consumed for so long. Also that you removed the first aid icon when the risk of parasitism is triggered. I do want to know, does this apply to the risk of infection as well? I noticed one time that the first aid icon behaved similarly with that, and I think I had to wait until a full-blown infection actually occurred before I could do something about that. 

Yeah, we removed the First Aid indicator on the HUD for all the "Risks"...Infection Risk, Hypothermia Risk, Parasites Risk, etc. You'll notice some different Radial behaviour as well.

[The Gentleman Bastard]

Hello, just started on the forum. Just wanted to say THIS GAME IS AMAZING!! havnt tried out the new update yet, but am very excited. One thing i was thinking tho was maybe for the Cabin Fever maybe instead of having to sleep outside, you just have to move on to a NEW shelter. Like, your sick of your current place of abode, or you just feel the ever present need to explore (from the character perspective, as well as players). Anyway, super excited about the game and the forum. Im not really an "Online community" guy, but this game is just soo fuggin cool! Anyway, thanks for reading to you all. Man, kinda hoping Mr. van Lierop comments back. As im sure everyone does when they post

[Nervous Pete]

1 hour ago, Kyonshi said:

Can you explain what is cabin fever? I dont really understand that in the context of The Long Dark setting, as being in a secured shelter is one of the most mandatory situation for the best chance of survival in the game... If Cabin Fever is introduced, will the occurence of extreme cold/blizzard events will be recalibrated?

I wonder if I can make it sound more plausible to you this way. Say you arrive in this valley, bodies scattered around, abandoned cars. Either you've just come across a recent event and are shocked to the core, or you've seen this before in the preceding month or so of post-apocalypse horror and are profoundly unsettled by it all. As the question as to whether anyone else has survived out there begins to overwhelm you, you feel the increasing desire to step outside and look for more signs of life. You feel you need to catch sight of a plane passing over perhaps, another soul walking a distant trail... just a feverish hope that you're wrong in suspecting that you'll never see another living soul again.

This is different from being stuck in a valley in winter, knowing that civilisation is bopping along nicely without you and that it's just a matter of returning to it one day. Different even from knowing something terrible has happened, but rationally feeling that there's bound to be other survivors out there. This is an irrational dread that is creeping upon you with increasing force. 

So you feel the need to keep busy, to stop the demons haunting you at night as to what the hell has happened, to stop the restless thoughts about your family back on the mainland, the loved ones you left at home...

To be sure, little moments of joy and triumph are snatched out there at the sight of nature's beauty, at the little victories of survival - but this isn't cosy, happy survival fun-time. This is the Long Dark... and in bed, unable to sleep, mind-racing... well, this really is the hour of the wolf.

Just a thought, anyway.

 

[Braveheart81]

My first post here...

I've been really enjoying the game and playing a lot. I've longed for this sort of survival game that has nothing to do with zombies. It's a terrific concept and highly compelling.

The new update is great and I think this adjustment to the intestinal parasites in the hotfix looks just about spot on. I've been playing one game on voyageur for a long time (about 170 days) and have explored most of the map. Being able to eat wolf, bear and deer to your heart's content probably made staying full a little too easy so tuning that with the intestinal parasites wasn't a bad idea. 

Getting 2% extra chance of contracting it with every piece of wolf or bear meat and then absolutely no way to reverse that was overly rough. It effectively meant that you had to stop eating those altogether because the punishment in terms of heavy antibiotic or reishi mushroom use was steep.

Where it sits now you could theoretically eat one bear or wolf steak every 24 hours or so and then let the risk subside before going again. It means you don't have to cut those from your diet altogether but you do need to rely more heavily on deer, rabbit, fish etc.  

 

 

[Patrick Carlson]

1 minute ago, Braveheart81 said:

My first post here...

I've been really enjoying the game and playing a lot. I've longed for this sort of survival game that has nothing to do with zombies. It's a terrific concept and highly compelling.

The new update is great and I think this adjustment to the intestinal parasites in the hotfix looks just about spot on. I've been playing one game on voyageur for a long time (about 170 days) and have explored most of the map. Being able to eat wolf, bear and deer to your heart's content probably made staying full a little too easy so tuning that with the intestinal parasites wasn't a bad idea. 

Getting 2% extra chance of contracting it with every piece of wolf or bear meat and then absolutely no way to reverse that was overly rough. It effectively meant that you had to stop eating those altogether because the punishment in terms of heavy antibiotic or reishi mushroom use was steep.

