Finally Trying for Faithful Cartographer...

[ManicManiac]

I'd say that the camping trip has been a success.  
I did decide to let the fire extinguish after 745 hours (just a little over a full 31 days).  The very frequent blizzards did their job well.  As of right now, my mending very nearly maxed out (perhaps just another one or two more mending actions should get that skill maxed out).  Also, very near the end of my little camping trip I earned my Blizzard Walker badge.

After getting my campsite packed up and supplies returned to the Community Hall, I returned to Timberwolf Mountain.  I fed the Crystal Lake Lone Wolf two rabbits and took a little time to sort out my inventory again.  After spending only a day or two at the Mountaineer's Hut, I decided that I'd like to experiment more with the snares.  I still wanted to test to see if setting up the snares near a structure with an "indoor" loading transition would impact the catch rate or if my catch rates would remain as low as they have been in places like the Mountaineer's Hut (which of course offers no loading transition to go in and out of).

I decided that I would like to use a more "classic" location for this, and since I hadn't spent much time in Mystery Lake since I was there to map that region... I chose to head to the Old Trapper's Cabin to set up my snares.

It was a great feeling of homecoming to be back in Mystery Lake.  Even though Timberwolf Mountain currently my favorite region, Mystery Lake will always feel like home to me.  Back when I first started playing The Long Dark, I think Mystery Lake was still the only region (with Coastal Highway and The Ravine transition zone arriving soon after).  I set up my snares and by the next day caught a total of 5 rabbits (though at different times through the day), and one snare that broke.  By day two, caught about 4 more (I also took a trip back to the Camp Office to grab some cured gut so I could I could get my sixth snare back in working order).

I was hoping that I might be able to subsist on what the snares catch (which is why I left all my weapons back at the Mountaineer's Hut), but that has proven challenging for these first couple of days.  I did go out and find a couple of ravaged deer carcasses to give myself a small but helpful source of supplemental calories.  I also dipped into some of my found food caches (no eating isn't really a problem... I'm just seeing if I could live on what I catch with six snares).  I don't have a very comfortable supply of rabbit meat yet.  So far, I've more or less been consuming it roughly about as fast as I can procure it.  I may consider crafting more snares, but I'm going to give it a few more days to see what the overall catch rate will look like.

I don't really have any goal with this trip other than to experiment with the snare mechanic (although getting my Expert Trapper merit badge would be nice - but I don't expect that catch rate would be that high while I'm just spending a week or so doing this).

I do need to remember to go back to the Camp Office... I'm going to need some cloth if I'm going to finish working on completing my mending  skill.  My last two stops by the Camp Office, I forgot to grab some of those materials.  However, in another couple of days... I suppose I could just use rabbit pelts to mend up my rabbitskin hat and mittens. 

Hopefully I will have my goal to reach "Skilled Survivor" completed by tomorrow.

After that, I suppose I will take a look back at the run before ending my journaling of this personal challenge of mine.

Edited February 3, 2021 by ManicManiac

[ManicManiac]

I did end up having to resort to eating a can of dog food to keep myself "well fed."  However, if the catch rates stay consistent... I should be able to maintain my full stomach without any further calorie supplement.  I've been averaging about 5 rabbits per day with six snares set.  So far, the only time that dropped was when two snares broke and I had to wait overnight for a couple more raw gut to finish curing (that day I only managed 4 total).

It seems clear that having a shelter with an "indoor" transition definitely appears to factor in with how the snare mechanic functions.  The catch rates have been dramatically better when being able to frequently "reload" the region by transitioning from indoors to outdoors.  I suppose this means that trapping will always be more difficult for me in places like the Mountaineer's Hut / Crystal Lake (where I've made my primary encampment).  I'm not entirely sure why this mechanic seems to behave in this particular way (but I accept it).

I may, however, reach out to the Support Team just to see if this is intentional or incidental.

Today I also finally earned "Skilled Survivor" and at long last achieved each of my specific goals (including all my extra provisos to make my survivor's life a little harder) for this challenge.  It's been a long journey, but I finally made it.

