Why all the HRV hate?

[odizzido]

The only thing I don't like about HRV is the scrub brush blocking your path. Other than that I really do like the rest of the map.

[Stinky socks]

Hatchet said no problemo, senõr!

[tulkawen]

HRV is my lucky start in Deadman mode. unless I get nomnomed by wolves I can get a bedroll, some clothes, a bunch of matches, hacksaw and a prybar all in one day, which in this mode takes eternity to find anywhere else. 🎇 Also, free food everywhere that doesn't run and make you freeze while you're chasing or try to eat you (aka cattails).  viva HRV!

[odizzido]

3 hours ago, Stinky socks said:

Hatchet said no problemo, senõr!

I wish they would put some effort into making look like you couldn't just walk through or around it. Maybe a big tree and the path has collapsed around it so you cut down the tree to open the path up. I understand that our character cannot step over a matchbox so it is at least consistent but I still dislike it because it's too inhuman.

[Stinky socks]

I agree, but on the other hand, if you could cut a tree, then you should be able to get lots of firewood. And if you could cut that tree, then surely you could cut this trees and those two trees right there....

Convenience block per Hinterland 😋

[BareSkin]

On 9/10/2021 at 10:43 PM, odizzido said:

I wish they would put some effort into making look like you couldn't just walk through or around it. Maybe a big tree and the path has collapsed around it so you cut down the tree to open the path up. I understand that our character cannot step over a matchbox so it is at least consistent but I still dislike it because it's too inhuman.

I have to agree 1000 times. Can't think of a better implementation myself (not my job, right?). But the mere idea to be blocked because not having a tool seems so stupid and "fake". It is as bad as a McGuffin in a cheap movie. I get that a rope is needed to climb a cliff. I get that you need a prybar to enter the Gas Station. I get that you need the key to enter the Milton Farm. It seems there's some equivalent mechanism to the cannery with auroras (never went there), fine with me too. But these bushes, Oh My!

And as an answer to OP, that's exactly why I've always had bad memories from playing TLD there. So far.

[Lord of the Long Dark]

The only issue with HRV is lack of a workbench but honestly it is WAY WAY WAY OP.

  When I get an HRV start in interloper I immediately restart because it is too easy of a start. In an hour you walk out with 3 days of food and every single critical item AND some of the best clothing for the level.  Nah. That defeats the purpose of playing interloper. 

[straffin]

On 9/30/2021 at 3:21 PM, Lord of the Long Dark said:

When I get an HRV start in interloper I immediately restart because it is too easy of a start.

HRV on Interloper still killed me off pretty quickly... 😕 What's an example of your "easy-start" routine?

[Lord of the Long Dark]

3 hours ago, straffin said:

HRV on Interloper still killed me off pretty quickly... 😕 What's an example of your "easy-start" routine?

I just immediately head to the central river cave to get matches and then to the ice caves to get the combat pants, bedroll, hacksaw, earwrap, and of course take cattails on the way. Then to the signal fire for the jacket and hammer. Then I leave the zone takin maples and birch with the hacksaw. By time I leave the zone I am ready for a forge run while curing the bow and arrow shafts .

  easiest possible interloper start in the whole game. 

Edited October 3, 2021 by Lord of the Long Dark

[stratvox]

On 10/2/2021 at 10:25 PM, Lord of the Long Dark said:

I just immediately head to the central river cave to get matches and then to the ice caves to get the combat pants, bedroll, hacksaw, earwrap, and of course take cattails on the way. Then to the signal fire for the jacket and hammer. Then I leave the zone takin maples and birch with the hacksaw. By time I leave the zone I am ready for a forge run while curing the bow and arrow shafts .

  easiest possible interloper start in the whole game. 

Showing once again that the real key to long term survival in the game is map knowledge. With map knowledge it's very hard to kill the player, without it it's as easy as pie.

[Lord of the Long Dark]

3 hours ago, stratvox said:

Showing once again that the real key to long term survival in the game is map knowledge. With map knowledge it's very hard to kill the player, without it it's as easy as pie.

In general that’s true. Map knowledge is absolutely without question the most significant advantage to survival.  In interloper you simply cannot survive the start of a new game even a few days without it.

