This is a giant slap in the face to anyone who's wanted this animal....

[vsaet]

@ DHRifleman
You unlock bases by walking up to the flag pole and press E when prompted.
Unlock stone cairns the same way.
You unlock the small huts by going inside, approaching the note on the wall and pressing E when prompted.
You unlock lookouts by climbing to the top, approach the info centre and press E when Prompted.

Every time you unlock something you get exp points, some in-game currency and new areas of the map are opened up.

OK, you open new areas by exploration and not doing a set task like hunt down X animal.

I think it's a little wild to say that "they use our money to pay for CotW." Any company will absolutely focus on support for whatever their cash cow is. If they're primarily focusing on a game, it's b/c that's the game that's bringing in the bucks. Meaning: CotW pays for itself, and so long as money is coming in from Classic, they will continue to work on it.

They used money received for this game to create Primal, and COTW and in the first one it was greatly at the detriment of this one, and not quite as bad for the second

They are also always heavily developing this game, as should be obvious with all the things constantly being released. I sincerely doubt that the dev teams--from programmers to artists--are the same teams between the two games. Are they? Is it even a question of which to put dev time into? I'd have assumed that two different games have two different sets of people working on them, since they're on separate engines, etc.

Yes different dev teams and hopefully if Classic need some monetary support to keep it running it gets it from COTW

I don't care about a South American map. If they add cougars I hope they look better than what's shown in that trailer. That one's running really weirdly... I do hope they fix bugs in the current game first, and also focus on improving what we have. Models. Behavior/AI. Bugs.

Summary, not a slap in the face for me, even though I have suggested cougars before.

I think the slap was referring to COTW getting things that a quite a while ago we were told we would not get, like Africa. It would either mean there has been a change of heart, or COTW is thought of as a lesser game which I surely doubt. Now when with primal we were told it would be an experimental or proving ground for things to be added to Classic, still waiting for some of that as well.

My hope is EW with all of it's games continues to grow, and keeps Classic alive much longer than would typically be expected, even if its just because it was their flagship game that allowed them to get where they are. And finally before the end create it again with current technology.

I think ,dear Tom ,that your hope will stay a hope because if they create The Classic with current technology COTW is dead! And that is not something that they want! Don't forget that Steam play with them

[caledonianblues]

They are also always heavily developing this game, as should be obvious with all the things constantly being released.

I think the issue causing upset and negativity is not whether Classic is being developed, it clearly is. There were recent bug fixes and a bunch of new items, like you said. This thread seems to be about what Call of the Wild gets and Classic doesn't, the implication being that Call of the Wild is getting more love, or that its community is being listened to more. I think Classic has actually had a decent number of significant updates in the last 12 months. I don't necessarily agree with what went into the roadmap, but effort clearly has gone in.

• Jeep
• Lynx
• Combination Rifle
• German Pointer
• Deployable Targets
• Extended Render Range
• Multiplayer Deployables
• Magpie Goose
• Tropical Trophy Lodge

A lot of work has gone into the game over the last year. But if you would have preferred Africa to all of the above, and suddenly it gets added to Call of the Wild, then I guess all that effort and content becomes irrelevant. We are after all driving our own agendas here, and no matter what happens there will always be the happy bunch, and the miserable bunch. I think recently a lot of the regular community members have been nudged into the miserable bunch a bit more than they would have liked, and I think the result has been a downward spiral in the overall attitude and morale of the community. That's just my observation and take on it. Perhaps I'm not looking at the big picture clearly because I too feel disgruntled by a lot of the decisions being made. Who knows.

I think some of the recent additions to Classic scream "money grab". The developers could have added vehicles to Classic at any point but the game designers chose not to because they felt it would create too much imbalance without adding enough value. The implementation of the Jeep is actually a lot better than I thought it would have been, but I still think it serves very little purpose, and I remain convinced that the developers knew this too when they set out to create it. The Christmas-themed weapons and items are also completely ridiculous in my opinion, and I feel the willingness to "cheapen" the image of the game is indicative of the end being in sight. When you browse the store now you will forever see a ridiculous Christmas candy cane rifle. When you browse the leaderboards you will forever find a heading for Werewolves. I know some people have said "who cares, just pass all that stuff by if you don't like, and enjoy the parts you do like", and in theory that's good advice. But I still care, and such decisions still make me worry about the future of the game because they show me that I care more about the integrity of the game than the developers. I know there has been official talk about a roadmap for the next year, and reassurances that the game isn't going anywhere, but I still remain unconvinced. I don't think the game will go anywhere as long as it's covering its infrastructure costs, but at some point soon I think the development team will get pulled off and put on other projects, and Classic will be left to its own devices. My prediction is that the curtain is closing and I think we should cherish the status updates while they last.

Going back to what Call of the Wild gets and Classic doesn't; in my opinion it was a poor strategic decision for the franchise to add Africa to Call of the Wild, even though it might have been well received by the people that play the game. Both games are owned and developed by the same company and creating animosity in one community to please another is pretty dangerous. Not that I give two hoots. I've never been too upset about Call of the Wild getting something that I wanted in Classic, and I've never had a burning desire for Africa either. But I understand how some people must feel, and I think the entire thing could have been approached and handled more delicately. People have come to expect a new reserve in Classic with every year that passes, or at least mention of a new reserve being in development, and perhaps the notion that Piccabeen might have been the last one is a bit much for people to accept.

