Revisiting Mystery Lake...


ManicManiac

Recommended Posts


Even though there is more pressing real-life stuff to take care of right now... I couldn't help but to get a hold of Tales from the Far Territory, even if only to just have a little look around. 🤭
 

[Stalker/No Feats/Mystery Lake Start]

I came to near the railway tunnel leading to Forlorn Muskeg. Unfortunately, it was already very late in the day, and I only had an hour or two of daylight let before dusk.  I quickly, but carefully, made my way along the tracks toward the Camp Office (but keeping to the ridgeline).  The Camp Office seemed as good a place as any get started and find a footing.  I didn't make it too far down the track before I spotted a couple of wolves skulking their way on the tracks heading in my direction.  I got low and continued to creep on by...

By the time I got near the Camp Office, I was already freezing.  It didn't help matters that I didn't have a head covering... but that was a relatively minor concern at the time.

As I approached the Camp Office I was greeted by an old friend:
20221205184725_1.thumb.jpg.738e9810bc573a6e659a00da2db30d7a.jpg
Though it seems that the Prince of the Forest... is now a Princess!  This of course, will always be the one animal that is truly safe as long as I'm on Great Bear Island.
Just as always, I'll never harm nor allow harm to come to the Deer that lives in this spot.

Since it was nearly sundown, I quickly searched through the Camp Office as much as the light would permit.  I was nowhere near tired enough to sleep through the night, but I needed to be under the covers to warm up.  I spent most of the night huddled under the blankets slowly warming up.  I did eventually manage 5 or 6 hours of sleep, but I was already very thirsty (I had one can of Grape Soda before bed - though that wasn't nearly enough).

The next morning, I was already kind of in rough shape... Between freezing on the way to the Camp Office and being dehydrated most of the night; I'd already take a pretty good condition hit.  I decided I would spend the day looking around Mystery Lake (around the lake, I mean).  I didn't figure there was much chance of finding much in the way of clothes or tools (I'd likely have had a better chance if I'd set out for the Trapper's Homestead), but I suppose that really wasn't the point.  More that I'd not been back here for a while now, and it just seemed right to kind of retrace my steps... remembering back to when Mystery Lake was the only region we had to explore.  The Camp Office had been one of the first major locations I remember coming across, when I was first getting to know Great Bear Island all those years ago.

I was still very underdressed.  I'd only managed to find a pair of fleece mittens inside the Camp Office (for clothing anyway). 🤭
I took the path and went go see what I might find at Dave's Quiet Clearing... there was just a burnt-out campfire and about 8 rocks. ¬¬

Next I made my way onwards to the lake to search through as many of the Cabins and Fishing Huts as I could before getting too cold...
20221205190622_1.thumb.jpg.e05ddd9a79f4d8d9a3c6ea70d259b6c1.jpg
20221205191859_1.thumb.jpg.05a8c469423c7f11eec1b241fb43243e.jpg
I had a few close calls but managed not to draw any unwanted attention... 
Also found a note there at the farthest of the Lone Lake Cabin (even came with a small key - evidently meant for a small lockbox of some kind).
I did also have to wait out a blizzard, but that didn't last more than maybe 5 hours.  Thankfully I was able to pass time in a bed until it blew itself out.

20221205192557_1.thumb.jpg.c4b85dd67ada0c7cd753c734242a77fd.jpg
On the way back to the Camp Office... I did have to avoid pack of four wolves, but all my time spent living in Great Bear Island had me pretty used to rigors of that sort. 🤭

Along the way, I had managed a few more clothing items: a Fleece Cowl, pair of wool mittens, windbreaker, sport vest (I think), pair of work pants, and a wool scarf.  Most of it in a decent kind of shape, but nothing that was going to stop me from freezing if I didn't get inside again soon.  At least for the time being, I'd be pretty comfortable indoors.

I'd also found some Water Purification tablets... and this was precisely what I needed!  In my wanderings around the lake, I'd found enough food to keep me healthy for a couple more days (if I rationed hard enough).  However, I didn't find anything for water.  I did have a couple of sodas... but that would only really help partway towards one restful night's sleep.  I didn't have much for sticks, and I'd been lucky enough to have found two cooking pots tucked away in the Camp Office.  Thanks to the water purification tablets... I could have 4 liters prepped in just an hour. :D   I had just enough sticks for an additional two hours of burn time... after that second night, I'd wake up with 8 liters of water already stocked up.
 

