Drifter Man

Deadman 3 / Day 11 (continued) Of the food found on the summit, only the salty crackers, tea and coffee survived the first night. Also, I didn't take any clothes I didn't want to wear - they'd be just dead weight on a dead man, cloth can be found elsewhere. Here's my current outfit: I had to scrap one pair of socks and my underwear to build the snow shelter, but at least I found wool socks in the containers. Add the 2°C bonus from Cold Fusion and I'm fairly comfortable in the Mountaineer's Hut, although caves are still a bit too cold to stay overnight without fire. Matches and accelerant would certainly not be left behind if they weren't hidden in one of the crates. I didn't want to waste time, fatigue and calories on breaking them down. I don't need more matches, I have more than enough already and a good firestriker as well. Accelerant would be nice but I decided it wasn't worth it. Plans? Leave TWM and visit three key locations in PV - Barn, Farmhouse and Signal Hill, in that order. Barn should not be so deadly now that I have the flare gun. Then to Winding River, restock on coal in the Cave System and check out the deer carcasses. I will decide what to do next when I reach the Dam, one option is settle down in the Ravine for a while, another is to go to Forlorn Muskeg, which has both deer carcasses and cattails. A necessary condition for the Muskeg would be a bedroll, of course, which I don't currently have. I'm not going to craft clothes - an investment of time and calories I can't afford, for limited benefit, although I may speak differently when the world gets colder. I would have opened the pelts container if I wanted to craft clothes. Knife, bow and arrows are a distant option. Anyway, here I am, in the snow shelter below the Summit of TWM. After two peaceful days, I'm going to see some action. First steps lead me to the rope down of course, but I take the one farther away from Eric's Falls because I'm worried about wolves in the other area. It's not much help because here are wolves as well, and one comes to greet me as soon as I reach the ground. I don't want to lose time and drive it away with a shot of the flare gun. Picking up sticks on the way, I reach Eric's Falls and start a fire in the cave to warm up. Weather is very favorable but the bear is around. Once I warm up a bit, I move to the deer carcass nearby, start another fire with a torch, and harvest the meat. Again, it's a pretty skinny deer, only 1 kg, but at least I can cook and eat it all on the spot. I also collect some cattails but the bear prevents me from taking them all. Eventually I drink a hot coffee and head to the next rope. Wolves aren't around. Wolves are around, patrolling the river close to the Engine below. Three of them. So all the cattails here are off limits. I sneak around and avoid detection. It's warm enough and the coffee helps, so does Cold Fusion, and I don't have to be worried about freezing. I don't even stop in the Cave of Engines and head straight for the next rope, the one I prepared on my way up a few days ago. I safely pass to the river that feeds into Crystal Lake and finally start a fire, because my temperature bar is about to run out. While warming up, I collect some more cattails and peek towards Crystal Lake. I don't see any wolves but they may be out of my field of view. Then my trained ears detect a bear. I can't see it, it's coming from above, hidden by a fallen tree I used to shelter the fire. I peek out and it's coming at me... I will have to use the flare gun if it comes any closer. I quickly collect cans and coffee from the fire so that I don't leave anything behind. Then the bear turns away. Unfortunately, it turns away in the direction I wanted to go - the longer way through Landing Gear, which is normally safer than the shortcut across Crystal Lake. But a possibility of wolves is better than a certainty of bear, and I decide for the Lake. I'm lucky. There are no wolves on the lake. Still watching out, I use the opportunity and collect all cattails I can find before returning to Mountaineer's Hut. I'm loaded with over 40 sticks, nearly 30 coals and 37 cattails. 30 more sticks and 5 liters of water are stored in the hatch, I left them there before leaving. I have enough food for 3-4 days - cattails and salty crackers, compact and easy to carry around. The only problem is that I keep forgetting to apply the stim, so I go to bed again at 72%. No need for a fire, I sleep until the morning. [26310 calories consumed]

Thanks! Don't listen to @JAFO - it's easy All questions of Nhotz, the IMM's newest shooting star, will be answered in the next entry!

Yep, hacksaw has always been my favorite tool, I repaired my hacksaw many times Simple tools worked too unless this was changed. But 34% is actually very generous, I can harvest many carcasses before it breaks. 24% wouldn't be so great.

