Drifter Man

Day 25 The walk from Camp Office to Trapper's is usually short and boring, but this time I am caught by heavy fog along the way and take extra care not to run in a furball along the way. And when I am finally nearing the Homestead, I can hear bear sounds. That does not make me happy - based on historical experience, bear at Trapper's spells trouble for me. I'd much rather see the bear in the corner of the lake than here. I wait a few minutes for the bear to move away and continue to my destination. The cabin has little to offer, just like Camp Office had - RNG is not on my side in Mystery Lake, it seems. I check my load and continue to the transition cave, which is easy to navigate in daylight without a light source. I take the first rope down - having checked the situation carefully from above, but the wolf is not around - and after a brief stop in the cave I continue to the second rope. At about half fatigue, I don't want to risk a climbing mishap and pop an energy drink. Boosted this way, I am up at the picnic spot in no time and move to the Park Office. Not much of value in there - but a flare shell is a welcome addition to my arsenal. A while later I approach Paradise Meadows with residual headache from the energy drink. I move very carefully and yes, Rusty is on patrol without his buddy. I quickly find the key in the tractor and open the farmhouse. There still are a few hours of daylight remaining, but I am tired. Moving around encumbered and tired is inadvisable in Milton. I will stay for the night. I specifically wanted to check Paradise Meadows because during my last run I found the Cowichan here. No luck this time, but the food is still helpful. Day 26 Rested, I again slip quietly under Rusty's nose and take the road up to Milton. For a while I drive a deer in front of me, right into the town, but then it runs in the wrong direction and I lose it - so I switch to rabbits. I don't see any wolves, but when I am at the bank, I can hear wolfsteps close by. The wolf attacks the deer and gets his kill. I have trouble finding it for a moment, but then it finally shows up: https://youtu.be/qpVid5V1BaA Cowardly striking an unsuspecting opponent from behind during dinner explains why I can never be knighted, but I hope I can increase my life expectancy this way. I get all the meat, hide and guts from the deer and carry everything that I can't eat on the spot to Grey Mother's house. The wolf is of no interest to me - I have no use for parasites. I also rob the Milton bank and raid several more houses. I find a can of gunpowder in the safe - could be useful later. It is too dark to search Grey Mother's house at this late hour, so I just find a bed and get some sleep. Weather and wolves permitting, I'll move to the HRV cave tomorrow.

Nah sorry, I passed by quietly, making sure he does not notice me...

Days 22-24 I continue my journey: Signal Hill to Winding River on Day 22, search of the Dam on Day 23, on to the Camp Office on Day 24. The outdoor temperatures still can't make a dent in my wellbeing thanks to my "advanced clothes", and at this time the game is little more than a walking simulator. Where wolves stand in the way, I can easily take a detour. I haven't had another wolf encounter since Day 19. View from Signal Hill, Day 22 My old home, Day 23 Alan's Cave, Day 24 Blizzards are frequent - every day brings one - and I read one book after another. The search of the Dam takes the whole afternoon of Day 23. Some lockers still require a mysterious item called "prybar". It is mentioned in many places in native legends, yet I will not believe until I see one for myself. Overall, I find a lot of tools, particularly ammunition, but less in the way of food; as I am about to run out of my last supplies from the Summit, I process two more deer carcasses at the Dam. In the Camp Office I notice an unusually long whetstone - the scale is off in one direction. I also remember seeing oversized birch bark in AC above the Stone Shelf Cave. I don't want to stay in ML for long. Tomorrow I am going to Trapper's and the on to MT. The next map to search is Hushed River Valley - I want to use my position ahead of the curve to the maximum advantage. The warmer regions can wait for later.

