Glflegolas

I imagine that if you get 4 cases of chemical poisoning at the same time, you will die unless you have the Well Fed benefit, since each instance reduces your max health by 25%.

Made one of these up in Forsaken Airfield, loaded it down with around 20 kg of fish, and set off for Camp Office. Here are my thoughts on it so far:

Is it useful?

Very much so! It's excellent for getting all the meat from a carcass in one go, carrying large amounts of fish, moving from one base of operations to another, and moving car batteries. It is excellent in wide-open regions, such as Forsaken Airfield, Pleasant Valley, Forlorn Muskeg, and Coastal Highway. If you are planning to have your safehouse far from good hunting and fishing grounds, I'd go so far as to call the Travois an essential tool.

Any travois-use tips?

For a longer trip, don't carry more than 20 kg of supplies on the Travois. If you carry too much weight and are forced to pack it up, you will not be able to move. I suggest carrying smelly items on the Travois, as this reduces your scent radius. Also, try to stick to roads and open terrain wherever possible, as navigating difficult terrain can become a major hassle as you will be forced to pack/deploy/load/unload frequently. Finally: listen extra carefully. You can't turn your head, so wolves will be harder to detect.

Where is a travois not useful?

Any region that has a lot of rope climbing, and, to a lesser extent, complex terrain. The Travois probably isn't especially useful in Hushed River Valley, Ash Canyon, or Timberwolf Mountain (with the exception of the Crystal Lake area). It is also not helpful when moving to/through Mountain Town, as carrying a bunch of extra gear on the Travois will result in having to make multiple long, tiring rope climbs.

Any complaints?

The major one: lighting. I can't hold a light source with the Travois equipped. While this may not be an issue to some people, I wish there was a way to hang the Storm Lantern to the end of the handles! Travelling through the long tunnels in the Far Range Branch line was not fun at all.

The second minor complaint I have is that it doesn't seem to be exceptionally durable. This trip used up around 67% of the Travois' durability. While I don't imagine most people do long trips like this very often, it does appear that I might not make it to my final destination (Misanthrope's Homestead) without a repair en-route. 50% more durability would be ideal for me, but, then again, I imagine lots of people will only use it for short trips after hunting/fishing, in which case the Travois will last a very long time before needing fixing.

Overall:

This is a great addition to the game, thank you Hinterland

I actually explored that area first when I first entered the Zone of Contamination and had it mapped, so I knew right away where to go

I definitely do not remember there being a workbench before. That makes the cabin that much more useful as a base, no?

When playing the second Tale (on PC), I have noticed that after listening to the narrated readouts, the level of ambient environmental sounds (walking, opening doors, etc) is diminished so much to be nearly inaudible. The only way to get the audio back to normal is to go into and then out of a building that has a loading screen.

While this isn't a game breaking bug, it is a bit annoying.

Hello, this is a slightly silly question, but here goes. I've managed to complete almost all of the second Tale and have found my way to the waterfall mentioned in the Tale, but can't figure out where to lay the dead guard to rest. Where exactly do I put the bones?

Thanks

Nah, most early-game Interlopers use the hacksaw until they get their improvised knife.

Saying "I need to fill up my sleepy-eye" when I am tired

5 hours ago, Mig_zvm said:

     I personally am enjoying the new content so far.  The only thing I would say is that I was hoping for more custom options to be added into the game and so far none of that has changed.  Not sure if maybe there is some extra work needed to be done to rework the code sharing system and maybe it is something coming after all the maps are finished, but to me even the smallest additions for custom settings would go a seriously long way.

     Just to give some examples, the  Cattail and Coal are two of the most OP loot in the entire game.  I think players who play on Interloper- NOGOA settings would appreciate being able to scale back the effectiveness of these items, by creating a setting which lessens the amount spawned.

     Also for these players, the indoor temperatures are way too forgiving.  Not sure why we can't turn off the temp bonus at the back of caves if we wanted to either.

     These are the most basic requests I can think of off the top of my head without even getting into a debate over design choices and new gameplay mechanics, and simple ideas like this I believe would help balance out the game for people who want to keep challenging themselves and hopefully towards feeling the same rush they had while first starting out in TLD.

     

     

Hmm, I'm not 100% sure how cattails could be nerfed...but I'm not against having to mine your own coal with a pickaxe.

Another idea: why do carcasses freeze, but toilet water, pop cans, and water bottles in your backpack don't? If food and drink froze solid over time, coal spawns could be left as is, but more fires (and fuel) would be necessary to thaw out frozen food and drink so it's consumable. 

I believe there was a summer event a couple years back that made interiors colder. Then again, underground caves and mines tend to stay rather warm, even in winter. 

I'm kinda curious about the poisoned gas myself -- I assume it'll be like in the Blackrock mine, where it'll cause suffocation if the player lingers too long. The Devs mention that it'll be added to other places in the Far Territories, and also in Lower Great Bear.

