Sherri

This is how I spray painted the start and end of each gas zone. Although in retrospect I could have used just the arrows and not the danger symbol. Because I was mapping as I went, I didn't get lost and so didn't use spray paint for anything else.

I finished what I think is the bulk of the mine exploration, and it went pretty smoothly. As I was playing, to help distract my stress from the situation I sketched a hand-drawn detailed map of the mine as I went along. I was surprised to see that there doesn't seem to be any other maps of this level of detail so I decided to share! This might help anyone else who is a bit nervous to explore it blind. Note that this map is very light on spoilers and doesn't explicitly label where to find the Tale items. Tips: You will need at least 8-10 gas mask canisters. If you travel light, and sprint a lot you can probably get away with a few less. You can find many in the mine itself. There are containers and loot IN the gas areas, but nothing critical and you can skip looting these areas without much loss. Definitely use dropped sticks or spray paint to mark the start and stop of gas areas. This will enable quick sprinting if you have to return to them. It's hard to see with the gas mask on. The flashlight is especially bad to use here. I used the lantern and it provided the best visibility. Don't be shocked if you go blind for a few seconds when changing canisters. This can be jarring and a bit scary. Your light will come back on in about 2 seconds. While I found safety gear, I'm not sure if it helps with the gas exposure. You can find more chemical boots in the mines. I found a total of 3 pairs in Voyager. The mines contain lots of clothing repair and lantern fuel + flares so you'll have an easy time getting enough light. There are several good locations to set up a 'base' in the mines. I didn't encounter any wildlife in the mine. So you might want to leave your heavy weapons at the entrance. You DO get cabin fever in the mine. I didn't like this at all. Popping out at Miner's Footpath has a nearby cave where you can recover for a day. Map notes: Little circles and rectangles represent barrels and crates. These make nice landmarks. The map is roughly to scale. Although the "To Ramp Down A" points should have ended up closer to each other. Locations where you go dramatically up or down a level are marked. The map definitely has 'floors' but I managed to sketch it all out as one.

I did later find some inside the mine!

Also noticed: Have found 0 skill books in this region so far. Haven't seen a bear or moose.... yet. Very little ammo.

Having now spent 1-2 weeks in the Zone of Contamination, I think I can dare to say that this region might have worse weather even than Pleasant Valley! Thick fog, brutal winds and bitter cold. Clear skies are very rare, and if you do get it, it doesn't last long! Don't wait for warmth AND blue skies. The second it's clear, get sprinting to your destination. Discovered some more settled areas and they are really really nice. Especially one cooking-focused area that I really love. Managed to bag a deer and several bunnies, none of which were poisoned. Whew. Although I'm not hurting for food, on Voyager this region is *stocked*. Had to camp out for several days in a cave while waiting for an aurora to progress the Tale. It was worth it- cleared my cabin fever and found some goodies in the area. 😁

WARNING: Spoilers for the Zone of Contamination region! Eager to jump into the new region, I was surprised to see that after the first part of the tale, I had somehow set up camp in TWM. So I had a looong trek to get back out to the Far Territories. Finally managed it last night and gave the new Langston Mine its first look. Ooo boy this is exactly how I hoped it would be! The toxic areas are pretty easy to see in clear weather. Waste barrels lying around, greenish vapour wafting off them. Damaged trees. And a green effect that creeps into the 4 corners of your screen when you're in it. At first this made it straightforward to avoid these toxic pools. That is... until the sun started going down and a glimmer fog started rolling in. I stumbled around almost blind, choking on toxic gas, until feeling my way along a fence I found a trailer. Scary!! I'm really glad that the toxic areas can be detected in good conditions. It makes it a fun new challenge to feel your way along the edge of these areas and to search out alternate routes. Just don't get chased by a wolf into a green cloud! Luckily any toxic exposure fades over time if you stay away from it. I definitely noticed a bit of damage to my boots. The new toxic wolves are fantastic. I noticed right away that they detect me from farther away and jump right into an aggressive approach. No timid following and growling for these wolves! Luckily I brought pockets and pockets full of revolver ammo to cull these poor mangy creatures. I like that if you click to harvest them, there's just flat out no meat to be had. No easy meals after defeating predators. I've yet to see if the deer in the area are similarly toxic and meatless. I did find a very complex cave that I didn't know was the transition to Forsaken Airfield, got lost exploring that and found some goodies. When I realized this was bringing me to another region I had to head all the way back! Another player who suggested bringing lots of spray cans to mark your way through caves was brilliant - good strategy. Arrived at the main building and wow this sure is a huge structure!! Been slowly making my way up the levels and looting everything. This is a LOT of fun!

I've always assumed that Great Bear was hit by all these tragedies while in the midst of a boom that derailed the island's progress. Power structures like this could have been an infrastructure project that was underway but not finished. Hence the lack of powerlines going to it.

Updated version 2.4 - Fixed location of theorized region Mountain Pass. - Rearranged ZoC and Forsaken Airfield to better reflect relative world map locations.

Oh yes.... good catch. I'll fix.

Updated to version 2.3 - Renamed Abandoned Mine to Zone of Contamination - Added icons for locations of forges and ammunition workbenches.

