This mod is an implementation of Project Zomboid’s boredom and depression system into The Long Dark.
The Long Mood introduces a dynamic psychological layer to survival.
Boredom and Depression evolve continuously based on player activity, environment, and physical condition.
The progression of Boredom and Depression is represented in the game by afflictions. These afflictions act as a symbolic adaptation of Project Zomboid’s moodles.
Only one boredom-related affliction and one depression-related affliction can be active at any given time.
Following Project Zomboid’s structure:
Boredom progresses as:
Bored → Very Bored → Extremely Bored
Depression progresses as:
Sad → Weepy → Miserable → Hopeless
The mod is currently about 95% complete.
The only planned feature still missing is visual color desaturation tied to depression severity.
Boredom and Depression do not update while sleeping.
Boredom is influenced by activity, light sources, and proximity to fire.
It does not increase immediately — a delay applies before inactivity begins to raise it (customizable).
| Condition | Effect on Boredom |
|---|---|
| Player is active | Decreases over time (Recovery × game hours) |
| Holding active light source | Decreases over time (Recovery × game hours) |
| Within 5m of a fire | Decreases over time (Recovery × game hours) |
| Inactive below "Boredom Delay" | No change |
| Inactive beyond "Boredom Delay" | Increases over time (Rate × game hours) |
Depression reacts to afflictions, boredom level, and player activity.
| Condition | Effect on Depression |
|---|---|
| Player has affliction | Increases (Rate × 2) |
| Player is reading | Decreases (Recovery) |
| Boredom ≥ 90 | Increases (Rate × 2.96) |
| Boredom ≥ 75 | Increases (Rate × 2.22) |
| Boredom ≥ 50 | Increases (Rate × 1.48) |
| Boredom < 50 | Decreases (Rate × 0.5) |
| Finishing a proper meal (cooldown based) | Flat depression reduction bonus |
Depression is therefore:
- Directly amplified by high boredom
- Strongly affected by physical suffering
- Temporarily relieved by reading
- Boosted downward by food consumption
Wildlife struggles apply a Depression penalty. You can choose how it is applied:
- Instant mode: the full penalty is applied immediately.
- Aftershock mode: the penalty is stored as a pool and applied gradually over time.
In aftershock mode, the penalty is applied linearly over the configured duration (1–12 in-game hours).
While an aftershock is active, passive depression recovery is disabled so the penalty isn’t silently canceled out by baseline recovery.
This makes attacks leave a meaningful psychological impact even if the player returns to safe / comfortable conditions afterwards.
If the player eats long enough:
- A flat depression reduction is applied
- A cooldown prevents immediate repetition
- Partial eating does not trigger the bonus
Click to Expand
Boredom and Depression values can be displayed directly in-game for debugging purposes.
When enabled in settings, values are shown numerically and update in real time.
Color thresholds reflect severity stages, allowing quick visual verification of progression logic.
This mode is intended strictly for testing and balancing.
Optional MelonLoader logging can be enabled via settings.
When active, the system logs:
- Inactivity detection triggers
- Save/load operations
Logging is intended for debugging purposes and produce frequent output.
The following debug commands are available via the Developer Console:
set_boredom value
Sets boredom to a specific value.
Example: set_boredom 69
set_depression value
Sets depression to a specific value.
Example: set_depression 69
reset_boredom
Resets boredom to 0.
reset_depression
Resets depression to 0.
- Install MelonLoader
- Install AfflictionComponent, ModSettings and ModData
- Place
TheLongMood.dllinside the Mods folder
This mod was partially developed with the assistance of AI tools (approximately 20%).
AI support was used for structural guidance, debugging assistance, and documentation refinement.
Coding, core design decisions, system architecture, balancing, and implementation logic remain fully human-driven.