Day 20 I read for an hour before there is enough light in the barn, then leave the building and grab the arrows from the practice target. Wolves are still around. I check the tractors (1 candy bar that will give me food poisoning later) and return to the barn to search the upper floor. Not much of anything up there, at least not for immediate use. It is heavily snowing but the winds are light. I move towards Thomson's Crossing, using a hill along the way as a vantage point from which to check for wolves. I reach the crossing without incident and search the buildings. In one I find a levitating first aid kit: There are more new things - car interiors seem to have been reworked. They used to feel more spartan than they are now. Also, I take note of names an d other inscriptions on the tombstones in the cemetery - That's probably not new, but I haven't noticed that before. I warm up in the Community Hall - there are lots of drawers and cupboards to search. Most of them empty. I refresh myself with water from the toilet (best served with 15% dog food). Next, I search the service station across the road and then move to take a look at the remaining buildings across the bridge. The snowing now combines with wind and a blizzard starts while I am searching the last house. With the help of an energy drink, I run back to the Community Hall to stay for the rest of the day and night. I use the time well, with books. Today's supper: 26% nuts'n'stuff, 12% nuts'n'stuff, 17% dog food, 14% dog food, 62% granola bar. Food poisoning comes already with the first item, so I eat the rest without worries. Antibiotics and bed. Day 21 I continue by the edge of the map towards the cave leading to Winding River, in ideal weather. I make a stop in a cave - using my mag lens for the first time - to warm up and process a nearby deer carcass. I eat the meat and leave the hide and guts in the cave for future use. Then onwards to the Pensive Pond, where I pause for a minute to pay respects to Sir Mordred, recently inwolved here, probably by the wolf I've seen patrolling the road. While I'm cooking a tomato soup on the stove, the weather takes a quick turn from good to bad. Later at the crossroads, I a near-blizzard, I hesitate whether to risk a push to Signal Hill or see refuge in the Cave System. Eventually I choose the latter. Am I being too careful? A full-blown blizzard in my face vindicates me. It is afternoon and this blizzard will continue well into the night.

Day 18 I spend the early morning over the floor hatch, deciding what to take with me and what to leave behind. I take a new can opener to replace the old one I used in Ash Canyon: it is nearly broken after opening 20-30 cans. Can openers have a short span of usefulness: eventually you learn to smash cans without a loss, and later on there even aren't any cans left to open. All perishables go with me. It may take a while before I come back. Heavy non-essential tools, particularly the rifle, stay in TWM. I check the weather: felt -12°C. Read for one hour, then it is -9°C. Another hour and I am good to go. I go past the Landing Gear and climb down to PV, making a stop at the bunker on the way to Misty Falls. The place is loaded with resources: clothing, books, bedroll and most importantly, a survival bow in the cave - in good condition at 70%. No worries about crafting a bow for some time. A pair of gauntlets is an interesting find. They are neither warmer nor lighter than the rabbitskins, but they offer more protection and restrict stamina less when running. I'll keep them, although I am not sure I will use them - rabbit pelts are easier to procure than leather. Then I remember there was a secret place behind a waterfall in the cave. I find it and get another rifle, ammunition and a firearm cleaning kit. Most of the stuff stays behind. A drink a 3% soda - I've never gotten food poisoning from these and this time it is no different. I continue down the river and towards the End of the Road. I check the bear cave: unoccupied. That's good, because this is overall a poor place for bear hunting and the bear is normally a threat rather than a source of food here. I celebrate this finding by making camp in the cave and processing the deer carcass nearby. I wonder, can bears migrate from cave to cave during one game? I don't think I've ever seen that. I struck two matches under clear skies today - a sacrilege. I need to find that mag lens. Onwards to Draft Dodger's - or stay for the night? I choose to stay, I am too tired already. And the second copy (not volume) of "Field Dressing your Kill" is just as interesting to read as the first. Day 19 A blizzard rages throughout the night and into the morning. More reading. Passing time saves me from needing to light a fire. When the weather improves, I am on my way to Draft Dodger's. I carefully pass through the wolf territory but I do get spotted anyway: my first wolf encounter in this run. The wolf follows me all the way to Draft Dodger's, growling menacingly, but keeps a respectful distance at all times. There's nothing of interest in the cabin. I read for an hour to make the wolf despawn and walk on towards the Farmstead. Along the way I find this cairn without the usual cloth ribbon. Interesting. Perhaps backer #4272 did not contribute enough to get one The Farmstead welcomes me with mainly food - mostly in low condition - but I also finally get my mag lens. Next, I will need a prybar. Too many lockers and car trunks stay locked, laughing at me. Outside I check the doghouse and am not disappointed: 15% dog food. Yum. "I hope this is any good to eat." A copy of Stay on Target in the car - very good. On to the nearby barn and across the Heartbreak Bridge to the Outbuildings, with a stop in the light barn to the right of the road (a hatchet, a rifle bullet). The weather serves me a warning notice as I walk down the road. Wolves patrol around the Outbuildings and I am too tired to play with them now, so I head straight inside. Enough fun for today, I say to myself. I search the ground floor and decide to leave the rest for better light tomorrow. I read for one hour before getting ready to sleep in the car. Today's supper: 37% little cow, 17% maple syrup, 14% chips, all good. I don't have space in my stomach for the delicious dog food.

