Blackrock - lack of specific objective

[hozz1235]

I also accidentally stumbled upon the cache while exploring.  It wasn't that difficult to find and I can't imagine HL would make the others that difficult to get to.  I suppose it is possible there is an issue with your playthrough and it doesn't exist, but I find that unlikely.  Sounds like you just need to keep looking.  Good luck!

Oh, did you get an answer to "how to get into the infirmary"?

From my experience there is not key and you cannot enter through the "front" double doors, but instead must enter through the door to the right and go up the stairs (which you used to exit the infirmary in Ep4).

[peteloud]

I am back out in Blackrock region again with the continuation of another long game.

No, I never found a way into the infirmary.

I suspect that I missed the Prepper Cache because my attention was drawn away from the patch I was mapping by some seperate issue. Perhaps as I mapped  some wolves suddenly started giving me hassle.  I became irritated and bored by the search after a while.  It will turn up on some other run.

This second venture into the region is very different to the first.  This time I know where everything is, as if I had looked at a map or looked at Fandom.  Because I was already well equipped it was as if I had beneficially edited my save file.  This time getting into the workshop was a doddle.  It was the first little task I did on getting tinto the region. It only took a a one night trip out.  First time it took ages to work it out and find what I needed then get the code. 

When you know the answers the game is not nearly so good.  Being hungry, freezing and not knowing where you are is what makes the game exciting.

 

[ChillPlayer]

9 hours ago, peteloud said:

Being hungry, freezing and not knowing where you are is what makes the game exciting.

Congratulation, you sir are now ready for interloper - constant hunger and freezing guaranteed

 

[peteloud]

4 hours ago, ChillPlayer said:

Congratulation, you sir are now ready for interloper - constant hunger and freezing guaranteed

I play TLD for relaxation and enjoyment.  Playing Interloper is no fun for people who do not use Fandom, maps and mods to make it easy.

[ChillPlayer]

4 hours ago, peteloud said:

I play TLD for relaxation and enjoyment.  Playing Interloper is no fun for people who do not use Fandom, maps and mods to make it easy.

When you're ready for interloper you don't need Fandom, maps and certainly no mods. A map is no good to you when you're trapped in a blizzard, either you know your way out or not.

But you said that being hungry and freezing is the exciting part for you and I ment that in earnest, if you reached that point you are ready for the next level. If you are on Voyageur now then switch to Stalker and if on Stalker then to Interloper, it's the natural progression and will bring back the excitement you are looking for.

[peteloud]

20 minutes ago, ChillPlayer said:

 If you are on Voyageur now . . .

I have played all levels.  After around 4,700 hours of playing I have a good idea of what I like.

[Guest jeffpeng]

4 hours ago, peteloud said:

Playing Interloper is no fun for people who do not use Fandom, maps and mods to make it easy.

I get your point (which you are making in abundance) that using outside sources of knowledge spoils the game for you, and that is a point of view I even do agree with. But that you constantly imply that people that play and, lo and behold, even enjoy the game at harder difficulties must do so with an array of constantly open browser tabs on the second monitor they surely have, and even then only get by using save editors and mods ... is presumptuous, to say the least, and it's getting really damn old.

Invalidating other peoples achievements, and even if they are just in a "video game", just because you cannot fathom to achieve the same while actually enjoying what your do, is pretty vile. You don't jump on stage pointing fingers at people that sing really, really well and accuse them of using autotune despite you having no idea if they are or if they are not. Maybe they are - but maybe they are just that good. Don't be such a begrudging son of a birch.

[peteloud]

9 minutes ago, jeffpeng said:

I get your point . . . .

Good.  Are there any Interloper players who have not used Fandom, maps or mods?

[Guest jeffpeng]

42 minutes ago, peteloud said:

Good.  Are there any Interloper players who have not used Fandom, maps or mods?

I don't do mods. I've tried them, but that's it. I haven't looked at online maps since Vigilant Flame, and I don't even use in-game maps. And I don't read up on things on some wiki - but even if I would knowing how to craft a bear skin coat doesn't make you a better player. And I do pretty damn fine playing Interloper I'd say - while I'm surely no magical super gamer. I'm a 40 year old dude that's a dad first, a husband second, a programmer by profession and just happy he can find some actual challenge in something that doesn't cost tens of thousands of bucks to repair if I screw up. And I screw up a lot.

But all of that isn't the point. The point is that simply assuming that everyone that's better than you at something must be cheating or does so by some other unfairly gained advantage is just ... not cool, bro. You simply don't do that. By the same decency I don't call people out for being "bad" at the game just because they play Voyageur all the time you don't get to call out people as basically cheating for actually getting something done on Interloper. You simply. Don't. Do. That.