My guess is that it'll be added to new locations that are visited as part of completing the second Tale -- which will be located in both Forsaken Airfield and Lower Great Bear -- but I guess I'll just have to wait

On Interloper, I could almost argue that porridge is a superfood in the early game...it doesn't weigh much when uncooked, the oats are generally easy to find, and it gives the Warming Up benefit. The only limiting factor in its use is that it needs a pot to prepare.

I know some people will argue with me and claim that cattails are the Interloper Superfood, but not every map has large numbers of them, and they're not heatable.

I successfully made it to Many Falls Vista after a relatively uneventful trip through Milton. I completed the challenge in just over 10 days. Not a record, but it was a success!

Tried As the Dead Sleep for the first time a few days ago, and, so far so good!

I started out at the Fallen Lighthouse in Bleak Inlet and grabbed a marine flare and a pot. I them moved on to the Cannery Worker's Residences for a warm-up, and crossed over Long Bridge to the Washed Out Trailers. Another quick rest and warmup later, and I crossed the Frozen Delta to the Forlorn Muskeg. I didn't see nor hear any trace of Timberwolves, and got into Forlorn Muskeg with ~80% condition remaining. I daisy-chained torches through the transition cave to provide light.

I next went over towards Old Spence Family Homestead, and used a torch to light the furnace and keep myself warm with coal while I slept. Then I headed over towards the Poacher's Camp, making sure to grab lots of cat tails along the way, since I had little other food on me. At the Poacher's Camp I picked up an improvised hatchet and a storm lantern, both of which would come in really handy.

The trip towards the Maintenance Shed was one I knew would be tricky, as wolves aren't easy to avoid in Broken Railroad. The journey went smoothly until just before the Maintenance Shed when wind blew out the torch and a wolf charged. Thankfully I was able to run into a truck and sleep there for a while to get energy back, reaching the Maintenance Shed itself in the wee hours of the morning without incident.

I found a prybar there, and picked up some manufactured food (most notably maple syrup) and toilet water, along with a simple parka. I explored the grave and made my way towards Camp Office, generally uneventfully. At Camp Office, I ran into a skillet, flour, and oil. I then explored the Lake Cabins, sleeping in one of them for the night. In the morning I made my way towards Carter and headed for Signal Hill via the Winding River. At Signal Hill I found much food and drink -- most importantly, I found my first coffee!

I left Signal Hill in the morning and explored both Molly's Barn and her farmhouse, where I found decent clothing, more coffee, and a cooking sill book, which I read to get Level 2 cooking and make pancakes. I also did some repair work. Unfortunately, by the time I was done, it was shortly before nightfall. My plan was to go to Three Strikes Farmstead for the night, but I somehow missed that and ended up in the far northwest of the region. I was becoming concerned -- it was night now, I had no bedroll, and I didn't know where I was. I thought I might have to sit by a fire and drink lots of coffee to keep myself awake, but I stumbled across the Prepper Cache. Even better? The cache was full of supplies! What a find. Unfortunately, there was no emergency stim.

Leaving the cache mid-morning, I headed for Crystal Lake and explored the second grave. I also used my hatchet to chop up some firewood for the night and slept in the Mountaineer's Hut, enjoying pancakes and the most pleasant evening Timberwolf Mountain has to offer -- I also found more matches, importantly. Next morning it was very cold, so I headed for Prepper's Abandoned Cache to warm up some, then had a quick fire break near the Derelict Cabins before heading for the Cinder Hills Coal Mine, where I found my first emergency stim.

The walk towards the Quonset Garage -- where I would spend that night -- was generally not eventful, and I had decent gear, so the rest of this challenge would be easier. Walking along the road towards Desolation Point and its grave near the Riken was not eventful: a few wolf encounters, but those were easily managed with torches. I slept in the Lonely Lighthouse, where I picked up some Running River Oats for porridge that morning, along with a second emergency stim.

From there, I stopped at the Misanthrope's Homestead, used a stim for some condition, then slept. From there, I went to Jackrabbit Island, passed through the Fishing Camp, and headed past Bear Creek Campground on the way to the Ravine, where I found my fourth grave. To get out, I used a stim, and ran towards the small cave south of the long rope climb (hoping for a bed), but no such luck... I ended up drinking a coffee and walking, tired, back to the trailers outside Carter, where I am now. Only grave left is the one above Many Falls Vista!

--------

All in all, this has been one of the best challenges the game has to offer, aside from Hopeless Rescue and Escape the Darkwalker. Is my route the most efficient? Nope -- I clearly won't set a speedrun record doing what I'm doing. But so far so good!

On 10/8/2023 at 7:31 PM, TiffTastic said:

Never rage shoot bears that just mauled you expecting RNG to give you a kill. Especially after the second mauling. Just stop the blood loss and move on. Trust me.

Never assume your survivor is well prepared enough that you cannot be killed by one crappy decision. Because you can. Particularly by rage shooting bears.

Never assume you can shoot 3 wolves just outside the PV farmhouse and harvest them in peace and in proximity to cooking facilities, because you ABSOLUTELY can get mauled by a bear while doing so. And if it happens, never rage shoot the bear. Not that I’ve ever done…oh well, I absolutely did that. 

