ManicManiac

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  1. I did get ready to escape Broken Railroad... but Great Bear Island can be a cruel place that sometimes feels like bears a grudge against us and our Human plans and intentions. I'd packed up (my bag weighing in at about 44 kg.) but the weather was threatening a blizzard. Now, most of the time when it starts to look threatening... I steel my resolve, spit in the eye of fate, and press on any way. However, this time I decided to go take an hour nap to warm up and see which why the weather was going to swing. As it turned out... playing it safe this time was the right call. Considering that I'd only taken a one-hour nap, means that this blizzard probably would have likely hit while I was out in the middle of the stretch between here and Forlorn Muskeg. It was the better choice this time to play it safe. Again, I have to wait out a blizzard and hope it blows over with enough time to make the trek through Forlorn Muskeg to Mystery Lake... otherwise, I have to spend another night here. Of course, that also means that tomorrow the yard could be swarming with wolves again... I guess I just have to wait and see.
  2. The following morning, I heard a blizzard raging outside. This turned out to be something I could take advantage of. At least I knew that the Yard was most likely going to be clear (at least as long as the storm was bearing down). Having found what I was looking for... I was also starting to freeze to death. My clothes were still not very warm yet, so I'd have to wait out the storm before I could venture out again. In the meantime, I decided to take another thorough search through the Maintenance Shed... I was glad I took a second look because I'd managed to find a few supplies that I'd missed the first time around. I also spent time in prepping more water (also of course a great source of warmth). Once the storm broke, I was able to head back for the Cave. The wolves from the Yard had apparently relocated to prowling around near the stream. Rather than make a beeline for the Maintenance Shed, I decided to take the long way around in order to hit a couple of other points of interest. The day was already waning, so I decided I would take the opportunity to see what else could be found... spend one more night there at the Maintenance Shed and finally leave Broken Railroad tomorrow. As I got ready to settle in for the evening... ... I noticed the telltale signs of an aurora were churning up and spreading across the sky. Before too long it was churning at full power. I managed to get two Buffer Memories that evening. After which I bedded down for the evening. Tomorrow, I think I will see how much I will be able to haul out with me... and head for Mystery Lake. It's a good place to get organized and find my footing.
  3. When I got up the next morning, I finished up prospecting in the maintenance shed. When I took a look outside, I found that four wolves were prowling close to the vehicles and around the perimeter of the yard as well. Considering all that... I decided I'd be better off wasting a day and hoping that the wolves would move on by tomorrow. I had decided that the best way while a way the day would be to go and prospect at the bottom of the small ravine nearby. I deployed the rope and quickly made my way down. By the time I'd managed to get back to the frozen stream, the fog was lifting. It hadn't seemed so dense while I was down in the ravine, but after I'd made the hard climb back up... it was cause enough to keep low and stay cautious. With the fog abating, at least I could better see the way ahead. Speaking of which... I decided it might serve me well to find good vantage point before heading back into the yard. The wolves seemed to be keeping mostly to the front of the yard.... so, I went back the long way around and slipped in the backway.
  4. @Leeanda 🤭 I just meant it to answer your question... that was the Balrog in the Mines of Moria; and of course, Gandalf the Grey fending it off for the rest of the Fellowship to escape.
  5. @TheLongDarkTeatimeOfThSoul Welcome to the wilderness... though I see you're no stranger. Also... good to have another Dirk Gently fan out there on Great Bear Island.
  6. THE WOLF SONG - Nordic music - Vargsången (youtube.com) Alternate Link: Jonna Jinton - Vargsången with Fairy Lyrics 🌺 (youtube.com)
  7. To be fair... you only need a tool to get harvesting started, after that we can continue harvesting by hand if we want to. Here is what Raph had to say when I was looking for clarification: Yes... I think it's safe to say they took it into consideration. Besides there are still ways to eat without tools... fish don't need any tools to prep for cooking (at least not as far as I know). Granted, we need at least a hammer or a prybar to get through the ice, and some basic tackle... fair to point out. I just mean that the fish themselves don't require a knife to gut and ready for cooking. ...also we can get fish via beachcombing, so we don't even necessarily have to "fish" in order to get fish. Cattails stalks, birchbark, rosehips, reishi mushrooms... none of these require tools to gather, and of course the only "tool" the teas need is a recycled can (which the interloper will start with anyway). There are also a good number of ravaged carcasses (sometimes several in the same region). Also, it's worth noting that if we get a wolf to hunt for us... we can get nearly an entire deer carcass harvested by hand with minimal loss. Personally, I like the new harvesting mechanic. Before this update... I didn't find that any of the tools were absolutely necessary for survival (as I could easily survive for lengthy runs without them), even on interloper (I once did a "no forges" interloper run, just to prove a point). With this update... now a sharp edge is much more necessary if we are going hunt for ourselves.
