dbmurph22

I think most who read that will understand the advantage that this provides. I believe the reason the OP calls it "modifier interloper" instead of "modified stalker" is that when they go to the custom game option, they set everything to interloper and then modify that one setting (and yes, it's one of the most affecting settings that determines what normal game type it most resembles). They do this instead of setting it to stalker and then modifying many multiple settings. It's probably simple as that. I agree that with this addition it probably goes beyond even in between and more closely to stalker. It's likely that most aren't as focused as you on nomenclature. But it can provide clarity and prevent misperceptions.

I also don't like to eat ruined food for the same reason. C5 is overpowered as it is and it feels a bit sketch. I use the torch trick and chain torches, but I do customize runs to do without that (or simply disallow any torches that aren't crafted as I made a thread about) as I feel it adds depth, difficulty and is slightly less game-y. I don't cut up food in tiny pieces. To me that's one of the biggest examples of exploits. The minimum I do is what the game and animal provides (ie just don't use the cancel button). The clothing thing is interesting. I'll have to consider that. I find extreme "goating" a bit unsavory. I will do some but I will only pull out the more ridiculous versions very rarely. Yeah I don't do the scare preds from carcasses tactic - I've seen it done, but I've never felt like I should do it. I will of course run deer/rabbit into them and try to kill, though. I've toyed with house rules of not leaving meat piles outside. Only in outside containers (or a cache, but I haven't tried that), or inside though it will rot fast. I don't do this every time, but it's interesting as we know that piles of meat outside would not last. Thanks for the topic.

Yes, using a blizzard to bypass wolves can be very helpful if you really need to move and the next area of passage is sort of a wolf-gated area. However, there are other considerations and I don't think it's always the right play. You generally need to keep moving, but if you have enough resources/less crunch to wait out the blizzard it's probably better. The wolves can usually be bypassed without too much trouble provided the wind isn't awful, and the blizzard isn't a zero-cost situation, beyond even the risk of the cold and visibility. It gives extra clothing damage still, from what I'm aware of. That's a residual effect of temperature and repair time. EDIT: of course if your clothing is likely to be upgraded soon, then of course that's less of a concern, but also a bit of an unknown. That said, it can be really handy if you really feel like you need to keep moving and you don't want to deal with the anxiety and trouble of the predators. And you know where you want to go and have enough confidence to path there. I haven't seen the video - Zak does excellent work and is a great player, but I'm discovering the region on my own. The spawn situation of the preds in a blizzard is always tricky - I'm guessing it's still the same, but from what I remember is they can still be out there if you've already spawned them and the blizzard hits. But you're generally okay if you wake up from sleeping or exit a shelter and other spawn events. Good luck with the blizzards and woofs everyone.

Thanks for everyone watching thus far! The new Blackrock run has been a lot of fun so far. Just finished the third episode and plan on having the fourth on Tuesday. I know nothing about Blackrock except that it has a prison and some Timberwolves, so these are my first experiences there (I shared this context in the first episode, but not really here so wanted to clarify). I've carefully avoided almost all spoilers as well. I was really hoping to get that early Long Dark vibe when things are perilous and you don't know the maps so Interloper spawn in Blackrock without knowing the map seemed to be the right angle. In addition, before these recent videos my Long Dark play has been sparse for a few months, so I'm a bit out of it - which makes it even more dangerous! I will end up playing the story mode after my survival runs and I look forward to it. Hope everyone is enjoying the new region and all the best to all you survivors. Murph

