How do you spend your time?

[tnbp]

My game is currently at about 120 days or so.  I'm living out of the Trapper's Homestead in ML.  I've been to Coastal Highway, Pleasant Valley, and, recently, Desolation Point.  I've looted all those spots and I have brought back enough essentials to probably be able to just sustain myself somewhat indefinitely: I've got over 50 arrows, over 75 bullets, 3 rifles, 2 bows (and another 4 or so cured saplings to make into more bows), around 12 hatchets, and around 12 hunting knives.  Upon reaching this point, I'm just not real sure what to DO anymore.  I have crafted all the good stuff, including the bear roll.  I think I still need to visit the abandoned mine in CH in order to get the exploration achievement, so I may yet do that.  And I've not been to TWM but mostly because I don't really have reason to, yet.

For you folks who are in similar games, where you have food and water and supplies all stocked up, how do you spend your time, in game?  What do you do with yourself?

[SpaceC0re]

Ehh... I don't know.

I think that after a number of hours crossed in game you become rather professional to know how to survive and not not mourrir. The success of 200 survived days has a share and the fact of exploring everything I do not see what he it in furthermore to make.

[Dirmagnos]

Sandbox unfortunately have rather straightforward progression and no long-term goal.

[tnbp]

I think the intent of my original question is being misunderstood.  I'm wondering about players who are also many, many days in and very stable and what they literally do in game to pass the time.  There are people out there with 200, 300, 400, or 500+ days that are still in the sandbox.  I'm wondering what they do with themselves when they play.  Is it just daily sustainance?  Or what do they do to pass the time?

[strigon]

Well, I imagine it depends largely on how many risks you're willing to take. If you want to guarantee your survival, you can't really do anything more interesting than wander a few feet from your base in case of blizzards, but if you're more willing to risk death, you can do a few things.

Maybe start by setting up a few "safe houses", with anything you might need passing through an area that you wouldn't want to carry - firewood, for example, or tools, and a thousand or so calories in case of emergency? That'll buy you a few days, and depending on the load you want to bring it might be a real challenge. Imagine trying to deposit 15 kilos of gear in at least one location for each area of the game. This also has the benefit of making trips far from your base of operations less hazardous - and thus making you less likely to simply want to remain at camp all the time.

If you prefer something a bit more interesting, why not give that bow a use or two and hunt a wolf pack, or a bear?

If just shooting things isn't your cup of tea, maybe try bringing nothing but your clothes, tools, and sleeping bag, and seeing how long you can survive without using any manmade structures? Head back home when you've had enough.

[TLD Survivalist]

Exactly.... My last 200 day run that I unfortunately perished on just today I was going to each region setting up safe houses.... Complete with whetstone, hatchet, knife, lantern filled, fully loaded clean rifle, 2 bows with a few arrows, maybe some water for return trips, food if theres outside storage, medical supplies etc.... You name it each base had it... I had at least 1 rifle with rounds to spare along with several bows per region..... But yeah you gotta be willing to take risks essentially to try and keep yourself busy

[tnbp]

10 hours ago, TLD Survivalist said:

Exactly.... My last 200 day run that I unfortunately perished on just today I was going to each region setting up safe houses.... Complete with whetstone, hatchet, knife, lantern filled, fully loaded clean rifle, 2 bows with a few arrows, maybe some water for return trips, food if theres outside storage, medical supplies etc.... You name it each base had it... I had at least 1 rifle with rounds to spare along with several bows per region..... But yeah you gotta be willing to take risks essentially to try and keep yourself busy

How did you end up dying?

When I was on my way to DP this past supply run, I accidentally clicked once too many times on an old energy bar and got food poisoning, which almost killed me because I had left for my trip without antibiotics.  I was also out of food when it happened, so I ended up really struggling for a day or two, holed up in the Abandoned Lookout.  Then I went to the easternmost trailer and found some food there but knew I needed to get to a fishing hut in order to be able to sustain myself.  I got trapped in a blizzard and made it into the hut and got a fire started when I was at 9%.  I was REALLY close to cashing in my chips.  But I got the fire going, immediately caught some fish, and ate and slept and got myself back into good health.  I never had another scary moment the entirety of the rest of my trip.

[Ohbal]

I try to keep myself busy all the time with objectives. 

My first main quest while discovering the map I started (ML) was to have my set of fur clothes. Then, I moved to fully loot the world. All maps. 

After that, I set a safe house in each map (as many others have suggested by now), containing anything that I could need to survive: matches, hatchets, knives, riffle, ammo, arrows, bow, lantern, fuel, medicines, furs, wood, etc. 

