(Wintermute) Non-agressive wolves

[sashartiist]

Back when I first started playing this game (not really sure what year it was, maybe 2016/17, it was before the story mode was called Wintermute, and only parts of the dialoge was vocal and you had to read most of it yourself) I remember the wolves being very agressive and attacking as soon as you got within view of them. I remember somethimes hearing them behind me, spinning around and finding them running at you at full speed. Most of the time I died in those situations.

In 2018 I decided to tackle the game again as I really fell in love with the art style and was curious of the story. To my (happy) surprise the game had gone through major updates with added gameplay, fully vocal dialoge, and a more forgiving story mode.

In the begining I avoided the wolves as soon as I saw/heard them, but soon I realized that even if I ran straight towards one it would not attack, just run off. I was really surprized!

Now, I personally like this. I believe it makes the game more enjoyable, less stressful and more realistic, as wild wolves are not very know for attacking humans irl. But I am curious what the rest of you think? Do you think the game is too easy now, compared to before? For those of you who play survival mode (which I have not done yet) do the wolves behave differently? And does that add something to the gameplay, or is it more of an annoying obsticle that appears from time to time? Does anyone know why the developers made this choice?


Feel free to discuss other elements they have changed/updated! I really love this game, and would love to hear what others think of it :)

[IvantheFormidable]

The story mode was always called Wintermute, but it sounds like you played the version that launched in summer 2017 before it went through the Redux last year.

The wolf behavior that you describe is typically of the 'pilgrim' difficulty in survival mode, as well as the lower difficulty in Wintermute (can't recall the name off the top of my head). I don't think there's really an issue of game difficulty as the passive wolf behavior is restricted to a single mode, but it's definitely a different vibe in-game between the two behaviors.

Personally I don't play survival mode on Pilgrim (or story mode on its equivalent) because there isn't much of a challenge, but I've always been interested to hear how a Loper varient with Pilgrim wolves would play out. Might have to give that a shot.

[IFIYGD]

Green Survivor description in Wintermute states "Wildlife may attack, but are less aggressive.". Each Episode ramps up the aggressiveness of wildlife, or the chance to have encounters with hostiles.. Episode 1, in Green, not much of anything gave your trouble, beyond the first wolf eating a carcass, as you left the crash site. Episode 2, most hostile wildlife really needed to be poked in the nose to make it attack, except for The Old Bear. Episode 3 you will have Timberwolves in Green, who will attack, though you are dealing with much more timid Timbers, in much smaller pack sizes (much easier to break their Morale). In Capable or Hardened Survivor, wolves are much more numerous, and much more aggressive, and in larger pack sizes for the Timber wolves in Episode 3.

In Survival mode, Pilgrim will have no hostile wildlife, they all run (which can make hunting tricky, since everything, predator and prey) will sense you from a mile away, and take off. Moose will still remain territorial (not hostile, but they don;t want you in their space...), and they will still stomp you if you try to run up and give them hugs. Pilgrim, if you want a more passive, peaceful Survival mode experience. You'll have to adapt a hunting style that relies more on stealth and ambush, than in the other modes. Watch out for the Moose, the only animal in Pilgrim that will still attack you.

And the Custom Settings Toolbox does allow you to disable Hostile Wildlife in Pilgrim, Voyageur, Stalker and Interloper, if you want less loot, harsher weather, or other "tougher" survival mechanics, but not wolves (regular and Timber wolves) and bear that will try to eat your face off. Pretty sure this dies not keep the Moose from trampling you... they are not technically "Hostile", they are "Territorial".

Story Mode, most encounters with "baddies' is scripted, in Survival mode it is more chance, or you not doing all you can to avoid and evade hostiles. (Voyageur, Stalker, Interloper or Custom with hostile wildlife left "On". Yes, it is different between Wintermute and Survival mode. And Survival Mode (and the Challenge Modes) have permadeath, no way to disable it. While Wintermute is not permadeath, so you can get a do-over if you make a mistake and die. They use *similar* mechanics, but they are not exactly the same between the different game modes.

