The Long Dark: Wintermute Redux Update Detailed

By Chewie,

Hinterland Games has announced the Wintermute Redux update for their survival game, The Long Dark. Much more than just some bug fixes and tweaks, this update completely overhauls the first two episodes of the game, with all dialogue and cinematics rewritten and rerecorded to include new plot elements, locations and general polish. Mission structure has also been reworked to allow side quests to be optional rather than prerequisites for progression, and many missions have been retuned to improve the UI and information, reduce backtracking and increase ammunition. The update also includes tweaks to survival mode with new items, health buffs and challenges. To accompany the announcement there's an atmospheric new trailer highlighting some of the changes, as well as a full changelist for those interested below.

THE LONG DARK v. 1.41 CHANGELIST

*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***KNOWN ISSUES

Due to Unity issues, we are seeing lower than expected performance in some areas of the game on Xbox One and Xbox One S. We are investigating this issue and will release a fix ASAP. Xbox One X is not affected by this issue.
There are some rendering issues when using the latest NVidia drivers on Linux. We are working on a solution. This issue does not affect AMD video cards.

GENERAL FIXES

General performance improvements across the game
Widespread audio optimizations
Upgraded to a new version of Unity, enabling widespread improvements across the game

GENERAL ART FIXES

Numerous optimizations to improve performance
Fixed numerous areas the player could become stuck in
Fixed numerous areas the player could get outside of the intended play area
Fixed numerous clipping and floating objects
Performed various optimizations to avoid texture popping
Improved alignment on some power lines
Updated many snow banks, rocks, and fauna
Numerous environment improvements
Improved Aurora visuals; reduced the visible banding effect
Improved blood decal lifetime
Improved waterfall splash effects appearance when dark
Improved light flicker visuals during an Aurora event
Update to many items to prevent floating after an object is broken down
Improved decal sorting
Improved grass reflections lighting for time of day
Fixed many instances of grass clipping through trees and railway tracks
Fixed invisible rocks near Rope Climb
Fixed overlapping pipes and debris near the Maintenance Yard
Fixed box clipping into wall
Fixed corpses spawning sunken into the ground
Fixed stretched snow textures around some cabins
Fixed visual artifacts in river terrain
Fixed flickering textures on mountain near Milton
Fixed missing texture on rocks near transition to Mystery Lake
Fixed missing collison on the barn at Paradise Meadow Farms
Fixed flickering textures on the cars outside of Milton
Fixed player being able to clip through parts of the silo

USER INTERFACE

Improved the visibility of HUD button prompt when using a controller
Improved Main Menu appearing off-center in 21:9
Fixed back button taking player to wrong screen when viewing a Note at the end of a Survival Game
Fixed Reticle appearing over non-interactable cabinets
Fixed alignment of UI when reading a note
Fixed Online Messaging only showing only the latest announcement, instead of all new announcements
Fixed Back button option being highlighted by mistake in certain scenarios
Fixed player being unable to back out of Save/Load menu if it was empty

WINTERMUTE FIXES

Improved map markers to allow merging of critical information when multiple icons are at the same location
Fixed frightened Wolves becoming aggressive after game is saved and loaded
Fixed conditions that caused players to start Episode Two holding a lantern
Fixed pelts not curing if partially cured when completing Episode One
Added option to easily start Episode Two if the player quit after completing Episode One
Fixed issue that caused audio to cut out when entering certain cars in Milton
Fixed multiple sound effects playing when climbing rope breaks
Fixed Neighbours Note clipping into ground
Fixed deer carcass disappearing when loading an autosave
Fixed Wolves not always fleeing from flares
Fixed Wolves being able to attack players while in Dialogue Mode
Fixed weather not restoring correctly when loading a game
Improved accuracy of the Episode Completion stat
Fixed issue that caused players to be pushed into another room when opening the vault door in the Bank
Numerous wildlife pathfinding updates

