The name is Walker, Sleep Walker


Guest jeffpeng

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Guest jeffpeng

Hello again,

in this thread I will take on the "Sleepwalking" mode proposed by @BareSkin in his very detailed thread about it. The general premise is that you do not heal from sleeping. One thing this will effectively prevent is Hibernation. I will play LvL 4 which very closely resembles vanilla Interloper, except, again, healing from sleep is disabled and even healing in general is heavily reduced. Pretty much anything else ... is the same. Cabin fever sets in only after 50 days, but lacking proper settings for that this sadly cannot be helped.

The exact code I play is 8sHM-bj8P-Kxur-w6KO-LgEA, added by the two feats Cold Fusion - because it's just the best in the game, period - and Snow Walker - because it very much fits the "Walker" theme and I also prefer it to Efficient Machine for different reasons, but mostly to escape the cold quicker. The merits behind this can be and probably will be argued.

Well then. Without further ado .... 

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Guest jeffpeng

Walker 1 / Day 1&2 - Unfamiliar Grounds

11 pm, the tunnel from the Ravine to Coastal Highway. Not exactly the worst of starts I ever had, but certainly not the best. Considering I'm experiencing -14°C FL I get going to the trailer.

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A night as clear as it is cold

The corpse on the way yields nothing. I enter the trailer and the first thing I do is pass some time in bed to regain my warmth. If there really is anything of worth here I cannot say. I pad my way through the dark, find a lump of cedar and an empty plastic container. (Witnesses later reported an unusual amount of turmoil and cursing from the trailer.) I leave.

I slide down to the bridge, and then to the next trailer on the way. Again padding my way through the dark I find some beef jerky and fleece mittens at 63%. Very welcome. I sleep an hour just to regain heat and let the night advance. When I wake up it's mor... no it's not morning. It's Aurora time.

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Distinctively not morning.

Being parched I decide to make a beeline for the fishing camp. At least on Jackrabbit I will be able to drink some toilet water. What a nice prospect. I find the cabin midway burned down, as well as the cabin with the work bench. But I find the rope, some chocolate and The Frozen Angler. The cabins yield, as much as I can see, a sewing kit and pain killers, but I will need to return here later. I sleep another hour in the last cabin, just to warm up. Half warmed up again I really need to get going. I'm almost completely dehydrated. 

I sprint across the Jackrabbit as fast as I can, hypothermia pounding at me. In the house I'm padding through the dark. WHERE the hell is a toilet when you need it the most!? I find a medicine shelf, that means a Toilet cannot be far. Turning around like a lunatic I finally find it.

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"Best water I had since forever" - desperate guy

I tumble through the dark and find the bed. Just to get some light and warm up I sleep another hour. Searching the still hardly lit house I find a cooking pot, 0.33l lamp fuel and a 27% granola. I tear a curtain for some cloth, but then get going. In the fishing hut between here and Misanthrope's I find some firewood, but nothing else of consequence. Basically while running I snipe a rabbit from like 15 feet and laugh, but have little time to dwell on my accomplishment. Its little neck goes, and I keep running. In this house I find pork'n'beans, sardines, dog food and tomato soup in the kitchen. Soda upstairs by the bed, disinfectant and antibiotics and of course more water in the bathroom. Having quite a way to sprint ahead of me I sleep 2 hours.

When I wake up my first blizzard hits. I pass time until my calories run out an then pull down some curtains. At least I will have stuff to fix clothes - given I find any. Once done my 95% can of dog poison get's smashed open. I survive. Mending clothes and harvesting the rabbit I spend time. But the blizzard persists - but after another hour of sleep it finally subsides.

By now it's night. I take a peek outside.

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How about nope.

Not gonna happen. I leave my rabbit parts on the porch so they don't just go bad, but then it's back to bed, mostly to preserve calories and have enough rest once the weather gets better. 2 hours later it's Aurora time again. Two nights in a row. Peculiar! I take a peek outside, pop a soda and decide it's go time. Wolves or no wolves. I make it to a fishing hut and find a pry bar. Harsh winds make my advance to the Coastal Houses feel like hauling half a moose on my back. 

