What Now?

[Vince 49]

I'm at 125 days in a Stalker game with nothing left to do.  I haven't been to Hush River Valley, but what for?  I have every tool and every weapon, except the rifle which I don't use.  I'm almost maxed out on clothes (Warmth Bonus 31, Wind bonus 11, Protection 50).  The only thing I'm missing is a second Cowichan sweater and I'm not sure there is more than one available in any given game.  I'm maxed with a bow and 3 or better on other skills, except the rifle.  I've killed 3 moose, two bears, more than 100 wolves plus many deer and rabbits.

My point is, as much as I love the game, once you have everything, much of the allure is gone.  When you start a new game with a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a baseball cap, finding that first wool took is a big deal.  So is finding you first knife, but now there's nothing left to find so what's the point?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has run into this.  So what do you do?   Do you just start a new game or what?  Also, do you have any ideas of how the game could evolve so there would be useful life beyond 120 days or so?

Edited April 5, 2020 by Vince 49
clarification

[ManicManiac]

  

On 1/24/2020 at 4:37 AM, ManicManiac said:

There are virtually endless possibilities for personal challenges, we just need to be creative.  I really like the fact that once we are proficient in our survival tasks that it's really up to us to decided how we live in the world Hinterland has provided us and for how long.

For example here is my current personal challenge:

  Hide contents

  

On 11/11/2019 at 8:43 PM, ManicManiac said:

(I know I've spoken about my personally applied parameters for FC before, but I don't think I really outlined all my goals for this push I've been on - so I suppose I will take a moment to review).

Main objective is to survive for 500 days ("Will to Live").
In order to make life more interesting, I'm adding the following objectives and provisos:

1. Achieve Faithful Cartographer, with additional conditions.  Start a the run on Timberwolf Mountain.  I may not leave a region until I have cleared 100% of the charcoal map.  Specifically, no smudges on any part of the main map area, and clearing as much around the edges of the map area as possible.  When going to another region I may only carry my most minimal kit (generally 13-18kg of what I consider to be just the essentials to nomad).  This forces me to start over relatively fresh and reestablish myself in each new region I enter.  (I suppose once I achieve this - this particular thread will end, since that's the subject I started it on)

2. Once I have achieved "Faithful Cartographer," I will then concentrate on, "It was THIS BIG."  I will begin this endeavor with fresh water ice fishing.  Even though salmon are the only fish in the game that are capable of naturally being over 5kg... I want to test to see if the bonus to catch weight that begins on Ice Fishing level 4 will boost the Small Mouth Bass up over it's natural 5kg max.  If possible, I want to gain this achievement by catching a freshwater bass instead of just grinding salmon in Coastal Highway.  If that bonus works as I think it does, then this should be feasible (unless the bonus still respects the weight limit).  In either case, I will not be permitted to go salt water ice fishing until I've reached fishing level 5 and I've spent at least 30 days fishing fresh water at level 5.  (I just realized I'm going to have so much lantern fuel!)

3. Assuming I've not managed to achieve it while completing the other objectives... next I will concentrate on, "Wrapped in Furs."  I will not be permitted to earn the achievement until I have pelt crafted items in all possible clothing slots.  I will only use the bearskin bedroll to earn the achievement if I am wearing: a rabbit skin hat, rabbit skin mittens, a wolf skin coat, bear skin coat (plus a moose cloak in my inventory - that's my "extra blanket"), moose satchel, two pair of deer skin pants, and deer skin boots.

4. Assuming I've not managed to achieve it while completing the other objectives... next I will concentrate on, "Skilled Survivor."  I don't have any ideas on making this more challenging... so I guess this one is just going to be pretty straight forward. 

[Addendum]
It's been my standing rule for these attempts that I don't use any badges.

 

 

Edited April 5, 2020 by ManicManiac

[ajb1978]

Have you mapped everything?  Have you found all the cairns?  Have you found all the collectibles?  Have you destroyed every object in the game?

I'm betting the answer to at least one of those is "no".

