TheEldritchGod

Do you feel the howling wind?

Do you hear the crunch of snow?

Do You Sense The Lengthening Darkness?

He's stronger than ever before and we don't know why. We have to buy more time. Every moment is a life. Every step is a prayer. He cannot let prey go free. We can use that against him.

We know the darkwalker's name. The glyphs are part of the story. We bind him with a line of fate. We write our story in blood for the ink has run dry. The web no longer holds. We are stretched to the breaking point.

Keep moving. Always keep moving.
Do not believe in miracles.
Rely on them.

Dear [APPLICANT]

As you have gotten this far in the process, it is assumed that you should go into this eyes open. You hold in your hand all the notes and information we have about Great Bear Island and the Memetic life form known as Trombley. As you have read about Trombley's control over The Vancouver Empire and how Trombley's defeat was what finally broke the back of that fascist dictatorship.

If is was not for the memetic life form known as the quonset manager, Trombley would not have been contained.

It is the nonsense that The Quonset Manager has written and the method by which he scattered his stories around the island that kept Trombley trapped. Done correctly, Trombley could be kept prisoner in certain locations for long periods of time, but always, eventually, he'd break out. It requires constant renewal of the memetic containment web to make sure he doesn't get off the island.

The pages you just read were of a researcher who was supposed to be an applicant, such as yourself. We test many applicants by having them go to the island when we know that Trombley has been properly contained. The Quonset Manager lets us know who is a good applicant. I'm afraid sometimes, despite our best effort, people who are a good host for Trombley arrive on the island. The researcher was one of those people.

In case you are wondering, he tried to make it to the lighthouse and the team assigned there was warned by the Quonset Manager and [Censored] was shot as he tried to sneak into the light house. He may not have known he was containing Trombley, but judging by his notes, Trombley was clearly hoping to use him to get off the island. Who knows what havoc he could have wrought if he had managed to get free again.

Which brings us to you.

We have trained you and helped you as best we can, but when you become possessed, your memories will fade and you will forget your current life. You will then continue the stewardship of the island. You will wander it, alone. We will drop supplies here and there, but remain out of sight as best we can to help maintain the illusion you are alone.

Unfortunately, there's nothing else to be done. We simply cannot kill Trombley, only contain him.

We know this means that you, as an individual, will be subsumed into the Memetic Life Form known as The Quonset Manager. He cannot work effectively without a host to write with. He also will only possess volunteers. We recruit from many different sources, preferring to pick people who have lost too much. The suicidal and those burdened by a life far too harsh. In a pinch, we also ask for volunteers from the military, but they rarely "qualify" for the process. It takes a certain type of person to host the Quonset Manager. You are one such person.

This is the final stage. You have read all the information we have. You have read the disclaimers and incident reports. You can still back out. However, if you agree, you will be transported to the Quonset and then the security team will leave to the listening post that monitors the island. Most likely by morning, you will wake up and forget who you are. You will have no idea how you got on the island. You will assume you crashed and that you are a lone survivor. Eventually you will begin writing and scattering the stories over the island to reinforce the memetic containment. You will do this until you die. Occasionally some people "snap out of it", but not many. If you do, come to the lighthouse and use the flare gun. A team will be sent to extract you and a new applicant will be sent in as soon as possible as your replacement.

This is a great thing that you do. We are continuing to use popular movies in an attempt to "poison" Trombley, but it may not be possible, or it may take decades or even centuries of crafting an image in the minds of millions to have an effect on him. We hope, with time, it will be successful. In time, perhaps the quonset manager can finally rest. We don't know.

If you are still willing to proceed, sign and date at the bottom of this form, and the agreed upon payment will be transferred to those you have listed as your beneficiaries.

This is going all house of zone. I'm serious. I need to know EVERY STEP of this. And we need someone else independent to corroborate. I don't think you truly understand what this means. It means that the literary world will explode. Your documentation needs to be perfect on this. The hand writing is correct. It matches his style perfectly. 

But if you are correct, and we can find someone independent to confirm what you claim, then we're going to be famous. It also pisses me off. Any clues as to the point of origin of the paper and/or ink? We need to figure out the source of this forgery.

[SEE ATTACHED]

---

I'm writing this in hopes that I wrote this in vain.

[3 BLACKED OUT LINES.]

...came to great bear island as part of an illegal archeology expedition. I had been refused access to the island by the government because of a "biological hazard". The island had been quarantined for years and word was that the were never going to let anyone onto the island for some time to come. The place always called to me, for some reason, ever since I first heard of it.

That is when I was approached by a man who referred to himself as, C. I did overhear someone call him by the name Al at one point. He had many friends who were willing to help him and while I got a very nasty vibe about all this, he had the ability to get me to Great Bear island and finance my expedition. He had provided evidence that the "biological hazard" was a fabrication and he desired to figure out why there was a coverup.

Frankly, I didn't care. I just wanted to find out if my calculations were right. If I could find the underground shelter where Jenny's two friends had killed each other, it would make my career.

It never occurred to me that Al might have another reason for helping me.

I only took two friends of mine who could be trusted, and Al sent over six other people who were a member of Al's cult.

Yes. I use the word cult. I didn't know it at the time, but I know now. When I found out it was a cult, I didn't believe it. Until I found out everything they believed in was true.

Damn it's hard to think.

We were abandoned on the island. I didn't figure this out until that snow storm came up and I tried to cancel the expedition. This is when I found out they were armed. We walked on and followed my route until we got to the location. It was covered with ice. They bought ground penetrating radar and revealed that there was a shelter under the snow pack.