Didn't think about that! I was thinking of going back up there for that carcass... thanks!!!

Impressive level of detail in your method @TheEldritchGod. Congratulations on your achievement! With that said, I believe with @JAFO that you don't have to bend and exploit the game to succeed - maybe you won't make it to 30 days or to some other number, but you will enjoy the run much more. I'm breaking almost every rule listed in @TheEldritchGod's account - starting fires with a torch (heck I just started one with a mag lens, 75% chance), climbing, not eating raw meat, harvesting big chunks, not levelling up skills, drinking my teas to the bottom and I don't know what else. Still, I'm doing fine so far, 10 days in. That's also my message to @Pillock - play it any way you like, it's a fun challenge.

Deadman 3 / Day 10 It's a bit too windy for my liking, but the wind comes from the direction of the Summit, so I'll be covered while climbing. In late morning I climb up the rope and reach the summit of the Timberwolf Mountain. ch the My first stop is in the cave, to greet a fellow deadman with rope and antibiotics. I take both and start a fire, because I need warming break. Make coffee. Pick two coals further back in the cave. The winds die down while I'm warming up. Outside of the cave, I notice crows circling in an unusual place, high above some inaccessible point. There was no carcass at the open cave where I slept last night, so maybe there is one here? I climb higher to investigate, although I also keep in mind that I shouldn't get distracted. I need to go back before nightfall. As I walk towards the crows, the wind returns and I turn back on the way to the plane. Food container #1: 4 x salty crackers, 1 x tea, 2 x coffee. Food container #2: 3 x pork and beans, 2 x pinnacle peaches, 5 x soda. Clothes container: Lots of good stuff, I take a toque, work boots and ear wrap. All but the ear wrap in very good condition. 70% firestriker, flare gun with 8 shells and, of course, my third emergency stim. The matches and accelerant must be in one of the crates - I don't need those, I'll leave them here. Also, I don't need the medical/pelts container. My hacksaw is in 34% condition and I haven't found another one yet. I stuff myself with peaches and pork and beans, drink a coffee and return with all my loot to the rope. Wind blows in my face on the way back, but I make it to the snow shelter without condition loss - still at 72%. [24490 calories consumed] Deadman 3 / Day 11 This time I sleep in short intervals without fire. That last night's bonfire was very wasteful, a habit that I carried over from a world where people sleep 10 hours in a row. I still have 30 coals, but there will be no more coals between me and Winding River now, so I have to use them sparingly. Nevertheless, a blizzard starts in the early morning, so I have to get up and make fire. I make water and brew some tea and coffee (this is one difference I'm making compared to my normal runs - normally I don't carry pre-brewed drinks, it doesn't feel right). After the blizzard stops, I return to my shelter and sleep some more. Next time, on Deadman: rest of the Day 11 entry. [24990 calories consumed]

The idea was to save calories from the climb, but I climbed up before running out of calories, and only hit zero after my sprint away from the wolf. So it didn't work. Another reason I sometimes don't eat is to make sure I have room to eat all meat I might find on a deer carcass on the spot, rather than carrying it around.

Thanks but please don't - if for no other reason, I'm too busy to progress fast...

