The Long Dark News

THE LONG DARK - VISUAL ENHANCEMENTS UPDATE - Now Live!

Hello players,

We have just updated THE LONG DARK to version 2.42, build 156298 and WINTERMUTE to version 2.13, build 156040.

This is a free update available to anyone who owns THE LONG DARK or SURVIVAL EDITION, and includes visual enhancement options targeted at high-end systems, various bug fixes, and tuning changes.

For a description of the Visual Enhancements, please watch the latest Update Video:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]VISUAL ENHANCEMENTS[/h3]

We have added a collection of visual enhancements targeting high-end systems, including Coloured Shadows, Terrain Blending, Improved Anti-Aliasing, and other features mentioned above. Keep in mind these are all optional features, to be enabled in the Display and Advanced Settings, and can be turned on or off depending on your preferences.

RECOMMENDED SYSTEM SPEC

If you would like to enable all visual enhancements and run at a target of 60FPS at 2560 x 1440 resolution, we recommend a PC using an Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU or equivalent, 3GHz or faster CPU, and 32GB of system RAM.

Unfortunately, with so many different PC hardware combinations available, it’s impossible for us to guarantee your specific hardware combination will work. However, we believe these general hardware recommendations will result in a very consistent, graphically maximized experience.

Please remember that these features are targeted at higher-end hardware, and we can offer no guarantees regarding performance on your specific combination of PC hardware.

[h3]ALLOWING RUINED ITEMS IN CRAFTING/RECIPES[/h3]

Earlier this year, we updated the game to address a longstanding exploit around the use of Ruined food items in Cooking recipes. Our implementation was not very robust and introduced other issues.

Fixing this issue correctly will involve overhauling various game systems related to food, Condition decay, how wildlife respond to raw meat, and risks involved with consuming low-Condition food items. These changes are likely to change various aspects of the game, including long-running strategies players have employed for years. As the team is focused on finishing Episode Five, we are postponing making these broader changes until the Episode is shipped.

Until then, we have reverted back to the previous behaviour -- which allowed Ruined food items to be used in Recipes -- and we will revisit these systems post-Episode Five and provide longer-term fixes for them.

[h3]RARE TRADE ITEMS & CANNED GOODS[/h3]

We also heard the feedback that many players with very long-running games ran into the issue of being locked out of some of the higher-end Recipes (in the Frontier Cooking system) due to key items like Canned Peaches having decayed in the world by the time you unlocked this system.

To help address that, until we can make the bigger aforementioned changes, we have temporarily returned the Condition loss for several Canned items, making them last longer. We have also modified some of the Trader’s costs to balance against the availability of some of these key items (including Canned Peaches, Carrots, and Potatoes). These changes should make it more viable for you to benefit from some of these advanced Recipes in your long-running saves.

[h3]TRAVOIS[/h3]

We are addressing multiple issues with the Travois, where it can rarely fall under specific locations in the game world. In the short-term, if you lose your Travois, you should be able to find it -- along with any items in it -- stored in the Lost & Found box in the Region you are in. We continue to monitor this issue and will make additional fixes as we get more information from players who have encountered this problem.

There was a related issue where rarely, a Lost & Found box was itself hidden under the terrain or unreachable. We have fixed this issue as well.

[h3]FINAL TRADER MISSION[/h3]

Many players had encountered an issue where they were blocked from completing Sutherland’s final quest, and were unable to complete the questline. While this didn’t block progression with the Trading system in general, it is still frustrating. We have fixed this issue, and it should now be possible to complete Sutherland’s quest (specifically, Special Request #5).

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]

The team is currently aware of the following issues in the game. If you encounter one of these issues, there is no need to report it to the Support Portal.

There are edge-cases where Safehouse Decorations can disappear from an interior, container, or the player’s inventory. Items lost this way should now appear in Lost and Found boxes.
Players with Texture Resolution lower than “Full” and Terrain Blending “Enabled” may see black outlines along certain terrain features. This can be resolved by ensuring that Texture Resolution is set to “Full” when utilizing the Terrain Blending Advanced Visual Option.
Mac players with Motion Blur set to “High” will find Carcasses become extremely blurred during Harvesting. Setting Motion Blur to Low will reduce this effect until a fix is applied.
Rarely, the Survival home menu will load with missing items and assets. Changing any visual setting will resolve this issue.

[h3]Bug Fixes
[/h3]
This Major Update includes fixes for the following issues:

GAMEPLAY, UI, CONTROLS

Re-enabled (temporarily) the use of Ruined ingredients in Crafting and Cooking Recipes.
Tuned several Canned food items to last much longer in the world.
Tuned raw and cooked Meat types to last much longer in the world.
Adjusted Tales From the Far Territory cooked fish to bring their decay rates in line with non-DLC cooked fish.
Tuned Canned Dog Food, Condensed Milk, and Tomato Soup to bring outdoor decay rates into line with other canned items.
Added Canned Peaches, Carrots, and Potatoes to Trader Requests. It is now possible to obtain these food types via the Trading system.
Fixed an issue that resulted in the Trader's fifth Special Request becoming impossible to complete.
Fixed an issue in Bleak Inlet where the Lost and Found box in that Region was too close to a cave transition volume, resulting in it being impossible to interact and open.
Fixed an issue that resulted in the Lost and Found box in Keeper's Pass being inaccessible beneath terrain. The Lost and Found box is now located in front of the abandoned trailer on the road to Blackrock.
Fixed an issue in Carter Hydroelectric Dam resulting in placed items being able to intersect chain-link fencing.

ART & ENVIRONMENTS

Fixed an issue in Blackrock Prison which caused large sections of the prison buildings to disappear when viewed from specific locations and angles.
Fixed an issue in Blackrock where Rosehip bushes could be found floating above ground.

After eight years, survival classic The Long Dark is bigger on Steam than ever

It's not like we're struggling for survival games. Between old reliables like The Forest and Rust, and more recent upstarts such as Bellwright and Pacific Drive, if you want a pseudo simulation of hunting, crafting, and struggling for your supper, you're spoiled for choice lately. Originally released back in 2017, The Long Dark is about to reach its end - Wintermute episode five is coming, as well as The Long Dark 2, also known as Blackfrost. But even after eight years and all this new competition, Hinterland's outdoors epic continues to stand out, and it's just reached a new high.

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Survival games are often about pressure. In The Forest, you need to build a weapon, prepare defenses, and generally get yourself together before night descends, or else you'll be eaten alive. With DayZ, there's the constant threat of zombies (and other players), while Rust simulates a brutal, Darwinian pre-history. The Long Dark is different. It's slower and more contemplative, but it still feels rich and full - the achievement of Hinterland's now eight-year-old opus is how it makes nothing feel like something, the broken tundra of its giant open world nevertheless brimming with character. For a short time, The Long Dark is cheaper than it's ever been. With episode five on the way, Hinterland say it's getting ready for the game's end.

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DEEP DISCOUNT on THE LONG DARK

We're trying an experiment on deep discounting with Valve, so for the next 4 days THE LONG DARK will be discounted at 90% off. This is a great opportunity to buy a gift for a friend, or to share a link to the Steam page with someone you think might enjoy what the game has to offer.

If you're curious about the free Visual Enhancements or plans for Episode Five this year, make sure you read this Dev Diary and review the Visual Enhancements video. Buying THE LONG DARK on Deep Discount is also a great time to pick up the TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY DLC. If you want to know more about what's in the TALES DLC, you can check out the recap video here.

As always, thank you for your support. Spreading the word, writing a positive review, or wishlisting our next game (BLACKFROST), all support our studio and ensure our ongoing independence.

- The Hinterland Team