Newbie Survivor Log

[tulkawen]

Day 8

 

- The fire went out while I was sleeping. Waking to a curtain of snow and the blizzard howling nastily. I have been freezing for the past half an hour of sleep

- Don't have the branches or logs to start a fire, luckily there are limbs scattered right outside the wagon

- Almost freeze while chopping up one limb, hurry back inside

- Fire and sardines to read a book

- While reading the blizzard subsides, although the wind is very strong

- The bear is far away when I peek out. I could stay here a while longer, but I must keep moving

- I'm not seeing any threats nearby, it seems all right to travel along the tracks in the direction opposite of the broken railroad

- The wind is making the trees crack and my footsteps echo scarily. I keep thinking I might get ambushed, and turn this way and that, holding out a flare

- The railway tunnel appears without adventures, this road leads to the Mystery Lake. See ya Muskeg!

- Oh i know this area! Not far off a wolf is patrolling the tracks. It is safer to turn left and go downhill along the cliffs

- A nice frozen adventurer on the way provides me generously with a box of matches. I can use those, having used many matches while travelling shelterless

- yes yes yes at the bottom of the hill I spot the hunter's cabin. Its safe, beautiful, filled with resources and offers a rifle

- Foremost, I drop the heavy hammer onto the workbench and stuff extra into various drawers before stepping out to brandish my nice new rifle.

- Spotting a deer in a barn nearby. It's time for a pelt and nice dinner

- Walking cheerfully in the declining day finally not dragging several extra pounds on my back and armed. Hurray!

- Skin the deer and rush back inside, drop guts and pelt to cure

- Go back out to set a bunny snare, then collect fire wood. The hut is barely visible in the snow

 

Night 8

 

- It gets fairly dark, the wolves howl. They know I've taken their venison. I don't care, I feel great

- Cooking the venison and boiling water inside to fix my half health. Let them peek into the windows and envy

Rome Thank you.

[tulkawen]

Day 9

 

- Fog and snowfall. Not going out there. Reading an hour makes me more edumacated, I get better at fire and go for another book

- Peeking outside, the weather isn't better. Track uphill anyway to check the empty snare, raided a sticks bush along the way. Got soaked for nothing

- Finished another book and broke two crates, slept out of boredom

 

Night 9

 

- woke up rested pre-dawn and cleaned my rifle, got better at cleaning rifles

[Czhilli]

Glad to see you made it out of the muskeg in one piece. It’s not a place to hang around for too long early in a survival run.

The difficult first week is behind you. I can see you are beginning to get established and can look after your basic needs. There’s still loads to learn, but this could be the start of a long run. So what’s next?

[tulkawen]

11 minutes ago, Czhilli said:

Glad to see you made it out of the muskeg in one piece. It’s not a place to hang around for too long early in a survival run.

The difficult first week is behind you. I can see you are beginning to get established and can look after your basic needs. There’s still loads to learn, but this could be the start of a long run. So what’s next?

I'm proud of that first week. I also have some basic understanding or the muskeg and ML areas. I'd say I'm lucky because I went directly to the forge day 1. This seems like a big loot area. Having expedition parka day 1 or 2 is kind of a biggie so I don't freeze every step of the way. I don't really want to establish anywhere. I want to explore a lot so I have better chances next time of not falling into some wolves mouth. I also want to know which zones are connected to which zones. I don't suppose this survivor will last long, you know what they say about cats and curiosity.

[Czhilli]

That expedition parka is a great find so early on. Even on Voyager they are rare. I’m currently playing on Stalker and it took me 40 days to find a maple leaf wool toque and 120 days to find an expedition parka! Mind you, I did have a rough start as my shoes were destroyed by wolves on day 3 and I was wondering around in just sports socks (not advised) until I was able to make some deerskin boots.

I love the exploring and I’m a bit jealous that you have so much still to do. There are still areas that I haven’t been to yet and I’m saving them as a treat. Currently I’m trying to completely map the regions I know and explore the bits of them that I missed on previous survival runs.

 

[tulkawen]

I'll never complain about my crash-landing shoes again. At least those wolves ate the shoes without the owner. I imagine those socks got wet and frozen every five mins. Maybe they could have frozen enough to make skates out of them, and go ice skating and kiting wolves around Muskeg.

I guess you can do the challenge to make one survivor for each map in a row so you'd know a bit about every area but not a lot, and then do interloper survivor and see if you could orient yourself on a random map knowing only a bit about each.

