The Long Dark -- TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY -- Part Five Update Video

[@firstnamelastname-cu5lr]

Tremendously disappointed that you have to get mauled by the cougar to get the opportunity to kill it.

[@colel9756]

Yep. Same.

[@2lenivy]

same..

[@bpdlr]

Indeed

[@HybrisFactory]

Yup, really crappy choice. I'll probably just disable it if it's that non-interactive.

[@spyonharddrugs7788]

...i have two bear coats and the vest. I'd like to see that feline looking ahh creature try and jump me.

[@MorkandGork]

Easy fix for the cougar make it like red dead redemption 2 did it. The cougar controls its hunting ground and actively hunts and prowls in the area and you can tell via carcasses and scratches. Either you can choose to enter its territory where the hunter becomes the hunted or steer clear of that area until you wish to play hunt or be hunted.

[@MorkandGork]

Okay saying easy fix was rude that's my bad. Coding is hard and I can't imagine the time it would take but doing it this way seems like a much better option. Cougars are stealthy yes but even the greatest hunter can be caught out. The cougar appearing to attack you just doesn't give off that hunter or hunted feeling like the changes I suggested would. I see people arguing in the comments but I'm choosing to take the peaceful route I hope you see this Hinterland and I hope you take it into consideration.

[@comfortablydumb2137]

That's a solid idea, honestly. Would be cool to have certain areas of the map act as restricted zones, less one wishes to tangle with the cougar.

[@AnxiousGary]

They threw the idea of immersion out the window a while ago didn't they? HUD popups to warn you that you're about to get attacked by an invisible cougar, gosh it's like I'm there!

[@bidge6353]

Not making the Cougar an actual entity you can find, and not giving you the chance to kill it before it attacks, the same way with Moose and Bears, yet _somehow_ still choosing to make the struggle unwinnable, is just a poor choice. You’re telling me I need to ruin my clothes and knock on death’s door for a headpiece and knife? I already do both fighting against blizzards and the wind. Either make it hard to track, changing its location in a region like every day after it spawns, or after a certain time, play an auditory beat drop, like wolves, maybe unique, and give like 10 or 15 seconds to look around before it claws at you, like the Bear in “The Hunted”. You could also do both. I think the latter would be interesting, not just because no other animal acts like that, but because the risk I take is no longer an active sacrifice of clothing and condition, but a _potential_ one that I need to have my wits up for to prevent. New gear is nice, but come on, don’t force me to ruin my clothes and health to get it: just threaten me with it instead. The key word is threaten, over force. Can you imagine having to screw yourself royally with Bears and Moose just to get their skins? Retain how they are designed with the Cougars, and spice things up by twisting their behaviors a bit.

[@Schmidtelpunkt]

As I understand it, it threatens you for a while. This allows you to avoid it by leaving the area. This is an interesting mechanic in a game mode which can too easily become about hoarding.

[@fvb3624]

I had to scroll way to long to find actual, none destructiv critisicm

[@ShallowTeal]

​@@SchmidtelpunktIf you want the new items there is still zero way to get them without getting mauled first.

[@dutube99]

@@Schmidtelpunkt and why shouldn't it be about hoarding? Like any normal person would do in these conditions? TO SURVIVE.

[@Schmidtelpunkt]

@@dutube99 First of all, it is a game. So it really isn't about a normal person because everything is influenced by the game balance. And this leads to certain ways of playing the game - basically juggling the game mechanics in ways which have little to nothing to do with how normal people survive. By setting limits, those strategies get tested. Hoarding is one of those strategies - one never gets into the situation of having to decide what is more important, as all alternatives can be covered. Making people move around changes this. This is something one could observe especially in the initial game, where the chapters often had stages which would require the player to leave stuff behind instead of hauling their whole household in ten loads from A to B. Especially on the lower difficulties this can create a different game play without necessarily just raising the difficulty as such.

[@cfredtmbg]

The whole update looks so awesome, but the fact that the cougar just materializes out of thin air to attack you is really lame. If you’re in a mountain pass, that might make sense, but on the open ice of coastal highway??? Just feels like bad game design imo.

[@roichana.4402]

True, if its a bird like a hawk or a falcon its gon be much much more sense

[@olympicjbrag5913]

So the cougar is a mechanic and not really an animal in the world. THAT'S DISAPPOINTING.

[@OmamonsOfficial]

@@olympicjbrag5913 i was hyped but this made me delete the game once again

[@tomaat654]

I love the idea of the couger but i think you should be able to outsmart it or get a way of killing it without it atacking you first it feels unfair that you need to be atacked before you can kill it

[@toast12397]

I thought the cougar would stalk you silently, similar to the bear in The Hunted part I, but without the music changing. Based on the update video, after several warnings, it just kinda... appears on top of you? I hope they change that mechanic since it seems sort of gimmicky.

[@atoxee6867]

why is the cougar invisible? for a game fully focused on immersion, the invisible cougar breaks the immersion entirely...

[@thatcanuck5670]

wow, definitely gonna be disabling that cougar mechanic lol

[@Groaker]

The cougar should spawn in like special infected do in Left4Dead: just out of your line of sight, with a few audio queues to let you know it's there, and you have to be *quick, skilled and a little lucky* or it's on you in a flash.

[@michaelyang1848]

Great to hear the updates were playtested by some of the community. It was fun to watch Tomasina's vids on it, and Zaknafein's explanation vids are what got me into The Long Dark years ago. Thank you Hinterland for seeking this feedback.

[@jedinutcracker]

dropped the ball hard on the cougars, idk who thought it was a good idea to implement them like that

[@yesiyahh]

spawning cougars theeth on your neck is defo pulls you out of immersion. without this is just another wolf which they understand is kind of useless. so dis decition dictated by gameplay variety. may be this mob needs more work before implement.