I sincerely doubt that the dev teams--from programmers to artists--are the same teams between the two games. Are they?

No, separate teams. I think there is some overlap, for example Graham is involved in live streams for Classic and makes the odd post in the forum, but I believe also works on Call of the Wild and Generation Zero.

Summary, not a slap in the face for me, even though I have suggested cougars before.

Likewise. I've felt as though my face has been slapped a number of times recently but Call of the Wild has had nothing to do with it.

Blame Mark (Tanngnjostr) for all this end of the world stuff

Actually I blame Expansive Worlds. Marc has always been a very rational and positive thinker with a glass half full, so in my opinion if he starts to see the end in sight, there might just be some validity to it. Besides, he's not alone.

According to Mat (TK) they still have lots already planted into the New Years role already so maybe all of this is just conjecture like the fairy tale Chicken Little

All we have is conjecture, but the existence of a roadmap serves no guarantee.

[Fletchette]

I sincerely doubt that the dev teams--from programmers to artists--are the same teams between the two games. Are they?

No, separate teams. I think there is some overlap, for example Graham is involved in live streams for Classic and makes the odd post in the forum, but I believe also works on Call of the Wild and Generation Zero.

Maybe someone has mentioned it already, but I'd think that developing new content for COTW is materially easier and more efficient than it is for Classic. It's not just that the game is 10 years old, but the engine is also 10+ years old. So most of the tools are considerably aged compared to COTW. Assuming that the engine COTW is built on uses much newer and more powerful tools and drivers, there could be a considerable difference in the number of man-hours it takes to develop on the different platform. Even finding and retaining talent that is versed on the older tech could be a challenge.

[caledonianblues]

Maybe someone has mentioned it already, but I'd think that developing new content for COTW is materially easier and more efficient than it is for Classic. It's not just that the game is 10 years old, but the engine is also 10+ years old. So most of the tools are considerably aged compared to COTW. Assuming that the engine COTW is built on uses much newer and more powerful tools and drivers, there could be a considerable difference in the number of man-hours it takes to develop on the different platform. Even finding and retaining talent that is versed on the older tech could be a challenge.

Yep, that too. I've always viewed theHunter as a sort of "serve your time" game. Serve your time on Classic and you might be allowed to move on to a more fun project with newer tech, which will look better on your resume. Classic is definitely not fun to work on from a development point of view, but ultimately that's an Expansive Worlds problem.

[Jack.Grave]

Very well written post David - CaledonianBlues! I would add my tupenny, as it looks this year was dedicated to broadening (polishing) players experince instead of expanding it. I believe there is plenty room to improve overall experience of the gameplay. I can clearly imagine they will be able sooner or later add x64 libraries to be able run effeciently under x64 based systems (AFAIK its possible for game engines of simmiliar age). Over the year during my presence on this forums I have seen several periods of public unrest and vague promises from the Devs. Some of the side projects of EW/Avalanche were waste of money and resources (IMHO) like tH:Primal. I strongly believe COTW targets to slightly younger and different audience than tH:C. Also I can imagine that COTW have more advanced world and mission editor tools and thus beeing easier to use. For me new reserves in here are just cherry on top for my gaming experience, so far I can say last 2 reserves are not my favourites.

I am fairly interested in that Parque Fernando in Argentine inspired landscapes, maybe we can have something like that in tH:C also because I believe porting models and animations from tH:C to COTW (and vice versa) is possible.

And one last thought why will they slaughter goose lying golden eggs (even in slower rate then in the past).

(optimist) Jack

[Eraser_SK]

Extended Render Range was for ages just my "wet dream"...

[stancomputerhunter]

Extended Render Range was for ages just my "wet dream"...

And what has it gotten you? Logically, with the new range, you should see un-spooked animals roaming about, 220-300 meters away. I can count on one hand the times that has happened to me since the change. Can you see animals just roaming about, far away? No, you can't. There are still trees, rocks, hills, and mountains in the way. In many cases, the animal is slightly visible at 300+ meters, but most of the time half of their body is "under" the terrain. There are some exceptions, like at WRR and BRR, but those are...exceptions.

The extended render range brought new bugs, that will never be fixed. The most obvious one is that animals now walk under water for many many meters (I've seen up to 135) because they didn't do it right. I have no idea about computer coding and the like, but it's obvious they just s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d the existing terrain, but pathing for animals stayed the same.

[gas56]

All jokes aside............. I never felt like I was slapped in the face with whatever they do in COTW.
Whatever happens with the game will not be any of our decisions or assumptions to what is going to happen no matter if anybody's answer
sounds logical or not to a response. Sure theHunter will come to an end someday,.. and each day gives a new insight of taking todays hindsight as
it rolls by with yesterdays thoughts.
I just extended my membership last week to get that limited Jeep,....and it's not the 1st thing I ever did that makes any sense for this game.

"We are the flock of sheep that gets fed the clover and are at the discretion of the Wolves appetite when they go to feed"....
Familiar words from those welcoming days?