ManicManiac

@Leeanda Thank you, Pleasant Valley being pleasant, is a treat indeed.

Highlights from my most recent route: [PV-TWM-AC]

Managed an early start... but it was bone chillingly cold. As I skirted around the Birch Forest (passing by the Lonely Homestead), I didn't see hide nor hair of the bear. It also occurred to me that the last time I was here, this was the only bear den I hadn't confirmed the location of. As I continued pushing forward towards my next stopover (just for the sake of warming up), I soon came upon my first sign of the Birch Forest Bear (but still no where in site). The tracks were very fresh... so I figured it was probably nearer the Lonely Homestead by now, and followed the tracks back. Bear's Den confirmed... now I know for certain where they all three of them den, and how far they roam. (Worth knowing for the future) It wasn't a perfect navigation, but I arrived at the Draft Dodger's Cabin soon after the wind had finally died down. I would probably be good to press on... but I've spent enough time in Pleasant Valley over the years to know not to trust in the weather (or pass up a place to warm my bones). Next stop, Burned Ridge Cave and the Crash Site... After the crash... the way back to the old Abandoned Prepper became a bit easier to navigate. As I was passing by the cave, I could hear the howls of at least two wolves over by Skeeter's Ridge. I was glad to be able to cut through the crash site and circumvent Skeeter's Ridge altogether (rather having to stealth my through, as I had to do in the past). The hunter's blind is just off to the left... and on the other side of that slope, is the climb I'm after. Hmm... Ptarmigans near the Hunter's blind. Duly noted, for the future. It seems Pleasant Valley is at it again... It's starting to snow. 😒 Drat... The Pleasant Valley weather followed me into Timberwolf Mountain. By the time I made it through the trail from Pleasant Valley... the weather was definitely taking a turn. I'll keep an eye on it... it starts to look threatening; I know I have at least three or four places I can take shelter between here and Echo Ravine. 🤭 Moose on the loose... that is all. Cristal Lake... Home sweet home. I only stopped to fill my stomach and sate my thirst (four chicken/vegetable airline meals and another bottle of water did the trick). It was time to get moving to Echo Ravine, there wasn't a lot of daylight left. Almost there... I'd arrived in Ash Canyon... but there's only a couple hours of daylight left. I'll need to decide if I'm going to make for the Angler's Den... or perhaps find a place to hunker down on the way through Shattered Cove. 🤔 I'd just committed to heading towards Bitter Marsh (on the way towards the Angler's Den)... and the wind started kicking up and threatening to worsen. Oh well... I'd just have to press on. Climbing rope... duly noted. I'm not sure I remember this being here the last I was exploring Ash Canyon. 🤔 Found a t-shirt and a can of dogfood that I left behind. ...moving on. Thankfully the weather cleared (the wind was still blowing at a steady gust). Also, there just ahead... another moose on the loose. I'll have to sneak past a couple of wolves. I'm also next to a cave I could hole-up in if push came to shove. However, I'm so close to the Angler's Den... that I just had to risk it and keep going. Close call... but still made it through undetected. I didn't bring any weapons with me either... so I probably should have picked up a rock or two along the way. 🤭 Made it. I have my primary encampment for Ash Canyon.

I'm looking forward to returning to the Mountaineer's Hut (even if only for a quick visit to check on the supplies). Timberwolf Mountain has been my favorite place to live for nearly as long as the route to get there opened up to us. While it will be nice to visit, and rather tempting to stay there for a night or two... I'm determined to get to Ash Canyon and get an encampment established there today.

Leeanda has (as far as I have seen) always been a positive presence here. I think things had definitely gone too far (at least from what I had read). Also, I do not think that getting "frustrated" and making an "emotional" post should be viewed as an acceptable excuse for folks to get personally insulting towards another member of the community. I encourage folks to report that kind of nonsense.

@hozz1235 I'm not sure what your point is... I wasn't denigrating anyone's opinion; I was just simply stating mine. You're comment seems to serve no purpose other than to elicit a response... Folks don't need to "agree" with me, just like they don't have to agree with you... that's not something I care about when I interact on these forums. 🤭 I'm not going to be drawn into an argument... I've already said my piece in my previous comments, and I stand by it.

Thank you, Hinterland!

😬

@KingFuzz It was certainly a fun challenge.