[@jedinutcracker]

@@yesiyahh all they needed to do was make it spawn as an actual animal ingame, that would stalk and hunt down the player so that vigilant and prepared players could fight whats effectivley a "boss fight"

[@Averium]

Im not sure about the cougar mechanics. The only way to kill it is to wait X days, let it teleport on top of you, go into a struggle and get severe afflictions just for one bowshot with an annoying blurry screen? Come on... for me, this game is about preparation and avoiding dangerous situations. Why do I have to intentionally go into a struggle if I want the knife/hood? All other things are great ofc. but I dont like the cougar at all. A normal animal that only spawns when you spend too much time in a region would be a lot better. Im sure you can make it just as deadly.

[@adolfodef]

. You can always "banish" this spirit from the region by collapsing its Lair (you have to find it before the timer runs out). . You can choose to leave the region (for a while, not permanently); coming back whenever the cougar moves into whatever other region you were later. -> Player & Cougar simply can NOT co-exist simultaneously for too long [they are both Super-Alpha predators].

[@edwarda3939]

i like the cheat death, i had a save of 1400+ days and died to being glitched in 2 trees close together. i backed myself up from a bear and hit the trees, i got into the animation of being attacked, and after fighting it off, i was stuck between the trees and eventually bled out as i couldn't attempt to get to one of my outposts that was close by.

[@altair5240]

Honestly, this has been the first update i've been disappointed with. The cougar seems like an over-glorified map-wide second cabin fever affliction instead of an actual animal.

[@sam_k]

You can just toggle it off

[@Nathdood]

​@sam_k then why is it there if we are just going to turn it off? Not much of a cougar and more of "an annoying invisible force"

[@LierinEdana]

Agreed. After the work put in to the rest of the wildlife (and as a lifelong big cat lover ... who actually worked with a cougar rehab program) the cougar is pretty much a slap in the face for me personally. Not at all what I expected.

[@sam_k]

@@Nathdood For people who do want it. Think of it as an additional feature. You don't have to use it

[@gabrysmichalek4281]

The cheat death option seems pretty bad for me too, like you die then you die, no second chance

[@SmenDeSmen]

I always get goosebumps everytime something new is brought into TLD, i love this game a lot

[@ShinraSetora]

Sadly, the cougar is a big let down at the end.

[@thedarkones2226]

Very sad. All this wait for some lazily implemented cabin fever affliction

[@dutube99]

@@thedarkones2226 exactly

[@PunishedMushu]

​​@@thedarkones2226They were too lazy to implement a proper stalking system, even though this is paid dlc

[@Jlue2_2016]

Make the cougar an in game thing instead of a scripted event

[@ssghoneybunns8203]

I cant seem to understand people in chat hinterlands is on my absolute opinion the best dev company out there they care about there community and the workers there only human. Also i would like to say co op will never be on the game its not intended for that at all as well the story mode i know from the beginning that was added it was a survival game that tested you and gave a peace and quiet ive never experienced. So true legends of tld will inderstand story mode is a side along not the main game hinterland just graciously added that to welcome the others to tld. But i just love this game and you go hinterlands and i cant wait to customize the farmhouse

[@infinity-r8f]

I have played many games, but this game has a special place in my heart. THANK YOU so much, for creating this game.

[@colecochran1833]

I agree with other people on the part where the mechanics should be changed a bit in order to make it a bit more fair towards the player, a cougar simply spawning on you isn't how it should work. The cougars howls should also be enough warning rather than displaying like it did in the video, that will likely take out some immersion to the player. The cougar has the potential to be a great system to stop players from staying in one region for too long. I also like its drops, the hat it gives seems pretty good, but from my understanding it is difficult to reliably hunt the cougar without great risk. I still like its idea and how it could work and think regardless that its still a good mechanic that punishes players for outstaying their welcome. In terms of misery mode, it sounds really cool and far more difficult than interloper. The idea of letting go of my precious feats scares me, along with that it adds permanent afflictions that will likely disrupt any TLD veteran from their usual playstyle. I will try it, but odds are I will die pretty quickly being that my best save on interloper only made it to day 50. Simply put, I like it. In terms of the ability to respawn, its controversial. I think that it will probably attract more players now that TLD isn't as scary with it permadeath. On the other hand, permadeath is a feature that has always been with us in our snowbox survival mode for as far as I know, forever. It would probably be best to be left as and option before you start the game on all modes except interloper/ misery where its automatically disabled. Btw, the new region has me speechless. That frozen waterfall is too good along with all the other features, each region you guys make has a good amount of uniqueness to it and for the past two years that I've played this game the new regions always amaze me. You guys are an amazing studio and really stand out among all the others, the speed at which you guys fix things is amazing for such a studio at your size. Thank you for all the effort you have done for this game and its community over the years. I am struggling to express my gratitude towards you and I'm sure others are too, but it's a bit emotional seeing the probable end of the DLC that's been going on for the past year and a half or so. Thank you for reading my very poorly structured paragraphs.

[@jezuznevweraz8800]

Why not just make the cougar an actual animal to roam. And the fact that you have the game tells you there’s a cougar hunting is dumb. If you don’t like campers or whatever make it have a climb or jumping animation, even have an insane verticality grab animation or kill range. I’m not a major fan. But this doesn’t seem like it belongs in this game. And the way fans in these comments aren’t freaking out about this is insane. And don’t do “oh disable it” reason. This is ridiculous.

[@jackr2287]

I suppose I don't get the revulsion people are exposing. I also suspect I'll dislike the mechanic, and end up disabling it in a custom-voyager run, but such an animal does fit the setting of the game, even if the mechanics need a fair bit less punishment, and a bit more level fairness to it. We're dealing with a roguelike still. Why not have rougher mechanics?

