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Crackers are one of the best weight to calorie ratios. They have the most calories per kilogram. It's good emergency food. You can eat them after waking up from a long rest when you are already dehydrated, that way it doesn't waste water. I like to eat a small portion of them when I'm not thirsty but I want to drink a coffee or a tea.

Thanks for the ideas! A vegan/pacifist run would be fun for an older version of the game where the animals are harder to deal with. I also forgot about the beachcombing only one, that'd be a fun one to play around with. I especially like @Leeanda's bear cave idea; sounds like an intense challenge haha. I wonder how often you'd be able to sleep in there without the bear noticing you.

It's been 6 months since the last one, it could probably launch any day after the dev diary as far as we know. Did they mention the May 13th on these forums? In case they didn't, here's to anyone who is not on Steam:

I played on Xbox at one point and I agree it can load for a bit. Console seems to be slower than a computer. It would be helpful if notices like the "made by people without crunch" showed up while the game is actually loading, not before it loads. Honestly it doesn't take very long to load the game though. They could shave a few seconds off of the starting screens but it's not a a long wait as it is.

Yes, all of those respawn (but not scrap metal and not large tree limbs). Coal in crates does not respawn (at least I haven't noticed it, would be weird if it did lol). There was a time where reclaimed wood respawned at Miner's Folly in Ash Canyon. I'm not sure if that was patched or if that is a feature. Large limbs do not respawn. But yes, the smaller ones with 3 wood do respawn. I presume you'd only ever find them where there are trees.

Scruffy's Cave: Current Build This one was the one I was most nervous about... and it was tense. (Because I wasn't sure if you could still spawn right in front of the cave, I just used dev console to fly over to the cave when I spawned. Dev console was not used for any other part of the challenge). The time is early afternoon. However, the cave is still extremely dark. Right as I enter, I rush to the first room where the paths branch out. I light a match and quickly take the right side path, up to the overlook. I almost get turned around while trying to light a match but I manage to make it up; but I have no clue where Scruffy is. Up here I find awesome loot; three rifle rounds, an MRE, and a ruined coho salmon. There was also a ravaged carcass in that first room, so food will not be an issue here. No torch though. Torches will be key for the first day of this challenge. As I'm picking up some gear, I turn around just in time to see Scruffy a couple meters away charging. Without thinking I fling myself off the cliff just before Scruffy can reach me. I plunge into the darkness without seeing a thing. I take around 10% condition loss, but fortunately no sprain. I'm not sure how long it will take Scruffy to get down here, and I'm not sure if he's still on to me or not. I quickly light a match. I know there's a room just to the left that could have some firewood. I follow the cave wall to the room and find a fir log. I was hoping for cedar; I don't want to take the chance of my accelerant failing with some fir firewood. I'll need to grab a stick instead. Crouched in the corner of that little room, I harvest a branch hoping the wolf won't see me in here. I'm not sure where he is or where he went, but I'm still alive by the time I'm done collecting those sticks. The fire is lit and I grab a torch immediately. Now I'm relatively safe. Fuel for fires is finite and precious here. I need to make this fire last so that I don't have to craft more tinder. Since I'm already down here, I decide to light a fire next to a second ravaged deer carcass to harvest some venison. But just as my original fire goes out, I remember I have no tinder left. So back into the corner I go to craft some more tinder. I extinguished the torch since it was low condition already. Once the tinder is crafted, I'm still alive. The torch is lit again and now I have a fire next to the deer, with Scruffy watching from a distance. I suppose he isn't too thrilled that I'm taking his leftovers. I throw on some sticks and take this time to cook up the 0.7 kg of venison. Whenever I have a fire going, I also have a can of snow melting. Thirst will be what kills me this run, which is why every stick matters. And the coal. Did I mention the coal? There were around 5 pieces of coal laying around so that was nice. After this deer is done, I take a couple of torches and use them for protection while I harvest more branches. Next, I start a new fire and harvest up the second deer. This was 1.7 kg, a whopping 1 kg more than the other. This is fantastic. Once all of my cooking is done, I head back up to the ledge to boil all the water I can and cook up that salmon. All while Scruffy is watching his food be roasted before his eyes. I make sure to scare off Scruffy before going back up. He doesn't follow me and I can cook in peace. Once the cooking is done and the fire fuel has ran out, I set up my bedroll. Time to hibernate. Over the course of the next few days and nights, I make sure to starve myself until I'm exhausted. Then I eat around 600 calories of food and sleep 11 hours, filling my health back up. I also dehydrated myself the first night to savor my water, but decided to drink it all after that to not risk any unnecessary health loss I can't recover. Night one, an aurora. That's scary. I peek down the ledge to see Scruffy green and glowing. I see him walking towards the exit of the large room, potentially to come up here... If he comes up, I'm toast. I hope wolves don't like toast. The worst part is, I'm fully rested. So I can't sleep; it feels like animals detect you far less when you are sleeping. I'm not sure if that's true but that's what it seems like. Anyways; I pass time hoping that he doesn't find me. While the world is in timelapse from passing time, I literally see him quickly pop into the room and then back down. Wow, that was really close. I was sitting off to the side on the ledge, just far enough for him not to notice me while passing time. That was scary close. Well, this ending is anticlimactic again but that was about it. I starved myself, only eating before I sleep, luckily not getting food poisoning from the rancid meat, and managed to survive 5 days without a wolf struggle. But there were several close calls. Next, Sketchy's cave once they fix interior wolves! Lol

