AdamvR

Thanks all for your comments and sharing your (even different) experience! These help rethink some long held beliefs:) Inspired by the comments I did some tests in the meantime: 1) shooting triggers a blizzard: I've been spending a lot of time in BI lately, and there it does not seem to be the case. I'm not yet sure whether other weather elements overwrite this (i.e. BI is often sunny, to ensure the high probability of Aurora), or simply it was a misconception (as @Mroz4k suggests). I am already sure, that it is not a definite trigger, but not sure if it does not impact the probability. I have some testing in mind, but it would need more time - might come back on this later. 2) Animal carcass disappearing speed based on harvesting. I tested it: the carcass that you fully harvest disappears in a few hours at most in game time. the non-harvested or half-harvested carcasses seem to take the ~same time to disappear. Based on timberwolves shot within seconds and few meters from each other, one partially harvested, the other untouched, both disappeared around day 4 or 5 after shooting them down. (I was only checking on them once a day, not standing by) It might still be the case for carcasses I do not even look up, but that seems untestable to me... 3) walking backwards against wind. I still believe it can be slightly faster, than head-on, and I think Mroz4k's explanation might likely be correct. I would add, that going forward in zigzag is also faster than head on into the wind, so might not need to go backwards, just for the sake. I'd disagree though, that it is per definition a "less mindful approach about the surroundings": the very way how I found it is based on how I often move around in areas with lots of potential danger sources (e.g. FM): a quick 90 degrees turn with the mouse and at the same time switching to walk sideways, then the same, and walking backwards, etc. This way you can keep moving and looking around at the same time. Especially useful, when a growling sound is following you, and you'd like to check it (them?) out, without stopping. (for sure, only walking backwards, without turning every once in a while is not the safest bet;-)) 4) after spending quite some time in BI, I would also agree, that aurora has nothing to do with the button being pressed, but in general (much) more likely in this region. both when you are on the pier, but also when you are on the shelf with the radio tower. I got it every ~2 days on average (not actually counted, just a feel after a couple weeks there)

I'm afraid this is a myth, based on my extensive tests - please check them out at the original post, as there are some surprising findings... The reason for the apparent 25% difference could be something else, I do not yet want to spoil...

Thanks @Niskavuori and @Stinky socks for your comments and the details! Seeing the discrepancy I wanted to figure out what was going on, and think I have the answer(s) - you'd be surprized... 1) I moved my character to ML to catch Lake Whitefish (to match Niskavuori's test), and redo the experiment with a lot more detail. I caught 18 Lake Whitefish, which i separated to two groups of 9 with 18,38Kg and 18,32Kg each. I cooked them one by one, noting the weight, the shown oil yield AND the oil level in the Jerry Can after each fish. I confirm again, that the oil yield is the same with or without the pot, but there are other differences (see further points below) 0,28/0,27 L for the above batches. I'm copying my detailed testing table at the bottom, for anyone interested 2) The shown oil yield is often less than the actual oil added to the Jerry Can. For the above batches the sum of oil yield shown on screen after the cooked fish is harvested was 0,21L without pot, but the Jerry Can had 0,28L Oil added. With the pot it was 0,23L shown on screen, and the Jerry Can increase was 0,27L. Based on my calculations, the source of the discrepancy is, that the on-screen amount is always rounded down to 2 digits, i.e. 0,0299L is rounded to 0,02L, instead of rounding it correctly. The Jerrycan contents are probably not rounded (or rounded to more than 2 digits). As in the end you are using the Jerrycan to fill the lamp, that is the one "that counts". 3) When selecting the fish for cooking in the pot, the cooked weight of the fish is shown (which is 35% less, than the raw weight!), while for cooking on stovetop, the raw weight is shown. I would guess this might have caused the difference in Niskavuori's test: 1,67Kg raw Lake Whitefish should produce 0,025 L oil, rounded to 0,02L; while 1,49Kg of cooked Lake Whitefish (equivalent of 2,29Kg raw Fish) would result in 0,034L oil, rounded to 0,03L. 4) There are differences in oil yield between the 4 types of fish. Based on my tests: (I had level 5 cooking at this point, I'm not sure if the skill impacts the oil yield, and did not test it) Sea Fish: Coho Salmon: 0,032 L/Kg (average fish weight based on fandom: 4,15 Kg >> 0,133 L) Rainbow Trout: 0,025 L/Kg (average fish weight based on fandom: 1,40 Kg >> 0,035 L) Lake Fish: Smallmouth Bass: 0,025 L/Kg (average fish weight based on fandom: 3,40 Kg >> 0,085 L) Lake Whitefish: 0,015 L/Kg (average fish weight based on fandom: 1,90 Kg >> 0,029 L) Conclusion: For oil, it is probably better to fish at Sea, than on a Lake, as both fish there have more oil on average. (I did not test whether the fish yield caught is the same or not in the two locations based on time spent) The detailed test results on cooking Lake Whitefish, for those interested:

that is heartbreaking:( for the very same reasons I have a TLD backup NOW.bat file on my desktop, right next to the game icon to be pressed before starting up... it consists of a single line: xcopy /s /y C:\Users\[your windows username here]\AppData\Local\Hinterland\TheLongDark D:\Dropbox\HinterlandBackup I set it up after losing a 600 day survivor on a similar issue. When it is my unpreparedness, I deserve to lose her - no questions about it...

I stand corrected - I may have encountered the same area in Bleak Inlet: no scrapings on the trees, yet there is the guy. (it is just behind the trailers) I still am wondering if the missing marks are intentional or ...?

This got me quite excited, as I was not aware of such relationship. I knew it cooks it faster, but not that it gives more oil. I tried checking it, to see the exact difference, cooking 2 larger batches of fish of the same type and ~same weight, in order to minimize distortion from rounding, and was using a large can to catch all oil: 1st batch: with cooking pot: 15,75 kg raw Coho Salmon >> 10,40 kg cooked fish + 0,50 L oil 2nd batch: without cooking pot: 16,29 kg raw Coho Salmon >> 10,75 kg cooked fish + 0,52 L oil Doing the math: - both end up making 66,0% cooked fish - both end up making 3,18-3,19% oil (actually the 2nd one was higher, but the difference is within rounding error) As excited as I was about this info, I'm sorry to say, using the pot does not seem to be making any difference in the end in either the oil or the cooked fish quantity, only reducing the cooking time.

that if you see steps ahead, you will always be able to goat down on a cliff. little did I know about instakill places. I'm still curious what is down below the chasm under the cave below the plane in Milton... or the valley with the road you can see to the right when entering from ML...

Great Story @Stinky socks, thanks for sharing:) I've found myself starting to like BI... after doing some lighthearted extermination from safe distances - strictly as a preventive measure - it becomes quite a nice area, with lots of sunshine and all the things your heart and tummy desires, from fish and bunnies, deer, elk and bear too. And those fat juicy doggies coming in six-packs! - yummy 😉 Oh well, a bit windy at times, but in general much nicer weather than the neighbor for sure...

As far as I'm aware, the mine in Coastal Highway is the only place that requires aurora to go in and to come out. In addition, the workshop in Bleak Inlet requires aurora to unlock the door, but you can enter it later without. No other places are in survival that require the aurora for traversal. as for loot: the BI workshop has something extremely valuable in it, while opinions differ whether or not the mine in CH is worth the risk of being trapped inside, especially if you develop cabin fever as you cannot speed up time then. (There are some posts with further info on the latter)

Excellent Tips! This was usually my standpoint as well, i.e. to climb up multiple times. But even with that, I usually ended up with so much stuff, that "running" around with it was quite a slow exercise. So decided to give @Ps4Methuselah's idea a go. Maybe my skills were not the best, but I could hardly place a piece of meat on the upper stairs while standing downstairs... I was about to give it up and go back to my original tactic, when i realized I could improve on the idea: Shoving almost all you want to carry up will allow you to do the whole roundtrip with minimal gear (=fast), and this point can be reached back from the pier, so you can do multiple trips - no need to carry all at once. It fits 120 pieces of reclaimed wood, or almost an entire bear... (All I need now is to get enough lead to use it up 😉 ) I had to import most of the stones from FM, as for some - likely, not unconnected - reason this resource is pretty scarce in BI, but managed in the end.

