ManicManiac

Seems a little judgmental, even antagonistic...

Of course, Blackrock is lovable. I find that regions that I at one time found daunting, if I just spend time and kind of push myself to "get to know them" better... I've always found that I grow to love them. I'll give examples. When Pleasant Valley first appeared... I didn't like it very much and for the most part either avoided it, or just got in and out as quickly as I could. However, after challenging myself to dwell there for a substantial length of time, I grew to love it. It was the same type of story for Hushed River Valley, Timberwolf Moutain, and Bleak Inlet... In the case of Timberwolf Mountain, it became my favorite region to live in. Point is, that when I push outside of my comfort zone into regions that seem daunting and deadly, I find that I surprise myself in how quickly one can adapt. I really do enjoy the struggle (at least in TLD, that is).

I'd never lost it. 🤭 I was just reiterating what I'd already briefly mentioned in my previous posts on the thread. Especially in light of some of the other comments that have surfaced over the last few days.

I'm very excited for the new update, and as always fully support & respect whatever decisions Hinterland makes for their game. I have always trusted Hinterland to do good work and craft a great experience for us... and in my opinion, they have never failed to do just that. Even though I've said as much, I will say it again (as I think it bears repeating). Any and all of my initial concerns and musings about some of the upcoming features, are absolutely based on my own imagination and assumptions about what information was given here. Despite any worries or anxieties about how we fear or think a feature/mechanic *might work... It's fair to say that it only all really comes to bear when it's been released, and we get to see how the new aspect fits in with the rest of the game as a whole. I truly can hardly wait until I get to see and experience the next wonderful chapter, in the struggle to survive on Great Bear Island.

Decided to take a quick look around after all... Of course... it was cloudy until I'd already spent a match to light my torch... and two failed attempts to start a fire, and then it wants to be sunny. I will build up a little bit of a water supply to leave behind here... and I can use this as a safe stopover point again in the future.

With an exceptionally early start, I have to try to figure out which might be the most useful way to get to Climber's Cave. If I just go up the hill, I can find a way over the gap, but going the long way around will help me cover more ground. Honestly though, I can't recall if there actually is a long way around... 🤔 I'm already getting a bit chilly... so I had to make up my mind quickly. 🤔 About to jump this narrow gap in across the chasm below. Also, yes... getting rather cold. The first thing I find after leaping across is a hunting knife... It's not warm enough in here... but at least I can avoid the wind. I need it to warmup outside just a little bit more. I suppose if I really have to, I can use the mag-lens and brew up a tea and a little water. 🤔 Almost forgot I had come across a coffee... no better time to a quick boost of caffeine and warmth. Two ravaged carcasses near this out of the way little nook... duly noted. I'm running a bit too heavy to take advantage of the rope... so I will be circling around and heading up the slope from Pillar's Footrest after I'm done here. Stopping to get a small fire going was clearly time spent wisely... the weather turned and didn't end up warming up at all. If anything, it got a little colder and began to threaten another blizzard. 🤭 I don't know that will take shelter here (I do still need to get back to Pillar's Footrest)... but still, a good spot to know about. This small goating opportunity held an unexpected surprise... duly noted. Made it back to Pillar's Footrest... now it was time to head up the slope. Needed to use this very shallow cave near the top of the slope to warm for a little while before continuing on ward. Not much of note found so far... but I'm not done looking around up here yet. This is a more interesting little nook... 🤔 There's my next stop... I will likely spend the rest of the day here at Climber's Cave. I'm considering whether or not to setup a secondary encampment here. 🤔 May also slide down to check on the crows that were circling farther up the slope from the Angler's Den... but that would also put my right back down at the Angler's Den again. 🤭 It seems I have to mull it over some more... in the meantime I'll at the very least drop the 80 sticks and 14 pieces of coal I'd picked up along the way.

The storm eventually broke... however, the day was already more-or-less spent. Night approaches with sinister green skies. One more night spent in this cave, I suppose.

