The 4DoN Experience 2019: What's Yours?

[ajb1978]

My post-rampage epilogue: I dumped all weapons at the camp office and headed out with some extra food and water.  I dodged the few wolves I encountered in MT and am now holed up in the Paradise Meadows farmstead.  My plan for tomorrow is simple: hunt for Pumpkin Pies, as I make my way back through the regions in the reverse order in which I conquered them, ending 2019 4DON at the Coastal Highway,  the same place I started, with as many pies as I can find.

[NardoLoopa]

Day 3: Sewed together my patchwork demon-dog and glowing-hound coat.  Made a pair of fluffy mittens too.  Tried to bag a 4th wolf-skin, but forgot my current coat makes the mutts skittish.

Now, I'm sitting in my cave with 60 some rocks of coal, 10 fir and 20 ceder.  Lots of chocolate to boot.

I enjoyed the light show and the furries.  Now bring on the FLURRIES!

[Morrick]

Day 3.

I woke up from 7 hours of sound sleep (aided by a nice cup of herbal tea) and Camp Office was all dark at first, then the aurora kicked in, but gradually. It was nice seeing the lights inside Camp Office come alive, though I hoped they would illuminate the place a bit more.

 

And no, I didn't spend Day 3 holed up there. I spent it almost entirely outside! I went for a little trek to the Lake Overlook; which, by the way, is the place I always forget how to reach properly: I always get lost in the woods facing Camp Office. This time it was a bit easier to spot the foot path because I had the flashlight, but it cost me two sprained ankles and a sprained wrist to get up there. There was a reward, however:

 

In it: a Cowichan sweater, four chocolate bars, the distress pistol, and four flare shells. Maybe also some wood, I don't remember. Then I went to take a panoramic view of Mystery Lake and was a bit disappointed — as you can see, there weren't many wolves, despite the ominous, constant howling:

 

I heard barking from below, and to the left (where the mountaineering ropes are deployed), so I went to investigate. I could spot three wolves moving down there, but it was too dark to take the shot. So I had an idea: first I shot a flare, then I could see better where to aim. The flare must have hit one of the wolves (he made a strange yipping noise, as in yipping-dying, not yipping-escaping, if that makes sense). The others were scared by the flare, but I still managed to kill one (no, you can't see it in the screenshot, but I heard the hit).

 

Not much, but at least I shot something! Then I remembered there should be a deer carcass here. It was a bit hard to spot, as you can see:

 

I harvested 1.6kg of meat, and then went to the cave. There I found a corpse (yielding nothing), a book, a research book, a burnt out campfire and two logs of Fir firewood. I started a fire and prepared my dinner:

 

Since the area is rich with Fir branches, sticks and other wood to chop, I'm preparing for Day 4 by breaking down all the wood I can find and hauling it down to Camp Office. I only have one lump of coal, but 5 Cedar firewood logs, 27 Fir firewood logs, 15 pieces of reclaimed wood, an uncountable amount of sticks, plus some spare books should be enough fuel to make it through the last day. Last year I actually moved around more during the final blizzard than on other days with wildlife around, so if in need, I can always take small trips and look for more wood… Anyway, I have more wooden loot than last year, when I managed to survive just fine, so...  

[FaelaArts]

Day 1 [4DON] The Peaceful Silence
Locations Visited: CH, PV

After looting everything in CH, and managing to find one pumpkin cache near the watchtower, I made the journey through the mines, and left a stockpile of coal at the exit. My intent was to head back, but after heading into PV I found the Community Hall Near perfect for a 3 day vigil. I spent my time gathering from the farmstead and other watchtower, getting lucky with two caches, a crowbar, a knife, and plenty of pots.

The reason I decided to make the Hall my vigil base boiled down to day 4: The notice said temperatures below -20 inside without a fire. So the Hall fulfils these criteria:
1: Large 6 item stove.
2: large stockpile of wood nearby.
3: Lack of wolves normally in the area
4: Large wood stockpiles

It also fills an additional criteria:
•    Can be seen inside during night

The intent was to find a rifle or gun to shoot wolves to feed off of, but after finding 18 Candybars in total, even with the increased metabolism, I am fairly certain I have enough to bunker down for  6 hours total.

