Locations that should be on Great Bear

[MyNameIsMoshes]

Alright, so here it goes. First post here. Let me just say first off. That I absolutely love this game in a way that I don't find with many, if any, other games. 

So, Locations that should be on Great Bear. What I mean here, is locations that should exist somewhere on the island just based on the context and size of the Island. Now I believe these ARE on the Island somewhere, in my mind they'd have to be, but whether or not they're somewhere the player will be able to access is up to the developers at Hinterland. 

Firstly, an Airport. This seems fairly obvious to me, but I'm not sure if I've ever seen it mentioned anywhere by anyone. My context here is that we have, not one, not two, but THREE different crashed planes on Great Bear. This and McKenzie and Astrid were traveling to Great Bear by plane. Although Will's plane could've probably made a soft landing on open ground, but realistically that would be a hell of a feat to pull off on snow. The other places, the commuter jet and the cargo liner, could possibly be explained by the Island being underneath a flight path. But I personally believe that everything added together puts a fairly good chance that somewhere on Great Bear is an Airport, possibly outside of close to Perseverance Mills. It wouldn't have to be a large airport or anything like that, just a single runway, a small terminal building, a couple hangers and maybe a fueling depot. It would be quite a large area to explore and loot if it was added to a playable region, so I'm not sure we'll ever get to see that. But nonetheless it should exist on the Island. 

 

Secondly, a Cargo or Freight Harbor. And I'm talking a decent sized industrial area here. I take a look around Great Bear and I notice there are some things on the Island that would have to have been shipped to be there. The Turbines at Carter Hydro, not to mention all the construction equipment they'd have to get there to build the Dam in the first place. You're talkin a lot of equipment to build something like that. And then we have all the railway wagons and locomotives, presumably they weren't constructed on the Island, and in places like that, they're usually shipped on special barges. The Harbor would also most likely be one end of the rail system on Great Bear, I just find it highly unlikely that the Island has a rail system that's only purpose it to shuffle goods around the Island itself. 

So. There you have it folks, my two sense on some locations that should. Realistically, exist somewhere on Great Bear. Even if we as players never get to explore these regions, I wouldn't mind seeing some road signs or billboards or something somewhere in the region's that acknowledge these places exist. If anyone has any thoughts to add or share, I'd be happy to hear them. Cheers, from a loving fan. 

[Vareta]

Interesting idea ! I can certainly imagine a more urbanized or industrialized area. It would be diferent from other, mostly full of wilderness, regions. And it also wouldnt conflict with the lore.

[Avril]

I like your ideas. Would be cool to explore a decent sized cargo ship in the harbor. 

[Booch]

Yup. Thumbs up. I like both ideas very much.

[Smoke3723]

Yes to the airstrip and industrial docks.

I'd also like to see Blackrock Federal Penintentiary, where the prison bus inmates were meant to go.  I think it's safe to say that a riot occurred after the first Aurora struck, so there's a chance for exploration and stuff there.

[Sir Loin1557]

I’d like to add to the list an old rundown ski resort with Swiss chalets, ice rink, target practice area, hiking trails, and a possible ski lift that runs during queues to get to a stocked ski patrol cabin

[Morrick]

An airport and a freight harbour? I'm definitely… on board with it.  

[Dancewithknives]

Yeah, an industrial park/ area would make sense. I think it could link to Broken Railroad. It is like the pure opposite of Timberwolf Mountain, with little to no natural resources but dense with man made ones. It would need to have a very large danger related to it though. Also, i think a railyard, truck terminal, and military base or just a Canadian Coast Guard outpost would fit in this area too. 

[Satouthedeusmusco]

I was thinking of a massive icesheet at the very north of the island made entirely out of ocean ice. Just a huge flat, almost featureless surface of thick ice with maybe one or two stranded boats.

There could be an occasional natural fishing spot (or maybe it could come with an update that finally lets us break the ice to fish anywhere). The player would have to find the occasional outcropping to hide from the wind and regularly build snow shelters. There would be very little firewood.

Why go there at all? Polar bears. It’d be the only region with the extremely rare polar bear. Polar bear hide could be used to craft one of the best coats in the game with an added stealth bonus. Obviously the polar bears make the region even more dangerous though, especially because the polar bears blend in well with the overwhelming white of the region.

 

 

Hazards: weak ice (especially at the edge of the ice sheet), lack of wind shelter, near constant harsh wind, polar bears, regular blizzards, lack of firewood, lack of resource in general.

Bounties: Polar bear hide, one to two stranded ships packed with resources, forge(maybe?), plenty of fishing.

