Darkwood: Reoccurring Nightmare

[66ee2f8ee5997Join2]

Somehow I've found myself modding again...stupid passion for game design. Yet this game really deserves it - the cerebral modern masterpiece Darkwood. The only other horror game capable of touching System Shock 2, and even surpassing it in ways.

Darkwood: Reoccurring Nightmare Mod, Coming soon. Details to follow.

[66ee2f8ee5b6dvoodoo47]

Reoccurring Nightmare? why would I play this, I just need to get out of bed each day.

[66ee2f8ee6076ZylonBane]

I mean, at least it's not a Recurring Nightmare.

[66ee2f8ee6280fox]

I have never played Darkwood but it's on The List.

[66ee2f8ee64b7Join2]

"The only other horror game capable of touching System Shock 2, and even surpassing it in ways."

I should elaborate: there's a lot of very good horror games out there. I am a big fan of the genre when executed right/not walking simulators...but well, you really have to play this game and see for yourself, it shouldn't be spoiled. There are many things that makes it nuanced creative genius. Many of which are shared with other horror games, but also a number of things that are unique entirely to this game.  Forget any preconceived notions based on descriptions, footage, previous personal biases, marketing material, just jump right in. I've been in love with this game since I found it in 2019 or whatever, and it covers all bases. Truly a contender for the throne of the genre of survival horror, or all horror-themed games period.

Side note but Just like System Shock 2 it wasn't the success it should have been, and that's just sad.

[66ee2f8ee7f9dMarvin]

I played Darkwood for the first time very recently. Had been on my list for a long time but somehow never managed - but I'm glad I still played it in the end. It's a great game, takes a lot of influence from other survival horror classics but is very much its own unique thing. I can certainly say I never played something quite like it.
It also stands out as having a flawless ending. Indies especially have a hard time with this, given that wrapping up so many choices and consequences in an inexpensive manner seems nearly impossible even for AAA games. But Darkwood delivered.

I noticed your mod a couple of weeks ago - good for you trying to touch up an indie classic with little to no modding support.

I'm probably not the target audience as I'm not into a game like Darkwood for the hardcore difficulty experience (in fact, I played more than enough tryhard-difficulty games in the last couple of years that I kind of soured on the concept... for now). While the game was designed with some degree of replayability in mind, the fact that map objects are simply re-arranged and there is only one major quest choice per act would mean that it'd take a couple of years until I touched the game again on hard mode.

In any case, if it was my choice, here's a couple of things I wished would be changed:
* make the start (first 3 days?) a bit more forgiving for newcomers only (fresh install, no existing savegame), maybe as a toggle, or if tutorial is played through.
* apply more pressure to switch biomes. There is little need to switch to the second or third biome except for progressing the story, meaning one can hide in the meadows for eternity and scrounge up so many resources that the rest of act 1 becomes slightly too easy.
* in the same vein, nerf the third hideout's difficulty. I spent one night there and simply switched to the meadows again as it takes less than one ingame hour to travel to the third biome from the meadows, and surviving at the third hideout is a constant drain on resources that cannot be recouped, so staying there basically means you're on a hard timer to progress. That's not bad per se, just a tad too much. Newcomers will be tempted to skip a lot of content, veterans won't even stay there a single night, certainly not on hard or nightmare. There is simply no need to.
* make the crafting progression a bit more interesting in the game's second half. The beginning is very exciting when even a well-made board with nails already seems like an achievement. Later, you basically do not have to craft anymore, you just buy everything. Any kind of ammunition, which the second half relies heavily upon, is not craftable at all, and when you do finally get to the last workbench level, you've basically won the game. And then buy more shotgun shells. It would be neat if I had to weigh crafting shells, for example, against fixing my hideout, or other needs.
* make progression in the second half more... uhm, necessary? You get early hints as to what you probably have to do, but looking back at the game, you can basically fast-track to like two points of interest and close out the game if you know what you're doing. Even worse is if you stumble upon this by accident, which is very much possible for people who focus on finishing a single quest instead of grid-exploring the map.
* balance melee and firearm usage better. You spend the first half meleeing everything, and shoot everything in the second half. What's the point of finally being able to craft and upgrade an axe to full, and then basically never need it?

