Morrick

The Abandoned Mine №5 is an underrated location to set base in Desolation Point. At least, I was underrating it. It's easy to prefer the scenic view of the Lighthouse when you play on Pilgrim, but now that I'm on Voyageur, this is definitely more strategic when you have to deal with hostile wildlife. On an unrelated note, I joined this forum one year ago today, so it's my first anniversary!

I'm excited for Episode 3 coming even if I never played Wintermute. But also excited for the upcoming 4DON. Knowing that it's going to be the same structure as last year's is actually a good thing for me, as I can try a completely different approach — a bit more daring this time, if you will. As always, thank you Raphael + Hinterland for the hard and dedicated work.

Okay, I'll go on and say it. For me, the immersion breakers are… the crows. I can't kill them, even when they are close. When I shoot at them, they're completely unfazed and just keep circling over corpses and carcasses. Their behaviour is perhaps the least realistic in all the game world. And I'm not even talking about realism as compared with real life. They're an outlier even within the rules of the game world. *caw caw caw caw* Grrr.

I started The Long Dark with a Pilgrim run with the male character, explored a lot, survived 52 days. Then I left that slot saved, and started a second Pilgrim run with the female character (I wanted to know if — like I saw in other games — there were differences between the two characters, like male is stronger and chops wood more quickly, but female can sprint for longer stretches and has a slightly better tolerance to cold, something like that). After surviving 49 days with the female character, I started a third run, this time directly on Interloper, to see what the hardest experience was all about (and I documented my attempts in this thread). In my longest run on Interloper, I managed to survive 19 days, and then left that slot saved with my character still alive but in poor condition. While I understand why Interloper is fun for other players, after all my attempts I decided it's not the mode for me. Now I'm currently on yet another run, but in Voyageur, and my character has survived 23 days so far. I like Voyageur. I jokingly call it Careful Pilgrim. But I haven't 'moved on' from Pilgrim. I'm an explorer, not a hunter/fighter, so at the moment I have 4 savegames on Pilgrim, 1 on Voyageur, 2 on Interloper, 1 on Custom. Depending on the mood, when I launch The Long Dark, I choose one of those and play a bit, survive a few more days, etc. I play The Long Dark to enjoy some relaxation and clear my mind, so I don't care about feats, achievements, etc. Pilgrim is my preferred 'worldview', in the end. Cheers!

Thank you for the kind comment. Given your mastery of the game and your great screenshots, it's an honor!

Adding a bit of warmth to the control room...

Oh, I forgot to add: Time Capsule is a fantastic idea. I've been playing The Long Dark only since mid-2018, so I'm really looking forward to get a taste of how things worked in earlier builds. Thank you again.

Is that Camp Office during an alien abduction? 😉

The answer is yes. The answer, again, is yes. I think I do. I hope I do. I want to. There are scumbags, too. Fortunately they're usually easy to spot. Attitudes speak volumes. I will always praise your choice to keep a sort of 'direct channel' open with the community. Too many do not. This is always appreciated and never taken for granted on my part. I'll just tell you this: there aren't many games I've spent a lot of hours playing. The Long Dark is now firmly in my Hall of Fame, with the Tomb Raider franchise and Half-Life 2. Thank you for the hard and continued work. Cheers!

My first time inside Carter Hydro Dam as a Voyageur, I was approaching the barrel to make some much-needed water, when I mistook the overlapping of two background grinding noises for a wolf growl, so I quickly started a fire and ran up the ladder, like "What!? Who!? Where!?" — And then the amazing light of this amazing game got to me again, so I took this screenshot. Deep down, I still think Fluffy's ghost roams these premises...

The light in this game never ceases to amaze me.