Yeah that's how I usually do it, too. However, in the game you aren't spending an additional stick to take the torch, so logically it feels like you're taking from what's already there. I mean if you're trying to picture it I guess you're thinking of the made fire have unburnt ends jutting out (not thrusting your hand in the middle of the fire). Obviously, however, there's some belief issues if say you burn a book, add coal, and then take a torch. All that said "pulling" a torch when people say it I'm not sure it's a literal thought...people say "pulling", "taking" and the like only because in the game mechanics you're getting a torch from something you already crafted without additional material used, that's all. I don't think they are essential to surviving in Interloper but it makes it more difficult without for sure. Something like Deadman with the torch mechanic is still harder than Interloper without it. Taking in consideration all players, Interloper is very difficult and those beyond that don't represent much of the player base (though this number will continue to grow I imagine). My journey through Interloper was filled with deaths. That said I think there probably could be another difficulty level beyond Interloper, even before Deadman or NOGOA, that this would fit in nicely with. But, again currently that's not a large slice of players and custom options are filling that void and this as one can as well. I do think it increases strategy and tactical value in the gameplay given the wolf behavior. But if it was made more standard and added to normal Interloper as it is you'd probably need to rebalance somehow. Stalker to Interloper is a big jump and yeah if you couldn't do torches, that is an even more massive gulf. Same, well said! To be fair, I use the torches a lot and do the same as everyone when I've decided to not make manual rules to not take them. I pull a bunch of torches, chain them, use them for fires, break them down, get by wolves all the like. Yeah, the custom options are great! And the fact you can make it ever harder than Interloper is blessing for those that want to continue to play the game for many hours. Yeah, that's true and what I do now when I want to do this. But having an option in the game is always a bit better. Some people don't like an honor system - they want the game to command limitations. Some don't like the increased weight of having to remember. I mean, the custom menu has an option to have no fish spawn, but you could very well choose not to fish at all had that not been an option. They added the option of turning birch bark tea off for the deadman runs. I would also argue that it's probably even more helpful for maybe this activity since the frequency you click on the fire to do other tasks like water and cook, there's even more opportunity to reflexively take one. I guess there's also a degree that it sort of officially legitimizes it. But I do take your point and I think there's a point where you can just make the game how you want it to be on your own. And one shouldn't want the game to put it all these requests. But I'm not asking a bunch of things - I just picked this one out. Also, on this front mods may come into play. I never played with the brands, but I did see highlights of the brandishing. If I recall it was like a forked stick with a bit of burning. What a time. -------- I wouldn't say I'm extremely passionate about the issue. But it's something I like that I felt worth mentioning and I think is relatively easy to implement. I say "relatively easy" because I respect the team and know every change is hard, but compared to other things that take adding art and animations, this is more "take the button away" and "add a custom menu button." Thanks to all those that commented so far.

Hi everyone, I would love for the base game to have one of the options in the custom menu to be a yes/no for being able to pull torches from fires. I know that's been part of the game for so long, but let's talk through this a bit. Also keep in mind I'm proposing an option in the custom menu to toggle the option of creating a torch from the fire, not proposing to make it a standard mechanic of the game. I believe there is a mod that does this already so maybe as the mod situation grows that's there, but would love it part of the base game. To be clear, this is the "Take Torch" icon that appears when you click on a fire source (along with "add fuel", "cook" etc). Remove it! Cons: I think opponents may start by saying it's not believable and immersion breaking to not be able to have a blazing fire and pull something from it that's also on fire. That is true and would suffer a bit. Counterpoint: even though a pulled torch gives you a lower duration torch, the ease in which you can get one and the resiliency of the torch to not go out are also a stretch of belief. That's not to mention the trouble-free action of lightning an old pulled torch (or chaining it) with a match, which would normally be much harder and have a chance to fail. A lot of people base their gameplay around the use of torches so making them not be able to be pulled is a massive paradigm shift to people playing the game. Counterpoint: this is why I think it's better as a custom option (or ultimate wishlist - part of a new difficulty level above interloper that also involves low recovery, plants, increased predator aggression). Pros: For most players the torches don't detract from the difficulty of gameplay, but for many the presence of torches adds a bit of invulnerability as you can use them against the wolves with near perfect success (and recently I've seen they may help with Timberwolves too!). The only thing to fear is a strong enough wind to blow out the torch and remove this protection, but it's just not frequent enough (another option is to make the torches go out easier?). Anyhow, taking away the torch pull removes this protection and makes one of the chief antagonists of the game, the wildlife, perilous again. This option would give added importance to the crafted torch and the kerosene. Often in the current game, they can be undervalued, but by making torches have to be crafted only, then makes them valuable. It adds tactical and strategic depth and improves game decisions. I've already alluded to some of the value of the torch (vs wolves), but some others are using them to help make firestarting 100%, add some warmth, and use torches to light other torches to not have to restart fires. By removing pull from fires, you add associated costs with these benefits (before it's essentially the cost of a stick). Now you need cloth, oil, and time. You have to remember to set aside the activity to craft some of them. And there won't be as many so you'll value each more (though each one will have initial much longer burn time). In addition, you have to consider obtaining the items you need such as the cloth and the oil. More decisions added. Torch pulling is just easy. I think it adds some believability to the points mentioned in my cons counterpoint above - lighting a torch with a match, or with another torch doesn't seem difficult with a cloth dipped in fuel. To me I still use torches from fires readily, though in some custom games I use a manual rule of not doing it to spice it up. I've found it really adds to the game and improves it. Another route is to make the pulled torches less reliable (not just shorter duration). Thanks for reading and listening everyone! All the best, Murph