  But also preparation can be significant.  one of my favorite challenges ever was taking one of my 1000 day interloper characters on a “cold run” (no pun intended) to Ash Canyon as soon as it was released. now of course, I was equipped with full clothing and a bow and i shipped in a bunch of coal, hides and food to the entrance but i did go in straight at interloper level with no map knowledge and it was the most exciting experience i had playing TLD. especially when the caves were still all cold when the map first released- that was a major frantic discovery when i finally found safety of a cave only to find I was freezing still and had to scramble for fuel while exhausted. 

   

[The Ravages of Time]

On 10/2/2021 at 5:05 PM, straffin said:

HRV on Interloper still killed me off pretty quickly... 😕 What's an example of your "easy-start" routine?

If you’re into watching streams, this is a good one by Atheenon. His map knowledge is impressive and gets his run off to an awesome start. He makes HRV look easy.

 

[straffin]

7 minutes ago, The Ravages of Time said:

If you’re into watching streams, this is a good one...

Wow. I've watched a bit of @Zaknafein and enjoyed it very much, but this guy just isn't my cup of tea. Thanks for the rec, tho!!

[desertedone]

HRV is complete caveman world

[Mistral]

Once you know the map it's an easy starting area for Interloper I admit, but for Deadman not so much... I mean okay just as with TWM you get the easy free matches right from the start by just immediately going to the Hushed river cave, and also the question of bedroll is pretty solvable, but the chances of getting to Milton without some HP loss can are lower than with most other starting areas... (I still think PV start is always the easiest)

Edited October 15, 2021 by Mistral

[Blizzard Walker]

At 1300  days on Voyager I had a choice of three unexplored regions to explore - Hushed River Valley, Ash Canyon and Bleak Inlet. 

As the Trailer outside Milton is a well stocked main base, I shipped in excess food and water to the Cloudtop Falls area as a secure starting point. 

My goals are limited to harvesting birch saplings and revolver/rifle ammunition as I have more than adequate weapons, tools and clothes. 

Until I learn the locations of the caves I will explore cautiously with cloth and sticks at the ready for snow shelters. 

Admittedly my first impression from the available maps is that I am entering a maze.

[APixelatedLemon]

I never heard anyone hate on HRV... 

[Kranium]

Rope climbing really annoys me so that's the main reason I don't like HRV. That, and very non-realistic route blockades. But that's a game mechanic thing, just how it is.

[hozz1235]

On 12/1/2021 at 12:52 PM, Blizzard Walker said:

Admittedly my first impression from the available maps is that I am entering a maze.

Agreed - it can be quite disorienting until you spend a lot of time there becoming familiar with it.

[PiterZ]

I love HRV. He feels like a person who is truly free from civilization

[I_eat_only_wolf_meat]

On 9/10/2021 at 5:36 PM, odizzido said:

The only thing I don't like about HRV is the scrub brush blocking your path. Other than that I really do like the rest of the map.

That is a major pain in Interloper if you don't have an axe crafted yet.

[Blizzard Walker]

With the exception of the area around Cloudtop Falls, HRV is the one region where I feel compelled to have a lit torch constantly in hand or in hand ready to light.  I liken walking around its jumbled terrain to driving on an endlessly winding road with little or no sight distance.  I find myself constantly on the alert for wolves over the next hummock. My exploration forays are short and seldom take me too far from known cave locations.

So far I have navigated the westerly ice cave, the one without the wolf, and the area west of Many Falls Vista and south of Hushed River.....about one third of the total map. 

Feeding my character is not proving to be a problem.  The Cave northeast of Stairsteps Lake is proving to be a secure base. Sticks, rose hips, mushrooms and Old Man's Beard are all abundant but I already had plenty stashed away throughout Great Bear.

I intend to explore the rest of HRV slowly but surely in search of three resources, those being birch saplings, revolver ammunition and rifle ammunition.  Birch saplings are particularly scarce as likely locations are proving barren of saplings.  I have added perhaps 7 revolver rounds and 1 rifle round.  In terms of clothes I have found two more Fisherman's Sweaters and another wool ear wrap but little else to "make the juice worth the squeeze".