TLD Connections map updated to version 2.2. - Added Industrial Mine. - Region colour legend.

I'm reminded of when I started googling for info about a chronic illness I had just been diagnosed with. The vast lion's share of info online was very very dire. You eventually realize that happy people rarely post reviews, comments and long blog diatribes online. It's the unhappy people who seek out places to vent. Even with the great community we have around TLD, this forum is still beholden to that reality. You will always have more unhappy players on the forums than contented players. It creates the impression that there is more complaining and more discontent than their really is. I imagine this feeling is painful for a creator who has put a huge chunk of their life into one major creation that is out in public, vulnerable to critique. I don't blame @Raphael van Lierop if he feels hurt. It sucks to see it. But I hope he keeps in mind that truism. The vast, vast, VAST majority of happy, content players are busy *playing* the game, not posting on the forums. And I also hope that more happy players make a point to comment. I will definitely be doing so, once I make my way back to the Far Territory and check out the region. I'm very jazzed to do so because the Airfield was fantastic.

This bears extra repeating. It is extremely AWESOME that the new regions are so different. Jarringly different. Dangerous in new ways. Very few regions have reasons to come back to them after they have been fully looted and explored. With the exception of bullet crafting and forges. The thing that keeps a long run going and interesting (for me) is having places I haven't been to yet. Being out to the Far Territory and braving its unique dangers in the 2nd half of a run is a great thrill for a well equipped character. Something new and different is very welcome. Do we really want just more of the same? The fact that people both love and hate the new regions, the fact that they are SO different is a feature not a bug. HL has a banger here with this DLC- it's not easy to keep things fresh and interesting on such a long running project. Differing preferences shouldn't be worded as complaints.

This is a *fantastic* idea.

While it does look like the harvesting changes have increased the difficulty of getting food from animal sources early on and without tools... we definitely have received more food sources with the addition of burdock and acorns. So I think that in the long run the game balance remains pretty fair. I do agree that the animations are a bit on the gruesome side though. I thought 'harvesting animations' would mean chopping wood and picking cattails etc. For some reason I didn't even consider meat harvesting LOL. I guess I'll have to squint and bear it! Those poor bunnies...😆

I've seen at least two small updates to TLD after the big update yesterday with the new part 4 (Steam, PC). Nothing in the release log but it looks like they are rapidly patching early issues which is great!

Launch trailer for part 4 is coming in less than an hour. HL confirmed in live chat that the update is dropping TODAY! 🙂

I can kinda see what you're saying. But with the game being one of (if not THE) biggest open world maps in all of gaming... the nice thing is that there is plenty of map to explore and it's pretty easy to stay away from the Far Territories if the new environmental challenges aren't for you. Even the transition regions like the Branch Line/Transfer Pass are new maps that are more 'traditional'. So while I'm a bit hesitant about poison pools and wolves... it's something new that I'll definitely give a try... and it's more variety which can only be a good thing. There's only so much snowy fields, forests, rocky mountains and cabins that you can cram into a game. It's nice to try some new things, and anyone who isn't keen can just stay away. Either way, love the new maps or not... you're still getting a ton of new content, equipment, mechanics, etc... not just a map. I really don't see how anyone can fault this update - it's a smorgasbord of goodies for everyone.

Time to add powdered Tang to the game! 😆

Wow. Lots of goodies in this one. Looks like there is something for everyone. New convenience tools and equipment New risks and afflictions Immersion improvements with the hand coverings and harvest animations New survival elements to balance (goodbye all-meat diet!) A new map One hell of a tough new environmental challenge. Not gonna lie, the description of the toxic pools and gas caused some nervous goosebumps to break out! --- I'm curious how the scurvy affliction will affect the long game. When all the plants have been harvested and eaten, and the only renewable source of food is meat... what then? That will be tough. Might have to ration those rosehips and can goods for later!

Besides the red & white mug, I was most hoping for the red & white Canadian toque. Mostly just interested in items that are actually in the game rather than general merch.

Well, they did say that this temp sale was just to offload extra stock they had from before... and a more permanent store would be in the future. But oof. I was refreshing all day and just as I see it open, almost everything sold out. 😓

I could no say it better than @Raphael van Lierop... the no crunch 'disclaimer' in the game bootup is a factor in how I personally value the game & the studio's work. I work in the software industry. I have a LOT of empathy for these challenges. It's not just a matter of adding feature A, B & C. There are underlying engine updates that you are at the mercy of & many other factors outside Hinterland's control. Human hiccups including a pandemic are there too & the fact that Hinterland won't whip their staff through crunch to "mitigate" those human challenges (oh you have a sick child - tough shit get into work)... mean that planning & meeting targets is even harder. And we should have understanding for that. Never trade mental health for deadlines. Never product over people. Missed dates will never get my "knickers in a twist" as grandma used to say. But I will say... just not giving dates until it's done might be ideal. I hope chapter 5 is never given a date. Just surprise us. 😁

Probably grouped together in the description despite being fixed in multiple places or situations.

Avalanches of snow would be fun. Or even snow falls from walking under trees that would instantly lower hp + soak your outer clothes. I keep thinking the game needs more reasons to make us look up. Too busy picking sticks off the ground. Lol