Rob Zombie - Dragula - YouTube (alternate - audio only)

...generally speaking... "fresh" Deer/Bear/Moose Carcasses (from my experience), will generally linger for about 3-4 (-ish) days of decay before they hit "zero" condition and despawn. [worth noting, I haven't done any science with the rabbit carcasses... so I didn't list them] Quarters (meat bags), do indeed decay at a rate of 10% condition until they hit "zero" condition and despawn (this rate of decay appears to be the same both indoors and outdoors... also depending on how much condition they started with will of course dramatically impact how long we have to harvest them before they despawn). "prop"/ravaged carcasses, will remain "intact" and persistent in the world as long the player doesn't interact with them... once the player interacts with them, they will decay like a fresh carcass (but considering they are already in bad condition to start with... will likely disappear quickly if you only partially harvest and try to come back later).

Certainly, that can be tedious... but I think if we plan our trips to the workshop more optimally, we shouldn't really need to make repeated consecutive trips. Even when seeking to maximize my Gun Smithing skill by mass-crafting ammunition... I think I'd only made a total of 5 trips over the course of my entire run to haul in the needed supplies. To your point though... anything in TLD's core gameplay loop can be seen as tedious depending on one's point of view. The 3-7 trips up and down Timberwolf Mountain (depending on which method we use) to bring down all the goodies from the summit - just to name one. It could even be argued that the "survival grind" at the heart of the game is tedious... but struggling to survive is constant work and struggle. And it's that struggle that I love so much about this game. Long story short... I see what OP is getting at. I just don't think it's that big a chore considering the rest of the core gameplay loop.

Some good science, thank you for bring it to us.

...I just don't think it's that big a "chore." I mean, the scripted incursions of Timberwolves only happens the first time you go through it... and it's possible to do so without being detected (I've done it on Stalker where the Timberwolf populations are the densest). After the first go... subsequent trips through the "rafters" are kind of trivial. Also... if we make a habit of leaving one Timberwolf alive from each pack you thin out... I have yet to see a pack "recover"/repaswn after that point. I've seen packs rotate territories, but after all packs in Bleak Inlet have been culled down to one each... I've not seen the population recover for the duration of the rest of the run (revisiting after months in-game). Besides... it seems like this idea really just serves to make like easier for the player, and I'm rarely in favor of things that only serve to make life easier for the player.

I still don't really like the idea of these food items giving buffs/debuffs... so for me, I'd only really "use them" for the roleplay value.

In honor for the holiday:

That was Gmork... from The NeverEnding Story (1984)

@edb87 Welcome to the wilderness.

Heading out for Ash Canyon... I decided to stop over at the Community Hall. It was a good place to stash Forester's Revolver and ammunition, as well as maybe pick up a day's worth of food to help sustain me on the trip.

I think I'll take the weapons with me, but I'll be leaving them at the Community Hall at Thompson's Crossing in Pleasant Valley. I realize now that I'd accidently left rifle ammo behind in Bleak Inlet... oh well. I guess I'll go back for that later on, I suppose. I think I'll look over my pack one more time and head out.

@Leeanda I'm not looking to bring any weapons with me for Ash Canyon. I just took the opportunity to gather them together now since I was thinking ahead to Keeper's Pass and Blackrock. Though I am tempted to maybe bring the crampons... 🤔 So far, I've not really needed them, but I also know that Ash Canyon has enough climbs to perhaps justify them. I'll likely be heading out for Ash Canyon soon... so I suppose I need to make up my mind. It was night to make a side trip to other familiar regions though. It was a very stress-free way to spend a day on Great Bear Island. 🤭 *Side note: It appears I'm only 13 caffeine doses from getting my "Straight to the Heart" Merit Badge. And I think I have about 8 shots of Go! Energy... so I think Ash Canyon will be a nice place to spend those.

I decided I would make a hard push to Coastal Highway to go get Barb's Rifle. Since I carried Forester's Revolver with me on the way out of Bleak Inlet, and earlier brought Woodwright's Bow out of Hushed River Valley... I'm just a rifle short of my ideal set of weapons all in one place. Oh yeah... I forgot I'd also left my crampons at the Camp Office also. But if I'm honest. I really don't have much use for them, so they will likely just stay here. So the route for the day begins. I'm going to get to the Fishing Camp in Coastal Highway and back to the Camp Office. If I can't get back before the sun goes down... then it will turn into a night hike. I picked up Barb's Rifle, ammunition, and a couple night's worth of food to help replenish the limited food supply I've been keeping in my pack. It spent a couple hours checking over my stashed supplies to make sure I was packing out what I was sure I wanted to take with me. 🤔 I need to remember to fill my storm lantern As I started making my way back... the sun was already starting to get low in the sky. Finally made it back... a little after 10 p.m. (if I had to estimate). Now the collection is all together.

@Abenico I didn't mean to seem like I was teasing you. I know you were joking, but I really was just trying to remind and reassure that the feature in question is indeed on the way.