We've just updated The Long Dark's Sandbox Alpha to v. 233. This is our 44th update since bringing The Long Dark to Early Access.
This is a *huge* update for us, as we've added Bow Crafting & Improved Hunting gameplay, a whole new soundscape, new transition zone, and a variety of other big improvements. See below!
Promo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kqqj0NidN1U
Promo Artwork: https://www.facebook.com/intothelongdark/photos/a.726204447415571.1073741828.524079480961403/880173188685362/?type=1&theater
THE LONG DARK - SANDBOX ALPHA v.233 CHANGELIST
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IMPORTANT NOTES:
* The game now defaults to DirectX11 (from DirectX 9). If needed, players can still run in Directx9 mode by running tld_dx9.bat or passing -force-d3d9 as a command line parameter when launching the game.
* In order to mitigate the risk of gear loss from previous saves, you may find stored gear items have appeared on the ground when you spawn.
MAJOR
* Players can now Craft Bows and Arrows. This is the first iteration of this system so there may be bugs!
* New Convolution Reverb audio system supports correct positional audio and allows for true environmental awareness. In general, audio has received a major overhaul: footsteps, rifle firing, gear pickup and use, etc.
* Added a new Transition Zone between Pleasant Valley and Mystery Lake. Players can now travel an entire loop between the three major regions.
* Wildlife AI has been improved to facilitate true hunting gameplay. Players may now use Walking, Crouchwalking, and Crouching to reduce their profile and the noise they make, allowing them to get closer to Wildlife.
* Animal skins and certain types of Wood now need to be Cured (Dried) before they can be used as raw materials for Crafting.
* Players can now craft Pants from Deerskin.
* Two new harvestable plants have been added to the game: Maple Sapling, Birch Sapling. These are needed for Bow and Arrow crafting. These only grow in specific groves in the world.
MINOR
* All wildlife have been tuned for per-location damage, bleed-out rates, and critical hits. This allows for more effective use of the Rifle and Bow for hunting.
* Various UI elements have been overhauled in anticipation of future controller support (coming soon!). Some of these changes are WIP.
* Starting gear is now randomized, and reduced based on Experience Mode (Stalker has the least).
* A new Random starting spawn option has been added to the Region Select interface. This will select a random valid spawn location from any currently available region. On Pilgrim and Voyageur modes, you may also spawn in interiors (never on Stalker).
* Balancing pass on the availability of various gear items.
* The "grace period" from hostile wildlife in Voyageur has been reduced to 12-24 hours (from 12-36 hours).
* Fishing Tackle can now be used in place of the Sewing Kit for Crafting and Repair.
* It is now possible to Unload ammunition from the Rifle (using the Inventory).
* Rifle ironsights now line up correctly when aiming.
* Rifle audio has been improved.
* Crows can now drop Crow Feathers.
* Added a new introductory logo movie.
* Bow accuracy is affected by Fatigue. (Same fix will be applied to the Rifle in a future update.)
* Many objects in the game have been rescaled to ensure they are the correct size and the player feels they are the correct size and height.
* Tuned the per-use Condition loss of Sewing Kits and added more guaranteed kits to the world.
* Tuned the weights of Craftable clothing and animal skins, to be better balanced.
BUG FIXES
* Fixed issue where aim sensitivity slider didn't have enough precision at low end
* Fixed issues with wildlife sometimes waiting indefinitely to attack the player
* Fixed bug that could sometimes cause audio to continue playing for despawned wildlife
* Fixed infinite bedroll/lantern exploit
* Fixed bug with hot drink/food buffs getting cleared on indoor/outdoor transitions
KNOWN ISSUES
* Arrows may occasionally intersect with invisible collision, giving them the appearance they are "floating". This is especially noticeable on trees.
* You cannot currently select between Simple and Quality tools when crafting Arrowheads. The game automatically selects the better tools in your inventory.
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