Thanks for your comment @Mroz4k, it shows my comment might have been misunderstood. I did not and do not intend to gain any unwarranted attention to my "pet peeve" or such. I recognize this issue to be very different from the general "I'd like more X, I'd like Y to be easier, I'd like Z to be more difficult" wish-list items, but as something of an unintended consequence of the development process, which in the end is completely off-brand to the professionalism of the entire rest of the game. Maybe I'm wrong or my perspective is skewed. I was and am genuinely curious what the standpoint on that is from the development team - just as they stated clearly what the standpoint is on multiplayer a few days ago. It is of course perfectly acceptable if no response comes in this forum. Yet I wanted to give a chance for it, if there is one to come. Hope it clarifies ❤️

I have for a long while thought that something was wrong with me, about how I memorized Mystery Lake, as when I looked at the overall map, it just did not make sense. Not for a second did I think, that the problem might not be me, but it was based on such a fundamental error, that the sun rises over Forlorn Muskeg (which is on the West on the overall map). It did actually happen, that I left Camp Office early morning, heading (intuitively) towards where the sun was rising, thinking to be walking towards Ravine, and got baffled to arrive to Forlorn Muskeg. Not to mention it is tilted 90 degrees. (was already so on Whiteberry's version, and I would guess that is rooted in the world coordinates of that map - i never checked it) In a game which is built around navigating in the wilderness, such a thing that the sun rises on the West in one of the maps is just fundamentally wrong. I agree, we can learn to live with it, but that is the same to me, as when pointing out a bug to my programmer colleagues, they suggest a workaround instead of correcting it - as a long-term "solution". Difficult to find words for that... (They no longer work there) Of course I'm not familiar in detail with the code behind TLD. from my vague vantage point I would guess the following would likely need to be done: - I would guess the Sun is spawned as an object with illumination and all shadows/etc are calculated realtime by the engine, so the primary thing that need to get adjusted is the starting and endpoint in the code which iterates its actual position derived from time of day. In addition I could guess a number of inside locations may also need to be checked for the same, which if I remember correctly are 3 major buildings + 8 smaller huts on ML) Certainly some work, for sure. Yes, the Sun will set somewhere between Trapper's Homestead and the tracks to FM - I think that would still be a gorgeous view, especially from the Lake Overlook... - redrawing the charcoal map of Mystery Lake to correct the tilt (rotating is not enough I believe, as the bottom of the hills would be even weirder if on the side) - sure that is likely a lot of work. For those with a minor tilt, I think they could be used as-is, although a rose (the "cross" showing the directions) added would be courteous and realistic. It could either be shown from the start or drawn in a moment if I take a drawing at sunrise or sunset looking into the Sun. (I would IRL probably start with that if I ever had to draw a map myself) - calculating a transformation vector for some of the maps, that rotates the position of POIs when projected onto the charcoal map, and apply it every time this map is updated/drawn. The same or similar/a random vector may need to be applied when spawning items on the ground after dropping them (depending on the choice about maintaining direction or not). Yes, it adds work and calculation time for the running game, but it only gets applied to actions which are relatively rare - so I would guess the "lag" of one more matrix multiplication on gameplay would not be noticeable at all. (I would believe this way nothing in the main gameplay maps would need to be changed, the transformation vector only needs to be applied for the few POIs that are also drawn on the charcoal maps) I'm not trying to say it is "nothing", if it was, I believe it would already have been done before. I would at the same time assert it is likely much less work than animating a new element/animal into the game, or changing any core mechanic, or adding even a tiny fraction of a new map. Given that it was discussed multiple times before, I believe Hinterland is well aware of the issue. I understand if it was not a priority, but I think it should be. Could @Admin please provide a POV on this?

I understand that the current situation is a result of historical changes, as the various region maps have been developed independently from one another, and independently from the full Great Bear Island map, and there have also been some revisions as new regions were added. Yet, I'm gonna advocate for asking for a consolidation of the Cardinal Directions across all maps, in one of the future updates: - the Sun should rise on the same side and set on the opposite side (let's call them East and West respectively) on every region map - as they are oriented on the full map - the charcoal maps should have roughly the same orientation when opened inside the region, as they are on the full map (I believe a small tilt up to 10-20 degrees is perfectly fine, but 90 degrees or upside down is very confusing...) - the items that point to the "same" direction when dropped should either do that consistently across all maps, or be always randomized... (I'm afraid this could trigger some side-debate) There are many simplifications in the game, where it diverts from IRL in order to encourage the player to make important decisions for their survival - which are absolutely Great. (e.g.: no Compass, or no GPS position in survival) The current "set of inconsistencies" around the directions, I believe do not belong to this category, and are just unnecessarily confusing and simply make no sense - do not at all fit the attention to detail invested into the game. Thank You for considering!

