You Never Forget Your Many Deaths


Vhalkyrie

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Speaking of anniversaries: there is also a big one coming up for me. Any idea how I could celebrate it? I´m kind of suicidal right now. :winky:Maybe I just run naked and screaming onto the thin ice? Or set some challenge like hunting a bear at night? Illuminating it´s body with 7 Lanterns afterwards? Suggestions welcome ^^

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33 minutes ago, June said:

Wonderfully written! I felt the tense of your anniversary hunt. :love: Glad you made it.  Allthough the "waiting for game statistics to update" somehow broke the roleplay aspect^^ 

Did you ever encounter a sleeping bear, btw? It freaked me out so much the first time. I didn´t know if it was dead, but since I had not agressed any bear, it must have been sleeping. The next day, it was roaming the perimeter again. Anyone can confirm this? 

Thank you for your comment - glad you enjoyed it!

Fair enough :P  Looking at the Game Stats was cheating a bit, but given I was robbed of my last bear, I figured I was owed this!

Yes, I encountered a sleeping bear.  When I lived on Mystery Lake, a bear spawned in the cave near the Trapper's Cabin.  This made it very difficult to trap bunnies, so I had to watch the bear from a safe distance in order to check my traps.  Sometimes the bear would go inspect my traps, then wander back in his cave and go to sleep!  I laughed when I saw it!

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10 minutes ago, June said:

Speaking of anniversaries: there is also a big one coming up for me. Any idea how I could celebrate it? I´m kind of suicidal right now. :winky:Maybe I just run naked and screaming onto the thin ice? Or set some challenge like hunting a bear at night? Illuminating it´s body with 7 Lanterns afterwards? Suggestions welcome ^^

WOWOW!  That's quite the anniversary! What to do?  Hmm.  I figured you have done it all by now! :D 

Night time bear hunt sounds exciting - Ninja Bear Challenge!  :ninja::ninja::ninja:

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I have woken a sleeping bear! Quite by accident, too! 

Fortunately it was in my Pilgrim game, and ran off bawling in fright. 

@Vhalkyrie Quite a gripping account of your near death experience! It reminds me of my own with Fluffy in the dam in this current play through - though I had patched myself up and filled up on calories and water, I was still losing condition. Only thing left for me to do was to crawl into the sleeping bag that I had just laid down when Fluffy charged. 

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2 hours ago, June said:

challenge accepted! :ph34r: i´ll figure out a way to properly display it here. And if I die, then so  be it! ^^

edit: 16 days to figure out how to do it, lol

Looking forward to it!!!  Good luck and happy hunting!!  ^.^

2 hours ago, hauteecolerider said:

I have woken a sleeping bear! Quite by accident, too! 

Fortunately it was in my Pilgrim game, and ran off bawling in fright. 

@Vhalkyrie Quite a gripping account of your near death experience! It reminds me of my own with Fluffy in the dam in this current play through - though I had patched myself up and filled up on calories and water, I was still losing condition. Only thing left for me to do was to crawl into the sleeping bag that I had just laid down when Fluffy charged. 

:D:D:D Hilarious!  I bet you both surprised each other!

It's terrifying, isn't it?  Even though you've applied bandages and antiseptic, you're still dying.  You climb into the bed/bedroll and wonder if it will be enough to save you...or you die in your sleep.  

I held my breath when I waited to see if the "fading into the Long Dark" screen came up.  It was an exhale when I woke to sun shining on the bed!

BTW, hope you are feeling better.

2 hours ago, illanthropist said:

Yay, gratz on your 60th.  Is it daft that one should feel bad when a kill isn't clean?  I always do, especially when you witness it finally fall to the ground giving out a last groan!

I used to feel bad...except twice I have been killed or near killed when a wolf/bear near death charged me!  Now I don't watch them anymore - I just GTFO!

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My earlier stories were told from the point of view of me, the player, about deceased characters; reflections and musings on my mishaps and stumbles in the game.  I wasn't really intending to tell them from a roleplay perspective, but now that I've switched to a current playthough with a living character, I'll try to keep references to game stats and RNG to a minimum. ;) 

I recently discovered a wolf behavior that allows me to dispatch them relatively easily.  While this isn't a spoiler free forum, I'll avoid mentioning it specifically.  It's not a secret method (probably old hat to the long time players), and a little research will explain how to do it.