[tulkawen]

Day 10

 

- Awesome weather! I stomp across the snowdrifts enthusiastically and find a couple of maple saplings

- Wait a minute... I've been to this railway before and to this muskeg entrance. There must be two paths leading to it

- Isn't there a wolf nearby? Oh well, stomp along the railway not taking a great effort to hide but vigilant. The wolf must have sensed I don't mind a fight because he simply isn't there

- Even climbed some hills to search for goodies, but found only an eeky cold by the time I saw a lake cabin. Grabbed some wood and ventured inside

- The cabin is filled with goodies, which I organise until hypoth risk evaporates. Got another nice book on shooting

- Going for a stroll along a path behind the cabin. Encountered an adventurer who no longer needs his rifle

- Strutting around with a rifle in each hand. I'm Rambo! Ok one of the rifles is not loaded. Still Rambo!

- At the intersection went deeper into the canyon until a dead end, a backpack and a fir log. I'll take that why not

- It's clear enough to use the magnifying glass and I'm out of water. I'm concerned the light will fade by the time I make it back to the cabin and stop right in the canyon

- Crafted tea out of the red fruit I've collected

- This place is windproof, but the wind became very strong. Taking out a rifle when I hear a howl, uncertain if that was the wind cracking trees or an animal

- Fatigue sets in shortly once I move on. The last leg is done without sprint. These two rifles sure are heavy. At least I burned the firewood

- The last several feet I barely move. Coming out of the canyon the wind grabs me. It looks strong enough to carry the cabin away into wizard of oz land

 

Night 10

 

- Reached the cabin and slept like a rock

- Woke up not fully rested, drank soda found in the canyon and slept more

[tulkawen]

Day 11

 

- Rambo going out across the lake to explore. Stomp, stomp. One wolf ahead. Press closer to the snow hill and keep going along the left bank where the river merges with the lake.

- Another wolf even closer. Crouch and keep sneaking. Just how many wolves can there be? They must be out fishing by those fishing huts.

- Just when those two wolves pass, a third wolf appears and heads directly for me. Umm... you can turn back now wolfie... the wolf keeps coming, but without an aggressive posture. Gets close enough to sniff my shoes, isn't planning on breakfast yet? Is he going to attack or not? In case he does I shoot him at point blank range.

- The wolf flops dead. The other two flee to the other bank. Wow! My first wolf down! I feel kind of bad since he wasn't attacking me. It was a nice wolf, but he had kept me pinned. Left him unskinned because I want to explore.

- While the way is clear, I follow along the river.

- The river gradually turns into a snow passage and opens up into the hunters lodge.

- There's one arrow in good condition and some food. Also a funny bench that has some wrappers and a crushed can. Who ate my mres?

- Nice and peaceful, lots of deer and bunnies around. Keep heading along the snowy passage until I see two trailers and an iron fence leading to a secluded territory.

- Check out the trailers and go around the fence into another snow passage that leads to the Ravine. Don't really feel like going there and the day is about to end.

- Built a fire outside one of the trailers that has beds. While the water boiled, sharpened my knife.

 

Night 11

 

- Woke up rested, still not bright enough for travel

- Sharpened the hatchet and slept another hour

 

[Hotzn]

Excellent writing, transporting the fresh view of a new 'Long Darker' very well. Rep earned. This is all still voyager, but I have a feeling of a new Interloper star rising on the horizon... and I imagine Nhotz from the Interloper Monthly Magazine (IMM) already sharpening his pencil and turning a new page on his notebook for a soon-to-be interview...

[tulkawen]

@Hotzn Thank you for the vote of confidence. Seems my forum status updated from the wolf bait too. Though the wolves don't agree.

As for Loper, I haven't wrapped my mind around the no bedroll part or how to get around it. Even on voyager, I can't say I find bedrolls in heaps. Crafting a bear one requires taking down a few bears and you need tools and to be in good condition for that. I still haven't had any bear any mode. I wander about snow shelter and obviously there are cabin beds, but that will anchor you. I suppose you need to play to get it figured out.

Day 12

 

- Sooo! What's behind that metal fence? It looks like a spot the wolves would adore. I see one in the distance on the road, but that's about it.

- Sneaking across the yard into the dam...... a very creaky... and spooky... and filled with scary noises dam... wow! This place sure has a lot of stuff.