[sashartiist]

Originally posted by IFIYGD:

Green Survivor description in Wintermute states "Wildlife may attack, but are less aggressive.". Each Episode ramps up the aggressiveness of wildlife, or the chance to have encounters with hostiles.. Episode 1, in Green, not much of anything gave your trouble, beyond the first wolf eating a carcass, as you left the crash site. Episode 2, most hostile wildlife really needed to be poked in the nose to make it attack, except for The Old Bear. Episode 3 you will have Timberwolves in Green, who will attack, though you are dealing with much more timid Timbers, in much smaller pack sizes (much easier to break their Morale). In Capable or Hardened Survivor, wolves are much more numerous, and much more aggressive, and in larger pack sizes for the Timber wolves in Episode 3.

Oh! I am only on episode 2, so thanks for the heads up about the timberwolves, guess I will have to be more careful when I get there :) Also, forgot that you get to pick difficulty in the begining, haha, guess that explains why the wildlife is so timid ^^;;

[sashartiist]

Originally posted by IvantheFormidable:

The story mode was always called Wintermute, but it sounds like you played the version that launched in summer 2017 before it went through the Redux last year.

Oh, was it? My bad, it was so long ago ^^;;; But I am happy the game went through an update, it is much more immersive now (having to read the dialogue yourself kind of pulled you out of the story...)

[IvantheFormidable]

Originally posted by sashartiist:

Oh, was it? My bad, it was so long ago ^^;;; But I am happy the game went through an update, it is much more immersive now (having to read the dialogue yourself kind of pulled you out of the story...)

No worries, it's been quite a while. And I agree that having the dialogue fully voiced is a significant improvement from the original!

[Al]

I played part of Ep1 of Wintermute and didnt bother to finish- just didnt get my interest while what they put out as beta did, so I enjoy the sandbox and challenges more and play those....

I tend to vary between playing a simple pilgrim (or whatever the next level up from that is) vs the hardest level.... its just a matter of my mood- sometimes i just want to play something peaceful and wolves dont normally attack IRL so I prefer that.... OTOH sometimes i am in the mood for something more challenging so I go for a more difficult sandbox level or harder challange where they will attack

[s7984710539874951]

I would rather have the option for no aggressive wolves even in story mode. I don't have the motor skills capability or honestly the nervous system to deal with it. What I like about the game is trying to survive in cold weather, trying to keep myself fed and deal with the occasional blizzard. In real life most animals do NOT attack and I'd like the game to be consistent with that, or at least offer us an option to do it without animals constantly (or even within the story) attacking. To me it takes me out of the experience and makes me very anxious and it just isn't fun. I know other players play differently and enjoy that anxiety; for me, I already have an anxiety disorder so it just isn't enjoyable. I think the game has been great for the most part at making efforts to be accessible to all players, but I do think it fails in story mode. I can't even get past the bear spearing because of my motor skill issues, and god knows what would happen if I ever got to the timberwolves. For these reasons I have stopped playing and I've moved on to Red Dead Redemption 2, which has more forgiving accessibility settings and is just easier on a whole, especially for casual gamers who like exploration. There is snow but also regular terrain and so much more to do in the universe. I highly recommend it to anyone who feels "left out in the cold" by TLD! :)

[nautofon]

sashartiist, could you check which experience mode you are in fact on?

From the main menu, first click on "Wintermute", then on "Load". The experience mode will be shown on the lower right (e. g. "Capable Survivor").

