The Apocalypse is localized to Northern Canada (Theory)

[kancollemarinesexpert]

Even with the auroras causing electronics to work someone would have to be actively broadcasting classical music for you to hear something other than static, So my theory is that you're picking up a very distant broadcast. Although i could be wrong and there could just be a DJ who never speaks playing music whenever a aurora occurs.

[Darkestnight]

That and how they talk about "the mainland" peoples as if they were a society with all the resources and power in that timeline, the only way they could realistically make use of those things is if they still had working electricity most of the time, as otherwise, having a large group of people in the cities would lead to massive starvation and riots and disease.

[kancollemarinesexpert]

Just now, Darkestnight said:

That and how they talk about "the mainland" peoples as if they were a society with all the resources and power in that timeline, the only way they could realistically make use of those things is if they still had working electricity most of the time, as otherwise, having a large group of people in the cities would lead to massive starvation and riots and disease.

*spoilers

That's related to an economic collapse that occurred well before the start of the wintermute storyline. The electronic killing event is something you see happen in the story because it causes the plane to crash

[Darkestnight]

 

I just assumed the events coincided and Will and Astrid were unlucky to have been caught in one of the storms is all. As they don't appear to happen THAT often, and she really seems to need to be there in haste.

Yay! Fixed! Ty @kancollemarinesexpert Apparently <> and [] are not compatible even if I had the right idea

[kancollemarinesexpert]

9 minutes ago, Darkestnight said:

<spoiler>I just assumed the events coincided and Will and Astrid were unlucky to have been caught in one of the storms is all. As they don't appear to happen THAT often, and she really seems to need to be there in haste. </spoiler> Apparently I don't know how to use spoiler tags. /cry

 

 

http://thelongdark.wikia.com/wiki/Aurorae http://thelongdark.wikia.com/wiki/First_Flare You can read about the events here http://thelongdark.wikia.com/wiki/The_Collapse

[Darkestnight]

29 minutes ago, kancollemarinesexpert said:

http://thelongdark.wikia.com/wiki/Aurorae http://thelongdark.wikia.com/wiki/First_Flare You can read about them here and it's [spoilers]

Well after reading those links, this is what caught my attention:

Quote

The cause of the First Flare and subsequent Aurorae has been labelled as a geomagnetic storm. Its most immediate effect was the widespread disruption of electronic devices, including lights, cell phones, televisions, radios, power plants, and vehicles. One of the Flare's slower but more devastating effects is the destabilization of weather patterns and wildlife behavior, leading to extreme weather and unusual animal activity in many areas. Due to the loss of worldwide communication and the isolation of the game's setting of Great Bear Island, it is impossible to determine the exact scope of the First Flare; however it is implied that the entire world has been affected, leading to the collapse of civilization. 

I bolded the parts that caught my attention the most, as within 4-5 days of his plane crashing, the wildlife of wolves has already turned into hunt the humans mode. They aren't slowly becoming more aggressive, they are immediately more aggressive than is natural. So I'm not so sure that the "First Flare" is really the one that Astrid and Will experience. Looking also at the 2nd bolded part, how would something that happened less than a week ago cause the IMMEDIATE collapse of civilization? Even with an economic collapse 10 years before, society would adapt and thrive, even if it's in a different format/formula than before.

[RossBondReturns]

I think you don't realize just how much of a reset of civilization the geomagnetic storm would cause.

It's actually worse in reality if you will than in The Long Dark.

So yes indeed civilization would be in a collapsed turmoil state.

And with the geomagnetic storm seeming to have continued ongoing effects...the actual protective sphere of Earth may have been so slammed and disrupted that only a miracle... perhaps Wintermute....can reverse the effects.

And I'm not even getting into the solar radiation.

[TROY]

Well gents, Radio waves are a form of electromagnetic radiation. A geomagnetic event of this magnitude could have both amplified and trapped the last broadcast of a public radio station somewhere on the western coast, and that signal is being perpetually "re-broadcast" by the very event that ended it's transmission.  If the waves are are constantly being strengthened by the energy of the ongoing event, they won't weaken and fade, like radio waves normally do.

It could also be a "canned" broadcast (Many radio stations in rural areas do this) They are un-staffed at night, and simply play from a preselected list.   When the aurora powers the radio, its also powering the transmitter of that now permanently un-staffed station.  Think outside the box. Just enjoy the music.

[Darkestnight]

3 hours ago, RossBondReturns said:

I think you don't realize just how much of a reset of civilization the geomagnetic storm would cause.

It's actually worse in reality if you will than in The Long Dark.

So yes indeed civilization would be in a collapsed turmoil state.