I'm definitely not a hunter despite the many hours and survival sandboxes I've played in the past year or so, but I have to say that almost every major kill I managed to carry out has had its weird or lucky flair. A few examples off the top of my head: While trying to stone a rabbit in Mountain Town, I managed to hit a wolf that was on the other side of a small hill. When the wolf appeared, I was startled, so I drew my rifle and shot in its general direction, without really aiming; instant kill. I was coming down Misanthrope's Homestead's island headed toward the cottages on the mainland; there was some light fog, and suddenly I made out the shape of the resident bear; I fired two rifle shots in its direction, but I really just wanted to scare it away (I was on Pilgrim, and in my early runs, so I didn't know about wildlife not attacking you unless provoked). The bear made a sound and started running away. I lost sight of it, and started exploring the cottages. Hours later I came out of the biggest house in this area and heard crows from an unusual spot. Went to investigate, and found the bear, dead by the side of the road just behind the house. There was a time where I set base in the Hunting Logde in Broken Railroad (don't ask). One morning I went out and saw a moose near the frozen pond. This was one of the rare times when I really, really wanted the kill (it was before the Well Fed buff, and I wanted to craft a satchel). I started walking towards the moose, rifle drawn, and began shooting at it as I approached. One, two, three shots. Nothing. Four, five, six shots. Nothing. The moose would run off a bit, but quickly return to its spot. Seven, eight, nine shots. Now I got this seemingly bulletproof moose angry and it starts charging. I realise I'm out of ammo, so I switch to the bow. I only have one arrow. I barely have time to aim and shoot. It drops dead in front of me. Finally, lol! This is recent. I find the revolver in the Radio Control Hut. First time I find it since the Steadfast Ranger update. I'm curious to hear what sound it makes when fired, so I go out and take a stroll downhill towards the main road. I fire the revolver twice without aiming. Nice sound! Soon after I realise I've also killed a rabbit! 🙂

I voted "Start in a random area every time" because it's probably the closest to what I do. I actually don't let the game choose an area for me randomly, but I'll say "Hmmm, I want to start in Pleasant Valley this time" — and though I am a guy, I won't always choose the male survivor character either. Then, once I start a new playthrough, I don't always follow the same looting routes. I try to keep things interesting... Sometimes I even take the 'scenic route' from a place to another, and not necessarily the most effective way to go from point A to point B. I think it helps me to avoid playing on auto-pilot, so to speak. 🙂

Sixth day… you guessed it… blizzard! And on the seventh day, I reached Forlorn Muskeg. After a short break in the weather, another blizzard is coming. I don't know if I'll manage to get to Old Spence, but I gathered enough materials to build a snow shelter. I have to shake this 'Hypothermia Risk' before it becomes full-blown hypothermia. Very little food left. I may be in for some record here. I've found better weather in Timberwolf Mountain on Interloper.

The trek from Signal Hill to the Carter Hydro Dam was slow and hard, awful weather and a bear encounter that could have gone much worse hadn't I had my revolver with me. I finally reached the Dam under heavy snow in the late afternoon... Killed a rabbit, avoided a wolf, and up the Dam I went... I was exhausted and encumbered, so I decided to sleep on my bedroll as soon as I entered the facility from the window. It was still night outside when I got up, and saw this: Yep… aurora in the Carter Hydro Dam. Which means, watch your step and careful where you go. Not downstairs, for example. So I returned to the relative safety of the office, I turned my head and — WHOA… POLTERGEIST! That computer monitor… That computer monitor... Isn't connected to anything... *shudder*

♪ ♫ I'm walking on blizzards, yeah yeah… ♪ ♫

All you need is a wolf leash and you have a free flashlight! 🙂

I enjoyed it a lot. The bear attack was very nicely edited, in my opinion. Overall, I found your montage to communicate The Long Dark's atmosphere pretty well. Cheers!

The fifth day started quietly, but after 'having breakfast' (a jar of peanut butter, the last high-calorie food in stock), I went out and the blizzard was mounting up again. The screenshot was taken just before the wind and snow intensified. Before returning inside the Hunting Lodge, I managed to snatch a dead rabbit, recently killed by a wolf. At least I still have a little bit of food.