Hi everyone, hope you all are staying warm and fed and survivin. Wanted to share info on the current Long Dark material I've got on offer and some others that I like watching: ----------------------------------------------------------- Long Dark playlists I current have: Blackrock Interloper 50 - This is my venture in the new region. It's Interloper, starting in Blackrock with the stipulation of 50 day survival before moving to a new region. Sailor's Challenge - Recently started this. It's interloper with low recovery, low plants, and increased predator settings. In addition the only animals in the game are wolves and fish, while I'm limited to playing only the seafaring regions of Desolation Point, Coastal Highway and Bleak Inlet (and associated transition zones). Dead Dwarf - I'm about 25 episodes into this and it was my main one for a lot of the second half of this year. It's deadman settings (no recovery), with stalker loot - and "sort of outerloper." I can only go in basements and caves, but no buildings for shelter. -------------------------------------------------------------- Other players I enjoy: Loonsloon, and his recent runs of Mod Soup and Classic Deadman. The mod soup run has been a Friday night livestream tradition, while Classic Deadman was the last long recorded TLD series. I believe the Classic Deadwoman character may be soon entering Blackrock. Turkeysteam, and his recent runs of Deadworld and long run interloper. The former is the Deadworld challenge of no animals and sleepwalker (almost nil) recovery while the latter is classic interloper. Turkey also does a stream on Sunday for more TLD content. Strategies with Sasquatch, and his recent Interloper run. He's absolutely in the fun zone of Interloper, has a nice run going and great to engage with. DaveMcd has some great content will out there, is a great watch, and poses a unique danger to all the corpses out there (don't ask). His last series was an Interloper Ash Canyon Only run. Michael York has been involved with TLD for a long time, a great follow, and just a great survivor to be around. This reliving of the past was his latest TLD material. The Fromzzz is awesome and someone you should definitely check out. This is the latest: Favorite hunting moment. --------------------------------------------------------------- I definitely watch others as well, and if I missed someone above to recommend, then I apologize! Thanks everyone for reading and checking them out.

Thanks Master_Arne! Yeah, nothing to do with batteries on straight Interloper. But if you make a custom game that's any combination of Interloper with guns, it's meaningful of course. Also, batteries make an interesting component to possible challenges given their insane weight. Thanks, all.

Hello Quiet Apocalypse Survivors! I'm assuming the battery spawn amount is tied to the baseline resource availability? It's low on Interloper, Medium on Stalker, and if you do a custom setting the battery spawns will be decided by the baseline resource setting - the amount, but randomly distributed. Is that correct? Does anyone know the approximate amounts that spawn on Loper and Stalker? Thanks for your help! Murph

I like the sentiment in the original post, but in my opinion there are plenty of survival/crafting games that fill the need to just find/craft/survive indefinitely. The Long Dark to me is a poetic exploration game in the midst of certain (quiet) doom - a meditation on the transience of you and an age. Both the struggle against it and the acceptance of it sort of generates the energy of the games identity and playthroughs. If anything, it should be harder than it is in the later game. People survive wayyyy too long. Difference in philosophy I guess, then.

I agree it would be fun to have something like some musical item or something. I have a hard time with late game. Some, like the suggestions above, have a fairly easy go of finding the excitement to chart every corner of the map, break everything down, find cairns and such. I'm genuinely happy for them. I can't do that. Even in the "chill" state of mind...I still can't do that. At some point the activities that some find satisfaction as a relaxing obsession, becomes to me like filling out a tax form. So I wouldn't mind something to be added that's chill-specific. Maybe it will help that for relaxing runs or parts of them that are. Otherwise I'll probably be coming up with a new idea for a run that I have to figure out how to not die from or seems cool at some level.

