ManicManiac

Since I have one more portion of venison stew on hand... I decided I would spend one more day in Mystery Lake to hopefully tie up a couple of loose ends.  Specifically, I do want to get to the old, destroyed lookout tower, as well as the "Lookout" at Clear Cut.  With these couple of things done, I'll have fully explored Mystery Lake.

Then I think the next route will be to the Summit of Timberwolf Mountain.  Seems the most direct way to get my hands on some top tier clothing.  Along the way, I hope to pick up at least one additional recipe card.

As far as supplies... I do have a handful of MREs that are getting pretty sketchy and need to be eaten, and if rationed properly one MRE and get me through two days.  I also now have 50 cattail stalks, so food is pretty well covered for a long trek.

After I'd gone to bed... I kind of just laid there in the dark awhile and had a bit of a, "Now what?" sort of moment.
I realized that with nearly no self-imposed restrictions... my stay on Great Bear Island was beginning to feel a bit aimless.  However, that is a "Me" problem.

I know I wanted to experiment more with cooking... but to that end, I didn't have a clear goal in mind...

The more I thought about it... I'm reminded that my ultimate goal is to get geared up for an expedition into the Far Territory, and that all other activities should be centered around supporting that.

With this in mind... I think I'm going to start planning some longer routes very soon.
Collecting recipe cards and continuing to focus on cooking will certainly make life easier when I do get to the Far Territory (being able to make better use of whatever I may find there).  Along with that... I know that I do want some specific equipment... and I need to start seeking it out (rather than just a wandering exploration from region to region).

I think that from here out... my stay on Great Bear Island is going to need to get more focused.
I've never been to the Far Territory, and it is high time that I got ready for that expedition in earnest. 

I'd gone to bed early... after a solid night's sleep, I was feeling much better.  The howling of the storm went on for most of the night.  I managed to get up early... however the remnants of the blizzard were still coming down.

It was still far too cold for me to seriously consider venturing out.  I did find a couple of packs of water purification tablets while prospecting through the Carter Dam.  I decided to cook and prepare more drinking water while waiting to see what the weather would do.

By the time I'd finished it was a little past noon. 

With the weather having cleared and the day looking gorgeous... I decided on a short and relatively easy route for the day.

The wolves were out in force on the lake, so I took that to mean the "Southern Access" along the river would be clear.

I still opted to head to higher ground to scout ahead carefully, however.

All-in-all, it was a nice and easy day.  I have enough venison stew prepared for two good night's rest, and enough found food to take me as far afield as I'd like.

I'm not entirely sure if I should stay put and continue experimenting with more cooking... or start venturing out to find more recipes (as well as more gear and supplies). 🤔

Welcome to the wilderness.

BABYMETAL - メギツネ - MEGITSUNE (OFFICIAL) (youtube.com)

Alternate Link (audio only):
[Audio] Baby Metal - Megitsune (youtube.com)

Thank you, Hinterland.

@BugReportEnthusiast

Fair to ask the questions... 

However, I think it's a tad unfair for folks to try and imply sloppy conceptualization/implementation when those folks likely don't know the extent of time, work and consideration, that Hinterland put into making the new game content.  That's all I'm talking about.

As I alluded to before... it's fine for folks to perhaps not like the decisions and pose questions to Hinterland about it.
Again though, I do feel it's more than a bit out of line to try and imply they are sloppy creators or that they didn't give "proper" planning, consideration, or balance to the new items, places, or systems they've given us to play with. 

Anyway... I've said my piece, and I stand by it.  

I disagree...

I don't think the game has a balancing issue... and I think it's a bit of bad form to imply the assumption that Hinterland did not give due consideration with regard to the new additions.

I can understand if you're saying that you personally don't like some of the choices Hinterland has made... but just because it's not the game balance that you personally would like... doesn't mean it's a bad game balance.  I mean I've not always agreed with or liked all of the things that Hinterland as added or implemented either, but I respect and accept what Hinterland chooses to put in their game.  More often than not... it's just something I can choose to avoid or not use.

I think that if something wasn't in line with Hinterlands' intentions, then they will likely change it.  