Deadman 3 / Day 9 It's too windy and cold in the morning. I stay in the shelter, sleeping for short periods to stay rested. When it gets warmer in the afternoon and the winds stop, I dismantle the shelter and set out. At the top of the rope to Deer Clearing, I expect wolves, and I don't get disappointed - a greeting bark comes as soon as I make a few steps from the rope. I light the torch and walk on. After a few seconds I hear the wolf started running after me and I'm prepared to lose this Deadman. I run, too. It's strange but the wolf seems to be only slowly catching up. When I'm thinking the struggle is imminent, it suddenly yelps and runs away. I don't know what saved me today. I reach the cave at Deer Clearing and start a fire. I find a flare and two coals. Do I have to say there's no food? Winds start blowing hard outside - not good, but I have no choice but to go on. There's some business I have to take care of first though. I drink warm coffee, put cans back on the stones and make some more water, then take a flare and walk towards the container. I drive a deer in front of me but the wolf is already occupied by a rabbit. I cut open the bottom compartment only - three tomato soups, not the greatest loot but 900 calories are better than nothing. I leave the top compartment be. No need for rabbit pelts and scrap metal (although I could use cloth). On the way back to the cave I notice the second wolf is feasting on a deer, so I should be safe. It's late afternoon and I need to make it to the second rope before nightfall. Wind or no wind, wolves or no wolves, I drink another coffee and go on. I stick to the slopes to see around well, so I sprain an ankle and a wrist. A small price to pay for situational awareness, fixed easily with painkillers. As I approach the other wolf territory, I see one wolf in the distance. I continue to the second rope to the Secluded Shelf, making a stop at a deer carcass on the way. 0.9 kg. Again, it doesn't get much more meager than this... I reach Secluded Shelf, search the cave (coal, magnifying lens, firewood, NO FOOD) and emerge on the other side, already at night. I start a fire in the open cave, build a snow shelter and sleep. 72% condition, I didn't lose any today. [20110 calories consumed]

Apparently it worked. LUCK I had "You can do it unless you can't" could be another fitting subtitle of The Long Dark.

Deadman 3 / Day 8 The winds are too strong outside. I'm planning a quiet day today and waiting in my shelter for better weather. The opportunity presents itself around noon when the winds stop and sun appears. I cross to the Cave of Engines - searching a body and a backpack on the way, to find them both empty - and inside I collect a few coals, a vest, which I put on, and a book on firestarting, which will soon be used to start a fire, thereby fulfilling its purpose. Interestingly, no food again. I'm really finding very, very little food, even compared to Interloper, and wonder if it is just bad rng or the settings of the challenge. I walk out of the cave at the other engine and head to the left first. The deer carcass I came for is here, good news. Bad news, it only has 0.8 kg of meat. Not only I'm finding little food, but the ravaged deer carcasses are ravaged very thoroughly indeed. The only decent ones I found were at the Log Sort. I finish my job and since the weather is still reasonable, I go to the waterfall - one eye on the pair of wolves patrolling the river - and collect the mountaineering rope. Strong winds start blowing and I'm forced to make another fire, sheltered by a tree, to prevent condition loss. Eventually I make it to the other deployment point. My shortcut back to Mountaineer's Hut is ready. My Snowball training is paying off, I've done this a dozen times. Back to the shelter at sunset. I didn't lose any condition, it's still at 72%, but I didn't find nearly as much food as I hoped. A very, very dangerous day lies ahead! Two ropes, two wolf areas, possible bear [16780 calories consumed]

I'm moving too fast to use snares, but fishing is a possibility. I'm keeping the gut with me for now.

Yeah sorry to be boring... I'm not on the path to beat it though! I'm still losing condition too fast. I promise some excitement soon

Yep they are! And I should really find the time to read your story, the pieces I did read were great.

Thanks, I've just tried it... produced a disastrous FPS drop in the game and a black screen video output. I guess my written accounts will have to do

An off-topic related to "proving" mentioned in the other thread on Deadman - I'm far from succeeding here or even challenging the leaders, but if anyone could help me find out how to make a video, I'm all ears. I tried Bandicam but the free version only records for 10 minutes, and the full one costs like 30-40 bucks, I'm not willing to pay that much for this I set up a twitch account and downloaded something called Bobo, recommended for starters - but it doesn't work with computers without dedicated GPU, so no luck there either. I have Intel HD graphics.

