Carribean Alpinist


BareSkin

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Hello there,

I'm nearly 35 yo, was born where Champagne is made in France, grew up in the mountains for 10 years and experienced RL snow shelters and tunnels, -40°C blizzards and snowballing innocent little brothers on sunny days. Had some science studies, graduated, traveled quite a lot mainly throughout (god this word is... hum, thanks spellchecking) asia, and I now live on a French carribean island, where temperatures never drop below 25°C.

Discovered the game because it runs on a Linux platform, and that's my Steam filter. Well, this game made me feel cold, never felt this cold since many years, not even during my North Japan winter trip. Never felt this cold while playing under a fan because of real-life +35°C...

Began the game right away on "Hard mode" Wintermute. Started just after Vigilant Flame,and after 3 real-life days raging against raw meat (how to not eat/ how to cook it), I finally started to enjoy the game. A whole lot. I felt very happy in RL when I understood I could sleep in the first car I met in Story mode, still with the benefit of nearby fire. Told myself "well, at last a game that asks you to use your brain". Finished Episode 2 last week.

Started Nomad challenge on completely unknown to me Pleasant Valley. It actually IS very pleasant, the challenge is far easier than hard mode Wintermute, tons of loot, wolves Scent range seems reduced also - or even deactivated? I actually think about reporting the discovery of the maps from a newbie POV (still didn't find how to get out of here!), but I can't write english as funny as DrifterMan's Snowballs.

I might get on the scientific side of gameplay, cause well, I'm a scientist.

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The kind that like to study the laws of Nature. But the method applies also to behaviours/mechanics that arise from Code instead of fundamental forces or DNA, I guess. Speaking of, Auroras phenomenon imply a lot of Nuclear science and Magnetism. Still, nobody explained why it seems so beautiful to humans yet!

My POV is that anyone applying the method is actually a "real" scientist. The only difference is that, I get paid :D. So many have already done a great job at finding decay rates, outside fire bonus values, etc, that's amazing. I suspect some of them are "real" scientists/engineers too. I remember an impressive graph from someone that could predict if going sleeping at a set temperature, you would actually froze to death or not. Useful.

The truth is, I prefer real Nature, it's never updated and the laws, once found are good forever :D

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@ThePancakeLady Nice of you, it is to say. Forever defended by frenchies, the pancakes will be.

@BESt The Compass functionality makes no sense scientifically in many theories. Several options, basic hypothesis is that the sun is stable:

Sorry about he wall of text!

 

0/ Nothing has changed, the compasses can be used as 'in the past'. Incompatible with strong auroras, since it is said to be a "new phenomenon" in amplitude. Strong periodic auroras require pulsed erratic changes of magnetic earth shield.

1/ The rotating liquid iron (or whatever ferromagnetic substance) inside the earth just changed its rotating side (that's a real scientific hypothesis), and magnetic north and magnetic south are reversed. That's the only way the compass could be used, of course when heading "south" when you want to go "north". I think magnetic and historic north/south denomination are reversed IRL, please google to make sure. That's just a norm human beings invented. Anyway poles are just a convention, there is no "upwards" in the universe. If civilized science developped in south hemisphere, world maps would be upside down. You can actually find such maps in New Zealand tourist souvenirs, very nice and funny decoration.

1.5/ The axis or magnetic core liquid rotation greatly differs, for whatever reason, from mechanical one (that's already slightly the case). In this highly un-logical case the auroras would appear elsewhere than Canada. Say, for example, the tropics. This is un-logical because which liquid would deviate its rotational axis from its mechanical shell it is in contact with? If you spin an egg, of course its inside won't spin with "orthogonically", right?

2/ There is no magnetic shield anymore because liquid iron stopped rotating due to slow "freezing" of inside earth (which is a thermodynamic, the iron will solidify sooner or later). The compass question is not existing, because all life on earth would be doomed very quickly due to radiation (sound like Interloper, right?)

3/ The problem comes from the sun and not from the earth. Such an unstable sun would mean expansion of its radius due to lack of nuclear fuel, and the world would be heating up. Obviously not what the game is about.