It was at this point that we tried to escape. I'll save you the details, but we were captured again, and Troy was shot as punishment. I made it clear that I was the master mind, but they said "I was needed". They kept us bound at that point.

I had many notes about everything, including much of my unfinished book that I was working on. However, you will noticed everything here is on hard copy. I just like printing out sections I was editing and worked-

I'm wasting time.

I got away and I'm in a cave. I know this cave from QM's notes and stories about the island. When the weather dies down, I will head to the lighthouse where the military maintains a listening post. I know I will be going to jail for violating the quarantine, but better to be alive in jail, then dead on this island.

It... I cannot believe I am writing this. Trombley was in that shelter. I saw him. None of the others could, but I could. He just walked out of the shadows. The eight of us were down there. Me and Josh were tied up and Trombley came right out of the shadows. I thought I was hallucinating when he walked through people. It was like a hologram. The strange thing was, the cultists were trying to summon him. They were... I dunno. Chanting? Piling up hard drives on top of the metal desk down there. Lighting candles and chanting and Trombley just walked out of the shadows and nobody saw him.

He... stuck his... hand? Was that a hand? Into my backpack over by the ladder. Then he walked over to the desk and reached his hand into the hard drives. I didn't say anything. I just stared. Then they cultists were murmuring to each other. They were confused. They thought they did something wrong. I asked Josh if he has seen anything but he just shook his head. I think they thought Trombley would appear. They couldn't see him.

Then Trombley was inside Josh.

I could see them both on top of each other. Superimposed and-

He pulled his hand out of his handcuffs. In the process I heard his bones in his hand snapping as a long strip of skin was peeled away. Josh then stood up and walked over to the six cultists and-

The light went out and there was screaming and the flash from the muzzle of a pistol which burned disjointed images into my mind and then-

The hatch was open. I was standing at the bottom of the stairs. My backpack was in my hand and I no longer was in handcuffs but I could smell... I... don't know how it became day or how I was standing there but when I looked down I was standing in a puddle of-

...

I should have looked, but I didn't. I wasn't sure what had happened but I wasn't going to waste time and I climbed the ladder two rungs at a time and slammed the hatch closed before I took off towards the sea. I wasn't sure where I was going but I know what path Jenny had taken and I knew which direction to take and if I ran hard. I could get to the abandoned whale processing plant before dark. I only briefly looked back as I ran.

I saw nothing save a trail of reddish-brown footsteps that were getting fainter with every step I took away from there.

I know I should have looked for Josh, but something told me he was dead. I knew they were all dead. Josh had killed them all, then killed himself. 

My JM is still in my bag, but it's dead. The power works, but the hard drive is wiped clean. I found some more notes. Some I managed to take with me. Some were with the cultists. But the parts I read make things- Well... it is all insane, but the-

...

I'm trying to remember what I read.

[2 BLACKED OUT LINES]

...It was harder to "chew" and Trombley would follow a story if the story was broken up, so if you wrote a story and broke up the pages, you could make Trombley travel all over the island looking for the story.

In this way, you could weave a trap. The Quonset Manager had devoted himself to creating a complex web to keep Trombley trapped on the island.

Well, it seems to have been failing. 
He seems to have been freed.

I'm writing this down so if I die, someone will know what happened. I regret not giving you more, but most of my evidence was on my JM. You can check copies of my notes back home. Maybe you can figure out who this "Al C" is. I think a picture of him might be on my condo's security tapes. He's the one responsible for all this. If you don't believe my hallucinations, that's fine. My friends are still dead. Find him and arrest him. Thanks for avenging me, if you manage to do that.

I'm writing this on the back of my work notes. So if anything happens to me, please try and finish my book. It was my life's work.

For what it's worth, It's good to know that Jennifer was real. I found absolute proof, even if my universe is crumbling around me.

I am going to get some sleep. I hope to make it to the Lighthouse at daybreak.

Every origin ends where the story truly begins.
 

7 hours ago, Karl Grylls said:

You forgot to fix the issue that a sleeping bear can not be spray-painted

Yes. Not only allow us to spray paint a sleeping bear, but make that an achievement.

ACHIEVEMENT "TAG YER IT!" - Spray paint the danger symbol on a sleeping bear.

PS, I still want a "Fish O'Clock" achievement.

I like the stone caches, however... Could HLG fix it so I could place it inside a fire, or place a fire on top of one. I want to make a throne to sit in and I need burning piles of rocks on either side of said throne.

Dear HLG,

Stick with me for a bit here. I want to explain the situation first. I'm a fan of The Last Of Us and I have tried very hard to avoid spoilers, but I used to do suicide prevention. I quit a few years ago when it got too much to handle, but I left my personal phone number to a few of the clients I worked with the most, just in case. You work with someone for years and you feel an obligation, you know? I had an old client of mine call up over the weekend. A young trans-person and he needed to talk because he read the spoilers for TLOU2 and he never felt more betrayed. After the conversation with him, I was compelled to look up the spoilers and read them for myself, since I could not believe what I had heard.

I often said that Disney was the worst company ever, but now, they must give up that title to SONY. The spoilers for TLOU2, if even half of them are true, are horrifying. I have never read a more anti-homosexual/anti-trans story EVER. It is... an abomination. What Disney did to Luke was terrible, but they didn't make me personally beat him to death with a golf club. Dealing with this mess over the weekend, I realized something...

HLG is awesome.