Attached is a picture of my ‘hoard’ that wouldn’t fit in the kitchen storage.

 

And my gear. My goal was to get to -21, as the event states ‘All interiors are fixed at baseline -20C so being inside isn't any guarantee you won't freeze to death.’ Meaning 21 will put me 1 degree above 0, so I shouldn’t freeze.

All in all, not bad for 5 hours work.
-----------------------------
Day 2 [4DON] The long sleep
Locations Visited:  PV

Spent the day indoors, made a trip outside to grab some wood only to remember I didn't have a hatchet.

-----------------------------
Day 3 [4DON] The long sleep Pt 2
Locations Visited:  PV

The Aurora's were very pretty inside my home

-----------------------------
Day 4 [4DON] Snowhere
Locations Visited:  PV

Poked my head outside to watch the aurora fade into a blizzard, and glanced around. Alas, didn't see much of interest.

Took a nap, and then poked my head outside to see how fast I froze. (My strategy worked. So I had all those fire resources I wouldn't need.)


https://gyazo.com/a30feeba7b05181510fa32124d2e9fc7

Oh, that's quite cold. Mmmmn, think I'll stay inside. Watch Markipliers Heist.

-And thus, my journey.-

[XAlaskan_420X]

I stopped by the Lonely Homestead in the birch forest on the way to the barn house.
There was not much stuff in the barn house except some wood, so I proceeded to the Farmhouse.

Day 4 set in.
Realizing how cold it became both inside and outside, I quickly realized that I should have stayed at my Community Center Base. I went out to check the temperature, watching the only things that I could see - which was my body heat draining by the second and the snow in the strong wind. "Am I on a Canadian Island or Antarctica?" I wouldn't be able to tell if I didn't know any better.

I went back inside to panic as I only have 2 chocolate bars and a pie in the kitchen. I lit a fire to melt some snow trying to think of a plan on how I can retreat back to the base.
"If I lighten my load, wear the warmest gear and use a lantern, I can follow the edge of the orchard to the road and the road to the barn, warm up there. All the way. and then continue the road back to the base". So I put the stuff that I didn't need in the cabinet.

Already wearing my warmest gear because of how cold it is inside, I drank my coffee and went outside. Crossing through the orchard and finding the road seemingly by sheer luck, I followed the road and made it to the barn house. I went inside and lit a fire in the burn barrel. 

I am glad I got all that birch bark from the forest as the tea helps restore some lost health. But I realized that I forgot the pumpkin pie at the farmhouse. "I WILL go back for that pumpkin pie even if I might die trying" but first I have to make it back to base so I can survive the time. I believe I have a chance at making it back to base and surviving the time. I drank my birch bark tea and went out outside trying to make it back to the road. Just as I see the road I am now risking hypothermia. There is no turning back. At least I am traveling fast in the same direction as the wind instead of going against the wind. I stopped by the crashed truck and grabbed a pair of driving gloves off the dash just because I might as well. Up ahead I see the stop sign and the fork in the road. I approached the blueish-gray silhouette of the structure and my lantern lit up the door. I have never been so happy to see a door. I am safe-ish now.

But when my food runs low I WILL go back for that pumpkin pie even if I might die trying. 

 

My advice: Wait until the wind changes to the direction you want to travel in. If you push against the wind you will go too slow and freeze before your destination. But if you go with the direction of the wind you will travel much faster.

[KinoUnko]

I feeds the wolves now. Surprised by two silent dayglow wolves in PV in a row with no time to rest in between, wasn't tired enough. Was fun run for sure. 

[XAlaskan_420X]

I got the day 4 badge 

Now I am going back for that pumpkin pie. Or die trying.

