ManicManiac

Hmm... there definitely seems to either something amiss... or we're missing something. Again, I don't pretend to know either way... just venturing ideas and speculative guesses trying to account for what we're seeing... with that you just described; I'm out of ideas. 🤭

@Leeanda If actual land area is taken into account... then each region would have a different value rather than just a percentage evenly distributed based on the total number of regions. Since Pleasant Valley is so much larger than any other region (though I can't account for The Far Territory, since I've not been there yet and honestly I'm not sure of the size of Blackrock), it's conceivable then that just exploring Pleasant Valley alone would be likely to dramatically increase the total percentage of the "world explored." I guess all I'm saying here is that it's also possible that the metric is correct, and we just don't really know how it's being determined. 🤔

@LillMissen Very well done.

For me is it's not really a matter of when to stop taking animals... but more deciding when it's really necessary to take an animal in the first place. I find one can survive fairly comfortably for a good long while without really needing to take animals at all (providing one is able/willing to be nomadic). Personally, I find it more challenging to only hunt/fish when it's really necessary. This way, I minimize using up ammunition/arrows in the early game in favor of having more resources to use when needed much later on. Between rabbits and fish just by themselves, one can gather enough calories day-to-day without having to accumulate hundreds of kilograms of meat that ends up laying outside in a stockpile someplace. Now to be clear... all playstyles, tactics, and strategies are of course all fine and perfectly valid... The only delimiting factor being each survivor's ability apply and refine them until they find what methods work best for them (or which they find the most enjoyable). However, since the question was seemingly asked... I'm offering discussion on the merits of only hunting that which is really needed. This not only pushes us to be more careful and deliberate with how and when we use our resources, but also helps us reassess that's really needed to sustain a run for as long as we wish (assuming we don't make too many blunders which on Great Bear Island can prove fatal. For me this often takes the form of (for lack of a better description) "personal challenges" that test our abilities to live small, but also live well. When it comes to hostile wildlife it also challenges us to sharpen our situational awareness so we can evade and avoid getting ambushed, mauled, trampled, or swarmed (in the case of Timber Wolves). The same is also true when it comes to harsh weather conditions. The level of situational awareness we develop can help make crucial decisions when it comes to when and how far to venture out... and what supplies we might bring along should the situation "turn on a dime." To address the question of, "But what about all the pelts we have laying around; far more than we could reasonably really use?" Well for that, I'd remind folks that we don't have to harvest pelts we don't really need from carcasses (whether found or hunted). If all we really need is meat/raw gut, then we can simply just harvest what we need and let the rest be disposed of when the carcass "decays away."

@Leeanda I was sure I had a screenshot of my loading selection menu from a little earlier in the run... possible it was deleted the last time I tidied up my screenshots folder. The method I use to get rid of the HUD for the shot and still get a more manageable file size - I press both F10 and F12 simultaneously, though this sometimes results in two screenshots being taken and added to the Screenshots folder in Steam... as well as the usual F10 screen-grab that dumps to the desktop (they are better resolution and sans HUD, but the file size is a bit more unwieldy for the purposes up inserting them into posts). Those "meta" type screenshots do tend to get weeded out of the library when I'm trying to tidy up those extras with HUD elements still in the mix. ...long story short 🤭... I don't seem to have an older load menu shot from this run to compare that percentage. Part of me thinks that perhaps it's bugged or maybe really does keep track of the amount of area rendered in visual range (which would include all caves and transition zones - which of course also increase the total traversable area). Ultimately, I don't know... that's about the best idea I can come up with at the moment.

@Leeanda Thank you, I have to say... in this context I'm kind of happy to see so many metrics with "zeros." 🤭 I can't say I know for sure how that metric is calculated/updated. I guess I could venture a few guesses... but I can't claim to know for certain. Could be a bug out calculation perhaps? Maybe Pleasant Valley, Mystery Lake, and Coastal Highway have more square kilometers of explorable area then I've given it credit for? 🤭🤔 I'll check one snapshot I'd taken when I was still working on Pleasant Valley... (which was before the last update which included stats for the TFTFT regions) Relevance of the Can Oper stat... No idea whatsoever.

I was looking over the stats kept in the Journal... I realized when I cited the run at 205 days; turns out I had mistakenly been looking at one of the "All Time" columns. 😖 Oops. Well, to rectify that I will now clarify: As of today's route and the following night's sleep the duration of the run so far - 41 days. For anyone else interested in The Numbers... [Obscured for those who don't really want to scroll through pages of stats... ]

@Leeanda I just took a look back through my chronicle... Sharp Eye! I'd neglected to include my snapshot of the bear. Thank you! Well spotted.

@Leeanda I took snapshots of the bear... Today I even sat down in it's den. 😋 This one was taken in the first two days after arriving in Desolation Point. I thought I included it... but if not: If memory serves, this was after I was on the way back from the Waterfall near Matt's Truck. On this run our Ursine friend takes an unusually wondering path up and down the road. I suppose that route is not so unusual, but most commonly in the past I would find it ambling around through Hibernia and past the Riken. In this run, it seems to stick to the road... then out on the ice around the rock formations, then back up to the road, and back to its den. It has yet to deviate and take its old "normal" route.

A matter of induction, I'm inclined to think. but the truth of it, of course, is just an arbitrary selection on the part of Hinterland... but I love trying to workout theories that make the phenomenon internally consistent with whatever lore we can glean. I think it's just a wonderfully fun thing to do.