Edited December 22, 2021 by jeffpeng

[peteloud]

It seems that people who use Fandom, maps and mods don't like it being pointed out that using those makes Interloper much easier, that their great Interloper achievement is not quite what it seems to be.

[Leeanda]

Isn't the point of the game to "survive" for as long as you can?  Whether you use maps or not makes no difference. BlackRock has the same reason for being there as the rest of the areas. It provides food and shelter and materials needed to do both. If that's not a specific reason to go there then don't go simple as that. There's no need for arguing ,bickering or anything else. It's not the real end of the world! Be happy guys ,life is for enjoying.

[ChillPlayer]

52 minutes ago, peteloud said:

It seems that people who use Fandom, maps and mods don't like it being pointed out that using those makes Interloper much easier, that their great Interloper achievement is not quite what it seems to be.

I don't see your point. Are you saying that interloper is only doable if you use maps, wiki and mods? And because you refuse to do that, you instead prefer playing on a lower difficulty where you no longer have hunger nor are you freezing but at least you don't need to use maps?

Well if that's your logic, try interloper with maps and fandom (not with mods though) and see for yourself how little this helps. If you need maps in interloper, you will fail, period.

 

[Strelok]

I only need 1 reishi mushroom to have an objective. No sorry, i need 2 at least. Because what the hell i wanna do with only 1 reishi mushroom.

[Guest jeffpeng]

1 hour ago, Strelok said:

I only need 1 reishi mushroom to have an objective. No sorry, i need 2 at least. Because what the hell i wanna do with only 1 reishi mushroom.

Have a reason to find another one. Duh. 🙄

[Dr. S.]

On 12/22/2021 at 10:47 AM, peteloud said:

Good.  Are there any Interloper players who have not used Fandom, maps or mods?

You've asked this before and I've answered. Yes.

[Strelok]

On 12/22/2021 at 11:13 PM, jeffpeng said:

Have a reason to find another one. Duh. 🙄

Right. I am an idiot. 🤦‍♂️ 🙂

 

[Bean]

On 12/22/2021 at 10:45 AM, ChillPlayer said:

If you need maps in interloper, you will fail, period.

 

This.

you need to know the maps already before being very successful with interloper.  When you know them intimately, you can usually make it past the first few hurdles and survive long enough to get to an easier map than the spawning map.   
Last time I tried it, I started in HRV, but instead of rushing out of there to Milton, I stuck around and explored a bit looking for the sleeping roll.  Found it in the ice cave and some other decent gear.  Wound up entering Milton in decent shape and then dying from a wolf onslaught there.  
Loper is hard.  Best game I’ve had so far was a bit over 200 days.  
 

I prefer Stalker.  It’s more fun to wander the maps collecting stuff.  And it’s fun to start in Ash Canyon, get the technical pack and crampons, and then summit TWM to open up all those boxes and get really geared up.  Then rush across the world to HRV and get the moose hide bag to max out weight capacity.  Best time so far for that run was just under 8 days.  

[Glflegolas]

Full disclosure: I use maps whenever I play Interloper. Yes, it makes the game easier, but you know what it also does? It means that I can actually plan ahead, survive, and not freeze to death. Even with a map, Interloper is no joke, but having the map makes the difference between challenging but still manageable survival (FUN!) vs constantly being lost and freezing to death (NOT FUN!). If I'm not having fun while playing this or any game, something's wrong.

[Morrick]

11 hours ago, Glflegolas said:

Even with a map, Interloper is no joke […]

Agreed. It's not. 

Yesterday I resumed an old Interloper saved game to give this experience another go. It's my longest-running Interloper game — I've survived 11 days, I hope you Interloper veterans won't point & laugh — and I'm afraid I'm getting closer to fading into The Long Dark instead of the other way around. I am currently stationed in one of the trailers near the Carter Hydro Dam, at 15% condition, with 56% Cabin Fever risk, no weapons, no food, 5 matches left, books and sticks as fire fuel. I've been practicing many tips I've seen here on the forums, I've played this game long enough to know my way around most regions, but I've been consulting the maps anyway especially to be reminded of which parts of a region may crawl with wolves. But I've been abnormally unlucky with the weather. I mean, one blizzard after another… in Mystery Lake of all places? Now, the Carter Hydro Dam is tempting for whatever meagre loot it might contain, but with Cabin Fever risk getting higher, perhaps it's better I spend some time in the Ravine first, and try to recover some condition. I just hope for a break in the weather at this point. I'm seriously in awe of those players who manage to survive hundreds of days on Interloper.