High quality clothes do take a fair bit of the bite out of Interloper (which is in part what I want), but they are not enough to make you warm and comfortable - I know that from my previous run (There Will Be Blood), which I played with essentially the same settings. First, I will have to replace a few items with slightly less warm crafted equivalents to keep the consumption of cloth reasonable. Second, the world still gets very cold. Positive felt temperatures can happen with these settings in warm regions (e.g. ML, MT, FM) in the afternoon. But PV, which is by about 7°C colder than ML on average, and other regions with similar conditions, will remain challenging on good days and very tough on bad ones. I think I'll get just the right balance. It is - English probably couldn't come up with a similarly compact expression for the activity, so it borrowed one from German.

The Cold Table, the brotherhood of extreme interlopists.

Day 16 I start the day in the cave, rebalancing my load. The job is easier now that I have finished all this low-density food like tomato soups. I still have plenty of calories in MRE and energy bars. Still, some more sticks need to get dropped before I am ready for the next climb - up to the plateau of the Runaway Bridge. Up there I find an energy drink, an energy bar, and a firestriker. After checking out the secret area, I transfer the rope I used to climb up to the next attachment point and move down to the Climber's cave area. From there I jump down to Angler's Den, picking up the rifle along the way. I search the cabin but leave most of the stuff I find in place. That includes 7% dog food - I am not that desperate to pay for 500 calories with near certainty of food poisoning, although in retrospect I should have taken it - the time to get poisoning without consequences is now, when I do not need to recover health. The second rifle will stay at Angler's Den, too. However, I do take the arrowheads from the drawer. Benefits of Stalker base loot. Temporarily boosted by the energy drink, I move to the Narrow Falls Cave and decide to stay in there for the night: It is only late afternoon but I am tired and there is no shelter from here to Mountaineer's Hut. I light a fire, spending two matches - one for the torch and the other one then for the fire, by mistake. I make water with the help of purifying tablets: Nice find but I don't want to haul them around - honestly, one of the rather useless items in TLD, although I do remember - if vaguely - an instant when they allowed me to make just enough water with limited firewood to survive. While the snow is melting in the cans, I clean the revolver and the rifle from the Gold Mine. Yes, I unloaded both weapons first; I did not try to fire them before cleaning, but more importantly, I remembered to reload again once I was finished. Just imagine the "click" in a wolf's face. Day 17 Early in the morning I mend my bedroll. Then again check what to leave behind (some coal and sticks) and set out towards Bitter Marsh. The weather is starting to show teeth: felt -6°C in the fog. By midday, when the felt temperature turns positive, the temperature bar is nearly depleted. A sign of much colder times to come. I crisscross Bitter Marsh but find nothing of interest, and in early afternoon I exit to the Echo Ravine. A while later I am back to Mountaineer's Hut. The weather is excellent but I am a bit too tired to continue to Pleasant Valley. Instead, reminded by the morning's cold air, I get to work on the Rabbitskin Mitts and finish them at nightfall. Tomorrow I will go back to Pleasant Valley. The plan is to visit Misty Falls, Draft Dodger's Cabin, then the Farmstead, Barn, Thomson's Crossing, then turn back and go to Signal Hill before leaving for Mystery Lake. I am still looking for a mag lens. A survival bow would also be nice - I think the Barn could have one. I spent my only cured guts on the mittens and it will take time before I have the opportunity to get more. Then it comes to the more long-term stuff: a second pair of red underwear, the Mukluks and the prized Cowichan are still on the shopping list. I don't need to have all of this but any of this would be nice

😆

Great read. Sir Mordred loved to live on a knife edge, and suffered from a split personality that occasionally made him to drop weapons or compulsively boil water. R.I.W. (Rest in wolf) Looking forward to reading how the rest of the round table will fare.

