Jimmy

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  1. Day 2 - Pleasant Valley When I wake up I've got a pounding headache from dehydration and a mouth that tastes like an incontinent skunk crawled inside and died. Wish I had some pills to take the edge off. Anyway, it's about noon, and I scarf down the last of my snacks before gargling with some tasty toilet water. Some might get all prissy about drinking from the shitter, but me and a few of the boys back in Blackrock used to brew hobo booze in the cisterns. I know all sorts of ways to turn a toilet tank into a fine vintage. Too bad it's so cold or I might give it a try here. I'm warm, fed, rested and fresh out of drugs. Before I get going, however, I've gotta improve my odds of making it out of this rural dump. The gear I scored at the plane wreck's all ripped to hell, so I donate a few of the farmer's curtains towards patching up my threads. What, you think I don't know how to sew a seam? Dude, the times I've slipped a dozen baggies of green inside the seam of my coat make it all worth the hassle. I finish up after sundown, then I step outside. Yeah, screw you too, weather! It's blowing a goddamn blizzard out there. If I try and head out in that, it won't matter that I just fixed up my gear. I'll be a frozen meat popsicle in hours. I call it a day, but I do happen to be able to grab a couple of bunnies out near the shed who donate their juicy bits for my supper. Day 3 - Pleasant Valley The morning arrives as the blizzard finally ends. It's still damn cold, but at least there's visibility. I can see a radio tower up on the hill. Can you say sex, drugs and rock and roll? I'm hoping I find one of those up there, and praying I don't run into a bear and find out it's the first one. There's a few bunnies on the way, and I grab breakfast on the hop. As I crest the rise, I also find a maple sapling, and my hacksaw delivers me what I hope will one day be a decent hunting tool. For now, it's just dead weight, but since I dumped most of my useless junk at the farm, I can afford to bring it along. I reach the radio shack, and find out that whoever worked in this place had shit taste in music. There's a note written on the cabinet full of records: "We have both kinds of music, Country and Western!" It's not a complete bust, though. Where there's country rednecks, there's usually military surplus. Today is no exception. Reinforced knees on your pants, an essential fashion choice for a cowboy. They're always ready to take a beating! There's also a pair of work gloves and work boots that smell like a cow's ass, but they're nearly brand new, so I swap out my ragged pair of gloves and shoes. Now all I need is a trucker hat and a wife that's also my sister and I'd have the complete look! The weather's turned warm and sunny, so I keep moving. I spot some rabbits on a hill nearby, and I grab them but don't stop at the nearby cave since there's a wolf sniffing around. Instead, I take the slope down towards the way out of this rural dump. Day 3 - Winding River Cave It's just past noon when I get into the cave. I find some dude frozen stiff inside. I name him Bruce Wayne. There's also a buffet lunch served. All-you-can-eat venison Two kilos of venison, as well as the pair of rabbits I caught earlier, are enough food to fill my stomach and still have leftovers. I grab the guts and hide from the deer, figuring they'll be useful. Since I found a bunch of coal, I drop the guts, the hide, and the maple sapling at the cave exit. I don't need the smell or the weight. Day 3 - Winding River There's a few weeds along the river, and some cute, fluffy bunny rabbits. I'll name you George! George and his friend Lennie become dinner. Up the hill from the cave I find two more maple saplings, plus a bunch of big-ass mushrooms. I've got a metric shit-ton of gear I'm hauling, but I grab them anyhow. I also bring George and Lennie with me, though they're quite a bit skinnier after I invited them to dinner. Their fur is just so soft, I can't resist planning to use it later. Of course, bringing them with me attracts others to the party. What're you looking at, punk? The wolf runs like a bitch when I toss my torch at him. I grab more weeds along the way, then for once I'm glad I'm not stoned as I balance across the face of the dam. There's another deer on the far side, who gets stripped for parts like his friend before. Then, I'm outta there! I can see a broken window, and that's all the invitation I need to get inside somewhere warm. Day 3 - Lower Dam I briefly fantasize about a different kind of hydro, then start looking around for stuff to steal. Stop, hammer time! Can't touch this? I sure as hell can! But can I carry it? Hell no! I'm hauling way too much loot right now, and I'm desperate for a good sleep. However, despite all this, the little klepto fairies convince me I need it. So, I throw it on top of all the rest of the junk I'm carrying, crawling slowly towards the exit of this place. I'll drop this all off soon, I promise myself. Who knows, perhaps this place has a stash of painkillers? My back sure needs them right now.
