Think you're good at TLD? Try the DEADMAN CHALLENGE


JAFO

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, fauxjargon said:

No he got one recently on vanilla deadman.  He made it to day 50 then got wolfed outside of the Quonset station.

Oh, cool! I'm glad he managed it on vanilla, and quite impressed, too.. what kind of shape was he in before being wolfed?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While being dead is not as cool as it was two weeks ago, I claim the title of a successful deadman with 30 days survived. I'm forging in Forlorn Muskeg, in 62% condition, well fed and well supplied, although I keep in mind that Fortune can turn her back any time on a deadman. Some fun facts:

  • No "dirty" tricks needed. You can play a normal interloper game, just be more careful in some ways (protecting your condition, collecting food and coal - all you can find) and more reckless in others (spending matches and other non-renewable resources, ignoring loot that would be a burden I the short term)
  • Efficient Machine and Cold Fusion feats are immensely helpful, I'd choose them again
  • I used 4 stims, so all my remaining condition is practically from stims (Lighthouse, Cinder Hills Mine, Summit, PV Barn)
  • I got my flare gun from the Summit on Day 10 and spent 4 flares so far. I haven't been to the Ravine yet.
  • I lost 23% to due to falls (goating where I shouldn't be goating), 3% to food poisoning, about 15% to starvation, the rest is freezing, especially early in the game. I feel I'd do better if I start again. But I'll go on until I die!

screen_42f0043d-9d73-41a5-bfc6-ddf03fbac5bb.thumb.jpg.dbcbbb58cde09e2d2d71802a338c1da8.jpg

Full account here: 

http://www.hinterlandforums.com/forums/topic/21204-a-few-dead-men/

 

Edited by Drifter Man
  • Upvote 4
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a go at this today and man I gotta say it's quite the experience. I feel like I've been on edge all day. First run made it to about 40 hours old before dying in his bedroll in the lake overlook cave. I tried to let him go peacefully in his sleep because I stumbled in there on about 8% condition freezing and starving and dehydrated looking for my first match only to find a firestriker there. By the time I got a fire lit and water boiled as my guy threatened to step into the fire with the death wobbles I was sitting on 4% and even if I managed to peg a rabbit with a rock I figured  Mr Stumbles wasn't going to get anywhere near a stim any time soon so I let him fade into the long dark peacefully. official COD - starvation

My 2nd attempt is going a lot better but in the long run probably won't amount to much. I spawned in the dead of night with low visibility and within 30 seconds was being chased by a wolf, finally figured out I spawned in the clearcut at mystery lake then had to dodge a bear and another wolf before I found anywhere warm. My guy is currently parked in Rabbit Grove a few hours short of 6 days survived on 38%. Spent the first few days with only very basic clothes freezing to death looking for matches and a bedroll. Got them both now, the hatchet, hammer(which I stupidly left in the dam to save weight on a failed attempt at the ravine (no rope to be found) and a wool toque that resisted all attempts to repair it for 2 days straight before finally letting me fix it. Current temp bonus is around a paltry 5-6 degrees C  I think.  I'm enjoying trying this but you don't really get a seconds mental rest, I feel almost as exhausted as my poor character ;)

 

Edited by DaveMcD
  • Upvote 4
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I played this game again because someone mentioned me in this challenge.  Thanks I guess.

Random start put me on TWM.  Which was super convenient because there were plenty of matches and torches and wood chunks close at hand. And a hacksaw first day!  Didn’t summit (I don’t know what a snow shelter is and still don’t want to), went to the farmhouse, then to the dam over the first ten days losing 60% of my health to cold in the process.

My big surprise came when I desperately tried to kill-steal a deer, the wolf just stood there growling. I was ready to do some serious charge-dodging.  Instead I walked right up to it and lobbed a torch onto its nose and the encounter was over.  I don’t know if that’s a side effect of these settings or if that’s just what they do now, but it was super easy and I ate well from then on.  Herding deer can be hard when they react from so far away, but there’s usually plenty of wolves around to grab them if you are persistent. 

My big trick then was intentionally getting food poisoning by hoarking down slabs of raw deer to use even fewer calories by allowing me to sleep even when I wasn’t tired.  Made use of mushroom tea and so avoided any health loss until I hit 15% (below 15% food poisoning has no effect).  Stole a deer about once every four days.

