Petition for Hinterland to Actually Implement a Cougar Animal

[eduuC21]

Not what we got in the update, a cheap, not finished version of what the cougar could have been. Maybe because the development of this game is ending and Hinterland want to go on to other projects they did not feel like it deserved more work.

But this is definetely not what was promised for the people who bought the DLC. They misled the players making us think we would get a new animal, instead we got a new affliction with an animation.

[rush_247]

I feel like what we have now is a beta version anyway cause of what I saw in Zaknafein's video. It does exist as an animal, the only way to spawn it right now though is through dev console mod. So it feels as if they locked it to this for testing purposes, just speculation of course don't take what I say as fact.

[eduuC21]

Originally posted by rush_247:

I feel like what we have now is a beta version anyway cause of what I saw in Zaknafein's video. It does exist as an animal, the only way to spawn it right now though is through dev console mod. So it feels as if they locked it to this for testing purposes, just speculation of course don't take what I say as fact.

I saw that too, so much missed potential

[rush_247]

Originally posted by eduuC21:

Originally posted by rush_247:

I feel like what we have now is a beta version anyway cause of what I saw in Zaknafein's video. It does exist as an animal, the only way to spawn it right now though is through dev console mod. So it feels as if they locked it to this for testing purposes, just speculation of course don't take what I say as fact.

I saw that too, so much missed potential

What I'm also saying is that things may change in the future. We can't be certain of everything staying as it is now, other things have changed in the course of these updates like the new dead animal carcass models being fully dynamic, showing frost on them if frozen and such.

[wilemon]

Where do I sign.

[Hinterland_Studio]

Originally posted by eduuC21:

Not what we got in the update, a cheap, not finished version of what the cougar could have been. Maybe because the development of this game is ending and Hinterland want to go on to other projects they did not feel like it deserved more work.

But this is definetely not what was promised for the people who bought the DLC. They misled the players making us think we would get a new animal, instead we got a new affliction with an animation.

It's fine to express dissatisfaction with the Cougar implementation, but not to make accusations against the studio like this. The Cougar we delivered is the Cougar we always intended to deliver. We explained multiple times in Dev Diaries how it would work. It does exactly what we intended for it to do in terms of gameplay.

We didn't promise anything different from what we delivered, we didn't mislead anyone, and we certainly didn't "cheap out" on implementation because we are focused on other things.

We welcome you to reframe your post; we won't tolerate accusations against the studio simply because some players may not be fond of how a feature was implemented. Please edit your post accordingly, and make yourself familiar with the Community Guidelines before posting things like this in the future.

[Yeoman]

Originally posted by Hinterland_Studio:

Originally posted by eduuC21:

Not what we got in the update, a cheap, not finished version of what the cougar could have been. Maybe because the development of this game is ending and Hinterland want to go on to other projects they did not feel like it deserved more work.

But this is definetely not what was promised for the people who bought the DLC. They misled the players making us think we would get a new animal, instead we got a new affliction with an animation.

It's fine to express dissatisfaction with the Cougar implementation, but not to make accusations against the studio like this. The Cougar we delivered is the Cougar we always intended to deliver. We explained multiple times in Dev Diaries how it would work. It does exactly what we intended for it to do in terms of gameplay.

We didn't promise anything different from what we delivered, we didn't mislead anyone, and we certainly didn't "cheap out" on implementation because we are focused on other things.

We welcome you to reframe your post; we won't tolerate accusations against the studio simply because some players may not be fond of how a feature was implemented. Please edit your post accordingly, and make yourself familiar with the Community Guidelines before posting things like this in the future.

Thanks for replying to the post about cougars. Since it seems like there's confusion on this (I myself am confused at least), and we have a dev here, hopefully you could shed some light on the "behind the scenes" of the cougar design? Mainly, was the cougar being an animation, with no in-world model/physical presence in the world a intentional design choice, or more of a programming limitation? I imagine getting the AI for something that complicated wouldn't be easy to do, but it seems to really stand out when all the other animals have in-world models.

I guess what I mean to ask, is did you guys have no interest in adding an in-world cougar from the get go, or was it something you wanted to do, but due to some development issues, ended up having to switch to what we have now? Or was there never any interest or intention of having the cougar as a in-world animal, with movement, a model, behavior, etc?

