App Selection

There are now a total of three different apps to run on the HunterMate and to accommodate for this we’ve created a new App Selection Menu.

How to launch an app:

1. Hold the G-key
2. Move the mouse in the direction of a desired app
3. Press the left mouse button to launch

How to close an app:

• Press the G-key at anytime to close an app

Environment Camo App

The environment camo app is a new free tool that can be used to learn in which areas your environment based camo such as the Sneaky 3D and Ghillie outfits are active.

Legend:

• Green – You are wearing an environment based camo item and you are in an area where it provides camo
• Light Grey – You are wearing an environment based camo item but you are not in an area where it provides camo
• Dark Grey – You are wearing an item with no environment based camo

Note that species-specific camo such as the B&C Outfit is counted as items with no environment based camo. These are active everywhere, thus there’s no need to include them in the app.

Bust Through

Since we now have a way to select multiple apps again we’ve brought back an old friend that should be familiar to most veterans of the game. The HunterMate mini-game “Bust Through” is now available via the App Selection Menu and free to all players of theHunter. To add a competitive touch we’ve also added an all new leaderboard for this game on the website.

Why climbing?

When we design a new species for the game we strive to add as much unique gameplay around it as possible, preferably inspired by real life characteristics. One of the most distinguishable features of the Alpine Ibex is their ability to scale almost vertical walls and already in the beginning of the research process it became clear that this had to be included in the game to make the species justice.

This, coupled with the fact that Ibex are not known to respond to any lures, puts the hunter at a great disadvantage. Climbing evens the playing field by allowing agile hunters to follow their prey up even the most difficult slopes while adding an all new type of outdoor experience to the world of theHunter.

Do I have to climb?

Climbing is as much a requirement for hunting Ibex as lures are generally for other species. In other words, it makes it easier but it is not required. Most of the reserve, including the high areas where Ibex roam, can be reached by walking and climbing should be viewed more as taking a shortcut than a requirement.

How Is It Done?

Climbing Gear Characteristics:

• Creates permanent climbing paths
• Rated for 2 safe falls per climbing season
• 75% of deployed units are recovered on dismantle

How to deploy:

1. Add a couple of Climbing Gear to your field inventory
2. Find a suitable rock wall, look for extruding stones in vertical cliff areas
3. Equip your Climbing Gear & click the Use Item Button (Left Mouse) to deploy
4. Note that deployment cost is dependent on wall with taller walls costing more units

How to climb:

1. Walk up to your deployed climbing path & hold the Use Environment button (E) for options
2. Select “Enter”
3. Use the Move Forward & Move Backward buttons (W/S) to move up or down
4. When you see a balance bar use Move Left & Move Right (A/D) to keep the balance arrow centered
5. If the arrow go too far to any edge of the bar you will fall, the first couple of falls in each climbing season are recovered by the rope but eventually the rope breaks which lead to a fatal disagreement with gravity. Note that falling and breaking the rope does not affect the wall. Climbing gear can only be lost through dismantle
6. Once at the other end of the wall press the Use Environment button (E) to exit

How to dismantle:

1. Walk up to your deployed climbing path & hold the Use Environment button (E) for options
2. Select “Dismantle”
3. Note that only 75% of deployed climbing gear are recovered on dismantle due to wear & tear

Is there a reserve limit for deployed climbing paths?

The amount of climbing paths that can be deployed in a reserve is only limited by the amount of available deployment spots which in Val-Des-Bois is about 20.

Fall Damage

In addition to climbing we’ve added another new feature requested by many players for a very long time. Basically it is about addressing the immersion breaking superman ability of the hunter to survive falls from any height without any of the bone breaking consequences one would expect from such an event in real life. While this has worked well in most areas of the old reserves, simply due to the lack of places to fall from, it became more of an issue in a mountainous reserve such as Val-Des-Bois.

Unlike climbing, this will affect gameplay in both the new and old reserves, however, as mentioned above, there are not that many places to fall from in the old reserves except extreme areas such as the hangbridge ravine on Logger’s Point.

Being knocked out from falling follows by the same procedure as similar features such as animal attacks. Once knocked out you can choose to use a First Aid Kit to respawn at the spot or respawn at a Tent or Campsite.

Tips

• Mastering the balance act of climbing can take a few tries. It’s recommended to bring a couple of medkits or place a tent near your practice wall for quick respawns.
• Be easy on the keys when balancing, holding too long can tip the scale over to the other side and lead to acceleration towards epic disaster
• While you need to focus on the balance bar while climbing don’t forget to check for the “exit wall” icon in the right corner of the screen as you approach your destination

Yesterdays patch included a major revamp of trajectories, damage & penetration for the following weapons:

• 300 Rifles
• .30-06 Rifles
• 8×57 Rifles
• .308 Rifle & Handgun
• .270 Rifles
• .243 Rifles
• .357 Revolvers
• .44 Revolvers
• .454 Revolvers
• .50 Cal Muzzleloader Round Ball
• 12 GA Shotgun Slug
• 12 GA Buckshot

Kinetic Energy

The primary change for all these weapons is that they now use kinetic energy derived from our advanced trajectory system as the basis for their damage & penetration calculations instead of the old legacy system of linearly reducing velocity that did not take into account things like air resistance, bullet shape and weight.

This system has been applied to most new weapons since the release of the 9.3 Rifle, but until now there has not been enough time to convert the old weapons, as a lot of research and experimentation was needed to make sure we got things right.

Air Resistance

While this change mostly affects damage & penetration due to the fact that all weapons already use the advanced trajectory system for things like bullet drop, there have been some additional minor tweaks, primarily involving adding more precision to how air resistance is calculated. I expect that it will be mostly noticeable for large calibre weapons such as handguns, slug & the muzzleloader, although as zeroing has been updated to compensate for the changes in bullet drop it may only be noticeable at very long distances.

Rifles

Penetration and base damage mostly remain the same as before for most rifles as they worked fairly well with the linear system, however, you can expect somewhat more base damage from .300 & .270 rifles, which in turn means quicker deaths at the cost of trophy integrity (better reflecting calibre & bullet weight).

Handguns, Muzzleloader Round Ball, Slug & Buckshot

Previously these weapons had very high base damage and very low penetration. This has now been reversed to reflect how they commonly work in real life. The result is that poorly placed shots become less lethal while well-placed shoots are more likely to result in things like double-lung shots vs. permitted species. It also means that it should be easier to get good trophy integrity values using these weapons as this number is dependent on base damage.

Legacy Weapons

So, are all weapons now converted to this new glorious system? Sadly no, all arrow based weapons still use the old linear system as well as both 12 GA & 20 GA birdshot. But, the good news is that I am currently looking into converting these weapons as well and that by doing so we may finally be able to address some of the realism problems that have been plaguing these weapons since they were first introduced to the game.