Thank you for making a game that is a game. Thank you for making a story that is about people and not about politics or an agenda. Please keep doing what you have been doing because it works. Thank you for not feeling the need to destroy your franchise. Thank you for not subverting my expectations. I love the work you have done so far and I look forward to how the story ends. Even without the story, you have created an amazing game that I have spent 1000's of hours enjoying.

In a world where many gaming companies have decided to attack their own fans, HLG has been a rock of stability and sanity in a maelstrom of madness. I haven't always agreed with all the choices that your company has made, but they have been trivial disagreements. A few issues with game balance and story structure... a matter of preference, if you will. Even when I have disagreed with HLG, you have always been polite and respectful and what choices you have made, whatever they were, were clearly intended to be in the best interest of the fan base.

HLG is a rare gem. You are one in a trillion. I said back when you did Redux that you completely transformed the game and made it infinitely better, and I stand by that. I love the direction you are taking the game and I feel compelled, after reading the Spoilers to TLOU2, to get down on my knees and beg you, please, for the love of all that is holy, to never change. Keep being just as awesome as you are right now. It is only when one witnesses a great tragedy that one remembers the things in one's life that have been taken for granted. I feel I have taken HLG for granted.

Thank you very much for being the professionals you are. I appreciate all the hard work you do.

-Bob

Oh... My... I love the new wolves. YES, Glitchy. looks a little odd... BUT, I will take these glitchy new wolves over the wolves that just walk up to me to allow me to arrow to face these guys. May I make a few suggestions?

Increased wolf fear around dead wolves

I'd love it that AFTER a wolf kill, the corpse has a "scent" that scares off other wolves. You know, they get the point? If one wolf is dead, then chances are they won't do much better?

Alpha wolves

Now that you have the timber wolf pack game mechanics, how about you do this? Most wolves are Beta wolves. 1 in 100 are randomly generated as Alpha wolves. An Alpha wolf can "aquire" a pack when it bumps into a beta wolf. Then they BECOME a Wolf pack! You know the animation when a wolf just stands it's ground and growls at you if you have a torch? The do that. They each approach each other, growl for a bit, then one just make the whining sound, and then BAM, they are a wolf pack!

Oh, if two alpha's meet, they also growl, but then there is a fight for a few seconds, then one is dead.

Wolf Aggression Based On Hunger.

Have all wolves generate at 3.0 meat. As time passes, they lose 0.5 kg of meat a day, meaning 6 days until a wolf starves to death. If the wolf catches and eats something, or you feed it, it's meat goes up. Now you can change this number, depending on the difficulty, but let's say on average, a wolf with a Meat score of 3.0 or higher just automatically runs from humans. So wolves then go eat until they are full, then wander off, being sated for six days. Wolves under say 5.0 will attack bunnies and deer, 3.0 to attack you, and at 0.5, they start moving like they are sick, and when those guys fall over, they leave behind a corpse with nothing to harvest.

Otherwise, love the new code. Beautiful. 4DoN is going to be SO much more fun!

Meh. I don't mind the lost meat. SHould have rotten away years ago anyways.

So, yeah... Playing in survival mode, checking out the new map and... this pot steams. You can't see it during the day or night, but you can in the half light. It just... steams. On the wall. It never stops. I thought it was my breath for a second, but nope. Doesn't matter what angle I'm at. it just... smolders.

Please explain this WTF?

Day 929: I awoke at sunset. I don't know why, but I knew something had changed. A distant rumbling sound. It came from over the mountains. I decided to postpone my road trip to go investigate.

Day 930: A strong blizzard rose up, much to my chagrin. On the upside, the blizzards usually drive away the wolves. I got to the mine to find all my supplies placed in a red box. I... don't remember doing that. Did someone else come thought? If so... why didn't they take any of my supplies? I must have done it and forgotten... I must... have.

Day 931: I got to the other end of the mine, only to find evidence that this end, the one leading to the valley was... broken into. Which is odd because I know I left the gate unlocked. Maybe a bear? It looks torn out or... like something big... BURST out...

- Is... that a building?

- I took time to go check on my supply cache in the cave below the overhang. My curing rabbit hide and guts were undisturbed... but... I could have sworn I searched this corpse. There was a box of pistol ammo next to it. I...

- I have made it to the minimart. I remember thinking of opening up a branch her, but after the incident with the Orca X, I have elected to forgo any expansion of the franchise. Nothing seems to be disturbed here. Even the tinder plug I put by the door is unmoved. However... it... I must investigate.

- There is a building across the street. No. THERE IS A WHOLE TOWN ACROSS THE STREET. WHAT. THE. FUCK? I... Actually... I don't recall spending much time here. I would have thought I would have noticed a TOWN. Well... maybe... Did I pass by here in a blizzard? Maybe I missed it. This... is... odd. Very. ODD.

- I'm really weirded out here. The picking were slim, except for all the ammunition I found. The clothing and food is worthless, but lots of raw materials here. I could stay here for days if needed. Might need to do some starvation living, but shouldn't be that-

...

Cattails.

I know... I KNOW I searched ever inch of this. I was looking out the window at the children's playground, it has a fire pit, and past it was several cattails. I know for a fact I scoured this river for cattails already. Something... strange is going on.

- I am covering myself with my bedroll. I will spend the night watching the area. I have found that spending too much time indoors drives me a little looney, and I will watch for signs of intelligent activity.

I went inside the main community center and started a fire. I figured that would draw attention. I retreated to a vehicle nearby and hid in the back seat. I faded in and out of sleep, since I rarely sleep at all, lately. My dreams were filled with... not nightmares but vivid and- and- and...  