- Raided the first floor, but didn't feel like going up or down the stairs

- Especially the bathroom has whole bunch of rattling noises that sound like someone else unfriendly is in here too, borrowed some toilet water though

- Broke one green crate to check for goodies, nothing... kinda creeped out to break more. I feel defenceless when I'm breaking crates

- The real Rambo would be scared of this place too. They make horror movies out of places like this. Soooo many corners... never liked horror movies even from under the couch

- My pack is too heavy and it's getting late

- Returned to the trailer outside. Don't want to sleep in the dam as it's all spooky

 

Night 12

 

- Stuffed all extra goodies into lockers and boxes

- Ripped apart a bunch of boots and some gloves

- zzzz

[Guest jeffpeng]

4 hours ago, tulkawen said:

I haven't wrapped my mind around the no bedroll part or how to get around it.

Before I started playing Interloper I thought it's impossible to go anywhere without a bedroll. Then I lived 60 days on Timberwolf Mountain without even a bed. What I'm trying to say: you rise to the challenge quicker than you think.

[Czhilli]

15 hours ago, jeffpeng said:

Before I started playing Interloper I thought it's impossible to go anywhere without a bedroll. Then I lived 60 days on Timberwolf Mountain without even a bed. What I'm trying to say: you rise to the challenge quicker than you think.

Personaly I would discourage @tulkawen from rushing into Interloper. Our intrepid newbie has already had a taster run to discover just how harsh it can be, but doesn’t yet have the map and game knowledge to have a serious go at it. She hasn’t yet climbed a rope, encountered a bear, had to deal with food poisoning or many of the other challenges that await. Trying to learn this stuff on Interloper would be incredibly difficult and frustrating. The only person I know who successfully dived head first into Interloper survival is @BareSkin and even he had gained decent game skills and some map knowledge from playing Wintemute and The Nomad challenge first.

From what I’ve read of these newbie survivor logs I would say that Voyager is the perfect difficulty as it gives @tulkawen the opportunity to discover, make mistakes and learn simply by playing the game, without resorting to maps, tips, spoilers and wikis and without being punished too harshly while doing so. I got great pleasure from discovering the game by myself with minimal outside information and it gives me great pleasure to read the adventures of another newbie going through the same process.

[irlsupervillain]

@tulkawen Just binge-read your story this morning! 

I can't wait to see what you do next, you seem off to a pretty good start! Congratz on surviving your first week, too! I know I felt like the swaggiest gal on Bear Island on the dawn of Day 8   

Edited December 14, 2018 by irlsupervillain

[Guest jeffpeng]

@Czhilli+1

I merely wanted to encourage her to not evade challenges too long as I took forever to seriously tackle Interloper - and it turned out to be not even that hard (compared to 500+ day Stalker runs)

Edited December 14, 2018 by jeffpeng

[tulkawen]

Thank you! Surviving that first week is a mark. For some goofy reason I'm scared more of Stalker than Loper. Somehow I imagine stalker at the wolf factory.

Day 13

- Let's go back to the dam, got to explore the upper level

- This is just too shivery, ventured upstairs and got more loot or more like quickly ran through the checked corridors with the bathroom stop (but not to pee)

- Time to check out the basement... There is a long corridor ahead... bang... clang... O_O ...took out the rifle... turning the corners feels like something will jump out to gobble me up... another large room with several stairways and a rope

- More broken crates, boxes, shelves, computers... grabbed everything I could

- I'm getting out of here... black wires like snakes everywhere

- Back at the trailer compared a bunch of boots and ripped extra ones apart. Found a new type that looks for Inuit which I've never seen before, they might be good but they're badly broke, failed at repairing for comparison and it got dark

 

Night 13

 

- zzzzzzzz

[Czhilli]

1 hour ago, jeffpeng said:

@Czhilli+1

I merely wanted to encourage her to not evade challenges too long as I took forever to seriously tackle Interloper - and it turned out to be not even that hard (compared to 500+ day Stalker runs)

Oh.. I agree that you need to challenge yourself. Personally, I found when I jumped from Voyager to Interloper that I wasn’t lasting because I really didn’t know how to deal with wolves safely. I’m playing a 170+ day Stalker run now and learning to treat the hungry beasts with the respect they deserve.

24 minutes ago, tulkawen said:

I imagine stalker at the wolf factory.

This is their island now! I cannot fight them all, or offer up enough treats to satisfy the pack. I am not the stalker but the stalked. It’s not for everyone, but I’m really enjoying it. I’ll probably jump back to Interloper with my new found skills when this run ends but I’m glad I’ve given Stalker a proper go.

