Smellyfries

830.2 hours atm on PC. Thought it was a lot at first, but seems like the average for the player base is over 1000 XD. 

Probably my second favorite place in Mountain Town is the workbench in the barn with the nearby fire barrel. It's a nice spot to craft whilst not dealing with Cabin Fever, and it's 1 of 2 freaking workbenches on that map. Otherwise, my first favorite area of Mountain Town is the cave leading to Mystery lake XD. 

As for Hush, it's the complete opposite. I love the entire region of Hush River Valley, it's both challenging with its lack of human structures and workbenches (not including any dlc additions), but it's also just a really beautiful region to be in, though it feels cramped inside the winding valleys and rivers, once you get up onto the top of the valley's cliffs, its just a beautiful sight every time! I especially love how every waterfall has a name, and its fun finding them all.

So I guess to answer the question, my favorite spot is the small waterfall and river right near the entrance/exit to Hushed, I feel it perfectly represents the kind of region Hushed is, and it just looks pretty.

For me, the leap to making an account on the Forum was simply asking how rabbit snares worked. I didn't have much time during a week, but I was planning on trying to get the Rabbit Snaring Feat the upcoming weekend. I created my account just to initially ask that question, but I asked my question in one of the Milton Mailbags, which didn't get seen much by the community. Thankfully, a kind member of the forum suggested asking the question directly to the community under "How to Play," which after posting my question, really showed to me how dedicated and kind the community was on this forum, and got me to interact more with it. The community has helped me so much with the game since then, and even when its not about the game, it's always a blast to just hop onto the Forums, and just read everyone's experiences/thoughts.

Stones have saved many of my Interloper starts, needing to pop a wolf on the snoot before I have access to torches and a bow. I almost always carry one on my until I can get a bow.

My favorite food is French Fries, though I figured that the username French fries would be taken on most platforms, so I thought up of something random to put before or after "Fries" that would at least roll off the tongue well, and I believe my actual thought process for coming up with "Smellyfries" was: "Fries smell good, fries are Smelly, ah! Smellyfries!" 

Originally I wanted to make a username with the name "Waffle" or something similar, but a group of friends had already claimed that name, and I didn't want to confuse them even more with another username with "Waffle" integrated into it, so as stated earlier, I thought of my favorite food instead. 

Yes, I've had this issue multiple times. I've found it happens a bunch during glimmer fog, where the lights on the signal transponder are on, but it doesn't get a signal. I've found that just waiting for a true Aurora at night usually gets it to work, but it makes Glimmer fog even more annoying. 

Everything! Honestly the whole DLC has been amazing to play, and every feature added has really improved the game in my eyes!

Probably my favorite specific feature are the item variants. I love collecting things, and now that there are unique items placed out there in the world, it gives me a whole new reason to search every nook and Cranny in search of them! My favorite item variant is the:

It's the first one I found, and really brought me excitement for the DLC and its future.

(Item Hidden in case other survivors don't want spoilers on the item variants)

An idea I had was a portable stove for tents like your idea, where the stove is quite heavy, but can fit in a tent, and is windproof. Downsides are, an obvious weight, a slow condition lost over long days of use, but also, it can only hold a max of 5 hours of fuel. It's a small stove, smaller than the round stoves in Ice Fishing Huts, so it can't hold much fuel. So you'll have the ability to sleep anywhere with the tent and stove, but you won't be able to get full rests without the stove going out. The max of 5 hours would also limit its heat output.

I imagine it would look similar to this stove, maybe a little more rustic to fit the situation on Great Bear.

Thus, with the tent and stove, you'll be able to make actual camping trips out in the wilderness of Great Bear, Ice Fishing in spots without a Hut, or just in the woods that don't have easy windbreaks for campfires. Such an endeavor however would require a travois to help carry the items, or a high carry capacity, plenty of fuel, as well as repairs to the stove and tent when you are done, but, I'd love to be able to go camping with these if these were added!

Imagine if the animation for dying was simply the character falling over as Loapa suggested, so you eat some low quality beans, get food poisoning, then just collapse. I don't know why this popped in my head.

*Finds beans*

*Eats beans*

*Collapses*

"You have died from beans."

You could get Salt from holes in the ice like the Fishing Shacks, break open the ice and grab a few bottles without the risk of taking a cold swim.

That looks amazing!

I love the idea of whittling and making crafts to decorate our base.

Sadly, I haven't seen two bears meet each other anywhere on the map, their wandering range is definitely designed so they don't get close to one another. I would try to lure a bear to another bear, but I have this feeling that I'd get mauled.

Though a thought I had before finishing this, it would probably be easier to lure them to another territory with a high scent, that way you can stay out of their agro range. Might need to do this on custom without wolves though, as every wolf in the area would also tag along lol.

