Stuck in wing-suit, can't choose other sports, totally confused.....

[daddy]

I have no idea what's wrong here....on first try I was surprised at the lack of any introduction, explanation or offers of tutorials, quickly figured out how to walk to the launch platform and switch to wingsuit and I had some fun flying until I got too low. Since then, I've been stuck in a loop where all I can do is restart by holding down Tab, or use up helicopter tokens to restart somewhere else on the mountain. But I can't change sport or do anything else. I can't save my progress as a 'game save' and create new 'games' to load. The only option is to hit escape and then X to quit to desktop. There is no guidance option on the menu, only graphics, controls and some other hints, but nothing to explain how the games works or what my objectives are. Really annoyed to be honest, but willing to give this a chance as it runs really well and is fun, and I'm wanting to buy more copies to do multiplayer with my kids. Please can someone help?

[Estwilde]

Ok first thing as far as saves, the game will do it automatically as you go and complete events and gain levels. Once in a while you might notice a rotating icon in the top right, that's generally the game autosaving.

Second, while it's certainly possible to play on keyboard and mouse (plenty of folks over the games time have done so), if you have access to an xbox 360 controller (or another console controller) to plug into your PC, it may help you out a bit on overall gameplay control.

As you've found out, holding TAB will respawn you to the start of the course (or wherever you last appeared on the mountain from the map). To change sports, you need to stop moving, and then hold down SHIFT, and then move your mouse cursor to the sport you want to switch to. (the available keys should be showing up in the bottom right of your screen)

You can find a more complete list of the keyboard controls if you hit ESC, move category selection to the right to 'Options', select Controls, and then hit the button for 'Keymapping'

-------

As far as objectives for the game, it's very self-driven. There's no real route you need to follow that's the same for everyone. As you complete events you'll uncover new areas of the mountains that you haven't explored, and unlock new events for you to beat (levelling up will also unlock these, and that will happen as you gain points by generally free skiing or doing sports, finishing events etc)

Hold 'M' to enter the mountain map menu, and you can then use the WASD keys to move your camera around. You'll probably see some events (the easy to see markers), get near one so that it locks on and you can make yourself warp to it and challenge it. Or you can select a spot on a mountain anywhere and use a helicopter ticket and appear there and free ski, snowboard, wingsuit, paraglide, anything :) Helicopter tickets are limited, but not to fear, once you get to level 25 you'll receive unlimited helicopter uses.

[daddy]

Thanks for the reply, it's much appreciated.

I can see the dial on the top right that shows my progress. The issue I have is that I can't restart to the beginning of the 'mission' I can only 'respawn' to where I last crashed. If that's part of the design and I have to use the map/helicopter to get back to the top, then fair enough, but it's still weird that I can't just decide to start from the beginning. I would have thought all beginners would want the ability to restart, or at least have multiple game saves to allow some practise?

I'm fine with keyboard control, that's not an issue here.

When I hold down Shift, all the sports are greyed out apart from Wingsuit (at the bottom of the dial) and of course walking (in the middle). None of the other sport segments react when I hover the mouse pointer over them....it's as if they're not even installed.

I've just installed the game on another of my PCs (logged into the same Steam account) and it made no difference.

So I'm now stuck near the bottom of the valley, about to run out of helicopter passes and no ability to do anything else.

Something isn't right here......it's like my game is missing 75% of the content, but each time I've downloaded the installer, it's over 30GB so I'm sure that should mean it's all there, and I've done file validation checks and they are always OK.

[Estwilde]

Can you walk back out to that launch platform, jump off with the wingsuit and fly through a ring and start an event? I do remember a very basic tutorial event that was over really quick before it let you get into the regular game.

[daddy]

The first time I ran the game I had to walk out onto the launch platform but it wasn't a tutorial. It didn't even tell me I need to switch activity. After finding out (via Google) that I need to hold down Shift to change sport, as wingsuit was the only option I went for that, which seemed to make sense given I was standing on a launch area. After getting airborne, II did notice red guide arrows in the sky, but I wasn't good enough to maintain altitude, and after getting over the first big dam and into the valley below, I could still see the red guide markers, but they're so high up they're completely unobtainable unless I use the map/helicopter to go really high up again.

As I said before, I'm about to run out of helicopter credits, so feel like I'm about to get stuck at the bottom of the valley.

Even when I installed Steep from scratch on a different PC, the game started me off in the same place at the bottom of the valley, and all I can do when I get bored of walking uphill for 5 minutes to find a ledge is hit Esc and X to quit to desktop.

[Estwilde]

Well, it sounds like you've definitely done a number on yourself there :) You're going to need to get back up to that ledge and wingsuit through the starting point and make it to the end point (or wherever those markers are telling you to go)

I'm trying to help, but you have to realize that trying to tech support the current predicament you're in is difficult with text :)

[daddy]

Thanks again for the reply. So are you saying the first time anyone plays this game, they must complete a Wingsuit challenge before they can switch to skiing and try other routes, or for that matter access any of the DLCs they might have paid for? (BTW, I own every DLC available)

Again, I would understand why the game was designed this way, it just seems crazy that there's no explanation when the game starts.....not even a single pop-up message saying "you cannot proceed to play the game until you complete this initial Wingsuit challenge" etc...

[daddy]

OK, I seem to be getting somewhere now....I helicoptered up to a high point near the red beacon, swooped down through 3 hoops and then landed by parachute in a marked circle at the bottom. A cool sounding voice then told me to try snowboarding.....so 20 minutes after that I've completed various challenges, got lots of points, switched to skiing. And I really like it. I'll possibly never know why the game didn't explain any of this when it first launched, but hopefully other newcomers will find this post useful.

[Estwilde]

Originally posted by daddy:

OK, I seem to be getting somewhere now....I helicoptered up to a high point near the red beacon, swooped down through 3 hoops and then landed by parachute in a marked circle at the bottom. A cool sounding voice then told me to try snowboarding.....so 20 minutes after that I've completed various challenges, got lots of points, switched to skiing. And I really like it. I'll possibly never know why the game didn't explain any of this when it first launched, but hopefully other newcomers will find this post useful.

Great :) Yes kinda unfortunately it was meant to be a bit of a cold open as they say, where they gave you a relatively easy challenge and introduce you to the sports one by one. As mentioned before and I'm sure you're understanding by seeing it, the game is very freeform and doesn't generally structure you to follow a set path. And I think you just happened to be someone that took a non-obvious route that the developers didn't expect :) Sounds like you're back on track again, though! Now that you're through that you shouldn't ever find yourself stuck and "locked out" like that again.