[hozz1235]

Entertaining read!  Would have been fun to watch you streaming it.  Many of us are so familiar with the game now, we know what's around every twist and turn, where the shelters are, etc.  I envy those playing for the first time and discovering all the wonderful things TLD has to offer.  Don't rush into loper - find a challenge you enjoy and do that.

I play custom games 100% of the time now to keep it interesting.  Have fun.

[Guest jeffpeng]

1 hour ago, tulkawen said:

Thank you! Surviving that first week is a mark. For some goofy reason I'm scared more of Stalker than Loper. Somehow I imagine stalker at the wolf factory.

You've got - as usual - the right instincts here. Stalker is hard in that you just face so many more wolves. Interloper is hard in that a single wolf has a very good chance of being your end. I tend to compare Stalker and Interloper to playing Duke Nuke'em vs. Splinter Cell. Personally, after you established yourself - which takes some knowledge and planning - I find Interloper actually easier. The start can be harsh or outright impossible, but if you make it to having a knife and a bow plus a few arrows you're good.

[Sito]

.Good read. You are a good story teller. I enjoy it very much and look forward to every episode of your character.  

Edited December 15, 2018 by Sito

[tulkawen]

@Czhilli

Maybe you can try that cans fence around your island against the wolves. It's sounds like that area is your favourite. 

@hozz1235

I wander if custom would let me have the number of wolves equivalent to voyager, but weather conditions and amount of resources equal to Interloper. That would be an interesting challenge once I'm better.

 

I'm afraid technical thingies aren't my profile, I'm more into humanities. I've never streamed anything in my life. Don't know how to do that.

@jeffpeng

Oh, I have very healthy respect for the wolves! I just can't see to hide from them all. I do need better skills in evading them once I'm seen. I think I'm good at sneaking past, but in the hills area they seem me before I see them. Once I hear the bark I behave pretty much like a noob aka random panicked actions.

@Sito Thank you!

Day 14

 

- Heading into Ravine... it's quiet... linear... the bunnies and deer are hopping around. I like simple maps since I tend to get lost among three fir trees

- Eventually stumbled onto a cave with a deer at the entrance... took out a rifle and went in step by step... wasn't sure if it's a bear cave or not. Bears aren't suckers either. They like having roof above their heads

- There is a cedar log inside, the cave is shallow and not very warm

- Kept going until I found an area where a rope can be dropped, it leads very far down below to the fallen wagons

- Wow! I want a rope! I don't have a rope... gimme a rope!

- Crossed a tree bridge instead with a frozen adventurer fallen next to it and his backpack... hey some food, he won't be needing that!

- There are a couple of coal pieces underfoot

- Kept following the tracks along the railway, eventually discovered an new cave. This one is deeper and warmer. I'll take it!

- Started a fire to boil a bit of water and looked around collecting twigs, there are a few grey wagons near and a couple of metal pieces

- Grabbed my water and chopped up one limb just in case it gets cold at night

- Setting sun, will stay in this cozy cave

 

Night 14

 

- zzzzzzzz

 

Edited December 15, 2018 by tulkawen

[Guest jeffpeng]

5 minutes ago, tulkawen said:

I wander if custom would let me have the number of wolves equivalent to voyager, but weather conditions and amount of resources equal to Interloper. That would be an interesting challenge once I'm better.

It would. It's actually a game mode I've proposed before, basically shifting focus heavily towards battling the environment instead of wildlife. You could even play Interloper with "passive" wildlife like on Pilgrim, which wouldn't even be unrealistic and still very much challenging. Basically all you'd have to do is flip "Passive Wildlife" on and you'd have wolves and bears that actually evade you unless you directly threaten them - in which case they'd still make up for formidable opponents.

11 minutes ago, tulkawen said:

I do need better skills in evading them once I'm seen.

The key is to break line of sight. They will let you walk away for a very long time as long as you keep your distance, but follow you as long as they can see you. Dodging behind a rock or even a tree and crouching with enough distance between you and the wolf does the trick more often than not. Keep an open ear. Once they howl in despair about losing their prey you're safe - at least from that wolf. Running from wolves doesn't help a lot except for gaining initial distance if the wolf is already close. If you run from a wolf that is already tracking you it will keep up and you will tire. 