Deadman 3 / Day 7 The lack of bedroll makes my plans complicated, but no more than the weather. Strong winds blow in the morning, so I stay by the fire in the Mountaineer's Hut and only occasionally make a dash for a few sticks or cattails. When a blizzard breaks out, I take advantage of the wolves having left and collect cattails on the far side of the lake. I take 1% hit on condition for this. I also sleep to stay rested and ready to go. This is one thing I really like about this challenge: you rest whenever you can, rather than "saving fatigue" to be able to sleep for a long stretch at night. No more senseless running before bedtime. Finally, in the afternoon the weather becomes "reasonable". I drink warm tea, grab a torch and go towards the Wing. One of the wolves on the eastern side of the lake gives me hard time, I have to start a fire to chase it off. I also hear the bear patrolling around here. A while later, as I maneuver to avoid the bear, I notice moose marks on trees. The moose is here as well - standing right beside the container I want to get into. Great. I start a fire to chase the moose off, but the first attempt fails. I'm freezing now, losing condition at a fast rate. The second firestarting attempt succeeds, but during the process the wind begins blowing in full strength: I can't keep this fire going. I run to the nearest place that offers some shelter and start a new fire, again at the second attempt. By the time I get into positive temperatures, I'm back down to 72% condition. The wind dies down within an hour and I return, with torch in hand, to the Wing. The bear can be seen in the distance, walking away. But the moose is neither seen nor heard. I'm suspicious because from my experience, they have small patrol zones - it should be nearby. As I'm nearing the container, I hear an unfriendly "moo", soon followed by the sound of something big, fast and heavy running on the snow. The moose was hidden behind a piece of debris and now it's running at me. I quickly start a fire and the moose runs away. The container is finally mine. Two cans of pork and beans, one of peaches, a packet of tea and a can of coffee, courtesy of Grizzly Air. Thank you, I'll be flying with you again. It's foggy now, late afternoon, and I use the weather to harvest a deer carcass on the way to Deer Clearing (1.2 kg). It's quickly getting dark and soon wind picks up again, but I'm already on my way to the Three-way cave. I revive the campfire there and build a snow shelter, check it is warm enough to stay inside without fire, and sleep until fully rested. 72% condition. [15440 calories consumed]

Deadman 3 / Day 6 Timberwolf Mountain welcomes me with blizzards, so I spend the day mostly in the Mountaineer's Hut, repairing a wool toque I found, boiling water, making tea and playing a game of "catch the granola bar". 85% condition. [11180 calories consumed]

Deadman 3 / Day 5 In the morning I just peek outside to check the weather and to eat the venison steak I left at the doorstep. It's too cold. I wait until noon before setting out. Winds are light and I reach the trailer midway to Cinder Hills Mine without any freezing. Nothing found in the trailer this time - not even that soda can. I briefly consider going to the Abandoned Lookout - for some reason I hope for a bedroll there - but it's too windy in the afternoon, and I just cut it short and go to the mine. The mine has over 30 coals and an emergency stim, but no food, I mean, NO FOOD. A box of simple tools and a bandage, both of them quite useless to me. It's foggy in Pleasant Valley. I take a look down from the path from the mine to see a wolf patrolling on the approach to Rural Crossroads. So I'm not going there and head towards End of the Road instead. The fog thickens and the visibility is minimum. I walk with a burning torch in hand, of course it's the same fire as the one that guided me through the mine, although I do not consider saving matches is not as critical on Deadman as on Interloper. I expect a wolf encounter any time, this is a wolfy place. End of the Road, search the car to find Beef Jerky. Derelict Cabins, still no wolf. A dead guy with a bottle of painkillers, my third but that's still nice. Bear cave, still no wolf and no bones in the cave. I sit down in the fog, start a fire and harvest meat from the deer carcass there: 1.2 kg, thanks at least for that. I eat it all on the spot and walk on. I reach the bridge across the Mystic River, still no wolf. I walk through the gorge and reach the Picnic Area. There is a corpse and a backpack, both empty. I enter the cave and search it, but what I mainly came for is not there. At least I get peaches, a storm lantern, a wool toque (in bad shape) and some coal. It's night by the time I'm done in the cave but I have to push to the bunker as without the bedroll I cannot sleep in there. I'm encumbered but after an attempt to triage what I need and what I don't I give up and just walk on. It's my lucky day, apart from the wolf I briefly saw near Rural Crossroads I meet no hostile wildlife. Also, the weather was favorable, so I didn't lose any condition. The bunker is empty - not even a piece of newspaper there - so my luck has limits. I apply the stim before bed and fall asleep in 88% condition. [9630 calories consumed]

I don't think it's too different to Outerloper... just shorter. Good luck with your run!

True, there is a slim chance you will survive and keep going for a while (Deadman 1 did), but if that slim chance takes up 2 kg of my carrying capacity permanently, I give that chance up

That's accurate... even on Interloper I usually choose which food to eat. Not here. Breaking down crates or planks costs a ton of calories... it would be the last option I'd choose to get firewood. As for wolf attacks... it's a death sentence either way, so why bother.