From that tree is where I grabbed the pics of down the road including the lighthouse, the other side for the Mine Entrance/exit, and looking down on Blocked Highway. It seemed like too good a spot to just take one screenshot.

Specifically, it's off the rock ledge next to Katie's Secluded Corner... and the tree looks like it might be possible to get across to the area right near the mine entrance leading towards Old Island Connector (Crumbling Highway). For that pic though, I was crossing from the Secluded Corner side. From the looks of it, even if it could be fully traversed... it looks like a one-way path. I don't think we could get back to the Secluded Corner from the opposite side. [Addendum] or where you talking about goating around the rim of that ridge line? 🤔 As far as I know (and as of the last time I was goating around for Faithful Cartographer) that's not a fully traversable way to get around Blocked Highway. ...but about half-way is a nice vantage point.

I was sure it would take a couple more days to "finish" exploring Desolation Point. The weather held up though, and I make some good time on that route. There is another Car to visit on the way out (right below the hill leading up to the church), but as I said... I'll check that on the way out.

@Leeanda There's a "half" fallen tree across the gap that I climbed out on... there is a branch blocking the way, and I didn't dare press my luck to see if it was a viable one-way shortcut.

I honestly wasn't sure if I would be exploring that cave today (without getting mauled or having to harm the wolf who'd chosen to make its den there). However, after a half a night's rest (and a fair bit of coffee)... turned out I was feeling up to it after all. The only variable I couldn't account for was weather. I was hoping the bad weather would have blown itself out; after the blizzard that hit last night. The last thing I needed was to be snowed in and stuck inside a wolf's den overnight. The weather that morning was a bit foggy, but nothing so bad as to badly limit visibility. By the time I'd made over to the Broken Bridge, it seemed to have cleared up quite a bit. I pulled out a flare and prepared myself to step inside. Once I saw the entryway was clear, I decided to save the flare and see if I could at least take the path on the right with out being spotted... I knew there was only three ways this could end. I'd either manage to pull it off... I'd be mauled, and have to fatally wound the wolf... or I'd have to outright shoot the wolf to avoid a mauling. 😖 From the sounds of the howls, rustlings, and patter of little footsteps... is seemed to me that wolf was in the main chamber. I got low and headed up the divergent path. When I reached the end of the path... I peeked over the edge into the abyss. It was hard to make out, but I was able to spot the outline of a moving shape lurking hear the deer carcass just below. I know it was going to far riskier to goat down from here. There would be a good chance that the wolf could get into a position to block the way out (which of course would lead to a standoff). Instead, I decided to creep backdown to the antechamber where the paths diverged, and approach from there. The hope was to either use the flare to "pin" it to the far wall... or keep it rooted in the center of the main chamber. This would be the moment of truth. Thankfully, everything went to plan! It was a very tense few minutes... I'd managed to catch the wolf's attention while it was near far wall, and it stalked towards me before digging in its heels in the center of the chamber. In this situation, I was the invader. I was intruding on its home after all. I careful skirted along the wall all the way around the cave (but finding little besides the deer carcass - but I was certainly going to leave its meal alone... I didn't need it). I backpedaled out of the main chamber and back towards the exit. As expected the wolf stalked close but the flare kept it at bay. I'd succeeded in my small goal... I'd explored a "wolf den" and managed to get away clear with no harm coming either me or the wolf who's home I intruded upon. Even if that had been all I accomplished that day, I'd have been supremely happy about it. However, there was still a lot of daylight left... so I set out on a route aiming to finish exploring all the notable locations in Desolation Point. I was just getting in for the evening when I noticed this... I quickly dropped some gear and went to go take a look... I was just beginning to think I wouldn't get to see it before moving on to Timberwolf Mountain. The Lonely Lighthouse in an Aurora... one of my favorite sights in all of Great Bear Island. I can now work on getting ready to head out to Timberwolf Mountain tomorrow... very very contentedly.

I feel like desolate... might be a good word to describe the feeling of Forlorn Muskeg. Just kind of feels like a frozen wasteland. Is that similar to what you mean, @TonyInPleasantValley?

...which is why I qualified the statement with the adverb "sometimes." In any case, carry on... dare to dream. 😋

...and most of those things are in the works... So sometimes, dreams do come true.

Very thorough. 🌞 You're findings are very interesting. Have you considered submitting a support ticket? You might be able to leverage those findings to check with Hinterland and see if those behaviors you're seeing are intentional or if perhaps it's something the HL team would like to investigate and fix (should it not be their intended design). Thanks again for all the wonderful science you're doing.

@Leeanda In any case... I didn't mean to be going over things you already knew... more that I was just agreeing with you.

Oh... well from what I've seen, vintage crampons seem to most commonly be metal and leather straps. As for what they are in the game... not sure, but seemed to me to be leather straps.

@Leeanda Perhaps so... I was just mentioning what it looked like to me when compared to their tangible counterparts. I have no way to know for sure. I'd say no... sure they take up an accessory slot... but I wouldn't really call them clothing either. I'd tend to think that "tool" is a good classification... I kind of feel the same way about the satchel. I can't really see that being called clothing either. It's essentially a utility bag. I'm good with both of them taking up an accessory slot though... clothing or not, they are definitely accessories to the gear we wear.

From what I can tell... they appear to be a metal frame and likely leather straps. Personally, I think a "wetness"/"frozen" status at all doesn't really add or really impact anything, considering it's a thing that doesn't provide a warmth bonus or wind resistance of any kind... so I'm fine with that not even being something that the PC or Console has to waste time calculating or keeping track of.

@xanna Another fine point, thank you.