In times like this when an update is anticipated to be (somewhat) soon, I get bored of playing normal survival play throughs because I may want to restart after the new update drops. So, I'm trying to think of some fun survival minigames to try while I wait. Something that won't last very many in-game days. Have any ideas? Here are some I've tried: Living with a Wolf: - Spawn next to Scruffy's cave in DP, never leave the cave. - Or use the time capsule to downgrade to a previous build with Fluffy in the Dam. Kegstand: - Spawn in FM on Interloper, never leave the region. Literally just Build v.236 Silent Hunter: - Use the time capsule to downgrade and play Silent Hunter. Very limited resources and lethal wildlife attacks. Runs usually don't last long. And that's really all I've found to be short enough to do in a couple of days. Of course you can go for really long on Kegstand but chances are, you won't lol. Any other minigames you all enjoy?

I would love this. Maybe add a "harvest" button for meat and fish just like quartered meat bags. You can slice it up into smaller bits using a tool, or no tool and add some time.

I like pencils haha. I normally go with ThePencilWielder, but if the Pencil username is available, I go with that. I always liked sketching although I was never good at it 😅 I enjoy stop motion animating with Lego, hence the minifigure profile picture. A pencil to brainstorm, a camera to animate with, and coffee.

Honestly, the loot refresh. I'm also excited for the wildlife spawn refresh; anything to make a play-through more random is always welcome by me.

I agree it should be a feature. If it is already, I personally think it's too subtle. I've never seen a temperature difference. When at -0C, I've haven't seen the temperature change to an up arrow from running. So if it is a feature it's rarely noticeable. But I think running should decrease your body temperature faster after a certain point. It'd be cool to see hypothermia risk increase faster while running too.

I read back through a couple of dev diaries and update logs and found that Raph has said this: "No, we are not bringing Timberwolves into Survival Mode yet. We have a lot of work to do to get the packs functioning correctly across all our regions. For the launch on Tuesday, they are only in Episode Three. Timberwolves will be added to Survival Mode ASAP." The dev diary before Errant Pilgrim (which added timberwolves to survival) also said that Bleak Inlet was the only region with timberwolves, for now. Of course we have Blackrock now, but it sounds like there is a chance that they may be added to all regions. The, "We have a lot of work to do to get the packs functioning correctly across all our regions" statement makes it sound like the plan was to add them everywhere. But they may have scrapped that idea. Personally I hope they are added to more regions. I just hope they aren't overly abundant. I'd like to see them in every region but with a rarer and more random spawn.