[tulkawen]

I don't know whether I've ever had the experience of being tracked by a wolf. I either curve around them and they don't notice at all or I miss them in the terrain, all I hear is a bark up close and they're already in the stage where they start charging/running towards me, not walking behind me.

I also found it interesting that Muskeg has such a bad reputation. It's flat and I was able to see all the predators from far away and hide from them, though, there were many. What I find a lot scarier are the narrow tunnel passages guarded by wolves. How do you even get around that. I suppose you can try to scare, but some feel like bottlenecks that force a fight.

In terms of passive wildlife, I didn't pick pilgrim because I feel it is an integral part of the challenge to be chased by the wolves. I do not wish to remove this challenge, I simply wish to regulate its intensity. On voyager I find this threat sufficient and don't want that intensity upped.

I want to figure out how to survive without the bedroll!

Edited December 16, 2018 by tulkawen

[tulkawen]

Day 15

 

- On the other side of the landslide, I passed a wagon yesterday. Maybe it has a rope

- This weather isn't that grand, the wind is making me crawl while it snows on top of me

- The trip back across the tree bridge is trice longer than I remember

- The wagon is strongly tilted and it has no rope even if it has a few goodies

- The hope to build fire in a shielded spot goes poof, the craned floor won't let me set camp anywhere inside

- Well this is bad, contracted hypoth risk already

- Wasn't there another cave nearby? Can't find it, all I do is eat more snow. It's too windy for a fire in the open

- Hurry back across the tree bridge to the familiar cave, hurry meaning crawl since the wind is the killer

- Phew! Made it back, that was close. Thought I'd be a little snow hill by evening

- Boiled 3L of water while the weather improved significantly

- 'm going to follow the tracks. There is a tunnel which looks like a dead end, but there is a way around the tree and the tracks continue to the best bridge ever!

- It's massive! The wooden pillars are stacked one over the other and dive into a deep ravine

- Careful there! Some rails are broken and only the narrow strips of metal run across in certain places. That would be a loooong drop

- The bridge ends and another tunnel appears, this one leads away from this ravine

- Maybe I'll find the rope elsewhere

- I gawk at the new area called the coastal highway, walking past a very loud waterfall. This is a great spot for an ambush, I'd never hear anyone coming

- A frozen guy with a hatchet is waiting on the other side of the waterfall bridge. I'll take that

- Oh be quiet, you yawns! They're seriously scarier than the wolves. I keep thinking it's something hungry

- There are a couple of coal pieces scattered on the ground sporadically 

- A trailer is perched on the roadside. It has beds, excellent resting spot and a few new items

- The new sweater looks a bit better than my other one, failed fixing the new one and then got it done

 

Night 15

 

- zzzzzzzzzz

[tulkawen]

On 12/14/2018 at 5:13 PM, jeffpeng said:

You've got - as usual - the right instincts here. Stalker is hard in that you just face so many more wolves. Interloper is hard in that a single wolf has a very good chance of being your end.

It must be the wolf logo that makes me think lots of wolves. Although, the skull isn't exactly cake either.

[tulkawen]

Day 16

 

- This freezing wind is downright nasty, tried going out and changed my mind

- Ripped apart a ruined bedroll and organised until the wind subsided

- There is a wide, curvy path leading downhill, it even has a wooden fence

- I try to scout the area at every turn, but the numerous pines with fluffy branches block the view

- I hear a bark and only guess it's coming around the bend. The wolf pops up when it gets extremely close

- I do have a second to take an highly uncomfortable shot at close distance that misses very far and the wolf jumps me

- Nasty bugger sinks his fangs into me good, I keep stabbing him with the knife until he runs off trailing blood

- Applied bandages and antiseptic on the spot and went back uphill to the cabin cursing since he took me from nearly perfect health to a quarter. A pine cone accidentally falling off a tree and landing on top of me can send me pushing up the daisies or the snowdrifts

- Examined my clothes inside, the parka has four vertical slashes aka claw imprints, he did the same trick on my hat as on my health, tore almost all outer layers including boots

- Built a fire and cooked some tea and tomato soup, couldn't maintain the fire long as this spot has no tree branches, broke a crate in the trailer for one piece of the reclaimed wood 

 

Night 16

 

- Woke up in the middle of the night fully rested

- The health is half recovered but I'm hungry again,  don't want it taking hits so I eat again

- Can't do a thing in this darkness, wasted calories by passing time until got tired, was forced to eat again, slept a bit more

- Predawn there was enough light to start repairing, failed the parka twice, that's 4 cloth