New Mode: Puzzles (Concept)

[SpanishMoss]

This is an idea for an entirely new mode called "Puzzles." 

 

Introduction - 

The Puzzles mode will be a mode present on the home screen similar to Challenges. Puzzles are meant to take less than an hour but be difficult to complete. They will test a player's game knowledge and skill in several different ways and force the player to use limit resources to accomplish a task.

 

So, what are these puzzles? -

These puzzles will drop the player in a specific location, and give the player a short by difficult objective, and with limited resources. Such as being dropped in one end of echo ravine and being tasked with getting to the other side with 1 flare, but there are 10 wolves in the way. Or being given 2 arrows, being tasked to kill a bear by the Quonset garage.

 

What are the rewards? -

Each puzzle completed will give the player a badge, similar to Challenges.

 

How will they be structured? -

Each challenge will be in a different location of the world of the long dark, with a goal displayed on the right similar to challenges. You will spawn with the tools you need to complete the challenge, and nothing more. For the most part, you will have free reign in these worlds, but some puzzles may require barricades to prevent cheesing. There will be no time limit by default, but your fastest time will be displayed next to each complete puzzle. Puzzles will have increasing difficulty, which means both the goal you must achieve will be harder, and the tools you are given will be less. In addition, the game mode you will be present in will also change depending on the puzzle. 

 

How are these Puzzles, and not Challenges? - 

They are significantly shorter than a Challenge and test a player's game knowledge to complete. Some of these puzzles might give the player no risk of dying, but rather have a time limit to complete (not every challenge). Others might but you on the brink of death and ask you to survive and get to a certain location.

 

What would some of these Puzzles look like? - 

Here are my suggestions for possible Puzzles (difficulty out of 5 "*****"):

 

Dwindling Fire           

***

You are in the Pleasant Valley Farmhouse during a Blizzard, and you fire is about to run out, can you keep the fire alive until the blizzard ends?

Conditions:

• No tools spawn
• No weapons spawn
• You start with 50% fatigue 
• All wooden items in the house are removed (so you must go outside)
• The blizzard will last for 6 hours
• The fire starts with 1hr 30min left
• Pilgrim Difficulty 

 

One Escape

****

You are at one end of Echo Ravine, and you need to get to the other side, but the ravine is swarming with wolves. Can you get to the other side safely?

Conditions

• No firewood spawns
• You start with One flare
• No matches spawn
• You start with a hacksaw
• The Crates cannot contain firewood or fire-make supplies
• The Crates cannot contain firearms or the bow
• Rocks DO spawn, but only halfway through the ravine
• There are 10 wolves in the ravine
• Stalker difficulty

 

Bear Hunt

**

You are stuck in the Quonset Hut in Coastal Highway, and are running out of food, but fortunately, a bear is has wandered through the area. With minimal equipment can you down the bear and bring back at least 7000 calories (uncooked) to the hut?

Conditions:

• You start with a 100% condition Bow 
• You start with 2, 100% condition Arrows
• You start in the Hut, but once you leave, you cannot re-enter Any buildings until the bear is dead
• No other bears spawn
• The moose cannot spawn
• Wolves spawn in slightly higher numbers
• You start at Archery Level 2
• You start at Carcass Harvesting Level 5
• The bear will start at his cave, and walk down the hill towards the Quonset hut
• Weather is constantly windy
• Voyager Difficulty

 

Hidden Loot

*

You value efficiency and want to loot all of Cater Hydro Dam as fast as possible. How fast can you loot every single item in Carter Hydro Dam while only missing two items at most?

Conditions

• All Containers must be looted (regardless of if they contain something or not)
• No more than 2 items can be missed
• Item spawns are random
• You start with the technical pack and the moose-hide satchel equipped
• The building is warm enough to not lose temp inside
• No time limits
• Must loot both upper and lower sections
• Cannot exit the building
• Water from toilets does not have to be taken
• Every Single item must be in the inventory
• End the Puzzle by leaving through the front door
• Consuming found items is fine
• Voyager Difficulty

 

The Will to Live

*****

You are a dying survivor, but salvation is not that far away. You start in Hushed River valley with nothing but the clothes on your back, and the will to live. You start with 40% condition left. Can you escape to Mountain Town with your dying breath?