Another poll because I can.

I imagine some Timberwolf Socks would be supremely comfy.

Random Poll for whatever reason.

Recently, I've been delving into custom mode, and have read and adjusted the many settings you can change that'll impact your survival playthrough. Though I have started many survival playthroughs with different challenges and unique variables, there are always two that I fall back on that actually make it past 20 days. 

Super-Pilgrim: Default Pilgrim settings, with the exception of all wildlife being set to max spawns, and fastest respawns, with their player detection set to its minimum. I primarily use this to work on the "Faithful Cartographer" achievement, but also have been doing it along side the "living off the land" achievement as well, to mix things up. I set the animal detection to very low, as I always find it a pain to hunt on default pilgrim, due to deer spotting me from two miles away. I quite enjoy how alive the world feels when there are so many animals living in the world, and makes everything feels less desolate as I wonder from POI to POI (point of interest). 

Collector's-Interloper: Since the release of the DLC, I've always wanted to collect all of the unique items, but since default interloper disables firearms as well as cleaning kits, this has been my go-to to still find neat loot, whilst still having the harshness of Interloper. Simply put, its Interloper with medium loot, and firearms turned on. Simple as that, but I quite like having the goal of searching for the unique weapons and thermoses. 

If I had more patience, I'd probably play on the Endless night settings more, but the constant dread of using up all of my lantern fuel, and not being able to use a workbench usually ends the playthrough early.

Curious on what settings everyone else typically runs with on custom, and what unique playthroughs have been created! Hope everyone has a good day!

In the 4 days of Night event during Halloween, Pumpkin Pies could be found as a great source of calories, as well as warmth! Since development of TLD won't continue forever, and if 4 days of night isn't introduced as a challenge mode, I'd love to be able to make Pumpkin Pie akin to that in 4 days of night in base survival using canned goods and the like! Of course it shouldn't give the full 3500 calories like the actual event.

🥧

12 hours ago, Annick Charlebois said:

The Long Dark in real life... Picture by Francis Audet, taken in Amos, Quebec, Canada, Feb. 2024

Those are some really good graphics 😁

When I first joined the Forum, my first dumb question was asking how snares work on the Milton Mailbag back when they were still doing those. Thankfully, someone realized that I was new, and recommended that I go to different parts of the forums and ask the community for help rather than the devs lol. 

I was trying to research snares so I could get the snare feat.

If anyone is wondering, snares are quite simple:

When placed down in an area where rabbits can spawn, they have a chance of doing three things when you are not present in the area:

1. Catch a rabbit

2. Break (which I believe can also occur if there is bad weather)

3. or not catch anything, and remain intact.

I've found that they don't very often break, and you get the reclaimed wood back if they do.

Even after grinding to get the feat, I've never properly used it lol, so I have no idea how it works besides the description of "snares being 100% more efficiency." 

Hope this helps if anyone's curious.

Pleasant Valley Farmhouse is definitely my home during long runs. I always return to there after long trips or when I need a break from the game. Just feels right to leave your survivor in their comfiest place whilst going off and doing things in the real world, and return ready for another adventure! (Even if it takes a while to remember where everything is 😄)

You can shoot recycled cans and they even make a satisfying *twank* sound. Maybe if there at a decent distance, landing a shot could give a skill point at the cost of destroying the can, and a bullet of course.

I honestly can't get enough of the "Escape the Darkwalker" challenge, its atmosphere, and just overall dread caused by the setting of the challenge, and I would love a new mode that follows a similar premise, but designed for long term survival.

My ideas for the mode involve the Darkwalker searching all of great bear to find you, starting in a random region that isn't your starting region. As you survive, the Darkwalker will slowly transition to each of the regions, until it eventually enters yours. This is when the Darkwalker will comb the region, and actively look for you, resulting in the region becoming inhabitable, and if it finds you, a similar deal will occur where it will attempt to chase you, with its speed becoming faster the longer you survive.

Warning!!! I go far more into detail beyond this point, and its quite a lot of reading. Go ahead and stop here if its a bit too much. 🙂

More in-depth on how this mode will work:

Phases:

Grace Period phase:

Upon spawning into a region of your choice or randomly, you'll have 5 days before the Darkwalker will spawn. These 5 days are essentially the base game, where you just survive, gather resources, and prep for later phases. There are no visual effects yet, the ost is still the same as survival mode. You will be given a journal entry, that tells you to prep for the Darkwalker's arrival to the island in 5 days.

