Lord of the Long Dark

9 hours ago, Salty Crackers said:

No, it's not easier than Stalker. Most settings are at Interloper level, while some are at Stalker level. By definition, the difficulty lies somewhere between the two modes. I explicitly said the difficulty is probably less than Interloper, depending on how you factor in the very slow condition recovery versus the fast recovery of Interloper.

The reason I use medium base loot availability is that I want to be able to find knives and hatchets, but there is no individual setting for that. Otherwise, I would be on low base loot availability. With Interloper settings for loose items and empty container chance, I get a lot less loot than in Stalker (while still more than Interloper) with the exception of the cargo containers, which is why I have the house rule of leaving behind half the loot in the cargo containers.

YOU REMOVED CABIN FEVER LOL!!!!!!

  “I removed health recovery while standing but I can just wait inside indefinitely til can rest when tired” lol. 
  Yeah. I guess that’s Basically interloper hahaha. 

The thing that makes it hard is one single surprise wolf attack ends the run. That doesn’t happen at day 50. 

12 minutes ago, turtle777 said:

I don't think the first 20 days are hard, it's still very warm.

The trickiest days are probably 25-50, when the weather turns very cold, and you have to be rushing to get fully equipped. Getting enough bears skins for two coats or one coat and one bear roll is not possible in just a few days.

I guess the "hard part" about the first 20 days is NOT to waste them, and be very efficient in making progress towards a forge and plenty of deer and bear hides.

-t

 

The thing that makes the first 20 days hardest is not the weather - it’s that one single surprise wolf attack ends the game.  That doesn’t happen after day 50. 

Is that easier than interloper lol? 
yeah. 
it’s easier than stalker in fact. 
  Its like saying pilgrim is based on interloper but with high loot settings, no cabin fever, no animal aggros, guns, top line clothing, low decay…. But otherwise, it’s EXACTLY like interloper ROTFLMAO.

   People don’t realize- interloper is not just the hardest level- it’s an entirely different game altogether. If you soften interloper even a little, it’s not interloper it’s stalker. 

Just now, dbmurph22 said:

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.

Agreed that It’s still modified stalker. Modified interloper is starting with interloper setting and making them harder not easier. 
     If your loot settings are medium, weather is set easier, you start with a gun or bedroll or you tone down animals you aren’t playing interloper. You are playing stalker. 

I have never seen this bug and the switches are definitely inoperable during aurora. The concept is excellent though.

I was so confident there isn’t one that I Risked my 1000+ day interloper running through the fog knowing there had to be an end to it and easily made it through with almost 20 seconds to spare

  honestly once you loot the mine there is no reason to go back, and especially on interloper it’s a particularly brutal trek just to get there because food is fairly scarce in that area with one wolf and a handful of cattails. 
  By the way it’s BP. BR is Broken Railroad. 

When you set base resources to medium you are not playing modified interloper. You are playing modified stalker. 
 That’s a massive massive massive advantage- hardly even close to interloper.  When you play interloper you don’t even get a single thing in 95% of containers- not tons of loot in 80% of them like in stalker. 
 

11 minutes ago, Salty Crackers said:

I was thinking the prepper cache would have some unobtainable items, like either a hatchet or knife (not both!), or clothing like a thick wool sweater or climbing socks, along with some food. With a regular hatchet or knife, there is an incentive to use the Milling Machine once you run out of whetstones.

Well you don’t need a prepper cache for that but either way as long as the items are there. It’s the items that are critical. A better game design of course would be positioning them in some area of moderate to high risk based on the reward value. 

8 minutes ago, Salty Crackers said:

What would be a viable reward for dealing with the timberwolves? The Milling Machine would be useful to repair crampons, but they are repairable with a toolbox and scrap metal. I've already mentioned Noisemakers. Would you want something like the prepper cache spawning in Interloper?

None of those are relevant to an interloper player. You already have crampon repair at BI and it’s way easier since you don’t have to crack the mine code. 
    What would be relevant is something unique in the zone that either can add to your warmth, speed you up or add capacity.  For example- I would totally go to a new zone if there was a regular hatchet. The extra 1/2 hour time saving cutting a log is well worth it. Or if a new region gave the ability to repair sharpening stones- that would be a benefit worth the travel.    But a prepped cache? Nah. Useless. Interloper players think in terms of long term benefit. It’s a totally different game with a totally different strategy. 

23 minutes ago, Salty Crackers said:

The game isn't balanced around Interloper. The majority of players are a lot more casual, sticking with Pilgrim or Voyageur and focusing more on the pensive exploration rather than hardcore survival. Hardcore Interloper players are overrepresented on the forums as they are a lot more invested in the game. This doesn't mean that Interloper is not a valid way to play the game- it can be one of the most rewarding survival experiences out there. It just means that the devs don't have to justify adding in regions by making them viable for the least popular experience mode.

Think about it: If the devs make game design compatible to interlopers it has no effect whatsoever on easy-level players so why not do it? It’s not like it comes at a cost to the easy levels. They won’t even notice.  It’s not one or the other- it’s for everyone.   That’s all I am saying.

2 hours ago, Leeanda said:

Why update a region if you think it's not worth going to ?   Makes no sense to me.

No-  they should update or create regions TO make them worth going to by providing a relevant unique survival advantage item especially for interloper.