This took me a total of 4 attempts:

• For my first death, I got stuck in terrain (between a boulder and a tree) while mapping Desolation Point...  Subsequently dying of starvation and dehydration as I stubbornly refused to give up and tried to wriggle my way out.
• For my second death, I found an "instant kill" spot as I was goating up by the Carter Dam in Mystery Lake.
• For my third death, I found another "instant kill" spot as I was goating around behind the Trailer at the Train Unloading in Coastal Highway.

Not only was this fourth attempt successful for my personal challenge, but it's frankly my most successful run I've ever had in this game. 

This run's been far from perfect though.  I'd say that most of the mistakes I had to deal with were in truth very avoidable.  For the most part I'd say I just simply wasn't paying close enough attention at the time.  Anyway, here are the mistakes that served as a reminder for me to never get complacent in this game:

• I ended up with two cases of frost bite on my hands. 
  • I failed to check to make sure I was wearing my gloves before I went out mapping Pleasant Valley.  The evening before, I'd taken my gloves off to thaw out next to the fire... I also repaired them afterward, however I absentmindedly forgot to put them back on.
  • I failed to check my clothing before bedding down at the Old Spence Family Homestead.  I foolishly went to sleep with frozen gloves on, and woke up with a second frost bite affliction.  I always made sure to carry a spare set of dry mittens after that.
• When I first visited and started mapping Forlorn Muskeg, I wasn't playing close enough attention to where the all the wolves were relative to my location (as I was making my way across the ice covered marshland), and as I was trying to escape a stalking wolf... I didn't play close enough attention to where I was going.  As a result I ended up boxed in and suffered my first (and only) wildlife struggle for the whole of the run.
• I did also get one bout of food poisoning.  However, I considered that more of an RNG misfortune, than a mistake on my part.  I had been more than cautious about meat condition during the early days of the run, but despite that portion still being in generally good condition, I got struck with food poisoning anyways.

On the other hand there were also things I was able to accomplish that went beyond my originally stated goals.

I was careful enough during all of my hunts that I never missed a shot with Bow, Rifle, or Revolver (I never had to use the flare gun so those states stayed at 0/0).  I did manage to successfuly make it through my entire run without ever harvesting any plant/sapling!  The lichen and cattail stalks that I ended up with were all either found in containers of gathered by Beachcombing.

Those were two of the little side-challeges I had set for myself...  I'd also challenged myself to see how long I could go without any wildlife struggles, but (as I mentioned) I failed that one at Forlorn Muskeg.  Still though... I think that only one wolf struggle, no bear attacks, and no moose attacks is still a pretty good record (all things considered).

All-in-all this was a really fun experience for me.  It took me a lot longer to complete that I thought it would... as I'm reading back through this thread, I see I started this adventure of mine back on June 19, 2019 (and I'm only just now finishing it).

I hope this has been as much fun for folks to read along with as it was for me to play... and chronicle.

I do have screenshots of my "final" stats and I will gather those up and post those as well (for any who are interested).  I probably won't do much more with this run once I'm done experimenting with the snare mechanics.  I'm not sure if I should give my survivor a proper death, delete the save, or just keep the run "alive but in limbo..."

I suppose I'll have to think on it some more.

Edited February 4, 2021 by ManicManiac

[The Ravages of Time]

Very impressive @ManicManiac! I wish I could say that I have runs where I didn’t miss a single shot. It’s been interesting!
Congrats!

Edited February 5, 2021 by The Ravages of Time

[ManicManiac]

@The Ravages of Time

Thank you.

Granted it was a Voyager run... and I know some members of the "strictly 'loper" crowd might jeer at that, but I'm still happy with it.

I am especially pleased about how the hunting turned out.  Every time I drew back the bow... I was nervous I might overshoot and miss.  

For me, I found that the best way to ensure I hit my mark was to have the patience to wait for the target to get into optimal position while simultaneously trying get in as close to the target as I could.  I couldn't tell you how many times I had the perfect shot lined up... but then the deer would keep walking just a little too close and sprint away!  I always told myself it was better to let it go and try again; than to miss a shot.

There were plenty of times where the hits weren't critical... or I landed a body shot rather than a head shot (causing me to have to track my quarry all over hell's half-acre from time to time).

Good luck on your adventures as well. 