If these things are working as Hinterland intends, then I think the better answer is for the player to adapt and overcome.

🤔...I don't know...
I think this kind of feels like a level of pedantic detail that I'm not sure would do much good for a video game.
A game doesn't need to try and perfectly simulate every aspect of real-world physics (or at least Newtonian physics).
I mean... bothering to try and account for more or less imperceptible (in most cases to most humans) contraction and expansion of solid materials due to a transition from "indoor" to "outdoor" temperatures... just feels like a bit of a waste of the developer's time to me.  

Besides, I think the breaking threshold that already exists sort of compensates for that sort of thing anyway.

I get the spirit of the idea, and I'm not knocking OP in any way for suggesting it... I just don't think it's really significant enough of a benefit to the gameplay for the dev team to invest time and resources into.

I think we'd be in much greater need of a fluid management system/overhaul... rather than trying to simulate atomic scale changes in the density of objects due to temperature change.

Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers Intro (youtube.com)

Alternare Link:
Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers Intro [HQ] (youtube.com)

...I don't know... to be honest.
Perhaps if they have taken down and are eating prey, you might be able to provoke an attack similar to other wolves when they are feeding.

That's about the only thing I could think of... and if you've tried that already; then never mind. 

Finding additional lanterns was really helpful... I could freely let them burn out without worrying about it.  

I spent a little while gathering up everything I'd stashed from the previous day's prospecting.  However, my pack was nearly 55kg and that just wouldn't do.  After a few moments of careful consideration... I decided I would leave the toolboxes, flares, Vaughn's Rifle, and the revolver behind.  These are all things I don't have any immediate need for, so I decided those were things I stash in the locker to be picked up some other day (if ever).

With my pack just shy of 50kg, I set out to get back to the Camp Office.

The weather was quickly taking a turn for the worse... but I decided to lean into the wind and press on.  Lugging such a heavy pack make the going slow and dangerous.  If I got caught by wolves, there would be no escape.

I was already committed to the route... and the weather was rapidly turning wrathful.  I was going to have to tank the blizzard and make it back... or freeze to death.

It took nearly the entire day just to trek from the Carter Dam to the Camp Office... but I made it.
I did a quick sort and stow...
I was feeling nearly dead by the time I crawled into bed.

No contest for me.  Fluffy has been terrorizing and delighting survivors since very near the beginning (the original "dam wolf" for those who remember ).

From the very top of Timberwolf Mountain...

Everything (youtube.com)

Alternate Link:
Nine Inch Nails - Everything (youtube.com)

I still tend to think this is most likely a Nintendo problem:

On 12/23/2023 at 2:01 PM, ManicManiac said:

Generally speaking, I think it's probably likely going to be whenever Nintendo's rather bloated bureaucracy finally allows them too... which at the moment is projected to be April 2024.

On 11/10/2023 at 5:46 PM, ManicManiac said:

It's probably much more likely that it's an issue with Nintendo... (having to deal with Nintendo and their "certification process" and "patch approval process")

I think it's bad form when folks try to speculate and make assumptions about Hinterland's health as a company... or trying to insinuate things because some folks are not pleased about the release pace.   ...or trying to make declarative statements about the intentions of the Hinterland team.

[This is in reply to the first round of posts on this thread]

The Carter Dam really is a two-day investment...

With the fog rolling in, it's turned out that this is a good day for it.  

I spent about four and a half hours clearing the crates way by hand to get at this bag...

I did find a day's worth of food inside... all-in-all, I think it was worth the time.

It's been a rather long day... I'll have to finish prospecting through the dam tomorrow.

The blizzard did eventually blow itself out sometime just before dawn.  The last remnants of snowfall from the storm were still falling early that morning.

I had wanted to make prospecting trip today... but I knew I'd have to check on the rabbit snare first.

Clearly, I have not found the optimal spot yet... but today that works out well.  I was able to take down the snare and continue on towards Carter Dam.

I did confirm this morning that the Venison Stew absolutely draws predators from a surprising distance.  
The Prince of the Forest was very close to being attacked by wolves... but I was able to get their attention to have them stalk me instead.  I peppered them with stones after the Prince had manage to get away to safety.  
It was a tense situation... I'd almost failed my promise to protect him.  It was the first close call I've had in several years. 
I did eventually retreat back into the Camp Office and gave the wolves sometime to wander back to their territory. 

