jhickie

On 10/14/2019 at 11:55 AM, Ice Hole said:

After an update the route to It was obstructed.  Did some goating and then found this shallow cave.   The Steadfast Ranger update made it accessible once again. 

It seems you have the right location, but, I have not seen a bear in the cave or in this area.

It might not have been his cave, but he definitely didn't like me being there lol. I used to love that little shortcut from one pond to the other.

17 hours ago, ManicManiac said:

I found a few candidates among my screenshots.  Here's the first:

OK, that one's pretty tough... no idea. I'll be mighty impressed if anyone gets this spot.

28 minutes ago, ThePancakeLady said:

Nah, you got it right. Limited time for editing your own post. I am guessing that is to prevent people from trolling or flaming, and then going back and editing their post to look "innocent". 

I'll message you directly with a few ideas to help keep it organized. 

Thanks for the PM, appreciate the info! I'll update this list in a new post if there's more additions from other players.

I guess I'm having some issues getting used to how this forum operates compared to the forum I'm used to using on Steam. I figured I could just edit the OP with updated information as it comes in, but this is not the case? There's actually a time limit on editing your own post? That sounds odd. Hopefully I'm just doing something wrong.

I posted this a while back in the Steam forums, where I'm a bit more active, but I thought I'd post it here as well. 

I love how this community has come up with all kinds of custom challenges, through either self-imposed rules or custom codes, or some combination of the two. This is a resourceful and imaginative group indeed. While I would dearly love for Hinterland to add more official challenge modes, these user-created custom challenges have kept me more than busy.

There really isn't a list of these challenges anywhere. You just have to kind of know about them, read about them somewhere, or come up with them yourself. I thought it would be cool if new players could find out about some of these without having to stumble upon them accidentally.

Here is a modest list of my favorites that I compiled. Please add yours if you don't see it here!

Custom Challenges

Deadman - Stalker wolves, Interloper weather & loot, no condition recovery, low natural resource spawn, max detection range, max thirst/hunger/calorie burn, max wind variability, no BBT (self-imposed).
custom code: 8MHI-/z8M-Dw+/-wSWm-bAAA

Birchman - Same as Deadman, just with BBT allowed.
50/100 Days per Region - Just how it sounds, can reach totals with multiple visits.

Outerloper - created by Stone
Interloper mode. Not allowed to go inside of any structure (no load screen). Transition caves are ok but only to pass through, no sleeping. No TWM Hut/PV Porch/MT Office/DP Church or Riken (self-imposed), Spence's is ok.

No CF - created by iheartmyocd
No sleeping inside ever (per journal stats).

Kegstand - created by Gooner
Interloper mode. Spawn in FM and never leave, survive as long as possible.

Snowballs in Hell - created by Drifterman
Interloper mode. Spawn in TWM and never leave, survive as long as possible.

Endangered Species - created by darkSol
Interloper wolves/weather/loot, max detection range, no rabbits/fish/deer/bears, low wolves/moose, low natural resource spawn, high thirst/hunger/calorie burn, low condition recovery.
custom code: 8sHM-rg8P-Dw9L-DXNe-VAAA

Hunted Forever - created by I'll be the one
Official challenge mode "The Hunted - Part 1", never finish the challenge by avoiding Trapper's. See how long you can survive with the bear constantly after you.

Dancing With Wolves - created by mf187doubleg
Interloper mode, no weapons (no bow, no flare pistol). Get to "50 Days per Region".

Outlast - created by Crasset
Interloper mode, no condition recovery (BBT allowed), no fish, low wildlife spawn, max respawn time, max detection range, max thirst/hunger/calorie burn.
custom code: 8MHI-/z8P-Dz+r-Qfal-fgAA

Sleepwalker - created by Bareskin
Interloper mode, no condition recovery at sleep, very low recovery while awake, max thirst/hunger/calorie burn, max fatigue/freezing.
custom code: 8MHM-/j8P-Kxun-g6GO-7gAA

On 10/3/2019 at 3:10 PM, ThePancakeLady said:

Once Episode 3 comes out, I will replay, starting from Episode 1 on. I'll delete any old saves I have as well. 