Final home was the dam, foraging ML when the temps were agreeable and sleeping the days away when they weren’t.  It was still very mild there even on day 30, though I did find a jerry can and lantern and burned that quite a bit to help with warmth on windy days.

Dodged wolves by carrying tons of meat chunks and feeding them generously.  Juggling to drop the bait bits and not the freshly harvested bits is still a huge pain.  Wolves generally follow some distance behind until they catch sight of you.  Just don’t walk back the same way you walked out or you might end up feeding three or four of them before getting home.  But it’s still fun to let them all get close so they line up and take turns stalking you, one after the other (so polite).

I cured some hides and made some pants.  But never bothered to forge or get a gun or eat a rabbit.  Ended still holding strong at 15%.  Enjoy.

EDIT: no auto injectors.  Never found any.

Edited by selfless
  • Upvote 2
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

An update...yeah my first Deadman Box for whatever reason apparently has absolutely ZERO living animals...so I will update and get caught up to Day 15 or 17 or whatever I've made it to...but I will be calling subsequent updates to Box One Omega Man rather then Deadman.

I will be starting a brand new Deadman Box and hoping it doesn't wig out and gives me the true Deadman experience with wildlife.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, RossBondReturns said:

An update...yeah my first Deadman Box for whatever reason apparently has absolutely ZERO living animals...so I will update and get caught up to Day 15 or 17 or whatever I've made it to...but I will be calling subsequent updates to Box One Omega Man rather then Deadman.

I will be starting a brand new Deadman Box and hoping it doesn't wig out and gives me the true Deadman experience with wildlife.

Or of interest, what's the game like to play with no animals? I imagine it's pretty difficult? Where do you get food from? Did fishing and trapping work?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Pillock said:

Or of interest, what's the game like to play with no animals? I imagine it's pretty difficult? Where do you get food from? Did fishing and trapping work?

Currently I'm subsisting off prepackaged food...with which I've been blessed. Then there's also carcasses....I haven't tried fishing yet...since all I have is hooks.

That said perhaps all the animals are waiting in TWM...which is where I'm heading next.

What I'm wondering about Deadman is...is this no wildlife thing normal? Is it very rare but exceptionally deadly? Might it only be in one region?

If so...maybe my sandbox is working right.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, RossBondReturns said:

What I'm wondering about Deadman is...is this no wildlife thing normal? Is it very rare but exceptionally deadly?

When I played it it wasn't like that. There were wolves everywhere that there could possibly be, and several at a time. There were also deer, rabbits and bears aplenty. But I only lasted a few days - the animal population depletion rate is set to its maximum, I believe (and the respawn rate to its minimum?), so a depopulated world is likely if you last long enough to see it. But it shouldn't be like that at the start - maybe check you got the code correct?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Pillock said:

When I played it it wasn't like that. There were wolves everywhere that there could possibly be, and several at a time. There were also deer, rabbits and bears aplenty. But I only lasted a few days - the animal population depletion rate is set to its maximum, I believe (and the respawn rate to its minimum?), so a depopulated world is likely if you last long enough to see it. But it shouldn't be like that at the start - maybe check you got the code correct?

I copied and pasted it so hmmmm.

I'm not going to trash the box...but I might try another copy and paste. I copy and Ctrl-V it into the custom code box.

I started another earlier...got the same ML start near the Clearcut...nothing...no animals from Clearcut all the way to trappers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, selfless said:

My big surprise came when I desperately tried to kill-steal a deer, the wolf just stood there growling.

Heheheh.. yeah, there have been a few changes to the game lately.. as you've doubtless noticed. Good to see you again, by the way!

 

23 hours ago, selfless said:

Final home was the dam, foraging ML when the temps were agreeable and sleeping the days away when they weren’t.  It was still very mild there even on day 30, though I did find a jerry can and lantern and burned that quite a bit to help with warmth on windy days.

If you're in the mood, a more detailed account of how you did the 30 days would be most appreciated.. you seem to have taken a very different approach to the challenge, than most players.

 

23 hours ago, selfless said:

But never bothered to forge or get a gun or eat a rabbit.  Ended still holding strong at 15%.  Enjoy.

EDIT: no auto injectors.  Never found any.

