How does everyone kill time in the quiet apocalypse?

[Tbone555]

Alright so. Hello once again everyone. First time I've been on here in a while, and even longer since I last had a serious survival sandbox. So here's a fun little discussion thread, one that's not all that unfamiliar on the forums but is still an interesting topic nontheless.

How do y'all kill time when there's simply nothing else to do? I can't help but ponder that as I sit here staring at my roaring fire with a raging blizzard outside, not a care in the world since I'm slightly overencumebred with a great supply of firewood and food and drink, all my equipment in tip top shape and no skill books to study, a cup of lemon and rosehip herbal tea in my hand in real life. I personally just... enjoy it. The audio, the warm glow of a fire, the gorgeous sunsets, the beauty of the night sky. I'll find somewhere safe, plop a fire down and just sit there mesmerized taking it all in. That's a tradition I've long held in this game and think it's one of the most important moments. Heck, I've even read books to the background noise of the game. The scenery is, and always has been, absolutely stunning, visually and audio wise. And my mind seems to always wander, do my fellow survivors share in this tradition? I'd love to know what y'all do when simply waiting on the time to pass 😊☕

[hozz1235]

I will pause occasionally when I see or feel something extraordinary (and will usually take a screenshot) but otherwise, I'm rushing around.  It bugs me to not be productive and efficient with my time (even though there isn't a direct need).  I guess it's because my play time is limited and I want to make progress! 

[ManicManiac]

@Tbone555
Stay goal oriented from day-to-day, and save things you can do inside for when a blizzard hits (reading books as you mention, do your repairs, do your crafting, break down/harvest items).

Beyond just blizzards and in a more general sense, I find that there is never nothing to do.  There is always something we can do, sometimes we just need to get creative.  

We can go map the region...
We can go craft all the things...
We can go harass wolves by pitching rocks at them...
We can go harass bears by pitching rocks at them too...
We can hunt...
We can fish...
We can gather sticks and birch bark (or any resource really)...
We can visit a mine just to gather all the coal (it's the most efficient fuel we have, you can never really have too much)...  
We can go on a death march (leaving behind everything but the bare essentials), and get set up again in another area that is maybe less ideal...
This list could go on and on and on.   

The best part about the Survival Sandbox for me is that once you get proficient with your day-to-day survival tasks, it's entirely up to us to find ways to live on Great Bear Island on our own terms; and for how long.  Survival Sandbox is our story... so what happens in it, is entirely up to us.

Edited June 26, 2019 by ManicManiac
Edited for clarity

[Tbone555]

2 hours ago, ManicManiac said:

@Tbone555
Stay goal oriented from day-to-day, and save things you can do inside for when a blizzard hits (reading books as you mention, do your repairs, do your crafting, break down/harvest items).

Beyond just blizzards and in a more general sense, I find that there is never nothing to do.  There is always something we can do, sometimes we just need to get creative.  

We can go map the region...
We can go craft all the things...
We can go harass wolves by pitching rocks at them...
We can go harass bears by pitching rocks at them too...
We can hunt...
We can fish...
We can gather sticks and birch bark (or any resource really)...
We can visit a mine just to gather all the coal (it's the most efficient fuel we have, you can never really have too much)...  
We can go on a death march (leaving behind everything but the bare essentials), and get set up again in another area that is maybe less ideal...
This list could go on and on and on.   

The best part about the Survival Sandbox for me is that once you get proficient with your day-to-day survival tasks, it's entirely up to us to find ways to live on Great Bear Island on our own terms; and for how long.  Survival Sandbox is our story... so what happens in it, is entirely up to us.

That's the great thing about being a nomad - there aren't many survival tasks! I tend to be more of a nomadic researcher. I'll move somewhere and gather up all the food and skill books in the local area, do a bunch of research, forage for food if need be, I can always find plenty of rabbits if nothing else. And I just read, relax, sip my tea, then pack up and move on when supplies run out. Knowing all the maps like the back of my hand really help with that too, since I'm one of those late 2013 game preview players lol! And when I get to the end of the line, well I turn around and do it again. Except now I have a rifle for my food and plenty of cured pelts left behind to come back and collect for some crafting as the weather turns colder. I've never really stayed in one spot. I get antsy and crave adventure 😁

[ManicManiac]

9 minutes ago, Tbone555 said:

That's the great thing about being a nomad - there aren't many survival tasks! I tend to be more of a nomadic researcher. I'll move somewhere and gather up all the food and skill books in the local area, do a bunch of research, forage for food if need be, I can always find plenty of rabbits if nothing else. And I just read, relax, sip my tea, then pack up and move on when supplies run out. Knowing all the maps like the back of my hand really help with that too, since I'm one of those late 2013 game preview players lol! And when I get to the end of the line, well I turn around and do it again. Except now I have a rifle for my food and plenty of cured pelts left behind to come back and collect for some crafting as the weather turns colder. I've never really stayed in one spot. I get antsy and crave adventure 😁

Right on, that's a good approach.  Good on you for making your sandbox story your own personal experience.  I think far too many get hung up on expecting the sandbox to provide them with "more things to do," when I think it really just comes down to our own creativity. 

