9 Years since theHunter was released to public

[ronMctube]

sometimes gamers come across a game which becomes more than just a game . for me theHunter is one of those games that has become more than a time passer. i cant believe that this week coming marks the 9th year that theHunter was released ! . who would of thought 9 years later many would still be playing the same title regularly and with many hopefully more years to come.

i started the first week of release.i started recording a few days later ( terrible videos ) but you have to start somewhere dont you . at this time in the game we had just whitehart.no tents. just deer. it took me two days to get my first deer ! . it was a real adventure. every call was exciting. at the time the graphics were cutting edge up there with crysis 1 which hadnt been out that long.you needed a pretty hefty pc to run it.

we had wardens which when a new weapon came out you got to test that new gun for free for a whole month.when the month came to a end you had to buy it or the weapon dissapeared.

when the 30-06 came out it used to fire left .one of the first rifles.

website was totally different we could also talk to each other ingame via chat from your friends list.also in competitions the results would stream across the bottom of the screen.one feature i would of loved to stay.nothing like getting a trophy animal in a comp and see it scroll across the bottom of the screen and then friends would text you congrats ! . really added to comps.

there was a small dark period where the original owners struggled they were called Emote.not that many know about them but they should be mentioned as they helped create this great game.first comp came out in the summer the first comp was a turkey competitiob for the biggest turkey.i won it . was with a 90 turkey. yes the scoring is different now.

we used to have a fixed rack system for animals and this changed to tru racks.

so many things have changed for the good and bad but generally for the good and if you think about it how many games do you know have lasted this long and still pretty popular.also with new content to come there is still plenty of life yet .

so congrats to Expansive worlds for keeping the game running. not always seen eye to eye on everything but i must commend you on what is the best hunting game ever made on pc.cheers !

[Nathan112244]

I remember a few years ago about 5 i was watching videos by you, Pratze, BillyTheCrayon, Fape and HooCairs every single day on Thehunter and i didn't get the game because i thought i had to buy the game (LOL) so i was watching all these vids for about a year without knowing it was free. Then i finally got the game (paid for it), on disc, i guess the guy selling it got his account on the disc because it had some guns on it already (forget which ones but i remeber the 30-06 lever and .300 maybe the 12ga pump too). I remember getting my inventory together (old type with spaces not weight) then getting into a loggers point game and my frames were so horrible, probably under 5fps, i never played the game again. Then about 3 years ago i got a new(ish) laptop to play on that because it can actually run the game then my old account got banned so i thought id never play the game again... but here i am because i wanted to play the game so badly with a new account. Its been a long rough ride with thehunter, but i still play it most days.

[Seifer]

It's an awesome hunting game to be sure. I've been playing off and on since July 2013. Only in the last year have I really been able to put any time into it. I've had other obligations in the past that have prevented me from playing as much as I do now. I've played a handful of other hunting games over the years and I can't recall anything that can come close to what this game has become. I don't recall how I came across this game, I stumbled upon it somehow but I'm glad that I did. Admittedly I haven't been getting outdoors much because of it I love this game, the thrill of the hunt and the agony from the ones that get away. I play as much as I can and I hope there aren't any future obligations that keep me from playing all I can. Hopefully it's around for many more years

[VonStratos]

Its has been a long run with The Hunter, i barely remember that i got in the game a little before the release of the Parker Python bow, i was a guest and the only thing guest had on that days was Mules in Loggers, but was fun and i did got the Python and made almost bow hunting only, then i become member and bought more weapons and equipment, but rl compromises has me busy, so i had to leave for seasons, and then comeback and play as guest or member according to my free time, and always that i comeback there was new things to try and new reserves, now i'm here again and the game have grown so much, even with the release of cotw last year its still keep getting new stuff, and i hope the game still have a lot of time ahead.