Day 14 I peek out of the cave at dawn, burning torch in hand. Beautiful starry sky, the horizon pales in the east (not that I normally have any idea where east is). But it is cold! How can it be so cold, felt minus twenty? Wasn't it around zero just yesterday around the same time? I start a fire at the cave mouth and warm up some tomato soup when I realize my problem - of course, I took the clothes off for the night and forgot to take them back on. I fix the mistake and admire the colors of the dawn. The weather turns bad after a while, with strong winds blowing snow in my face, but even this weather is no match for my summit attire. I find a snow shelter past the first bridge and dismantle it, then carry on, dropping two coals or a stash of sticks here and there, again for the future me. The road is long and exposed to weather, but I reach Wolf's Jaw Overlook without incident. From there I go up and briefly park in the cave on the way to the Mining Camp. Above the camp I realize that there is no rope attached, and I have none on me. Did I miss it in the cave? Maybe - but instead of going back, I bring the rope from the next climb above Stone Shelf. Soon the Gold Mine welcomes me. Inside I light a flare - to save a match and reduce weight. I rarely use flares. I wade through the cold waters to the treasure. In addition to the crampons and the backpack, I also take the rifle - this place is very remote and I now have the capacity to carry it. I am too tired to climb back, so I spend the night in the mine. Day 15 I start the day by climbing back up the rope, spending about half of my fatigue bar. I return to the cave and search it thoroughly: no rope there, I did not miss anything. I return to Wolf's Jaw Overlook and chart the area from the vista location - I found the polaroid near High Meadow, but I did not have a piece of charcoal on me when I was here yesterday. Does anyone else find it strange that vista locations do not give you any advantage in charting unless you have found their polaroid? As if the polaroid somehow enabled you to chart from the place. Whatever. I go back to the cave and sleep until late afternoon. Strong enough to take the three ropes down to Stone Shelf, I wave the Gold Mine goodbye. The weather turns sour and eventually a blizzard breaks out. I am tired again from the abseiling but I am not worried at all - navigation is easy in this area. I keep to the right side, looking for the cave. Once I hit a large fallen tree that blocks the way, I know I have already missed it, and return a few meters back. There is the Stone Shelf Cave, my shelter for tonight.

Days 11-12 This is almost embarrassing to write about. TWM is a sauna in these early days with clothes from the Summit. I am getting safely positive temperatures all day. No need for warming breaks. In addition, I have so much food that I can travel without worries for at least a week. Let's enjoy it while it lasts. On Day 11 I make the move once more to Deer Clearing - a third time I walk this path in this run. I spend the night in the transition cave and next morning, Ash Canyon welcomes me. As I planned, I keep right and cross the first scary bridge to reach Climber's Cave. There I eat the lunch prepared for me - 78% venison is much more enticing than in last run when I visited this place on Day ~400. I keep the cattails and tea for later. I search the plateau and even have the time to take in the views. Day 13 The weather is less favorable today, with heavy snow falling, but I set out at dawn with felt temperature around zero. I climb up two ropes to the High Meadow and continue towards Miner's Folly. I make frequent detours to check out various places of interest, so I end up covering a lot of ground. I make stashes of sticks in selected places for the future me, who will have to deal with late Interloper temperatures. I also drop off some saplings in a cave - to cure and be collected much later. I take a break at Miner's Folly, cooking some pork & beans and waiting for the bear to appear and pass by. I add two cups of coffee as I am exhausted from the climb. When the bear passes by and the road forward is clear, I pack up again - without a visit to Foreman's Retreat - and walk through the bear's den and by the bridge that leads towards Wolf's Jaw Overlook. The weather deteriorates rapidly and I feel a blizzard coming. I go to the vertical cave that connects this place with the bottom of the canyon and search it in late afternoon. I do not go past the waterfall inside. I finish the day inside the cave mending clothes and eating more pork & beans.

I see. Next time I stare down a barrel I'll ask the mugger to give me the weapon so that I can triple check that it is unloaded ... and I even have Interloper item density! I assume that on actual stalker, whenever you open a container, you run the risk that the ejected boxes of salty crackers flying out will knock you unconscious. I am happy to give you the credit unless there isn't anyone else to claim it. I thought it was you. I'll make sure I will address him properly next time he wants to chat

I have no idea what you are talking about. But it seems to me that you are an expert

Interesting - I just speculated, I did not actually think that CPU power could be an issue, this is not a flight simulator or anything. I had no idea that tracking the movement and interactions of a few animals could tax the resources of some platforms.