[Mroz4k]

6 hours ago, Dancewithknives said:

Yeah, an industrial park/ area would make sense. I think it could link to Broken Railroad. It is like the pure opposite of Timberwolf Mountain, with little to no natural resources but dense with man made ones. It would need to have a very large danger related to it though. Also, i think a railyard, truck terminal, and military base or just a Canadian Coast Guard outpost would fit in this area too. 

Well, Broken railroad has a maintenance shed. A station used to repair machinery such as train failure, vehicle failures etc. If the industrial area linked to Broken railroad, there would be no point to have maintenance yard there, as the depot is where the repair features are going to be. It is more likely that the industrial area of the island is on the opposite side of the island, actually. So, more likely linking to Desolation point. It also makes sense that there would be a sizeable population centre (Coastal highway houses) in vicinity to more industrial part of the island. I think Broken railroad is probably linked to a more natural area of the island - I imagine that at the end of the railway on the side of Broken railway would be forested area with a big lumber loading station.

If you dont mind some story mode and lore spoilers, I made a post recently on pretty much this very thing. It did not take much traction but I think by combination of known lore, common sense and map knowledge we can deduce what areas are where.

Like the OP pointed out, for example, there should be an airport, and a harbor or port. I believe both of those locations will be in the same place - probably Perseverance Mills by the looks of it. Couple of things point to that - Prison bus route, flight path of Mackenzie, direction of railway and the fact that there is a maintenance shed on the Broken railroad map, and some other points. Its also most likely going to be the centre for the Great bear services - such as firefighting brigade station, probably a police department or a ranger headquarters for the island. Dont think its likely there will be a military instalation on the island - since the island is based on Vancouver island, would not have much strategic value, I think. It is possible that there would be some sort of airforce installation on the islands around Great bear but most likely not on Great bear itself. But there is clearly a high security prison on the island - so maybe there might be a small military installation on Great bear to help with a potential riot. That, based on the path of a prison bus, is probably located somewhere on the side of the Broken railway map, in the less popularized area of the island. There would be no logical sense to place prison close to populated area.

Linking the post I made prior here: 

 

Edited March 8, 2021 by Mroz4k

[Dancewithknives]

58 minutes ago, Mroz4k said:

Dont think its likely there will be a military instalation on the island

Most likely not military in the sense of combat (unless they use it as a specialized training base)  but i think that a coast guard outpost wouldn’t be too farfetched. I don’t know what the whole lore of the structure is, but the observation tower and radio relay in Bleak Inlet looks like it could relate to some sort of military or government function.

 

either way, I do think that there’s going to be more to Broken Railroad in the future. Especially how its kind of odd how 2 of the 3 forges are located right next to each other in a dead end of the island.

 

edit: i just had a thought. Instead of a strict military base, the “military outpost” could be a leftover long range radar/ weather system installed as a part of a missile defense and alert system from the cold war? 

 

[Mroz4k]

13 minutes ago, Dancewithknives said:

Most likely not military in the sense of combat (unless they use it as a specialized training base)  but i think that a coast guard outpost wouldn’t be too farfetched. I don’t know what the whole lore of the structure is, but the observation tower and radio relay in Bleak Inlet looks like it could relate to some sort of military or government function.

That is a great observation I did not even consider. There could be a small military presense in a sense of keeping communication networks in place. Coastal guard is not out of question, either, which is true. I woudl expect the coastal guard to have their placement in the popularized area as well, so probably Perseverance mills. What makes sense the most in my opinion is that the airstrip that I suspect is located in Perseverance Mills would be manned by military personnel, or more likely, rangers. Those would be in charge of maintaining the forestly lookouts too and keeping the communication equipment functional. 

The radio relay in Bleak inlet based on the lore of the notes that are found there (Specialist note) actually indicates them as commercial, I think. It appears to be the communications centre for the Cannery. But the radio relay station in Pleasant Valley is more likely to be ranger or military. Either way, I agree it makes sense for some military presence on the island. Im thinking the airport/airstrip is likely going to serve as part-military installation. 

20 minutes ago, Dancewithknives said:

edit: i just had a thought. Instead of a strict military base, the “military outpost” could be a leftover long range radar/ weather system installed as a part of a missile defense and alert system from the cold war? 

I think this is a possibility. It would fit well with lore and common sense. 