They should have a extra slot for a Timberwolf scarf. Gives justification for interlopers to visit BP or BI. 

when laying guts anywhere on the BP workshop floor they disappear into the floor. Doesn’t happen with any other items. 
  This is on PC version playing interloper level. 

There is no need - you are either on a risky slope or not. Makes no difference the indicator. 

5 hours ago, Serenity said:

There doesn't have to be a special item in a region to justify going somewhere. It similar to the reason people climb mountains. Because it's there.

Ummmm that’s not the premise of the game. It’s a survival situation. 
  People who take adventurous challenges may well find themselves in a survival situation, but absolutely no one ever who is in a survival situation decides to just take an adventurous challenge for the hell of it. 
  There should be a legitimate reason to visit a region because it legitimately benefits survival. 

19 minutes ago, SpanishMoss said:

2 arguments for the other side:

first: timberwolves are extremely easy to stop from attacking you. All you need is a lit flare or torch, and you can literally ignore them. 

 

Second, black rock also has a Milling Machine, which is useful on late game interloper. CH is one of the best regions to survive long term, and blackrock might be a closer alternative to BI for it. 
 

I do agree that the vest is kinda bad for late game players with the flare gun, and noisemakers are also pointless, but the extra region to loot might be helpful 

Why on earth is a milling machine useful at all in interloper??  What to repair a knife that you can forge in 3 hours without facing timberwolves. No interloper is ever going to go to BP or BI to repair a knife. Crampons- yes but I saw my crampons we’re not repairable at BP today. 
   And as for noisemakers-  nah. I much rather use the gunpowder for accelerant. Absolutely no use for noisemakers for me. Better than spray pain I suppose. 

  Love BP but unfortunately once again from a survival perspective there is no reason to go other than just for the challenge and nothing more. 
  The ballistic vest is a 13lb paper weight for anyone except the most naive new player-  there is no way an interloper would even consider it and honestly is practically useless on any level.

  So what we have is basically the same as BI- a challenging level but no reason to visit. I will of course go  AC for the backpack and crampons. I will go to HRV for combat pants and mackinaw. I’ll visit TWM summit for the flares. I of course have to visit the township areas to fill out my top line clothing.  
  Actually now that crampons are finally repairable (thanks for doing that, I have been asking this for months!!) there is finally legitimate reason for visiting BI, but now BP has taken its place as the most challenging region with no practical incentive to visit other than just to lose precarious resources and 1/4 your arrows  

    Each region should have one unique incentive to justify visiting and the vest is hardly it. 

Surviving thousands of days is not a testament to accomplishment, it’s a testament to endurance especially on easy levels. 
  Even in interloper, once you reach 100 days you can live indefinitely because food and fuel is stocked everywhere.  It’s not a matter of skill living a long time -  just tolerance. 

3 hours ago, twyn1 said:

Condolences and I'd say "well-played" to you as well! 1200 days on Interloper is unimaginable to me!

To be honest- it’s no more impressive to have 2000 days on interloper than to have 100 days. After 80 days you literally can live indefinitely on interloper.
On a 1000 day character, the first 20 days are 100X harder than days 100-1000.   Once you get the bow and double bearskin coat (or bear/moose skin) the game is dominated  and literally the only way you die is either entering a new region you are unfamiliar with or for whatever reason all your mag lenses get broken which is highly improbable.

Looks like BP not BR to me. 

Is there a cache in interloper? i assume not.  Even if there was, probably just has can of tomato soup 😕

On interloper it’s a standard essential strategy.  sometimes early in the blizzard I might find the animals didn’t despawn yet I usually give the blizzard an hour) and once in a great long while I have been surprised by animals well into a blizzard but in general, in early game, I love blizzards as it allows me free travel.

Why not just BP so we stay consistent in formatting?

31 minutes ago, ajb1978 said:

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Killwalls have no business being in Survival mode! 

Story mode sure, keep the player in bounds and they have autosaves they can roll back to so you're never going to be set back more than 10 minutes of play. But survivor mode? NO. Just no.

I mean the places where you can safely goat around and places that will just straight up murder you are so inconsistent. It directly punishes a player for exploring every nook and cranny. Maybe that steep hill is one of those shortcuts you can butt-slide your way down. Or maybe it'll just kill you instantly. Everything else you have a fighting chance against. Wolves, bears, blizzards, weak ice, starvation, thirst, broken ribs, dysentery, cabin fever, hypothermia, and even the friggen Darkwalker. But not those invisible walls of death.

OK rant over.

You are absolutely 100% correct there is no doubt about that. 
  At the very best there should simply not be an option for character to pass. At very worst it should be mountain-goatable but with a very precarious path where falls are likely but avoidable with careful orienteering. The only exception would be obvious insta-death obstacles (overhanging cliff, river rapids, falling off a trestle/bridge, etc).  I consider myself having mastered this game however I still always get just a bit nervous on the trestle!!! Always adds to the tension knowing Instant Death is present but…. I am aware of it. Not being aware of potential Instadeath in a game like this is unacceptable for sure. 

I have made torches at campfires just putting the ends of branches into the fire. I never saw the mechanic as reaching in to a fire and pulling out a torch from the embers lol. 
  The torch mechanic is basically essential for interloper as is. In easy levels you don’t even really need torches to be honest unless you are traversing a cave- an interloper player will use a lantern though- matches too precious.