Just to have the whole thing flow together from the start.
And yes, when Episodes 4 & 5 come out, I'll probably do the same thing. 
Start from the beginning, and try a few new things along the way, to see if I can do it "better". 

Same. I want to start fresh and I haven't played Wintermute in quite some time. Forgot some of the details, it will be fun to play again. It will also put me in the right frame of mind to fully absorb and appreciate EP3. I've already deleted my saves. 

I'm a bit worried though.. I'm doing a personal challenge in WTM, and I need to wrap this up and get the hell out before the timberwolves drop! I have 26 more days to complete in TWM before I get to leave. I have a nearly 500 day Loper run going that I don't want to lose to an animal that I have no idea how to deal with yet. I better get cracking!

On 9/1/2019 at 1:51 PM, Serenity said:

I rarely get this lucky:

First day on Timberwolf Mountain

I didn't even know the bear came this close to the mountaineering hut. He was literally right in front of the door  Not hard to shoot him a few times and wait for him to bleed out while ducking inside. When he ran too far away I lured him back. Unfortunately it was too windy to harvest him fully, but I got the hide I'm really interested in. The guts may be nice, but I will be gone before I can eat the meat

Also, the moose is hanging around the landing gear

Nicely done! I've been spending some extended time in TWM, love this place. That bear usually comes to the lake but I don't think I've ever seen him that close to the Hut! Reminds me of my hunting sessions at the PV Farmhouse. It's pretty convenient when the food delivery service comes right to the door.

Bear Hunting at the Farmhouse - part 1

Bear Hunting at the Farmhouse - part 2

I got that same bear on my second day in TWM, but it was quite the battle. Took 3 arrows, and he died halfway between the Hut and his cave. Dragging quartered bags that far sucks, and it really sucks when a blizzard starts. I had to spend 3 days off and on getting those things back to base, harvested, and cooked. 

I have a moose roaming around near the landing gear as well, but my first attempt scared him off and now there's a mean blizzard raging. Started up as soon as I added coal to my fire, TLD can have a sneaky sense of humor lol. He will probably be gone when I check on him tomorrow.

On 10/12/2019 at 3:33 PM, Ice Hole said:

Ranger Cave

This cave imprisoned a goat but an update set it free.

 

Is this the old trail from the road (right before the bridge) to the pond near the radio tower in Milton? Looks familiar. I once spent an aurora night in that cave before I realized that it was a bear cave. Woke up to him heading back, barely made it out with my ear wraps.

It's not still there is it? I though it got erased with the update just like the rope behind Grey Mother's. Unless this is from the Time Capsule. Or it's not even Milton and I'm just totally wrong. 

On 10/12/2019 at 7:02 AM, Dan_ said:

This looks a lot like Milton Basin, on the way to the Rocky Refuge. Beautiful weather and great shot!

On 10/13/2019 at 2:07 AM, Jimmy said:

Correct!

Ahh, of course! I should have known. I was looking at those cliffs but they aren't right for HRV now that I'm looking at it again. Nice one!

I like to give names to all of the corpses I encounter. Whenever I see them on a run, I say hi. The most common one for me is the guy in the Camp Office, and I believe he was the first one I encountered when I started playing. I call him "Bob". What's up, Bob? No please, don't get up.

This guy is in HRV, always in the same cave and always has a prybar next to him. I call him "Richard Prybar".

My goodness.. that place looks like a grocery store! I totally forgot about those things. *drooling loper*

I would say the tool cache is the best, and the firewood cache is the absolute worst... talk about 'thanks for nothing'.

Never played Pilgrim before, started on Voyager. I spent a LOT of time in Voyager, and got all of my feats and most of my achievements there. Even the cursed Frustrated Cartographer. I never played Pilgrim to grind out feats or accomplishments. I don't judge anyone who does though.

Graduated to Stalker for a short time, then to Loper. Been playing Loper exclusively for some time now, and I also like to play Custom for some of those player-created challenges that are more like Loper+. Mostly vanilla Loper though.

There's just too much free stuff in the other modes for me to find it a challenge. We all play TLD for different reasons. I like cycle of struggle & success that Loper provides. True, the early game is where the real challenge is at, but once you get established then it's time to set personal goals and challenges to stay engaged. I certainly wouldn't want to just sit in a cave fully stocked with food, water, and fuel, just playing cards forever. Managing resources vs. weather is part of the fun of Loper, for me anyway.