Coming into the conspiracy-theory area, and possible Story mode spoilers - I think there is also a possibility that it could have been used for more sinister reasons than that. If it were used for some secret research and was actually responsible for the phenomena of aurora. As in, aurora and the surrounding EMF effects were a result of some failed experiment, performed on-site of the island. It does not fit well with the general TLD setting, I know it feels more sci-fi-ey then the usual, but the lore indicates that Astrid knew that the aurora was coming... its entirely possible that there is a dark, hidden plot in making that has something to do with The long dark aurora weather being the main plot of the story, and that the story that Astrid told Will about someone, being very sick on Great Bear, was just a ploy to get him to agree and deliver the case with a possible countermeasure to that experiment. We know that Astrid is a researcher, not a doctor in a sense that she regularly treats patients. She also tends to pick great fights. 

It is possible that this could be the plot of episode 5, and that by finishing the story mode this story of an experiment will be revealed to public, the effects of the island would not be removed, and the island becomes deserved - hence the setting for Sandbox happening some time after the Story mode is finished and after the island was already deserted. It would tie everything together very nicely. 

[one_shurbbery]

4 hours ago, Mroz4k said:

Coming into the conspiracy-theory area, and possible Story mode spoilers - I think there is also a possibility that it could have been used for more sinister reasons than that. If it were used for some secret research and was actually responsible for the phenomena of aurora. As in, aurora and the surrounding EMF effects were a result of some failed experiment, performed on-site of the island. It does not fit well with the general TLD setting, I know it feels more sci-fi-ey then the usual, but the lore indicates that Astrid knew that the aurora was coming... its entirely possible that there is a dark, hidden plot in making that has something to do with The long dark aurora weather being the main plot of the story, and that the story that Astrid told Will about someone, being very sick on Great Bear, was just a ploy to get him to agree and deliver the case with a possible countermeasure to that experiment. We know that Astrid is a researcher, not a doctor in a sense that she regularly treats patients. She also tends to pick great fights. 

It is possible that this could be the plot of episode 5, and that by finishing the story mode this story of an experiment will be revealed to public, the effects of the island would not be removed, and the island becomes deserved - hence the setting for Sandbox happening some time after the Story mode is finished and after the island was already deserted. It would tie everything together very nicely. 

Great idea, I like reading conspiracy theories so this would be something right up my alley. I assume you're referencing HAARP (High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program) based in Alaska. It's a popular target for conspiracy theorists who claim the US is trying to weaponize weather. Notably it created the first artificially produced aurora back in 2005. It should also be noted the weather weaponization has been something done by the US military before, notably during Operation Popeye where cloud seeding was used to flood the Ho Chi Minh trail. The military ended HAARP back in 2014 and since 2015 the array has been under ownership of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Admittedly the HAARP array does look kinda creepy, imagine coming across it in game as a map.

That'd be a very fascinating angle for the game to take, the auroras being results of a failed military experiment. Perhaps some Canadian military offshoot of HAARP. It'd add very bleak commentary on man's tampering with nature and the recklessness of the military-industrial complex. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-frequency_Active_Auroral_Research_Program

https://www.livescience.com/124-artificial-neon-sky-show-created.html

 

Edited March 8, 2021 by one_shurbbery

[Mroz4k]

8 hours ago, one_shurbbery said:

Great idea, I like reading conspiracy theories so this would be something right up my alley. I assume you're referencing HAARP (High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program) based in Alaska. It's a popular target for conspiracy theorists who claim the US is trying to weaponize weather.

As a matter of fact, I was not. I was not even aware that was a thing, but this just solidified my belief that there might be a plot of this type behind the main story. But it could also be entirely wrong, gonna have to just wait and see. But the aurora phenomena in a game always was strange to me, its the one thing that feels abit supernatural compared to othervise very deeply realistically placed game. It would explain much.

Apologies for going a bit off-topic. Back on topic - I do believe there is a flightpath over the island. What is a bit strange to me is that both airplanes crashed relatively close to me. I get that the second, passenger liner was not there for long, it showed up with Episode 3. For a while I wondered if perhaps those arent the same plane, but its unlikely. Different markings on the debris, the impact of the liner seems to indicate it was not flying in the direction of the cargo plane. 

Wonder where the forward section of the cargo plane ended up.

I think its likely there will be a harbor in Perseverance mills, too. Im still waiting for that area featured in trailer, the one showing a bridge full of stopped cars. I think that is likely to be in Perseverance Mills. It would make sense that if the emergency was happening, people would flock towards the most population-heavy part of the island. 