Conditions

• You start with 40% condition remaining 
• You start at the furthest possible normal spawn point from the Moutain town cave
• Everything else remains the same
• Interloper Difficulty

 

Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think. If you have any more ideas for more Puzzles, please suggest them below. 

Thanks!

-SpanishMoss

 

P.S. Its unlikely they will add this to the game, so if any modders want to create this as a mod, that would be awesome! (Pls credit me if you do)

[SpanishMoss]

Here are a few more puzzles I thought of:

 

Many Ailments 

****

You've had a rough time and have managed to acquire every single negative affliction at once. Can you cure everything before it kills you?

Conditions

• You one instance of every negative affliction (including broken ribs)
• You start in the Camp Office 
• It is midnight
• You have no medical supplies with you at the start
• Stalker Difficulty 

 

Exterminator 

***

You've had it with these Timberwolves, and you want them all gone. Can you kill every single Timberwolf in Bleak Inlet?

Conditions

• You start with a Rifle with 10 bullets
• You start with a Revolver with 12 bullets
• You start with a Bow with 5 arrows
• You start at the Hunting Stand in the middle of the Delta
• Ammo spawns more frequently
• You start with 24 matches
• You cannot leave the region
• Stalker Difficulty 

 

Joy of the Chase

*

You've just shot a deer with an arrow, and now its running away! Can you follow it until it dies?

Conditions

• You start in Ash Canyon near the Anglers Den
• Its Morning, and weather is clear
• You have a bow with no arrows
• You have 2 flares
• The challenge ends when you click on the deer carcass 
• You fail the challenge if the deer disappears before you can find it
• Interloper Difficulty 

 

A Last Stand

****

You are lost in the fog of Forlorn Muskeg, and you can hear wildlife circling you. Can you make it to the poacher's camp before they find you?

Conditions

• It is permanently Foggy
• You start with the Distress Pistol and 15 rounds
• Its nighttime 
• You start in one of random Forlorn Muskeg starting points (Except the one at either end of the railroad)
• Firearms and the Bow do not spawn
• There is always a bear, and moose near you
• Wolves spawn more frequently 
• You lose if you get jumped by any animal (regardless of condition)
• Voyager Difficulty

 

A Battle to Remember 

**

You are at one end of an Ice Cave in Hushed River Valley, and need to get to the other side, but a wolf is stalking around the area, can you safely exit the other side without dying?

Conditions

• You start at one end of the Ice Cave in Hushed River Valley with the wolf
• The game ends when you exit the other side
• You start with 1 flare
• You cannot kill the wolf
• No weapons spawn
• You have no defensive weapon
• Interloper Difficulty 

 

Hope you enjoy!

[SpanishMoss]

I thought this was interesting; to complete the Many Ailments puzzle, you would need in total (at minimum):

4 Bandages
6 Painkillers / 3 rosehip tea
26 Antibiotic / 13 Reshi tea       (mostly for intestinal parasites) 
240hrs of sleep                    (for intestinal parasites)
24hr spent outside              (For cabin fever)
18hr above freezing            (For hypothermia)

[Michael1986]

Puzzle İdea

 

A Total CD DA:

You woke up in mystery lake cabin, you have no idea what you are doing there. but that question can waith because there more important things to attend to. You are compeltely naked and have severe hypothermia. to add to that fact you are covered in burns and suffer from intestinal parasites and fractured ribs.

 

This is definetly not your day.

Edited February 6, 2022 by Michael1986

[Alpenwolf]

13 minutes ago, Michael1986 said:

Puzzle İdea

 

A Total CD DA:

You woke up in mystery lake cabin, you have no idea what you are doing there. but that question can waith because there more important things to attend to. You are compeltely naked and have severe hypothermia. to add to that fact you are covered in burns and suffer from intestinal parasites and fractured ribs.

 

This is definetly not your day.

Are you totaly crazy ? 😂

[Michael1986]

On 2/6/2022 at 2:57 PM, Alpenwolf said:

Are you totaly crazy ? 😂

Yes I am infact am, to explain this puzzle is meant for expert long dark players who are tired of playing the interloper gamemode

[Admin]

Thank you for sharing!