[@Fulldrag7802]

🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

[@yesiyahh]

agreeed, wierd mechanics. its so wierd that im not sure if this a result of lazyness. i think its not, its just bad idea.

[@gior987]

Thank you Hinterland for the continuos love and passion for the game! Overall, I have mixed feelings about this update. I like the features but not how they are implemented. For instance: 1) Cheat Death should NOT be on by default, it should be an opt-in that disables feats just like custom game mode. 2) The cougar should NOT spawn on top of you with the struggle animation, but should spawn somewhere in your region and swiftly and silently hunt you down. Although extremely difficult, you should have the possibility to shoot the cougar while it's running at you, but it should require impressive reflexes and a bit of luck. Wish you all the best for future projects!

[@dutube99]

That would require some smarts in the cougar that the Hinterland is apparently unwilling or unable to implement. Sad.

[@zDRAG_]

You guys really need to fix the issue were your game crashes when you leave buildings, it's been years and the problem still exists on console..

[@BetterBusinessJB]

You guys are awesome… Only thing is, it’s extremely disappointing that the Cougar will not roam like a normal animal…

[@ajesseal677]

When are you guys gonna finish adding to the story mode part of the game like Winter mute? I really wanna finish it but noticed it hasn't been updated in forever :(

[@lancegeorge71]

The final part comes out in December.

[@ajesseal677]

@@lancegeorge71 LETS GO! Thank you!

[@joshuamumma6162]

I have to say, I am EXTREMELY disappointed in how the cougar was implemented, waited over a year and a half just for it to be region wide cabin fever with a jump scare... Essentially just an affliction on steroids

[@JohnSmith-kz7rd]

agree, it feels like a rushed script put in, instead of a new animal, with a new animal ai, more dangerous then wolfs or bears, stalking and hiding and not glued in place like other animals are with their spawn points/patrol routes. Imagine, it being able to even lie and lurk still in trees.... instead we got this...

[@skysox1280]

A modder has already started working fixing the cougar,where it has an actual presence and not a scripted event. That's how 🗑 the cougar update was.

[@Ghostshrimp1533]

Please shut up

[@skysox1280]

​@@Ghostshrimp1533🤡 Comment

[@dutube99]

@@Ghostshrimp1533 no u

[@firstnamelastname-cu5lr]

This is wrong. They didn't "fix" anything, all they did was spawn in the animal using a console command which was created by hinterland.

[@Xohaze]

I really like the cheat death system here. I lost my 1k day loper run to my keyboard dying and my character strolling off the ice into the ocean because of it. I can really see the appeal here and would have LOVED the option to cheat death and been able to continue that run.

[@reaperluke3518]

Having the Cougar spawning on you like "heh, nothing personnel, kid" and mauling you without any chance of shooting it seems bullshit.

[@Walterwhat835]

its true to how real cougars behave though! They are incredibly difficult to find in the wild and one of the most deadly predators in the world. No one ever stumbles upon a cougar or mountain lion, they always find you first. They are different than any other predator in the game. I think it adds a rather humbling and terrifying element to the game!

[@Daemon250]

@@Walterwhat835 I don't think they're suggesting it's something you stumble upon but rather like many others on the comment section, that there shoud be an element of at least a physical presence to the cougar in the world stalking you rather than something that just happens to you after a certain amount of time. I think I could totally understand it making no noise at all when lunging or charging you since that is what cougars do best but I do agree with op in that I feel it could have benefited from that physical being of walking behind you/ following you in some form before attacking.

[@JSteelsRacing]

Excited to play this update! One of my favourite games & Hinterland do such a great job of supporting their players!

[@BenceDobai]

Great work. The long dark is the best game I ever playd. Thank you Hinterland.

[@hardfreak08]

Gonna be honest, I'm not a hard-core player so I'm not really interested I'm all this extra stuff that will kill you now. All alot of us really want is episode 5!!

[@alexbaumy]

God I love Hinterland....it's the honesty and care they give to this masterpiece of a game. Kudos guys! I'll be with you for as long as you'll have me

[@steve04510]

This is unbelievably awesome. The game just keeps getting better and better, and it was a masterpiece to start with.

[@Rob-mg3wu]

Thank you Hinterlands for your dedication.

[@MP-ux9ze]

Hello Hinterland studios, first off I want to say that I have absolutely loved your game since its initial release. I wasn’t able to play it because I was busy but around 2020 I really got into it, I enjoyed the challenges you guys put into the game. I’m confident this comment probably won’t be seen by you guys because there’s so many, but in the off chance you do see this I was wondering if it’d be possible to add the torch as a tool to use in the struggle. If it has enough like you could use it to scare away wolves faster at the cost of the life of the torch. And I’ve heard your temporarily removing the Cougar, I do love the concept and I’m sure these suggestions are going to be implemented one way or another. But I think that having it be a physical entity would be more beneficial because the sneak attack (While very real and understandable why) would imply that the cougar could be seen in one way or another. I think adding a mechanic where the cougar freezes if it is spotted for a couple of seconds would be nice, I get that making this ambush predator immobile could make it underwhelming at time, but with Big cats like this preferring to not be seen until it’s too late. A freeze before charging the player would make it feel more alive. I’m not saying it wouldn’t charge if you’re super close, but if it’s a larger length away from the player and is spotted, you could argue that the cougar is trying to see if the player has actually noticed them. Having it hunt moose, wolves or bears would also be a cool concept as well. I know this is a long comment not many will see. But I do hope these ideas don’t come off as harsh criticism to an awesome game like this😅 😁👍

[@mastrtonberry2]

Love it! Great update! Thanks team

[@samanthawallwork3816]

Omg, I’ve been on tender hooks for this drop! Yes!!! Thank you!!! Favourite game, like ever.