A wolf spots me, but for reasons that are beyond my knowledge he instantly takes off scared. Probably scared by a light. I make it into the house unscathed. Warming up I search the kitchen and try to find anything in the relative dark of the Aurora lit interior. At least I find more toilet water.

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It's all about that special flavor!

Frustrated by bumping into all sorts of stuff and not confident to make my break to the garage with the Aurora out I eat my bar of chocolate and spend two hours in bed. 

 

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Just now, jeffpeng said:

the tunnel from the Ravine to Coastal Highway

I just had the exact same start on exact same custom code today, funny. Except I was in the warm hours but facing strong winds. For at least 1 minutes I thought I start in Broken Railroad¬¬. This is so nice reading other's adventures, I might publish my journal.

4 minutes ago, jeffpeng said:

Mending clothes and harvesting the rabbit I spend time

You're up for Yoda style too, as a reference? :D

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Guest jeffpeng

Walker 1 / Day 3 - Glass Chin

When I get out of bed again I'm at 85%. I'm hungry. It's kinda a theme of this mode I guess. You aren't just starving - you are starving. Ironically now the Aurora is gone night vision allows me to see better. I find another granola in a cabinet, and a brand new cotton scarf. No more frostbite. Fluffy be praised. The granola disappears right into my face. As winds outside don't sound too inviting I sleep 3 more hours.

The situation hasn't improved much when I get out of bed, but I also don't wanna just waste away in this house. So I actually muster some courage and sprint across the street and into the garage under heavy barking. I even find more water. And as you know ...

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The water is always free!

Padding through the dark - which seems to become the overarching theme of this run - I find the hacksaw under the drawers and the quality tools in the corner back in the shed. My beef jerky goes to keep me afloat, but it's a bandaid. I need some matches or anything to set things ablaze with - soon. Now it comes to my detriment that I probably know every possible match spawn in HRV and TWM .... but not really any in CH. Searching through the drawers - something you actually have time for on this mode - I find coffee and painkillers. An issue of The Frontier Shooting Guide mocks the absence of rifles. Good tinder.

I take a look around outside. One other house of the town site is intact. Worth checking out. Inside I find a 40% T-Shirt and of course more toilet water. My sardines go into my belly. In the car parked next to the house salty beef jerky greets me along with a sewing kit. At this point I believe I know the loot table I am on, and if I am right I need to make a run for the Log Sort. I get going. In the car halfway there I find a flare. Finally SOME ignition!

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Actually just a really big match.

In the log sort trailer I find more granola and chocolate. Just enough to keep me from starving. Nearing exhaustion I decide to sleep an hour. I also need the warmth. I've been freezing myself all the way here from Quonset - down to 73%. When I wake up it's my second blizzard in as many sunrises. I keep sleeping in hourly intervals, but it's no use. When the blizzard finally stops it's almost 7 pm. At least it's "warm" now. I use the time and get my sprinting going.

Out of nowhere I get jumped. How and why I take almost no damage - no idea. But a quick swing with the pry bar sends the wolf packing.

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My blood. Just in case you wondered.

I keep going and make it to the car on the way to the fishing camp. And yes: the hammer is here. So back the way I came. I hope the wolf doesn't come back. I hardly have the time to circumvent him. He spots me again, but he's limping and I can walk him off easily. He really took a beating, damn! I realize that Quonset is much too far away, so I turn towards the logging trailer halfway to Cinder Hills Mine. Again I'm met with infinite darkness. I eat my pork'n'beans cold right out of the can and sleep 3 hours. Again I wake up to the Aurora. 

I don't find anything useful in the trailer and desperate for anything edible start running towards the Abandoned Lookout. I've never been here since.... oh my god... my early days. I find matches! Plus a generic book and Field Dressing Your Kill, Vol. I ... I feel like I've read that before. I almost miss the whetstone. Good gracious.

Being completely starved I make a fire in the stove, planning to warm up my last meal - my tomato soup - and finally get some torches. My coffee gets brewed as well. It'll be midnight before I leave.

