Why Am I Chasing Astrid?

[Fuarian]

10 minutes ago, RossBondReturns said:

Indeed, that works as well too. So no plot armor.

Also her voice was not yelling at Will was it...so I still think the voice was his mind using a memory of her to Jog himself awake.

Sounded like she was calling him from the ledge that the dead deer was on. That she couldn't get to him from. Begs the question though, why would she say "Don't let this new world break you." if she and probably nobody else even has any idea that the Aurora has just started an apocalyptic event. Nobody really knows it's the beginning of the apocalypse until maybe the end of Episode 1 to end of Episode 2. When people are just starting to get desperate. So why would she say that? Your explanation of a past memory makes more sense. But I'd be willing to throw some plot armor in more for this since it's less explainable. 

I am also more excited for Astrid's story more than Will's story. Because it's been hinted at in the past that Astrid will be a more humanistic type character. Hopefully this shows with better thought out NPC interactions. 

[RossBondReturns]

24 minutes ago, Fuarian said:

Sounded like she was calling him from the ledge that the dead deer was on. That she couldn't get to him from. Begs the question though, why would she say "Don't let this new world break you." if she and probably nobody else even has any idea that the Aurora has just started an apocalyptic event. Nobody really knows it's the beginning of the apocalypse until maybe the end of Episode 1 to end of Episode 2. When people are just starting to get desperate. So why would she say that? Your explanation of a past memory makes more sense. But I'd be willing to throw some plot armor in more for this since it's less explainable. 

I am also more excited for Astrid's story more than Will's story. Because it's been hinted at in the past that Astrid will be a more humanistic type character. Hopefully this shows with better thought out NPC interactions. 

Perhaps as I've surmised in the past...the aurora, and if not certainly other natural disasters have been happening for a while now ( such is implied in conversations and on notes found). I feel this so called first flare isn't the first one (obviously)...it is on the other hand the first one to oh knock out all the electricity.

So this new world has been knocking on the door...and perhaps Astrid feels that with this knock out of power by the Aurora on this occasion that...it truly is a new world.

[Fuarian]

2 hours ago, RossBondReturns said:

Perhaps as I've surmised in the past...the aurora, and if not certainly other natural disasters have been happening for a while now ( such is implied in conversations and on notes found). I feel this so called first flare isn't the first one (obviously)...it is on the other hand the first one to oh knock out all the electricity.

So this new world has been knocking on the door...and perhaps Astrid feels that with this knock out of power by the Aurora on this occasion that...it truly is a new world.

Auroras have not been happening previously. For one, the devs call it the FIRST flare for a reason. Secondly, people wouldn't just call them "the lights in the sky" if it was a regular occurrence. At least for mainlanders. Even if a lot of people have seen them it doesn't mean they caused any real damage. Finally, the notes suggest severe earthquakes and other environmental disasters have been happening. The Aurora is the last kick-in-the-face if you will. 

It makes sense for Astrid to assume a new era is beginning, if she quickly realizes all electricity is non-functional that is. Kinda like how Methuselah saw it.

[Jolan]

Also, there's a hint in the beginning that the breakup may have had something to do with the "him" Will referenced in "it won't bring him back" - not really seeing anything to indicate that the breakup was because of Astrid putting her career first but that she may have withdrawn due to grief.  And since the fuselage was up on top of the cliff there's a good chance that's the part she crawled out - and it was clear from the game you couldn't climb down the cliff - so its not a stretch to think she left the site to see if there was any help nearby.  They're both wearing their wedding rings still.

 

[KinoUnko]

"Him" is probably their son. Died from some illness. Astrid blames herself for not being able to help. Grief plus drive to cure the illness drove them apart. She got wind of someone with resistance or cure to the illness on Great Bear island. The box is probably medical equipment to do tests and collect samples. Geomagnetic storm is freak event that throws a big wrench into her plans.

As far as things between Astrid and Will... I bet Astrid's moved on, wedding band notwithstanding, her primary goal is Perseverance and whatever medical thing she's after. "We'll always be friends" is just another way of saying "We'll never be anything more than friends." Will is holding a candle, and took the job thinking he might convince her to come back.

Whether the Flare is related to the quakes is difficult to say. It's very well possible that this First Flare is just first in so far as Great Bear Island is concerned, and other locations has already experienced similar event before. It seems impossible for them to be related naturally, earth quakes don't cause geomagnetic storm as it requires outside interference to earth's magnetosphere. And it's highly improbable that solar flares to cause earth quakes. But who knows, a macguffin or a few can explain nearly anything... for one thing the wolves are already changed by the flares.

[Carbon]

 All narrative arguments aside, why not chase her? Does Will have something better to do? She seems pretty cool and as far as video game characters go, very attractive. She seems like a more-than-capable partner to get off of Great Bear with and yeah...there's also simple companionship. People who emerge from desperate scenarios often claim it was ultimately love of another - kids, partners, friends and parents - that drive them on; Will needs her both in person and in theory.

 Hard to imagine the type of person who would just walk away from someone they clearly still care deeply about, not knowing if they are alive, injured and suffering or dead.