SURVIVAL MODE

Fixed player being able to use weapons while afflicted with a sprained wrist by saving then reloading the game
Fixed issue with mapping in Mountain Town on some legacy save files
All bedrolls now use the same skill when repairing
Prevented deer from fleeing to inaccessible areas in the Ravine transition
Fixed items becoming lost under the Farmhouse in Pleasant Valley after a struggle
Fixed animal sound effects playing when leaving Trapper’s Cabin
Fixed issue where a cairn found in Coastal Highway could be found twice
Fixed issue that could cause Rifles placed on racks to fall off when player exits the building
Fixed Bear spawning in terrain in Mystery Lake

ALL GAME MODES

General gameplay tuning across a variety of systems.
Improved aiming mechanics for thrown Stones, to make Rabbit Hunting a bit easier.
Retuned Wolf flee behaviour to react to being hit by a thrown Stone (probability is subject to Experience Mode).
Bear breath effect optimization
Male survivor can no longer be heard breathing when Survivor Voiceover is turned Off
Fixed players arms becoming stuck if entering a wolf struggle while holding a Flashlight
Decreased campfires placement size to avoid players trapping themselves
Fixed condition that could result in the the player becoming stuck when picking up a stunned Rabbit
Fixed exploit that allowed Encumbered players to travel uphills at regular speed by crouching and standing repeatedly
Fixed Cooking Pots sinking into cooking surfaces
Improved how items snap onto cooking surfaces
Fixed last Cartridge in a stack dropping as a box
Fixed Bows and Rifles floating above placed location
Fixed placed Campfires sinking slightly after player leaves area
Fixed “You are not thirsty” message appearing incorrectly when trying to drink soda or tea
Fixed player becoming stuck in animation if attacked by a wolf while reloading the Rifle
Fixed Distress Pistol becoming stuck in hand if the reload button was pressed rapidly
Fixed instances where subtitles could play when turned off
Fixed issue where the fade to black after wolf struggle hid the get up animation
Fixed unplugging the controller during movie a not pausing playback
Fixed Ropes becoming inaccessible if player saves and reloads while on a ledge
Adjusted Flashlight lighting effect
Player can no longer enter a door when a Struggle has been initiated
Improved wildlife pathfinding in Milton
Fixed issue that caused Aurora to not appear correctly when using OpenGL
Improved wildlife pathfinding in Paradise Meadows Farm
Fixed player being able to throw a Flare while opening a car trunk
Fixed flickering sky that could occur during wind storm
Fixed not being able to place a Campfire on concrete
Fixed unlocked lockers in Trapper’s Cabin requiring a pry bar to open

CUSTOM EXPERIENCE SETTINGS

Updated several description strings to reflect specific settings more accurately.
Fixed "Struggle player strength bonus" option not working correctly
Fixed "Struggle damage received modifier" option not working correctly
Fixed “Stick, Branch, and Stone spawn frequency” always being set to high
Fixed Hidden Caches in River Valley not appearing as empty in Custom Mode
Fixed animals fleeing when Custom Mode set to Interloper mode
Fixed Blizzard Frequency not working correctly
Fixed Wildlife Respawn Frequency not working correctly
Fixed Wolf Spawn Chance settings not matching intended preset
Fixed Cabin Fever and Parasites being On when using the Pilgrim preset
Fixed Medical Treatment voice over playing when Survivor Monologue was disabled
Fixed Custom Experience options being unavailable until user scrolls to the bottom of the menu
Fixed "Interrupt If Freezing Starts While Sleeping" option not taking effect

XBOX-ONLY FIXES

Fixed grass rotating to face the camera
Improved performance when in the Whaling Station
Improved performance during strong wind conditions
Improved performance on breath effects

The "Wintermute Redux" patch for The Long Dark has been released so game updates should be rolling out already.

We've got the full list of The Long Dark trophies - check the list for guides to unlocking them.

More The Long Dark stories:

Game Patch PlayStation 4

Written by Chewie

Chewie is a Wookiee from Kashyyyk. Since helping the Rebel Alliance defeat the Emperor, he has taken up Achievement-Hunting and Newshoundery on TA. Also, ice-skating.