[odium]

i would somewhat agree, the early game is certainly the main draw as far as urgency, every little thing matters, especially on loper.  i always shoot to build up bases in all regions, collect all saplings etc.  there is always cairns, buffer memories and mapping.  

[Guest jeffpeng]

Roam, hunt, find things you didn't find before, discover new routes, familiarize yourself with your surrounding. In short: live a little. 

Aside from that I seriously question that you have done everything in 120 days. I'm pretty quick at getting me and my things from a to b, and I certainly cannot centralize all loot worth getting in 120 days, especially not on Stalker, where there is just So. Much. Stuff. Everywhere.

[LeeHarveyOslik]

Start a new game on Interloper. I mean you if all you need is a challenge - you surely get one.

[Hotzn]

On 4/5/2020 at 4:23 AM, Vince 49 said:

I'm at 125 days in a Stalker game with nothing left to do.  I haven't been to Hush River Valley, but what for?  I have every tool and every weapon, except the rifle which I don't use.  I'm almost maxed out on clothes (Warmth Bonus 31, Wind bonus 11, Protection 50).  The only thing I'm missing is a second Cowichan sweater and I'm not sure there is more than one available in any given game.  I'm maxed with a bow and 3 or better on other skills, except the rifle.  I've killed 3 moose, two bears, more than 100 wolves plus many deer and rabbits.

My point is, as much as I love the game, once you have everything, much of the allure is gone.  When you start a new game with a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a baseball cap, finding that first wool took is a big deal.  So is finding you first knife, but now there's nothing left to find so what's the point?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has run into this.  So what do you do?   Do you just start a new game or what?  Also, do you have any ideas of how the game could evolve so there would be useful life beyond 120 days or so?

Imagine yourself as a saturated individual of 55 years. You have a big house, you have a fast car, all mortgages are paid off. You have a family, but the kids have grown up already and live a life of their own. You have financial security. You have traveled the world aplenty. If you are lucky, you have some 20 good years left. What do you do?

[Vince 49]

@ManicManiac and @ajb1978, thank you for your replies.  What you propose seems like busy work to me.  I can best explain why I say that by an experience I had playing TLD.

I was maybe 60 (game) days and 25 to 30 (real life) hours into a game, when climbing up a hill, a wolf came out of no where and attacked me.  The struggle went particularly badly, and afterward I was down to about 40% health.  Just as I was finishing wrapping my wounds, I heard another wolf bark.  This time I had time to equip my bow and drop a decoy.  As the wolf came down the hill, I realized that, if I missed, all the hours I had put into getting the tools, weapons, and clothes to survive would be for nought.   As the wolf approached the decoy, I let my arrow fly--and the wolf dropped dead on the spot!   In the real world, I heaved a great sigh of relieve as the adrenalin drained from my body.  That was truly exciting and moments like that are why I love TLD.  Mapping every nook and cranny seems pale by comparison.

[Vince 49]

@jeffpeng, thank you for your reply.  It is true that I haven't done everything.  For example, I haven't explored Broken Railroad, as there's nothing else I need.  I have all the loot: clothes, tools, and weapons (except the rifle which I don't use).  I'm playing an older version so don't have the possibility of a rabbit skin hat.  Other than that, as I mention in my OP, the only thing I'm missing is a second Cowichan sweater.  In the first image below, you will see that I chose the moose-hide cloak over the bearskin coat.  Although I gave up a couple of degrees of warmth, the cloak is lighter, provides better protection, and makes a smaller hit to sprinting.  (If I was playing on Interloper, I'd choose the bearskin coat for sure).  You can see all the tools and weapons in the second image.  (I left the heavy hammer at the forge as it is heavy and I don't need it for anything else).

 

[Vince 49]

@LeeHarveyOslik, you are certainly right about the challenge.  It was all I could do to get to 100 days on Interloper.  For me, it was depressingly difficult, so just didn't want to battle further.  Every once in a while I try Interloper again, only to be reminded that it just isn't fun for me.  It seems that everything is against you.  Of course, that's the point of Interloper.