  2. Thanks for reading! I don't expect others to duplicate this, it's just a personal challenge to make the game more interesting for me to play, and for others to read. I always find games are more fun if you're keeping score somehow. Hehe, thanks for the responses. Happy to bring a smile to someone's face. As an aside, I realized once I reached the farm I'd missed picking up the mag lens at Timberwolf Mountain. Oops? It means I spend one more match than required this run. Not a huge deal, but I always try to track how I could have improved my previous games. I did, however, have amazing luck pulling a thin wool sweater, thermal underwear, and a wool toque from the plane crash suitcases near the start of this run. You win some, you lose some. Right, time for the next installment!
  3. An American lawyer and his Czech brother-in-law are on a hunting vacation in Canada. As they exit their tent, they run into a male and female bear in the middle of an intimate moment. Enraged at the interruption, the male bear roars, rears up, and with a sudden pounce, swallows the lawyer's brother-in-law whole! The American runs for help, calling out for their Canadian ranger guide, who shows up with his hunting rifle. The American points at the male bear and says "Quick! Shoot him, but be careful, my brother-in-law's inside him!" The ranger levels his hunting rifle, takes aim, and shoots the female bear dead! Startled by the shot, the male bear runs off. The American falls to his knees, looking at the Canadian and asking "Why did you shoot the wrong bear?" The ranger scoffs and says "Did you really expect me to believe a lawyer who tells me the Czech is in the male?"
  4. Day 1 - Pleasant Valley Pleasant Valley, eh? Sounds like some kind of old hippie commune. And where there's hippies... Oh score, pot! Wait, it's an actual metal pot. Dude, what a downer. Anyway, it's a decent spot to warm up, and the pot lets me make some more water. I tried brewing some of the berries I grabbed. Tastes like warmth and disappointment. Decent buzz, but nothing major. Where's all the good stuff gone? Some dude's got a bunker nearby, and it's full of empty lockers and paranoia. Probably had a lifetime stash of pork and beans in there at one point, but now all that's left is the smell of old farts. If I tried to blaze up in there it'd probably blow me to the moon. Since my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined, I just haul ass. Joining the mile high club? I'm just here for the high, man. There's a bunch of suitcases around, and I check them all. I score a wool beanie with a kick-ass red marijuana leaf design, a thin wool sweater that smells like old lady ass, some dude's thermal underwear that's a hella tight fit on account of how massive my balls are, another ski jacket with more gaping holes than a truck stop hooker, plus a bunch of other random crap. You know what I don't find? Any damned drugs! Man, screw those TSA assholes. Bet you they all swipe the pills at their little "security" scanners. What a scam. Burned Ridge? Smoke break! There's a cave and a deer carcass with about half a kilo of rotting meat on it nearby. Meh, I've eaten worse. I try grinding up some white bark I found into a powder. I've had some damn fun times trying white powders in the past. This one isn't one of those. Oh well, at least I didn't end up driving some dude's Porsche into a swimming pool like last time. I could camp out here, but I'm strung out for a hit. I decide to push further today. Nearly bought the farm there! I find some hippie's farm. There's nothing growing, but I've got a hunch I can still score a hit if I try inside. Know what I love about these little rural nowhere towns? Nobody locks their doors. I'm in through the basement, where I find more matches and a hacksaw. There's also a red toolbox inside. You ever notice how similar toolboxes are to cop cars? They're red and blue and have tools inside. After flipping the basement, I head inside the house. The kitchen's got a good stash of snacks, and I find another ski jacket in the office that's better than what I'm wearing. Since nobody looks like they're coming back any time soon, I decide here's where I'll dump off the random crap I've been carrying. The bathroom next to the kitchen's a bust, but I'm not giving up. Finally, I head upstairs. There's another bathroom. There's a first aid kit. I hear something rattle inside. First score! Praise Saint Snoop Dogg, hallowed be thy name! I grab a bottle of water, head to the big-ass comfy bed, and prepare for a night of bliss. Downing the whole bottle of pills, I crash into bed, and sleep the night away, warm, fed, and happy. Sweet victory!