As you said I think Story Mode is more lore centric, but I do sort of like the feeling of your idea. I'll put my own spin on the version of it that I would prefer. First, I think too much lore or a type of lore that's too defining of the world, with broad reach is not preferable. That's because the core element in survival sandbox is "creating your own lore." You wouldn't want lore within the world that would run into conflict with that to any degree. Really, you don't want to threaten that vision at all. That said, I do like the idea of adding some very minor lore in a way that would give a very, very high chance to not infringe on a person's sandbox survival story and would stand a chance to even augment that. What is that, you say? Well it depends on the narrative bit the lore is, but there's a chance you can write minor side lore that would work most anything in its style. Also, my preference is that it could be toggled. Have it maybe only in custom as an admissible toggle. If you, add it to regular modes and let it be toggled off in custom, then I think that's a bit harsh to make traditional sandbox players play custom. Also, my idea of how lore would look would be very, very sparse within the game. Maybe there's only 1 or 2 instances in each sandbox. However, it would be cool I think to make the bank of possible lore to be 50-100 and each game have that small amount. Would make each pretty unique. I like the thought to a certain degree and that's my spin on it. Thanks for taking the time to make this suggestion. Murph

That's kind of a cool idea, ajb. Though I actually rarely use a feat, too, lol. I guess I'm just looking for reasons to make experienced players map - myself, or those I watch. There are a handful of other things that are done much less as experience grows and mostly you just chalk it up to another thing for the curve. Though I think the mapping is kind of a cool feature.

No problem! I wasn't sure if mine was conveyed incorrectly or you were giving a complementary point - it was the latter. I'm glad you did. And, yeah, HRV is tough!

Thanks for the reply. I guess I didn't make it clear - but I think there could be chances for perks in each instance of mapping to find a stash or something (not only on completion). "Mapped out" only referred to the difference between mapping and not - not a map being completed entirely.

The Long Dark twitter just asked about cartography, and got me thinking a little. At this point with so many hours cartography is pointless to me - I know the maps and it gets me cold. I think it's fantastic for early players who are determined to not look up the maps (highly recommended because it gives the best experience) and use it to carefully plot their steps. I think a fun idea to add something ONLY if it's mapped out. Meaning if you charcoal a certain area, only then will some bonus thing become available. Even better would be to randomize it to some degree so it couldn't just be learned again. This would give experienced players a bonus/cost to mapping and might do it. What might that thing be? I don't know. Maybe you could say below if you think this wish list item actually has any merit. Best of luck everyone in your snowy travels.

The survey was great! In the Milton Mailbag the random map gen question has been answered in the past - #1 it can't be done with the way the environments are set up to be created and #2 they also like the handcrafted nature of the maps with recognizable landmarks and learning about the place. That said I do like your sentiment and I share it. Being lost and learning about the map is a great part of TLD that eventually you can't get back. My favored mix would be some degree of set map (because I do like the sentiment of known landmarks from handcrafted maps and sometimes there's a sterility to total random gen) and some degree of randomization (for areas that need less of that personal touch to add zing). I'm not sure if it's possible. Anyhow, if this is a big aspect for you there's likely two paths for it, from the survey. First is a whole new game that implements it, ie Long Dark 2 - those options in the survey. That way the infrastructure would be set up to be able to do it. The other option is likely these DLC/subscription of just adding new areas - either by permanent addition, which is probably more like DLC, or maybe the subscription model would have some sort of new area per season so you'd get a flow of unknown area. Those are some things I would like. I wouldn't mind some of the core systems or other additional gameplay items (new wildlife or temporary effects) adding to an unknown aspect. It's quite fun to try to figure out things. There would be some balance needed as always to not feel sideswiped by an unknown addition or randomness, but close to that edge is the intrigue of it, risk/reward, and adding to gameplay with the unknown. Thanks TLD Team and Raph for a great Diary and Survey - look forward to Ep 4 and the future of both TLD and Hinterland.

Yeah there was just talk on a stream tonight that the bunny trap engine could use a bit of adjusting IMO. There has to be an endpoint for the rabbits just popping into reality from the ether to be trapped. They are basically not traps, but generators. Also to change gears, variation in wolf behavior could use touching up as well. Torch tossing, fires, flares etc work every non-aurora time.

Climber's Cave is such a funky cave that I keep waiting for some secret passage to open up leading to the top. There's gotta be a false wall or something!

Moving past the whole OP issue of reloading saves, which doesn't need touched on further, to talk about difficulty levels. I don't they will add another. The % of people who play Interloper is low and the % of people who find Loper not too challenging is even lower. This percentage isn't reflected in such things as the forums here, because people who play a lot of hours have a greater chance to both being in those percentages and being on the forums. That said, deadman is a great challenge, but I think in some way it detracts from the natural nature of the game. It feels a little inorganic and times and it takes a lot of cautious play and limiting exploration. You take some damage going through a waterfall and since you can't ever get it back you shouldn't ever go through a waterfall. Those types of scenarios I think it presents a little. What I and some others have talked about is really a "True Loper" setting you can use in custom that puts recovery to low for both awake/sleep (instead of medium), increases all the pred settings like detection, and reduces the plant spawn (in interloper there are A LOT of cattails and reishis as was discussed above). Everything else is Interloper settings. No rifle or revolver - just bow. However, you can also add an extra twist by adding rifle (but no revolver), but requiring a fix at the milling machine before it can be used (basically the firearm version of forging). That's an interesting thing too because I think it adds a reason to visit Bleak Inlet, which is often too much risk for reward in harder difficulties with only bow.