Edited October 31, 2019 by XAlaskan_420X
Day 4 Badge

[stapeliad]

I might get one badge this year.... just haven't had much time over the last few days to play.  The real-time 2 hour timer isn't accurate, it runs more slowly.
Only found one pumpkin and it didn't give off any heat (this is a bug for sure), no pies this year (so sad!), and it is 102 degrees in the camp office.

As long as you have enough wood and food (I do) Day 4 is a matter of waiting. 

I love this event and I wish there were more.

[skyline21]

Sadly, I didn't even know about 4DON until day 1 was nearly over. I was able to get a few hours of exploring and looting in though. Nearly hypothermic most of the time, trying to find some decent clothes, even lighting fires didn't bring up my body temp. Found both pumpkin caches and the rifle towards the end of the day. Stayed up until 2 am EST to find that rifle! Decided to head through the mine to PV. Stocked up on some coal and settled down at the Community Hall. 

Day 2: Got food poisoning from a candy bar at 45%. Killed maybe 3 wolves, harvested the meat for the upcoming storm. Saved a pelt for a wolfskin rug for in front of my fireplace. Didn't find too many candy bars, maybe about 20 overall? I don't know. Went to the farmstead, outhouse buildings, thomsons crossing houses and store, didn't find any pumpkin caches that day, but found some nice items: 2 hatchets, warmer clothes, hunting knife, 2 hacksaws. Never did find that revolver, but I do better with the rifle anyways.

Day 3: Attacked by an aurora wolf almost immediately. Had to run bleeding everywhere as another one chased me right after. Don't have much experience with the aurora wolves. Finally, realized the flashlight wards them off and was able to get some decent traveling in. Ended up at Pensive Pond and up to Signal Hill, then took the river back to the Community Hall, gathering cat tail stalks along the way. It was a good day and probably the easiest travel so far. Found enough clothing and items over the 3 days to be set for day 4. 

Clothes: Two mariners pea coats, rabbitskin mittens, deerskin pants, combat pants, moose hide satchel, finally found some insulated boots, 2 wool long johns, balaclava, 2 thick wool sweaters,  Found most of my decent clothing items on day three. Up until that point, the temps were a struggle. Used my coffee stock to stay warm the entire time. Finally able to go out by this time without freezing and my body temp actually went up while walking.

Wood: Not exact, but around 50 reclaimed, about 10 cedar, 5 fir, 15 books, 17 pieces of coal, 1 fire log, bunch of sticks. Should be more than enough.

Food: About 10 candy bars, 23 cat tail stalks, 5 kg wolf meat, coffee and herbal tea.

Cooking up some wolf meat and relaxing by the fire at the Community Hall before searching for some pies.

[Yellowbeard]

I got a very late start on Day 1, so I’m woefully under equipped. Got about 3 hours in, did a quickie in CH, and got next to nothing from Jackrabbit or the Quonset, but found clothes enough in fishing village to get to ML. 

My torch blew out crossing the railcar which caused a bit of a pucker, but the dead deer came in handy. 

More gear and candy from the dam and office. Found a pumpkin with a flare gun and the really good sweater on the overlook, then fell off the bridge in the dark coming down from the lookout tower. Set a base at the homestead since the mine is there. 

Night 2: Went out for wood and almost froze to death cutting logs with a hacksaw, then almost got mauled by wolves On the way back. 

Night 3: Grabbed coal from the mine and hit the little rest area above the Orca. Got candy and a hatchet finally, but didn’t have a prybar to open the Orca. Wolves chased me back since the flare gun is useless during the aurora. 

Night 4: I’ve got enough candy, wood and coal to camp in the Homestead tonight. I wish I had gotten more looting done on Night 1 though. 

[Blankshield]

Had a really good start on Day 1; ransacked CH, ML and MT.  Never managed to find the rifle, but had a ridiculous amount of candy bars, a couple hatchets, a knife, two flashlights and both a moose cloak and satchel.  Ridiculously warm with top flight gear (2 cowichan sweaters, gauntlets, 2 wool longjohns, climbing socks, the whole nine yards).  Spent most of day 2 exploring PV looking for pumpkins and that elusive rifle, but only found 1 cache and no luck.  Went into the transition cave ready to move back to ML for Day 3, which turns out to have been my mistake.