On 10/4/2019 at 4:26 PM, RegentRelic said:

You youngin's  back in my day we had only had stalker. or at least the equivalent.

I have try to do faithful cartographer in stalker, but every time I all most make it I get attacked by four or so wolves and die.

Attempting Frustrated Cartographer on Stalker sounds like a great way to make something even more difficult that's already very difficult to begin with! Pure masochism. 

On 10/10/2019 at 6:35 AM, Jimmy said:

Now, care to venture a guess where this is?

The sound of the waterfall can be heard in the distance as you approach a named location nearby. I wonder whether that tree on the rock spire gets lonely?

Would this be in HRV near the ice cave entrance that's above Long Shot Falls?

Tough angle, good challenge!

On 6/12/2019 at 2:03 PM, UpUpAway95 said:

Nothing.  Everythng became fair game after I killed my first rabbit.

On 10/8/2019 at 1:53 PM, yvr said:

I can't kill a rabbit with my bare hands. I can't. Just can't.

I'll keep letting the snares do the dirty work.

This was the worst. Not only could I never even hit the little scrubs with a rock in the first place, but I could never bring myself to do the deed even when I got to them in time. Those eyes!

I have no time for snares now. The rabbit hitbox size has gotten gigantic and I am much better with the stone. Plunk, snap. Plunk, snap. Although, I still have to mute that awful sound they make when you kill them. 

I would say now, the only thing I just can't bring myself to do is leave things in unorganized piles. All my stuff needs to be in containers or organizes on shelves, and if I have water or meat on the ground, it has to be lined up in rows. Sticks and wood need to be in separate stacks. All skins on the floor must be lined up nicely.  Yeah... I know.

On 10/6/2019 at 2:52 PM, The Black Knight said:

Here´s another one 

I recently spent a lot of time in HRV, and a good chunk of it was spent up there. I found the lucky moose carcass and set up shop for a while. I got very used to that view!

On 10/4/2019 at 8:38 PM, ajb1978 said:

Forlorn Muskeg if I'm not mistaken.  I originally thought Pleasant Valley but while that rope climb block is repeated in several areas, that unique cluster of dead trees on the left is unique to the Muskeg I believe.

Good guesses, but this is actually in MT! I was looking up from the cave in that mini-basin area between the two rope climbs, between the ML transition cave and the climb back up to the MT Park.

You may remember this one @ThePancakeLady, a while back I was asking about why my mag glass wouldn't light a fire on this clear and sunny day. You suggested that I stand in a different spot and voila! Fire started. Thanks again. 

1 hour ago, darkyHutch said:

Anyone found this one?

TWM near the Hut! Nice try with the aurora, kinda throws it off a bit. 

Any takers on mine? It's easy once you spot the clue. 🔍

Why do I like HRV? What's not to like?! I love this region. Wild regions like TWM, FM, and HRV used to always give me trouble, but as I've gotten better over the years I've really become fond of them. Especially HRV.

It's a remote, wild place, and at first glance it looks barren. But, that's just an illusion. It can actually be quite comfortable, and is absolutely loaded with resources. I've been playing a personal challenge on Loper where I have to spend 50 days in each region and completely clear each region of all non-renewable resources. So, all cattails, mushrooms, rosehips, old man's beard, and cloth. I'm leaving metal and wood for when I need them, but clearing a bunch of metal out too. HRV has a ridiculous amount of cattails. After completing my 50 days stint there recently, I came away with well over 200. So many mushrooms and rosehips as well. I would go about 10 days, load up with as much as I could carry, and trek back to the trailer in MT. Wash, rinse, repeat. That trailer was absolutely full of gear and skins by the time I reached 50 days. 

After my 50 days, I found a total of 4 boxes of matches, as well as a bedroll, 2 hacksaws, hammer, lantern, 2 prybars, simple tools, several granola bars and canned goods, 4 candy bars, a couple boxes of crackers, a bunch of saplings, a whetstone, 2 cooking pots, several unneeded articles of clothing, and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember. HRV has the 2 ice cave networks, which are great home bases once the wolf is cleared out, as well as many 2-layer (outdoor) caves. There's endless fuel in the form of multiple coal spawns and endless sticks. There's also several ravaged wolf carcasses, and if you're lucky, a ravaged moose carcass!