Day 931: Starting getting too cold to sleep in the car anymore. I ran inside, the fire long burned out. There were howls in the hills nearby. I suspect I am near a lone wolf or two. Most of them hang out in the wide open fields. I think there are rabbits nearby... maybe deer. I will see about securing this location before moving on. I have come to enjoy the feasting so common on the coast. I should have repaired my bear coat before coming here. But the weather has been so... mild. I am uncertain if it will be an issue. 

It must be me. My memory must be bad. It is too early to go out. And yet... it is... there is light here. Unnatural light. The heads of all the deer on the wall are clearly visible in the light. My eyes have adjusted to the darkness and I can see the deer heads.

I feel this place is unholy.

- This place is full of chairs... metal chairs... chairs I cannot break down with my hacksaw... except for the one in the office. What manner of deviltry is this? No metal can withstand the might of my serrated blade! And yet... This building resists my attempts to scour it of all usable material.

At least these tables fall easily to my axe. I regret leaving behind the hammer. But I have many axes. I will miss the loss of one. But it has been many... many years. What is the point of hoarding all these supplies, if not to use them?

I will make a base camp here, reinforce my position. I will prepare supplies then move on to survey the valley. It has been over a year... maybe two since I was here last.

- Found a corpse in the graveyard. On the surface. Seems fresh. Very... odd.

Day 932: Made it to draft dodgers. Killed two deer and a few rabbits. Put the snares I left here back up. I figure I should get the old bases up and running again. Haven't used them since I hauled all that gear from the top of the mountain down to the coast.

Wolves acting funny. They don't go for the lures anymore. In fact, I can scare them off just by pointing a gun at them. Did they finally learn? Is it possible I might be able to just... scare them away? After all these years, did the survivors finally learn to leave me alone?

That does mean getting food will be a bit harder. I chased a bunny into a wolf. They both sprinted past me. Haven't seen a bunny run that fast before. But eventually he caught up. Funny... my arrow went wide. Had to shoot twice. I never have to shoot twice. Not sure what is going on.

Day 935: I KNOW There wasn't a crashed airplane here... I mean... Wait... this is.. the front of a plane. And up on TWM there was the back of a plane. But... I hauled so much gear past this spot and I KNOW there was no plane here... Getting cold. And the wolves are acting funny. Haven't used these many bullets in a long time. Going to get looting.

Day 936: Tried a new trail I never noticed. Got jumped by two wolves. One got a good chomp on me. Decided too much of a pain to make it back to draft dodgers. Went to the old farm house. My piles of supplies are gone. And... I... don't remember this door in the basement. It's... like the house I used as a base for those two months... but not. I'm almost afraid to head upstairs.

- What... the... hell? There is a pot on the wall. I cannot remove it. It... it is... smoking. Or... steaming? It's like it's cooking something, but it is hanging on the wall.

What HAPPENED HERE???

- It is night now. 

When I came up stairs, the sun was sill below the horizon. I could only see the steaming pot in the half light. I have no desire to recreate the conditions. I went upstairs, made some notes and slept. When I awoke, the sun was setting, but I could see clearly.

SOMEONE REDECORATED THE HOUSE.

I know I smashed ever last piece of furniture in this place. Every scrap of cloth and metal is down at the Quonset. And yet... there are brand new chairs here. New tables... with table cloths.

All my water and food is gone. I do not begrudge whomever stole my supplies. In fact, I wish him or her well. I do wish they left a note or something. Or that they... had not moved my message arrows.

Parts of my handiwork are still visible. Some of the shelves are still gone, others have been replaced. I... am most disturbed by the missing crib. I went to check on the pot on the wall. Apparently it only steams at dusk and dawn. If it's too bright or dark, the steam stops. 

This place terrifies me.

 I will remain here long enough to replace my water supply then I'm moving on.

Day 937: I saw the bear again. Thought I might lure him up to the house to snipe him from the porch, but... the house was making me... feel... I ran past him but he smelled me. He turned to follow and...

I do not remember this shack by the edge of the road.

I am writing from a haystack.

I like haystacks. Don't ask me why. I just do.

I also have run past this spot a thousand times hauling all the supplies from the mountain.

What is going on?

Day 938: I made it back to the community hall in a blizzard. I can't see the minimart from here... so... okay...

I found some frozen airline dinners up at the plane crash site. I tried to cook them. I put them by the stove. I put them ON the stove...

Damn things won't cook, much less MELT. I'm afraid to try and eat them. What the hell is going on in this damn valley?

Day 939: Motherfucker.

I have had it with this damn valley and it won't let me leave. The wolves, so absent when I arrived, have returned in force and now they are laughing at my gun. I don't get it. If I had the long rifle I'd put them down, but I took the pistol because of the weight. I am so glad I kept these ski boots. They have saved my ankles, but goddamn I don't remember wolves being this much of an issue.

I have returned to the community hall to rest and repair my clothing, while replenishing my supplies. I can't believe I finally used a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. I got a dozen of the damn things back at the quonset.

- Decided against going back to Coastal Highway. Time to go harvest more birch bark from the ravine, anyways. Going to head back through the dam.

- I should just chuck these pistols. Oversized noise maker, that's what it they are. Went back to using the bow. Much better at dealing with wolves. I think if I need to hunt wolves, considering they are wising up is to lure them into critters. Pick them off when they stop to eat.

- Made it to Winding River cave. Forgot how many things i killed and left here to cure. Going to bed down here and then make a break for the dam.
 