Edited March 9, 2021 by Mroz4k

[Dancewithknives]

I was trying to think of what the unique gimmick or danger would be to a mostly urban or industrial setting, and I think i have an idea. I was trying to think of a special animal or weather effect, but all i thought of sounds like a reskin bleak Inlet.
 

since most of this hypothetical region is man made, then the danger should be man made too. 
 

at the “Harbor” region, a cargo freighter experienced damage during transit across the pacific and was en route to the harbor for repairs  with the assistance of the Canadian Coast Guard. But, as the ship was brought to port, the first flare occurred, and caused it to crash into the town. Its cargo was industrial chemicals, and containment was breached, so the lowlands of the harbor town are shrouded by a plume of toxic mist. The gas scared away the wildlife, and fluctuates based on the weather. There is a catch, though. The gas is confined to the town and industrial areas, and only affects the streets, basements, and ground levels of buildings, and more importantly, it can be safely traversed by the player if they equip a gasmask and CBRN filter. 
 

the entrances to the region are all on the higher ground, and the real reason why survivors would come to this place (besides the abundance of man made loot) is the Canadian Coast Guard base located in the hills on the opposite side of town. Further, the armory/ treasure trove people seek is locked and needs 3 keys, one located on a soldier in the Harbor, one located at a soldier’s home in milton, and one located on a soldier who was performing an exercise out in the wilderness.

 

It may come off as kinda cringe, but that’s my idea to make it sound unique. 

 

[Mroz4k]

Well, I really dont see what would such chemicals be used for on Great bear, and why would there be a reason to ship them out here. Also, if there was a chemical spillage, it would probably affect the life on the most of the island, even if it were confined to one region. It would be precarious because it would call into question what would such chemical spillage have as long term effect on the island. And to be toxic on such a scale you describe, it would have to be a freighter full of the stuff. Also, most chemical spills are very short-term from the standpoint of longevity. They cause a lot of damage but dissapate quickly as the chemicals get absorbed into ground, air or water (where they cause significant damage). Just some speculation. Either way, it wouldnt really fit the theme of the game. Also, gotta keep in mind that if this harbor really is in Pers. Mills, then thats going to be part of Story mode most likely. Course it could just be that this toxic enviroment wouldnt be present in Story mode but dont think it would be that great idea.

Props on original hazard idea, though. If anything, I think this kind of toxic spilage could in future be used as environment hazard inside some specific building. Still the issue here is, what would these chemicals do on the island in the first place. What I kinda can see happening, and it was an idea of another forum member in the past, is that there could be a freighter crashed into the island as a part of some region map. I wouldnt put it into harbor but it could be somewhere else - as it could be a freighter that was marooned onto the island as a result of aurora interference. Could be in a region of island to the side of Bleak inlet, as the crash could be caused because the lighthouse in BI was destroyed. Its plausible that Great bear would lie relatively close to shipping line. Hazard areas would make sense within the innards of the freighter, where the toxins could accumulate and be sealed from escaping. 

For more urban dangers of the game, I think its most feasible that wolves would move in once the people were gone. It might feel like copy of BI, but its hardly unique concept - it goes as far as Costal highway and the pump station, where wolves were placed there to make the location high risk. The main danger there would be limited line of sight (unlike Cannery which is pretty open) and that makes predators all the more dangerous.

Course, those are just my opinions on the matter.

[Dancewithknives]

2 hours ago, Mroz4k said:

what would these chemicals do on the island in the first place.

In my idea, the ship was destined for another place and was forced to port due to damages before the first flare grounded it.  Most of the idea was inspired by the exxon Valdez.  

Depends on what the chemical is as well, old school chlorine (mustard) gas from WWI was known to deposit in trenches and craters. I think that could be used to justify an environment where you either are forced to use PPE or stick to high ground to safely traverse an area. If not, then i can hardly justify an area existing as just a mashing of Bleak Inlet (cold, wolves) and Mountain Town(suburban) with some industrial faire to it. 

Further, i’m going to be honest, i expected toxic gas and masks to be in the game already with how there are so many deep mines in the region. Leftover chemicals and deep deposits of radon seepage are a real issue in certain parts of the US  in some people’s basements. I was expecting a contaminated mine to be the final set piece to EP3. 
 

 

 

  

[Fuarian]

If you read some notes in Wintermute and have a keen eye. You might have read the name Port Mary. That may be a future location.

[AdamvR]

On 3/8/2021 at 1:06 PM, Mroz4k said:

Well, Broken railroad has a maintenance shed. A station used to repair machinery such as train failure, vehicle failures etc.