 

BUT:

I can't understand why maps in-game have a nice orientation with "up" meaning "north". We should have to orientate this drawn map ourselves, by indicating what we want to call "north" from sun observation at its highest point. The map auto-orientation and auto-distancing is how I knew where to look for the place to escape Pleasant Valley towards Timberwolf Mountain. That's cheating. I would have prefered to be able to make map by telling "you find this thing" "when you go this way" "for this amount of walking time". But hey, that's not a simulator.

 

My scientific Great Bear opinion:

a) Great bear was not always annually-cold (there are farms) and became fully cold winter forever (else would wouldn't have a 500-day achievement of surviving Winters). That means a sudden temperature drop. Most probable for it being sudden, nuclear war followed be nuclear winter. Sun decay would take far much more time than "one night" Most radioactive substance are metals, thus while they are in the atmosphere they - can - possibly - change magnetic behavior of the atmosphere, the iron core not being involved. Atmospheric changes fit week with day-scale change of weather and popping of auroras, if you thin of auroras as "periodic rain of atmospheric ions"

b/ Nuclear global war also explains well all the anarchy present in-game sociologically, since most communications are made thanks to electricity (would would disappear, as strategic targets for nuclear power plants, and renewable energy seized by the armies) and of satellite frequencies that arguably maybe couldn't get into space / onto earth in a metal-shielded atmosphere (Faraday effect). Not to mention, there would not be enough humans on earth to maintain satellite systems anyway, they would soon burn in the atmosphere or deviate away in the empty cosmos, even if they weren't shot pure and simple during the war. An since civilization is built upon communication and central/peripheral architecture, Great Bear being obviously a peripheral, that immediately means Stone Age, and "people talking crazy" (Copyright Grey Mother).

c/ Electrical effects during auroras implies subtle constant magnetic variation (for making the electrons moves inside cable/chips). Highly not probable to have such precision in a natural effect. Natural laws would certainly make currents too weak (nothing happens), too strong (cables melting) and varying not at a good frequency (which mean not electronic processors based on "clocking" transistors). The best explanation for this is simply that during auroras, Great Bear is connected to the old power supply lines while not being able to use these means to communicate even via Morse code through old cables, maybe because electricity has been maintained for warfare, but nobody is working at civil communication centrals

d/ Atmospheric magnetic effects implies Old-School Fission bombs, true, but every detonator of an H-Bomb is an A-Bomb, so it doesn't matter which kind was detonated.

e/ In such context, places with Dams would rule the world, being the only reliable source of electrical power (thus political power, thus armed forces). Unless it doesn't rain anymore, or water doesn't melt anymore. Do we see positive temperature in Celsius in the game? I can't remember...

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11 hours ago, BareSkin said:

@ThePancakeLady Nice of you, it is to say. Forever defended by frenchies, the pancakes will be.

@BESt The Compass functionality makes no sense scientifically in many theories. Several options, basic hypothesis is that the sun is stable:

Sorry about he wall of text!

 

0/ Nothing has changed, the compasses can be used as 'in the past'. Incompatible with strong auroras, since it is said to be a "new phenomenon" in amplitude. Strong periodic auroras require pulsed erratic changes of magnetic earth shield.

1/ The rotating liquid iron (or whatever ferromagnetic substance) inside the earth just changed its rotating side (that's a real scientific hypothesis), and magnetic north and magnetic south are reversed. That's the only way the compass could be used, of course when heading "south" when you want to go "north". I think magnetic and historic north/south denomination are reversed IRL, please google to make sure. That's just a norm human beings invented. Anyway poles are just a convention, there is no "upwards" in the universe. If civilized science developped in south hemisphere, world maps would be upside down. You can actually find such maps in New Zealand tourist souvenirs, very nice and funny decoration.

1.5/ The axis or magnetic core liquid rotation greatly differs, for whatever reason, from mechanical one (that's already slightly the case). In this highly un-logical case the auroras would appear elsewhere than Canada. Say, for example, the tropics. This is un-logical because which liquid would deviate its rotational axis from its mechanical shell it is in contact with? If you spin an egg, of course its inside won't spin with "orthogonically", right?

2/ There is no magnetic shield anymore because liquid iron stopped rotating due to slow "freezing" of inside earth (which is a thermodynamic, the iron will solidify sooner or later). The compass question is not existing, because all life on earth would be doomed very quickly due to radiation (sound like Interloper, right?)

3/ The problem comes from the sun and not from the earth. Such an unstable sun would mean expansion of its radius due to lack of nuclear fuel, and the world would be heating up. Obviously not what the game is about.