I jumped into The Long Dark at the later end of 2014, strangely enough there are still regions I've not spent much time in... but I've been looking to take care of that with my latest adventure

[Tbone555]

15 minutes ago, ManicManiac said:

Right on, that's a good approach.  Good on you for making your sandbox story your own personal experience.  I think far too many get hung up on expecting the sandbox to provide them with "more things to do," when I think it really just comes down to our own creativity. 

I jumped into The Long Dark at the later end of 2014, strangely enough there are still regions I've not spent much time in... but I've been looking to take care of that with my latest adventure

Best of luck to you, friend! I also have that issue - I wander around ML and CH more than anything. Just because ML is the first map I ever played and it just feels like home, I suppose. And CH for the supplies. I HAVE spent time in all the maps, but the more barren ones like FM or HRV, I rarely visit for the lack of supplies and man made shelters, which typically fuel my playthroughs, at least until late game. Which I haven't made it to yet. I always get bored and start over before I'm able to hit even day 100. Early game is the funnest part to me, admittedly. Which is also probably why I've never hung up my boots anywhere. Now, it wasn't always like this. Before I knew the game I was scared to go anywhere in fear of getting stranded. I remember spending 50 something days in the camp office once living off of cat tail and fish, and died before I got the courage to leave the map! Good times haha. Oh what I would give to experience this game like new again 

[ManicManiac]

Thank you @Tbone555!
I think that for those of us who remember back to when Mystery Lake was the only region, that Mystery Lake will always feel like home.  Though I'm not what I would consider an advanced player yet, I've found a love for Timberwolf Mountain.  Once I'm though clearing every region (via mapping), and finally have achieve Faithful Cartographer... I think I will heading back to Timberwolf until I eventually expire (or reach 500 days - whichever comes first). 

Hopefully when we get another new region we can have that "New TLD Scent" again  
I imagine we will see Perseverance Mills... but what I really want to explore one day is Blackrock Federal Penitentiary!

Edited June 26, 2019 by ManicManiac

[Tbone555]

56 minutes ago, ManicManiac said:

Thank you @Tbone555!
I think that for those of us who remember back to when Mystery Lake was the only region, that Mystery Lake will always feel like home.  Though I'm not what I would consider an advanced player yet, I've found a love for Timberwolf Mountain.  Once I'm though clearing every region (via mapping), and finally have achieve Faithful Cartographer... I think I will heading back to Timberwolf until I eventually expire (or reach 500 days - whichever comes first). 

Hopefully when we get another new region we can have that "New TLD Scent" again  
I imagine we will see Perseverance Mills... but what I really want to explore one day is Blackrock Federal Penitentiary!

That sounds awesome!! What I've always wanted to see is an old abandoned airfield. Probably not a big airport, since great bear doesn't strike me as the kind of place to have a giant airport, but just a small airfield with a bunch of cessnas on the strip and airplane hangers and luggage in a small waiting area. A place like this would of been long abandoned, even before the event. So it would be an interesting place to poke around! Totally with you on blackrock fed pen! I'd bet all those blood-thirsty criminals would have busted out and taken control of the prison during the event. In wintermute it would be a dangerous area filled with hardened criminals, in survival mode it will have been long abandoned!

[ManicManiac]

6 minutes ago, Tbone555 said:

What I've always wanted to see is an old abandoned airfield.

I seem to remember some concept art (though I don't remember if it was official or not, I will have to look it up...) that does suggest an airfield was on their minds at some point.  Whether or not it will eventually get incorporated is any body's guess  

Edited June 27, 2019 by ManicManiac

[Pillock]

I sometimes like to write in the journal if I haven't got any pressing survival tasks to do.

I always have the intention to  record my thoughts and plans at different points in the game - I find it quite theraputic, and it seems to help organise my thoughts and keep me focused on what I should be doing next - but somehow, especially early on when I'm rushing about like a madman trying not to starve and freeze to death, I don't often feel I have enough time. The clock is still running when you're in the Journal screen! But I do sometimes dip into it instead of using the 'pass time' button (and then inevitably spend too long there and start losing thirst-condition by not paying attention).

[ManicManiac]

16 hours ago, Pillock said:

I sometimes like to write in the journal if I haven't got any pressing survival tasks to do.

The journal is really one thing about this game that I very much appreciate.  It may seem like a very small feature... but it's inclusion is so perfect for this kind of experience.  Having the option of writing down your experiences from day-to-day... creating your own narrative story as you go along... it was a wonderful addition and I'm grateful to the team for it's inclusion. 

 

[noodles]

I give my various stash locations names, which help differentiate this cave from that cave and remind me of what I'm in that region to do.

For example, Fort Kickass was the central repository of all my HRV loot, and also a name to defy the elements.