Although shooting bears and running the Olympic dash to the car was thrilling, I wondered if my wolf hunting method would work for bears.  I didn't want to risk my 70 day run, so I took a break from my current game in order to make a new sandbox game and try it.

It took a couple of days to re-establish a new character.  Since this was a playground sandbox where I wanted to test a specific scenario, I didn't feel bad about rerolling the game until I got the spawns that I wanted.  I wanted the rifle either at the Camp Office, or Trappers.  If it wasn't at either, I rerolled.

At this point, I was able to get a functional character within 8 game days.  I can confirm that my wolf hunting method also works on bears, so this will free my current character to explore the maps the way I want.  While it makes bear hunts more consistent, it isn't entirely risk free.  There's a number of things that can go wrong if I don't set it up correctly - or the weather changes.  And no - it's not any kind of pathing exploit.  I refuse to do that.  It's completely a game behavior.

I started my first games on Voyager and got wrecked by wolves, bears, and the environment - which was awesome.  However, my direction sense was poor and I wasn't getting very far.  My "Skyrim-style" of wander-until-I-find-something-interesting wasn't working because the environment is far-far more deadly.  I started a Pilgrim game so I could explore the maps spoiler free, but without the wildlife issues.

I succeeded in wrapping my head around the maps, but the game was too easy.  Resource management and weather were a non issue, and didn't require much thought.  Ironically, I found it more difficult to obtain wolf and bear pelts because they ran away.  It took more effort to sneak up on an eating wolf to kill it versus one that would confront me.  On Voyager, I don't needed to kill anything else for food because of too many wolves.  I could scare them away, but they'll harass me again later.  If I kill them, at least I'll have a couple of days peace.

Stalker, I'm not too proud to say, completely kicked my butt the few times I tried it.  However, I loved how completely wild and utterly deadly the weather is.  Maybe I'll try it again if I make 200 days.

I wish the game had a "custom" sandbox where you could toggle behaviors to different levels.  I would turn animal behavior to "Pilgrim", resource management to "Voyager", and weather to "Stalker".  That would be my ideal experience.

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Day 75: Moving Day

The bear hide took approximately 10 days to cure, and I made preparations to leave when the bear skin roll completed.  I mostly passed the time in between collecting firewood, sticks and boiling a stockpile of water.  If my planned trip was successful, when I returned to the farmhouse, all I had to do was walk through the door, kick off my boots, and start a welcoming fire.

As the bear hide neared its curing period, I moved supplies to a house near the Abandoned Mine.  I moved essentials like a spare hatchet, hunting knife, bullets and arrows.  I moved all perishables like matches for easy access in case supplies in the coastal town were scarce.  I left all extra supplies and the best conditioned canned goods.   It took me approximately 3 trips with my pack 10 kilos overweight.  I try never to go over 40 kilos in case I need to run.

The forestry maps I found in the Mystery Lake Camp Office indicated the mine leads to the Coastal Highway, my intended destination.  My purpose for the expedition was supply collection.  I did not plan to inhabit it long term.  While a coastal home overlooking the sea might have been idyllic pre-global disaster, I didn't particularly relish the bone chilling humidity and thick opaque fog I recalled from my youth.  Those conditions used to cause pile up accidents on the highways.  I wondered what it was like now when everyone panicked.  I imagined a graveyard of abandoned cars.

When the bear hide finished curing, I set to work on the bedroll immediately.  All food, water, and firewood were adequately stocked, so I sewed full time.  I stored extra water bottles in the basement so I could take a drink during breaks.  I worked in 4 hour batches.

As soon as it was complete, I took my last round of spare supplies (cured deer, wolf and rabbit hide for clothing repairs) to the house below the mines.  Though I waited for this moment until I completed the bearskin roll, I wondered if a synthetic might actually be better for lightweight travel.The bearskin roll is quite costly to repair (I would need to kill another bear), while I can sew curtains into the synthetic sleeping bag.    I took a spare bedroll from the closet, and I would see which was more practical for this expedition.  

