Snowballs: Hushed River Valley

[Drifter Man]

1 hour ago, Hotzn said:

Never found combat pants so far. How do they compare to the deerskin trousers?

I don't think I ever found them on Interloper except now in Hushed River Valley (they can be found in a supply cache), although I certainly haven't been everywhere on Interloper yet.

• Combat Pants: 2.0 C/0.5 C, 20% waterproof, 7% protection, -0% running, 0.75 kg
• Deerskin Pants: 2.0 C/2.0 C, 60% waterproof, 10% protection, -5% running, 2.00 kg

It sounds reasonable to wear combat pants as inner layer and deerskin pants as outer layer. If you have the choice. Snowball 54 wears anything he can find.

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 6

On Day 4, I emerged from the upper exit of the ice cave near Monolith Lake as planned, and collected sticks and cattails there. I passed around the wolf carcass above the cave exit and found a path blocked by scrubs - I suspect it may be a way to the signal fire. Then I proceeded to the lake. A wolf approached me and I fumbled for a precious moment, trying to find a place where the game would let me build a fire, and managed to find one just as the wolf was charging. I was saved in the last second. I used the fire to cook another warming drink and then took a different path to the lake than the direction in which the wolf ran away.

The path upwards from Monolith Lake led to a nice place with a cave (Peak Cave) with lots of firewood and plants, but with no other items of value. I took a look from this high point into the valley that brought death to Snowball 53 and recognized its features. The Landslide on the left, Moose Overlook on the right. I'm starting to get a feel for this region.

Right above the Moose Overlook I can see the signal fire. But wait, wasn't it supposed to be near Monolith Lake? Either there are two signal fires, or the location of the fire can change from one run to another.

I have more firewood than I can carry, so I make a big campfire in the Peak Cave and spend the night here. Then I return to the lake and explore its other end. There are the Watchful Falls, with the Lake Cave nearby. Inside, a wolf carcass and some stuff - another whetstone (I have nothing to whet), a piece of cloth (no sewing kit to make repairs with), accelerant, a granola bar, herbal tea and most importantly: fleece mittens. They are completely wet and frozen, but once I dry them at a fire, I'll be safe from the constant threat of frostbite.

I think this cave could make a good base for an Interlopist with good gear. There are deer on the lake and one of the earlier snowballs saw a moose here. With all the cliffs around there should be a way to kill it safely. Anyway, I move on up another path and end up at ... the Pensive Vista again. Like in the Peak Cave, I start a fire here, collect resources from the surroundings and stay for the night.

One thing I've learned - going to sleep with a cup of rosheip or reishi tea next to the fire. This way it is ready in the morning to warm me up.

What's next? If all goes well, I will finish up searching this area today (Day 6) and return to the Hushed River to search the other half of the map - I already know the Stairsteps Lake and the connecting cave to Milton. Snowball 54 is doing well, supplied with lots of cattail stalks and firewood. Hopefully he can crack this Hushed River conundrum before the supplies start running out.

[Hotzn]

2 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

I don't think I ever found them on Interloper except now in Hushed River Valley (they can be found in a supply cache), although I certainly haven't been everywhere on Interloper yet.

• Combat Pants: 2.0 C/0.5 C, 20% waterproof, 7% protection, -0% running, 0.75 kg
• Deerskin Pants: 2.0 C/2.0 C, 60% waterproof, 10% protection, -5% running, 2.00 kg

It sounds reasonable to wear combat pants as inner layer and deerskin pants as outer layer. If you have the choice. Snowball 54 wears anything he can find.

Thanks for this. Go, Snowballs!

[Riotintheair]

5 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

I don't think I ever found them on Interloper except now in Hushed River Valley (they can be found in a supply cache), although I certainly haven't been everywhere on Interloper.

There're three other places that I know you may find them in Interloper, but they're pretty rare. I usually regard finding them as a bad omen - a silly superstition but every run I've ever found them has been doomed soon after.

[stratvox]

You are going to love the situation at Monolith. I am going to keep my mouth shut.