Where it sits now you could theoretically eat one bear or wolf steak every 24 hours or so and then let the risk subside before going again. It means you don't have to cut those from your diet altogether but you do need to rely more heavily on deer, rabbit, fish etc.  

 

 

Welcome! And thanks for your feedback. As you spend more time with the updated mechanics, be sure to let us know how it goes for you, if you're up for it. 

Looking forward to seeing you around! 

[The Gentleman Bastard]

Just tried V.325, and it looks just amazing. This game just keeps getting better! Props to team Hinterland! Havnt encountered cabin fever yet, so i dont know what thats like, but i expect it wont be much of a problem (I tend to play more nomadically) and 24hrs outside dont sound too bad. I did get wicked messed up thanks to a bear that was glitched on a tree near the broken bridge in Desolation Point ( not like a super big glitch, just kept runnin into a tree) and then 2 wolves! ive noticed since the whole "rest as a resource" gameplay was added it makes it ALOT harder to sleep back to 100% health, making it a much more difficult to run around feeling untouchable. I know its still in its early stages, but it makes the game that much more nerve racking, which can be oodles of fun. Heres hoping the game keeps on the path its going.

[Gonzalo]

Thanks for tuning the parasites, love you all!

[pecypc]

Why Reishi tea cup requires 2 mushrooms? They're big. From one Reishi mushroom will exelent tea!

[cekivi]

11 hours ago, pecypc said:

Why Reishi tea cup requires 2 mushrooms? They're big. From one Reishi mushroom will exelent tea!

Likely for game balancing. There's a lot of mushrooms in the game and antibiotics need to be kept as a better alternative. Also, don't forget that the tea also gives you calories which is a big bonus already.

[Gustabins]

I like most of the update. Keep it coming.

The new controls are not compatible with my Mac book pro. And the option to select new key bindings does not work, this is because there is some weird combination with RMB, space, and LMB on the track pad that causes problems. This occurs when you try to aim/shoot  and then if wolf attack occurs you can't fight. I have had several near death experiences because of this. I have tried several combinations of key bindings. There is always a flaw. Not sure what changed from last update. Before it was flawless. Now its not working at all.

The radial menu is not really convieniet for me related to the key combinations with my track pad. I have to twist my hand in a weird way to get it to work. Seems like a neat idea otherwise. Not sure what problem it was supposed to fix.

[cekivi]

15 minutes ago, Gustabins said:

I like most of the update. Keep it coming.

The new controls are not compatible with my Mac book pro. And the option to select new key bindings does not work, this is because there is some weird combination with RMB, space, and LMB on the track pad that causes problems. This occurs when you try to aim/shoot  and then if wolf attack occurs you can't fight. I have had several near death experiences because of this. I have tried several combinations of key bindings. There is always a flaw. Not sure what changed from last update. Before it was flawless. Now its not working at all.

The radial menu is not really convieniet for me related to the key combinations with my track pad. I have to twist my hand in a weird way to get it to work. Seems like a neat idea otherwise. Not sure what problem it was supposed to fix.

I remember @Raphael van Lierop mentioning that the radial menu was a stylistic choice. I also like it, I just wish it was a toggle so I wouldn't need three hands to play the game and also enjoy my tea

You may want to start a post in the Alpha Feedback though about your problems with using the radial menu. I'm sure you're not the only Mac user on the site but you may be the first one to identify this issue.

[Raphael van Lierop]

On April 26, 2016 at 3:02 PM, cekivi said:

I remember @Raphael van Lierop mentioning that the radial menu was a stylistic choice. I also like it, I just wish it was a toggle so I wouldn't need three hands to play the game and also enjoy my tea

You may want to start a post in the Alpha Feedback though about your problems with using the radial menu. I'm sure you're not the only Mac user on the site but you may be the first one to identify this issue.

Not purely a stylistic choice, no. The radial brings most of the common actions, and things you need to do immediately, more to the surface, and streamlines certain things like access to First Aid and Simple Crafting, as well as equipping "emergency" tools like the Rifle, Bow, Flare, Decoy, etc. much more quickly vs. having to fight with the inventory to deploy. Any UI/control change can be jarring, but I'm confident that over time it'll become clear how much of an improvement the radial menu and streamlined status interfaces are.

In terms of the specific issues with the MBP and trackpad - we'll have a look and see what's going on there.

[Support]

@Gustabins - I'm looking into the mac track pad bug for you. Would you mind if I messaged you a couple questions? I don't want to split this thread as you've also provided some good feedback, and I don't want it to be lost.