[big ron]

i didnt say, it but i agree with the OP. the cougar sucks, and its fake, and cheap, and weak. and if you always meant to do the cougar this way, then you missed the mark.

I will never enable it, not because i cant handle it. but because its cheesy.

[Dirty Rotten Flieger]

Originally posted by Hinterland_Studio:

Originally posted by eduuC21:

Not what we got in the update, a cheap, not finished version of what the cougar could have been. Maybe because the development of this game is ending and Hinterland want to go on to other projects they did not feel like it deserved more work.

But this is definetely not what was promised for the people who bought the DLC. They misled the players making us think we would get a new animal, instead we got a new affliction with an animation.

It's fine to express dissatisfaction with the Cougar implementation, but not to make accusations against the studio like this. The Cougar we delivered is the Cougar we always intended to deliver. We explained multiple times in Dev Diaries how it would work. It does exactly what we intended for it to do in terms of gameplay.

We didn't promise anything different from what we delivered, we didn't mislead anyone, and we certainly didn't "cheap out" on implementation because we are focused on other things.

We welcome you to reframe your post; we won't tolerate accusations against the studio simply because some players may not be fond of how a feature was implemented. Please edit your post accordingly, and make yourself familiar with the Community Guidelines before posting things like this in the future.

Well pretty please with sugar and top , give us a proper cougar that we can hunt as it hunts us.

[Hinterland_Studio]

We explained our plans for the Cougar in our May dev diary.

https://www.thelongdark.com/news/dev-diary-may-2024/

[Hinterland_Studio]

Originally posted by rush_247:

I feel like what we have now is a beta version anyway cause of what I saw in Zaknafein's video. It does exist as an animal, the only way to spawn it right now though is through dev console mod. So it feels as if they locked it to this for testing purposes, just speculation of course don't take what I say as fact.

This was simply Zak spawning the Cougar model in the world. It doesn't suggest anything untoward about development or how the feature was implemented. Of course the Cougar model exists -- it attacks you in the struggle, like all our other wildlife. And you have the chance to take a shot at it as it slinks away after attacking you.

[CDune]

Originally posted by Hinterland_Studio:

We explained our plans for the Cougar in our May dev diary.

https://www.thelongdark.com/news/dev-diary-may-2024/

There's a big difference between 'warning signs' and a straight up countdown timer. It also doesn't exclude the cougar existing outside of the ambushes, so although soms details match up, the 'minigame' aspect of it wasn't very clear until now.

[Hinterland_Studio]

Originally posted by CDune:

Originally posted by Hinterland_Studio:

We explained our plans for the Cougar in our May dev diary.

https://www.thelongdark.com/news/dev-diary-may-2024/

There's a big difference between 'warning signs' and a straight up countdown timer. It also doesn't exclude the cougar existing outside of the ambushes, so although soms details match up, the 'minigame' aspect of it wasn't very clear until now.

The struggle mechanic is identical to how all our wildlife struggles work -- the main difference being you get the chance to take a shot.

As for the other comment -- that is somewhat subjective. It's understandable you're upset that it's not the implementation you imagined, but it is the implementation we intended.

We're taking all the feedback in -- the update has only been live for a few days -- and the team will consider all of it and if they feel they can improve it while still delivering on the rest of their workload, they will do so. We always strive to make our game as good as we can.

[Dirty Rotten Flieger]

Originally posted by Hinterland_Studio:

Originally posted by CDune:

There's a big difference between 'warning signs' and a straight up countdown timer. It also doesn't exclude the cougar existing outside of the ambushes, so although soms details match up, the 'minigame' aspect of it wasn't very clear until now.

The struggle mechanic is identical to how all our wildlife struggles work -- the main difference being you get the chance to take a shot.

As for the other comment -- that is somewhat subjective. It's understandable you're upset that it's not the implementation you imagined, but it is the implementation we intended.

We're taking all the feedback in -- the update has only been live for a few days -- and the team will consider all of it and if they feel they can improve it while still delivering on the rest of their workload, they will do so. We always strive to make our game as good as we can.

You could just make it spawn in behind you, 100 m away and very quietly sneak up on you. If you turn around and see it you can shoot. It will charge you or run away or die if you hit it. If you don't turn around and see it then it just starts the attack animation.

That would make players who are afraid of cougar attack turning around all the time to nervously check if there is something behind them. There is no point in being vigilant the way it is now.