[@LauraTeAhoWhite]

Finally, we have cats in the game

[@trevorledford8352]

We want the Majestic Snow Leopard in this game that would top everything

[@spiralingspectacle9848]

I've been playing TLD since 2016 and I am so excited for all the features in the video! Everything looks amazing, I've been so excited for this update and the cougar looks great! I primarily play in pilgrim and I'm curious on how the cougar works there? Is it still around but runs from you or is it one of the true things that can attack you in pilgrim? Either way I'm excited to play the update. Thanks for all the great work you and the team do

[@gmooney77]

Love the game, don't mind having bought the DLC, but my does it seem like it's coming apart here.

[@bcav712]

As always thank you TLD team! As this is the first time I’ve modded my game I’m curious to see how or if this update breaks my mods.

[@dragonbornhk]

Nice, it's cougar hunting sessionnnn

[@hazelnut2002]

Yep though it sounds like you have to take it's beating and survive to even get a chance to shoot it. Really hoping a bow can take it out fast enough because I play Loper. 🙂

[@Marqan]

I'm really glad that TLD pros got Misery! Not something I'll play myself I think, but I know a lot of people will love it!

[@Josh-yx2gy]

So my 250 day interloper run died in the new region (pretty crushed but thats how the game goes). Word of warning bring LOTS of marine flares to sundered pass or you're in for a bad time.

[@ulvi5514]

This video came just like a cold drink during this hot summer days)))

[@IamDoubleP]

This game is one of my all time favs, I love these updates. Letzzz goooooo

[@sinside318]

Absolutely awesome. I love this studio and game, been following since the beginning, thank you @Hinterland

[@Leatherhead1225]

We need machetes in this game. Machetes would be the only tool to use and defend during bear, moose, and cougar mauls.

[@Athropine_Crow]

And how would it be explained logicaly? Machetes are more common in south countries and used as hacking instrument. Here in north hacking is done with an axe, and we have it. So it would be out of place. But I would love another weapon added for sure. Survival knife for example. Now that's what would fit in almost any setting!

[@Leatherhead1225]

@user-gc5hd9jl3l Ye, bro. I wish Hinterland would add a weapon that would be the only one used in a bear maul similar to the spear. It'll be sharper than the hunting knife, durable as the axe, but lighter than the hammer. If it had a sawback side on the top, that'd make it able to saw wood and make it more durable than the knife and the axe combined, plus you got an effective weapon against moose, bears, and cougars.

[@agamersjournal]

Me still longing for base customization and photo mode. lol. Update looks great regardless!

[@SKIROW]

Can't wait to wear my gimp suit and play in Misery Difficulty

[@SomePerson_Online]

Part of me wants to see TLDD's stream play the game

[@el_chapolman5023]

That cheat death system is great design. It's a failsafe for deaths caused by bugs which is helpful for the long term, when TLD is no longer supported by Hinterland. However, I must say that the cougar implementation is mediocre. From a design standpoint it's pretty good since it forces you out of the late-game hibernating meta, but from a visual standpoint it's awful. The cougar is basically a glorifed affliction like cabin fever or scurvy. The fact you can't even physically SEE it before it pounces makes an encounter so anticlimactic. Imagine what you could've done. Seeing the cougar stalk you from high up in a tree and snarling. Let us SEE this majestic and terrifying predator!! The LEAST you could've done is make the cougar a rare roaming mob you can sometimes encounter in the game world. You had more than 9 months of development time for this update, Hinterland. This is a disappointing effort.

[@tj3423]

I disagree about the cheat death, having your save file compromised and dealing with punishments for dying because of a bug is not a very fun situation to have. I always recommend people backing up their saves in case of unfair deaths, and you can still do that all you want after this update. In 6 years of playing the tld I can only think of 2 times I actually died because of a bug so it doesn't happen that often anyway.. But changing permadeath fundamentally changes the feel of the game, even if you don't intend on using it just the knowledge that it's there can temp you and change your mentality or make your long runs feel less special if you do use it.

[@el_chapolman5023]

@@spiralintobliss6785 I get where you're coming from, and your suggestion would indeed be ideal, but the game won't be able to reliably discern a death caused by a bug or a "normal" death (from a backend coding standpoint). At least, I don't think Hinterland has the coding capacity to write a system that reliably recognizes these cases. This cheat death-feature basically achieves the same thing as you described. And in my opinion it's the best that Hinterland could have come up with.

[@el_chapolman5023]

@@spiralintobliss6785 Ah, I understand. The video stated they would add the option to disable it somewhere down the line. So I would expect it to release along with the final part of Tales.

[@GreySquirrelly1016]

This is so great! Cheat death being RNG would be sweet too

[@campbellhughes5062]

The hub popups completely ruin the immersion just having the cougar sounds some dialogue and a timer on the map screen would be enough. I don’t need a direct notification with all this extra hud clutter feels very unlike the long dark

[@vincentbamboo2260]

Just nearly died after getting there, found a awesome little house that saved my life

[@VapenBake]

380+ days on interloper and I suffocated trying to grab something off a crate, Accidentally breaking it down instead

[@socialmediainfo-um6hw]

i just bought this game yesterday and i’m already pulling my hair out with these wolves hunting me 😂

[@souhailreee839]

same :/,i always have torch at hand just to make sure they leave me alone

[@kcstott]

Love you guys thanks for a wonderful game and experience.