I get the impression you spent quite a long time down at 15%.  How many days in did you reach 15%?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've currently parked my character in Quonset on day 10 of my run. Snuck into town on 20% health crouching holding a torch surrounded by three wolves while I'm exhausted about to freeze and starve at the same time. As Im sneaking in and listening for the paw pads my wife turned on our really loud microwave right next to me and I couldn't hear anything. Had to turn it off till I got safely in the door. Never been so tense in this game before. Never been so slow and patient trying to get into Quonset.

Not certain it was worth it but I did go to the Riken and forge arrowheads, knife and hatchet. Picked up 1 stim at the lighthouse. Decided to apply it now and get my guy up to 35%. About where he was at 5 days prior.

If I could find some warm clothes I'd be thrilled. Currently only on about 8C warmth bonus.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, JAFO said:

If you're in the mood, a more detailed account of how you did the 30 days would be most appreciated.. you seem to have taken a very different approach to the challenge, than most players.

I get the impression you spent quite a long time down at 15%.  How many days in did you reach 15%?

Reading through the journal entries I see my actual impression of time was a bit off.  I thought it was some ten days before I reached the dam and maybe ten more before I bottomed at 15%.  It was actually much faster than that (ten days to the bottom).  But once I figured out the whole take-deer-from-wolf thing (and then stopped trying to kill myself for no reason) it was all fairly simple.  I admit I am very good at avoiding wolves. I've dealt with them a lot and one thing I've learned is to control them you have to attract them.  So I always carried bait with me once I had scraps of meat= 0.02kg, sometimes cooked, sometimes rotten and (for no good reason) exactly eight of them.  I'd guess maybe because ten would be too many but I also don't want to get caught short.  I don't know.  Not everything I do is well thought out.  Its a game.  Sometimes I just play (witness Day11 :/).

++++++++++++++++++

Day1: Spawn halfway up TWM.  Quickly move to the place they call "cave" even though its open on three sides.  Grab Matches, a Torch, and a bunch of wood.  Descend to the actual cave.  Enter as freezing sets in, light torch, find another torch and more wood.  Exit other end.  Descend where the rope isn't to grab cattails on the streams into and out of Crystal Lake.  Freeze some more. Spend the night at the Climbers' Hut with a nice fire. Hacksaw is here with more matches, a jacket,  and lots of wood.  90% health.

Timberwolf.thumb.jpg.2f8a75a193841097e986bec1ba3ebb76.jpg

Day2: Explore Crystal lake but fog rolls in. Grab what cattails I can see before sprinting back to Climbers' for a nap.  There's a wolf out there.  Decide to get off the mountain.  Descend to Prepper's in Pleasant Valley, freeze a bit on the way.  Nothing much there.  More wood.  Still time in the day so I head back out after a nap to the Picnic Cave.  Blizzard starts as I arrive.  Picnic Cave has lots of fuel for me and some cans of food, but nothing to sleep on so I must trudge back to Prepper's in the storm.  Down to 65% health and low on water.

Day3: Head to Skeeter's Ridge area.  Manage to start a fire next to a deer carcass before any wolves approach.  They stalk around but won't come up to the fire.  I take the meat and cook it plus some water, manage to dodge my way over to the Basement which has more wood and a sweater.  Descend the ropes with a wolf on my tail.  Get into Dodger's Cabin while freezing a bit more, but I'm low on water again.  I try to cook some outside the cabin but night falls and the wind is murder.  Takes me down to 44% health.

PleasantValley.thumb.jpg.dc6721f8a23ce6cdc2086f107ef05b9f.jpg

Day4: Travel to the Farmstead.  There is a carcass near the barn there.  After warming up exploring the interior, I harvest it entirely.  Lost a bit of health on the long morning walk, 38% now.

Day5: Explore the basement during the cold morning, but midday seems nicer so I venture over to the barn in the woods by the bridge.  Check the car too.  Afternoon is really warm, like positive feels-like warm, so I take initiative to get up onto Signal Point after going back to the Farmhouse for a bunch of my stuff.  I have time to scavenge the deer carcass by the bear cave on the way, including guts, but feed the guts to two wolves who approach me at the ridgeline as I head for the Radio Shack.  Minor freezing before I'm indoors, down to 29%.

