Snowballs: Hushed River Valley

[Hotzn]

My standard exploration equipment comprises two stones, in case I crouch around and get cornered by wolves. The increased smellyness of cooked meat is a negative in my view - once the meat is cooked it should be more on the safe side and we should be able to transport it in greater quantities without attracting wolves from far away.

[stratvox]

11 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

Personally, I may try the wooden jetty structures at CH Fishing Camp. I don't think animals can path onto those structures and a bear sometimes walks by. I wouldn't trust fishing huts and hunting blinds, and I wouldn't want to escape to a loading screen area as this will 'heal' the bear.

The best place to shoot the bear that walks by the Fishing Camp is from the pile of rocks just on the west side of the outdoor crafting table in the fishing camp. You can climb up on those rocks from the seaward side and the bear can't path to you, but you get a nice clear shot as it's ambling down the road on its way into the fishing camp. 

[Drifter Man]

18 hours ago, MrWolf said:

Bears and wolves both move toward stone throws to investigate.  Moose react like deer and run away from a thrown stone.

Thanks for the info... I wonder how wolf-moose interactions play out. If wolves kill moose, an unarmed but astute interlopist can get access to huge amounts of meat.

[Drifter Man]

18 hours ago, Hotzn said:

My standard exploration equipment comprises two stones, in case I crouch around and get cornered by wolves.

Two stones seem a reasonable load. The second challenge is to remember I can use them when the situation arises.

[Drifter Man]

13 hours ago, stratvox said:

The best place to shoot the bear that walks by the Fishing Camp is from the pile of rocks just on the west side of the outdoor crafting table in the fishing camp. You can climb up on those rocks from the seaward side and the bear can't path to you, but you get a nice clear shot as it's ambling down the road on its way into the fishing camp. 

Excellent. I'll check this place out!

[TheIncredibleHibby]

1 hour ago, Drifter Man said:

Thanks for the info... I wonder how wolf-moose interactions play out. If wolves kill moose, an unarmed but astute interlopist can get access to huge amounts of meat.

Unfortunately, wolves (and deer, oddly enough) just run from the moose without the moose taking notice... And bears and moose just walk right by each other without a second glance haha!

[Drifter Man]

13 minutes ago, TheIncredibleHibby said:

Unfortunately, wolves (and deer, oddly enough) just run from the moose without the moose taking notice... And bears and moose just walk right by each other without a second glance haha!

It's probably for the better, it would make moose hunting too easy. After all, given what moose can do to you, what would it do to a wolf?

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 136

The coast is oddly quiet. Only one deer is "grazing on ice" close to the Jackrabbit Island, otherwise it's just rabbits and crows.

I moved my base to the Fishing Camp in preparation for leaving. Bear is nowhere to be seen, but I checked @stratvox's rock and it looks safe. I don't think a bear or wolf could find it's way up.

Got a bite of the giant salmon I caught and found out that the old bug that makes you forfeit calorie bonus from cooking skill unless you eat the whole piece in one go is still alive and kicking. I was really surprised ... they haven't fixed this yet? Well, it's my punishment for taking advantage of the starvation hack.

Anyway, cooking is still at level 4, but firestarting and carcass harvesting have already reached 5, and I'm less than 10 fires away from my last badge.

[Drifter Man]

Here we go:

[TheIncredibleHibby]

1 hour ago, Drifter Man said:

It's probably for the better, it would make moose hunting too easy. After all, given what moose can do to you, what would it do to a wolf?

Exactly! If anything, I'd think you could scare a moose away after it got done with an unfortunate wolf for some easy struggle-free pelts and meat...intestinal parasites notwithstanding, of course 

[JAFO]

1 hour ago, Drifter Man said:

Here we go:

CONGRATULATIONS !!!

[cullam]

Nice! This is the only badge I have yet to get. I'm getting close though! 

[Drifter Man]

Thanks @JAFO, @cullam. I like the way the badges just come up as you play - unlike the achievements, they don't take conscious effort to earn.

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 139

The bear was not appearing, so my evil plan was to climb @stratvox's rock with a pile of raw meat on me, start a fire and cook while waiting for the bear to follow the scent and show up. In late afternoon the weather finally cleared up and I started the fire on the rock using a magnifying lens. To my disappointment, the wolf far on the ice ignored me in spite of my three smell bars, and I realized that my plan would not work. The scent range is not sufficient. I waited until the night, an aurora appeared. It was time to pack up and return to the cabin.

Snowball 54 / Day 140

This time I went uphill to meet the bear. It was wandering between its cave and the cabin above Fishing Camp, a bit too far. I found a suitable rock and guessed it will be difficult for the bear to climb up. The weather was far from great and I was going to give up, when I remembered that I have @Hotzn's two exploration stones with me. I tossed the stones and lured the bear towards me. When it was close enough, I took my shot. A blood splash on the ground announced a hit.