I had forgotten how nasty electrical burns can be (haven't needed to care since the last time I played story more pre-Redux), and died trying to cross the lower dam.  Started a new run, sprinting like mad to collect gear before the wolves showed up; ironically found the rifle right off, but never found good clothing, and no protection from wolves.  Died to a wolf struggle without enough time left on the clock to try again.

Had fun though.

[stapeliad]

I would have liked to start earlier on Day 1 as well, the time zone difference wasn't in my favor for this event.
The days are mostly over by the time I can play this year.
Found the rifle, lots of revolver ammo but also no revolver here.

[Skyure]

ALright. I think I was absolutely over prepared by day 2. Day 3, and day 4 where boring, sorry :c

[atomic]

With no fear on day 1 I really enjoyed this event. Last year I was too afraid of whatever on day 1 and had a bit panic before day 4 started. You maybe remember the speculations about what was going to happen because of the blizzard striking on Great Bear Island. After I got the 4 day batch, I went on a walk through the blizzard.

Starting in Quonset, tried to catch some fish but they seem to be gone. At least I've found a pumkin pie!

 

Slept a bit at sort log.

 

Then went on to Jackrabbit Island, where my char found redemption. This one is seconds before he faded into the long dark...

.

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2019 by atomic

[skyline21]

11 hours ago, XAlaskan_420X said:

My advice: Wait until the wind changes to the direction you want to travel in. If you push against the wind you will go too slow and freeze before your destination. But if you go with the direction of the wind you will travel much faster.

Sound advice. 

I stayed inside until that badge was awarded, then high-tailed it to the farmstead. Had plenty of food and supplies, but was way too bored and had to at least get a glimpse of that pie. Wouldn't have made it if I hadn't waited for the wind to change. The blizzard is no joke. 

[Gerbear]

Day 3 working my way back to the Quanzet Hut I had made my base, heavily laden down with coal in order to spend day 4 just brewing a hundred cups of coffee and tea for any calories missing to make through day 4.  Got all the way from the mine while avoiding the green glowing wolves just out of distance everywhere.  Got about 3 steps past the house closest to the hut when wolf runs out from a corner.  Fortunately, i had nearly a full condition bar and good condition indicators, try to fight him with a knife but im tapping on my mouse button like mad and barely showing any fight at all as hes drawing blood and destroying my outer clothing layers, just going and going like a bear animation, but when he finished, I fortunately still had about 30% condition, take one step up and take one step towards that nearby house when wolf #2 attacks.  Fight him off, and thankfully he breaks off while I'm left with a generously thin sliver of red condition - enough to survive long enough to get in the building and bandage up normally -- but it was wolf #3 just sitting there watching as the animation of wolf #2 attack finishing that took care of any ideas i had.

40 steps shy of my base and my first wolf fight of the whole night turns out to be a ninja gangbang... 3 steps from safety and 3 minutes shy of the 2h.  Kicking myself for not hiding out in one village houses knowing my wolf-evasion had to be too lucky and just waiting out the completion time til day 4 to run that final stretch 

 

[FluffyComeHome]

On 10/28/2019 at 6:33 PM, Stone said:

I play Loper but this is my first 4Don (somehow missed it other years). I take it we all spawn in CH? Loot a few places, including the gas station. Now heading for TWM. Got hacksaw, bedroll and coffee. So many matches! Hope to summit while animals are missing. Quite liking not knowing what will come next.

I believe the 4DON instructions said it was only CH, PV, ML, and MT. So dont waste time looking to go to TWM. Make the most of each of the 4 regions and good luck!

[ajb1978]

OK so I've officially completed 4DON this year, but I'm still finishing my day 4 exploration.  While I was out there exploring in the blizzard, I found a 6th Pleasant Valley pumpkin cache!  That's right--SIXTH!  This one was up by the rope climb just out back of signal hill.  (Not bothering to enclose it in a spoiler tag because the event is basically over.)