I arrived around 4 hours until dusk.  After unloading my pack, I wandered in the back hills to collect sticks and scout out the terrain.  I spotted two wolves patrolling around the path to the mines.  I groaned.  I tried to only kill for necessity, but the wolves were overly aggressive.  And seemingly endless.  I killed one, and one returns to replace it in a few days.  I had an ample supply of spare wolf pelts to repair my coat, so I wouldn't kill them if they weren't a threat.  However, this pair blocked my path.  Unfortunately, I would have to deal with them.

I spent the night cleaning my rifle, counting arrows, and preparing torches.  Tomorrow, weather permitting, I will dispatch the wolves so I can move my supplies to the mines in safety.

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A Night at the Unnamed Pond

 

As promised, I celebrated my 700th day of survival with a bear hunt. To make it a bit of a challenge, I picked the unnamed pond as my hunting ground and decided to do it at night. I took a really long nap until the sun set above the hills, had a decent dinner and cleaned my rifle. When darkness settled in, I started moving. 20160318184536_1.thumb.jpg.9b64548371a4e

I didn´t take any meat with me to not attract wolves, but as soon as I climbed the hill between my cabin and the pond the first wolf charged at me. I didn´t take any chances and shot it right between the eyes. Then I reached the pond. I could see the shape of the bear against the snow in the distance, while another wolf had sensed me in the dark and moved towards me. I waited until it was in range and killed it. Surprisingly that didn´t scare the bear, but made it come in my direction instead. Now I had to be quick. I ran towards the hunter´s blind, the bear started running for me, growling. But i made it in time.  

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I crouched in the blind, while the beast was around me, circling my wooden refuge. It made the most terrible noises, sniffing and growling, breathing heavily. Everytime I peeked over the railing, it came running for me, his yellow eyes glowing in the darkness. I didn´t feel too safe, but I knew it wouldn´t climb into the blind. After I calmed myself down, I took aim and waited for it to charge again. When it was close enough, I fired a shot at his head. It released a terrible high pitched sound of pain and ran off. I was surprised how fast it could run and it dissappeared behind a hill to the east. 

Since it wasn´t the first bear I hunted, I kind of expected it to come running back to it´s cave after a while. But that wasn´t the case. Instead, I found myself surrounded by wolves. From my safe haven of the blind, I killed a third and a forth wolf and decided to wait for morning and then search for the bear that I hopefully killed.20160318190208_1.thumb.jpg.d27269e3f90f320160318190222_1.thumb.jpg.a8d3e4aadc214

 

A cold morning came but the bear hadn´t returned. I was tired as hell, but I needed to know where the bear went. Did I kill it? Or did I just wound it?

Around the blind was the carnage I inflicted. I never had fired so much shots in a row, and my rifle was in bad shape. I decided to gut one of the wolves and make some coffee, because I felt close to fainting.

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I had to find the bear! I searched for 4 or 5 hours in the area around the pond, but I just couldn´t find it. I was so tired that my condition started to drop rapidly, so I crawled back to the small hut close to the pond and slept the rest of the day.

Before nightfall, I went back to the trapper´s cabin and had dinner. I slept the whole night like a dead man. 

In the morning, I decided to try it one last time. The bear had to be somewhere. I went through the woods and had to kill another wolf. I crossed the railroad and looked at the shores of Mystery Lake, but it was crawling with wolves. Since I was running, I got tired pretty fast and finally gave up the search. I turned around and started to make my way back to my cabin, dissapointed that I hadn´t managed to find my 700 day trophy. But suddenly I saw a black shape in the distance. It could have been a rock, but it looked kind of misplaced against the snow and I ran towards it. And there he was!

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I sunk into the snow and leaned against the side of my victim, happy that I found it after all. I started a fire and had another coffee, before I took his pelt and some of it´s already decaying meat and made my way back home.

 

(not my native language, so there might be mistakes) ;P

 

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What a hunt!  A circling wolf pack and a bear!  I'm so glad you were able to find the bear.  Well done, June!  I knew you'd be awesome! :D  Happy 700th Day!!!