[@xappuep]

bravo, Hinter, your the best

[@MoominHD]

It is somewhat sad to see the cheat death system implemented into the game. It's a cool concept, for sure, but not really a feature that fits The Long Dark, in mye eyes. I mean, the game is known for the permadeath system, it is a core part of the game, whether you realize it or not. To me, it seems like this feature was added for only a small minority of players, while the majority of players never really asked for it. I know it is optional, but even then, it makes a big change to how it feels playing the game, in terms of the psychological aspects that we experience playing it. This kind of change make the game feel more ''video gamey'' than anything, as ironic as that sounds lol. Now knowing a player who has survived a 1000+ days, after cheating death 3 times throughout their run will never be as impressive anymore, although it is impressive if they are able to survive through the penalties, I guess. I do like the punishments you get from cheating, but the fact that it is, literally, cheating, is somewhat of a problem in and of itself, whether it is optional or not. I agree with the disappointments people have on this update, but it is quite sad that some people voice them quite angrily, instead of having a healthy debate.

[@scooote9478]

I think it's fine existing on low difficulties, maybe stalker and below, or maybe even just voyager/pilgrim but shouldn't be available on high difficulties. Either that or it could just be a custom gamemode option

[@MoominHD]

Yeah, I agree. I think having it as a custom mode only option would be the best, and maybe on pilgrim. It makes more sense to use it in customs than the standard modes, considering the fact that players can twist and turn settings to their own liking, so it makes more sense to have an experimental option like this there instead, I think.

[@scooote9478]

@@MoominHD There also probably shouldnt be temporary effects. 60% less condition for 20 days hurts, but a properly stocked day 50+ safehouse can probably allow survival for that time so it basically is just hunker down for a while

[@MoominHD]

Yeah, at first I thought cheating death would only have permanent penalties, because you shouldn't be rewarded from cheating, it should actively discourage and punish you from doing it the rest of your run. If you are a good player and choose the temporary options, you essentially get rewarded for cheating.

[@haroldthepeasant9699]

AMAZING I JUST FINISHED THE TALE! LORE IS AWESOME!

[@Samimies]

I think I might have done it aswell

[@alexroselle]

Excited to meet cougars in my area

[@Спартанец-ц9р]

В начале вы пишите-Создано студией,которая заботится о своих игроках... После добавления пятой части обновления из уже существующего выживания исчез авитаминоз и надпись у рыбы о витамине С. Баги уже существующие много лет не убираете!!! ТАК ВЫРАЖАЕТСЯ ВАША ЗАБОТА ОБ ИГРОКАХ?

[@adventurer7579]

It's an obvious lie They don't put time and effort in the game anymore Both "cougar" and "cheat death" was rushed and not though through

[@marshalle9403]

Teleporting Cougars lets gooooooooo helllll naaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[@sedriksolar5693]

This game is for me the best masterpiece in gaming industry. You released so much in so little time. I really appreciate to have you with us. This game changed my life.❤

[@TulkOrkan]

Can't wait for the next wintermute chapter!

[@beachy6081]

W update W game W creators

[@lightningevo5429]

this looks so fun.

[@mkv2718]

Love the new changes- the cheat death thing reminds me a bit of Outward on Hardcore 😅. Still would LOVE to see you guys add Gyro controls for ps4/5 and controller on PC since its already an option on Switch (only Xbox controllers can’t do this) and no, I’m never gonna stop bugging you about it 😅(nor am I the only one who’s brought it up before) seriously, once you’ve gotten used to gyro, playing fps games without it is like aiming with only the keyboard again once mouse aim was introduced…. It feels AWFUL.. So please, throw some of us a bone 🙏

[@oduvan4uk139]

Sorry for not writing my comment in english, but i am to disappointed even to translate it, so i hope that youtube's autotranslation will do it's thing. Here are my thoughts About the update: Огромная локация, никак не награждающая игрока за её исследование, если бы не продолжение истории (очень халтурное, кстати), то не было бы вообще никакого смысла её посещать, на ней куча багов, плохой левел-дизайн, по минимуму новых ассетов, какое-то безумное количество лесных волков, которые расположены буквально через 30 метров друг от друга, за несколько дней нахождения на локации я потратил больше 40 револьверных патронов (без промахов), просто для того, чтобы была возможность пройти дальше. Несмотря на размер - она пустая, только одна более-менее интересная локация - погодная станция на самом верху, но и там по сути нет ничего (единственное отличие от любой радиовышки, существовашей в тлд до этого - наличие шара над зданием, и это всё. История заставляет ходить по этой локации туда-сюда, но это не чувствуется как исследование мира, а как напряжная работа. Имплементация пумы - вообще какой-то отдельный цирк, вещей из неё хороших нет, она просто скриптованно нападает и мешает играть, Как понять что что-то сделано плохо? Если это что-то опциально. Так вот - все фичи в этом обновлении - опциональны. Они пытаются увести игру не в то русло, они делают упор на путешествия, но не дают игроку никаких инструментов для этого, а также не добавляют какие-то точки интереса и реально стоящие уникальности, ради которых был бы смысл что-то исследовать. Моё мнение - им больше следовало бы идти в направлении frontier comforts (обновление с готовкой), добавлять крафты, какие-то механики, улучшать охоту, медицину, а не пытаться сделать какой-то недо сталкер из игры про выживание в Канаде. Возможность обмануть смерть? Да, фича интересная, но она убирает какое-либо переживание за персонажа, обдумывание стратегии так, как если бы от этого зависела твоя собственная жизнь. Очень надеюсь, что скоро эту функцию можно будет отключить. Но стоит сказать, в этом обновлении это единственное, что сделано не халтурно Новые предметы? Одежда абсолютно бесполезная с точки зрения баланса. На том этапе игры, когда ты выполнишь все эти задания - тебе уже нахрен не нужна будет эта куртка и перчатки, они даже не позволят выжить на этой суровой и пустой локации. В общем, я расстроен этим обновлением, ожидал совсем иного, надеюсь, дальше они сделают, как обещал Раф, торговца и возможность обустраивать базу, и действительно постараются над этим.

