The short, but very dark, dark.


Drifter Man

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I just felt like starting an interloper game, so I did. It turned out very snowball-esque.

Timberwolf Mountain, above Crystal Lake, so that's one rope down to Mountaineer's Hut. But it is dusk, heavy snow, strong winds, just one notch below a blizzard. I won't have enough daytime to collect firewood to survive the night in the hut. So I go up to the Cave of Engines. On the way I realize my clothing bonus is only 2°C, so I'll be freezing in the cave as well. Dammit. The blizzard breaks out as the last traces of daylight disappear.

From the cave I go back down the rope, hoping to walk on the rive and reach Crystal Lake. I don't know if it's just my graphics settings or a general "feature" but night outdoors is completely, utterly dark screen, sometimes interrupted with streaks of unnaturally lit edges of features that usually don't help you much in determining where you are. I listed to the sound of my footsteps to make sure I'm still on ice. In the end I find Crystal Lake, even grab a cattail on the way in the darkness, and am already frostbitten in the hands.

The blizzard ends but I can't say it's helping. I take my best guess about direction and walk until I hit a rock feature. Is that the one to the right from MH? I decide that 'yes' is the only answer I can afford, and change my direction accordingly. I walk and walk and then I hear wood under my feet. The jetty.

Still stumbling around, eventually "New location discovered - Mountaineer's Hut" appears, but I still can't see it. Frostbite to the head and hypothermia strike at the same time. I eat my only cattail to celebrate.

I never manage to find the hut itself, let alone the door. I take a debug screenshot before dying to find out where I was - I ended up on the slopes south of the hut. I survived for 4 hours, that's basically the time hypothermia needs to kill you. It was a short dark, but a very dark one.

A few moody pictures (in no particular order, except for the first):

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Very cool story - nice moodshots:) 

I've actually had several starts like that on TWM. So now when starting TWM I go fast as possible Mounteneer hut (static matches + at least 1 good item (saw/mag lense) + skijacket (most of the time). If possible I collect all loot from the fishing hut on the way. Depending on the day/weather I collect cattails at the creek or sleep for 1 night exactly then go PV collecting at least 20 cattails on the way from the little creek/canyon. There are lot of sticks to chop and reclaimed wood to break, so 1 night you can almost always survive. 

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4 hours ago, Looper said:

starting TWM I go fast as possible Mounteneer hut (static matches + at least 1 good item (saw/mag lense) + skijacket (most of the time). If possible I collect all loot from the fishing hut on the way. Depending on the day/weather I collect cattails at the creek or sleep for 1 night exactly then go PV collecting at least 20 cattails on the way from the little creek/canyon

yup, anytime I start in TWM I generally have a good time of it.   basic gear up in PV, move to CH and camp at Jack Rabbit Island until I have some rabbit mitts and stock it up a bit. Then to DP to forge.  If I'm back to JRI with forged tools and ~10-12C clothing bonus I feel good.  

But the blizzard start is always a tester.

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On 27/08/2018 at 12:06 AM, Looper said:

Very cool story - nice moodshots:) 

I've actually had several starts like that on TWM. So now when starting TWM I go fast as possible Mounteneer hut (static matches + at least 1 good item (saw/mag lense) + skijacket (most of the time). If possible I collect all loot from the fishing hut on the way. Depending on the day/weather I collect cattails at the creek or sleep for 1 night exactly then go PV collecting at least 20 cattails on the way from the little creek/canyon. There are lot of sticks to chop and reclaimed wood to break, so 1 night you can almost always survive. 

Yes, I've had my share of TWM starts :) but the decision to go to the cave was a mistake. I probably wouldn't have survived the first night in the hut as I wouldn't be able to collect enough sticks to make it through to the morning (even with the firewood stash at the fireplace) but I could have grabbed the matches and went on to reach the bunker in PV. The bed there would be warm enough to keep me above zero.

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1 hour ago, Drifter Man said:

I could have grabbed the matches and went on to reach the bunker in PV. The bed there would be warm enough to keep me above zero.

This is the plan I follow when I don't score enough clothing/firewood to spend a first night in the hut.  Lots of sticks on the way, too.

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  • 2 months later...
Guest jeffpeng

@Drifter ManForgive me, but I laughed hard and joyfully about your misfortune. It's literally the guy getting lost in a snowstorm waling circles around his house. And yeah, TWM is maybe the most unforgiving region to start, even if you know it (almost) blind. 

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6 hours ago, jeffpeng said:

TWM is maybe the most unforgiving region to start, even if you know it (almost) blind. 

I'd sell one of my arms to get a TWM spawn instead of a HRV one. Laughing about misfortune? That's exactly why the survival stories are posted IMO :D

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Guest jeffpeng
19 minutes ago, BareSkin said:

I'd sell one of my arms to get a TWM spawn instead of a HRV one. Laughing about misfortune? That's exactly why the survival stories are posted IMO :D

I actually fared far better in HRV than TWM so far. I never managed to stay in TWM for more than 2 days before I had to resort to the bunker in PV, while my current record in HRV is 15 days - with a lot of luck, admittedly.

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17 hours ago, jeffpeng said:

@Drifter ManForgive me, but I laughed hard and joyfully about your misfortune. It's literally the guy getting lost in a snowstorm waling circles around his house. And yeah, TWM is maybe the most unforgiving region to start, even if you know it (almost) blind. 

I enjoy these 'lost' games as well, TLD is not about winning, it's more about putting up a fight. Go ahead and laugh on :)

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