[Drifter Man]

14 hours ago, Riotintheair said:

There're three other places that I know you may find them in Interloper, but they're pretty rare. I usually regard finding them as a bad omen - a silly superstition but every run I've ever found them has been doomed soon after.

Well, almost every Snowball is doomed, so maybe your superstition is not misplaced.

7 hours ago, stratvox said:

You are going to love the situation at Monolith. I am going to keep my mouth shut.

Can't say I loved it... it might be a nice place to stay if I had better gear, but I concluded my search without much success.

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 6

The weather was unusually nice today, winds were much less punishing than usual, and with the mittens I could finally stay outside without fire without risking frostbite. I used the day fully and searched the rest of the area. Again, apart from cattails and other plants, I found nothing else of value. I believe I located the scrub brush barrier above the exit from the ice cave from the other side - so rather than a pathway to the elusive signal fire, it's just a shortcut between the ice cave and Mammoth Falls. There is a wolf patrolling this place but it seems to be confined to a small area. It's patrol route nevertheless impedes access to the ice cave. Undoubtedly, this was the design intent of the authors of this map.

It happens quite often that I travel with my torch ready in case a wolf appears, and sometimes I lose a match to mis-clicking. Today I lost two matches in a fraction of a second when I double-mis-clicked a stick on the ground. I was tempted to reload from the last save because I strongly felt that this just isn't fair. Matches are a precious item on Interloper. But I went on and decided to keep my torch in the backpack whenever I want to pick sticks, from now on.

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 7

Back to the other end of the ice cave, above the left bank of the Hushed River, I decided to finish searching of this part of the map and move on to the right bank. I had to out-wait a blizzard in the morning first. I set out in the afternoon and explored for a while. I noticed the local wolf going after a rabbit and used it to get to places that are otherwise blocked, but I unexpectedly ran into a bear and, unfortunately had to withdraw at maximum speed. Then I went on searching but ran into a second wolf, whom I also didn't expect - luckily, I was not spotted. Eventually I camped in a cave overnight. It wasn't a great day.

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 8

The wolf I barely escaped wouldn't let me leave cave. I tried to exit twice but it pursued me back. Eventually I managed to slip through - in the opposite direction to that I wanted to go, but that's TLD - and a blizzard started. Fortunately I already knew the area well enough to find the ice cave and take shelter.

In the afternoon I tried to get to Offset Falls again, and again I ran into the wolf-bear team and barely escaped. It turned out to be for the better, because as I was going back to the ice cave, some circling crows drew my attention from above the rock under which the ice cave was. I climbed up and found a corpse next to the snow shelter. I got a cooking pot, a hacksaw, two cans (a good tomato soup, which I kept, and a very rusty can of pork and beans, which I left behind), more matches and a stash of firewood. I returned back to the ice cave for the night.

Snowball 54 / Day 9

This time I went straight down the rope and upstream the Hushed River. I turned left at Offset Falls and reached Stairsteps Lake a while later. I was freezing fast and did not really search thoroughly, I just went to another place where I knew a snow shelter could be but found nothing. So it looks there is one snow shelter that can change location from one run to another.

Freezing and tired, I reached the transition cave to Mountain Town and did what I had already decided to do a few days back. I no longer want to be a snowball. My clothes are in tatters and there is no sewing kit and almost no cloth to fix them. I'm eating precious cattails and key paths are blocked by scrub brush anyway. I'll try to get to Mystery Lake, gear up, get improvised tools and decent clothes, and return with better equipment that can deal with the hostile environment of the Hushed River Valley.

I turned a "coleman" in the cave into a supply cache, holding 14 coals, 7 pieces of wood, 30 cattail stalks and some salty crackers, made some water in my brand new cooking pot, drank herbal tea from the Lake Cave, and spent the night in the Transition Cave. A new, unfamiliar region awaits me tomorrow - Mountain Town. I hope I can make my way through.

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 10

Soon after leaving the cave I find a road. I can go left or right, so I choose to go right. I see something bright red on the hill, so I go there and find a trailer. It looks very much like the one I remember from Wintermute. Taking the right was the correct choice.