[@matveyzhakovae1214]

Полностью согласен с тобой

[@GoldBawls]

…I’ll go ahead and assume this was added on “go to work drunk” day.

[@MidnightArcher]

Let's go!! I'm so hyped to face the challenges ahead

[@Tomas91709]

Is graphics overhaul still planned ?

[@MrMrsGMay]

Will the update be safe for existing save files

[@MarkDeasy-x2k]

Id say so all the previous ones were

[@argsgsgsgnngndg9894]

No. I just logged in in my old file and got a popup with scurvy affliction (which i disabled from the custom settings) and a message that the cougar would appear in 5 days. No option to disable them. Rip old files, unless you don't mind scurvy/cougar.

[@wangtoriojackson4315]

Yeah this is great and all but when are we gonna get the final episode of Wintermute?

[@sudnyd3n]

This is absolutely mind-blowing! Thank you, Hinterland, for the years of content. For high-quality content. Everything you brought - was made with sense, every action still has consequences and you still have to think several times to do smth. I really love the philosophy that every player sooner or later will die with the new survivor mode. The cougar feels like a real pain and I like it 🙏🏼 I admire how passionate you are,even now, years and years later. This is inspiring. Big shout out from the Sakhalin Island in the sea of Okhotsk with coniferous forests, brown bears and snowy winters. It is the opposite side of the Pacific ocean in the north, Love you ❤️

[@TheFlashBA]

When the final season of story mod?😢

[@j.s.c.4355]

I wish there were a brief chance to shoot the cougar prior to being attacked. Animal attacks that can’t be avoided counted as one of those pointless, unavoidable deaths that you mentioned.

[@MavByte]

but if you stay in an area for so long that the cougar appears, you're essentially asking to be attacked, don't you?

[@simonnachreiner8380]

I absolutely detest that the attack is spawned as a dice roll scripted event. It means there's no real meaningful way to hunt the cougar or even be ready for its attack beyond just waiting to get jumped, preferably outside a safe house. My preference would've been it spawning three to five seconds behind you before silently charging. Rewarding players with good reflexes while also instilling large amounts of paranoia to anything remotely sounding like pitter patter. Also I dislike the cougar signs being on the HUD. Instead have the early signs being ravaged corpses of dear and rabbits with ruined hides. Then when the cougar is nearly active move on to mauled wolves and have scratching sounds play when ever the player is inside a building. The current noises for a stalking cougar are fine. As is I'm not going to be enabling. Ultimately it's a system I'd probably avoid. I already take vacations to multiple zones for fun by default so being forced out won't effect me. Also the rewards for hunting the cougar just aren't worth unavoidably having my clothing shredded and being put on deaths door for days. A 5.5f hat is really good. However it's not "this is worth nearly ending my run for a chance" good.

[@rainydaytales1806]

THIS!!!!!

[@rainydaytales1806]

I'm really excited for this update and all parts of it!!! Just think they should implement your ideas. The way they have it now kinda ruins the immersion

[@jacobrose9684]

I agree.

[@TinyGreyOwl]

My thoughts exactly.

[@Sev3617]

I agree. I really like the idea on paper, I’ve actually wanted something like that in the game for a long time. A rare predator that stalks you, but it’s implementation seems kind of janky and not very fun. Making it a physical entity that roams that you maybe catch glimpses of in the distance, as it uses cover to approach you would be a lot more engaging. Program the AI to move behind trees or something like that, even using the grass? Or adding a new type of flora that is designed specifically for the cougars to hide in. The fact that it just spawns on you is absurd

[@pokka626]

Feedback: You definitely should have a chance to see the Cougar stalking and slowly closing in on you (even if it was almost impossible to kill) before the attack instead of just getting attacked out of the blue.

[@rainydaytales1806]

This!!!!!

[@equestrianrosie]

I would like to get a chance to see it up in a tree briefly and then it disappears. Having that as part of the stalking mechanism, not just hearing sounds and seeing an icon, even if we’re expecting the cougar to be intelligent enough and stealthy enough to always get the drop on you. Seeing it from afar would be so cool and unnerving.

[@princessofthecape2078]

The cougar may be the dumbest mechanic ever added to TLD. So you mean that I can be out in the middle of a field in daylight turning in circles and the thing just lands on me? I don't think anyone asked for the cougar to be a bullshit 'forced relocation' mechanic - that's incredibly stupid. No animal should oblige the player to choose between getting their gear shredded or moving to another region. And the flipside of the coin is: I don't want to feel like I have to disable a flagship animal introduction just because its implementation is bogus. This entire concept is half-baked and needs to be taken out of this patch and redone. The cougar should be terrifying, yes - but it shouldn't have stealth; it shouldn't be an entity apart from the game world that we occupy. Very, very disappointed with this.

[@rainydaytales1806]

@princessofthecape2078 I think it's a cool idea but the implementation is so immersion breaking. How would i know how many days until it arrives? How come doing 360s won't reveal it as you said. How come there's no evidence of it being in the area despite the magic Hud warnings and the howling..