  8. AURORA - Runaway (youtube.com) Alternate Link: Aurora - Runaway (lyrics) (youtube.com)
  9. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - A Minute To Breathe (youtube.com) Alternate Link: A Minute to Breathe (youtube.com)
  10. NINE INCH NAILS Trent Reznor - Non-Entity (Live Remastered) (youtube.com) Alternate Link: Nine Inch Nails - Non Entity (With lyrics) (youtube.com)
  11. Nirvana - Something In The Way (Lyrics) (youtube.com) Alternate Link: Nirvana - Something In The Way (Audio) - YouTube
  12. Personally, I'm all for the power of Player Choice. For those folks who like being able to goat around, then I'm glad they have that option. For those folks who don't like the idea of being able to goat around... then I think it's fair to say that they can simply choose not to do that. For me, it's nothing really egregious (at least, I don't think so)... most often I will just occasionally do a little goating for the sake of exploration. Being able to creatively use the terrain to overcome some of the limitations we have for movement, I've been able to "climb" my way up to some neat little out-of-the-way places. This doesn't give me any real benefit (as there is never really anything in those hard-to-reach places)... for the most part I just like it as an exploring tool.
  13. When I woke up and found myself in Broken Railroad... I was at first a little dismayed. It's not among my favorite places on Great Bear Island to be, and I don't exactly remember how I'd gotten there. However, rather than going on a direct route out, I did opt to try and make a quick circuit of it. I was deep enough in that the Hunting lodge was my best bet for trying to find my footing and staying alive. While inside I could only just barely start warming up. I did wake up with an old cotton toque, a plaid shirt, thermal underwear, jeans, and sneakers... but of course I need to start putting on layers as quickly as I can find them. There was a nice amount of cooking ingredients and even some food I can snack on in the meantime. All in all, there was some surprisingly good gear and supplies to be found at the Hunting Lodge. With the clothing I'd managed to find... I knew I would at least be able to make the push to the maintenance yard without too much risk. However, first I needed to prospect the vehicles outside. While I was outside, I deployed a climbing rope that I'd found inside. I was conflicted... I wasn't sure if this was the best place for it, or if I'd needed at the end of the route I'd intended on. I decided to spend the night there at the Hunting Lodge rather than try to take the long way around to the maintenance yard. Early the next morning I set out for the maintenance yard. I was so ill-equipped (in spite of the mackinaw that I had found) for the cold that I was already freezing by the time I'd gotten to this cave. Since I needed water anyway, I decided to stop for an hour or two (both to warm up and to try and use the one can I had on had to get some drinking water prepared). I don't often find wolves up on this path... but today I did. Shoot... I had a feeling I should have kept that rope I'd found at the Hunting Lodge. Oh well... I'd just have to goat down the hard way. I'd end up spending the rest of the afternoon and evening prospecting inside of the maintenance shed. I found a prybar, some leather work gloves, flight jacket, and aviator cap. I know there's probably more to find, but I needed to bed down for the night first. My lighting options are very few... I used my spare torch and my only flare just to find what I had already. I think there are a few crates I might try to break down in the morning. This shed was also rich with tools, I nearly have a full set now. However, I might end up leaving most of them behind for the sake of saving weight... but I will think more about that when I'm done prospecting the maintenance yard in the morning.
  14. My Astrid's chronicle will continue in "The Ghosts of All That Was."
  15. Preface: I don't have any particular personal challenge ideas for this run. I'll be free to hunt, use conventional weapons, harvest plants... no region restrictions/requirements and free to roam as the urge strikes. The only goals I really have in mind for the run are to finally get around to trying out the new/updated mechanics, recipes, items, and perhaps most of all... I am finally going to be entering and exploring the Far Territory. Starting conditions: Stalker No Feats Random Starting Location
  16. @Leeanda Thank you. It's been a wonderful run, though it took much longer (in real time) that I was expecting when I started. I was especially glad to be able to test and confirm that the conventional weapons on Great Bear Island were not as necessary as might have been assumed. I was really happy with being able to confirm that stealthing the Last Resort Cannery's scripted Timberwolf incursions was possible. I did take two rabbits (one by stone and one by snare) in the first couple of days into the run... but that was before I had really figured out what I really wanted to do with the run yet. I did also do a little bit of harvesting to try out acorns a bit. Apart from those two exceptions... I was pleased that I never did have to do any hunting or harvesting plants for the duration while exploring across Great Bear Island. It's been great over the years to make challenges that push the boundaries of what's absolutely necessary for survival. Up until the recent update... I'd found that all the tools were entirely optional (and therefore not essential) for survival. With the new harvesting mechanics requiring a sharp edge to get fresh carcass harvesting started... that changes the landscape quite a bit. On the subject of hunting, I've not yet tried any of the new updates to fishing yet either. Also, I've been very interested in scurvy, the affliction as well as both the means to prevent and treat it. In that same sort of subject, I still haven't had actually been able to make any of the new recipes or try out the new food items yet. For all those reasons, as well as having not yet stepped foot into the Far Territory... it seemed like a good time to start a new adventure with Astrid.