Days 8-10 These three days were very busy, but overall uneventful. As soon as I repaired the clothes found on the Summit to useable condition, I emerged way ahead of the curve. Food is plentiful and my only concern for the last few days has been weight management. I returned from the Summit to Mountaineer's Hut via Eric's Falls and the upper Engine, checking out the remaining containers along the way. But don't worry, the curve will catch up with me again, in about 20 days, and things will get a little more interesting. But only a little. This is a long run setup, and long run setups are not always very exciting. Now, I have lots of food - canned food (including condensed milk, which, unlike what the description says, does NOT keep forever), MRE, energy bars, crackers. I am in a great position for an incursion in the Ash Canyon. Here's the plan: I will return to Deer Clearing and take the long route to the Gold Mine via Climber's Cave and Miner's Folly. From there, take the ropes down with the next stop at the Stone Shelf Cave. I can return to TWM or explore the area of Angler's Den, depending on how things stand.

Day 6 More blizzard. I read "Survive the Outdoors" cover to cover until I finish it in early afternoon. The progress bar indicated I should get Level 2 firestarting from this book, but the skill is still well short of that when I am done. It is Day 6, so from this day until Day 50, the air temperatures will be dropping by about 0.7°C each day, until stable "late interloper" conditions are achieved. I don't remember who coined the term "staying ahead of the curve" in TLD - meaning you need to obtain clothing that adds to your felt temperature at a faster rate than the world gets colder - but I am well positioned for the race, three ropes below the Summit. Once the weather improves, I transit via Three-Way Cave straight to Deer Clearing. I warm up quickly in the cave to Ash Canyon by sleeping for 1 hour, then move to the open cave at Deer Clearing. The cave is empty except for two lumps of coal and some firewood. I start a fire (4 matches left) and make water and coffee. Warmed up, I head out for the containers, picking up four birch saplings along the way. The local wolf is not around, but the bear up from Eric Falls is here. The containers disappoint me: some tools and clothes, no food. I'll be eating salty crackers tonight. At least there are two pairs of good wool socks and a pair of trail boots that will be useful to me. With even more caffeine circulating through my veins, I set out towards the rope to Secluded Shelf. I want to rest in the loading screen cave to avoid having to keep a fire going all night. The bear is on his way back to his cave and slows me down - I have to shadow him from behind. Eventually I reach Secluded Shelf and enter the cave. I break down a hacksaw in low condition and prepare reishi and rosehips, as I am not yet tired enough to get full recovery from sleep. I go to bed well after midnight. Day 7. Summit Day. After passing through the cave (3 matches left), I drop some excess gear and climb up to the Summit. I find all I need in the Tail Section. Matches, food (peanut butter - another item that decays fast in outdoor environments), tools, ammunition, clothes. I choose what to keep: mainly things that will give me an advantage in the next ~200 days or so, before I get the time to come back, or that would soon perish. Mainly the food, a set of selected clothing (two expedition parka, snow pants, one pair of red underwear, two pairs of climbing socks), matches, ammunition. The rifle stays on the Summit - too heavy, I will find another one. The flare gun only has three shells with it. I collect sticks on the Summit and pay a visit to the antibiotics guy in the cave. He greets me and gives me a copy of Advanced Guns Guns Guns. I'll leave reading it for later - this title is better left for Levels 4 or 5. I spend the night next to the fire in the Tail Section.