[SpanishMoss]

1 hour ago, Admin said:

Thank you for sharing!

No problem!

[SpanishMoss]

More ideas:

Walk of Shame

**

You just arrived at Timberwolf Mountain, and are excited to open the Cargo Containers, but unfortunately, you forgot your hacksaw! Can you find one before you run out of supplies?

Conditions

• One hacksaw spawns per-region 
• Start the challenge in the mountaineer's hut
• The hacksaw cannot spawn in the hut
• End the challenge by sawing open a cargo crate
• You may go to any region
• Food and water supplies cannot spawn
• You start with 2500 assorted calories 
• You start with 2L of water
• You start with medium grade clothing  

So Close but Yet So Far...

****

You are an exhausted survivor; you struggle to survive in this cold wasteland. It of course doesn't help that you are an insomniac, stuck in Ash Canyon with no energy to get out. Can you get to Pleasant Valley with being able to rest?

Conditions

• You start exhausted 
• You start on a clear night
• You cannot sleep
• You start with stalker supplies, and one cup of coffee
• Finish the challenge by entering the preppers abandoned cache in Pleasant Valley

[Alpenwolf]

On 2/11/2022 at 6:48 PM, Michael1986 said:

Yes I am infact am, to explain this puzzle is meant for expert long dark players who are tired of playing the interloper gamemode

I created a custom scenario that already seems very difficult to me:

ExtremeTempDrop (mod) set to -60°C max
Blizzard - High
Wind - High
No Aurora
no-deer
No Moose
No Rabbits
Wolves and Bear - Very High
Fish-Low
Resource Availability - Low
Plant Availability - Low
No Guns, No Rifles
No badges

Edited February 14, 2022 by Alpenwolf

[SpanishMoss]

Thought of a few other puzzles:

Finishing the Job

****

You've been hunting a bear for some time now, but you've run out of ammo! You managed to reach the echo one radio tower in Bleak Inlet and need to head to the cannery by nightfall so you can craft some more ammunition.  Can you make it to the cannery without a weapon by nightfall, and kill the bear?

Conditions:

• You start with the rifle
• The revolver does not spawn
• ammo does not spawn
• you start with 10 empty rifle shell casings
• You start in the echo one radio tower in Bleak Inlet
• You start with a hacksaw
• A rope will always spawn in the pensive lookout
• No bedroll
• It is midday 
• The lookout contains 1 flare
• End the challenge by shooting the bear that wanders near the Cannery Worker Residences (The bear will always die)
• You fail the challenge if you do not enter the workshop before midnight
• Every night is an aroura 
• You start at gunsmithing level 5
• Stalker difficulty 

Car Jacker 

*

You cannot resist going through everyone's stuff, you just have to know what people are hiding in their trunks. Can you break into and steal everything from every car in Mountain Town?

Conditions:

• You start outside the gas station
• You do not start with a prybar
• The prybar spawns in the farmhouse
• You must collect all the loot in every car in the region, open every glove box, and open every trunk (and take what's inside)
• Every trunk is locked
• You have 1 real-life hour to complete the challenge
• Items found in cars can be consumed, but must be picked up and kept, not just held or dropped
• Pilgrim Difficulty

Librarian

**

Knowledge, you quest for it, you must obtain it. Collect every type of research book and bring it back to Thomas Crossings' Community Hall.

Conditions:

• Start in the Community Hall
• Research books cannot spawn in the hall
• Collect every research book, and have them in your inventory, in a container, or on the floor of the Community Hall.
  • This includes:
  • Stay on Target (Archery)
  • Field Dressing Your Kill, Vol. 1 (Carcass Harvesting)
  • Wilderness Kitchen (Cooking)
  • Survive the Outdoors! (Fire Starting)
  • The Frozen Angler (Ice Fishing)
  • Sewing Primer (Mending)
  • Frontier Shooting Guide (Rifle Firearm)
  • Advanced Guns Guns Guns! (Rifle Firearm)
  • Small Arms Handbook (Revolver Firearm)
  • Practical Gunsmithing (Gunsmithing)
• The books do not have to be read
• Voyager Difficulty