Imagine the shock of turning around and seeing a big cat couched low sneaking up on you while you back was turned, that would be great.

[rush_247]

Originally posted by Hinterland_Studio:

Originally posted by rush_247:

I feel like what we have now is a beta version anyway cause of what I saw in Zaknafein's video. It does exist as an animal, the only way to spawn it right now though is through dev console mod. So it feels as if they locked it to this for testing purposes, just speculation of course don't take what I say as fact.

This was simply Zak spawning the Cougar model in the world. It doesn't suggest anything untoward about development or how the feature was implemented. Of course the Cougar model exists -- it attacks you in the struggle, like all our other wildlife. And you have the chance to take a shot at it as it slinks away after attacking you.

Well it kinda felt that way for me, it's just my opinion. With the way it reacts to other wildlife and all it feels as if this is the way it was intended to be experienced, not in it's current form but one where we can see and study it before it strikes. One thing I really wanted to do was take pictures of it alive with the camera you're adding in part 6. As it stands right now that's not going to be possible and is very disappointing.

Edit: Also another reason I think of it as a beta is cause of the hide not showing in the UI and being a moose hide instead.

[»SoD« Thekillergreece]

Please note that the preceding statements are not intended to be interpreted as an assault, accusation, assumption, or opinion. The sole purpose is to express my humble thoughts on my favorite game in the hopes of improving it, so celebrating love for the game would be even more graceful.

Originally posted by Hinterland_Studio:

It's fine to express dissatisfaction with the Cougar implementation, but not to make accusations against the studio like this. The Cougar we delivered is the Cougar we always intended to deliver. We explained multiple times in Dev Diaries how it would work. It does exactly what we intended for it to do in terms of gameplay.

We didn't promise anything different from what we delivered, we didn't mislead anyone, and we certainly didn't "cheap out" on implementation because we are focused on other things.

We welcome you to reframe your post; we won't tolerate accusations against the studio simply because some players may not be fond of how a feature was implemented. Please edit your post accordingly, and make yourself familiar with the Community Guidelines before posting things like this in the future.

Sorry, you always intended to deliver wildlife that has no AI and does not exist outside of random forced-struggle events by making it teleport onto you as well as making it vanish completely after the event (ie. despawning, no pawprints)? This was the intention?

With all respects, it does... come across as a cheap implementation.

I do agree that you did not promise anything about how it'd work though.
I do agree that you didn't mislead anyone. Besides the amazing art where you showcased a cougar standing on top of rocks when such a thing never happens.
The only thing I disagree with is the cheap-out because it comes across as a cheap-out implementation.

Finally, 'some players' is extremely subjective. You'll find very very few positive comments about cougars across any social media platform (Twitter, Reddit, Forum, Steam, Youtube). Most comments are negative and ask for improvements.

Originally posted by Hinterland_Studio:

We explained our plans for the Cougar in our May dev diary.

https://www.thelongdark.com/news/dev-diary-may-2024/

While you did explain, it still doesn't seem to work as explained. Like, you stated 'Since we know having Cougars stalking' - keyword, STALKING.
Well, it doesn't seem to stalk you at all since the wildlife doesn't spawn to actually stalk. It just TPs on you once the script decides to attack you.
Furthermore, you noted 'Alpha predator' but... it doesn't feel like alpha the way it is implemented right now.

For example, you didn't explain either that the wildlife would act on a hidden timer countdown before it teleports right on top of you for an attack.

Originally posted by Hinterland_Studio:

The struggle mechanic is identical to how all our wildlife struggles work -- the main difference being you get the chance to take a shot.

As for the other comment -- that is somewhat subjective. It's understandable you're upset that it's not the implementation you imagined, but it is the implementation we intended.

We're taking all the feedback in -- the update has only been live for a few days -- and the team will consider all of it and if they feel they can improve it while still delivering on the rest of their workload, they will do so. We always strive to make our game as good as we can.

Correct, that's how struggles work.
But, that's not the problem.
The problem is the whole Cougar system as outlined in my forum thread: https://hinterlandforums.com/forums/topic/45207-cougars-need-to-be-redux-ed-spoilers-criticism-feedback/#comment-280128

I appreciate that you provided us with an official developer response and confirmed the fact that this was the intended design.
However, I am disappointed you don't see how flawed it is.