I also have 4 pumpkin pies so far...still have the rest of PV and then CH to explore.

Edit: After exploring the rest of Pleasant Valley and the Coastal Highway, I have a grand total of 9 pies!

I intend to eat them all.  Simply because I can.

Edited November 1, 2019 by ajb1978

[XAlaskan_420X]

I went back for that pumpkin pie at the farmhouse.
After spending a few nights at the Community Center Base. I saw the wind direction was in my favor. So I Traded my now empty lantern for one of my full ones and drank some tea before heading out. Fortunately the wind was still going in the right direction. I had a good start so I decided to pass the barn this time, making one trip straight to the farmhouse. Visibility is at it's worst. The road doesn't seem to go straight to the farmhouse anymore, I think it's one of the changes of the region. That almost got me lost/killed. but I followed some orchard trees and found the silhouette of the water tower like a beacon. So I went from there to the farmhouse. With 70% hypothermia risk, I went inside lit a fir log in the cook stove, took off my soaking wet work pants and put on my dry cargo pants, took off my wet wool hat and put on my dry toque. Taking off wet clothing and replacing it with dry clothing actually helps raise the "feels like" temperature. It's something I practice in survival mode now. I ate half of the pumpkin pie that was sitting on the cook stove. Fortunately, it was hot so it helped me warm up. There is wood in here, so I might spend night here before going back to the Community Center Base.

I still haven't found an Axe or a Gun yet. but despite that I am pretty satisfied with this run. I also realized how much not having an Axe and Gun on you can keep you from being weighed down too much. and fortunately, I was able to find and collect plenty of wood aside from the abundance of coal that I have.

I realized that it would be cool if there was an "always night" survival mode for The Long Dark. This 4th night inspired me to make a new custom game with blizzards on highest, freezing rate on highest and hypothermia/frostbite recovery rate on lowest. For a nice Cold Challenge.

One thing that I am finding out about 4DoN is that the sooner you start in and the more time you put in collecting stuff, the more prepared you are later on. Fortunately, I started in immediately because I was about to finish the last mission of Ep.3 and saw 4 days of night on the main menu. Last year I did terribly on 4DoN and I didn't get a single badge due to a collection of things gone wrong: I missed day one, failed to find much loot and never made it out of CH and got ganged up by 5 or 6 wolves outside the quonset. I have a clip of that. I have never seen so many wolves at once. And then starting in on Day 4 in CH was a death sentence every time. It was still fun because it was incredibly challenging.

By the way,
Happy Halloween to everyone.

[ManicManiac]

@ajb1978
Sir, you are a champion.  Well done.

[Morrick]

Day 4 is officially over for me as well. I've earned my second badge 20 minutes ago, and at the time of writing, there are still 3 hours left to play 4DON. Maybe I'll pull some final stunt, but it's more likely I'll go to bed. It's almost 5:45 AM here. 

My fourth day started as planned. I had left my female survivor sleeping by the warmth of the campfire in the cave at the Mystery Lake Overlook. As I suspected, the blizzard didn't come as soon as I started playing. There was still a remnant of aurora. This gave me enough time to collect some logs and climb down the lake using the two ropes located on the River (Southern Access) side. As soon as I touched ground — I mean, ice — the blizzard kicked in, but the path back to Camp Office from there was relatively easy. I just followed the lake's perimeter and reached Camp Office right as the Hypothermia Risk warning appeared on screen. I entered, dropped my wood and started a fire to warm up, make some water, and warm up a coffee mug.

Last year I played 4DON super-safe, and basically spent the whole fourth day inside the Pleasant Valley Farmstead, keeping the fireplace alive, mending clothes, and reading research books. A pumpkin pie even spawned there, so I was pretty cosy and well fed.