Edited February 6, 2022 by Blizzard Walker

[hozz1235]

On 2/5/2022 at 7:39 PM, Blizzard Walker said:

With the exception of the area around Cloudtop Falls, HRV is the one region where I feel compelled to have a lit torch constantly in hand or in hand ready to light.  I liken walking around its jumbled terrain to driving on an endlessly winding road with little or no sight distance.  I find myself constantly on the alert for wolves over the next hummock. My exploration forays are short and seldom take me too far from known cave locations.

So far I have navigated the westerly ice cave, the one without the wolf, and the area west of Many Falls Vista and south of Hushed River.....about one third of the total map. 

Feeding my character is not proving to be a problem.  The Cave northeast of Stairsteps Lake is proving to be a secure base. Sticks, rose hips, mushrooms and Old Man's Beard are all abundant but I already had plenty stashed away throughout Great Bear.

I intend to explore the rest of HRV slowly but surely in search of three resources, those being birch saplings, revolver ammunition and rifle ammunition.  Birch saplings are particularly scarce as likely locations are proving barren of saplings.  I have added perhaps 7 revolver rounds and 1 rifle round.  In terms of clothes I have found two more Fisherman's Sweaters and another wool ear wrap but little else to "make the juice worth the squeeze".

Thanks for posting.  Yeah, HRV isn't known for having a lot of useful resources to offer.  Given the climate, this is why it is one of the last zones I visit on my runs.  By this time, it doesn't have much to offer besides some additional resources and my "completionist" goal.

[UpUpAway95]

1 hour ago, hozz1235 said:

Thanks for posting.  Yeah, HRV isn't known for having a lot of useful resources to offer.  Given the climate, this is why it is one of the last zones I visit on my runs.  By this time, it doesn't have much to offer besides some additional resources and my "completionist" goal.

 

On 2/5/2022 at 7:39 PM, Blizzard Walker said:

With the exception of the area around Cloudtop Falls, HRV is the one region where I feel compelled to have a lit torch constantly in hand or in hand ready to light.  I liken walking around its jumbled terrain to driving on an endlessly winding road with little or no sight distance.  I find myself constantly on the alert for wolves over the next hummock. My exploration forays are short and seldom take me too far from known cave locations.

So far I have navigated the westerly ice cave, the one without the wolf, and the area west of Many Falls Vista and south of Hushed River.....about one third of the total map. 

Feeding my character is not proving to be a problem.  The Cave northeast of Stairsteps Lake is proving to be a secure base. Sticks, rose hips, mushrooms and Old Man's Beard are all abundant but I already had plenty stashed away throughout Great Bear.

I intend to explore the rest of HRV slowly but surely in search of three resources, those being birch saplings, revolver ammunition and rifle ammunition.  Birch saplings are particularly scarce as likely locations are proving barren of saplings.  I have added perhaps 7 revolver rounds and 1 rifle round.  In terms of clothes I have found two more Fisherman's Sweaters and another wool ear wrap but little else to "make the juice worth the squeeze".

I wouldn't count on finding too much in the way of the man-made resources (clothing, ammo, etc.) right at the moment.  In my most recent HRV start (meant to be a one-region challenge), all the corpses in the zone despawned the moment I went into one of the ice caves.  I have found a hatchet lying in the snow by itself (it probably was an item that was supposed to spawn next to corpse).  However, food, clothing, and ammo are usually items that spawn on the corpses rather than beside them, and they disappear when the corpse despawns.  I finally just gave up on that save.

[UpUpAway95]

On 9/10/2021 at 8:43 PM, odizzido said:

I wish they would put some effort into making look like you couldn't just walk through or around it. Maybe a big tree and the path has collapsed around it so you cut down the tree to open the path up. I understand that our character cannot step over a matchbox so it is at least consistent but I still dislike it because it's too inhuman.

I don't think I would want to try to run through thorny bushes without cutting them down first... clothing ripped to shreds and a multitude of cuts.  I think requiring a hatchet is quite realistic.  It could possibly be done with a knife, but it would take a lot of time and a person would probably still get several cuts in the process.  Perhaps they just need to make them look denser and thornier.  Perhaps they could have also labeled them differently - thorny bush or bramble bush and have them damage clothing or the character if touched, but allowing for a way for the player to navigate through them at the cost of clothing or injury.

Edited February 7, 2022 by UpUpAway95