I'll be over at your place for bear burgers. ;) 

(The glowing paw prints in the lantern light is pretty cool!)

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Day 90: Pleasant

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I celebrated my 90th Day a bit more low key than my 60th: I went fishing!  After spending a week in the Coastal Highway, I was ready for low-key R&R.

I successfully scavenged as many valuables as I could from the coast.  I searched everything except the houses on the waterfront and the islands - I'll come back for those at another time.  Obtaining the tools in the gas station was my objective, everything else was gravy.  The most valuable items I retrieved were a heavy hammer, hacksaw, 7 maple saplings, 4 whetstones, and 10 coffee packs.

It was not easy.  The coast was infested with rabid wolves and bears.  I killed 7 wolves and 1 bear, none of which I intended, but I had no choice.

The bear was the most disturbing.  It caught me almost by surprise as I came out of one of the cabins, and I could not avoid it.  It was a clean death with one bullet and one arrow in its head.  After I skinned it, I went inside to let it cure while I continued my supply run.  

However, when I stepped outside, I swore I heard the bear whine as though it were its one last breath.  It startled me, and I jumped thinking there must be another bear.  Or zombie bear.  

I saw only the dead bear.

I was certain I killed it.  Did I skin it partially alive?  Did I only hit the part of the brain that disabled motor functions?  I'm not certain if it was a trick of the wind, or my imagination, but it haunts me.

The coast was beautiful.  The weather, while occasionally severe, had relatively short storms compared to Pleasant Valley.  I had many days of agreeable travel weather.

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The wildlife was the main hazard, and I was continually on my guard.  Wolves surprised me several times, but I was able to buy time by throwing scraps of food at them before putting them down.  I whispered prayers to release them to the Long Dark, and took only their hides as I wanted nothing else.  Extra meat and guts were not needed, and would only weigh me down.  I already had enough to transport.

When I exited the mine to Pleasant Valley, I was immediately greeted with a blizzard.  It took me a few days to finish moving my goods to the Farmhouse as I waited out storms.  I did not have any close encounters with wolves or bears, although I saw them.  They were easily avoided.  After the stress of running through the Coastal Highway, one word comes to mind: Pleasant.

I'm taking a few days to recuperate with low key fishing and rabbit snaring, then I will be off to spend the next month on a 'vacation' in Desolation Point.  I found that I tried to take too much with me to Coastal Highway, and it bogged me down.   I packed extra supplies that I never needed.  When I travel to Desolation Point, I'm going extra light.  I'm taking only the essentials that I can carry in one packload, and will reestablish everything else I need on location.

For now, I'm safely back home.

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@Vhalkyrie: I have some questions, if I may:

I see your hours awake are actually more than your hours asleep. Can you tell me how you achieve this? I usually sleep 10 hours, sometimes more due to cure times of hide or sickness. In my current stalker run, the sleep hours actually are higher already after 30 days. Somehow doesn´t feel right  -.-

Secondly, I don´t know what to do with my 700 day sandbox, maybe you have a suggestion. ^^. I created it a while back when leaderboards somehow seemed to matter and I tried to get the most days out of it. I used hibernation/starvation and slept 300 days or even more. Since this is totally not my goal anymore, I can´t look at those massive sleep hours without feeling like it´s a cheated survival character. I thought about staying awake for some weeks with coffee or letting my condition drop of exhaustion, but this seems crappy as well. But I cannot just delete it somehow, lol. Maybe you have an idea for an extraordinary death or a solution, just let me know :crosseye:

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On 3/12/2016 at 5:16 AM, Patrick Carlson said:

The Long Dark's Sandbox truly is a story engine. :durbear:

Personally, I would eat the granola bar. If it all really does fall apart here pretty soon, I'd love to have a Nature Valley tucked away in my pocket. ^_^

Putting on best Homer Simpson voice... "HMMMM....Nature Valley...