The crafted clothing still offer some different trade offs. For one, the crafted coats are great protection. Skilled players in Stalker are more likely to die to animal attacks than anything else, so higher protection clothing is safer. I would take the moose hide cloak over the ballistic vest. I think your suggestion is a good one though. A skill for crafting animal skin clothing makes a lot of sense. Our character is a poor cook and inexperienced mender at the start of a run, but we can make a perfect fur coat no problem. I always felt like there was a skill missing when it comes to crafting. Maybe mending skill can tie into crafting clothes.

Yeah, Sketchy does the same for me. I was going to try my minigame in there but couldn't find him once I slept.

It seems as though every indoor wolf will despawn after you sleep, except the Desolation Point cave wolf. Which would be wolves that were added in more recent updates. The older interior wolf, scruffy, seems to be the only one that's not broken.

I agree to get rid of the kill walls. For a place like Ravine, I would much prefer a slippery surface where you can't grip onto the steep snow or rock, so you end up actually falling, or at least taking a lot of damage. The kill walls in Coastal Highway make no sense at all though. It got me once and it was super frustrating.

I like to go no mods at all, or throw them all in for the ultimate challenge. My favorites are the ones that realistically make the game harder. Extreme Temperature Drop, Relentless Night (to make cold affect indoors), Timberwolves Everywhere, Reduced Loot, and Improved Afflictions. All while playing on the Hunted part 1 challenge. My favorite QoL mod is place anywhere. Makes organizing so much more fun.

Looks incredible! Super excited to try this out. I do have one suggestion; can we can an option to turn off harvesting animations? Some of them are a little intense 😅

It sounded like a great challenge! But there seems to be a problem. I tried it out as a test to see if it was possible and I'm not sure if it is. It was very thrilling up until things went wrong, though. I used the developer console mod to fly into the cannery and get into the door without the code or an aurora, so I start in there with nothing. The wolf is there, but if I try sleeping for any amount of time, the wolf just despawns. It will come back when I reload the save, but it will be gone when I sleep again. I'll try the Scruffy and Sketchy caves to see if they will work or not.