[66ee2f8ee86e0Join2]

Good suggestions. Essentially, all except making the first three days easier or the old woods easier (get good) is going in in some form.

As for difficulty increase, it is to a degree a focus of the mod, but the hard mode is going to be where the hardcore challenge is at. Normal will still be quite forgiving.

Here's the changelog so far:

DARKWOOD REOCCURRING NIGHTMARE
==============================

Built upon Darkwood v1.4.2 (Latest version as of 21st of June 2024).

Increases difficulty (not extreme, but unintelligent subpar play will be punished), improves balance such as nerfing ridiculously powerful bandages or consumption of odd meat, diversifies encounters and events, empowers the player with some core upgrades (hotbar, control), and rolls back some changes introduced in the latest official update such as neutered late game enemies, forcing controller users to use a bad control scheme, and introducing distasteful casual features to an otherwise prestigious, principled, intelligent masterpiece.

Normal difficulty recommended first time around, same as the base game.

FEATURE LIST:

if an entry ends in *** then this feature is a v1.3 rollback or adjustment to bring it closer to the vision of 1.3.

1. Trader rep gain for surviving a night is reduced slightly.
2. More random spawn free-roaming enemies are encountered. ***
3. You start the game with +1 hotbar slots to bolster equipment tactics.
4. Late game EXP multiplier is reduced, making it take slightly longer to reach max level.
5. Some enemies you may encounter earlier, particularly in hideout night segments. The easier hideouts also get slightly harder than normal as the days go by, and in general nighttime is slightly harder.
6. Most enemies have slighty reduced item drop rates.
7. Daytime free-roam random spawn enemies can spawn closer to hideouts and buildings, as well as on trail paths.
8. All attacks deal 20% less damage.
9. Player location is not marked on the map when at landmarks (except for hideouts) - navigation is harder. Note this also adds value to the (not very good) Navigator perk.   
10. Some wolves will immediately attack on sight rather than standing their ground barking.
11. Eating Odd Meat now grants you 15% damage resistance (was 50%) for 3 minutes. Additionally, all stacking armor values cannot collectively exceed 50% damage reduction. ***
12. All healing sources are nerfed, with emphasis on overpowered bandages.
13. The staff only has a 20% chance to appear in the trader's inventory for sale (was 100%). ***
14. Some crafting requirements are increased slightly (e.g bandages, lockpick, chain trap, light armor, weapon repairs). Be prepared to lean on the trader a little more for common items.
15. Shiny Stones have less sell value (130 -> 100).
16. Very slight randomized reduction of resources found in containers. There's still more than neccessary as long as you're thorough.
17. Enemies have a low chance to overrun player hideouts while you're away. The odds are dependent on how well barricaded the hideout is.
18. Random 7% chance for any given wooden door to be locked. Use of lockpicks, breaking down the door or finding an alternate path is required.
19. the sickle has 20% chance to interrupt an enemy attack, drains 10% less stamina per attack and has +15% durability.
20. Trader inventory is randomized (not all his usual stock will spawn every day) slightly.
21. Black chompers will be encountered in the swamp night hideout.
22. Increased the trade value of all ammunition slightly.
23. the indiegogo backer box in hideout 1 now has a random combination (removal of access to balance-nerfing DLC type crap!).
24. Disarming bear traps only gives 1 scrap metal, not 2.
25. Player health is not restored to full after a night anymore. Only up to 1 full bar, if you had less.
26. Free-roam enemies have a 50% chance to respawn every 2 days.
27. Daytime is 5% shorter.
28. Sharp melee kills aren't always guaranteed to split the enemy in half.
29. New night event variation: shadows has a 10% chance to turn off all the house lights. Head for the generator or toss a flare (flares protect you against shadows).


Firearms Overhaul:

Guns have a small damage reduction with the exception of overpowered shotguns which a well-placed shot would kill most things in one hit and so that is no longer the case, however to offset this they have been made a little less cumbersome to use, and other general balancing is present e.g double barrel may be preferred over the pump-action by some players for its handling.