There are lots of great TLD players. I might be driven less by comparison than the average person, but I think it functions even less effectively in a game like the Long Dark. Sure, there is a sense of competition because the test you are under to survive as long as possible in the sandbox in a game that's fairly difficult. There's a certain achievement involved, but it's more within. I don't find what draws people to the game is competition and comparison, so it's not innately that type of experience. It's just human nature playing its role. Interloper is difficult. But with enough care, focus on detail and experience it turns out to be smoothly achievable. Sure the early game can be fraught, but with enough location knowledge and careful planning you're fine. Silly mistakes can really be the only things that get you. Even in Interloper the condition recovery is really strong, plant spawn is healthy, and like Pete said, lower wolf spawn. But we can't forget that it's really tough if you haven't adapted - I died a lot in Interloper getting up to speed. Later game Loper is really just about routine and patience. Doing the extra long 500+ days is not my cup of tea given the time it takes (I have other interests and life demands, too), patience, dedication, and interest in late game play. I don't enjoy that part of the game. But I can see the desire for achievement can drive a person. I skipped right over Stalker, really. After Voyager I found it very, very difficult because there were wolves everywhere. So then I went to Interloper and took a beating there. I like the non-wolf parts of the game better. When I play Stalker now, it feels like there's a lot of loot and recovery, and I sometimes willingly take woofs on. It's a weird sensation. My point is that depending on the time and situation Stalker and Loper can be very, very challenging, or less so. Both views are valid and it's unnecessary to trumpet one side of it unless you're just sharing your journey. I'm sure that every person in this thread could become adept at Deadman even with enough attention. We have the experience and know how. But people have different motivations for playing. When someone says "I just don't have fun doing it" I understand completely. Yeah, the gloating is sad, when done with save file hijinks, mods, or other misrepresentations. But overall, gloating in a game like TLD is sad regardless. Go play CSGo, LoL or Rocket League. But it's human nature. People have different experiences in TLD and I know a lot of people have an insane skill in this game and for those that don't as much - who cares? It's not really a thing to think too heavily about. In fact, it's probably more fun to have imperfections and likely a gift in a situation like this game. I hope someday we find that plateau.

I see Pete - yeah the part I discussed is already well known by everyone in the thread, now that I take a longer look. I wasn't sure. From that area there's almost a way to get up higher, but despite all my efforts haven't been successful. Not sure if the part of the mountain directly above/adjacent to the climber's cave is possible to get up on. You may be able to map from that area after Runaway Bridge or maybe goat across the rock face a bit from it towards climbers cave and do mapping while stuck on the rock wall to clear up that black patch.

There's a plateau above the pond on the opposite end of the pond from Climbers Cave - but the same side of it. It's the one you can access via Runway Bridge. If you start from Angler's and head just left of Broad Falls (past Wolf City) and keep veering left until you get to BirchLand. Stay on the left side and sort of climb hills up and you'll see a rope. That rope puts you on a level that you can cross Runway Bridge and be just above the Climbers Cave pond. There's a rope tie off for down that you can see on the map (the one just above the black area in the charcoal map above). There's another height just above that closer to Climber's Cave, like directly above, but not sure if that's accessible or not. After climbing the rope, if you don't cross Runway Bridge and veer left just before the bridge there's a log bridge that curls around into a nice little mini-cave with some loot. Not sure if you already know this and this thread is referring to something different - or it that is indeed what you're looking for.

Tremendous hotfix.

Okay, sure. But we are making people change for what benefit - I thought the OP suggestion was nice, but not vital. Also, by making the other substitutes you suggest to be for this use, it has an unknown further effect on each individual's gameplay. Maybe they are relying on them for other things. Good ideas are good reasons to alter player behavior and this is a nice suggestion, but again, it's not vital. I was in favor of it, if it otherwise affected nothing. Good point, but maybe they are using them as markers when leaving, too. Not sure. It's a good way to know the areas you've traversed at any rate.