Faithful Cartographer Run: This ended up being a lot easier than Silent Hunter, perhaps unfortunately... the lighting in the dam was much brighter, torches were a thing, and the wolf didn't stalk me near as much as the Silent Hunter one did. But nevertheless, here is how the run went: I made it into the dam early in the morning, similar to the silent hunter run. I light a match and make my way to the same safe zone in the corner, although I have no idea if it works in Faithful Cartographer or not. After passing time until it's bright enough to see, I glance out the window to see where the wolf is down below. She's minding her own business down there, so I loot the room with the workbench. There's a lantern, a book, a flare, and the first aid kit has an emergency stim; completely forgot that there was a chance for one of these. Actually, there were two of them in the dam total. I can't believe I forgot to use them, I could have added several more hours to my final time. Then back to the window to see if the wolf is still down there. It sounds like she's coming up, so I stay put in my little corner for a minute. First I hear her coming closer from the left, with the sounds slowly shifting to the right of me. She must be coming down the hallway; however, a minute later I can hear her back down in the large lower room. She never came upstairs, which was strange. I take this time to loot more rooms and eventually loot the entire upstairs without seeing Fluffy come up once. Well, that was sort of anticlimactic. But I'm getting thirsty and there was no food or water upstairs. Time to check downstairs. I light a flare and sprint through the hallway, hoping Fluffy doesn't come around the corner before I get down there. Fortunately she doesn't. First I check up the first set of stairs beside the fire barrel. For some reason, Fluffy doesn't seem to be down here. I can't see her from above the stairs. I managed to find an MRE and tomato soup up here, which is incredible compared to last run. Once I was finished grabbing those, I see Fluffy come out of the hallway doorway. Must have gone in there as soon as I came through, that was close haha. I scare her away with the flare and check up the second stairs. And woohoo, I found a hatchet! That'll be very helpful since I need to manually forage wood here as opposed to the automatic foraging in Silent Hunter. I grab that and hop down from between the railing and land on the fire barrel. Just to be safe, I like being on top of the fire barrel so I know Fluffy can't reach me. I don't have much to burn right now (just some books and the cedar firewood that's always up the first set of stairs) but I need water. I'm able to boil 4 liters with the firewood I have. Night is coming, time to head back upstairs. Fluffy has been in a cycle of growling and running away while I do my cooking. Before the fire dies, I take a torch and make my way back upstairs. Fluffy is unable to follow me up because of the fire barrel still smoldering, so I have plenty of time to open the safe. And what do you know, there's nothing in the safe. One MRE and a can of tomato soup will have to do. Although I could have starved myself one night and ate afterwards to gain some time, I decided to simply eat all of my food and wait out the rest of the run. However, I'll be out of water before then so I'll need another fire. After sleeping through the night, it's time to gather wood. Fluffy is still downstairs, and for some reason, she never comes up to bother me. That was a little disappointing but it is what it is. I tear down all of the crates in the main room upstairs with my hatchet and use my last flare to get back downstairs. Then, simply, I boil as much water as possible (I think over 10 liters) and head back upstairs to sleep for the rest of the run. Fluffy is no threat from behind the fire, and this will be the last time I see her. Back upstairs to sleep another 12 hours. Rest is not a resource in Silent Hunter, which allows you to sleep for as long as you want regardless of your fatigue. In Faithful Cartographer, you can only sleep when you are tired. So I do have to pass time about 12 hours before starvation kicks in. This eventually limits my fatigue meter, which allows me to sleep for however long I want (since the meter will never be full). So I continually sleep 11 hours, drink water, and repeat. 5 days, 14 hours. Best run yet, and I probably could have made it to 6 days if I remembered those emergency stims. This one was rather boring though since I never really had to deal with Fluffy at all. Maybe Scruffy's cave will be more challenging... I might do that next.

Oh right, I completely forgot about the Bleak Inlet Cannery. That one would be really hard... but worth a shot

There are a lot of times when I'm in a pinch and I need a few more minutes of fire but I only have tinder. It would be awesome if you could burn tinder for another 2 minutes of fire. I think, at the very least, tinder should slightly improve your fire starting chances even after fire starting level 3.

Right, there's a lot of luck with whether or not you'll get food. There can be a lot of ways to do the challenge though, like what you mentioned or allowing 24 hours to gear up before entering the dam, etc. You can also do the challenge in Scruffy's cave in Desolation Point, which has deer carcasses. Less luck and more skill there, but super dark...