  5. Okay, since you asked for it: Prisoner #69420 - An Interloper's Drug Run!
  6. Author's Note: This survival series is told from the perspective of Prisoner #69420, a convicted felon with a history multiple drug trafficking offences and other crimes. His incarceration at Blackrock Penitentiary ended prematurely due to the Quiet Apocalypse. With society gone and alone in the world, our protagonist has only one goal in mind before he fades into The Long Dark: find and consume as many painkillers as he can before he dies. Each run is pure Interloper difficulty, and points are scored for each bottle of painkillers found and consumed. Please note that while all attempts are made to keep content humorous, light-hearted, and appropriate for the rules of these forums, themes of this series include crass language, drug use, criminality, and the occasionally darker side of human nature as featured in Episode 4. Reader discretion is advised. Day 1 - Timberwolf Mountain Dude, I must have been super stoned. I'm remembering some high-school English class crap, coming down from a black-out bender half-way up some damned mountain. Wish I could remember which mushrooms those were. Hey, mushrooms! Those are some big-ass 'shrooms on those stumps. Grab 'em for my stash. Right, where am I? It's about noon, and this wind's making my nuts climb for warmth towards my tonsils. Time to set priorities. Priority 1: Find drugs. Get high. Priority 2: Find shelter. Get warm. Since I'm betting nobody's got a stash of good stuff up here, let's head down the mountain and make for somewhere warm. Colder than my ex-wife's heart Looks like a shack up there, and a bunch of weeds growing on the frozen lake. Not exactly my first choice of weed, but whatever, man. I'm sure I can work out some way to smoke them. I grab 'em and check the fishing hut, finding a pair of leather driving gloves and a tin of sardines that's looking a bit fishy, but I take it in case I get the munchies after blazing. From there, I climb up the hill to the hut, hoping I score big. I'll just invite myself inside Well, it's warmer than outside, but still not warm enough. I still score some matches, a ski jacket, another tin of fish and a book about fish. Dude that lived out here had a serious fish fetish. Man, that's so not my kink. Even had a first aid kit stashed under the bed, and nothing inside it. Bet someone else already raided his stash. Amateur hiding place man, under the bed. Since the bed's looking warm, I sleep off the last of my earlier bender. I start a fire and check my pockets. I have an empty can I was probably planning on turning into a bong. Whatever, I'll just roll a blunt with some of these book pages later. I boil up some water and rip these giant 'shrooms and red berries into bits small enough to blaze up, or brew up, or something up. It's all good man, so long as the good feels keep coming. At least now I'm warm, even if I could use a smoke. Since there's no drugs, I figure I oughta get off this mountain and go do a little old-fashioned breaking and entering. What're they gonna do, arrest me? Nah man, screw 'em all. Ain't nobody gonna tell me what to do no more. I was tough enough to survive in Blackrock, this ain't nothing. Just watch me.
  7. Would it really, though? Sure, in Story mode, we have a pilot and a doctor for our characters. However, what's to say that's true in Survival mode? Might not he be an escaped prisoner of Blackrock? Might she not be a forgotten administrator from the local coal mine? Survival mode doesn't necessarily rely on the lore of Story mode. The characters aren't given canonical names in Survival, just Male or Female. I like to think this offers a measure of creativity in how you want to explore your character. Personally, I've been meaning to write a Survival story of Prisoner #69420, who escaped Blackrock after being incarcerated for various drug trafficking offences. His goal? Find every bottle of painkillers on Great Bear Island and consume them.
  8. I absolutely recommend practicing with a lower difficulty to get confident with timberwolf encounter strategies using a fire and torches. It's far better to get comfortable with how to break a pack's morale or traverse their territory unmolested using a torch with a Stalker or lower game. Trying to do it for your first time on Interloper, while you're suffering hypothermia risk, in pitch black night with heavy snow, is just a recipe for agony. Despite what many say, I think Blackrock is worth visiting on an Interloper game, if only to avoid the stale mid-game hump once you've already got clothing, tools, food and skills sorted. Yes, there's no unique loot that make the trip absolutely necessary, and it's got a lot of high risk encounters, but rising to the challenge is part of the fun. Like you said, it's nice to have something you can do with gunpowder other than waste it on a fire you weren't gonna fail anyway.
  9. I'd suggest setting goals to mark your ability to improve at the game. Once you have the basics down, set yourself a goal of being able to survive on higher difficulties. See if you're ready to graduate from Stalker to Interloper. Then, set yourself further goals. Get your Interloper to Day 50 and enjoy those -40°C mornings. Hit TWM Summit, HRV Signal Fire, AC Gold Mine, BP Prison, and bring your loot back to your base. Work on getting those skills to cap. Have a stockpile of food and water at every major base. Have you finished all the challenges? It's fun to get a few badges, and each challenge offers some very different playstyles for a bit of variety. They'll also help teach you some interesting tricks by forcing you to play the game differently to your normal style. Most importantly, make sure you're not overdoing it in front of a screen. Gaming marathons are a sure-fire way to burn out. Get up, move around, do some exercise or go for a walk outside. It's good for your body and your mood. Gotta be ready in case of the apocalypse, am I right?
