SURVIVAL GOALS

[illinar]

Hello. This is such a shame for me that survival maps have no goals. This ruins any sense of challenge or purpose for me. And survival mode is my favorite with a lot of content, which unfortunately I can't enjoy.

I just need a goal to survive X number of days. Even a flipping blog post from developers with some balanced numbers would help. Otherwise I have no slightest idea if surviving on X map on X difficulty for X days is a good result or not.

I want to complete each map on a chosen difficulty, and there is no completion because there is no goal.

EDIT:

1) Why not self-defined goals? Because I need balanced goals. Who can give me balanced goals? The developers of the game!

2) Why not episodes? Because I hate hand-holding. I want the freedom of the survival with a goal of beating a balanced challenge. There is no "beating" of something that is not defined or is endless.

3) Why not challenges? Because those are a bit weird, look difficult, and very specific. I want more freedom.

4) Existing achievements? Weird and specific. Not as organic as just a goal to survive.

Survival mode is PERFECT except it lacks a clear FINITE success criteria.

[Alcator]

The "Survive 500 days" achievement is not enough?
"Faithful Cartographer" is not enough?
"Wrapped in Furs" achievement is not enough?
The one about keeping a campfire going for 72 hours is not enough?

You can set your own goals.

Such as: Reach the Summit of Timberwolf Mountain, after starting at Desolation Point, in under 40 days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZl3pJH-J0A

[ThisIsASquirrel]

I enjoy survival mode. I measure my performance against my own past performance. I'm on day 85 on Stalker which is a new high for me. I've been in Bleak Inlet for a while. Stalker mode is perfect for me in terms of difficulty. I currently have a goal of getting my cooking skill to level 5 so I can safely eat my remaining mountain of bear meat. (I'm pretty sure I can't save up another 10 doses of antibiotics here in Bleak Inlet, as I recently learned from bitter experience is needed if you get parasites.) I'm 25% of the way through level 4.

[TG2333]

Originally posted by Alcator:

The "Survive 500 days" achievement is not enough?
"Faithful Cartographer" is not enough?
"Wrapped in Furs" achievement is not enough?
The one about keeping a campfire going for 72 hours is not enough?

You can set your own goals.

Such as: Reach the Summit of Timberwolf Mountain, after starting at Desolation Point, in under 40 days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZl3pJH-J0A

No they are not enough. Every game has achievements, that does not mean it gives them purpose.

[ThisIsASquirrel]

Originally posted by Gecko-GER:

Many people cannot pursue self-defined goals, they always need a guiding hand.

Which is why the episodes. There's quite a few hours of game-play in them.

[ThisIsASquirrel]

Originally posted by TG2333:

No they are not enough. Every game has achievements, that does not mean it gives them purpose.

This might just not be the game for you.

I enjoyed the challenges, but in the episodes when it was like, "go here and rescue this survivor and then go here and rescue this other survivor" I felt like a rat on a treadmill.

[Terminator]

I would argue that the new update gave the possibility of a lot of long-term goals. Making 5 cairns in every region, finding all the polaroids, and mapping everything seems like it will take a few hundred days at least.

[TG2333]

Originally posted by ThisIsASquirrel:

Originally posted by TG2333:

No they are not enough. Every game has achievements, that does not mean it gives them purpose.

This might just not be the game for you.

I enjoyed the challenges, but in the episodes when it was like, "go here and rescue this survivor and then go here and rescue this other survivor" I felt like a rat on a treadmill.

Doesn't have to be fetch quests. An ultimate, long term goal, like finding a way to get a radio working to contact someone. Or reaching a village of people on a procedurally generated map, so it's different each time. And in between of each long term goal, they are rumors that you know of when you first start the map, like a hidden bunker that is located in the north. The sky is the limit really when it comes to coming up with shi*t.

[Alcator]

Originally posted by TG2333:

Doesn't have to be fetch quests. An ultimate, long term goal, like finding a way to get a radio working to contact someone. Or reaching a village of people on a procedurally generated map, so it's different each time. And in between of each long term goal, they are rumors that you know of when you first start the map, like a hidden bunker that is located in the north. The sky is the limit really when it comes to coming up with shi*t.

Please keep in mind what "sandbox" means - it's an environment for you to play in. Nothing more. The real world sandboxes found at parks are precisely that: "Hey, kids, here's a heap of sand and some toys, now it's your turn to do something with those!" Sandboxes don't come with 'Your objective is to build a sand castle" or "Your objective is to eat as much sand as you can before your mommy stops you" :-)



In The Long Dark, the Sandbox began as a testing environment for the mechanics intended for the story mode.
Pretty much everything that is in the sandbox is being incorporated in some way into the story episodes. If the 4th and 5th episodes satisfactorily conclude the story, it's likely that Will and Astrid will somehow make it off the island - perhaps precisely the way you envision: using some communication method to send a signal, perhaps by building some "vehicle" to get them across the sea...

It would then make sense to add whatever mechanics facilitate that conclusion as OPTIONAL to sandbox mode.

[illinar]

I'm answering questions in the edits of the original post because I'm familiar with the tendency of the same things being asked and said in these forums over and over when people only read the OP

[Martial.Lore]

The only conceivable finite success state for survival mode would be extraction from the island whether by rescue or by leaving after constructing a boat of some kind.

After that you could try not to lose Wilson, try to convince your girlfriend to leave her marriage, and deliver a long overdue FedEx package by mapping your way across Texas with just charcoal.

[TG2333]

Originally posted by Alcator:

Originally posted by TG2333:

Doesn't have to be fetch quests. An ultimate, long term goal, like finding a way to get a radio working to contact someone. Or reaching a village of people on a procedurally generated map, so it's different each time. And in between of each long term goal, they are rumors that you know of when you first start the map, like a hidden bunker that is located in the north. The sky is the limit really when it comes to coming up with shi*t.

Please keep in mind what "sandbox" means - it's an environment for you to play in. Nothing more. The real world sandboxes found at parks are precisely that: "Hey, kids, here's a heap of sand and some toys, now it's your turn to do something with those!" Sandboxes don't come with 'Your objective is to build a sand castle" or "Your objective is to eat as much sand as you can before your mommy stops you" :-)



In The Long Dark, the Sandbox began as a testing environment for the mechanics intended for the story mode.
Pretty much everything that is in the sandbox is being incorporated in some way into the story episodes. If the 4th and 5th episodes satisfactorily conclude the story, it's likely that Will and Astrid will somehow make it off the island - perhaps precisely the way you envision: using some communication method to send a signal, perhaps by building some "vehicle" to get them across the sea...

It would then make sense to add whatever mechanics facilitate that conclusion as OPTIONAL to sandbox mode.

What would be "sandbox" in the long dark, besides surviving everyday? It's not like minecraft where you can *actually* do whatever you want. Every mechanic in sandbox is just meant for you to stay alive, and it does not leave much to the imagination.

[konzacelt]

Just make up your own goals?

The beauty of sandbox mode is that there are no pre-defined goals. You can come up with all sorts of scenarios on your own to define your own play experience.

I have to say it's interesting that you say you don't like hand-holding, yet you want some sort of mechanic in place to help define your experience. You also mention that there's nothing to "beat" in survival mode without goals or challenges. Aside from simply staying alive, there really isn't anything to beat in survival mode, it's not a competition or a trophy game. And that's a good thing. The opportunities for unique play-throughs are endless, and only limited by your own imagination.

The challenge in survival mode is whatever you want it to be. Revel in the freedom of it, fellow survivor. :)