So...

Episode 3.

Hrmmm...

It took a while for me to put my finger on it, but there is something... wrong. I started reviewing it. Was it the writing? No... The changes to the map? No... Maybe it was the quests? Ehhh... no. Over and over I mulled it until finally I figured it while driving back from Rochester.

The episodes are out of order.

Follow my logic.

Let's look at the "boss fights"

Ep 1: You vs the weather and wolves.
Ep 2: You vs 150 year old demon bear.
Ep 3: You vs a pack of timberwolves.

Doesn't it strike you as a bit of a step down?

Now switch the order. Wolves, Timberwolves, Demon bear.

See what I mean?

Let's jump to a few of the scenes. Astrid hears Will's voice on the radio, but can't contact him. Imagine that happened BEFORE ep 2. It's be a whole lot more mysterious. I mean, we left Will at getting jumped by a bear. How'd he get on the radio?

Let's reverse it. If Ep 2 was in ep 3, then when Will is at the Hunting lodge and the phone rings, we KNOW it might be Astrid on the party line. So, if it's your first time through, you are going to be frantic to find that phone!

As it stands, Astrid hearing Will on the radio in the current order is news to Astrid, but not news to the player.

The phone ringing for Will? It's a mere curiosity for the player. If it came later, it'd carry more emotional impact.

Now, I don't blame the creators, this is a work in progress,. But as far as a narrative structure is concerned, reversing the order would do wonders.

On to the episode itself.

Solid. Good. Loved it. A definite strong first act. The problem being it was in the second act slot. If it was episode 2, I wouldn't find the whole, "I won't tell you why I'm going to Perseverance Mills or what's in the case." thing as annoying. You are supposed to start revealing clues to maguffins by act 2. You can't keep blue balling your audience. I understand WHY, because this is an Act 1 Episode, it's just in the wrong order of reveal.

Moving on.

LOVE the changes to the map. It makes PV seem much more... real. Like an actual community, instead of a valley owned by one family. Was about to complain about game balance, but... honestly, PV was always a fly over map for me, so giving it some new structures gives me a reason to want to visit it. 

I am SO selling TV dinners at the Quonset.

The Timberwolf Mechanic: Loved it. Totally love it. I think there needs to be a TW Pack on a few maps at select places. Specifically, locations with BUKU resources. A pack in Milton, for example (but not in story mode). One in Thompson's crossing. That whole area is rich in loot, so it needs a recurring pack.

I'd like one on TWM, for obvious reasons, but... honestly? I don't know where to put it for game balance reasons. TWM is already a 3D maze and a pain in the ass. Adding Timberwolves would be... well... might be too much. Any other maps? Hrmm... I leave that up to the creator's discretion.

As for the main quest line

It was fairly obvious in points. So obvious there would be a fuel and food stocking quest that I was piling crap up in there from the moment I reached the community center. Again, this might not seem as redundant if it was in the episode 2 slot.

The fetch quests to find survivors...

Hrmmm... On one hand, They worked. On the other they seemed sort of... drawn out?

I'm not big fan of fetch quests, so I'm the wrong guy to talk about this, and I did find them to be a rather nice change of pace. I didn't play it on max difficulty, so maybe it gets more interesting at that level. I think Maybe... I'd have liked the survivors to be... ehh... I'm not sure.

Don't get me wrong, I liked it. Wonderful Idea. It's just... something. Can't put my finger on it. Maybe a timer until they die? Or a timer until the blizzard shows up? Dunno. Just seems... off. Storywise, it needed to happen. I just... can't... put my finger... on it. I'll post something later it it occurs to me.

Oh. I didn't think to try, but can we feed the survivors to the wolves to speed up the quest? You know, pick them up, wait for the Timberwolves to show up, drop the guy, maybe shoot him in the head and run? Just a thought. Wondering if there was a "being evil" option. Becaue If I went out, pick up each guy, dropped him as soon as wolves showed up? I bet I could have finished those three survivors in NO TIME!

So... that brings us to Molly.

Damn, Raph, you sure love your greek symbolism.

Really got the Artemis and Actaeon vibe going on. Loved the exploded rifle. REALLY NICE TOUCH. The whole survivor's guilt thing makes SO much more sense with that particular fact thrown in. Very well played.

And the whole Astrid as Persephone thing? The onset of winter, going into the "underworld", substituting Cerberus with three fuses... I liked it. It worked. However, I must say that whole mine thing at the end didn't carry the same "weight" and feeling of accomplishment as when I finally killed that bear in episode 2. Sorry to keep harping on the on that, but it kinda irks me.

Oh. Approve of the new rabbit hit boxes.

Ummm... And the side quests were nice. Liked them. Ghost stag was cool. Was hoping to kill it and make some white boots out of it. Sad didn't get that option.

A suggestion... Maybe add a "permadeath" option for certain hard core players? I would take it much more seriously if I knew death ended the run. Not a requirement, mind you. Just... throwing it out there.

As for the dialogue and animations. Liked both Molly and The Father. There were many nice touches to the animation. Love the glasses. Maybe if you are going to drive the greek themes so hard, remove Molly's right Breast? Don't call attention to it, just animate it that way. It'll drive home the whole "archer/huntress" thing. Especially because Molly was very vengeful.

I was originally going to complain about Molly, as her archetype is overplayed, but I can forgive it because of the lie at the end. It worked. Interested in if she comes up in Episode 4.