[ajb1978]

Try to find all the cairns mostly.  I've got a running list of locations that I track in an Excel spreadsheet, so every time I find a Cairn, I check to see if it's one I already got.

Every time I play, I try a slightly different strategy.  This time, I'm working on 100% completion.

1. Loot every region and establish a fortified safehouse in each: DONE!
2. Return to each region and fully map everything, eliminating all the black smudges: DONE!
3. Make yet another pass through each region, until I finally find all notes (done), buffer memories (almost done), and cairns (kinda sorta getting there).
3.5 While waiting for buffer memories to change, I hunt or fish for food and then instead of idly pass time, I break down everything...EVERYTHING...with the exception of a few chosen sentimental areas.  But Hibernia, Carter Dam, the Maintenance Shed,all the Lake Cabins, the Hunting Lodge...everything.  Every crate, shelf, cloth...take it all.
4. If I manage to fully accomplish #3, my next objective will be to make a 4th pass through the regions, taking detailed inventory of my local hoard, and working out how to redistribute things so that each location has equal resources.   Then become nomadic, spending no more than a month in a region before I move on.  Eventually I grow tired of a run, and go back to playing Story mode.  Or Challenge modes.

[peteloud]

ajb1978,

At what level are you doing all of this?  It would be a doddle at Pilgrim but a major project at Stalker level.

 

". . . so every time I find a Cairn, I check to see if it's one I already got. "

I wish there was some indication once a cairn has been found so that you are aware if you come across it a second time.  It could just be a message saying 'already found', a change of colour, or that a list of cairns that you have found was kept in the journal.

[ThePancakeLady]

4 hours ago, peteloud said:

ajb1978,

At what level are you doing all of this?  It would be a doddle at Pilgrim but a major project at Stalker level.

 

". . . so every time I find a Cairn, I check to see if it's one I already got. "

I wish there was some indication once a cairn has been found so that you are aware if you come across it a second time.  It could just be a message saying 'already found', a change of colour, or that a list of cairns that you have found was kept in the journal.

Aren't they listed in the Collectibles section of the journal though? Along with the Notes Left Behind? (Survival Mode... I know the Collectibles are different in Wintermute...)

I'll have to go into the game and see if if I have a saved game with lots of both, and see if the journal shows a full list of the ones found, but I seem to recall that it does. (not 100% sure though...)

 

(Quick edit, after a quick search on the Web... found this image, which suggests there is a list in the journal, not sure what version of the game the first one is from though...)

Edited June 28, 2019 by ThePancakeLady
added images

[Mike in GA]

LOL, I fish. It serves a couple of good functional purposes. In ML, even in a Blizzard I can walk the lake so well, I know I'll hit the first fishing hut. My clothes are such, that I don't need a fire for a couple hours, because I've always gotten the wind break inside, even without the door on the hut. Before I was computerless for so long, play time wise at least, I started up with some others in the forums about who could catch the biggest fish. I want to say it was like 18.5 kg or in that area. So I'm working to level up fishing to head on to DP to land that record fish. PLUS I get some good eats with bass from ML and lamp oil.  When I hear the shutters rattling from sleeping, first thought is.. "FISHING TIME!"

As you were talking about having a fire going while having tea, I found myself searching for blizzard/snow nature sounds to write work narratives to lately since I've started playing again. LOL! I lived for a long time in Chicago and would often go up to WI or MN in the winter, but living in Georgia, that's the closest I can get to actual live winter storm action! 

[UTC-10]

If I have nothing else to do, I collect sticks. Lots of sticks. I had so many sticks in a neat pile that it would take me about a minute of delay between clicking on the front door of the Camp Office (any exiting door really) before I would actually appear outside. It appears I was stressing out the game engine because of so many sticks in one compact pile that it had to account for when I left the building. Fixed that by splitting the stack into eight stacks of 100 sticks. 

I think I try to treat the sandbox like something that I have to manage. Check on outlying outposts, shelters, and bases. Every two or three hundred game-days, I set out on an inspection tour of the regions and the installations ... I mean outposts and bases. I may detour to places like Desolation Point to check out what I left there and to see if anything interesting washed up on the icy shores. 

I also have three Pilgrim sandboxes that I can rotate through.

If it got really bad, I still have Mountain Town/Milton and Hushed River Valley to visit. I have stayed out of those regions specifically to think that "there be dragons".  I look forward to new regions as additional places "there be dragons" and am interested in what changes Episode 3 will make to the landscape in Pleasant Valley.  The survival mode update adding the revolver and birch bark tea was a godsend in giving me something to boot the sandboxes and check for stuff. 

[peteloud]

ThePancakeLady,

Thanks for that. 

Many times I have checked the number of cairns that I have found but I have never clicked on 'Select' and seen the list of all the cairns found.  I still wish that when I find a cairn for a second time that there was a indication that it had been previously found, by some sort of minor change to the cairn, colour or text, or that a little box came up saying already found.

I am often amazed that how after playing TLD a great many game days I have still missed some very basic elements of the game.  I wonder what other things I have missed.