Never ever laugh at live bears. Unless you can quickly duck into a vehicle or under a fallen tree after taking the shot, that is...

Very nice work! Remind me again which mods these are? The More Food and PlaceAnywhere mod, am I right?

I guess that begs the question: are there any named locations that really don't make for a good long-term encampment? Here are a few I can think of:

• The cave between the two rope climbs from Milton Basin to Paradise Meadows Farm
• Cannery Pier
• Lonely Cave or the nearby prepper cache
• The prepper cache in Ash Canyon
• Ash Canyon Gold Mine
• Any bear cave

Here are a few other locations that aren't terrible, but have a much better option rather close by:

• Three Strikes Farmstead
• Archie's Crawlspace
• Forest Cave
• Hilltop Cave
• Fallen Lighthouse
• Echo One Radio Tower

When I mean "long term" I mean staying in one place for more than a week, as I am generally a nomad, never staying in one place for too long. 14 days in one place is for me a really long stay.

Here are my (personal) definitions of stay length, yours may differ:

• overnight: basically what the name implies
• short-term: 2-3 nights
• vacation: 4-6 nights
• long stay: 7-13 nights
• I live there: 14+ nights

IDK about you, but I find that since the Free-Form Fishing Update, Monolith Lake and area makes an excellent place for long-term survival. Why?

• Shelter very close to the lake: Lake Cave is an excellent base. Never get cabin fever, and there's fishing just outside your doorstep.
• Loads of food: Lots o' fish in Monolith Lake, and, with a couple of tip-traps, they can be caught passively. There's also rabbits (also passively snareable), and a quick walk to Peak Cave will provide Ptarmigan for making broth. That's not to mention the two deer that spawn just south and west of the lake, and the moose which occasionally shows up. In a pinch, there's lots of cattails, too.
• Never run out of lamp oil. Just cook the fish.
• Fuel: tons of that around too. Firewood spawns everywhere, and Lake Cave, Peak Cave, and Pensive Vista are all close by with loads of coal.
• Bored of Lake Cave? Spend a night at Pensive Vista. Or Peak Cave. The views from both locations are incredible. They're also less noisy if you don't like the waterfall sound.
• Workbench not too far: If you have unlocked Bunker Gamma, a few hours' walk away you have a workbench. And some harvestable metal if you need to make repairs.
• No predators: Wolves don't ever walk onto the lake. No bears around either. The moose is only there sometimes. Don't worry about your smelly fish, they won't be found.

With that said, there are a couple disadvantages of living in this area...

• No bed: you got to bring a bedroll. Leaving a bearskin bedroll in the cave of your choice is best.
• Reclaimed wood, metal, and cloth are rare: you might need to make a supply run to Milton every now and then to get those supplies.
• It's a long way to make tools: Going to Spence for making new tools is quite a long way's walk.
• And even farther for ammo: If you want ammo, you need to go to Bleak Inlet. Maybe just use a bow and arrows, craftable using local resources?

Overall, though, I strongly believe that the area around Monolith Lake is a solid choice for long-term living, or at least making a vacation home. Yes, I know some people will disagree with me and say that Jackrabbit Island or the Mountaineer's Hut or Camp Office are the cat's meow, but I do recommend giving Monolith Lake at least a try for a week or so. You may be pleasantly surprised

I think by "The Long Dark is finished" what is meant is that: Episode 5 of Wintermute is released.

As long as the game remains popular, there's no reason for Hinterland to not release another DLC. This can occur as the studio is developing new games which I'm sure will be very enjoyable too!

I've got my hands on a few noisemakers, and I'm really curious how powerful they really are. They definitely scare wolves and timberwolves, and I was able to scare a bear off with one. The bear had spotted me, but hadn't charged.

Now I wonder if they work against Aurora wolves and bears. If yes, then I'll save them up and use them when I'm searching for transponder caches during the Aurora and I get cornered with no means of escape!

There's another climb with rose hips near that pond.

Both @nGueRRe and @Leeanda's paths will get you there: Leeandra's path is a bit longer, but takes you very close to a prepper cache, which (if it's stocked) contains very good stuff.

I simply carry the raw ingredients on me, and cook the finished foods as needed. I do wish I could split the flour into smaller bags though as it's super heavy!

With Tales from the Far Territories, I have a few more tips. Don't...

• carry a bunch of pre-made pies or pancakes on you, "in case you need the buff". They deteriorate very fast, 20% per day. If you want to make a bunch for long-term storage, put them outside.
• wander around Forsaken Airfield when the visibility is poor, unless you like getting horribly lost.
• try looking for Transponder Caches without a flashlight. Aurora wolves are very dangerous and won't flee from gunshots, flares, or even flaregun rounds that miss.
• worry too much about insomnia. It might be annoying, but it's only dangerous if your condition is really low and you need to recover it by sleeping.

I think most larger regions have at least two supply caches.