jhickie

18 hours ago, Serenity said:

ML is a gamble. You can easily find zero matches there

Anything that isn't a guaranteed spawn is a gamble.

True, you can easily come up empty, but it's been a long time since I've found zero matches in any region. ML has been nice to me, CH and MT too. Gotta check all the cars! HRV and TWM always have several boxes, even though it would seem these regions should be lacking supplies, due to their remote and rugged nature.

One thing's for certain.. you end up with more matches than you know what to do with, even on Loper. I'm on my longest Loper run ever currently, 530 days and running, and I have like 13 boxes left, not to mention 2 firestrikers. I've never run out of matches on a run before.

Bedroll also disappears as well. I thought I just forgot the bedroll, but when the lantern vanished from inventory after the "event", I realized it was all scripted.

It all makes sense when you reach the mine exit.

There was a lengthy thread about this very topic a while back on the Steam forum.. for anyone who's interested, there's some good info: https://steamcommunity.com/app/305620/discussions/0/3264459260603737819/

tl:dr - Here's the consensus on guaranteed spawns:

• PV Farmhouse - Basement
• TWM - Hut/tail section/open cave (all 3 locations)
• DP Hibernia - upstairs (1 of 3 possible locations)
• FM Spence's - workbench
• HRV - cave on Hushed River

And even though they aren't guaranteed spawns, you can usually find 3 or 4 boxes in HRV and ML each.

Wow. Nice haul. You're eating well for months!

But yeah.. I really, REALLY want to organize that pile.

If you were playing PV, the Lost & Found boxes would have done it for you. 😄

What I did to make it interesting:

Day 1 - Loot

Day 2 - Loot & kill wolves

Day 3 - Kill aurora wolves

Day 4 - Run around in the blizzard looking for pies

This event can be something fun for everyone, it just all depends on what you want out of it. If you like prepping and stockpiling, set your base up, get a long fire going, and chill. If you want more of a challenge, go hunt wolves. If you want more of a challenge still, then set some personal restrictions like others have suggested.

I personally like Day 3 the most because it's so bright and beautiful. I looted CH and PV on Day 1, ML on day 2, then just went on a rampage on Day 3. I tried to use all of my rifle ammo, I think I bagged about 25 aurora wolves. Day 4 has been fun though too! Stock up on coffee and coal, drop all your weapons, grab a bunch of flares, and run like hell! The pies stay hot and warm you up when eaten. I made it extra challenging by leaving my bedroll. Went ML > Ravine > CH when the blizzard started and now bouncing around PV. Really fun! ❄️🥧

@Saws n Sins I don't recognize that code, but I'm intrigued. Always looking for a fun new challenge. Sleepwalker variant?

Can't survive 24 hours? Challenge accepted! 

Thanks for the reminder, @ajb1978! I completely forgot about the flashlight. I went back to my base to grab it before heading out to PV. Sadly, I don't have two, but that's a great tip on the switching.

I spent a little time taking out wolves near my base, perched up on a rock above the railcar and sniping them from above, took out a bunch on the lake, and then headed out to PV via Ravine. I figure I have all this ammo, it would be a shame to waste it. I completely forgot about the bunkers as well, I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for those too.

I'm glad they changed this, baiting the wolves into headshots was pretty easy once you get used to it. But the wolf taking the bait from 30m away? That's buggy and I hope it gets addressed.

Maybe we are expected to let them always take the bait, and shoot them while they are walking away? Still getting used to the new behavior.

Spent all of Day 1 looting CH and PV, then spent Day 2 looting ML. So much ammo to go around, so the wolves weren't much of a problem. Found my 2 caches here and proceeded to stock my base at The Lookout in preparation for Day 4. I found 2 in CH, only 1 in PV, 2 in ML and 2 in MT. I've never gotten them all before, but I'm close.

I love Day 3. Day 2 is dicey because the weather is more variable than on Day 1 and the wolves are hard to see. No blizzards on Day 1, but plenty of inclement weather on Day 2. I just picked my spots with the weather and looted/hunted when it was clear and starry. But Day 3 is so bright! It's the closest thing to daytime in this event. I got to MT right when Day 3 started, and it was so much easier to spot those wolves with the aurora out. Usually, on Loper, I keep inside during the aurora because if I miss my arrow shot, battling those guys hand-to-hand is pretty dangerous. But on 4DON? I've got the OP rifle and also the flare gun, with plenty of rounds. And if they want to wrestle I have a hatchet for them, and not the improvised variety. It's been a free wheelin', gun totin' massacre!   

I'm thinking about using the rest of Day 3 to head back to PV and search for those 2 final caches. I covered that map pretty good, but there's a few nooks and crannies I can check. Just have to make sure I make it back to base before 11PM PST!  

Sorry! We made sure to withhold any names to protect the innocent.

@ManicManiac Thanks for pimping my post! I really love everyone's custom challenges. It's extended the replayability of the game almost infinitely.

I have about 1400 hours in this game, more than any other game I've ever played with the possible exception of Dragon Warrior (I'm old), and I still really enjoy TLD. I wouldn't be playing it if it wasn't a challenge. Everyone plays for different reasons, some to chill, some to suffer, some to find the ultimate challenge. I'm in the latter group. I played Loper until I found it pretty comfortable (although with the new wolf behavior it's more challenging again), then moved on to Custom. Played a little Loper+, then moved up to Deadman Challenge.

DMC is the ultimate challenge. I know two vets who are pretty good at it, and have both surpassed 100 day runs. I have never made it past 50. I like having a part of the game that I can't conquer, it keeps me playing. I dare anyone to say that DMC is boring. The FM challenge is legit as well.

No blanket or pillow for that bed? This is a terrible Airbnb.

