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October 2021 Developer Diary

Hello everyone! Octobers been a big month for Hinterland and The Long Dark. In case you missed it, we launched Episode Four: Fury, Then Silence. So far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, and were grateful for that.

Current Issues


With Episode Four, like most of our big releases, we tend to find issues post-launch. I wanted to address a bit about how this can happen. Right now we are tracking 3-4 issues that are impacting a small number of players but in highly visible ways. They include:
  • Windows 7; there is an issue with video compatibility on Windows 7 which prevents certain videos (like the opening credits) from playing correctly. We have provided a work-around here, but we understand that its not very satisfying. This issue disproportionately impacts players in parts of the world where Windows 7 is still commonly used.
  • Mac rendering issue; some Mac users have encountered a rendering issue that can result in weird visual glitches, and a separate issue can result in missing geometry. Weve suggested a workaround for the first issue.
  • PlayStation Trophies; these were missing at launch but have since been added.
  • In addition to these, there are other miscellaneous issues that we have been tracking and working on.
I know it seems tough to understand how a studio can release game content that has bugs in it. For some background, we have a full-time in-house Test team who regularly comb through the game and find bugs for the team to fix. We also have a Support team who receives all the bug reports you share at our Support Portal (thank you to everyone who takes the time to do this -- it is extremely helpful!), as well as a Community team who takes note of the issues you flag in the forums and on our social accounts. All this information gets put into an internal database that we use to evaluate outstanding issues. We then review each issue and consider how often a bug seems to appear, how seriously the bug affects players, and then we assign bugs out based on priority. The first step to fixing a bug is being able to reproduce it reliably, and this is where getting info like log files, screenshots, and videos can be very helpful in pinpointing the issues. Things like crashes and progress blockers are always the top priority to fix. Minor things like floating items get prioritized last. These bugs get assigned out by the team leads. The development team works on fixing them, and we create an internal version of the game that has all these fixes in it. At some point in the process we have to lock the build so that the Test team can test it all again, because every time something new is added to the build it invalidates most of the testing that has been done. For really big releases like our Episodes, we supplement our internal Test team with an external team of about 5-10 testers (depending on the release) who help us review the entire game. Remember, every time we release an Episode, a Survival Update, or a Hotfix, we have to pretty much test the ENTIRE game again, to make sure we havent introduced issues elsewhere (its common for bug fixes to cause or reveal other issues). This includes all the Survival Mode mechanics on all Experience Modes, all the Regions, all the Challenges, and every Episode of WINTERMUTE. Its a huge game that requires a massive amount of testing. This explanation isnt meant to sound like Im making excuses for why bugs end up being released -- as you know we work hard to release a clean build and we then work hard to stomp out any bugs that come to light after the fact. But its a really big game and every release reminds us that its getting harder and harder to ensure we find all the bugs before release. This is something were discussing internally to see how we can improve our approach and ensure a better quality product for you, because I dont think the current testing cycle is sustainable, and it just slows things down too much.

Hotfix Work


The development team has a hotfix with our internal Test team now. This hotfix contains fixes for over 200 issues (many of them pre-date the Episode Four release and were held back until post-release). We dont have an exact ETA for this, but were hopeful that we can get it out some time late next week (the week of October 25th). If it comes in too late we may have to push it to the following week because we dont release hotfixes right before the weekend, since we cant be around to monitor and help players if things go wrong. We will be following our standard hotfixing protocol, which is to bring hotfixes to platforms as quickly as we can (rather than holding some to simultaneously ship on all platforms together), therefore the Hotfix will not arrive on every platform at the same time. The typical order is: Steam, Xbox + PlayStation, other digital stores (Humble, Nuuvem, etc.), WeGame in China, and Switch. This order is purely determined by how quickly and/or convenient the hotfixing process is. (For example, on Steam we can simply update the game immediately. On the other end of the spectrum, Nintendo usually takes 7-10 days to review every hotfix before it can be released). Unfortunately, these are not timings that we control, and we apologize if you happen to be impacted by any delays around deploying these fixes. Well share more info on Hotfix progress on our Social accounts and in the Steam and Official forums, so please follow us on Twitter if you want to have up-to-date info.

End of the Year Survival Update & Halloween Event


As mentioned in the lead-up to Episode Fours launch, the team is working on bringing Blackrock Region to Survival Mode for the end of this year. They are also incorporating the Noisemaker into Survival Mode, and were including one new gear item that was not in Episode Four. Well share more details about these things in the lead up to launching the update. We dont have an ETA on the Survival Update apart from before the end of the year. Between the Episode Four launch, the subsequent hotfixing work, and preparing the Survival Mode update for the end of the year, I unfortunately had to make a tough call to sacrifice the Halloween Event this year. I know many of you were looking forward to getting a refresh on Escape the Darkwalker, and we were excited to release a 2021 version, but the team just doesnt have the bandwidth to produce the Hotfix, release an updated Darkwalker, and also produce a Survival Mode update for the end of the year. In terms of priority, it felt that the Survival Update was more important to you than the Darkwalker event, so we triaged out the event. Apologies to anyone that will be disappointed by this, but theres only so much development bandwidth to go around and we need to make these calls at times. Well try to make it up to you next year. * * * Ill share another dev diary closer to the end-of-year Survival update, and as mentioned well keep you posted on Hotfix progress as it unfolds in the coming weeks. Thanks for your patience and support of our efforts! We hope youre enjoying Episode Four, and for those of you who are currently impacted by bugs, we hope to get you some fixes very soon. - Raphael