[MarrowStone]

On 9/16/2017 at 0:26 PM, Fuarian said:

Well they were placed there, as if she went down there, saw him but couldn't get to him and then left. Maybe she went back up to the plane to find something to get down there but got chased off by some wolves or something. That seems the most plausable. I hope Episode 3 has a 2D animated cutscene showing this. (We need more 2D animated cutscenes. Hinterland really excels there.)

Good points! Maybe she purposely placed her pack there in order to encourage will to come looking for her? ... maybe she wasnt too sure hed decide to find her and so left it as a way to give him a reason to? Cause "its importat to her so I should return it"

Or maybe hinterland needs to make the box and pack look more like they were thrown from the plane rather than placed.

[MarrowStone]

Knowing Astrid, she probably stuck those arrows into the Old Bear's back. I can already tell shes gonna be the badass of the story. Will kinda strikes me as a sad, confused, and lost father (I still like him as a character though, hes good hearted and persistent. Hes not the brightest but he was quite agreeable and patient towards the ones he met. And he took his situation in the dam cutscene quite cool calm and collectively.)

[Pickwun]

Some of the discussions hint that she'll be a playable character at some point.  Good.  I'll be able to walk her off a cliff, or, I don't know, maybe I'll be gentle and just go the hypothermia route.

[JAFO]

8 hours ago, Pickwun said:

Some of the discussions hint that she'll be a playable character at some point.

What Hinterland have said is that in episodes 3 & 4, the only playable character will be Astrid.

[Hotzn]

On 15.9.2017 at 10:40 PM, Pickwun said:

Am I just so ungodly stupid that I deserve to just die in the wilderness anyway?

This. TLD is the story of the man who can't let go. Who thinks that "We'll always be friends" means "We may be together again at some point in the future". Who cannot forget what those lips were capable of. Who lives in the past and therefore has no future. A very sad story, and easily more impressive than the quiet apocalypse.

[morgellons]

On 9/16/2017 at 1:51 PM, Fuarian said:

Begs the question though, why would she say "Don't let this new world break you." if she and probably nobody else even has any idea that the Aurora has just started an apocalyptic event. Nobody really knows it's the beginning of the apocalypse until maybe the end of Episode 1 to end of Episode 2. When people are just starting to get desperate. So why would she say that?

I could be wrong, but it seems implied that there has already been a long slow apocalypse unfolding on the mainland and around the world for a while before the story begins. People are still obviously functioning on some level - he still has his plane and Astrid is able to get to him, but there are problems.

This seemed to be confirmed when Will finds cash and says "huh I haven't seen cash for a while," or something like that. Like maybe the US/Canada dollar has fallen and people have reverted to a more local lifestyle. 

It's kind of a clever concept if you think about it - what happens to extremely outlying communities or isolated places during a global crisis? Surely they would be the first to be forgotten - cut off from the rest of civilization, accelerating the "apocalypse" in that local area. No one is going to be flying/trucking supplies to far-flung outposts when fuel and food prices spike and people are looting in the streets.

Not sure how the aurora factors in.

[Fuarian]

20 minutes ago, morgellons said:

I could be wrong, but it seems implied that there has already been a long slow apocalypse unfolding on the mainland and around the world for a while before the story begins. People are still obviously functioning on some level - he still has his plane and Astrid is able to get to him, but there are problems.

This seemed to be confirmed when Will finds cash and says "huh I haven't seen cash for a while," or something like that. Like maybe the US/Canada dollar has fallen and people have reverted to a more local lifestyle. 

It's kind of a clever concept if you think about it - what happens to extremely outlying communities or isolated places during a global crisis? Surely they would be the first to be forgotten - cut off from the rest of civilization, accelerating the "apocalypse" in that local area. No one is going to be flying/trucking supplies to far-flung outposts when fuel and food prices spike and people are looting in the streets.

Not sure how the aurora factors in.

If you get all the worldbuilding information about Milton form Grey Mother you can view it in greater detail in your journal. It explains the economic collapse of the dollar and how it affected people. Especially rural places like Great Bear. It wasn't the apocalypse per say but it was an event. There was still functioning society. The Aurora just came along to finish everyone off. And I would not like to be in the cities when that happens.

[Simone Else]

On 9/15/2017 at 1:40 PM, Pickwun said:

Seriously, why do I care where she went?  Apparently we broke up at some point in the past, because her ambitions were more important than me.  Now she's come back and cajoled me into flying my plane into a storm in the middle of the night - and of course we crashed.  I'm injured, she's a doctor, and she just took off leaving me to freeze/bleed to death on the mountain.  Why am I lugging around this case that she couldn't be bothered to pick up?  Am I hunting her down so I can beat her to death with the case when I find her?  Am I just so ungodly stupid that I deserve to just die in the wilderness anyway?

i think he wants to save her so he can get back with her.  he probably thinks if he saves her, then he has another shot at that sweet ass.

[RossBondReturns]

On 9/18/2017 at 8:05 PM, Pickwun said:

Some of the discussions hint that she'll be a playable character at some point.  Good.  I'll be able to walk her off a cliff, or, I don't know, maybe I'll be gentle and just go the hypothermia route.