Otherwise... I'm good with it. Better than 1, but less than 2. Consider rearranging the order... that's about it. Nothing else really stood out. It fits in well with the narrative, protects your protagonist, gives her a few vulnerable points. Maybe could have gone without the flashback? I see your point in including it, but I think the point was already made. A bit of a sledgehammer, frankly.

Yes, I'm bringing it up again.

You see, in episode 1, you can be forgiven for focusing on Will. But one thing that nagged me from the beginning was, what EXACTLY does Will see in Astrid? The flashback made it clear. It's hard not to love a determinator. So if I knew about this flashback in episode 2 (moving episode 2 to the 3 slot), I'd understand why Will is so motivated to find her, as well as why he's so certain she's still alive. 

Ah well. Those are my stream of consciousness thoughts on the episode. Hope you find this useful feedback.

I highly recommend silent hunter. It has been a LONG time since I died on day 3.

I want a return of the sound effects. Dear GOD the music that plays when you find your first indoor's corpse? Made me actually jump. And that sound of doom when you leave a building? DO WANT. Holy crap HLG, what did you DO? This game was so much more terrifying in alpha release.  I get it, you wanted to be more appealing to the "wider audience"

As I have said before, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A WIDER AUDIENCE.

It is a myth.

https://www.sensoryvalue.com/en/theres-no-such-thing-as-the-perfect-sauce-just-perfect-sauces/

Study Howard Moskowitz. Learn from the master.

You cannot make The Long Dark Too Terrifying.

Oh, and "Brandish Your Torch?" bring that back. That is awesome.

THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENT IS CLASSIFIED ULTRA-ALPHA-01
UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL IN POSSESSION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE CENSURE

Boris,

We've been friends a long time. You asked me to keep on top of the Trombley situation and I have done as you asked, however, I cannot continue in this capacity any further. I've gotten old and this is a young man's game.

I blame myself for not seeing the signs. I know you'll tell me that it's not my fault, but I cannot help but think a person in better health could have been on top of this and headed this problem off before it got out of hand.

At this point you have read the reports. I can only give you my personal take on the matter. I believe someone we tested as a candidate for the containment corps was incorrectly rejected. Or rather, rejected for our purposes.

Seems he was quite compatible with Trombley.

We don't know how we missed it. It's assumed that Trombley has figured out a way to avoid detection and either become active and keep his profile so low that he can slip under the radar for short periods of time. A review of past samples of the containment cairns shows that it's possible he's been faking inactivity in hopes we'd slip up.

Boy did we slip up.

When the security cordon around the island was breached, the sudden arrival of the blizzard made immediate interception impossible. When we finally managed to send in Response Team 004 "The Ice Hammers" they found the vessel had run aground and there were no survivors.

We wrongly assumed that Trombley was in an inactive state and sent in the Ice Hammers to figure out if anyone made it on shore. From the footage, what little of the transmissions that the monitoring station picked up, we have determined that the individual who killed Response Team 004 was one Charlton Györgyi.

The on sight commander wisely initiated a complete evacuation of the island to evac points Alpha and Beta. Delta evac point was not used because nobody was present on that side of the island.

Unfortunately the majority of personnel were closest to evacuation site beta. Everyone who made it to Alpha evac were successfully extracted.

"Successfully Extracted"

How impersonal those words. Only six out of twenty made it out alive. He tortured the poor bastards who made it to Beta. Played it over the vox. We have hours of recordings if you want to heard it. I don't recommend it. I listened to every second. I forced myself.

Teams one through three were prepared to go in to attempt a rescue but I knew it was pointless. It was my call. I take full responsibility. I know it was the right call. That doesn't mean I don't hate myself for it.

As far as we can tell Trombley is tearing up the containment web as we speak. We have no choice but to deploy a candidate immediately and hope he's compatible. If we have access to any of the previous candidates who survived, we need to approach them and see if they would be willing to step up. We should also inform them it is a suicide mission, but our list is growing rather thin.

I'm not going to lie. This is going to be a blood bath. It'll take at least a dozen attempts, if not more. With Trombley having a host, it's only a matter of time before he gets free. If we throw enough candidates at the problem, assuming we can find enough, we'll be able to keep this locked down. If we run out of people before the web is re-established...

well...

I'm not sure if we really have a contingency for that.

Please accept this as my resignation. I just can't anymore. It's too much. I understand the alternative is worse, but this is just too much blood on my hands. I suggest you begin looking for a replacement immediately.

I'm sorry.

By the time you get this letter, I will have already arrived at Evac Site Alpha. I was a previous candidate, and so we know I am compatible. I know my health is poor and I won't last long, but I cannot allow anyone else to go on to that damnable island and fix my mistakes. Maybe I'll get lucky. Who knows.

All I know is that if I don't do this, I will never forgive myself. I honestly cannot live with this knowledge. Please don't morn for me, Young Hero. This is what an old man is supposed to do. Better to burn out than fade away.

Take care and hug Valda for me. I left her something in my will.

 - Irv

And... okay. What if every torch you pulled was a flat 50%? Explain how this is a problem. How about every one you pull is 20%? What's the difference? You need to carry x2.5 more torches for the same amount of light? Some time for chaining the torches so... Let's say three times the torches. How is this game breaking?

Torches from the fire, in my opinion are a concession to make the game easier for players. I'd prefer the brands. The fact that torches can be turned into sticks which have more burn time than the torch it came from makes no sense. In short, this is a way to "put out a fire" and save the wood for later. Which you should be able to do. I should be able to stomp out a fire and save the wood for later. We cant, but we can pull torches.