And with the geomagnetic storm seeming to have continued ongoing effects...the actual protective sphere of Earth may have been so slammed and disrupted that only a miracle... perhaps Wintermute....can reverse the effects.

And I'm not even getting into the solar radiation.

I'm fine with that opinion given enough time after such a disaster. But I don't  believe that after a period of a week or two suddenly the worlds gone to hell in a handbasket.

[RossBondReturns]

14 minutes ago, Darkestnight said:

I'm fine with that opinion given enough time after such a disaster. But I don't  believe that after a period of a week or two suddenly the worlds gone to hell in a handbasket.

But it isn't just in a week or two.

First of all there was an economic collapse and untold amount of time before the game even starts.

This was then followed by an ecological collapse.

There could've been many smaller solar events before the crippling "First Flare". In fact the dialogue in that sequence points to this possibility.

The "First Flare" may just be a culmination of prior events the most powerful in a series of solar storm events.

And don't forget that Great Bear Island has suffered from a number of quakes...one of which is implied to have come down on the tunnel entrance that collapsed on the prison transport on Day One.

The sort of radiation that would come through our destroyed protective layer after one of these events would be needless to say...quite deadly...in The Long Dark....it's very bad and has totally screwed with the brains of the local wildlife distorting their usual behavior.

[Fuarian]

On 8/25/2017 at 7:47 PM, RossBondReturns said:

I think you don't realize just how much of a reset of civilization the geomagnetic storm would cause.

It's actually worse in reality if you will than in The Long Dark.

So yes indeed civilization would be in a collapsed turmoil state.

And with the geomagnetic storm seeming to have continued ongoing effects...the actual protective sphere of Earth may have been so slammed and disrupted that only a miracle... perhaps Wintermute....can reverse the effects.

And I'm not even getting into the solar radiation.

Wintermute being the solution to the ongoing perpetual geomagnetic apocalypse would be way too cliche and ridiculous. Even for Hinterland.

[Fuarian]

On 8/25/2017 at 11:33 PM, RossBondReturns said:

But it isn't just in a week or two.

First of all there was an economic collapse and untold amount of time before the game even starts.

This was then followed by an ecological collapse.

There could've been many smaller solar events before the crippling "First Flare". In fact the dialogue in that sequence points to this possibility.

The "First Flare" may just be a culmination of prior events the most powerful in a series of solar storm events.

And don't forget that Great Bear Island has suffered from a number of quakes...one of which is implied to have come down on the tunnel entrance that collapsed on the prison transport on Day One.

The sort of radiation that would come through our destroyed protective layer after one of these events would be needless to say...quite deadly...in The Long Dark....it's very bad and has totally screwed with the brains of the local wildlife distorting their usual behavior.

I like to just think that the radiation doesn't really affect us. Would be too much for a game like this.

[Fuarian]

On 8/25/2017 at 11:11 PM, Darkestnight said:

I'm fine with that opinion given enough time after such a disaster. But I don't  believe that after a period of a week or two suddenly the worlds gone to hell in a handbasket.

Why not? If all electronics globally ceased to function. Maybe more severely around the top and bottom of both hemispheres. Then yes society would fall very quickly. And with winter in full swing.

No heating, no transportation, no communication. At first it wouldn't be that bad but then once food shortages start happening there would be widespread looting and scavenging which would lead to rioting, panic and violence. Afterwards survival would start to kick in, which the availiable authorities setting up refugee camps and such. But even then they wouldn't last. 

In two weeks this is very possible. And it actually happened in some areas on the world. Where I live specifically. Just before I was born and without the geomagnetic storm part. 

[Fuarian]

On 8/25/2017 at 4:10 PM, kancollemarinesexpert said:

Even with the auroras causing electronics to work someone would have to be actively broadcasting classical music for you to hear something other than static, So my theory is that you're picking up a very distant broadcast. Although i could be wrong and there could just be a DJ who never speaks playing music whenever a aurora occurs.

Those radios are quite old. My best guess was that they all have a built in stock music that plays or it's a repeating music track being broadcasted from nearby radio towers. A stock broadcast if you will.

[liam]

Don't forget the first flare was strong enough to burn some isolated houses down, imagine what could happen in a city.

[JAFO]

On 8/30/2017 at 4:49 AM, Fuarian said:

Wintermute being the solution to the ongoing perpetual geomagnetic apocalypse would be way too cliche and ridiculous. Even for Hinterland.

How is Wintermute a "solution" of any kind? It's merely a look at just one of the stories that would play out in the world in such an event.