Day 4 Well healed up, I wake up to the sounds of the typical PV weather. I pass the time by finishing the book and then cleaning the revolver using a cleaning kit I brought from Mountaineer's Hut. I unload it first. Anyone else does that before cleaning? I don't know much about guns but it seems like a reasonable thing to do. When the blizzard dies down in late afternoon, I climb back up to TWM and, with a short warm-up break on the way, I reach Mountaineer's Hut again. I must start a fire in the fireplace - my clothes are no match for the cold, even indoors. I feed it with almost all my firewood to make it last through the night. At dusk I knock out two rabbits and make dinner. My first pelts and guts are curing. Day 5 Condition is good, I am Well Fed and I even have food at least for the next day. But I am nearly out of firewood and only have 6 matches out of the 12 I found here on Day 1. Also: no bedroll yet. I must have move out early today and the stars need to align for my survivor, or he'll be in trouble. The stars have no intention of aligning. While the fire still has about 1.5 hours left in it, a blizzard starts. I only have a few sticks on me. I have vacuumed all sticks in the area, so there is no point in trying to collect more in the blizzard. What do I do? A sane person would stay in the hut, monitor and feed the fire as long as there is fuel, maybe break up some crates for extra firewood - that could work. An experienced TLD survivor knows that the right answer is to go outside, into the blizzard, and wait close to the wall close enough to the fireplace to stay warm. Since the fire duration bonus is determined by the player's air temperature, taken as free of the warming effect of the fire, the fire will last longer when the player is standing in a colder environment. So, outside I go, and I wait. The fire lasts just long enough for me to survive the blizzard. I make some tea for the warmth bonus, take a torch and walk into the snow. With some warmth management - leaving the tea for the far side of Crystal Lake - my temperature bar lasts until I am at the Wing. Harvey is still asleep after the blizzard, but the containers are guarded by the moose. I quickly abandon the idea of getting to them - too much risk, a moose attack would be a disaster at this time. I continue retracing my path from Day 1 until I reach the cave I started out from. The back of the cave is still at felt -1°C and I fail 5 (FIVE) times on the fire while losing condition. Eventually I get it going and make birch bark tea. The next stop is the Three-Way Cave. I find a bedroll, a torch, some food and firewood, but no matches. Going straight to Mountaineer's Hut was the right call on Day 1. The wind blows out my torch on the way to the Cave of Engines. I am still warm, so I go to the lower Engine to crack some containers. I get to the nearest one while the wolf is on the other end of the area. I find 20 coffee, 10 tea, 3 energy bars at 23% and about 10 boxes of crackers. Food and fatigue are solved for the foreseeable future. I return to the Cave of Engines and search it, but the haul is just coal. Still no matches. I am down to five now. Still, it should be more than enough to get to the Summit. I harvest torches and eat the three energy bars. At 23% they might be risky. I can afford food poisoning now - am in good health and have antibiotics - but they turn out fine. Energy bars (also: chocolate) decay very quickly in TLD in outdoor environments. If I arrived a few days later, I would not find them in the container anymore. 10 hours of sleep in my brand new bedroll.

Day 2 What's the plan, Drifter Man? The plan is Burned Ridge. There should be airline food plus some basic clothing at least to get me to positive temperatures indoors and to protect all extremities from frostbite. Bonus objective: a toolbox from Skeeter's Ridge. This would allow me to repair my hacksaw - I found a 76% one in the bunker, but that's not enough, I need to be able to repair. Why? Because each container compartment costs 5%, of course, and there are lots of containers up there on Stalker base loot. If I can get my hands on all this canned food before it expires, it can fuel my way up to the summit, and I'll be set up with good gear right from the start. Off we go to the Burned Ridge, with a brief stop at the hunting blind (a book, a knife a broken arrow, and the usual tin of sardines) The operation is a success, albeit a costly one. The weather does not stay favorable and in between warming up at a roaring fire in the Burned Ridge Cave, I lose a fair bit of condition while searching all those overhead bins, suitcases and corpses. I do get enough clothing but mostly poor quality - at least I now have enough cloth for a snow shelter if I don't find any bedrolls. I also make two bandages, an important first step to survival. Undeterred by the weather (and a patrolling wolf), I make it to Skeeter's as well - I claim the toolbox and a revolver with two bullets in it. It is in poor condition but we will clean it up. On the way back I nearly bump into a bear in the darkness: But I reach the bunker safely in about 60% condition and get 10 hours of healing sleep. Day 3 My condition is still a bit too low for comfort. Mountaineer's Hut isn't the best place to stay and recover - I would need a fire going practically non-stop. So, this day I will rest in the bunker. I only go out to grab some firewood and a birch sapling. Otherwise I read the book Field Dressing Your Kill Volume 1, for which there is no Volume 2. A blizzard is raging outside while I eat frozen airline food. At nightfall I do some climbing exercise at the rope to get tired, then sleep.