Duley noted... other cooked foods with animal protein ingredients attract predators. 🤭 I suppose that should have been obvious to me.

I then made my way up to the cave at the Mystery Lake Overlook to drop off some recycled cans there as well.

Hmm... at some point I must have missed picking up the key to this lockbox.  I will have to stop by the Lake Cabins another day and double check. 🤔

I had decided to take the backtrail through the forest... it was a good opportunity to pick up more sticks for firewood.

I did make a run back to the Camp Office to drop off most of the gear and supplies I'd found along the way and made it back to the Carter Dam before dark.  I decided to camp out in the foyer, so I could start prospecting through the dam in the morning.

Frankly, I don't particularly like the that all the newer cooked food items all come with buffs/debuffs to begin with... so the idea of a food item granting a permanent buff, I like that even less.

I was fine with that being a thing for the various Teas, Go Energy, and Coffee... but to have that for the recipe food items?  I just don't really care for it.  However, I respect whatever Hinterland decides for their game.  For those who like it, I'm glad they have it... for me though, I mostly just ignore that aspect and only recently started cooking in-game for the RP value.

As for the main idea... no thank you.
As for more feats... sure, why not.  I don't particularly like them, but for those who do... I'm glad they have that option.
To be clear, I do enjoy earning the badges... but I don't ever use them.  

The snowfall has been constant yesterday... and I wasn't sure how much I was going to be able to get done.

The wind was gusting hard and still even by midmorning was bitter cold.  I knew I at least had to check the snare.

Sure enough, I had a catch.  As quickly as I could, I reset the snare, grabbed the rabbit, and began heading back to the Camp Office.  Just as I got to the train tracks... I saw a wolf, 30 maybe 40 meters further along down the line making a beeline trotting down in the ditch tracking the scent of the rabbit in my pack.  I immediately got low and moved towards the large rocks near the bend right before the straight shot down to the Camp Office.  I kept still for a moment (shielded from the wind) and watched to see if it was going to continue tracking past me toward the clearing... or if the wolf was already on to me.  I was ready to start sprinting in an instant, and as soon as the wolf trotted near enough that I could slip through... I went for it.  I hopped up, hit a hard sprint, and made it back to the Camp Office without ever hearing the sound that menacing bark and snarl.  I'd managed to get a way clean.

(All the while, I was so tense and pensive that I completely forgot to take a snapshot for the journal🤭)

I took the time to harvest the rabbit, stow it all way for later.
I wanted to head out onto the lake to see if I could maybe get some fishing done.  However, I quickly noticed that there at least four wolves prowling around way too close to the first Fishing Hut and the Camp Office, so I knew right away that fishing was just out of the question.  

What I did instead was visit each of the Fishing Huts and drop off a recycled can (I figured future me would appreciate it).

There was also the bear to pay attention to in addition to the wolves.

As I was making my way back to the Camp Office, the weather was quickly taking a turn for the worse... and I had a feeling that this is what the weather was building to since yesterday.

No sooner had I stepped back on the porch of the Camp Office... the blizzard hit with full force.

I spent the rest the day cooking more Venison Stew, warming up all my canned goods, and brewing some coffee and tea.  This time really trying to make the most out of the burn time. 

The blizzard has been blowing hard all night... here's hoping it abates by the time I get up in the morning.

The more I think about lures, bait, and ice fishing... the more I wonder if perhaps it might be better for me to stick to simple tackle until I'm more skilled.  I figure that way a snapped line early on would only cost me a line and hook... rather than the tackle as well as lure/bait. 🤔

@Leeanda

That's some good science.

@Leeanda

Hmm... definitely worth a support ticket.  I think that even the most minor bugs deserve to be acknowledged (and ideally fixed).  

@Leeanda

I didn't mean to imply it's just you.  I mean that I think it's likely some sort of bug you're experiencing... certainly not intended behavior.
Are you able to work around it?  Perhaps by dropping them or using a container to off load them and see if they will then recombine and stack properly with others?