Edited February 5, 2021 by ManicManiac

[ManicManiac]

For those interested to see how the stats turned out for my Personal Challenge, I've included them below:

 

[ManicManiac]

After thinking on it some more, I've decided that I will keep this run in limbo rather than end/delete it...

Since my survivor is well equipped and comfortable in all regions, I'll just use this run going forward as a place to experiment with mechanics (as it occurs to me... or if folks post a general question about something I've not experienced or tested myself & would like check out).  Experimenting with the snares right at the end of this run, made me realize that this run would be a good place for this kind of thing.

I'm also on my way back to Bleak Inlet to see if I can replicate an item related bug that another poster mentioned in another thread.  Having a survivor that's ready to go anywhere on a moments notice is good for that kind of thing too. 

I've also settled on what I'll do next (now that this run is sort of "done").

I think I'll take a break from Survival, and finally finish up Crossroads Elegy.
I stopped episode 3 about halfway though, to start this personal challenge of mine.  With episode 4 coming sometime later this year, I should probably get caught up with Wintermute.

[ManicManiac]

I'm finally able to return to The Long Dark...
I don't know if I will pick up with my Interloper personal challenge again or pick back up with my Stalker run...  either way it's good to be back in the wilderness of Great Bear Island.

[piddy3825]

22 hours ago, ManicManiac said:

I'm finally able to return to The Long Dark...

what you been doing the last six months?  missed see you here on the forums!

[ManicManiac]

@piddy3825

Real life stuff was happening.  Due to certain drawdowns and closures... I had to stop contracting overseas, get a new job, and work on reestablishing myself back in the states.  As one might imagine, I didn't have much time to spend on Great Bear Island.

[ManicManiac]

I hear we might be able to explore Blackrock Penitentiary relatively soon... I'm definitely looking forward to that.
 

[piddy3825]

@ManicManiac

life does throw the occasional curveball and a wicked curve it can be at times.  either way, glad to hear you have weathered the proverbial storm and find yourself back in familiar surroundings!  Looking forward indeed to exploring the upcoming episodes and to continuing the adventure!  

[ManicManiac]

I've decided I would return to Great Bear Island by coming back to this run (which I had put on hiatus try a shorter Interloper Personal Challenge).

I think this will be a nice run to come back to, at least to get my bearings again... nearly every region has a cache of supplies, all the regions are fully mapped, and my survivor has mastered all skills. 

It will be nice to get back to my home at the base of Timberwolf Mountain.  I think I will start by taking a walking tour of each region again.  I'm keen to see if I will still be able to sneak through Bleak Inlet without getting spotted by the Timber Wolves.   

Hopefully, I will have a lot to chronicle after the long weekend. 

[ManicManiac]

I got back into my run, but I only really stayed for a day or two.  I climbed to the summit and took the long way back down.  As I was getting my bearings again, I thought long and hard about... and I decided I would start a fresh run rather than continue on with this one (or my Interloper "training" run).

Once I got back to my cabin on Crystal Lake, I filled my stomach one last time.  I also stopped by the lake to say goodbye to my reluctant hunting partner.  I made the hike back down to the Community Hall in Thompson's Crossing.  I figured this was a good place to leave it.

At the menu, I deleted the two runs I had going... and began a new adventure in Stalker.
(More to follow in a new thread)

[piddy3825]

and so this chapter of the life of your survivor closes...
so did you ever attain the achievement? 

Faithful Cartographer

[ManicManiac]

@piddy3825

I did sometime back... it was still in the midst of the others parts of the personal challenge that I'd set for myself.  Once I'd accomplished all of them for the run, that's when I had started my Interloper personal challenge and put this one on hiatus.  

Now after such a long absence, I decided to start fresh with a new Stalker run.  I got started last weekend, so I will try to start chronicling that shortly, in a new thread.

[piddy3825]

outstanding!  I've decided to replay the story in anticipation of the upcoming release!
Have fun on your Stalker run!  Game On, @ManicManiac!

[ManicManiac]

For any interested in following my adventures/misadventures, here is the thread for my current run:
A new beginning... - Survival Mode - Hinterland Forums

Edited September 11, 2021 by ManicManiac