Torches in general are bad for the game, but it's included because without them people would bitch they can't make a torch from a fire. It's just a game mechanic, nothing more. Realism is important, but game balance should always come first. The fact that you can find the right "spot" isn't exactly game breaking.

Nope. Not even in the slightest.

First, Survival is where it is at for me. And while I miss the mods because the last update broke them, I can still find fun in playing deadman. I got a mac, so the mods aren't coming back, but it still is a fun game. In fact, I would go so far as to say Interloper is easy. Still. Like the game. Fun challenge. It's nice to start a run every now and again and take a relaxing jog through wolf infested snow choked forests.

Second, Originally Ep 1 and 2 were... bad. Sorry. Narratively BAD. I mean... BAD. The story mode was the red headed step child of the IP. I all but ignored it.

But after Redux.. ohhhhhh... dear god... amazing. I know most people will miss it, but there are so many many many many things they added. Subtle things. Little things. I can play the story mode again and again and find something new every time. The story is much better. They protected the characters. They made it make more sense. They built up the bear as someone to fear. Redux is, in my opinion, the real release of the game.

So, what's that mean for episode 3? Take your goddamn time. Do it right. Rather right then fast. I'm okay with waiting. If the quality is there. If the quality matches Redux, take your time Raph. You hit the nail on the goddamn head. Do what you did in Redux again. Don't rush it. Don't take chances. Do what you did in the first two episodes AGAIN.

And if I had any other advice, look up the channel astarties on youtube and Raph needs to hire that guy tomorrow. He gets it.

TLD isn't "Cranked up to 11". TLD does not get better with bigger faster MOAR!

More powerful equipment is the death of a game like TLD. A story that is too big is the death of a game like TLD. It's easy to fall into the trap of people like JJ Abrams. TLD is a slow burn and always will be. You can't rush perfection and I hope they don't. Hell if Episode 3 never arrives I'll be fine.

I have a number of suggestions to keep the fans interested. A way to trickle out new features to keep people talking about it. I mean, I'd love 20 minutes to make a sales pitch to Raph because I think he's missing a golden opportunity, but on the other hand, What he's doing is working so, who am I to judge. If a thing works, a thing works.

Yeah, we might be waiting until 2021. Not in a rush and I don't mind. Sorry you are getting bored with the game. Games do that. Go away for a while and try it again in a few months.

We need a theme song.

4DON is coming.

What will really drive you insane, is if you make it outside the map boundries, you see that the water sometimes flows uphill to make a water fall.

Actually, if you follow the sub plots in the story mode, you find out that Carter is trying to repo the thing.

Burn Netflix to the ground. Salt the earth where the company once stood. A terrible company full of terrible people. Bunch of bigots, one and all. I'd sooner cut off my own foot than give Netflix one thin dime. Dear god, my nightmare scenario is netflix gains the rights to make a TLD TV series. 

If you shoot from indoors, like in the porch on PV, you won't get a blood trail. For some reason you have to be in an outdoor location. I hit a bear with the flare gun through a porch window. He ran off about 50 feet then went back to strolling. He died about 4 hours later. Remember, sometimes the bear will reset if you sleep or leave the map. So just pass time if you are in a car, but don't sleep if you can avoid it. A broken arrow should wound him as much as a normal one. It can take up to 6 hours for a bear to bleed out, depending on your skill level and where you hit him.

https://imgur.com/a/XPWRPmw

Follow the pictures.

1. See that tinder plug on the ice? Always make a trail to your Hut from the shore using tinder plugs.

2. Always pick a hut with a door if you are going to make it your long term fishing hut, both for the warmth bonus, and protection. Arrange two fires like this. You can get it a big closer with practice, and walk in an out over the cooking surfaces, but you have to be REAL careful and the additional wind resistance isn't worth it.

3. This is how your hut should be operating normally. The inner stove is off, only to be used if the cold gets really bad, or you need to keep the flame going and both fires outside are blown out. Look at the smoke. See how it is going straight up?

4. Now see how the one behind the door is straight up, but the one on the right is blowing to the left? If you have the fire next to the door in JUST the right spot, the cooking surfaces are accessible from the doorway, but the door acts as a wind break giving you 180 degree protection from the wind. The other one only has 120 degree protection. So at least one will burn if the wind comes from anywhere in a 250 degree arc.

5. Here we have an example of just that. The wind was enough to blow out one, but the other stayed lit, as you can see by the smoke going straight up.

6. When it is windy, you may have to burn wood that isn't a stick. This will increase your burn time over 9 minutes. When it is "gusty", you can still add fuel, but a gust of wind will drop your fire to 9 minutes. So if you wait until your fire is at 1min left and add a stick, if the wind gusts, you might only lose a few minutes. but if you add reclaimed wood, you can lose a half hour. Pull torches to reduce the burn time by 10 minutes and throw those torches out onto the ice. They serve 2 purposes. One, they go out when the wind starts gusting too high. Two, you can harvest them later for sticks, thus turning other forms of wood into sticks. Harvest them when you AREN'T using the fires.

7. Here you see me inside when the wind is too high for cooking with the fires. I keep the cooked meat inside on the left and the fuel on the right. When you have max cooking, if you have a cooking pot, you can cook 1.5 ltrs of water in 1 hour 4 minutes. You can thus nap for an hour and get 1.5 ltrs of water while you are doing it. An efficient use of your time.

8. Keep your bedroll on top of the cabinet for the space. If you have anything special you want to keep out of the way, you can see there is a spot you can put items so they stick out of the drawers. I keep Lure Meat there, as well as tools.

