devamadhu

On 10/28/2019 at 10:26 AM, MarrowStone said:

No no, this is a good question! Morally grey things like these are what the world of The Long Dark bring to "Light". 

@Ice Hole did a terrific job enlightening me on why logical decisions aren't always good for the long run. We can min/max and use every resource to its fullest in survival mode, but in Wintermute everyone's actually human and this does not simply work anymore. 

From a character perspective, no one knows the true scope of this quiet apocalypse. Maybe if this individual makes it to the mainland there's a chance. Is it just the island? Why didn't all planes fall out of the sky at the same time then? Astrid seems to have crashed days before the airliner did, doesnt that seem odd if it was a global event?

Type 1 diabetes is hereditary, healthy individuals develop it simply from their genetics, so it's not the survivor's fault they have it either. 

Insulin was first used to treat diabetes in 1922, and for a while it was purified from animal pancreas. Now it can be made from vats of genetically modified bacteria. I don't know it how was harvested from pigs and purified but considering it was a hundered years ago there's a good chance it could be made without electronics. As long as someone with the knowledge survives....

This got me googling the early insulin extraction process, and I found this: https://hackaday.com/2015/07/30/the-biohacking-movement-and-open-source-insulin/

Super interesting! I'm sure with the bajillion deer we're able to kill in the game, the cold temperatures for pancreas preservation, and Astrid's lab skills, she could figure out DIY insulin for the survivors.  

5 hours ago, thefistoffury1 said:

Apparently, going from the Plane Crash to Skeeter's Ridge (and the nearby basement) is very complex in episode 3. I expected unscalable terrain, but being blocked when I can see my destination with invisible walls? Irritating at the least. The only way to reach SR from the plane crash is one way. The other leads south, to a very long elliptical route.

I understand that Story mode needs to control your movement for cutscenes and pacing (returning Gwen to the Community Hall etc) but once the objective is accomplished, why have these invisible walls persist? Survival mode currently has proper paths that don't need me to walk down the path near the Ridge cave, past Draft Dodger's Cabin, across a bridge, turn left, cross the upper bridge and reach my destination after the Point of Disagreement. That back and forth is the length of the PV map, by the way. Since the second rope below the basement is missing by default (I wish I had placed it sooner) , I can't just take the shorcut from DD Cabin.

I don't mean to complain, but this is a huge setback for such a small distance. Anyone else who has noticed this?

I felt the same way. I agree that it has to do with pacing, and also that it's very helpful for new players to have added guidance to safe and warm spots throughout the challenges. I also noticed that the placement of side challenges (and their map icons once the challenges were completed) made for much easier and warmer trekking later on in the episode. 

That said, I'm generally irked by how much "mountain goating" has been discouraged in the game - both by the revamped sprain mechanic and now these additional invisible walls. I'm currently playing this year's 4DON, and I had to avoid that whole area due to time constraints.

Of course I'm not a developer and I have no idea how complicated it would be to remove that wall for Survival Mode, but I would definitely prefer it. Or to have some sort of special entrance activated that allows you to go the other direction. I feel the same way about the emergency exit in the Carter Hydro Dam. Once you open that door from inside the Dam, I think it would improve the game hugely to be able to reenter it from the Environs side. Anyone who wants the extra challenge could always go the long way if they chose.

Saint Branch returneth!

Same here. 75 rounds but no revolver. I've searched a good chunk of CH, PV, and ML so far, but nothing yet. I'd be surprised if it wasn't in the game - it might only spawn at one of the jack o' lanterns though.

The main objectives don't seem affected by the time it takes to complete the tasks, *however* I did notice that the location and rewards of most of the side quests do come in handy later on in the episode. For example, I noticed most of them are sheltered spaces in one way or another.

Well, I shut down the game and started it on my older computer - looks like it did the trick and the story was able to finally continue. Not sure what happened there.

Hi all,

I'll do my best to figure out how to report this officially, but here's where I'm at in Episode 3. Spoilers below.

I've fully stocked the Community Hall with supplies, and have successfully saved all 4 survivors. I've also completed all of the side missions, except for finding the community notes about the Forest Talkers.

Now, for whatever reason, my mission objective has reset to "Talk to Father Thomas" (the first objective before stocking the supply cupboard and rescuing the survivors). He's now moved to the Community House stage. Whenever I click on him, the camera pans to his back, and then resets, and nothing happens. 

All that I can think of is that this is either a glitch, or that I haven't completed something important. But all of my other options are completed.

There's always food poisoning and dysentery. 🤢

This was my view from my emergency snow shelter on Misanthrope's Homestead after successfully killing a bear - I had to wait out two solid days of blizzards in between harvesting. It's not the most spectacular view, but it's rife with anticipation. 

I started the game a bit over a year ago, so I wasn't around when Mystery Lake was the only region available. But I still immediately gravitated toward it and I always make my main base in the Camp Office. I love that there are deer, fishing huts, and rabbits in one central location, and that the office is easy enough to find even in the middle of a blizzard. 

In my longest running game, I have a stash of rare and top quality clothing items like the Mackinaw jacket stashed away at my main base in the Camp Office. I mostly play on Pilgrim, so the rare items become more like hunting trophies (gathering trophies?), and they make the space feel more homey and lived in. This is probably ridiculous, but if I could, I would clean up base interiors, build furniture, and even build cabin-like structures of my own. 😂

On 6/23/2019 at 12:38 PM, sierra 117 said:

When getting to the point of breaking down most of the  furniture in PV farmhouse during a long run. I can't bring myself to break down th baby's cot/crib .

It just doesn't seem right for some reason , which even I find strange as I'm not a father irl. But i still get a strong emotional reaction with the solitude of this game and the slow errosion of what it means to be human without technology . It just somehow with this one item seems a step too far toward turning your back on humanity.