Basically, survive for as long as possible in the Carter Hydro Dam on a build that is older than version 1.0, and you cannot kill Fluffy. This was originally created by the YouTuber GELtaz. I tried the challenge on Silent Hunter (the oldest version that's not alpha) and Faithful Cartographer (the newest version that still has Fluffy). It was intense. Silent Hunter Run: I created new saves until I spawned in front of the Carter Hydro Dam in Mystery Lake. I ran straight inside and did not pick up anything from outside (there wasn't anything to pick up outside back then anyways, though lol). The time is early morning. My least favorite aspect of the Silent Hunter build is the terrible lighting, and it's nearly pitch black inside this early. The light gets better in the afternoon, but not a whole lot. I light a match once inside and start grabbing as much stuff as I can before Fluffy comes upstairs. I ran straight into the room with the workbench and searched the first aid kit and all of the drawers. The first aid kit contained a bandage and antibiotics, which will be very helpful. No antiseptic, though. I got lucky with the workbench and got a flare, and also found the flare that I think is almost guaranteed to spawn. I can hear wolf footsteps below me; she's coming upstairs now. There's a special corner in that room that the wolf can't always reach you from, so I duck in there (it's beside one of the computer-box things) and wait. Sure enough, Fluffy strolls by and roams around the top floor for a bit. There's an opportunity for me to run out and sneak downstairs while she's in the front room, but I decide to play it safe and wait for her to go back down. While hiding in my corner, I take some time to forage reclaimed wood for about two hours. There is rarely any water in here, so I'll have to boil some downstairs in the fire barrel at some point. Once it sounds like the wolf is downstairs, I quickly scour the large main room. The lantern is on the shelf like normal, so I light that and search the second upstairs room. Only after searching 4 file cabinets, however, Fluffy is already heading upstairs. The hard part is that wolves not only smell, but hear you as well. The moment I walk out of my "safe zone," Fluffy turns around and starts coming back up. Again, back into my corner to wait for Fluffy to leave. And once again, I head out as soon as I see her back downstairs. I shuffle back and forth a couple more times until I search out the remaining upstairs rooms. The lockers were mostly empty; a couple had clothes, but it's warm enough in here that they won't matter. I did find plenty of rifle rounds, but no food or water; not even a pry bar. Pretty bad luck so far, hopefully there's a rifle downstairs or some food in the safe. I'll be taking damage from dehydration very soon; it's time to head downstairs. I'd rather scare Fluffy than Fluffy scare me, so with a flare in hand, I wait in my safe corner for her to come upstairs. It's not long before she notices me and charges into the room. This is where it gets good. I toss the flare at her and scare her off. In the heat of the moment, however, I get confused on where she went... It sounded like she ran behind those computers on the other side of the room, so I quickly bounced out. However, she in fact did run outside of the room, and I walked straight into a wolf struggle. No tool, just my bare hands. The weird struggle mechanics throw me off for a second, but I'm able to scare her away with 52% condition. Only losing 48% is actually not bad at all for not having a tool; the struggles were much more fatal back then. Inevitably, I am now bleeding with no antiseptic. I use the bandage and hope that the wound does not become infected later. Anyways, that's a bridge I'll cross later. It's time to chase Fluffy downstairs. I'm able to pass through the entire hallway downstairs without being bothered. I quickly do a circle around the entire downstairs to check for the gun and other loot, while Fluffy growls at the flare from behind. No gun, but there is a grape soda. Not much but it will give me a few extra hours to live. I'm hoping to get some food and antiseptic somewhere, but the only useful supplies I come across are some pieces of cedar wood. Literally no food... this run won't last long lol. I continue throwing the flare at Fluffy as she nears, and then continuing to search. Well, that's about all I'm going to get as far as supplies go. The only food and water I found in the entire upper dam was a grape soda. I'll need to make some water if I want to maximize my survive time, though. I start a fire in the fire barrel before my flare dies and throw all of my wood on. As night approaches, I boil 10 kilos of water while Fluffy watches from a distance. She eventually runs away from the fire, and later gets stuck on the stairs on the other side of the room. I go ahead and forage every bit of wood I can from the forage mechanic, and keep the fire burning until morning. Once I'm confident that Fluffy is still stuck on the stairs, I use my last flare (just to be safe) and run upstairs. I'm starving and tired at this point, and the infection risk is about 80% now. 37% condition left. I quickly open the safe and find, drum roll please... a stupid pair of boots and a box of rifle ammo. No food?? Welp, it's time to sleep off the rest of the hours I can get. After heading back into my safe zone and sleeping about 4 hours, the wound becomes infected. I can use the antibiotics to stop health loss, But I'm still starving. I sleep until I die at 1 day, 15 hours, and 43 minutes. I managed to survive 4 days in this challenge a few months ago, but that was with an MRE and some other food. This challenge on this version of TLD is too stressful for me to try again lol, we'll see if I can beat 1 day and 15 hours in Faithful Cartographer. Working on the Faithful Cartographer run right now. At least the lighting is much better and the wolves don't look terrifying, but they run much faster. Rest is a resource in this version, too, so we'll see which one is harder.

I tried it out and no, it doesn't look like you can. At least not very easily. But if you go the normal way up the stairs, you can jump down where the railing is broken onto the other side. You shouldn't take damage.