[ 2021-10-21 22:04:01 CET ] [ Original post ]



The Long Dark
Hinterland Studio Inc.
  • Developer

  • Hinterland Studio Inc.
  • Publisher

  • 2017-08-01
  • Release

  • Indie Strategy Simulation Singleplayer
  • Tags

  • Game News Posts 244  
    🎹🖱️Keyboard + Mouse
    🎮 Full Controller Support
  • Controls

  • Very Positive

    (92113 reviews)


  • Review Score

  • http://www.thelongdark.com
  • Website

  • https://store.steampowered.com/app/305620 
  • Steam Store

  • The Game includes VR Support



    The Long Dark Depot (Linux) [2.24 G]TLD Dev Depot (Linux) [5.42 G]DLC01Linux [721.27 M]The Long Dark: Wintermute Linux DLC [8.16 G]The Long Dark: Tales from the Far Territory Linux DLC [728.71 M]

  • Public Linux depots

  • The Long Dark: Tales from the Far Territory
    The Long Dark: WINTERMUTE
  • Available DLCs

  • ***THE LONG DARK IS AN EARLY ACCESS TITLE. THE SANDBOX IS IN A CONSTANT STATE OF IMPROVEMENT, AND IT ISN'T FINISHED. BUYING THE LONG DARK ON EARLY ACCESS SUPPORTS OUR ABILITY TO CONTINUE IMPROVING THE GAME. FOR MORE INFORMATION, REFER TO THE EARLY ACCESS INFORMATION ABOVE.***

    What is The Long Dark?

    The Long Dark is a thoughtful, exploration-survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness. There are no zombies -- only you, the cold, and everything Mother Nature can throw at you.

    Current Game Features

    The Early Access version of The Long Dark features the game’s non-narrative Survival Sandbox mode. The game will leave Early Access one we launch Episode One of our Story Mode. All Season One episodes are included in the cost of Early Access.


    • No hand holding! The game challenges players to think for themselves by providing the information but never the answers. You have to earn the right to survive.
    • Permadeath! See how long you can survive, check your standing on the global Leaderboards, then head back in and push yourself to survive longer.
    • Monitor your Calorie count, Hunger and Thirst, Fatigue, and Body Temperature. Maintain your overall Condition if you want to survive. Let yourself weaken and any small threat may lead to your death.
    • Over 30 square kms of wilderness to explore (and with more regions coming!). Mystery Lake, Coastal Highway, Desolation Point, Pleasant Valley, and more, all interconnected and each with dozens of explorable locations.
    • Dynamic weather, wildlife, and time of day, all with an impact on how you choose to survive.
    • Over 100 gear items including clothing, tools like hatchets and rifles, first aid equipment, foodstuffs, light sources like lanterns and flares, and firestarting equipment.
    • Hunt Deer, Snare Rabbits, and watch for Crows as they can signify the presence of animal, or human, corpses that can be vital sources of Supplies. Wolves are territorial and will defend their territory, or stalk you if they catch your scent. If you let them get too close, you may find yourself in a desperate struggle to survive. Be on the lookout for Black Bears, as they roam the landscape in search of food.
    • Harvest Wood for fuel, maintain your Gear and Clothing, and keep your Knife, Hatchet, and Rifle in top shape as they will save your life!
    • Harvest Medicinal plants like Old Man's Beard Lichen, Rose Hips, Reishi Mushrooms.
    • Deep First Aid system featuring many afflictions including: Sprains, Blood Loss, Infection Risk, Infection, Food Poisoning, Dysentery, and more.
    • Craft Snares, First Aid items, Repair your Clothing and Tools, and Harvest raw materials from the environment, as you do your best to become self-sufficient.
    • ...and much more!

    Ongoing Development


    With an average of 3-4 updates per month, The Long Dark is in a state of constant improvement. We have released over 75 updates since bringing the game to Early Access. Updates typically include new gameplay, tuning, new areas, items, and visual improvements. We are constantly improving the game based on our iterative development process, with input from the community.

    Please note that the Early Access price provides immediate access to the Sandbox Mode, and includes the cost of Season One episodes of the Story Mode, the first of which will be available at the game's full launch.

    The Hinterland Team


    The Long Dark is brought to you by Hinterland Studio, an independent game developer comprised of industry veterans with significant credits on many renowned series including Far Cry, Red Faction, Saints Row, God of War, Mass Effect, Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, Company of Heroes, and many others. The Long Dark is the team's first attempt to create a unique and thought-provoking independent game that pushes the boundaries of the medium.

    We appreciate your support of our efforts!
    MINIMAL SETUP
    • OS: SteamOS or Ubuntu 16.04 or 17.04
    • Processor: Dual-Core Intel i5 CPU @ 2GHz+Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Intel 4xxx Series w/ 512MB VRAM or better
    • Storage: 7 GB available space
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