You can break down the baby's crib?? I thought that was impossible!

I started in Pilgrim, and then shifted over to Voyageur for a while, but pretty quickly went back to Pilgrim. I started playing TLD because it allows me to experience a little of what survival might look and feel like, even though the game mechanics create a unique spin on that experience. Like they say in the loading screen, wolves don't typically attack people, so I prefer not to experience that in the game (except on rare occasions). My nerves are also easily frazzled, so having my face chewed off on the regular is not all that healthy for me.

I agree that Pilgrim can get boring, especially on much longer runs, but I appreciate that challenge too. After you hoard/hunt/craft what you need to, the game experience becomes more introspective, calming, and even enjoyably lonely. I think the recent video Hinterland released about the loneliness of TLD really speaks to that. It forces you to use your imagination and create your own roving storyline.  

On 10/8/2019 at 1:13 AM, matchstick said:

My intention was not to open a can of worms... I hope everyone enjoys TLD. It was a topic to discuss what kind of things we experience in game that jar us out of the enjoyable appreciation of surviving in this game. That's where I was going.

Omg LOL at the immersion blender!  I hope my comments didn't come across as negative or passive-aggressive. I was mostly agreeing with some of the points you made, and responding to parts of Manic Maniac's post. I think it's a really good topic and I like being able to explore it in the forum. 

I think generally, people are aware we're playing a game that provides a simulated experience of fantasy survival, guided by the rules the devs choose to implement. However, the devs *also* welcome respectful feedback, and they regularly change aspects of the game based on that feedback. There is an entire Wish List subforum, for example.

Whether our suggestions are related to realism, or consistency of mechanics, or just cool ideas that might make the game more fun or challenging, there's literally a place for them in this forum. If the devs decide not to implement our suggestions, then that's up to them. There may even be a ton of factors that I can't consider since I don't work for Hinterland. But given that the game is still currently in development, I think that the devs' openness to suggestion results in TLD feeling more like a living, evolving thing, which is exciting to me.

To specifically respond to the OP's comment about the single step issue - playing in Pilgrim at least, the room in Carter Hydro Dam with the mountaineering rope has metal debris on the floor that you *can* step over. I don't know if this is a recent development, but I remember when I started playing the game over a year ago, I couldn't do that, at least while playing Wintermute (since that room is designed as a puzzle during the aurora). 

So I agree that a single step in certain areas would be more consistent and immersive. But in contrast, it does make the game more challenging - like say if you're being chased by a wolf, and have to line up your path of entry to the Camp Office in a more skillful way. 

On 10/5/2019 at 10:21 PM, Brigo said:

TWM on day 363/500 on my Faithful Cartographer run in Stalker. Up to 36/40 achievements now, & only missing Firemaster Feat. Next: visit Hushed River Valley for the first time ever. No clue what to expect except... nothing.

This is AWESOME.

On 9/22/2019 at 10:49 AM, ThePancakeLady said:

When did this thread go from "Fun with car batteries in the game!" to "Politics and memes involving the word *battery*!"? 🤔

Battery's vital and alluring energy cannot be contained

I prefer to carry 2 recycled cans (one per campfire cooking surface) and leave the pots at my bases, since the pots are so much heavier. But they're great if you like stockpiling supplies, or boiling water in big batches. Even with a 2-burner stove, being able to boil 4 liters of water at a time really adds up fast.

I prefer to carry 2 recycled cans (one per campfire cooking surface) and leave the pots at my bases, since the pots are so much heavier. But they're great if you like stockpiling supplies, or boiling water in big batches. Even with a 2-burner stove, being able to boil 4 liters of water at a time really adds up fast.

2 hours ago, ThePancakeLady said:

@devamadhu... Absolutely love love love the shots from The Riken!

Thanks! I was kind of surprised by how beautiful the scene looked, with the aurora "framed" by all the rigging.

After one of the more recent updates, I started a new game in Pleasant Valley. hate the weather in PV, so I tend to avoid camping out there for too long. But since it's a central location for Episode 3, I wanted to get more familiar with the terrain and landmarks before the release. Even if some things change, I suspect that most of the major locations will stay intact.

38 minutes ago, peteloud said:

I suspect that the darkness in some interiors is a technical issue and not part of the game. 

The are many interiors where there is no reason for the place to be dark.  Experienced players might be able to find their way around, but that is not the point.  This is a technical issue which should be resolved.

Maybe - I've always assumed that in general, they leave it that way to make the game more challenging. Unless there's a serious bug, like that one that turned everything blue, I would expect them to have reviewed all of the interiors many times. 

As an example, Grey Mother's house in Milton seems like one of the brightest interiors in the game. There's practically no need for artificial light unless you're searching for hidden items. I imagine they designed it that way to give players an extra "boost" at the beginning of Wintermute - so newbies aren't bumbling around in the dark before they've even discovered lanterns exist. 

Also @ManicManiac I've wondered about the "eyes adjusting to the darkness" thing too! I agree with you that dark interiors don't detract from the game, but I think that mechanism would be pretty cool and add to a feeling of immersion. Even though I like the game as-is, I really love hearing how the game triggers everyone's imaginations to come up with stuff like this.   

Decided to finally start a run for the Faithful Cartographer achievement, beginning with Desolation Point.

P.S. I also realized while playing the Faithful Cartographer build that the camera/POV used to be much less smooth. I actually got motion sickness from searching around!

On 9/24/2019 at 7:08 PM, NardoLoopa said:

Really?  Oh, man.  I rolled back to the first release and headed straight there -- no Fluffy.  I guess I just got "unlucky".

Me too! I wonder if it's a random spawn or what.