@ThePancakeLady I was under the impression that for some reason Steam had to be up to record the progress we were making in our games, but of course that's not true because you can play offline and the user files are local. Silly me 🤡. I got to play a bit at lunch yay! Going to play after work instead of following my usual routine, 4DoN always throws my schedule out the window lol.

Ugh.. didn't get to play last night, so I was going to play some today on my lunch break. Perfect time for Steam to have an epic crash and be down everywhere.

I need to get my Day 1 playtime in so I can get that sweet, sweet badge! 

Hey @fractalesque, the piano theme is gone when the logo and CH scene plays, but the music should start when the title screen comes up with the Thompson's Crossing background.

Well that certainly sucks. Hopefully they sort this out soon because I like to make use of 2-for-1s whenever I can.

Slightly related: Has anyone noticed an issue with baiting wolves? I had several situations on the ice in CH where I had an unimpeded path to the wolf, get him to lock on to me, drop my bait and back up, watch him do the "bait trot approach", and then suddenly disengage like I broke pathing by stepping inside something. It's very weird, and kind of annoying. I mean, I live off of bear and deer mainly, but sometimes I need to kill these suckers and this is making it really difficult.

I wasn't able to play it until about 2PM Pacific time, but boy was I excited when it was finally gametime! Had a fresh coffee in my Hinterland mug, was wearing my new Hinterland Afflictions t-shirt, chores done, dogs napping, Nvidia driver updated, house to myself.. dove in headfirst and didn't come up for air for hours! Really impressed with the evolution of the story, and the new stuff in PV has been really fun to explore!

Well done, Hinterland! And I think I speak for everyone when I say, we really appreciate you not hitting us with paid DLC for these updates. I mean, I would be more than happy to support you with paid content, as I really like the unique direction your studio is taking. But giving us the amount of content you have given us for free is really amazing. And supporting Doctors Without Borders is incredible, thank you. You are making fans for life.

42 minutes ago, Skelegutplays said:

Will episode 3 absolutely only take place in pleasant valley?

17 minutes ago, Serenity said:

Yes

I was really hoping, based on the EP3 artwork, that we would be taking a side trip to TWM. Still hoping. 

Thanks for the update!

The Loot Box is genius. This would indicate that there are changes coming to PV ahead of the survival update in Dec. Pretty psyched about some new things coming to PV with this update! Thanks for taking steps to protect our loot.

A little bummed about 4DoN, but I totally understand. You all have a lot on your plate with EP3 and the Dec update. I'll still be playing it regardless!

I am really looking forward to the extension of the story and the lore behind it, finding out what happened to Astrid after the crash, and seeing what PV has to offer!

Things can definitely be more obscure and difficult to find in Loper. In addition to the severe reduction in loot on Loper, they put stuff in locations that are not always obvious. Plus, you are desperate for food so you need to look absolutely everywhere. A good example is how a soda can or candy bar can be tucked behind a chair or under a bed, usually at a spot that is very hard to see. Also, most items, tools, and clothing won't be tucked away in containers or drawers, they will be laying on a table or shelf, or tucked away in a corner on the floor somewhere. Sure, you may still find things in containers or lockers, but it's just much more rare.

Of course, breaking down crates is a great way to both get firewood and find hidden items on Loper. There's several guaranteed loot drops from crates (dog food at Spence's, food in crate in BR Shed, etc.) so check around. I've been playing this game for a long time, and I just recently discovered a candy bar under the crate in the TWM Hut! 

Being educated on the burn bonus by a vet when I was a noob was one of the best things I ever learned in TLD. It really helps to conserve fuel when you have big cooking sessions to get through.

Important to note as well.. the outdoor bonus only counts if you're actually standing outside. You can make a fire outside, step inside (or cross the boundary in the 2 layer caves) and your outdoor fire will lose its burn bonus and start behaving as an indoor fire. Conversely, you can make a fire inside and when you step outside, you will get the burn bonus on your indoor fire.

I use this to my advantage whenever I can. Sticks can be scarce sometimes! 

Will and Astrid's incessant complaining. I turned that right off in the settings ages ago and really enjoy the silence of the quiet apocalypse. Stop crying about how tired or hungry you are Will, nobody's listening!

Close second for me is the wind. It's punishing, always blows your fire out when you don't want it to, and always in your face when you're tired and cold. I always give a little chuckle when it happens, like "Oh sure TLD, totally random right?!". Curse you, wind.

So, I have a few..

Got this bear mere inches away from the thin ice in DP. I think he was trying to jump in the water and deprive me of my prize!

Got this guy pretty easily when he got stuck running through the bed of the truck.

Mr. Bear surprised me in CH and I had nowhere to run, but got a lucky headshot.

My first one-shot kill on a moose.

At least he didn't die this way...

Got ambushed by a trio of wolves at Camp Office but dropped them all with one bait.

And finally, my first aurora bear kill.

I don't carry any spare clothes because carry capacity is just too precious to waste on that. However, I do keep spare clothes at my bases in case I lose something to a mauling. I keep a detailed journal of my inventory at every one of my bases or stash spots, that way I know exactly where to go if I need anything replaced. Probably overkill/OCD but I like to stay organized. 

Definitely forgetting things is the worst. I've forgotten my bedroll (of course, everyone has) and once I forgot my cooking pot, nearly died of dehydration before finding a can. Almost forgot my hacksaw before going to the summit once, but realized it and went back to base for one. TLD will smack you down if you don't plan properly and double check your inventory before venturing anywhere.

17 minutes ago, TROY said:

First, I’d just like to say that if you play this game long, you have much more and  MUCH GREATER  self loathing to look forward to. Welcome to the club.  

Truer words were never spoken.