This time, the prospect of biding my time for 2 hours at Camp Office didn't appeal to me. So I cautiously ventured out. My plan was to take trips to nearby locations and see if I could score additional loot. In the past days I hadn't explored the lake's Fishing Huts, for example, so my first attempt was to make a round of them. Easier said than done. Even after all this time playing The Long Dark, I'm still amazed at how easily you can get lost when walking in a blizzard at night, even in places you usually navigate without even needing a map. I wandered on the lake ice like a blindman, and I wasn't able to bump into any of the four Fishing Huts. Since I was freezing, I decided to head back to Camp Office. It wasn't easy, but I finally managed, with 67% Hypothermia Risk and drained as fuck.

I got inside, warmed up, dried my clothes. The second attempt was to go to the Trapper's Homestead. This should be a bit easier — I thought — Just follow the train tracks until the tunnel, turn right, etc. But I soon found out I was walking against the blizzard, and proceeding very very slowly. With a severe hypothermia risk, I returned once again to Camp Office. I was starting to feel frustrated. I was also disappointed there wasn't any trace of pumpkin pie at Camp Office. It's an important location in Mystery Lake, I assumed I would find one here.

My third and last attempt at venturing outside was successful. I decided to risk it and return to the Carter Hydro Dam. I figured it was a longer walk, but again, from Camp Office you just follow the tracks and you get there. You can't get lost if you point your flare at the ground and keep following the tracks. Now, the plan was to take a trip to the Hydro Dam to break some crates and stuff and return to Camp Office with an additional pile of fuel for the stove. I also wanted to see if I'd find a pumpkin pie there. The Hydro Dam is another major location in this region. After drinking two hot mugs of coffee, I managed to reach my destination without getting hypothermia. I went downstairs and lit the fire barrel. I got warm, then started looking around with my storm lantern. 

And this is when I realised I wasn't getting colder, even when away from a fire.

I figured it was because I was exploring with a storm lantern, so I turned it off and the "Feels Like" value dropped to 2°C, sometimes to 1°C, but never below zero. I suppose this was because of my heavy clothing, which gave me a 23°C warmth bonus. But anyway — you can imagine how this discovery changed everything. At this point, the only reason to light a fire was to make water and brew tea or coffee (and yes, just to be safe, to keep a fire burning when I needed to sleep 6-7 hours). Long story short, I spent the rest of my fourth day exploring the Upper and Lower Hydro Dam, and since I found two more storm lanterns, I didn't even need other light sources like torches or flares.

As I received the badge while exploring the Lower Dam, I chuckled at the ludicrous amount of wood I had left at Camp Office: 27 logs of Fir Firewood, 2 firelogs, 4 logs of Cedar Firewood, more than 40 pieces of reclaimed wood, and numerous sticks. I ended 4DON repairing a military coat I found in one of the office lockers just for kicks. And with plenty of water and chocolate bars left.

But pumpkin pies? Not even one. I thought the Hydro Dam was a good place to find one. But nothing. I bet there's one at Trapper's, but it's very late and I'm just tired.

Maybe I'll brew some tea — for real — before going to bed.

Conclusion: overall, I had more fun this year than last year. Last year the fun was discovering what 4DON was all about. This year the fun was in trying to get out of my comfort zone. I still played very safe on Day 2 and 3 because I'm a poor hunter and try to avoid wolf fights. But Day 1 and Day 4 were definitely more adventurous for my game style standards. Judging by your experiences, most of you folks have been more daring than I. The beauty of this is that everyone has been able to have fun in their own ways.

One thing's for sure, though: we tend to amass an overkill amount of resources on 4DON. 

Cheers! (But, sadly, no pumpkin pies…)

Edited November 1, 2019 by Morrick

[Guest kristaok]

I made it! I got both badges this year! 

[Morrick]

15 minutes ago, kristaok said:

I made it! I got both badges this year! 

 

Well done! 

[Guest kristaok]

24 minutes ago, Morrick said:

Well done! 

TY  

[Cr41g]

good time....and accomplished my goal of trying to spend most of it outdoors..74 hours indoors and 215 hours outdoors over the 4 days, 121 hours rested total...80 of those outdoors