Sorry for the little rant! Cheers! 

[I_eat_only_wolf_meat]

@Morrick

If you haven't been to the Ravine yet, you can harvest the deer carcass there and get food.  There's also a few cattails.  You can reduce your cabin fever risk there in the cave.

Very close to the dam trailers, there is a large patch of cattails that runs down the river to Mystery Lake.  Just watch out for the local wolf, and maybe the moose.

Just a couple interloper tips.  There are many others but these are what I can think of right away:\

Make liberal use of torches to move fire, stay warmer, and keep wolves away.  You can "daisy chain", lighting one torch with another, to cover large distances.

Use the magnifying lens as much as possible, rather than matches.

Travel using the "warming up" effect of tea, or better yet coffee.

Don't run unless you need to.  It wears you down.

Travel light, and be especially cautious if carrying smelly stuff like guts.

Carry at least one, but preferable three or more, pieces of coal.  They're the key to saving yourself with a really hot fire.

Expect to die fairly often.  We all did, starting out.  I still die in interloper on occasion, but mostly due to bad breaks early on.

 

edit: Don't get intestinal parasites in Interloper.  It's a pain.

Edited December 28, 2021 by I_eat_only_wolf_meat

[Morrick]

13 hours ago, I_eat_only_wolf_meat said:

Just a couple interloper tips.  There are many others but these are what I can think of right away:

Thank you. Very appreciated! 

[ChillPlayer]

17 hours ago, I_eat_only_wolf_meat said:

Don't run unless you need to.  It wears you down.

I have the opposite approach: run as much as you can so you can restore as much condition as possible in one night's sleep

Even with full hide clothing and a torch in hand, most of the days I have two arrows down on the temperature gauge and can't stay longer than an hour outside (day 220). This was also true before day 50 because I didn't have full clothing then. I don't even bother with daisy chaining light torches anymore, instead I plan my trips running from cave to cave (or house), warm up there resting, not sleeping, for an hour an run to the next. I tolerate up to 25% condition loss due to hypothermia risk, then I stay where I am, hopefully completely exhausted and then sleep for 2x 6 hours in a cave or 1x12 hours in a house.

And yes sometime I just run around the block before sleep just to sleep longer - because it does not also restore condition, sleeping also costs way less calories than resting. When camping with a cloak bin full of bear this is not so important but when travelling around through predator territory, meaning without meat in the backpack and I want to keep being well fed, saving calories is important.

@Morrick Don't forget about the cave in the ravine, it's perfect to ward off CF when you are camping at the dam. I camped there too but only after I've forged arrows and crafted a bow, so I could hunt the two deers at the ravine. Reading about your current state it will be hard to continue surviving - not impossible but a true battle. Should you decide to start new, make forging arrows your priority and find matches and mag glass along the way, then stay at the dam/ravine and go on short hunting trips from there. There are often 3 deers on northern river access and together with the 2 deers in the ravine you can survive long enough until they respawn if you only eat for sleep. Good luck

[I_eat_only_wolf_meat]

5 hours ago, ChillPlayer said:

I have the opposite approach: run as much as you can so you can restore as much condition as possible in one night's sleep

That's certainly a valid strategy.  Mine is a little more conservative.

It sounds like yours is more demanding of food from all the running, and a little more risky if something unexpected comes up (like a wolf that surprises you if you round a corner while winded).

The food part of your strategy probably isn't even bad a couple hundred days in on Interloper.  On my 200 day run I had piles of bear meat stashed in car trunks, and of course was immune to parasites (from cooked food) at that point.

[ChillPlayer]

1 hour ago, I_eat_only_wolf_meat said:

It sounds like yours is more demanding of food from all the running

Yes but it is only factor when I try to stay well fed while being on the move. I still run mostly then but pack more food to not starve or I stay in places along the way where I know I can hunt or fish. Otherwise I only eat enough to sleep - ideally - for 12 hours, which equals to 810 cals. All in all, freezing is much more damaging to the condition than being hungry, one hour outside with 3 arrows down will halve the condition percentage where as being hungry for half a day is barely noticeable.

But I have yet to find out if I can make it to 1200 days as others did (or was this you?), it's looking good so far but I've still a long way to go

Edited December 29, 2021 by ChillPlayer

[I_eat_only_wolf_meat]

2 minutes ago, ChillPlayer said:

But I have yet to find out if I can make it to 1200 days as others did (or was this you?), it's looking good so far but I've still a long way to go

Wasn't me.  My interloper record is 210.