I'm still trying to figure out what your beef with Astrid is.

Will is a kind and gentle-hearted person who still has love in his heart for Astrid. It is also clear that there is some love in her heart for him simply from the cut scenes.

She probably had to leave him there against her will. Not able to get right down to him without endangering her own life.

So she went in search for help for both of them...and then was chased after by the escaped convicts and barely escaped through the transport bus into the tunnel before it collapsed the bus entirely.

She has also it seems bested the dude that has Will captive at the end of Episode 2.

So what exactly has she done wrong that has you intentionally walking her off a cliff and giving her frostbite?

[Ape88]

You are playing the role of Will Mackenzie, not yourself. So you do what he has to do to survive. And personally I think he can relate to Grey Mother's story...

[Pickwun]

7 hours ago, Ape88 said:

You are playing the role of Will Mackenzie, not yourself. So you do what he has to do to survive. And personally I think he can relate to Grey Mother's story...

Yes, I am Will Mackenzie.  That's RPG.  Doing what I can to survive is almost mutually exlusive of chasing Astrid.  Best bet would have been to just hang with Grey Mother; either that or make myself at home in the lake office which has everything I need to get by until summer (assuming that still comes around).

Quote

So what exactly has she done wrong that has you intentionally walking her off a cliff and giving her frostbite?

See my original post, and I said hypothermia, not frostbite.

[Ape88]

12 hours ago, Pickwun said:

Yes, I am Will Mackenzie.  That's RPG.  Doing what I can to survive is almost mutually exlusive of chasing Astrid.  Best bet would have been to just hang with Grey Mother; 

Okay let me ammend what I said to convey what I meant. You are Will Mackenzie, he is trying to survive, but at the same time he has a conscience and knows that it is quite possible that somebody might die if he doesn't get Astrid's case to her.  If he were solely motivated by survival he would learn everything he could from Grey Mother and Jerimiah without sacrificing supplies to them. He may feel frustrated by needing to help out those two so much to get information, but he does have compassion so he does it anyway. Compassion and knowing that he can gain the information he needs to survive and to find Astrid is why he brings food to them and does all these tasks. If you want a survival only experience then go back to survival mode where there are frozen corpses everywhere that you can loot. 

[Ape88]

On 9/19/2017 at 7:56 AM, morgellons said:

This seemed to be confirmed when Will finds cash and says "huh I haven't seen cash for a while," or something like that. Like maybe the US/Canada dollar has fallen and people have reverted to a more local lifestyle. 

Considering some of the information given in Ep 1 via letters and notes I was thinking that electronic currency might have become the only currency on the mainland.

[RossBondReturns]

15 hours ago, Pickwun said:

See my original post, and I said hypothermia, not frostbite.

My point still stands. Why does she somehow deserve Hypothermia?

Also, Will as a person wants to survive, he wants to ensure Astrid's survival and since he's carrying the case he still has hopes for the survival of ther person who can be helped with what's in the case.

This is the story of Will's hope being reborn in the midst of the quiet Apocalypse. So, if anything, Will is the human embodiment of Hope in this story and I like that.

And Astrid is what drives Will to have this hope be reborn.

[Boston123]

On 9/25/2017 at 4:18 PM, Ape88 said:

You are playing the role of Will Mackenzie, not yourself. So you do what he has to do to survive. And personally I think he can relate to Grey Mother's story...

That is a bit of a problem, when I the player cannot be driven to give even the slightest of shits about Astrid. Nor Will, for that matter.

[RossBondReturns]

27 minutes ago, Boston123 said:

That is a bit of a problem, when I the player cannot be driven to give even the slightest of shits about Astrid. Nor Will, for that matter.

And I really can't understand how anyone can't give a dang about either Will or Astrid...that seems inhuman.

[Carbon]

2 hours ago, Boston123 said:

That is a bit of a problem, when I the player cannot be driven to give even the slightest of shits about Astrid. Nor Will, for that matter.

Well, what can be done? You are either invested in the characters or you're not. Nobody can convince you to care, so if you don't, then there's nothing to discuss.

[Boston123]

4 hours ago, Carbon said:

Well, what can be done? You are either invested in the characters or you're not. Nobody can convince you to care, so if you don't, then there's nothing to discuss.

The developers and the storywriters/character-writers can. They do so by making the characters interesting, relatable, and so on and so forth.

To me, at least, none of the characters in The Long Dark are interesting or relatable. Mainly because they lack much in the way of actual characterization. 

[Carbon]

3 hours ago, Boston123 said:

The developers and the storywriters/character-writers can. They do so by making the characters interesting, relatable, and so on and so forth.

To me, at least, none of the characters in The Long Dark are interesting or relatable. Mainly because they lack much in the way of actual characterization. 

 "Relatable" is subjective and you acknowledge this, so your inability to connect with the characters seems to be insurmountable (read: your individual problem). So again, what can be done? Should the writers consult with each and every player before proceeding? The only thing that can be said is that they just don't work for you. It's a shame, but...ok then, opinion stated.