Day 1 The start is in... some cave. Firewood, no coal. Where am I? Outside it is a clear, windless, very cold morning. My first thought is that this is Pleasant Valley, the cave halfway between the Cave System exit and Long Curve. I turn left, thinking that I might go to Signal Hill or the Farmstead this way, but the terrain looks different. I collect mushrooms and rosehips and see some rabbits. This is not PV. Then I arrive at a precipice and the familiar sight allows me to find my bearings: I am above Echo Ravine, near the tree bridge, Timberwolf Mountain. For a moment I hesitate. Should I move back to the three-way cave? Maybe it is too risky. I don't know if the matches can be found there on Stalker base loot. What if I don't find matches? If I can't warm up and pass through the Cave of Engines, I will most likely die. Instead I press on across the fallen tree bridge. Slipping by the Wing - noticing moose marks on trees but no moose - I see Harvey on patrol towards Crystal Lake. I am faster and reach the lake first. After collecting some more sticks and cattails, I reach Mountaineer's Hut and light my first fire (on the first try! Many matches are saved). The Hut does not have much on offer. 30% hacksaw, a ski jacket in poor condition, a flare, a few other minor items. I warm up and want to go via Cattail Bay towards PV, but a blizzards stops me before I get too far. I return to the hut and am forced to start another fire. It shouldn't take long, blizzards don't last long in TWM. I finally leave at nightfall, collecting all cattails in Cattail Bay. The weather takes a quick turn back for the worse after entering Pleasant Valley. I lose my fire again and climb down the rope freezing. The bunker is too dark and too cold. I light a torch when I get stuck in the darkness between the workbench and the air duct - there goes the third match today - but even the torch does not bring me to positive temperature in my crappy clothes. I am only saved by the bed warmth bonus.

About six months after quitting my 800-day run (as described in "There will be blood") I decided to give TLD another try. And after testing out a few custom setups, I settled on more of the same - my own "interloper minus" difficulty: Interloper with stalker base loot and firearms, reduced condition recovery (None when awake and Low when resting), reduced wildlife struggle condition damage modifier to Low, and, as a novelty, no cabin fever. No feats are enabled. Stalker base loot and firearms allow me to get all the stuff and enjoy the full palette of gameplay. Reduced condition recovery adds to the challenge a little, forcing me to manage condition carefully as I can only recover about 16% during a 10-hour sleep - it discourages starvation, for one thing. And finally, low wildlife struggle condition damage modifier should make my survivor less likely to die from a random wolf attack - but wolf struggles remain highly undesirable. Version 2.00 custom difficulty code: 8tnM-bj8P-KRt2-i6GO-9+IB At the time of writing, the survivor is just 4 days old and not yet out of the woods, but he is ready to start reporting I should alert Professor @Hotzn of the Royal Academy of TLD Sciences, in case he finds the time to log in here in between his conferences and invited speeches.

I must have read it myself - somehow it got fixed in my head that those were primarily Wintermute maps. Still, I'm happy for having got them. Clearly a TLD wolf does not move when there is nobody to see it 🙂 Random interactions and wolves off in places where they normally shouldn't be is not a bad thing IMO. Of course, if the animals are out of sighting range, it is ok that they stay suspended - it would be a waste of resources, plus any rabbits and deer whose areas overlap with active wolf patrol zones would get wiped out before the player could see them. I just think that the minimum range from the player at which the animal movement stops should be substantially extended, right now it is too close and the mechanic is too easy to notice - and to take advantage of.

Great to see how creative the modders can get.

Good to know, thanks. No more CF.

BI is too obviously designed - by human hand - to be dangerous. This is why I don't like it, although the lack of things to do except using the workshop is probably also a factor. I've been wondering what makes a good region in TLD. In my opinion, each of the earlier regions is a masterpiece: ML, CH, PV, DP, TWM and FM. Each has a unique character, interesting and memorable spots, good bases and multiple ways to get around. BR and MT are too linear - their design was probably subordinate to the needs of Wintermute, keeping the player in a narrow corridor. HRV and AC again show too obviously that they were designed by human hand: this time, to be puzzles to solve rather than places to inhabit. They are fun, though. I haven't been to Blackrock - if it is a great map that matches the earlier ones, that's is amazing. The key to greatness is: the map needs to be liveable. You choose to stay in there and you enjoy it. In this respect, I acknowledge that different maps can work for different people. I've also restarted TLD after the break, launching a few deadman runs for warm-up. But one of the first things that struck me again was that animals still aren't moving when you are not looking at them. As a result, wolves are too easy to game if you spot them early enough. Perhaps it's not completely game-breaking, but it gets close to it...