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Guest jeffpeng
1 hour ago, BareSkin said:

You're up for Yoda style too, as a reference? :D

Actually no. That was entirely by accident. But maybe it's Yoda's spirit that's taking hold of me.

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23 minutes ago, jeffpeng said:

Out of nowhere I get jumped. How and why I take almost no damage - no idea. But a quick swing with the pry bar sends the wolf packing.

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My blood. Just in case you wondered.

Yes, beware of that place near the abandoned car and the Tooth - there tends to be a wolf patrolling on the ice, often strolling onto the Highway to have a chat with commuters.

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1 hour ago, jeffpeng said:

But a quick swing with the pry bar sends the wolf packing.

I've also had an unusually short Struggle on Deadman settings with a prybar. The hammer is known for being the best "avoidance" tool, but I won't hesitate to pick the prybar gracefully from now on.

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6 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

Yes, beware of that place near the abandoned car and the Tooth - there tends to be a wolf patrolling on the ice, often strolling onto the Highway to have a chat with commuters.

I know of that one and even was on the lookout for it .... sprinting and all. But it somehow slipped through the trees and activated his cloaking device. 

5 hours ago, BareSkin said:

I've also had an unusually short Struggle on Deadman settings with a prybar. The hammer is known for being the best "avoidance" tool, but I won't hesitate to pick the prybar gracefully from now on.

It literally went *clong* (yes, with that sound) and the wolf just bolted. And he was seriously limping afterwards. Like I took a big swing at him and bonked him over the head. Worth noting is that I was pretty much 100% rested. So .... that really plays big into this entire scenario. I still do underestimate how much fatigue works into struggles. I mean right after breakfast Mac can just maw through a few wolves given the right gear.

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Walker 1 / Day 4 - I Don't Have The Guts For This

I get my tomato soup and beverages hot and warm, and then pull torches and pack up.

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Breakfast of the champions!

My torch doesn't survive the winds - which is a shame but doesn't actually hurt that much. Visibility is still at daylight levels. I find two of the four cabins intact. My reward are fabulous pinnacle peaches, a scrap metal, a few books to get those fires started and a full pack of crackly salters. Since stiff winds blow exactly against my direction of travel I decide to stay in the second cabin for a while and tend to chores like making tinder out of newspapers. The winds die down notably half an hour later.

I contemplate if it is a good idea to make the trip to the trailer on the way to the Coastal Houses. I know a bear inhabits the region, and that I got so far unscathed is maybe a bit of luck in itself. But hunger prevails. I get going, and shortly after can see the trailer.... but I can also see the bear.

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A bear. And a trailer. In some woods. On a hill. Story of my life.

I try to circumvent the bear climbing up the slope but a wolf barks kindly at me, notifying me that this is not permitted - and that he would like to eat me. My only way is to retreat back to the cabins. I eat my newly acquired crackers and sleep three hours. I'm at 62% and so far haven't really had time to take a breather. Cold weathers make my journeys costly and hunger keeps chasing me around the map.

I decide to try for the trailer again. I need that pit stop on the way back to Quonset. After sawing down 4 birch saplings and throwing the bear off with throwing stones (I just love to do that) I make it into the trailer. A pair of trail boots aren't really an upgrade to my leather sneakers, but I'll take them for now and warm up in bed for an hour. From there I make a beeline for Quonset - and find a new inhabitant of the premises.

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Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

I make it into the garage and gobble up my peaches. A quick, second sweep - this time with light! - of the garage yields a second can and two sodas. I remember there was a deer carcass at the landing on the other side of the road. If winds permit ... that would probably be my best bet for food right now. I search the cars in front of the garage which I missed out on earlier - but to no avail. After warming up shortly in the nice, comfy bed of the house I get out to claim that deer. 

The carcass yields just 0.9 kg, but that's still a boat load of calories I'm thankful for. While I really want to take the hide, I'm not sure I have the time and calories for it. But eventually I get both the hide and the guts, pick up some feathers and get going, heading for the Waterfront Cottages and hope at least one of them is left standing.... but no dice. I lose both my guts to wolves patrolling the area. A total bust. I head on to Commuters Lament at take a quick power nap in the car. 