Thanks @ManicManiac for pointing out this having been discussed before! While I agree that one can play around it, once acknowledging it, and in the end our mindmaps of the regions can take over the role of the charcoal ones, I'll attempt to say it makes no sense whatsoever. and despite the historical reasons for it (probably ML having being developed even before the full GB map was envisioned...?) it is something that has a good reason to be overhauled in the future: rotating all the charcoal maps to match the overall direction, making sure the sun always goes from east to west, and the dropped sticks to point to the North in all regions). I see no reason to keep such a thing inconsistent and potentially confusing. (and programming-wise I would not expect it to be much more than a single transformation-vector for each map between the charcoal representation and the real world coordinates or a one-time shift of all coordinates on certain maps using the same vector - whichever is easier) I have a very strong itch to add it to the wish-list... 😉 The fact that it was discussed before, makes it all the more surprising...

wow... never actually realized that. It might be why in my mind Mystery Lake is somehow always upside down: i just kept having this uneasy feeling anytime I was looking at the whole map of Mystery Lake being somehow completely off. In addition to the charcoal version, which has East on top, instead of North. Maybe that is why it is called "Mystery"...

In my experience pressing 2 is quick enough to get it out for regular wolves. I also hate shooting objects, so after a few such fails decided for "concealed carry", unless I'm closing into an area where I particularly expect wolves. In general I'm moving around rather carefully, listening all the way, so very rarely get ambushed... By listening to the howls you can have an idea in which direction and how many wolves are around. (good headphones are a must though...) Also relinked the "put-away" key to F, as that is closer, and my left hand became (somehow... 😉 ) pretty good in taking it out and putting away very quickly. For timberwolves I tried a different tactic in my current stalker: using the rifle and crouching I snipe them out from afar, before they can notice me. If I'm outside of their notice area, they won't run to me even after I hit one of them, so can comfortably clean the way ahead... With the revolver they start running the moment I try to aim at them, so found that to be "rather dangerous"... Other than the above, I'm only using the rifle against bear (1 shot + waiting for them to bleed out) and moose (trying to shoot it from a safe/non-routable location). In these cases I have it out, crouching around until I find the best place and moment to shoot. btw, I do not always aggro regular wolves, even if they start to follow me, I found I can simply keep walking away from them, in 80% (?) of the cases they just give up after a while (provided that I'm not tired and can walk with a reasonable speed).

I think having a chance of collapsing when overexhausted would be realistic. If it happens outside in winter, well, it is very likely you would not wake up from it (IRL). But, even if in the game it only caused an instant hypothermia or similar, severe, but not immediately deadly condition (similarly to falling through ice), that would be a game-changing mechanic completely altering how we manage tiredness. I do not think I would mind such a mechanic, but would not necessarily push for it to be added either... 😉 If it is there however, I would probably manage it with a meter similar to hypothermia risk, that goes up as you have redded out your exhaustion, and would give you a bit of time until you pass out if not taking at least a bit of rest.

@hozz1235, how did you repair it? This inconsistency of experience makes me wonder if there was a trick to it/you approached it differently? I went there last night and when opening up the Milling Machine, it offered me many tools to be repaired, but the crampons were not among them. Was it listed there when you repaired it, or maybe you approached it any other way...? What difficulty were you using/how bad shape was it in? (mine was 89%, tried it both taken off and while wearing, stalker)

I've just been there, for the sole purpose to test it, and they cannot be repaired. (Stalker, crampon condition 89%)

I like the idea, especially with fog, and occasional "weak ice" between the trees (these areas can be pretty marsh-y, and it is not impossible that some parts are just not frozen enough - even in the middle of winter). I could also imagine it with a high number of random POIs that in effect create a procedural-like feel, such as: a certain place within the forest can be a clearing, an impassable rock, "normal forest", a fallen tree with a wind-protected hole underneath, frozen pond, or weak ice pond, bear cave or wolf spawn-point - chosen randomly at world generation. and there are many such places within the forest. This could make this part of the map different in every game, and thus resolve the issue mentioned by @odizzido. (with some code running at generation / first entry ensuring that there is always a way to reach all important parts, only, this way would differ between various games) A kind of "endless" labyrinth. (stretching between Ash Valley and Hushed River Valley - creating a "short-cut" between the top 2 loots, you only need to "brave the endless forest")

Thanks @Mroz4k, that's a good trick! Probably even easier to utilize for tests.