[@rainydaytales1806]

@@equestrianrosie everything you just said is rad

[@helikopterbojowyka-5234]

Honestly the whole cougar mechanic feels like recycled darkwalker. It should be an animal, not mechanic! I know in real life it’s hard to spot cougar but in real life wolf’s also don’t attack people! Remember? I liked one of comment idea that arrive of cougar should be manifested by many not obvious warning signs. Something immersive, that you could miss and never be 100% sure if it’s real making you paranoid. The whole screen interface waring completely brakes that immersion. Also it should be possible to see and kill it without getting damaged. Not make it easy, just possible by making him get on ground and stalk around. Then make him run fast in inaccessible places like cliffs if both of player and cougar spotted each other or player attacked with firearm. That would also avoid corpse getting stuck in cliffs since he/she would be just to fast to get hit and killed. In reality he would be immortal on cliffs, just to avoid corpses getting stuck. But at least the whole to fast thing would give an immersion. The whole thing could be really good story material. The hunter and pray dynamic. You’re both trying to kill each other and one time he/she has a chance and one time you have a chance. You’re both hunter and pray, same place on the food chain. Cougar has cliffs and stealth abilities, you have shelters and tools. I hope the cougar will be heavily reworked because for now it’s just wasted potential. I’m sure there’s many people like me who would love to get another enemy animal in the game but as a actual animal you can find and fight rather than mechanic

[@ShirleyTimple]

Nice take

[@elit957]

I think there's some truth in the myriad complaints about the cougar's implementation, and some truth in those defending it. I'm gonna leave my own thoughts as someone who has been playing TLD for about 4-5 years and purchased the DLC expansion the second it was available. In real life, cougars are TERRIFYING. Friends of mine who've lived in mountainous areas of the west coast have told me their horror stories about cougars. It is an entirely silent and invisible predator- if you see a cougar, it is because the cougar has ALLOWED you to see it. Unless you're a seasoned park ranger, there's no such thing as proactively hunting a cougar. In that regard, I really enjoy the cougar. You shouldn't have the option to proactively take down an alpha predator that has long since mastered stealth and stalking. You're a human, moving at human speeds, making human amounts of noise. In a showdown between Will Mackenzie and a cougar, the cougar wins. Easy. That being said, the immersion is really, really lacking. And that is ruining some of the suspense! Having a HUD indicator flat-out informing you of the cougar's whereabouts is terrible. I would much rather prefer something more vague, like, "You feel like you are being watched" or "Something is following you". Hell, even a unique status affliction could communicate that information! I also wish there were more environmental cues. Shredded tree bark, paw prints, carcasses up in trees, the cougar yowling in the night, et cetera. These signs would require the survivor to pay close attention and would really instill a sense of impending doom. The cougar is something to be afraid of, not something to only care about once some invisible timer has run out. The lack of immersion turns the cougar into a mere mechanic, and that cheapens the experience. I hope Hinterland hears some of this feedback and makes some meaningful adjustments to the cougar without entirely gutting it- because, as others have pointed out, a cougar that can be stalked and hunted by the player is just a wolf.

[@1297skypred]

Dude SO well said I agree 100% and I think most of the fandom would back you up on this

[@rathernot5709]

"Just a wolf" ?? There are so many ways for this creature to be physical on the map and still very hard to hunt/get a shot off. At this point, Hinterland decided to put a weeks worth of effort into this update.

[@pythooonuser]

That would be a really great change to how it's currently implemented!

[@pvtcheesecake3731]

Someone with a normal and constructive take on the new update? Nice. The cougar is a great idea, but it needs some ironing out for sure.

[@ShallowTeal]

It's a fucking cougar not the predator, you can absolutely proactively hunt this animal in this vast land of open snowy areas.

[@TurisasFTW]

I like the idea of cougar, but I don't like the fact, you can't see it before it attacks. Now it's like a pure penalty and you can't avoid it. There is absolutely no reason to keep it on just to get a huge unavoidable penalty and possibly a death. Just make it silent. That alone would make it much more lethal than any other animal. Often you can hear all the other animals before you can see them and that's the reason they can't jump on you. But a silent predator would have a much better chance. Also if it can smell you from far away, like wolves can if you carry some raw meat, would make them much more dangerous.

[@yworm]

Yes, make Cougar presense real in the world: let it be silent, let it be able to burrow in the snow, but make it real

[@C-R-l-M-S-O-N]

That's how it works? what absolute fucking trash. Hinterland are such clowns it's unreal

[@gior987]

@@C-R-l-M-S-O-N buddy, you need to get outside, the internet is not good for your mental health

[@NormalcyMan]

The cougar should exist in the world and be very difficult to spot stalking you. This just seems like a cheap shot at the player with no way to adjust on lower difficulties.

[@GuyFromCanada]

I do hope you guys tweak the cougar to make it more immersive. Bare minimum a small run-up before it attacks you. I’m not a big fan of the teleporting death kitty.

[@Josh-yx2gy]

Please consider adding some way to outsmart and get the drop on the cougar, having it spawn on top of you feels unfair and anti-fun if theres no way to avoid.

[@johnnysilverhand--]

cougar just jumping you out of nowhere without even 3 sec of him running towards you just sucks, like imagine your in a big open field like FA and you have the cougar alert and then even if you can see everything it just jump on you and kill you. not that fair, i like the implementation but not the mechanical side of it. Otherwise great update.

[@PrimusSwallows]

I'm hoping the cougar is updated in the future to have more immersive indicators of its arrival than simple HUD messages, and for it to become an actual creature that can be seen in the game world outside of the scripted attack, even if it's extremely rare and stealthy. The fact that the only way to hunt this thing is to let yourself get mauled is somewhat ridiculous.

[@joshuaedler7041]

There are more indications. You will start to see ravaged carcasses around the map

[@C-R-l-M-S-O-N]

@@joshuaedler7041 It's still trash design dude

[@heyitsbread]

My thoughts? Pretty much everything OTHER than the cougar was executed very well. As do many other players, I find the cougar to be a poorly-executed mechanic that could be improved upon so much. Make the cougar visible, let it ACTUALLY stalk you, give you a chance to attack. ( no matter how brief, but still. you get the point ) Small things like these could really help improve it. So please Hinterland, listen to the community! We all love this game! So please, make the right changes. But please Hinterland, change this over-glorified cabin fever in some way or another.