Memories of dread and despair flush my brains when I see the letters pop up on the screen.

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Probably the worst place to be.

I make it to the Abandoned Harris Home uncontested and search the basement. After thinking long and hard about what adjective would describe it best I settle for empty. At least the deer carcass is here. 1.1 kg of venison will get me through the night - or so I hope. I take guts and hide, but once I leave the fire only the torch I pulled saves me from the wolf before I negotiate a truce with one of the guts. I go hide in the basement, where I drop the other gut, both my hides and the saplings. I get outside and cannot nap for more than 3 hours in the car before it gets too cold. Back in the basement all I can do ... is wait.

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Walker 1 / Day 5 - 50 Shades Of Starvation

56%, and it's not getting better. I wonder if deciding to make it to Desolation Point instead of Mystery Lake won't bite me in the butt. The logic behind that decision was - at the time I made it - I had no matches. And I know I'll find some at Hibernia. Plus I have all that I need to actually at least craft a knife and maybe a hatchet, plus a few initial arrow heads. And, yeah, ultimately: the bedroll in Scruffy's cave. With all that .... sweeping Timberwolf Mountain would have been easy. Or so I've thought.

The point is that SW4 is a bit like Deadman in that you basically leave scorched earth behind. You live off the land and what you can scavenge. Making the same route twice means the resources that got you through the first time are no longer available when you return. And Desolation Point is a dead end - albeit a rich dead end.

Coffee keeps me afloat in the basement, but with first light the next blizzard hits. Sitting on 23 calories I'm royally screwed. I shortly think about making a break for it in the Blizzard, but quickly realize that this would be suicide. Starving ... I wait. When I finally leave ... it's 3 pm. I lost 15 hours to the night and to the weather.

When I get out I can't believe I even find the second deer carcass at the cave. This time I don't bother with guts and hides and all the funny stuff. I just take and eat the meat. I make it to the truck and bordering on complete exhaustion I sleep for 6 hours.

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It still smells so fresh.

Night vision allows me to make it through the darkness of the mine, but I except a decent amount of coal I find nothing of greater importance. A cup of rose hip tea keeps me saturated a few moments longer while I reach the mine No. 5, only the stars witnessing my advance. My luck with deer carcasses ends as the one at the mine is tragically missing. I enter the cave at midnight. My stomach is not happy.

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Walker 1 / Day 6 - To The Shoreline

Night visioning through Mine No. 5 I reach the other end - again with some coal, but nothing to sink my teeth into. Outside it's so cold it isn't even funny anymore, but I still circumnavigate Hibernia's main entrance and head for the door near the trailers.

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On the way I find a small fish. I'm so happy it's embarrassing. 347 calories raw. Well, that's something, ey? I get into the facility down to 44% condition. I find some peaches and soda. I eat the soda, can included, on the spot. I also find the matches I came for, and another pack I wasn't aware of before. If it is guaranteed? I don't know. Storm lantern, a flare and a repair worthy 21% thin wool sweater continue the list. In the safe a 96% down vest and 41% jeans further buff up my attire. To cook my fish and give the place some extra luminosity I light up the fire barrel. Down to 4% I'm not sure eating that fish, even after cooking, is a good idea. But then again .... what choice to I have?

With the grill running I continue to explore the place, but don't find anything until the fish is ready. I have at it - and survive, miraculously. Finally, up in the corner on that small indoor roof, I find the torch and a nice pack of crackers which I eat right away. I leave and head into the trailer complex but only find a lonely whetstone. I kill my torch and sleep 6 hours.

When I get up I fuel myself with 42% pinnacle peaches .... and again I'm fresh out of food. I spend some additional time repairing my sweater and then decide to visit Scruffy. He maybe has two deer. And maybe my end. But up to two deer just sound to good to say no right now. And I kinda need that bedroll. I get going and find another fish.... but a wolf immediately claims it for himself. I make it - against stiff winds - into Scruffy's cave.

I make my way through the darkness with a torch. I find the bedroll, but I hear no Scruffy. Might he be out on a date? Is that even possible? 

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Not out on a date: Scruffy.