Day6: Harvest a deer carcass right outside the hut with a fire, then take a nap before heading to Winding River Cave.  Spotted by the same two wolves again and feed them the guts I harvested that morning.  Strip meat off a deer carcass near the Hunter's blind with a fire to warm up a bit before making it to the cave entrance.  Cave is warm and I have many torches.  Nothing much in here but wood.  Exit into Winding River and there's a Bedroll in the small cave!  Harvest third carcass of the day on top of hill near that cave.  Visited by wolf who gets fed guts.  As I cross over the ice below the dam, same wolf is chasing rabbits on the other side.  Grab some cattails then shimmy over to strip the fourth carcass on the rocks, but its getting cold and I am sleepy.  Rise up and cross the dam as my last torch burns out.  Now I'm really freezing and exhausted but here is a fifth carcass.  I take its meat too before climbing through the window, only losing a bit of health.  22% remain.

Day7: I've got a lot of meat.  I've got a lot of sticks.  And I've got two pots.  Cooking day.  But let's loot the dam and strip the Carcass inside the chain link on the Mystery Lake side first.  Still 22%.

Day8: The afternoon is warm.  I wonder if I can get down in the Ravine? Check the trailers in front of the dam before heading down the tracks.  There's no rope in the train car.  There's no rope in the nearside cave.  I strip a carcass in front of that cave then head back to the dam to end the day.  Down one to 21% before I get home.

Day9: The afternoon is warm.  I'll go grab cattails off the river.  Spot a deer on the ice, a live deer, at two hundred meters.  It runs.  I follow.  It heads for the basin with a hunter blind in it.  There it meets a wolf.  I want that deer.  It could feed me for days.  So I build a fire then try draw the wolves attention thinking I can kite it back to the fire and scare it off.  Nope.  He's just standing there.  I try sprinting in arcs, closer and closer to him.  He doesn't budge.  I was close enough to hit him on that last pass... Grab a torch from the failing fire.  Walk over to the hapless wolf.  My throw falls ten meters short.  Walk back and put another stick in the coals to take another torch.  Boop!  Wolf chases his tail around the basin while I harvest his prize.  He cannot find a minimum safe distance from me.  Hilarious.  No other wolves show up.  Lost another condition to freezing, 20% remains.

Day10: The Dam is fat with meat and water.  Hides are curing.  But I'm bored...  (:flaregun::flaregun::flaregun::flaregun::flaregun:!!!!!) I'll just walk down to the river and see what's going on...  I'm halfway to the Fire Lookout (the one that isnt broken) when I spot two wolves rounding a rock face.  I scurry around some rocks to mask my path.  Now I'm closer to the Lookout then to home, guess where I'm going to spend the night.  But it turns out I didn't bring much food or water with me.  I turn to look back but there are those two wolves coming up the trail to the Lookout!  I head for the stairs and cook some water on the stove inside, but not much because I need sleep. Still 20%.

Day11: OK, I have nothing.  I should head home.  But it's absolutely freezing this morning.  I'll read and nap for five hours waiting for temperatures to improve and am now starving.  But as I descend, my two wolf friends are there, on the path.  Looking for me.  Apparently they haven't spotted me yet when I hoverslide across a sheer rock, because it doesn't freak them out, they just turn and walk back the way they had come.  I hang there for a few minutes hoping they are getting farther away and doing so sprain my ankle.  I can't go back up and its too cold to stay out long so I mountain-goat my way around to get a good path for me to Derailment thinking I'll be unreachable inside the traincar.  There's nothing there, but I also don't see or hear any wolves and I'm not waiting for them to catch up.  Charging even further from safety, I reach the door to the Camp Office.  But there's nothing in here.  I eat all my baits then drink a mushroom tea for the sickness that causes, I'm down to 18% health and still hungry.  Back outside.  Up to the Overlook.  There is a carcass there.  I strip it but a wolf is approaching.  I head down the rope there.  I want to take the other rope so I can go in the Ravine.  But I'm soooooo tired.  I can't climb back up.  I end up dropping all my cooking equipment and a lot of sticks to make the ascent (with the rope :S).  But the wolf is still up there, eating a rabbit.  Exhausted and hungry I make camp in the Cave right there; start a big fire in the door so that wolf won't come in.  Lay down my bedroll and WHAT AM I THINKING?!!!!!  Somehow I survive this day.  I probably ate the rotting deer meat raw and because I dropped all my cooking equipment could not make any good water or tea so I also had food poisoning.  Whatever, I have exactly 15% health remaining and its only Day 11?