After a break at the church, where I have to fend off a wolf with a campfire until it finds a deer to pursue - while I am searching the church and taking cattails from the lake - I enter the town of Milton and check in at Grey Mother's place. I can't say I cared much for Wintermute, but I played Episode 1 and a bit of 2 and this house does have a story. It is sad to see the overturned chair at the fireplace. But I don't miss the welcoming gunfire.

Inside I find a pair of work gloves, a second pair of combat pants (now I am doubly doomed, @Riotintheair), another cooking pot and some food. I process a few curtains into cloth and because a thick fog has fallen, I go outside and start a fire in front of the house and boil water in two pots at once. At the same time, I make repairs to my toques, wool ear wrap and cotton underwear, which need it the most. I stay until the night after the fog clears, then go inside and sleep.

When you think about it, it makes no sense. There is a perfectly good stove in the house, I could do it all there. But no, this would be a waste of fuel, and I would be risking cabin fever later. Like any astute interlopist^TM, I choose to do this work outside.

As expected, Milton is massively wolfy. I get barked up during my session at the fire, constantly hear nearby wolfsteps and see multiple wolves prowling the town before my eyes. I want to be out of here pronto, but there's one more catch. I don't know if there is a rope attached from the point above Orca. My guess is that it is, otherwise you couldn't get from Mystery to Milton. But my guesses are sometimes wrong. If wolves let me, I'll find out the truth tomorrow.

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 11

Trying to sneak out of Milton by hugging the rocks on the border, or by running from house to house, would probably amount to suicide. I have a different plan. But I need to stock up a on fuel first a little bit. Using the hammer (I found it in the trailer I think), I take apart some furniture - leaving out Grey Mother's chair, out of respect for the old lady. Then I peek out but it's too windy - defensive fires would not work. I wait for a few hours but the weather does not improve until dusk. I spend the whole day indoors, taking apart my leather shoes and using the leather to fix the trail boots I found in the transition cave from the Hushed River. Then I run the stairs up and down a couple times to get tired (another brilliant mechanic) and go to sleep.

Snowball 54 / Day 12

Heavy fog, but better than a blizzard. I sneak out, revive the campfire at the doorstep and put in a piece of reclaimed wood so that it lasts for a while. Now I have a first base to return to. Then I move on to the main road and repeat step by step.

I build several fires between Grey Mother's place and Orca, two of them larger and with coal so that I can warm up. I can hear wolves howl but none approaches me. At Orca, the fog clears and I proceed with less caution from there. Replenishing my stash of sticks, I move up to the picnic area. My guess was right, the rope is attached. Down we go.

I spend the night in the cave under the climbing area. More matches and fuel found.

Snowball 54 / Day 13

I am greeted by a fine morning, although freezing cold!

I down the cup of reishi tea I'd kept warm next to the fire throughout the night, climb up the rope and proceed through the cave to Trapper's Homestead. I have a storm lantern now and don't have to strike a match every time I enter some cave, which is great. A familiar, almost iconic view opens up at the other exit.

There were days when Mystery Lake was the only region in TLD. This place is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, locations on the Great Bear.

Taking advantage of the favorable weather, I process two deer carcasses nearby and return to the cabin for the night. My first two deer hides and four guts are curing on the floor. I realize I could go for the pacifist achievement - I haven't killed anything yet.

[Jolan]

19 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

It wasn't a great day

Any day a Snowball lives through is a great day.   

[Jolan]

18 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

I turned a "coleman" in the cave

Big heart!

[Hotzn]

Strange to think you should still be missing the Pacifist achievement. Go for it then.

[Drifter Man]

7 hours ago, Jolan said:

Any day a Snowball lives through is a great day.   

True - it could also be a day a Snowball does not live.

7 hours ago, Jolan said:

Big heart!

Long time ago, someone here taught me what a coleman is

2 hours ago, Hotzn said:

Strange to think you should still be missing the Pacifist achievement. Go for it then.

I never really went for specific achievements, so I miss many of them. Your run inspired me.