<off>
Anyone ever wondered how all those cars gotten to that shed/yard or up the hill...?
There are zero roads on/to/from Broken Railroad...
</off>

[Mroz4k]

3 hours ago, AdamvR said:

<off>
Anyone ever wondered how all those cars gotten to that shed/yard or up the hill...?
There are zero roads on/to/from Broken Railroad...
</off>

Its likely that the rairoad was also a path for cars to get in. I imagine the train did not travel the rails too often, and the bridge there was pretty massive. Why else build such a bridge instead of building much thinner trestle like the one at Ravine? The same kind of bridge can be seen built in Desolation point that serves as a bridge for the highway.

Othervise I cant imagine as well how some of the non-truck cars could have reached the Hunting lodge, yea.

[Syraith]

I always wondered about a harbor especially. You have the cannery so makes sense. Airport for sure, at by least a small one.

I would like to see something bigger than Milton as well though. Seems there would be a larger village as the central location for the island. City hall government installation, etc. Would likely be along with their more industrialized area along the coast. Would have larger wolf population due to all the “food” around to make it a more challenging area. Possibly bear too. But something more substantial to explore.

[Pyroxene]

On 12/14/2020 at 11:31 PM, MyNameIsMoshes said:

Alright, so here it goes. First post here. Let me just say first off. That I absolutely love this game in a way that I don't find with many, if any, other games. 

So, Locations that should be on Great Bear. What I mean here, is locations that should exist somewhere on the island just based on the context and size of the Island. Now I believe these ARE on the Island somewhere, in my mind they'd have to be, but whether or not they're somewhere the player will be able to access is up to the developers at Hinterland. 

Firstly, an Airport. This seems fairly obvious to me, but I'm not sure if I've ever seen it mentioned anywhere by anyone. My context here is that we have, not one, not two, but THREE different crashed planes on Great Bear. This and McKenzie and Astrid were traveling to Great Bear by plane. Although Will's plane could've probably made a soft landing on open ground, but realistically that would be a hell of a feat to pull off on snow. The other places, the commuter jet and the cargo liner, could possibly be explained by the Island being underneath a flight path. But I personally believe that everything added together puts a fairly good chance that somewhere on Great Bear is an Airport, possibly outside of close to Perseverance Mills. It wouldn't have to be a large airport or anything like that, just a single runway, a small terminal building, a couple hangers and maybe a fueling depot. It would be quite a large area to explore and loot if it was added to a playable region, so I'm not sure we'll ever get to see that. But nonetheless it should exist on the Island. 

 

Secondly, a Cargo or Freight Harbor. And I'm talking a decent sized industrial area here. I take a look around Great Bear and I notice there are some things on the Island that would have to have been shipped to be there. The Turbines at Carter Hydro, not to mention all the construction equipment they'd have to get there to build the Dam in the first place. You're talkin a lot of equipment to build something like that. And then we have all the railway wagons and locomotives, presumably they weren't constructed on the Island, and in places like that, they're usually shipped on special barges. The Harbor would also most likely be one end of the rail system on Great Bear, I just find it highly unlikely that the Island has a rail system that's only purpose it to shuffle goods around the Island itself. 

So. There you have it folks, my two sense on some locations that should. Realistically, exist somewhere on Great Bear. Even if we as players never get to explore these regions, I wouldn't mind seeing some road signs or billboards or something somewhere in the region's that acknowledge these places exist. If anyone has any thoughts to add or share, I'd be happy to hear them. Cheers, from a loving fan. 

This is somewhat similar to my Steamboat and Steamboat harbor request. Check it out if you're interested.

[Ian086]

All of these ideas sound very interesting. Although it is reasonable to have on the island, I personally do not expect there to be huge built-up areas in the game itself. It is a survival game with a focus on the hostile nature after all, so if the devs add something big I expect that such a location will be balanced to make the game more enjoyable to play. I haven't explored the whole map yet so I don't know how it is with other places, but the Town of Milton for example is destroyed for the most part. It is a relatively large settlement for the game, but still, because many buildings in the town have collapsed there is just enough loot to give the game a sense of difficulty in other places.

[oplli]

Yes Its a great idea. We know that grat bear almost depended 100% on the mainland so this kind of industrial zone would really be a plus. 

There are train tracks that leads to nowhere planes that crashes into nowhere (maybe beacause airport wasnt added yet and they didnt had enought kerosene to wait for the update) and roads that are conected to industrial zone like whaling and canning industries. So Hinterland where do all the food like Maple Syrup, crackers, dog food PEACHES ! condesed milf and many others come from? 

Maybe all that could be integreated in one region: A region that is near the water for the harbour, that has a airport with a couple of markets and houses for the workers. this region could also be conected by road and railway to coastal highway (the only region that has tracks and roads)

[Dancewithknives]

8 hours ago, oplli said:

condesed milf

oh my....,