Day12: The saga continues. Up with the dawn I manage to dodge the Overlook wolf again as he gets distracted by yet another rabbit.  Down to the Camp Office spraining a wrist and ankle on the way.  I'll nap those off hoping the afternoon will bring travelling weather.  It does.  Its clear on the lake, so instead of heading home I go check out the Lake Cabins.  (Am I insane?!?) I loot cattails and find some crackers and cans to melt water in so it works out.  Then for some reason I decide to spend another night on the lake and return to the Camp Office (because it's been so good to me?).  On the way back I spot two wolves who are checking out each of the cabins I visited in order.  I think that's cool.  They are following my trail.  I weave back and forth between the fishing huts to see how closely they stick to my path (The answer is "very").  I also spot a deer walking around near the river.  I instantly plan to drive that deer into these wolves then steal the kill from them both.  Tomorrow.

Day13: The weather is "not horrible" at noon so I set my "plan" in motion.  I spook the deer and it runs across the lake.  The two wolves appear on cue from behind a rock behind me, completely opposite the deer.  I move toward the deer, the deer runs farther from me, the wolves follow me.  But finally, the deer doubles back and crosses paths with the wolves.  I steal the kill but it is not pretty.  I bait off the second wolf, use my only flare to scare the killer and then have to build my guard fire 15 meters away so it is shielded from wind then wait for the carcass to freeze so I can harvest it faster since it is exposed.  But it works; I take all the meat and walk away.  All the way to the dam.  Without any further wolf encounters.  And I will never lose another life point.

Day14: I enjoy the quiet and make pants.  I put the rope in a locker and forget all about why I wanted it.

Day15: I waste 3 hours making boots before realizing I was making pants.  I finish my pants.

Day16: I poke my head out of the dam and spot THREE deer down on the river.  I will never be hungry again.  Except...

Day17: There is a wolf immediately outside the chainlink fence and it scares the crap out of me!  I barely get into the truck before it strikes.  I am able to feed it after waiting to come out, avoiding anymore trouble.  But it is here and the deer are over there.  Idea!  When I feed the wolf it exits away from me.  If I position myself so the bait is between me and the deer, I can launch a wolf-torpedo at the deer.  This doesn't work great.  The deer can see the wolf coming but the wolf can't react until he gets to the end of its run.  But at least it gets him in the right area.  And I am there to boop him in the snoot when he succeeds.  After harvesting that deer, I get to watch that wolf kill a second deer.  I run him off that one too, but I'll harvest it tomorrow. Good boy.

Day18: I harvest the second deer. Wolf doesn't like it but he gets fed twice for being helpful.

Day19-30: Eat two slabs of raw deer, sleep 20 hours, in 7 hour shifts stopping only to drink.  Repeat.  Continue until time is expended.

  • Upvote 5
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah - I knew I would not be disappointed if I managed to summon you to the forums, @selfless. Thanks for doing the Deadman, and your report is most entertaining. Had to really laugh several times - for example reading Days 14 & 15 - saw parallels to my life there. Good work on showing a completely different approach to Deadman, +1, truly earned.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep, fantastic story from one of our most veteran players I guess! Solved Deadman on the first go.

One thing I don't understand - even if you immediately use antibiotics/reishi tea and immediately go to sleep, the condition loss from food poisoning is fairly quick. How does one prevent condition loss in that situation? I lost 3% when food poisoning happened to me (unexpectedly), I suppose I could do 1% if I was ready and really quick with everything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

One thing I don't understand - even if you immediately use antibiotics/reishi tea and immediately go to sleep, the condition loss from food poisoning is fairly quick. How does one prevent condition loss in that situation? I lost 3% when food poisoning happened to me (unexpectedly), I suppose I could do 1% if I was ready and really quick with everything.

Well that's where being nearly dead and unable to heal pays off B|.  Food poisoning stops doing damage when you are at or below 15% health.  You still get tired really fast and you can't heal and your sick so you aren't going to get much done with food poisoning.  But you do get to sleep unrestricted until it wears off.  And I think it lasts 20 hours untreated... its definitely not a full day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, selfless said:

Well that's where being nearly dead and unable to heal pays off B|.  Food poisoning stops doing damage when you are at or below 15% health.  You still get tired really fast and you can't heal and your sick so you aren't going to get much done with food poisoning.  But you do get to sleep unrestricted until it wears off.  And I think it lasts 20 hours untreated... its definitely not a full day.

That explains it all. The unexpected perks of being nearly dead :) Thank you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now