Faithful Cartographer Interloper Run I

[Hotzn]

It's a warm Summer evening, the sun is still shining at 8 PM. Blue sky, birds singing, everybody outside for drinks, girls wearing short skirts and guys inconspicuously flexing their muscles. Could there be a better time for another Interloper run? Old Hotzn, it' been months since you last played. Can you still do it? How far will you go to entertain these forums?

OK, lessee... hm, the new logo... intro seems new as well... ah, can select story mode now? Click... placeholders. Well, better than nothing, heh. Chck, check... Freerunner Badge still there (don't have others yet)... OK. Sandbox... Interloper... pick the girl... hmmm, should I activate feats? No. And off we go...

Day 1:

I spawn at... press TAB... noon or something. Little sun icon seems to be at its peak. A short look around tells me I am near Timberwolf Mountain. Just a few steps from the first rope (cliff across the lake opposite from Mountaineer's Hut). So, what's the plan? It would be daunting to make a dash for the summit, but... a) it's been some time that I have been playing, b) there might be new features making things more difficult and c) I don't know the way to the summit too well. No. I'll try to reach the hut without running into wolves, grab what is there (surely matches, hopefully a hacksaw) make a fire to warm up if needed and then try and reach the bunker at the transition to Pleasant Valley by nightfall. The question is whether I should pause to gather cattails on the lake. Maybe yes, food could become scarce.

Check temperature... hmmm... pressing TAB just gives me three downwards arrows. So it's... cold? Brrr... the new icons make me shiver. They look unfinished. Better get moving, I can play around with the controls when I am somewhere warmer...

Trying to reach the hut, I soon realize I am NOT where I thought I was... no lake to be found... grrr... where is this place? I intend to climb atop a little crest to get a better overview... WOOF, WOOF! Panic ensues, I turn back and run for it, hoping to break some line of sight, then suddenly stumble upon a rock with a rope affixed to it, leading down. I manage to climb down without being bitten. Alright, NOW I am where I thought I was before. And yes, a red thermometer appears, much likely telling me that I am starting to freeze. Only moments later, an orange cross joins the red thermometer. Whatever that means (probably risk of hypothermia), I can find out later. I manage to make my way across the lake without finding the fishing hut (or is that gone?), but happily hit the Mountaineer's Hut. Aha... opening a door now seems to take a little time! I like that. A long time ago, I once suggested we should find the occasional door to be closed, requiring a crowbar, lockpick or even a certain key (yeah, remember those adventure games of old?) to open. Because I disliked the easy possibility to escape a wolf by just slipping into any house or car. So now opening takes a little time. Almost as good. Aaand... closing takes time as well. Hmmm... does that make sense game-wise?

I loot the hut: box of 12 wooden matches, sewing kit, Fir and Cedar wood, a hoodie and a ski jacket, a book on fishing, a newspaper, a granola bar, the mountaineer's note. Aaand... magnifying glass! I soon get the strange feeling I may need that, as the first four attempts at lighting a fire with 60% chance fail, and I have lost five matches when I finally get a fire going. I put sticks and wood on it for +13°C, which gives me two arrows up. Don't know how to express this better. I play around a little with my new clothes (inner, outer, inner, outer) and make new tinder plugs from sticks I have collected on the way here. I also found some stones.

When I have warmed up, I stroll across the lake to gather cattails and throw some rocks after rabbits, not hitting any, then - when freezing again - return to the fire in the hut to warm up and make some water. Suggestion for improvement: I would like to see how much time the fire has left from the water melting/boiling menu. Some time later, warm again, I grab six torches from the fire, really not understanding why this was reintroduced. After so much discussion around torch exploits, the brand awa once designed to solve the problem, and it did so elegantly. Why this step backwards? Anyway, I leave for Pleasant Valley at dusk, a torch in my hand. Half the way, my torch is running low, and I want to light another one with it. Don't find out how fast enough, and the torch is out. It's dark now, and I am introduced to the breath clouding my vision. This neither makes sense from a realism point of view nor as a game mechanic. May I suggest to make this breath much less obtrusive at night?

Finally, I reach the transition and the bunker. Pitch black in there... do I really need to waste a match to find the bed? I don't. After running into several lockers and a drawer (and searching them, finding nothing), I stumble onto the bed. Eating the granola bar and some cattails (good thing I got them) and drinking to my satisfaction, I go to sleep for 9 hours.

 

 

[Hotzn]

Day 2:

I wake up at... around dawn. Do I like the new time system? Dunno. The thing is, the old system seemed alright, and it had been changed several times already. Same with the HUD. Not noticeably worse (yet), but not really better either. So why change it - again? I am really curious, has this something to do with the soon-new-to-be Playstation people we will welcome to the family?

Anyway, what's the plan for today? I must press on, but where? Toward the Farmstead? Or to the mine and over to Coastal Highway? I know many people try to hustle for Desolation Point right away to craft the knife and hatchet before the weather turns bad. But old Hotzn is not afraid of the weather. He will demonstrate calmness. And visit the Farmstead.

Unfortunately, A blizzard seems to be blowing this morning. So better search the bunker completely, using a match (argh, I flinch... another precious match). I find nothing. Great. Waiting out the blizzard, I dismantle the crate and cardboard box behind the ladder, in hopes of finding something underneath maybe. Nope.

I then go check outside and find to my dismay that the wind is blowing strongly from the direction I want to travel. I slip back into the bunker to rest in the bed hour-wise, but in the afternoon decide I need to get going. I leave, turn left and keep the mountains to my left shoulder. When I cross the little bridge, I am freezing. I try to huddle down next to rocks on my left, but strangely do not find wind protection there (although judging from the direction the wind is blowing I should). So I move on until I find a spot that seems to work. I settle down to start a fire...

But what is this? I suddenly hear a... a-huffin' and a-puffin', and I know that I should have paused and listened before starting my little fire... because a bear is turning the corner of the rock right now. Will it back off of the mighty human, master over the flame demon? The mighty Hotzn, whose dextrous hands are fidgeting desperately to get this cursed fire going? Will it?

No, it won't. A messy fight ensues, and as Hotzn gets up again he realizes that... he didn't have the heart to tear apart his only pair of socks to make bandages in advance...and that time is running low...

...and so, taking off his socks and trying to harvest them... he fades into the long dark...

[Hotzn]

Ach, Hotzn.