:coffee::fire::coffee:
I don't know that I'll have the time visit again to wonder around old haunts... I likely won't be able to for a while yet.  I couldn't help though taking a short walk around Mystery Lake today.  It was a pretty nice sort of a homecoming.  🤭 
 

Edited by ManicManiac
  • Upvote 5
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

M, this was such a lovely read. Mystery Lake will always be my favourite location, it just feels like home.

I loved walking along with you, the way you write always paints such a vivid picture of not only the environment but also the atmosphere.

Thank you for taking me on this beautifully nostalgic walk with you.

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, Leeanda said:

I'm surprised to see that the animals are in the same places though.  With a slight change from prince to princess.  

I believe they said the wildlife refresh would be next year, so we have a little while left of knowing where they are. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Sgt Socks said:

I believe they said the wildlife refresh would be next year, so we have a little while left of knowing where they are. 

That explains a lot.  I was expecting an update on console for the new refresh and mechanics now but obviously not.  I should triple read these things!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, UpUpAway95 said:

On the positive side, we get to continue to play our old files for a while longer.

I killed mine off. I'm doing a mini stalker run to keep myself amused for now.   

Can't say it makes sense to have different times for the basic updates though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Leeanda said:

I killed mine off. I'm doing a mini stalker run to keep myself amused for now.   

Can't say it makes sense to have different times for the basic updates though.

It is confusing... and may get even more confusing given the anticipate time to release on the console (1 to 2 months) vs. the planned timing for the next expansion on the PC (6 to 8 weeks).  Not sure if they plan to bring the 2 expansion updates to consoles at once or whether we'll continue to lag behind by at least one update throughout the whole process.  Release delays could make things even more confusing as time goes on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, UpUpAway95 said:

It is confusing... and may get even more confusing given the anticipate time to release on the console (1 to 2 months) vs. the planned timing for the next expansion on the PC (6 to 8 weeks).  Not sure if they plan to bring the 2 expansion updates to consoles at once or whether we'll continue to lag behind by at least one update throughout the whole process.  Release delays could make things even more confusing as time goes on.

I might be tempted to just leave it altogether until the whole lot is ready.   Not sure why they've done it this way..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Leeanda said:

I might be tempted to just leave it altogether until the whole lot is ready.   Not sure why they've done it this way..

Same... not sure though... I think Xbox live will probably force the "free update" portion regardless, so we'll love our old saves at that point even though we may not have purchased the DLC.  Unlike the PC, there is no opportunity to play the time capsule and one cannot play a game that is connected online (Xbox Live) in any way unless it is updated with the latest version available through them.  I remember having similar issues when I started playing Minecraft on the Xbox 360.  Update after update would make critical changes and essentially render my old worlds (and their builds) unplayable... and there was no way to revert back to previous versions after having downloaded the update.  It's an infuriating system on the Xbox - not necessarily HL's fault though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

56 minutes ago, Leeanda said:

Can't say it makes sense to have different times for the basic updates though.

It's frustrating and a pain... and I certainly didn't mean to stoke those kinds of feelings.
If I remember correctly (I'll look to see if I can find the post), the trouble with the differing availability times is the vetting process that happens with the consoles and other delays due to other platforms being involved (like G.O.G. being notoriously sluggish to make updates available to folks who bought TLD on their platform).  As I recall, they release all the updates at roughly the same time - from there it's a matter of those third parties making the update available to their customers.

... I found it!  

  :coffee::fire::coffee:

On 12/4/2020 at 2:34 PM, Admin said:

The Long Dark Release Process

Both Updates and Hotfixes pass through the same process to be released to players. Each platform has their own procedures which can affect delivery time.

The following terms are important to understand:

Internal Testing: Hinterland’s internal Test team tests the new version of The Long Dark.
Upload: the new version of The Long Dark is uploaded by Hinterland to the platform holder (ex. Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, etc.)
Internal Platform Owner Checks: various checks and QA (quality assurance) tests run by the platform owner (Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, etc.) after they receive the new version of The Long Dark.
Publish to Store: the new version of The Long Dark is passed from the platform owner (Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, GoG) to players. It may take some time for your local platform server to update with the latest version.

PC / Mac / Linux

Steam: 
Upload -> Internal Testing -> Publish to Store by Hinterland

GoG:
Internal Testing -> Upload -> Server Processing -> Publish to Store by GoG

Xbox One:
Internal Testing -> Upload -> Internal Platform Owner Checks -> Publish to Store by Microsoft

PlayStation 4:
Internal Testing -> Upload -> Internal Platform Owner Checks -> Publish to Store by Sony

Nintendo Switch:
Internal Testing -> Upload -> Internal Platform Owner Checks -> Publish to Store by Nintendo

What Affects Update Times?