[@Rubyfireruby]

I want the cougar to be more immersive as a threat, instead of just a countdown and random noises. Here's how it could work, in stages: 1) If you're in the territory too long, your survivor starts to feel uneasy. There could be comments made like "I'm getting strange feelings about this place." or "Something's telling me to move on from here." This could come with maybe an insomnia affliction, where you're feeling restless in an area. 2) After about a few days of this, the cougar actually enters the area, but doesn't start to hunt you yet. This could include comments like "It feels like the trees have eyes..." or "I feel like I'm being watched." You could also start to have 'dreams', which could have a chance to play when you sleep (This could be some sort of mini five second cutscene of cougar eyes in the darkness, or the shadow of a cougar on a ledge). Also, when you're outside at night, you can hear the yowling sounds, but only echoing in the distance. 3) After the countdown ends, the cougar begins to actually hunt you. It spawns in a random area of the map you're in, and is invisible (like the darkwalker). However, as it gets closer, you're begin to hear closer cougar screams and the sound of it moving around you. The cougar music will also play, getting louder and more tense as the cougar nears you. The cougar will appear in the world when it's about 20 meters from you, and pause, about to launch an attack. This could give you the chance to ready yourself or try to fend it off. The cougar will also only appear and attack after sunset, for now. This means if you want to avoid it, you can take shelter inside until morning. However, on higher difficulties and or the cougar has been stalking you for two days, it can attack during the day. 4) If you survive an attack but the cougar lives, it goes back to stage 2 and you have the chance to either leave or risk fighting the cougar again. I think this would be a really cool new threat, but it doesn't give much room for error and I think it should be more immersive to the world. I think an icon would be fine while it's in stage 3, but I think an actual countdown in the game kind of breaks the immersion. I feel like the uneasiness of being stalked and ambiance of a nearby threat would be more interesting.

[@AmeliaAppleEditz]

I love this idea for The Game, but in real life they act more like how they made the cougar, cougars in real life stalk their prey, and you usually don't notice them In till there right in front of you (and if u did its almost to late), and also, the games way of showing you that a cougar is near is also like real life cougars, tracks, dead animals and such, like I said for the game it would be cool to have what you said added in, but for realism they did it well. Cougars in real life are more stealthy, you don't really know if a cougar is hunting you intill there right near you, and the only way of knowing that a cougar is hunting you is with tracks and dead animals, there are times that you can might see a cougar in the distance but usually you don't As my sister says, it would be okay if what you said was for easy to medium mode it would be nice, but for medium to hard mode it would make more sense for what they added

[@PunishedMushu]

​@@AmeliaAppleEditzIt would be better to strike a balance, the game is not 100% realistic anyways, this just feels like it's punishing you with a jump scare for staying in a area too long.

[@AmeliaAppleEditz]

@PunishedMushu Yeah I completely agree, for the game it would be better if it was easier :D

[@PunishedMushu]

@@AmeliaAppleEditz Not necessarily, a stalking system would just be as hard but fair, and that way it isn't just glorified cabin fever

[@sejt23]

first actual constructive comment i have seen under this video. i love the concept too!

[@AstrayCuriosity]

Yeah as many people mentioned the cougar thing is poorly implemented. I understand the intention and mostly agree with it but it should have some kind of counter play as an entity and teleporting cut scene in the middle of a snow plane without any obstacles is just lame. For example: you can teleport cougar model for a split seconds before the attack behind the player. This is the bare minimum but it will make the encounter much better.

[@Schmidtelpunkt]

Then the game would just communicate that you have to fight the cougar, not that you have to keep moving.

[@Thorumsu]

@@Schmidtelpunkt When it spawns behind you, it should be impossible to stop it from attacking. Even that's better than it just spawning on you. I really get the intention. Cougars ARE sneaky. But just having noises before it jumpscares you out of nowhere is lame.

[@AstrayCuriosity]

@@Schmidtelpunkt getting an instant jumpscare out of thin air is much worse. It's not FNAF

[@fvb3624]

Well... the counter play is presented in the video "keep moving", I guess what would be cool is not only a "flight", but also a "fight" play.

[@jackr2287]

Still uncertain about the cougar. I would think an alert enough player would still be able to catch and kill it before an attack. If it's simply "oh you can't do anything until it's on you"... if that's the complaint... well, not a good system.

[@ConfusionRL]

It`s more like an horror cougar. The cougar says: " You can hear me, but you can`t see me and you don`t know when i am attacking you." For real, this has nothing to do in a surival game. And a warning would be great and that you can defend yourself before he attacks. Or some sound in the snow that you know he is behind you, every creature makes a sound in the snow. I feel what you said.

[@theosb764]

aight, we surviving this one 🗣🗣🗣

[@MihaiLeonardoNiculescu]

Conspiracy time: Expansive Worlds and Hinterland both revealed the addition of a new predator that stalks you, in the same month.

[@TheGreatOutdoors_YT]

@@MihaiLeonardoNiculescuLove COTW bro. What’s your best kill?

[@MihaiLeonardoNiculescu]

@@TheGreatOutdoors_YT I don't have a best kill, only a few diamonds. No Great One.

[@medoz7331]

Love everything about the new DLC but the way you implemented the cougar is really sad, i was so hyped for it and now i can just deactivate it because it just isn't engaging or fun for me.

[@svej6912]

+1

[@Daniel-br7pj]

Can't wait to soon be able to customize my safehouse properly!

[@tj3423]

Can you please make "cheat death" a toggle at the start of a run. It fundamentally changes the whole vibe of the game knowing that you have a second chance.