It seems I overslept. 🤭 It was nearly noon by the time I woke up. I quickly set about exploring the cave... I wandered through the cave for at least an hour before I managed to find something interesting. It seems a survivor and a wolf ran afoul of each other... and it didn't work out well for either of them. I traded the lantern that I'd repaired up for this Spelunker's Lantern. I already notice there's a more of a hazy halo coming off the lantern... but for me, even though it is a bit dimmer, I find the fuel efficiency well worth the trade off. Managed to find the other end of the cave... however, I'm not looking to go to Timberwolf Mountain again, just yet. IT was time to turn around and head back to Pillar's Footrest. I hear a howling wind outside... Yep... a blizzard in Ash Canyon today. 🤔 I suppose I'll spend the rest of the day in the cave. I guess it's just as well, I need to get my sleep schedule back on track anyways.

However, for any of my worries or concerns... or (to be perfectly honest) my assumptions about what I've read about the next update, let me be clear... I absolutely trust Hinterland to do good work and continue adding interesting new elements to their game. Anything that I may not end up caring for, I can likely just exercise a little player choice and simply ignore or not engage with those aspects (if I find that after trying them, I perhaps don't like them).

The only thing I'm really uncertain and really wary about is the idea of the Contamination Zone... and by extension the Poison Wolves.🤔 The toxic gas in the tunnels of Blackrock were the part of Episode 4 that I enjoyed the least... but I was happy to go along with that because it was there for the story. The idea for the poison wolves... I really don't know how to feel about that yet, but as of right now... I'm not really wild about the idea. I thought perhaps it would be more akin to the Darkwalker's poison mist... and I would have expected that wildlife caught in it would just die of the toxicity. The big catch being that the meat from those carcasses would itself be toxic and unusable... Instead, it seems that we have poison wolves that I admit I am really worried that they might start to feel a little bit like the "zombies" of Great Bear Island; and I really don't feel good about that. I'd understand about them being hungrier, more desperate, and more dangerous... but being exposed to toxic atmosphere... I'd also expect that whey would be a bit more frail than regular wolves (a.k.a. actually easier to kill because they are so sickly). Now, to be fair... I want to wait and actually experience it for myself. At first, I didn't really care for the Timberwolves... and now, I absolutely love them. So... while I'm not sure I like the idea right now... I'm open to give it a try to see how it feels in-game.

By the time I was done prepping the Birch Bark for making the tea... the fog lifted. So... time to head out for Pillar's Footrest, and ideally, I'd like to get to Climber's Cave before bedding down for the rest of the night. I do have a few hours of day light left... so I shouldn't have to much of a night hike ahead of me. Strange place to find spray paint and an MRE... 🤔 An aurora was just starting to ramp up as the sun was setting... my night hike was about to potentially get much more dangerous. Already exhausted and hungry... feeling half-dead. I think I'll just hunker down in this cave. This particular cave system would lead to Deer Clearing on Timberwolf Mountain. Maybe I'll do a walkthrough tomorrow, but for now I just need to get some sleep.

I'd recommend checking out @Hadrian's Long Dark content on YouTube: Hadrian - YouTube Survival School is an older series, but those fundamental "survival tasks" and strategies are (for the most part) still good. Against All Odds is the current (and longest running of his) series relative to TLD.

...It's probably much more likely that it's an issue with Nintendo... I don't think it's really fair to be so quick to try and throw stones at Hinterland... especially since it's unlikely that you know the behind-the-scenes issues they are probably having to deal with from Nintendo and their "certification process" and "patch approval process." I don't claim to know either, but I find it unlikely that Hinterland would intentionally neglect a platform they've put the time and effort to port it over to.

Thank you, Hinterland!