9. On the shelves or in these spaces are a good place to put the water you make so it is out of the way if you make like 50 bottles of water, dump it out on the ice and sort it later.

10. Here you see a good cooking arrangement. I like to have at least one can of water cooking, because you can hit space bar and accelerate time, but at cooking 5, it's only 13 minutes, max. If your fire is at 9 minutes, it won't burn out. Your fire is at 10 hours, you say? Well, while you are accelerating time to cook faster, the wind can gust and reduce that fire from 10 hours to 9 minutes in a heart beat. NEVER ACCELLERATE TIME MORE THEN 13 MINUTE INCREMENTS. Remember, fires burn longer outdoors, so 9 minutes of outdoor fire is actually about 15 minutes. I keep the raw meat piled up outside, so I can right click it onto the cooking surfaces easier.

11. DO NOT USE UP ALL YOUR JERRY CANS. Always save about .1 ltrs of oil in a can. if you use up all the fuel, they vanish from your inventory. However, look at the picture. 4 Ltrs of oil is only 3.3kg. If you use the little bottles of Everflame, they are .5 kg for .5 ltrs of fuel. So save and fill those jerry cans!

12. If you are cooking only the meat, cook different types of meat with different cook times and check them. Only accelerate time on the one that will be finished cooking first. It's okay if they don't all finish at the same time. Staggering your meat cooking time is the next best thing to keeping a can of water boiling for the purpose of controlling time jumps. Just remember, when you accelerate time, you also add about 1-3 minutes of time. So accelerating 13 minutes is actually 14-16 minutes, depending.

And last but not least, have fun. You can power cook food, or power boil water, getting the most bang for your buck while having a place to retreat or grab a torch and transfer the fire to the inside fire place for the long term, if a blizzard starts. Remember that the fires will chase off wolves, but bears can smell food on a fire, so if you hear crows, it might be a bear. Be prepared to close that door and let him have his snack.

No, it is infinite. Sorry, but you have not taken into consideration beachcombing where you can get renewable resources. And the beach combing spawns are actually damn regular and predictable. For example, I have determined a spot where rotting leather shoes show up like every 20 days or so. Exact same spot. That's 2 leather. There are cloth spawn as well. 

You don't need weapons, just a magnifying glass. Chase a deer into a wolf and start a fire to chase him off. The only thing you NEED cloth for is your 2 shirts, 2 socks, 2 underwear, and the ear muff. Maybe a hat. Several of those items can go a long time without being repaired. I usually, in a pinch, ditch the socks and underwear. Bit of a hit, but the rest of the gear can be with wolves bunnies, and deer. All things you don't need cloth or leather for to repair.

Fishing has given me literally Multiple TONS of food. My next project is to see how long I can sit in a car without getting out. I think water will be the limiter on that one. I'm shooting for 60 days.

Once they introduced the craftable hat, the only thing that will get you is boredom. Properly outfitted, you could stock a cave to sit in and do nothing for months in game. without the craftable hat, eventually frost bite would get you. Sooner or later it would get you. Now, you can play the game forever.

Hell, with Birch Bark Tea, you can make a damn good attempt at eternal life on DEADMAN.

No, I'm afraid the only limit on the game is sheer boredom. Eventually, you do empty every building. Eventually, you have multiple bases in a line with hundreds of pounds of food and water. Eventually, you have over 500 cups of various tea. Eventually, you run out of room to put tea on the shelves. You stand in the middle of the Quonset Garage... surrounded by tea. Cup... after cup.... after cup...

Of TEA.

1 hour ago, piddy3825 said:

Outstanding!  I'm always building fires near the door, never bothered to check the back to find a wind proof location.  Gonna have to check that out as well.  Only issue I have with location is proximity to a work bench.  seems like a long walk to either the fishing village or the gas station.  Which one do you usually use when your camped out at the log sort trailer?

Oh. Right behind the trailer is a stump and a tree up against a little alcove of rock. Only one way in. The fire, if you put it in the lowest part of that little area is wind proof. Or rather, has not blown out yet. I can feel the wind, but the fire is low enough it does not. As for the crafting table, I usually make base at the quonset for the 5 wolves, 2 bears and 1 moose. Yes, every time you step outside you put your life in your hands, but its a steady supply of kills.

The Log Sort is a bit of a... hunting trip? You know, like when you need to blow off cabin fever you go to a fishing hut? Well, the fishing huts get dull after a while, and unfortunately, the two fishing huts on CH that have doors are both close enough to attract bears. I much prefer it when I get a door WAY out on the ice. The one between the two islands? That one is the best to have a door. I like loading up with about 20 rotting meat fragments at .01 kg each and just wander the ice, luring in wolves, but the damn bears make that a bitch. So I have to kill them first.

But log sort? Never had a bear come there no matter HOW many fragments of meat I have.  So I can lure in wolf after wolf and arrow to the face them all. Honestly, I don't know why I do it. I mean, I'm going for 1000 days and I'm at 853. I should just hibernate in a cave for the next 150 days and get it over with, but for some god forsaken reason I can't just waste the time. I keep going on side trips to get more birch bark from Ravine. I mean, needless risk, but... dunno. fishing for more fish because... dunno. Just keep spreading out the water and food drops in ever increasing circles. Almost got every indoors location with water and food for a week. Working on every fishing hut. Laid down a trail of tinder plugs/charcoal/feathers crisscrossing the damn ice. Keep swinging by the mines to gather more coal.  Honestly, don't even need it at this point but... it passes the time.