[Jolan]

12 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

Long time ago, someone here taught me what a coleman is

I admit to nothing

[Paco]

I’ve only just started this region. I was wondering if anyone had got to the landslide location? I’ve found some really good loot there 

[Drifter Man]

9 hours ago, Paco said:

I’ve only just started this region. I was wondering if anyone had got to the landslide location? I’ve found some really good loot there 

I found a ... piece of cedar firewood.

Either it's because I'm playing Interloper, or I'm blind. Everyone is telling me about the amazing loot in the Hushed River Valley 

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 25

I'm still calling him a snowball, although he lives a luxurious life far away from the dangers of the most inhospitable regions of the Great Bear. Yesterday he admired the mysterious purple alien artifact in the Ravine, hoping it would increase his intelligence, but either his intelligence was already maxed out or the phenomenon is simply beyond his comprehension. And found a new pastime - collecting cairns. Anyway, bucket list:

• Timberwolf Mountain - Summit
• Forlorn Muskeg - forge
• Then back to Hushed River

Places worthy of a snowball.

[Hotzn]

Ah, so the alien artifact is there for everyone. I thought it might be a glitch just in my personal reality. To be honest, I have not checked whether it raised any of my skills (maybe mending?).

Collecting cairns is kind of nice, but I really, really hope they do not introduce further achievements regarding collectibles. Like "Find all cairns" or something as horrible. There may still be some justification to have something like the Faithful Cartographer achievement, since it forces me to visit all maps to a certain extent. But one achievement in that direction is enough, that one is already more grinding than skill-related. I want achievements to be a challenge, not a proposition for grinding.

[Drifter Man]

On 27/06/2018 at 7:52 PM, Hotzn said:

I want achievements to be a challenge, not a proposition for grinding.

I see it the same way, although achievements can have different purposes. I never use the mapping feature and don't plan to go for Faithful Cartographer, but I think this one is meant to make people leave their familiar regions and explore the boundaries of the world.

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 33

Highlights from the past week:

• Pacifist achievement, celebrated by killing four rabbits in one day, to make material for mittens
• Third pair of combat pants, at Signal Hill
• Got lost in PV (as always) and had to use emergency coal supply to stay warm in a cave during a blizzard overnight. When you go out to places you don't know very well, it doesn't hurt to have around 8 coals with you, enough to make it through the night

[Jolan]

11 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

Third pair of combat pants, at Signal Hill

So you are triply cursed

 

[Pillock]

4 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

I see it the same way, although achievements can have different purposes. I never use the mapping feature and don't plan to go for Faithful Cartographer, but I think this one is meant to make people leave their familiar regions and explore the boundaries of the world.

I'd never used the mapping feature either, and I've got no intention of going for the achievement ever.

But since I've been trying HRV starts, I've found it to be really useful as a survival tool. When I don't know where I am or where anything is on the map, making quick sketches of the areas I explore and seeing how they link up has given me a sometimes vital sense of orientation that I wouldn't have had otherwise. I've never been very good at mapping out the regions purely in my head, and I still sometimes get disorientated in the wilder bits of Mystery Lake, even though I've been there hundreds of times!

[Drifter Man]

On 29/06/2018 at 2:59 AM, Pillock said:

But since I've been trying HRV starts, I've found it to be really useful as a survival tool. When I don't know where I am or where anything is on the map, making quick sketches of the areas I explore and seeing how they link up has given me a sometimes vital sense of orientation that I wouldn't have had otherwise. I've never been very good at mapping out the regions purely in my head, and I still sometimes get disorientated in the wilder bits of Mystery Lake, even though I've been there hundreds of times!

I think it is a useful survival tool, but I tried to sketch a map by hand and couldn't do it. I just can't estimate angles and distances and my sketches don't link up - so the in-game mapping tool feels like cheating. I would have to triangulate between landmarks, but I can't do that at -35 C and with wolves stalking around.

So instead I develop a natural orientation feel in a region, just with experience - the human mind map of an area is not necessarily cartesian, but you learn which path will take you to which place.

Once I know the region well, I don't hesitate to look at community made maps (I like these: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1142193220. And of course the good old ones by Whiteberry).