Once this was completed (which wasn't fast) I decided to fully loop each map of natural resources and spread them across all safe houses. 

Then, I tryed to specialize in different things, preparing myself for days of need: I played a week without matches, a week eating only rabbit, a week eating only fish, those kind of tests. 

Then, reaching 100% in world explored. 

Now, besides grinding the skills to see the bonus they give, I'm planning to set each of the non-bear caves with wood and water, in order to have mini-safe houses every-where. 

All this "quests" take a considerable amount of time, and although I don't know now what would be my next objective, so far they have appeared naturally, so I guess something will pop up. Hopefully, a new region will appear soon!  

 

[Drifter Man]

I'm pretty much settled down and play with the objective of surviving for as long as possible. I don't take unnecessary risks and try to learn as much as I can about the mechanics of the game. What is the most efficient way to utilize my resources? Even if the game is easy, can I do it better? With updates coming out frequently, the devs keep me quite busy. And I still have two maps to explore - Pleasant Valley and TWM - although I am 800 days in.

When I really run out of useful stuff to do at a given moment, I hit the "pass time" button.

[Wastelander]

Lots of fishing, decorating my base, 1v1ing wolves noscope for the lulz.

[Docterrok]

1 minute ago, Wastelander said:

Lots of fishing, decorating my base, 1v1ing wolves noscope for the lulz.

You can't even noscope...

[Docterrok]

3 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

I'm pretty much settled down and play with the objective of surviving for as long as possible. I don't take unnecessary risks and try to learn as much as I can about the mechanics of the game. What is the most efficient way to utilize my resources? Even if the game is easy, can I do it better? With updates coming out frequently, the devs keep me quite busy. And I still have two maps to explore - Pleasant Valley and TWM - although I am 800 days in.

When I really run out of useful stuff to do at a given moment, I hit the "pass time" button.

Love your story! 1000 days in the dam is awesome!

[Wastelander]

3 minutes ago, Docterrok said:

You can't even noscope...

True, considering the absence of a scope. Can fire without aiming down the sights though! But yeah, without any scopes to begin with, noscope is sort of useless.

I don't know why I even elaborated on this

[TLD Survivalist]

@tnbp Honestly I got a little care free and didnt give PV the respect it deserves... I just got back to the farmhouse as PV in general was the last place I needed to really stock up.. I had been hunkered down inside apparently a little too long (as right before I moved back to PV I was holed up inside the Dam for a bit cause of reoccurring blizzards) so I was at risk for cabin fever.. Of course I didnt have the supplies on me for a snow shelter, so I hopped into the car... Bad decision ultimately, I had slept through a major majority of the night and things seemed just fine, wasnt freezing, no super gnarly weather... Less than 5 or 6 hours of night left, just then I shoulda gotten out of the car and gone inside..

 

But nooooo the big bad ass voice in my head says "No worries, bub!...You got this".. Decided to go back to sleep in car till sunrise, woke up freezing cold and hypothermic with 2% condition.. Needless to say I didnt make it back inside the house

[Dirmagnos]

Loot region clean, move on, set up new hq, transfer all stuff, loot region clean, move on... until all is looted clean, then delete save, take a week off and start over again.

I play fairly conservatively, with most risks being taken in first 2 weeks of gameplay. So dying is rarely a problem, as long as i dont get greedy and stupid. Something that rarely happens. Games usually last between 100 and 150 days. I have 0 interest in achievements or virtual penis measuring contest(mines 500 days long, and mines 600 days long, and mines is 1000 days long... pff).

[Drifter Man]

22 hours ago, Docterrok said:

Love your story! 1000 days in the dam is awesome!

Thanks!

[vimrich]

I spent 100 days just doing Bow practice (I'm not a FPS player at all - I do strategy/puzzle game and Survival games, the most I've ever had to aim anything in a game was getting those beams to line up in The Talos Principle). Anyway, lately I've been doing some of the Steam Achievements.

My other goal is to harvest EVERY item from EVERY map and bring it all back - either to the Camp Office or Farmhouse in PV. I got close once, but there were still piles of scrap metal and cloth up in the mine. Then Hinterland came out with the Hacksaw and destructible/harvestable furniture and I sort of got depressed at the thought of having to go back and harvest every shelf, crate and metal item I could back across all those maps I'd gone through already. I started to estimate the math - say haul 20kg of stuff across two maps once per day, pause for blizzards and the occasional hunt. And those new ropes are 5kg each. Whew that's a lot of trips.

[ShawnB]

I typically start a new game with a community challenge. Plenty out there. You either won't survive long in these games or it will take considerable more time to reach the "end game" where there is little to do besides loot everything and stock up different bases.