Very early in the morning, the weather was looking a little grim... After leaving behind as much I could without being too reckless... started to make my way towards Stone Shelf Cave. Thankfully, the weather seemed to have gotten better... the fog is not really doing me any favors as far as visibility goes, but at least it's relatively warmer and not threatening a blizzard. It's already midmorning... spending the time to sort and stow some gear and supplies will somewhat limit how far along the route I can get before dark (unless of course I can get clear skies later... in that case, I'm all for a bit of a night hike to cover more ground). The howls sound like their right over my shoulder when they prowl so close. This slope is just full of close calls today. I've spotted at least three wolves skulking around here this morning. Thankfully I've remained undetected, haven't really needed the stones yet, but I am glad I have a couple in my pocket (just in case). Stone Shelf Cave just ahead... however, I will also want to check out the basin just farther off to the right, first. The fog's gotten heavier... still heading to check out the small basin ahead, but now a little more dangerous if I can see what's ahead (and I say that because I've spotted moose here before). I was admittedly a little worried about running afoul of a moose... but so far, just a Doe. Hmm... talk about a lopsided risk/reward ratio. Made it down to the bottom of the small basin... and I call I got was this baseball cap. I made my way back to Stone Shelf Cave... It was getting rather late in the day (late afternoon/early evening). I'd also managed to gather up 86 sticks since I'd started out this morning. I might be able to make it down to Pillar's Footrest and find shelter before dark... there's also potential wolf ambush to consider. Plus, I'm not wild about getting caught out after sundown when the fog is this dense. It makes for a deadly dark night (and I need to save my lantern for the cave systems later on). I've also managed to gather up 26 bits of birch bark (though 14 of them I'd brought with me from my hike from Bleak Inlet all the way to Timberwolf Mountain. I think I'll sacrifice one of the three matches I have on hand to get a fire going and hunker down here for the night (I wouldn't mind brewing some brich bark tea this evening). 🤔Unless of course, the fog lifts before I bed down... if that happens, then I absolutely will go on a night hike. I was really hoping to cover more ground today.

As I lay in the warm bed of Angler's Den early in the predawn morning, I find myself napping and thinking about how what route to take next to explore the rest of Ash Canyon. I suppose there are enough alternate routes that, either way I go, I should be able to loop it around as I work my way farther "up" the Canyon. I should also probably spend a bit of time on a quick sort and stow. I could save a lot of weight if I pare down to maybe just three night's worth of food (and just leave the rest here at Angler's Den for now).

I got an early start... but the morning was not as cold as I was anticipating. This, at least, would give me one less thing to worry about. This was going to be a rather long ring-route, and not having to worry so much about the cold means I can focus more on looking out for wolves. It's hard to make out in the low hanging mist, but there ahead are two wolves prowling. They hadn't made a sound the entire time I was exploring around in this basin... were it not for staying crouched and keeping a sharp eye, I most certainly would have been ambushed. I did stop by a couple of shallow caves along the way... but didn't really find anything of note. I soon came out the other side of the pass into Shattered Cove. Now to follow the ridgeline to my left and explore the scorched forest. The hike back around wasn't quite so long as I'd imagined. While there were both wolves and a moose lurking in the scorched forest... my route gave me a good vantage and was able to give them a wide berth without slowing me down very much. This will give me more time to explore near and around the Angler's Den before dark. Managed to finish exploring the "bottom" of Ash Canyon before dark, even visiting the lower part of Broad Falls before heading back to the Angler's Den to hunker down for the night. I'll have to think about the next route... I have a couple of options to consider. 🤔

@Leeanda That's a fair point, and I agree... I too of course would want to give it a chance and see how it actually feels/impacts the gameplay.

I'd prefer not. I much rather the idea of having to manage carefully what I can find myself (or what washes up on the ice by happenstance). I don't like the idea of a trading post... and I really don't like the idea of Human NPC's in my survival sandbox. However, as I've mentioned before, I wouldn't want to take the trader away from anyone else who might really like the idea and very much want it to be part of their experience on Great Bear Island. If it was an option that could be toggled, then for me that would be ideal (as I could just turn it off)... but if not, it's something I would just likely avoid (and pretend isn't there).

I have to make up my mind... and I think that as soon as the sun comes up, I'll make my way back around to the Shattered Cove (but I'm not sure which direction to approach it). I think I will risk the wolves near the climbs and make my way through the narrow pass back to the cove, rather than back tracking to Bitter Marsh first. 🤔 There will be a little more risk up front... but then the walk back around to the Angler's Den will be nice and familiar. Plus, the trip entire round trip will probably take most (of not the entirety) of the day as long as I'm exploring thoroughly. 🤔 Still more to think on. I do think I'd like to get this lower level done (at least for the most part) before working my way higher up.

My thoughts on what makes this game so special for me:

My thoughts on Human NPCs in the Survival Sandbox over the years: