I am available to answer questions

[Thrasador]

Until further notice I am available to answer questions that any new players have about the game.

Feel free to private message me via the forum's messaging system.

Obviously you are welcome to use the forums for the same purpose, but I was thinking some people may be nervous to ask all questions in a public forum for fear of sounding silly or something like that. Mostly everyone on this forum is very nice, but sometimes asking things publicly can still make some people nervous.....

So if that is the case you can ask me, however I am not an employee of Hinterland and obviously I don't know the answer to everything. I am just a fellow gamer who seldom sleeps and enjoys answering questions.

If I don't write back immediately, it is because I am asleep. I apologize if that is the case, and I will respond when I wake up.

[Carbon]

Ok...where are my keys?

 It's great that you offer, but it's also good if the questions get asked on the forum for all to see, learn and respond to. There are a wide range of people here with varying levels of experience, perspective and and skill and just when you think you know it all, someone comes forward and teaches you something new.

[Thrasador]

It's ok @Carbon, I asked permission first. This is for the off chance someone specifically doesn't wish to ask a question for all to see...

If they don't have an issue with using the public forums, they are obviously free to ask in the forums as I stated....

Also I covered I don’t know the answer to everything, as I am not a Hinterland employee. Even if I was, I still wouldn't know where you left your keys....

[Carbon]

 Sure and I don't want you to think I was saying anything negative about the idea.

 The search function is also useful for people; when I first arrived here not that long ago, I found that there is nothing new under the sun; most of my questions had been asked before and I quickly found them and subsequent solutions offered by seasoned players such as yourself simply by using the search.

[Thrasador]

More than likely no one will be asking me for help anyways, I was just throwing it out there...mostly because I am bored, lol. Also, I do like answering questions and being helpful/useful....

[Mel Guille]

@Carbon Did you check the pockets of your other coat, yet?

[ChapnCrunch]

I have a question. I keep hearing about "Prepper's Caches," but after about 200 hours of playing in Survival (formerly Sandbox), and fairly thoroughly exploring every region except TWM, I have never run into anything called "Prepper's Cache."  I've even seen them on maps online, but never in game. Is this slang? Are occasional basements of ruined buildings I find the kind of thing people are talking about, or is there an actual thing called "Prepper's Cache" in the game? 

[Thrasador]

Yes, there are indeed Preppers Caches also referred to as Bunkers in The Long Dark Wiki guides. However they do not exist on Interloper, as they often contain a lot of useful stuff which would make Interloper "too easy." So if you only play on Interloper that would be the main reason you never found one....

If you play on Stalker or easier there is ONE bunker in one of about 8 randomly picked "off the beaten path" locations in Mystery Lake that is chosen upon each new Sandbox playthrough. There is also one randomly placed one in Pleasant Valley, and one static "Abandoned Prepper Cache" also in Pleasant Valley. 

The type of bunker and what it contains is based on where it spawned on the map, there are several different general types like clothes, food, tools, or weapons.

If you wish to cheat there are several maps available if you Google "long dark mystery lake map" and/or "long dark plesant valley map." The bunkers on said maps are typically red squares. Like I said there will only be one randomly placed bunker on each of those two maps....so you may have to check several of the spots to find it....or if you are unlucky all of the possible spots. With the exception of the abandoned one in Pleasant Valley, the abandoned one is always in the same place....

Lastly they look like a steel metal hatch in the ground....kind of like "The Hatch" that the survivors found on the show "Lost."

[Fyn]

I've got a question, good sir!

Does stamina improve over play time? And cold tolerance? Because that would be what would happen to any human being in this situation, but I haven't survived enough to know.

[Thrasador]

10 hours ago, Fyn said:

I've got a question, good sir!

Does stamina improve over play time? And cold tolerance? Because that would be what would happen to any human being in this situation, but I haven't survived enough to know.

Sorry about the delay....

So far in the Sandbox and in the Story the physical attributes of your character never improve. You never get stronger, faster, or can run longer.

They have added Feats at least for Sandbox mode where you can run a little longer....but you have to earn it by running for a certain distance in game.

I believe feats can be viewed from the Badges section off the Main Menu. 

There are skills that improve through use, and skill books to research to improve most skills in Sandbox....like fire starting, ice fishing, etc....

 

[Fyn]

Thanks! I hope they add this in the future

[Thrasador]

No problem, I hope so too. Many, many people have asked for/suggested variations of this request in the Wish List section since the games' conception. Personally I'd love an encumbrance feat for walking or running x number of kilometers over-encumbered. Or the ability to get slightly stronger in the game over time if you eat right, and climb ropes, chop wood, etc. To maybe be able to carry another 5 kilos or so....

[Prestermatt]

I want an "Iron Stomach" feat, so I can laugh at that 5% can of dog food.

[Thrasador]

20 hours ago, Prestermatt said:

I want an "Iron Stomach" feat, so I can laugh at that 5% can of dog food.

Lol, not bad. Technically they say any can of dog food can make you sick.  Even ones in decent shape....it must be a pretty low chance though, because I have eaten quite a few, and I think maybe got sick from it once and it was in pretty bad shape I believe . I'd like an iron stomach feat too that makes like any food safe until like 20 condition....including dog food. I believe most canned and processed foods are safe until 20 condition according to the wiki at least. It also states sodas are ALWAYS safe. Once you get cooking to level 5 anything you cook....meat or canned goods that you cook are safe no matter how rotten....

[Winnsford]

On ‎8‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 5:45 PM, ChapnCrunch said:

I have a question. I keep hearing about "Prepper's Caches," but after about 200 hours of playing in Survival (formerly Sandbox), and fairly thoroughly exploring every region except TWM, I have never run into anything called "Prepper's Cache."  I've even seen them on maps online, but never in game. Is this slang? Are occasional basements of ruined buildings I find the kind of thing people are talking about, or is there an actual thing called "Prepper's Cache" in the game? 

In over 800 hours I've found one on ML. I wouldn't say I spend a lot of time looking for them, but I do explore a lot and would call them rare. The one I found was near the Trapper's Homestead.

[Thrasador]

Just now, Winnsford said:

In over 800 hours I've found one on ML. I wouldn't say I spend a lot of time looking for them, but I do explore a lot and would call them rare. The one I found was near the Trapper's Homestead.

Like I said it moves every time you begin a new game. There is only one per game in ML and PV, and there are only about 8 different spots they CAN be on each map. Once you learn all the possible spots, you can find it every game if you check each spot.

There are video guides on YouTube showing you where each one COULD be on each map. They are typically up high, and next to mountains you can't pass. In PV, I studied the map, and if you start up on the west side by the abandoned one and do a loop south and then east around the edge of the map you could hit most of the spots in a day.....two max if you dilly-dally. It's simply a matter of checking all the spots they COULD be...

The ones in ML are a bit all over. Even though it is a smaller map than PV, you have to pretty much walk every corner of ML to check every spot, so I say you would be hard pressed to get it done in a day....

[JAFO]

23 hours ago, Winnsford said:

I wouldn't say I spend a lot of time looking for them, but I do explore a lot and would call them rare.

They're not actually rare.. just not so easy to find. As @Thrasador said, there is one guaranteed to be in ML, and there are two guaranteed to be in PV (one is always in the same place, the other is not). But some of the possible locations are in places you might not normally go, so they take some hunting down.

[Frosty]

I jus crafted my first bear skin bedroll and it says that the smell might scare animals away. So for example - if my fire dies out while sleeping next to it would I be safe from attack? Does it work similar to the intimidation possibility with the wolf skin coat?

[Thrasador]

5 minutes ago, Frosty said:

I jus crafted my first bear skin bedroll and it says that the smell might scare animals away. So for example - if my fire dies out while sleeping next to it would I be safe from attack? Does it work similar to the intimidation possibility with the wolf skin coat?

Allegedly....that's what the word on the street says...

[JAFO]

13 minutes ago, Thrasador said:

Allegedly....that's what the word on the street says...

Seconded.. (and there are rumours that even if it sometimes does scare wolves off, when it comes to bears, it just pisses them off even more. )

[Stormwolf1O1]

3 minutes ago, JAFO said:

Seconded.. (and there are rumours that even if it sometimes does scare wolves off, when it comes to bears, it just pisses them off even more. )

So it doesn't release enticing bear pheromones? Huh, this is news to me!

[Frosty]

21 minutes ago, Thrasador said:

Allegedly....that's what the word on the street says...

OK ty

I would rather hear what the word from the wild says though 

4 minutes ago, JAFO said:

Seconded.. (and there are rumours that even if it sometimes does scare wolves off, when it comes to bears, it just pisses them off even more. )

Oh great 

[JAFO]

Just now, Frosty said:

Oh great 

Mind you, I haven't tested this myself.. let us know how it goes for you, please.. 

[Frosty]

3 minutes ago, JAFO said:

Mind you, I haven't tested this myself.. let us know how it goes for you, please.. 

I an planning to explore Pleasant Valley soon which has a lot of bears from what I hear so hopefully I won't get into that situation but I'll be sure to share any results if it does 

[Stormwolf1O1]

16 hours ago, Frosty said:

I an planning to explore Pleasant Valley soon which has a lot of bears from what I hear so hopefully I won't get into that situation but I'll be sure to share any results if it does 

A bear patrols the Farmstead area frequently, he's rather hard to miss. I'd start with him. There are also several bear caves scattered around.

Edit: I call the Farmstead bear Jimmy. Because he looks like a Jimmy to me.

Edit 2: Was doing Hopeless Rescue, running through PV and found a bear coming out from his cave for a morning walk, over near Long Curve. Although I'm aiming, I left him unharmed. 

I'll call this one Doctor Bear, as his cave is right next to where the PV Medical Prepper cache spawns!