A release may come out at different times on various platforms for various reasons though we try to minimize this. A few reasons that this may occur are:

  • A release is platform specific so it only includes fixes for issues encountered on one platform and is not released on other platforms.
  • A technical issue delays the release on one or more platforms.
  • Each platform has their own timelines and criteria for publishing an update which can affect when an update reaches players.
  • Updates are pushed out globally and roll-out depends on where servers are located. This means your location in the world may have an impact on how soon you see the update arriving on your local system. It also means updates may take several hours to propagate globally.

Steam is generally our primary development platform and allows us to release our latest directly to our Players. Thus even when we release an update on all platforms at once it will generally arrive on Steam first. As you can see from the above breakdown, all other platforms require those specific platform-owners to release to their own stores which can impact timings.

We hope that this information will provide you with some insight into how The Long Dark’s Updates and Hotfixes are released and when you can expect the latest version on your favorite platform.

Thank you for your continued support of Hinterland and The Long Dark.

I know it doesn't make it the wait any easier... but at least there is a reasonable "why" behind it. 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, ManicManiac said:

It's frustrating and a pain... and I certainly didn't mean to stoke those kinds of feelings.
If I remember correctly (I'll look to see if I can find the post), the trouble with the differing availability times is the vetting process that happens with the consoles and other delays due to other platforms being involved (like G.O.G. being notoriously sluggish to make updates available to folks who bought TLD on their platform).  As I recall, they release all the updates at roughly the same time - from there it's a matter of those third parties making the update available to their customers.

... I found it!  

  :coffee::fire::coffee:

I know it doesn't make it the wait any easier... but at least there is a reasonable "why" behind it. 

It's certainly not your fault!!!   So please don't feel it is..  the entire thing is confusing even for you and other pc users. 

Most updates for fixes etc are usually the next day after pc.   So I incorrectly assumed it would be the same.  

I hope I haven't tarnished your experience playing it!!? I know you were looking forward to getting some play time in and I'm glad you did .🙂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, ManicManiac said:

It's frustrating and a pain... and I certainly didn't mean to stoke those kinds of feelings.
If I remember correctly (I'll look to see if I can find the post), the trouble with the differing availability times is the vetting process that happens with the consoles and other delays due to other platforms being involved (like G.O.G. being notoriously sluggish to make updates available to folks who bought TLD on their platform).  As I recall, they release all the updates at roughly the same time - from there it's a matter of those third parties making the update available to their customers.

... I found it!  

  :coffee::fire::coffee:

I know it doesn't make it the wait any easier... but at least there is a reasonable "why" behind it. 

Thanks for this response M.

My feeling is that whilst I understand that consoles require more hoops to jump through...

... wouldn't it have been better to plan the release to ensure that all players got the expansion at roughly the same time?

I know there might have been some unforeseen issue which meant slight differences between the platforms, but this amount of time? 

... Delay the PC release until it could be done alongside consoles. I really don't like the way it has been done. It's like telling console players they are second tier customers.

And I'm a PC player. I'm not complaining because I'm on a console. I just feel it is bad planning/customer relations. 

Edited by Sgt Socks
  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't mind waiting for the dlc.its just the refreshes and mechanics I was expecting now. It's switch players I feel sorry for ,they have to wait three times longer for everything! 

P.s.  my apologies @ManicManiac. I forgot to thank you for the info. Thank you.🙂

Edited by Leeanda
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm glad folks have liked the thread enough to stick around and chat a while. 🤭
If I can find time to continue the walkabout, I certainly would.  However, I suspect that I may not get another chance for a while.

:coffee::fire::coffee:

Edited by ManicManiac
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, Sgt Socks said:

... Delay the PC release until it could be done alongside consoles.

That's certainly fair enough.  I just wonder how difficult it is for Hinterland to be able to have the information necessary to coordinate simultaneous releases when each platform has their own unforeseen variables.

I do not disagree you though...  I do think a release should be more-or-less synchronous for all the customers who have stood by them all these years.

As I read through it again... you do make a great point!  They could have potentially held off until all platforms had finished their processes and given the "Green Light." 
 

:coffee::fire::coffee:

Edited by ManicManiac
  • Upvote 2
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Sgt Socks said:

... Delay the PC release until it could be done alongside consoles. I really don't like the way it has been done. It's like telling console players they are second tier customers.

I don’t disagree. Seems like Hinterland might have crammed a bit to meet their deadline and rushed some things without thinking through everything properly.

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now