Searching Phase:

Once day 5 arrives, the Darkwalker will spawn in a region that you are not currently within, this will be completely random so luck could be a factor. Once spawned in, the Darkwalker will be at its lowest aggression, and will "search" the other regions in an attempt to find you. What this entails in gameplay, is that the Darkwalker will take a random amount of time to "explore" a region, based upon aggression and depending on the region's size, with small regions like bleak inlet, taking the least, and Pleasant Valley taking the most. Time to search regions will decrease as aggression increases, which will be discussed later. The Searching Phase will end, upon the Darkwalker entering the same region you are also present. During this phase, much about the game is unchanged, other than the looming threat of the Darkwalker being "somewhere out there." Ost is the same. If the Darkwalker is in a nearby region that connects to the region you are currently in, a faint green fog can be spotted on the horizon, though it's exact source will be unclear.

Stalking Phase:

Upon the Darkwalker entering your region, the sky will turn green, clouds will blot out the sun, and the ambience that plays during the regular challenge will being to play. You will be able to hear the roars and growls of the Darkwalker in the distance, giving you an idea of its location in the region. During this phase, the Darkwalker doesn't know your exact location, but will use clues within the environment to determine your approximate location, known as "heat".

Low heat actions: Small item piles, singular animal carcasses that are not naturally spawned, and extinguished; player made campfires will attract little attention from the Darkwalker if it comes accrossed it. These will not give away very many clues to your postion if they are spread apart, and might help lead the Darkwalker away from your primary location, if spread quite a bit.

High Heat Actions: A lit outdoor campfire, a chimney with smokes wafting out of it, large amounts of animal corpses concentrated around a location, far distant gunshots, and other light sources placed on the ground, like flares or lanterns. These will be very obvious trails that the Darkwalker will pick up upon, and investigate immediately. 

Detection: The Darkwalker requires line of sight too see you. Though it needs to be quite close to detect the player, its vision will easily pick up on light sources that pierce the fog, and can immediately detect you if said light sources are currently in your hands. Upon reaching a medium distance to your location (assuming your not holding any lightsources), and obtaining line of sight, it will enter its chasing phase. 

If the Darkwalker investigates all high heat areas, and cannot find the player after combing the region, it will travel to a different region and once again enter its searching phase, with the caveat of not being able to enter the region again, for at least 5 days, dependent upon aggression. During the Stalking Phase, the ost will be replaced by the strange sounds and instruments that play during the regular challenge, following the same concept of the ost becoming louder and stranger as the Darkwalker grows closer, only becoming dampened when indoors. The Ost will not return to normal if the Darkwalker leaves the region without detecting you, due to a aspect described later.

Chasing Phase:

Upon spotting the player, the Darkwalker will take chase. Its speed will be based upon its aggression (discussed later), and will act similarly to how it does during the challenge: Moving in a straight line, the Darkwalker will ignore all terrain, and will kill you upon making contact, staying too close, or reaching within a short distance of you, if indoors. Escaping the Darkwalker during this phase will require a long distance between you and the Darkwalker, broken line of sight, and either distractions such as High Heat Actions, or runes which will be discussed later. It will follow you into another region if close enough. Upon escaping from the Darkwalker, it will once again enter its Stalking Phase, though it will attempt to follow your tracks for a little longer, heading in a similar direction you were when it lost you. During this phase, a green fog will envelop the region, making navigation more difficult, its density based on aggression. Much like the challenge itself, the ost will begin to go crazy and frantic, as the Darkwalker chasses you.

These are all of the phases of the Darkwalker.

Darkwalker Aggression:

The Darkwalker's aggression works on a point system, from 0 - 20, with every point increase resulting in slightly faster movement speed. Every 5 points, the Darkwalker's vision will improve, as well as its ability to track the players actions, and return to an already searched region.

At aggression zero, the Darkwalker just entered its first Searching Phase on day 5. Its speed is at its slowest, allowing the player to easily outwalk it, even when fairly encumbered. Its vision is the worst, as it will likely not investigate low Heat Actions, though High Heat Actions will still grab its attention. It also takes the longest to search through regions, likely taking a minimum of 5 days before moving on during a Search Phase.

At aggression 5, the growl of the Darkwalker will be audible a crossed great bear, indicating to the player that its aggression has increased. The Darkwalker is still slower than the Player's walk speed, though it may be able to gain ground if the player is encumbered, or really tired. Now, the green fog will begin to settle during a Chasing Phase, obscuring the landscape far in the distance. The Darkwalker will begin to take interest in low Heat Actions more often, and will spot out High Heat Actions far better now. Its searching time remains unchanged.

At aggression 10, a roar can be heard from the Darkwalker a crossed Great Bear, once again indicating that its aggression has increased further. The Darkwalker is only slightly slower than the player's walking speed, now being able to gain significant ground if the player is encumbered. The green fog during chases will now be thicker, and grow closer, obscuring the landscape at a medium distance. The Darkwalker will now Stalk a region far faster, investigating Heat Actions far quicker, and taking quick notice of low Heat Actions, and easily spot out High Heat Actions. It can now take a minimum of 4 days to search a region.