Homemade shotgun: +10% aim speed
Single-Shot Shotgun: +30% aim speed, +30% reload speed, +15% weapon swap speed
Double-Barrel: +25% aim speed, +25% reload speed, +15% weapon swap speed
Pump-action: +10% aim speed, -1 clip size
Pistol: +25% aim speed, +15% weapon swap speed
Bolt-Action Rifle: +10% aim speed
Assault Rifle: +10% aim speed
Single-Shot Pistol: +25% aim speed, +15% weapon swap speed
All shotguns now also have a low chance to dismember enemies at the waist.

Ammo is a little rarer (barely) and slightly higher value for purchase, so be prepared to make use of these to the best of your ability.

Note that aiming speed is not the accuracy cone being faster, but rather the animation speed. It is merely how fast you can open fire after pressing aim, as well as begin performing other actions after releasing aim.


Hard Difficulty:

Hard difficulty does more than just limit lives now. Provides a hardcore alternative to (ironman) nightmare. Includes all features of the mod plus: 

-The moth skill (best tier 1 ability) is unavailable on hard.
-Odds of randomized reduction of resources found in containers are slightly more weighted against you.
-Bonus +2% chance for wooden doors to be locked randomly.
-Daytime is 10% shorter on hard difficulty.
-Trader rep gain for surviving a night is reduced further still.
-Random freeroam spawns are increased further still.
-Trader inventory is randomized further still.
-You receive an additional 20% damage from all enemies on hard. This extra damage is not factored into armor degradation rate (armor breaks at same rate as normal).
-Higher workbench upgrade levels are required to unlock weapon upgrade slots.
-Shiny stones have even less value.
-Some new special nighttime spawns happen earlier, and potentially with greater odds.


Late game enemy buffs: ***

-Swampers have a bonus +15% health & stamina.
-Human Spiders run 10% faster.
-Centipedes run 20% faster.


Controller Users:  ***

-Autorun is back: left stick gently to walk, or all the way to run. The new control scheme in the latest update not only removed the ability to rebind controls but also forced you to use an objectively (!) bad scheme. This brings the game back to superior twin stick control from prior versions.
-Automated climbing/vaulting is removed, rolling back to previous versions.
-While running, pressing aim will cancel running and begin aiming.
-Input delay for scrolling menus wih the controller is halved. This allows you to scroll through menus faster and most notably the hotbar! Essentially, switching weapons' is now faster comparable to what it is with mouse & keyboard.
-The new aim assist option introduced in the latest update is disabled.

Controls still cannot be rebound. The only way to do that is switch to mouse & keyboard or roll back darkwood to the prior version. With these changes it shouldn't be necessary though.
Mouse & keyboard functionality remains unchanged, as it wasn't touched in v1.4 and works fine.

Some of the character progression systems may receive extension at some point.

[66ee2f8ee9373Join2]

It also stands out as having a flawless ending. Indies especially have a hard time with this, given that wrapping up so many choices and consequences in an inexpensive manner seems nearly impossible even for AAA games. But Darkwood delivered.

Too bad it drops the ball at the end gameplay-wise. So certainly not what I consider flawless. Pretty easy to forgive though. I cant say what it is for spoiler reasons ofc. And nor can I fix it.

[66ee2f8ee94ecJoin2]

EAGLE EYE now in addition to letting you see further, also reveals more of shaded areas.

[66ee2f8ee98ebMarvin]

Too bad it drops the ball at the end gameplay-wise. So certainly not what I consider flawless. Pretty easy to forgive though. I cant say what it is for spoiler reasons ofc. And nor can I fix it.

That's a matter of perspective. You might think that all the stuff you scrounged over the whole game never results in a 20 minute drawn-out slugfest to the last shell. I marvel at the epilogue for transforming what would otherwise be a 2-minute cutscene into a fully playable, somber farewell to a terrific game. I never expected an epic boss fight, that goes completely against the game's style (well, apart from trolling the player with the you-know-fight against you-know-who in Chapter 2).