Hey folks, it's been a while since my Pilgrim-tries-Interloper tales. Work has increased in the past months, so I've had less and less time to play The Long Dark. Two days ago I wanted to try something new, instead of continuing from one of my saves. I started a new game on Voyageur and told the game to choose a random location to start. I spawn in Broken Railroad, inside the Maintenance Shed, mid-afternoon. Eh, could be worse — I thought. I didn't know I was in for a surprise. I start exploring the shed and find the usual useful items: some food, a few articles of clothing in decent shape, a prybar, some accelerant. I wear all the heavier clothes, but they're not enough to keep me warm. Indoor temperature is -3°C. There's a blizzard outside. I eat, I drink, I break crates to have some reclaimed wood. I keep warm thanks to the forge. I explore all the shed's nooks and crannies. With the night, comes an aurora. Suddenly I have to take care where I put my feet, as cables on the ground start to light up and fizzle. Exhausted, I go to bed. Next day: blizzard. I pass some time, I expertly manage my food and beverages so that I can survive another day inside the shed. But the clothing situation is not ideal. I mean, it's not as bad as on Interloper, but every time I venture outside the shed, the indicator reaches 'Cold' and 'Numb' pretty quickly. A brief trip to the gatehouse gives me Hypothermia Risk at 11% on my way back to the shed. Hours pass. The blizzard stays. I manage to reach the end of the second day without burning through all the resources I have collected so far. But I can't stay here another day. As I go to bed, I hope things will improve tomorrow. They don't. As I wake up and hear the sound of wind outside, I'm hoping it's just wind, but then I go to the outer office and look outside. Yep, blizzard. I'm starting to wonder if maybe I have inadvertently selected some new challenge. Oh well. Blizzard or no blizzard, it's time to get out of here and head for the Hunting Lodge. At least I won't have to worry about predators on my way there. Obviously, for 80% of my trip to the Lodge, I have to walk against the wind, so my trek is painfully slow, and cold. When I reach the Hunting Lodge, I have hypothermia. I collect some stuff, but while I'm happy to find a good amount of food and drinks, and even a revolver and ammo, the only useful piece of clothing I find is an earwrap. Oh, and impractical ski boots. The heaviest jacket I'm wearing is a down vest at 73% condition. I light a fire and spend most of the day recovering from hypothermia and mending all the clothes I can, as to maximise their warmth and protection. I go to bed. Fourth day: blizzard. I'm low on resources now. I'm starting to think it's time I take a few cups of coffee and wait for the night, see if the blizzard calms down. If I try heading for the exit and to Forlorn Muskeg with this blizzard, I don't know if I'll survive. This Voyageur run has a really Interloper vibe to it I didn't expect. And this is the shittiest weather I've found in 350 hours of playing The Long Dark.

My worst jumpscare has to be that time I was exploring the houses at the Rural Crossroads in Pleasant Valley. I've always been cautious when exploring an area, exactly to avoid been surprised by a wolf or a bear. There was no suspicious movement around the houses. The weather was fine, so I had perfect visibility. After searching the last house, the one nearest to the see-saw and the fire barrel outside, I exited, picked up charcoal from the barrel, turned to get back on the road — and I was face to face with a bear! I hadn't heard it, I hadn't seen it… the feeling was that he just materialised out of thin air. But it was no ghost, as it mauled me pretty well!

Weather was getting worse. There was a strong, gusty wind as I was making my way to the Forestry Lookout with a sprained ankle, tried and encumbered. But despite its impractical location, I always end up spending some time in a lookout. I love to be able to see outside — the changes in light and weather. 🙂

This is the coolest screenshot I've seen since discovering these forums. Sincere compliments.

I think so, yes. I too was surprised the first time I saw it. Like: "Has it always been here and I was too caught up in the game to notice, or…" That kind of doubt, you know. 🙂

Thank goodness the Quonset is open tonight, I was running out of petrol.