At aggression 15, a far louder roar will echo a crossed Great Bear. The Darkwalker is now evenly matched with your walking speed, now requiring you to be at extremely low carrying capacity for the slight speed boost to outwalk it, and will very quickly gain ground if encumbered. The fog during chase is now its heaviest, obscuring all but a few feet in front of you. It will quickly investigate low Heat Actions, and high Heat Actions are guaranteed to be spotted and investigated. It moves within a region far faster, and will only take a minimum of 3 days to search a region. 

At aggression level 20, the Darkwalker's rage has shrouded Great Bear in darkness. A booming roar will fill the air, as the clouds will now be obscured by green clouds and fog in every region. It now moves faster than the player's walking speed, only being matched by your sprint. If it spots you now, nothing but runes will save you. It can detect you from far farther away, it will quickly investigate low Heat Actions, and always spot high Heat Actions. Fog will obscure heavily obscure the region as it stalks you now, making navigating extremely difficult.  It only takes a minimum of 2 days to search a region, and can now double back to a region without any delays. 

The Darkwalker's aggression will increase by 2 or 3 every 10 days, and an additional point if it loses you during a chase.

The Poisonous Fog:

Once the Darkwalker finishes stalking through a region you are in, it will leave a poisonous fog. This will not harm the player, but instead will leave the region uninhabitable by nature. Animals will no longer spawn, and fish will no longer be catchable, and any food left outside will spoil. This effect will be permanent unless a specific action is taken.

Now, for the actions the player can take to help aid in their survival:

Runes:

The runes from the original challenge and their spray paint will return, with some tweaks.

Lure rune: This will lure the Darkwalker to the location the rune is sprayed if the Darkwalker is in the same region as the player. It will degrade after a short amount of time. The Darkwalker will ignore the player when this rune is placed. It will destroy the rune upon reaching it. (Uses 25% of the spray paint can)

Ward rune: Creates a small area where the Darkwalker is unable to detect you. When standing in the ward during a Stalking phase, the Darkwalker cannot spot you, and will not enter chase. If place during a chase, the Darkwalker will freeze for the duration of the rune, giving some time to rest. Lasts approximately 4 in game hours. (uses 50% of a can)

Dispel fog: Placing this rune will completely dissipate the poisonous fog in a region, allowing life to flourish within it again. Animals will once again spawn, fish can be caught, and food won't spoil. This rune can only be used once per region. (Consumes 25% of a can)

Dispel the Darkwalker:

Much like the challenge, you are able to find green fires located in each of the non-dlc regions of great bear, and are only lit once the Darkwalker arrives in the same region. They provide a warmth bonus guaranteed to keep you warm, and provide 4 hours of the ward effect. Around these fires will be supplies to help your survival, as well as a note. These notes will give hints towards the location of the banishment circle somewhere on Great Bear, and collecting all notes in each of the regions, will give you the final Banishment Rune.

Using the Banishment rune in the banishment circle will banish the Darkwalker for 10 days, removing all poisonous fog from the regions, as well as resetting its aggression to zero once it returns. Additionally, banishing the Darkwalker will give the player a special trait that allows them to easily see through fog, as well as be unaffected by wind effects for the remainder of their save. Banishing the Darkwalker will also allow you to once again use the Dispel Fog rune in each region again.

AND THAT... is it... dear god. So, I hope you enjoy my idea of a long term survival mode of Escape the Darkwalker, and the 5000 words that probably belong in the general discussion category. Got any ideas on what could be tweaked, add or removed? I'd love to discuss it! Either way, 100% worth taking 3 hours to write this 😄

Stay warm out there! Thanks for reading this far!

Don't believe anything changed about killing wolves, an arrow to the dome usually takes then down at any archery level. There can be a little bit of jank, where the arrow lodges in their side, even if you were aiming at their head, though your character's sway with the bow can sometimes mess up your shot.

Otherwise, I'm fairly sure taking down wolves with a bow hasn't changed.

5 minutes ago, Leeanda said:

It's randomly... The last time I was in scruffys cave,she was yapping trying to get away from me,after a few minutes it went muffled ,but my footsteps were still normal..

Strange, the closest thing I can think of is when the ambient sound quiets down when entering the back of caves, or outdoor areas where windchill is completely brought down to zero. There are weird areas like in Ash Canyon where a tiny overhang counts as the back of a cave, causing the ambience to soften a bit when it otherwise really shouldn't.

I don't know of this happening inside indoor caves though, maybe it's just a quark of Scruffy's cave.