The bear charged and I exchanged the bow for the flare gun. To my distress, the bear seemed to be able to find a path to me. So I remembered another advice by @selfless in the bear how-to thread and "became airborne". Fortunately I didn't break anything, and the bear finally gave up and ran.

I was freezing and the weather looked like a blizzard could start any time, but I didn't want to go indoors for fear that this would invalidate the hit. Instead, I ran to the fishing hut and started a fire inside. Fishing for a few hours through a blizzard (with little success), I returned to the cabin after nightfall, confident that the bear would be dead by that time.

Snowball 54 / Day 141

The weather was bad again, but this seems to be the new norm in Coastal Highway. Crows wouldn't help me find the carcass that day, but I was impatient to get my second bear hide, and climbed the hill again. Picking sticks on the way and always watching out for wolves, I made my way to Bear Creek and peeked into the bear's den.

I then returned upstream, headed for the Rabbit Grove to warm up in the cabin. I noticed a deer at the campground from above - I didn't know this was a deer area - and took a picture. But at that time I missed the elephant in the room, I mean, the bear at the campground

Warmed up, I descended to the campground and finally found my prize. I recovered the arrow from its foot (took some time to find) and, although freezing again, I put my level 5 harvesting skills to good use and skinned the frozen bear carcass, sacrificing some of my condition to this important task.

Then I ran back to the Fishing Camp and dropped the hide next to the first one, which has already cured. Later that day I got my reward for the day's effort and watched a beautiful sunset while cooking. I just sat there for hours, listening to the sizzling of the meat and admiring the contrast between dark blue ice and the burning skies. "Pass until ready"? No way, that would be a crime.

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 153

Snowball 54 lives a luxurious life between the Ravine and Coastal Highway, awash with venison steaks. The second bear skin has finished curing. During blizzards, he reads a heroic story by a survivor named @Dan_ from Forlorn Muskeg and remembers his own early days in HRV, before he exchanged glory of a hero for the comfort of civilization, on Day 9.

CH now has unpredictable and mostly bad weather. A sunny day can turn into a blizzard in one hour, and today I saw strong winds with snow stop in a few minutes and give way to a fog. On the other hand, there's plenty of food, those deer seem to never run out, and if they do, I still have fishing.

I randomly peeked into one of the boats at Fishing Camp and found Simple Tools. After hanging around for all those weeks.

I won't go to DP - I could but I don't want to. I'll wrap up here and head to ML to make a wolf coat and a bearskin bedroll, and I should also get a spare bear hide for repairs. Then, hopefully, finally back to HRV.

[Ruruwawa]

On 7/21/2018 at 5:40 AM, Drifter Man said:

Later that day I got my reward for the day's effort and watched a beautiful sunset while cooking. I just sat there for hours, listening to the sizzling of the meat and admiring the contrast between dark blue ice and the burning skies. "Pass until ready"? No way, that would be a crime.

Yes!  For me the game is much more alive with the new cooking system.  In the past I used to try to make an outdoor fire on a bit of a slope, just so I could angle myself to see a blurry view of the world and weather while I cooked... it was pretty pitiful.  Now I'm in the world.

[Dan_]

1 hour ago, Ruruwawa said:

Yes!  For me the game is much more alive with the new cooking system.  In the past I used to try to make an outdoor fire on a bit of a slope, just so I could angle myself to see a blurry view of the world and weather while I cooked... it was pretty pitiful.  Now I'm in the world.

+1!

Before, nice weather outside meant hurrying up to a fire and doing time accelerated activities, the game is so much immersive after that change. 

Great use of the stones to lure in the bear, I never used this trick to hunt predators before but it sure beats freezing while waiting for the bear to choose the right direction in which to wander, great going. 

[Hotzn]

Interloper Monthly Magazine (IMM): So, Mr. Snowball, let's first congratulate you to the '500 days survived' achievement - certainly a feat few Interlopers have mastered. And none of your predecessors...

Snowball 54: Well, um... yeah. Thank you.

IMM: We may assume our readers will be interested in how exactly you did it. What's the trick? What did you do different than Snowball No. 18? Than Snowball No. 24? No. 47?

Snowball 54: Erm... mainly being careful. I mean... I don't look back. Do I see myself in the tradition of other 'Snowballs'? No. I'm myself. Free. I don't have to do anything, anything... I can do what I want. Leave me alone. Who knows whether all those 'Snowballs' even existed? Might as well be a myth. This is the internet, you know.

IMM: Well, okay, let's not be caught up in the past. But back to the question our readers will find so instriguing - how does one survive for so long on Interloper?

Snowball 54: Why do people always think there is some magic trick involved? Just let common sense guide your actions! Dangerous situation? Get outta there! Wolf ahead? Turn around! My cave is safe. Yup. That's how I would put it: My cave is safe.