Thanks for the explanation!

I've seen a couple posts about tests how certain things affect condition loss, and it got me curious: where can you see in-game the exact condition percentage? I can only see the white bar (with a bit of blue on top because of well-fed), but no exact numbers... Thanks in advance for the hint!

I keep the hatchet near 100%, as that is what I'm fighting wolves with. (I read both that it does and that it does not matter, so not sure, but keeping it high, just in case). Knife, especially if only used for carcass harvesting makes less sense to be kept in top shape I think. I also use it so, and let it degrade to around 25-30%, when I switch to a better one. Once I have multiple ones with low condition I could go to the Milling Station in Bleak Inlet, where I can sharpen them for a very low cost (provided I clear out the timberwolves first). I also use other hatchets for chopping wood, and treat them similarly as the knives (I do not carry them around all the time, but keep in a base). Only keep one hatchet in top condition, as the whetstones are quite limited. I've never heard sharpness of the fighting weapon would affect you tearing your clothes/cutting yourself. Do you think that to be the case...?

I think I can empathize with the OP's frustration here, as it might strike someone to be odd and unrealistic - despite myself not frequently having run into the same situation (as I simply just carry a bedroll at all times, ever since I first played 4-5 years ago) When it comes to reality: It is all about insulation, I believe. With the huge mass, heat capacity and cold temperature of the buildings (or caves) they would just keep sucking up your body warmth, no matter the fire nearby (to warm the stone/wood as well much-much-much more warmth is needed, than warming up the air). As soon as there is a layer of insulation between you and that floor, it will start to make sense sleeping on it - and that layer is represented (quite accurately) with the cloth and bear-fur bedrolls and their degradation (thinning) mechanic. (giving you a bit of warmth) Realistically you would be losing temperature and/or condition very quickly, without that layer of insulation between you and the floor, I believe to the extent that it would easily counter the healing properties of sleeping. It could be part of the game, that you lay down, start to sleep, but keep losing temperature (at first), but it would need to kill you relatively quickly at most in a few hours, or even less. So I would guess the devs just simplified this mechanic to simply make it not possible. Instead of making it possible, then let the player believe it to be safe, and then kill them. (One could argue they did a favor by limiting it). In the jungle, the mud you sleep in is not below-freezing, so it does make sense there (a'la Green Hell). I did IRL sleep on the floor as well, but never in freezing temperatures, and I do not think anyone who did sleep on the floor in freezing temperatures is here to tell us. (please, if you did, correct me being wrong) At the same time I was wondering "why cannot we sleep on the hides, or even better, make a bed out of them. Maybe, two bearskins and some wood could make a perfect bed." Oh wait... But maybe the "wolf-skin is also fine, just dropped on the floor... at least if it is completely dry? or the deer/bunny too? and some places do have a carpet on the floor too" so I guess that could be done, at least in theory. But then you would need to decide how many of these you need to lay on the floor, how to tile them, and then check whether they cover enough area to keep the survivor fully safe, and what if it only covers 47% of body area...? I believe that would just be too complicated both for programming it and playing it (=not fun). Maybe it is simpler, and more realistic to have to have some sort of pre-made insulation for sleeping safe? (I do like the compromise of @Mroz4k as well - to create a makeshift bed akin to the improvised hand/head wraps, maybe without introducing a new resource of pine-branches, and rely on the existing ones such as furs/cloth, with a "high" cost in condition degradation/lost material) About rage-quitting: I think, giving the game a bit more credit (given its massive fan-base) - despite some, at-first-odd mechanics, can still lead to a love affair down the road. But of course it is for everyone to decide on their own.