Deadman 3 / Day 4 (continued) I have no food but what I do have is a ton of coal, and I don't want to be hauling it around forever. I'm thinking again about driving a deer into a wolf. But the morning is windy, too windy for a fire. I just manage to run across the ice to Jackrabbit Island before my temperature bar runs out. In the cottage I only find a can of soda and two (!) packs of herbal tea. It looks I'll be eating herbal tea tonight. After a warming break in the bed, I walk across the ice to the Fishing Camp. It is afternoon, foggy, and the air is relatively warm. Every fishing hut has the same thing - a piece of cedar, one reclaimed wood, newsprint. At the Fishing Camp I finally find some food, the same as Deadman 1 found here - pork and beans and a granola bar, both in their twenties. I take my chances but don't get food poisoning. There's a fishing hook on the workbench, which I take, but I don't make line. I leave the heavy hammer behind, I've concluded it is of little use to a Deadman. After another warming break I head out towards Log Sort. The highway allows me to move fast, but I also keep in mind a wolf can patrol it. The wolf barks me up at one bend, I light a torch and calmly search a trunk of a car before opening the door and letting the wolf walk away. Nothing in the car. A while later I'm on the way again, and the wolf finds me soon, unsurprisingly. This time I just walk on and at the nearest bend I make a short sprint to shake it off. Finally I arrive at Log Sort and follow the sound of the crows. By the end of the day, I harvest all meat from two deer carcasses, for a total of 3.8 kg. I also find beef jerky in the trailer. That should last me until tomorrow. I go to bed in 73% condition and on a full stomach. [7070 calories consumed]

Deadman 3 / Day 3 I try the trick I found about back in the HRV cave with one of my Snowballs... when you leave your character standing motionless, it will only lose minimum condition from starvation. But either it only works in caves, or they have fixed it - it didn't work for Deadman 3. I sleep and pass time until the morning. Soon after daybreak I head out onto the road, pick up my piece of venison, and slip into the connector mine. There I start a fire to cook my steak while searching around the mine entrance. In the box drawers I find my can opener and one more thing that surprises me: Does this - together with the coal from the mine - enable fishing? It's too early to tell. I pass through the mine, heavy with coal. I find no food. Once I emerge on the other side, I jump across the fence and follow the wall up to the small cave. There is a deer carcass, but no, I can't harvest it now - if I had a bedroll and could sleep in the cave, I would, but now I can't. I'm finding more coal and firewood but I'm leaving it behind, I'm too heavy. A while later I check into the Harris Home. Nothing in there. I wait for a while for my temperature bar to fill up. Strong wind picks up as I near Commuter's Lament. Bad. I wait for a while in a car, with a burning torch in hand it is warm enough to give me a bit of temperature boost. I prepare reishi mushrooms in the meantime, then I head out on the ice, direction Misanthrope's. Wolves are blocking the way, so I return on the road and bypass the Waterfront Cottages from the right. As I set foot on Misanthrope's Island, I can see a wolf blocking the way to the cottage. I run back on the ice, trying my best to avoid it - the bear isn't home, fortunately - but it soon spots me. I'm encumbered and exhausted, but one thing I have plenty of is lantern fuel, so I use it as accelerant and make a fire. The wolf runs away and so do I. I get into the cottage just before a blizzard breaks out, fatigue and starvation in the red. A quick search of the kitchen reveals exactly nothing. I find my fourth wool scarf upstairs: I've already found more wool scarves than food items in this run. I apply the emergency stim from the Lighthouse, which gets me back to 87%, wait for the effect to wear off, eat nothing for dinner, and sleep. [3080 calories consumed] Deadman 3 / Day 4 I wake up back at 74% due to starving. Before dawn, I spend a match and search the house with a torch in hand. I find salty crackers on a shelf and another bottle of lantern fuel. Outside it is too dark to go out at night. I'm waiting for daylight... to be continued. [3680 calories consumed]

It changes nothing, somehow it just feels better Yes, it was just the one container that changed. Not yet! It's still very much work in progress, now pushed back by the Deadman Challenge