[sashartiist]

Originally posted by s47474:

I would rather have the option for no aggressive wolves even in story mode. I don't have the motor skills capability or honestly the nervous system to deal with it. What I like about the game is trying to survive in cold weather, trying to keep myself fed and deal with the occasional blizzard. In real life most animals do NOT attack and I'd like the game to be consistent with that, or at least offer us an option to do it without animals constantly (or even within the story) attacking. To me it takes me out of the experience and makes me very anxious and it just isn't fun. I know other players play differently and enjoy that anxiety; for me, I already have an anxiety disorder so it just isn't enjoyable. I think the game has been great for the most part at making efforts to be accessible to all players, but I do think it fails in story mode. I can't even get past the bear spearing because of my motor skill issues, and god knows what would happen if I ever got to the timberwolves. For these reasons I have stopped playing and I've moved on to Red Dead Redemption 2, which has more forgiving accessibility settings and is just easier on a whole, especially for casual gamers who like exploration. There is snow but also regular terrain and so much more to do in the universe. I highly recommend it to anyone who feels "left out in the cold" by TLD! :)

Thank you for the tip, I will check it out!

I do agree with you on the anxiety part. I too find it difficult to play sometimes when I get too stressed by the game. It would be really nice to be able to "turn off" the wolves so to speak.

I am sorry to hear you find it difficult to get past the Old Bear due to motor limitations. Personally I had to take breaks from time to time during that part, but I did manage to get past it. I am not looking forward too much to the timber wolves, but I really want to keep going

[sashartiist]

Originally posted by nautofon:

sashartiist, could you check which experience mode you are in fact on?

From the main menu, first click on "Wintermute", then on "Load". The experience mode will be shown on the lower right (e. g. "Capable Survivor").

Yes ofc!

I am on Wintermute, Green Survivor

[Psychartic]

Originally posted by sashartiist:

Originally posted by s47474:

I would rather have the option for no aggressive wolves even in story mode. I don't have the motor skills capability or honestly the nervous system to deal with it. What I like about the game is trying to survive in cold weather, trying to keep myself fed and deal with the occasional blizzard. In real life most animals do NOT attack and I'd like the game to be consistent with that, or at least offer us an option to do it without animals constantly (or even within the story) attacking. To me it takes me out of the experience and makes me very anxious and it just isn't fun. I know other players play differently and enjoy that anxiety; for me, I already have an anxiety disorder so it just isn't enjoyable. I think the game has been great for the most part at making efforts to be accessible to all players, but I do think it fails in story mode. I can't even get past the bear spearing because of my motor skill issues, and god knows what would happen if I ever got to the timberwolves. For these reasons I have stopped playing and I've moved on to Red Dead Redemption 2, which has more forgiving accessibility settings and is just easier on a whole, especially for casual gamers who like exploration. There is snow but also regular terrain and so much more to do in the universe. I highly recommend it to anyone who feels "left out in the cold" by TLD! :)

Thank you for the tip, I will check it out!

I do agree with you on the anxiety part. I too find it difficult to play sometimes when I get too stressed by the game. It would be really nice to be able to "turn off" the wolves so to speak.

I am sorry to hear you find it difficult to get past the Old Bear due to motor limitations. Personally I had to take breaks from time to time during that part, but I did manage to get past it. I am not looking forward too much to the timber wolves, but I really want to keep going

"Turn off Wolves" should be the next game update!
I love this game for its survival challenges in the unforgiving landscape which has been so well simulated (whether it's story or survival mode). For me, the wolves ruin that to such an extend that I cannot bring myself to play the game anymore. If I wanted to deal with antagonistic characters I would play a first-person shooter game, which equips you with better tools and ways to deter attacks that make such games ironically less stressful than The Long Dark.
So here's a plea to the development team, on behalf of all of us who enjoy the game without the aggressive wildlife: Please make the wolves optional. Thank you!

[IvantheFormidable]

Originally posted by Psychartic:

So here's a plea to the development team, on behalf of all of us who enjoy the game without the aggressive wildlife: Please make the wolves optional. Thank you!

Not the exact same thing, but you can already turn the wildlife to be non-aggressive in the sandbox settings, which will make wolves run away from you in most circumstances when you get close.

[Goof]

back in the day the wolves were MUCH more aggressive than they are now