I light a fire to discourage him to charge me, then another next to the first carcass. Scruffy keeps "speed patrolling" the cave the entire time. I take the guts from the first carcass as I will probably need them to negotiate a truce retreating from the cave. The second carcass, sadly, is missing. I'm pretty sure I had a double spawn last time I was here on Interloper. Anyways. The one deer was worth it in any case. At the corpse in the cave I find sardines and beef jerky. Time to perform a tactical retreat.

I leave and head for the Riken, giving Hibernia as generous a berth as I can. I pass the Riken and use the gentle weather to look for a rabbit or two at Little Island. I indeed find two rabbits and emerge victorious. To make things almost too great to stomach - literally - I find another deer carcass. I will feast tonight! I keep cooking until late that evening. The reward, eventually, is Cooking II, and a full stomach for once.

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Novice > clueless bum.

Eventually... I get going and head for my ultimate goal: The Riken. Searching the ship yields a much appreciated can opener, moar coal, A Sewing Primer, pain killers, matches, Nuts'N'Stuff and tomato soup. Close to fatigue I eat the remaining meat I have, my chocolate bar and the sardines, and turn in for 10 hours of well deserved sleep.

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Walker 1 / Day 7 - The Embers Of Creation, Walker Edition

Sleeping 10 hours is bad idea. You definitely take some thirst damage. So yeah, from now on no more than 9 hours. I have calories left in me for 10 more hours. I'm fully awake and at 35%. How I am supposed to make it all the way to Pleasant Valley without food on the way? A mystery. But one thing after the other.

I have collected 6 scrap metals so far. Tearing down my surplus pry bar yields another two. Having a hatchet would be amazing, but having arrow heads would be even more amazing. I yield, and postpone the hatchet until I make my way to the Forlorn Muskeg, eventually. If I don't ... I can live without a hatchet. I cannot live without a knife, however.

Eight hours later I have 10 arrow heads, a brand new knife and an empty stomach. I cook myself the tomato soup I found at Hibernia, use it to wash down some beef jerky ... and yet again I leave into the wild without food. Warm Grandma fog makes approaching the lighthouse a breeze.

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Cuddle me!

More problematic will the wolf be. But I am prepared to offer him a rabbit in, and another rabbit out. I find Matt wielding yet another pry bar. Briefly I think I could have made that hatchet after all, but in the end I am content with how things played out. Another birch sapling goes into my pockets as well. I visit the church and find two rabbits playing joyfully. Lacking any stones (to throw) I search for some and find my first maple sapling. I hunt both rabbits with the same stone when a wolf finds me suddenly very much enticing. But as wolves are unholy creatures they cannot enter churches - so I seek refuge.

Sadly my rabbit hunting took way longer than expected, and I'm down to 27% due to freezing and grounded in the church for the night. I still have plenty of coal left. I cook and I gobble up my rabbits and sleep 4 hours.

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Walker 1 / Day 8 - Good Plan!

Things don't look so good. Making a break for the lighthouse at night doesn't sound too fancy. Starving in a church doesn't either. So I will use the starlit night and just hope the wolves wolves will be content eating my meatless rabbits instead of me. 

....

They aren't.

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Walker 1 died having survived 7 days. He learned a lot, and paid a lot for said learning. No songs will be sung for him, but as the first who shall be followed by many his name will live on in more .... talented sleepwalkers.

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Walker 1 - Analysis

To be honest this is just a throw away from Deadman, except for the wolves. The wolves are much much less of an issue. But in terms of condition recovery it is very very hard to stay afloat. Most of the time I was actually fed I had to sleep off fatigue.

I had some bad luck early with blizzards pounding me at unfortunate moments. And I did a lot of running around that wasn't ultimately necessary. If I had gone from my first visit to Quonset straight to Pleasant Valley I would maybe have made it to the Summit by Day 8 instead of rotting away in the Church. But without a bedroll .... I wasn't confident I'd make it there.

Another thing: I could have walked the bear creek early instead of hopping trailers. Probably would have given me some headroom in terms of nutrition. And yeah... ultimately greeding for the rabbits at the church was my demise.