  10. From the perspective of playing on Interloper or harder difficulties, I'd have to say more randomness wouldn't really add more fun to the game for me. Whenever I play, I'm always admiring how incredibly well the team at Hinterland balanced their game. Inevitably, if I have a death or serious setback in a game, it's due to my own poor judgement or lack of knowledge, not simply due to a random variable I couldn't control. Some things are just right the way they are. The bespoke map design means there's typically always somewhere close you can seek shelter if it's blowing a blizzard. Knowing you can get specific clothing if you brave Hushed River Valley or the summit of Timberwolf Mountain mean you have goals in each game. Could you imagine how disappointing it would be to just find the tactical backpack sitting in the Camp Office in Mystery Lake instead of requiring a perilous trek across several game zones and braving the wilds of Ash Canyon? Some games benefit from procedural generation techniques. I've spent many happy hours in games like RimWorld, Dwarf Fortress, or roguelikes. The Long Dark isn't like them, and I don't really think it needs to be. Yes, previous experience, map knowledge, and loot table spoilers can diminish the challenge. The game rewards you for investing your time by revealing more of its hidden secrets each game, letting you hone your strategies with each successive iteration. I wholeheartedly support adding more random regions to the game through interaction with the modding community. I can't wait to see what the amazing minds out there can create using Hinterland's framework. However, the core of the game is already a polished gem.
  11. We Australians also favour extra vowels in our words. It adds colour to a sentence. Soon, it becomes a common behaviour using the old honourable British English method. You might harbour doubts, but rumours that Canada's southern neighbour's spelling is the correct method can only be treated with good humour and dismissed as a labour of fancy.
  12. As an aficionado of survival games, I see a lot of titles I recognize! Stranded Deep is a fun crafting experience, but the game lacks any real depth. As often happens with these types of games, I mastered the basic survival mechanics fairly quickly, made a megaproject base in one game, and lost interest. Resource scarcity isn't very well balanced, and you're able to simply grind whatever you need to survive. The environment isn't a major threat to the player outside of the obligatory giant scary fish. You need to work really, really hard or make some phenomenally poor choices to starve to death in this game. I admit to never actually bothering with The Forest, since I don't have any interest in zombie survival games, and this game is simply that genre with a mild flavor twist. Again, resource scarcity is never really an issue in this game. It's about avoiding or defeating the scary forest men, which isn't the genre of game I wanted to play. Green Hell is a game I spent a fair bit of time with, but ultimately became dissatisfied with the simplicity of the mid to end game content. Beyond the first few hours of a game, once you've established a base and have farming capacity there's little worthy of challenging your character. Then it's simply another resource grind to make iteratively better equipment for the sake of being able to make iteratively better equipment. Overall, despite how old The Long Dark is in comparison to newer releases in its genre, it definitely does all the right things when you measure it as a survival game. True resource scarcity. Actual threat of death by exposure, starvation, and dehydration. Avoiding the cliché of zombies/walkers/cannibals/mutants/infected/aliens or whatever trope of the week is used as a crutch for danger in the game instead of designing a game around the true survival elements of man versus nature.
  13. Yeah, the lower double doors to the Infirmary with a lock aren't able to be opened. Additionally, others have explored the area behind it with a noclip mod and there's nothing inside, so it's not meant to be explored. Seems a bit pointless to even have the doors offer a tool tip. All it does is create confusion like this thread.
  14. As a regular Interloper, I typically use Spence's forge over the Riken. Overall, my reason is food. There's just so many cattails along the route, plus two cans of dog food as a freebie which can be opened with no loss once you've forged your knife. Even without counting the deer carcasses, that's tons of calories if you're maintaining well fed in the early stage of the game. Food is scarce in Desolation Point for the hungry bowless Interloper. There's three to five rabbits near Stone Church if you can avoid attracting the wolf nearby, and it's possible to grab three to five more near Katie's Secluded Corner if you're desperate. That's somewhere in the range of 3,000-4,000 kcal, enough for two days if you subtract the cost of harvesting just the meat. Beyond that, it's dancing with wolves to try and take down a deer on the ice sheet. For me, it's just so much simpler to grab cattails across the Muskeg instead. The downsides to Spence's forge have already been listed by others here. No close renewable coal besides the Bleak Inlet transition cave. No large volume of scrap metal or cloth nearby. It takes planning to properly use Spence's forge. Still, I've consistently used this forge on most of my successful runs. My reason against using Desolation Point is due to its isolation. It's a stub on the end of the map with only one connecting region. You need to have a light source to navigate the transition region too. I've typically just hit each loot area in a single trip and never returned.