 

On 8/31/2017 at 10:42 AM, liam said:

Don't forget the first flare was strong enough to burn some isolated houses down, imagine what could happen in a city.

We don't know that.. they could have burnt down at any time during the (roughly) 10 years or so that pass between the Collapse on Great Bear, and the events of Wintermute. Lightning strikes, or even something along the lines of what Grey Mother alludes happened to the Milton School House.

[Fuarian]

17 hours ago, JAFO said:

How is Wintermute a "solution" of any kind? It's merely a look at just one of the stories that would play out in the world in such an event.

 

We don't know that.. they could have burnt down at any time during the (roughly) 10 years or so that pass between the Collapse on Great Bear, and the events of Wintermute. Lightning strikes, or even something along the lines of what Grey Mother alludes happened to the Milton School House.

He said that whatever "Wintermute" is can reverse the effects of the ongoing apocalypse. That is what I meant by "solution." 

And houses burning down to electrical fires is most likely the case. It would explain how small cabins without any stoves in them burned down. And I mean, why would the Milton Residents leave a burned down house standing after all that time? I think Aurora fires makes the most sense. And in the case of a city, pure chaos.

[RossBondReturns]

23 minutes ago, Fuarian said:

He said that whatever "Wintermute" is can reverse the effects of the ongoing apocalypse. That is what I meant by "solution." 

And houses burning down to electrical fires is most likely the case. It would explain how small cabins without any stoves in them burned down. And I mean, why would the Milton Residents leave a burned down house standing after all that time? I think Aurora fires makes the most sense. And in the case of a city, pure chaos.

I said that perhaps "Wintermute" (if it were a code-name for some kind of secret "weather manipulation" thing like the so called H.A.A.R.P). Then it could be used to try and reverse the Quite Apocalypse.

I did not say that it can.

It was the screenwriter in me putting forth a possibility.

[Fuarian]

27 minutes ago, RossBondReturns said:

I said that perhaps "Wintermute" (if it were a code-name for some kind of secret "weather manipulation" thing like the so called H.A.A.R.P). Then it could be used to try and reverse the Quite Apocalypse.

I did not say that it can.

It was the screenwriter in me putting forth a possibility.

Yeah, I get where you're coming from. But I'm saying that it's extremely cliche and unlikely. And the Quiet Apocalypse doesn't have to do anything with the weather or manipulation of it. It's a solar flare. So if anything's being manipulated it's a sun's ejection or highly charged plasma... which is impossible. 

I think Wintermute is simply a codeword for the military to rescue people. In the event of societal collapse. I think Jeramiah and Atwood are veterans. Or it could be an apocalypse prepper codeword. But then it wouldn't be "The most important thing".

[MarrowStone]

I believe the collapse and earthquakes occured quite a few years before the First Flare. Those train cars and a lot of the stuff in Great Bear are highly outdated for the year 202X.

And some of the buildings have been abandoned way more than 5 days. Suggesting the earthquakes shut many industries down and the mainland seemed to take advantage of this by further exploiting the islanders by making them reliant on mainland goods and power supply.

The main landers even seemed to restrict farming in the area (suggested by one note), for the purpose of preserving their dependency on their services. This is why the islanders develop an identity for themselves and have a distrust of the mainlanders.

Plus, the wolves grew in high numbers and grew bolder ever since the first collapse, one note suggests that it was due to less humans inhabiting the area. The aurora also seems to mess with their electromagnetically sensitive brains, making them aggressive.

A lot of the characters Will meets seem to be part of some secret group or hiding something from him. Perhaps they caused the flare as a way to get revenge on the mainland. Doubtful though.

Signal hill is probably inhabited by an NPC Will might meet, or the radio station is on a looped broadcast. The relay towers would give the station enough reach to cover about anywhere on the map save for maybe some parts of timberwolf mountain.

The first flare brought will and astrids plane down as they didn't seem to know anything about the nature of the aurora (except maybe astrid). 

The bus was covered by an avalanche, not a tunnel collapse, this is how astrid and the convict was able to get through by exiting the front of the bus. And avalanches don't need earthquakes to happen. 

As for astrid, i find it sketchy she was able to make it so far without recieveing help from some outsiders, perhaps shes part of the forest talkers, or knows methuselah and Jeremiah, would explain how he knew Will was talking about his ex. 

Also, the old bear's arrows in his back could be from astrid. 

[JAFO]

1 hour ago, MarrowStone said:

The bus was covered by an avalanche, not a tunnel collapse, this is how astrid and the convict was able to get through by exiting the front of the bus. And avalanches don't need earthquakes to happen. 

Very good point.

[Frosty]