They are now to be had in Der Vaterland, saw some a couple of weeks ago and nostagia dictated that I must buy a pack of 5 Honey and Oat, with a freebee of Canadian Maple Syrup thrown in.  Dry little buggers, and teeth-achingly sweet.  Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

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48 minutes ago, June said:

I see your hours awake are actually more than your hours asleep. Can you tell me how you achieve this? I usually sleep 10 hours, sometimes more due to cure times of hide or sickness. In my current stalker run, the sleep hours actually are higher already after 30 days. Somehow doesn´t feel right  -.-

I generally only sleep 8-10 hours.  I might 'nap' during the day to pass time during a blizzard - lol.  But I'm still awake 10-14 hours a day, so that keeps me above my sleep time on average.  I mostly just walk around picking up sticks - I don't chop many logs anymore, so I guess that keeps my fatigue low.  I also don't generally run much, so that also keeps fatigue low.   I guess I just don't do many things to make me sleepy!

I generally wake up at breaking dawn (12-13 hours until darkness).  I move supplies around in my pack for the next hour or two, then go outside at 10 hours until darkness to pickup sticks, hunt, or whatever.  I stay outside until about 2 hours before darkness.  I'm awake 10 hours at this point.  Then I spend the next 2-4 hours boiling water, cooking, or make repairs.

48 minutes ago, June said:

Secondly, I don´t know what to do with my 700 day sandbox, maybe you have a suggestion. ^^. :crosseye:

Aww gosh, but you still have an established character that you can have a lot of fun with to experiment with new maps and stuff when it comes out - don't suicide completely!  D:  I mean, if a mishap happens, it happens, but don't jump off a cliff or anything!

The Ninja Bear Hunt was cool to read about!  One thing I was going to ask - how did you stay warm while out all night?  Did you have to do anything special, or was it not cold enough because there wasn't a blizzard?

For your next challenge?  Hmmm.  Something occurred to me recently, I wondered what would happen.  Maybe live in a bear cave for a few days or week, but you can't kill it - lol.  You'd have to build a fire at the cave entrance to keep it outside, then shoo it away when you want to leave.  Your firewood stash would have to be pretty substantial.  I don't even know if it would work to keep it out of its cave, but it would be pretty unnerving to go to sleep with the bear growling wanting to go to bed!

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5 minutes ago, Vhalkyrie said:

Aww gosh, but you still have an established character that you can have a lot of fun with to experiment with new maps and stuff when it comes out - don't suicide completely!

Thanks, that really saved me! On the one hand, today I really think it´s worse than cheating to hibernate or starve to get survival time. I wanted to get on the leaderbords back then, at a very early stage of the game. That´s why I can´t look at the character anymore and wanted to suicide. (I mean, you have almost half of his awake-time after 90 days Oo)

On the other hand, he now has reached late game somehow, with next to no matches left, wasted bullets and whetstones/repair kits getting scarce. Thanks for keeping me going!  MAybe it is a waste to let him die.:winky:

And oh my god that bear challenge sounds hot!!! I will most definitely try it and let you know in this nice and growing thread! ^^

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24 minutes ago, Vhalkyrie said:

 

One thing I was going to ask - how did you stay warm while out all night?  Did you have to do anything special, or was it not cold enough because there wasn't a blizzard?

 

I made sure that all of my clothes (fully crafted wolf/deer/rabbit equipment) were in 100% condition. No problems with the cold, no need for a fire. It was a "warm" and snowy night, though ^^

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13 minutes ago, June said:

Thanks, that really saved me! On the one hand, today I really think it´s worse than cheating to hibernate or starve to get survival time. I wanted to get on the leaderbords back then, at a very early stage of the game. That´s why I can´t look at the character anymore and wanted to suicide. (I mean, you have almost half of his awake-time after 90 days Oo)

On the other hand, he now has reached late game somehow, with next to no matches left, wasted bullets and whetstones/repair kits getting scarce. Thanks for keeping me going!  MAybe it is a waste to let him die.:winky:

Oh well - just look at it as a test character!  So you tested hibernation and starvation. ;)  Now test other stuff!

 

13 minutes ago, June said:

And oh my god that bear challenge sounds hot!!! I will most definitely try it and let you know in this nice and growing thread! ^^

Let me know if it works!  I don't even know if it does, but I would like to know if in an emergency, if I can take shelter in a bear cave and keep the occupant from coming home!  Good luck!

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