HRV is best tackled in sections. The Stairsteps Lake area and the adjacent high basin (bear hunting), the Hushed River itself (cave w/ guaranteed match spawn), the Lower Basin (possible moose), the hilly area north of the river, and the greater Monolith Lake area (possible moose). I would set up a temp base in a section, hunt it clean, clear it out of all non-renewables, stock my temp base with meat/fuel/water, rest up and move out to the next section. After I cleared the whole place out and had several temp bases stocked, I would consolidate and haul stuff back to the MT trailer. There's just too much good stuff here.

In short, HRV has tons of resources and can be lived in almost indefinitely. It's a very underrated Loper spawn. One of my favorite regions. 

Ooooo I wanna play, I think I have a good one.. there's one tiny detail that gives it away.

Hey there @ThePancakeLady, is that the Frozen River that leads to the Unnamed Pond in ML? If it's not, then I'm stumped

1 hour ago, Ice Hole said:

At first I was not sure.

I just had to google and was reminded.

Great Scott it is about time travel too!

I grew up in SF, and my dad took me to the shooting of that scene in ST4 when I was a kid (yes I'm old). Columbus St in North Beach. Lifelong Trek fan since ST1. I'll never forget that day!

Thanks for jogging the memory, been a long time 🖖

Wow.. y'all are crazy LOL. This thread is hilarious. Also, you have a lot of in-game time on your hands.

Now I need to go listen to Puppets, been a while! Well done, everyone. Especially you, Ice Hole, you're killing it. 

A great spot for the snowshleter at the Farmhouse is out back where the fire pit is. You can position that thing right between the benches so you can stay warm by the fire, and it won't blow out even in a blizzard. 

As far as likely places for the bedroll near you, it can spawn at the cave in Winding River, and it can spawn in the cave near the climb to TWM. Couldn't hurt to check the Barn as well, there's usually good stuff in there. I can't remember where else I've found it in PV.

Be careful, the wolves are out there! If you took the road down from the mine all the way to the Farmhouse, it's possible to get lucky and miss the 3 or so wolf routes that you would cross. A bear likes to patrol right by the Farmhouse too.

I have the afflictions shirt as well, and I also have the logo mug . That mug is my lucky camping coffee mug, I never go without it. Just got the t-shirt in the mail over the weekend, and I love it!

If I had to put my vote in for new merch items that I would buy immediately, I would love to see the following. Of course, I do a lot of hiking and camping so some of my wish list reflects that.

• TLD firestriker
• TLD wood matches
• TLD toque
• TLD pint glass
• TLD hunting knife
• TLD stickers

That hatchet looks pretty fancy! 

Nicely done. First Loper game is always memorable.

Well done moving and looting, that's a good technique in early Loper. Once you get some better clothing and have a bow, you can settle down a bit and loot everything you missed. I'm not sure I would hit Quonset this early, it's pretty risky with low armor rating and no weapon. One wolf in early Loper and you're usually done. They aren't like Stalker wolves. The main thing in this mode is to get armed as soon as possible, and craft protective clothing asap after that. To that end, I would have kept the hammer and continued on to DP. You have all the coal and metal (provided you have a hacksaw) that you will need for forging already in that region, and it's a little easier to deal with than Spence's. Make sure to have snowshelter material on you since you don't have a bedroll yet, getting cabin fever with no bedroll is no fun.

Good luck with your run! I always love reading about first Loper experiences.

All of the clocks are frozen at 3:38, presumably the time the geomagnetic event occurred. Every time I see one of the clocks in The Long Dark, I wonder... does this specific time hold a certain significance for you? I have many guesses as to what it might be, but they are probably all wrong. 

I've never seen this asked before, but I've always been curious. Thanks for creating my favorite game of all time!

Sorry for being too long winded, guess I got too excited. I'll reframe as a question and be more succinct...

Will you guys be adding the thermos I've heard so many people request? I think it would be a great addition.

Thanks.