[gas56]

The Hunter deserves credit,.. at least it is the only hunting game that keeps producing, and that means a lot when other great hunting games have
passed by the way and are no longer a stable product. I was an avid "Deer Hunter" series game player since their introduction and had watched them
grow over the years, along with similar other hunting game titles. I even made custom maps for it up until around 2012-13.
I guess that's when I finally made theHunter my new home hunting game,.... although it finally took a lot of effort on my part to drop the Deer Hunter game after those
first years of reviewing theHunter game and it just wouldn't click my interest too well.
They have come a long ways and to tell you the truth I just thought that it would really never interest me in playing it,.....
but I was wrong, so here I am on the same boat as everyone else that made this place home.
And 1 more thing to add is how amazing this forum and the players all are,....
there is never a dull moment reading the forums and posting things about the game that sometimes really makes a difference in how the game direction goes.
Now Ron,... I guess it's time to pay my appreciation for this post where I can express how I really sometimes should communicate better to everyone that matters,..
The Devs,.. & the game & forum members.........Thanks for a job well done.....................

[DanthemanBoone]

I have been playing since late 2009 also and have to agree that this game has been one of the longest running games I have played, second only to Dh2005.
And while we were sad to loose Gas 56 from the list of Dh2005 map makers, we are still maintaining our site and still making new maps for that game today.

The only things that concern me about theHunter is the fact that the more content that is added, the less stability remains with the game play and the more we seem expected to put up with rushed and unpolished additions.
There is no doubt this is a great advancement to the Hunting games that went before, (and any that have come out since), but realistically it well well past the time for a concerted effort, to upgrade the content and revisit those areas (that we have all pointed to at some time or another) needing attention.
There is more than enough content to justify putting the game on hold for a year, and concentrating on improving the overall quality. We don't need a rebuild and we don't need a new engine.
But we sure as hell need a serious upgrade and fixes to existing content.

So while I also feel a commendation is well earned, its about time we found a leader prepared to bite the bullet, and go out and earn a Medal Of Honour.

[ronMctube]

well i think it was released to public on the 5th of march 2009 if thats correct then its the 9 year birthday today

[SPRK85]

Yea! Happy birthday!

I got into hunting sims way back in 2000 with Carnivores and quickly developed a taste for the gamegenre. Worked my way through plenty of deerhunter titles and those godawful cabela's games (HU franchise deserves a dishonerable mention as well). Probably installed some of Gas' maps in DH2005

I knew of the game's existence but it took up to 2013 to get a pc capable of the job. Ever since then (off and on) I've played this game with great enthusiasm and believe me, I will keep playing it for many years to come.

Too bad I currently need to run the game on the lowest settings

[drakle]

I first registered for this game around 6 years ago, back then I was a guest. Then the day came I received the motive to get a membership, by buying 5000 em$ and getting the 28 day brown and black bear licenses. This was a month before MP came along. I got the .50 Cap Lock Muzzleloader on sale and also got the Parker Python, as well as some other stuff. A month after, I bought the Trailrunner pack and I've been enjoying the game ever since, renewing once a year.

[Violator31]

7-24-2009 was my 1st hunt in this game. I had never been a "gamer", I was into the Deer Hunter series, same as many of you. I remember scanning the shelves every year for the newest release, what was the last one... 2006? I wanted, so bad, to get into making maps, but my pc wasn't up to it. By the time I was able to get a decent pc that part was gone. I was digging in the attic a while back & found the box of my old games (someone on here has an old thread with photos of their collection)
In 2009 I only played theHunter for a couple of months. Not being used to games that were downloaded, instead of have a disc, I really didn't want to dive in any more than I had. I was so nervous about downloading the game, but I wanted a hunting game soooo bad. I hunting a few months in 2009, a little more (very little) in 2010, skipped ahead to 2012 & haven't dropped out since.
I remember coming to the forums, which I visited even when not hunting (lurking), and complaining about them not producing a disc. Man did I catch hell for that. http://forum.thehunter.com/viewtopic.ph ... 9&start=20
Pretty comical looking back on the 1st few pages of my forum posts.
I remember showing videos to my Sons way back then too.
Here is an ESPN article from 1/22/2009 regarding the game.
http://www.espn.com/outdoors/hunting/ne ... id=3849694
I was blown away by the graphics immediately, & now looking at some of the early videos you guys posted,... it looks so primitive .