  17. After the storm broke... it started to look like another one was on the way. In the meantime, I noticed we had wolves in the front yard again. I spent the rest of the day observing the local wolf population. As I slept through the night, the weather didn't look promising... though eventually the skies did clear. And just a few hours before dawn... I was momentarily transfixed and stepped out to get a better look... but I quickly came to my senses and set about the task at hand. So much nicer than the workroom at the Last Resort Cannery. 🤭 Having unlocked this last corner of Blackrock, I'd finally completed my trip down Memory Lane. All that had to be done know was to get out Blackrock... alive, unscathed, and undetected. The following morning promised to be the last route on my trek across the regions of Great Bear Island. I just needed to make one more hard push. I took one last long look back at Blackrock Mountain. Spotted Timberwolves... opted to take the long way around. I stopped off at Foreman's Clearcut to warm up a bit. Had to dodge one last pack of Timberwolves on my way out. Made it back to Timberwolf Mountain... but I was getting cold and tired. To make matters worse, I was already very hungry and thirsty. The weather was already getting bad... but in the failing light, matters were worse. I was now freezing, exhausted, starving, and dehydrated... and now visibility was trash as well. So close to home... I just needed to keep moving. It wasn't too much longer before I'd reached the Mountaineer's Hut. I filled my stomach, sated my thirst with water & herbal tea, and collapsed into bed. About 10 hours later... I was feeling much better. That morning I took a good long look out across Crystal Lake. It felt good to be back here. I think Crystal Lake is my favorite place to live on Great Bear Island. Just like Mystery Lake... this place feels like home.
  18. Fog started rolling in... didn't look like there was going to be an aurora tonight after all. Managed to keep just barely warm enough to sleep near the door (in short two-hour naps that is). And another blizzard struck... I mean, that's fine... I was going to be spending another day waiting anyway.
  19. There wasn't much daylight left after the storm broke... I figured it was probably wiser to wait until morning before trying to get out to the Old Substation. So of course, I decided instead to make the hard push to try to make it over to the Substation and back before nightfall... just in case the weather decided to clear and give me an aurora this evening. And of course, as I get to the rope... the sky gets crystal clear. There was indeed a decent chance for an aurora this evening. Now I'm racing the clock and evading and avoiding Timberwolves. Timberwolves spotted... The daylight was fading... had to move faster. Now it's just a matter of waiting for an aurora...
  20. The threat of the weather yesterday decided to land this morning. This blizzard has been blustering hard for half the day.
  21. I love that Survival Mode is a permadeath situation, I always have. I think it makes each run feel like an important struggle and also means that mistakes can feel like they have real consequences. I feel it serves to encourage us to get better at managing our resources, survival tasks, and to pay better attention to our surroundings as well as to what we're doing. I play this game because I enjoy the struggle, and I love that this game is not afraid to punish the player for mistakes (and even sometimes just punishes us via merciless RNG). I never get upset, discouraged, or otherwise mourn the loss of a run because I always enjoy the struggles that come with trying to find gear and supplies in order to "find my footing" again.
  22. @Ibblazein Welcome to the wilderness... though I see you're no stranger.
  23. @J.W.P Thank you, Happy New Year.
  24. I spent most of the day bolstering my water supply over in the maintenance garage. By the time I'd gathered up 10 liters of water and after sifting through my pack (looking over the various notes and scraps of paper I've collected along the way)... I realized that there may be a memento cache nearby. However, in the same span of time... the weather was threatening another blizzard. I took the weather more seriously after the wind picked up... I could no longer even see Blackrock Mountain in the distance. I stayed hunkered down, waiting to see what the weather was going to do. Thankfully, the weather eventually seemed to subside. After returning to the penitentiary (very much like I had done at Bleak Inlet) camped out by the door to the workshop. Eventually I had to heading into the Boiler Room entrance to bed down for the night.