IMM: Some sources say your impressive run started at Hushed River Valley. Supposedly quite a difficult map...

Snowball 54: What you driving at?

IMM: Are you going back there?

Snowball 54: Hell no! Are you crazy? Do you think I want to die? What have I been telling you?

IMM: Sure, sure. Relax. So no going back. Alright.

Snowball 54: Well... never say never. Who knows how wildlife respawn rates will behave from day 1000 onwards. Damn developers, do I know the code? The last bits and bytes, the last hidden trigger for some variables to finally change? Developers are out there to kill you. Never trust them. And therefore, never say never. So maybe after day 1000, after day 2000, I could return. Prepared, of course. Three moose hide satchels at 100%, three bear hide bedrolls, three moose hide cloaks. You never know what happens. Be prepared, I say. I may yet return to the Hushed River...

IMM: Thank you. I guess our readers will follow this through to the end, mesmerized...

[Drifter Man]

20 hours ago, Ruruwawa said:

Yes!  For me the game is much more alive with the new cooking system.  In the past I used to try to make an outdoor fire on a bit of a slope, just so I could angle myself to see a blurry view of the world and weather while I cooked... it was pretty pitiful.  Now I'm in the world.

 

19 hours ago, Dan_ said:

Before, nice weather outside meant hurrying up to a fire and doing time accelerated activities, the game is so much immersive after that change.

Right! Ideally, I'd like to have as little need to accelerate time as possible (except sleep of course), although I can imagine that for some activities that normally require full attention (carcass harvesting, mending, crafting) this will be hard to achieve without introducing meaningless mini-games. But the new cooking made the game much more enjoyable.

[Drifter Man]

@Hotzn, that interview pretty much sums it up. But it was heavily redacted. In fact I insisted that the developers' raison d'etre is to make you dead, and if you are already dead, then to make you more dead - until you are the most dead that can be achieved within the constraints of time and budget. How else can you explain the Interloper mode, the Evil Wind^TM, or the very existence of the Hushed River Valley? Other than that, I acknowledge that Snowball 54 chose to ignore the meaning of the word 'Snowball' and instead adopted the mindset of the man that once lived in the Dam.

It's good to be my old self once again.

[Drifter Man]

One practical question: does it make sense to craft a bearskin bedroll at all? With good clothes (around 20°C temp bonus) I can comfortably sleep in the warm part of a cave without fire. And outdoors even the bearskin bedroll won't make a difference - without fire I would freeze anyway. So, is it even worth it?

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 158

Until next time, Coastal Highway. I will miss your food but I won't miss your blizzards.

[Ruruwawa]

42 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

One practical question: does it make sense to craft a bearskin bedroll at all? With good clothes (around 20°C temp bonus) I can comfortably sleep in the warm part of a cave without fire. And outdoors even the bearskin bedroll won't make a difference - without fire I would freeze anyway. So, is it even worth it?

The only caves I've lived in since the cooking update have been in HRV, and the back half does seem to be a lot warmer.  Dunno about caves elsewhere.

I'm currently in HRV with a bear bedroll.  Usually I stick to the cloth bedroll, but the extra warmth bonus is nice to recover my warmth quickly.  Dash into a cave, toss down the bedroll, pass time for a few minutes -- typically far less than a full hour.  Also nice if I need to take shelter without a cave.  But given the downsides I usually don't bother the bear bedroll.  The decay rate is similar to the cloth bedroll, and you'll need another bearskin each time you repair it.  It also weighs 2kg more than the cloth bedroll.

I'm also rocking a bear coat this sandbox, as an inner layer under the moose cloak (I'm at 26C when mostly repaired).   Man, it's nice to be that much warmer, particularly during the warmest part of the day near dusk.  In good weather, I can even harvest fir and cedar limbs with little condition loss.  The decay for the coat is noticeably slower than the bedroll.  But I recommend getting a moose satchel before a bear coat, it's heavy!

[Drifter Man]

Thanks @Ruruwawa, great insights as always  I think I'll stick to my cloth bedroll that has served me so well so far and get the wolf coat as inner layer first. The bear hides can wait until later, I'll give the bear coat a try at some point. I don't want to be forced to do frequent bear hunting all over the island just to keep my bedroll in working order.

Bears kill people, you know.

[Ruruwawa]

20 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

Thanks @Ruruwawa, great insights as always  I think I'll stick to my cloth bedroll that has served me so well so far and get the wolf coat as inner layer first. The bear hides can wait until later, I'll give the bear coat a try at some point. I don't want to be forced to do frequent bear hunting all over the island just to keep my bedroll in working order.

Bears kill people, you know.

I also have a wolf coat, stored back in Mountain Town, that I swap for the bear coat when I'm nearer to civilization.   It's ridiculously easy to keep repaired, given the number of wolves I kill.