[66ee2f8ee9db1Join2]

Doesn't have to be an epic bossfight or a 20 min slog, but the road home should not be without struggle. It makes escape more meaningful narratively, and gameplay-wise yes all those resources you have been meticulously hoarding you are not rewarded or justified in doing so, even though the game had previously been encouraging it.  Every game that isn't some straightforward puzzle game or something needs its gameplay climax, thems the rules. And gameplay IS this game's style (along with everything else - nails all of course). Unfortunately it's set in stone though, probably.

[66ee2f8eeb0eaJoin2]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ji9d54N_l4

Random World Generation Expansion: per playthrough, the Dry Meadow & Swamp have a random range of additional density of woodland. This results in a little extra diversity to the semi-randomly generated biomes. This is only a small range and wont change a huge deal, however on hard difficulty there is greater odds for additional density that could result in vastly different play.

[66ee2f8eeb370Join2]

Much progress, many new features big and small. Here's some highlights:

-The Sickle, Knife, Torch and all Firearms now accept weapon upgrades. All weapons can be upgraded except special case exceptions, like single-shot pistols. This is beneficial for the game for around 7 clear reasons, instead of only 40% of the arsenal being upgradeable, rendering some of the others useless.
-Picking up knives you've thrown from the ground will place it back in your hotbar directly.
-Toolboxes are now somewhat cheaper (200 -> 150) and can be used to repair items in the field. Combine with a melee weapon via your inventory to repair.
-Full auto-mapping old school style on the hard difficulty mode.
-Trading overhaul, including expanded stock, reducing cost of underutilized items and raising cost of over, and extra incentive to stay  the night at harder hideouts.
-Enemy spawning rules are redesigned to be less predictable. Originally they would only spawn across approximately 30% of the entire playspace, resulting in so many safe zones for no good reason. Since this is a System Shock board, well, the spawns are now more like System Shock. Unfortunately not that intense  (spawns are only determined on new day, not dynamically any time), but I do strive to retain the identity of the game by not making it TOO action-oriented, otherwise interval based spawning I'd gladly implement.
-Greater consequences for death. For example, you no longer respawn after death with max health, but 50%. This taxes the very abundant healing sources available and brings things more into the realm of normal resource balancing game design seen in....literally any other good quality game.

So much more!

[66ee2f8eeb5e0Join2]

Skill System Expansion.

SKILL SYSTEM EXPANSION:

New Skills: each Tier of skill now offers a selection of four positive skills to choose from, just like the first Tier does. This means there are three entirely new skills, which are:
-ELECTRICIAN (Tier 2) reduces the rate at which generators consume fuel by 33%. This allows you to focus fuel usage elsewhere, such as traps, molotovs, saws and light sources.
-POTENT COOK (Tier 3) gives each active skill a 10% chance for two uses per day. If you chose plenty active skills this may be a powerful skill if used effectively.
-STAMINA (Tier 4) gives you one extra pip of maximum stamina (+25%).

Existing skills are also improved. There were some balancing issues present so the below focuses on that.

Positive Skills:
-MOTH heals you 35% less and may short-circuit nearby lamps, disabling them briefly.
-ADRENALINE is now always active regardless of player health and grants +35% melee attack speed.
-EAGLE EYE now in addition to letting you see further also lets you see better in shaded areas.
-MUSHROOM HEALING and APPETITE, originally lacking in value, are indirectly boosted as healing is given more importance/better balance (see further down this list).
-NAVIGATOR is redesigned entirely - Freezes the clock for a minute, allowing you time to navigate home or explore longer. Can also be used at night to get a breather between enemy spawns.
Negative Skills:
-WEAKNESS is in effect for less than 43% of the stamina bar, not 33%. This means Weakness is felt more harshly.
-WEAK LUNGS makes you out of breath for 1 extra second when the stamina bar is completely drained, not 2. This means Weak Lungs is felt less harshly.
-FEARFUL now reduces your FOV (Field Of View) 30% less and for 20% less duration. This means Fearful is felt less harshly.

[66ee2f8eeb6f5Join2]

Darkwood Restored Fatman Enemy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6KooJVmxKA

He was incomplete in sound, no death animation and more.