 

BUT:

I can't understand why maps in-game have a nice orientation with "up" meaning "north". We should have to orientate this drawn map ourselves, by indicating what we want to call "north" from sun observation at its highest point. The map auto-orientation and auto-distancing is how I knew where to look for the place to escape Pleasant Valley towards Timberwolf Mountain. That's cheating. I would have prefered to be able to make map by telling "you find this thing" "when you go this way" "for this amount of walking time". But hey, that's not a simulator.

 

My scientific Great Bear opinion:

a) Great bear was not always annually-cold (there are farms) and became fully cold winter forever (else would wouldn't have a 500-day achievement of surviving Winters). That means a sudden temperature drop. Most probable for it being sudden, nuclear war followed be nuclear winter. Sun decay would take far much more time than "one night" Most radioactive substance are metals, thus while they are in the atmosphere they - can - possibly - change magnetic behavior of the atmosphere, the iron core not being involved. Atmospheric changes fit week with day-scale change of weather and popping of auroras, if you thin of auroras as "periodic rain of atmospheric ions"

b/ Nuclear global war also explains well all the anarchy present in-game sociologically, since most communications are made thanks to electricity (would would disappear, as strategic targets for nuclear power plants, and renewable energy seized by the armies) and of satellite frequencies that arguably maybe couldn't get into space / onto earth in a metal-shielded atmosphere (Faraday effect). Not to mention, there would not be enough humans on earth to maintain satellite systems anyway, they would soon burn in the atmosphere or deviate away in the empty cosmos, even if they weren't shot pure and simple during the war. An since civilization is built upon communication and central/peripheral architecture, Great Bear being obviously a peripheral, that immediately means Stone Age, and "people talking crazy" (Copyright Grey Mother).

c/ Electrical effects during auroras implies subtle constant magnetic variation (for making the electrons moves inside cable/chips). Highly not probable to have such precision in a natural effect. Natural laws would certainly make currents too weak (nothing happens), too strong (cables melting) and varying not at a good frequency (which mean not electronic processors based on "clocking" transistors). The best explanation for this is simply that during auroras, Great Bear is connected to the old power supply lines while not being able to use these means to communicate even via Morse code through old cables, maybe because electricity has been maintained for warfare, but nobody is working at civil communication centrals

d/ Atmospheric magnetic effects implies Old-School Fission bombs, true, but every detonator of an H-Bomb is an A-Bomb, so it doesn't matter which kind was detonated.

e/ In such context, places with Dams would rule the world, being the only reliable source of electrical power (thus political power, thus armed forces). Unless it doesn't rain anymore, or water doesn't melt anymore. Do we see positive temperature in Celsius in the game? I can't remember...

This is a very detailed answer. Thank you for taking your time to answer my question. The next logical question would be if the aurora would be enough to power up the cables?

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Electricity is really not very much energy at all in most of its domestic applications. The problem is not the "quantity" of power, but rather the way it's available, its voltage and its current. If you apply E=mC² to 1g of whatever material, that makes a sh*t ton of energy; BUT it's mass-energy, which is not available. Seeing what energies are involved to "light up" an aurora, that's way enough power. But certainly not in a good form factor, most devices require fixed input voltage and accepts a narrow range of current. Plus it's needed that these two variables are not erratic: or constant (i.e; "12V") or predictable cyclical variation (the "Hertz").

To me, the electrical effects during the auroras must come from the ancient power lines, there must be something that shapes the energy in a good form factor. The aurora only makes the connection "available". What I can't figure out is... the torch battery. Namely why /how could it possibly charge during an aurora, and also why would its discharge without use when the aurora disappear. I would bet some money that the Torch was said to be recharged on vehicles batteries. That would also explain why we can open hoods, since this possibility is useless in-game.

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Welcome to the forums!  There's quite a lot of opportunity to conduct real science on Great Bear Island, if you are so inclined.  One genius whose name I do not recall once created a functional sundial, using the shadow cast by a pole somewhere, and sticks dropped and oriented on the ground.  And I recently calculated the character's actual walking speed on snow and on pavement, using a storm lantern as a makeshift clock and my journal as an odometer.  (1.5kph on pavement, 1.3kph in snow assuming no hills.)

Looking forward to see what you come up with!

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