Anyways... If anyone has other pointers please, I'm all ears.

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Walker 2 / Day 1 - What The Freeze?

PV. Great. Some hill, no idea. Night. Winds. Cold. Freezing Snow.

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Oh brother, where art thou?

I try get my bearing somehow, but I can't make out what's what. Hating PV so much bites me in the backside now.

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Theoretically I know where I am. Kinda. Sorta.

I should be somewhere near Skeeters. But .... no idea which hill I am on. Almost certain I somehow misread things I get going, already freezing. Turning around again I realize I am indeed on the hill across Point of Disagreement. Skeeter's really is my best bet right now. Skeeter's wolf spots me right away of course, but I lose him around Skeeter's Rock, and make it to the cave. Still. I need to escape the cold, quick. Staying here isn't an option. But Skeeter's isn't either. The wolf is sitting on those basement doors. Alright. Freeze it. Let's head for the bunker. 

I make the way across when another wolf spots me. I just keep walking. If he wolfs me - so be it. I'm halfway frostbitten anyways. He doesn't - and I reach the bunker at 72%. I stumble for the bed and warm up sleeping 2 hours.

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22 minutes ago, jeffpeng said:

Most of the time I was actually fed I had to sleep off fatigue

Would you change your mind between SW3 (Fatigue) and SW4 (Hunger) difficulty hierarchy?

23 minutes ago, jeffpeng said:

To be honest this is just a throw away from Deadman, except for the wolves.

My best deadman was 6 days, and I had my first SW1 retired, so I think it's more than just one throw away, maybe 2 or 3.

24 minutes ago, jeffpeng said:

Anyways... If anyone has other pointers please, I'm all ears.

Reading this very carefully, I thought you were still in snowball impatience. My advice would be: learn patience, SW challenges are on the long run. Man, I had the same start, and after 3 days I didn't even approach the "Desolation Point" side of Coastal Highway. Take your time, your cold damage won't come back. Your gameplay is better than mine honestly (but why the guts if you plan to move out?), but a bit more of "big picture" plans will help you. I know it's hard not to be totally concerned with "right now" problems.

Also, due to Snowballing, you underestimate the power of Clothes. That's the main hunt of early game when you can change maps. I'm also impressed by how much you don't fear wolves, I'd like to be less paranoid myself.

Anyway, that was a pleasure reading your SW4 adventures. To boil it down, if you want fast pace game (=cold damage), you need more recovery rate, if you keep SW3+, cool down :D.

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Walker 2 / Day 2

Trying to find things in the dark. I feel like I've been at this point before! The lockers - of course - are empty. There is no food. There no water. Matches? Of course not. I should have followed my goat instincts and ran down the hill to the barn.

I could go up the rope, to Timberwolf Mountain. But I still don't see that happening without a bedroll when I don't have rest recovery. Another option would be the mystic river cave, score some drinkable food there, maybe even the bedroll, and then run like hell to the barn. You find that plan hilarious? Yeah, I know. That's why I'll do it.

The bedroll is absent. That was the one condition under which I would have attempted the Summit ascent right now. The lantern isn't here either. In fact: I find nothing except latern fuel. Well I could drink that, ey? Anyways, I get going, but I'm starting to write off Walker 2 already. When I reach the waterfall and attempt to goat down - which I realize now is probably impossible - I take a huge dip down. Trying to salvage the situation I fall again.

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I got dis.

Then I fall again.

Walker 2 proved that gravity really hurts, and even goats have limits. 

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Guest jeffpeng
10 minutes ago, BareSkin said:

Would you change your mind between SW3 (Fatigue) and SW4 (Hunger) difficulty hierarchy?

Not yet, actually. I guess once you aren't permanently on the run fatigue becomes manageable.

11 minutes ago, BareSkin said:

My best deadman was 6 days, and I had my first SW1 retired, so I think it's more than just one throw away, maybe 2 or 3.

SW1 and SW4 is quite some .... distance I think. My best deadman was 4 and some change, and it felt relatively similar in that I was permanently on the run for food and that actually got me hurt more than just taking the starvation.

13 minutes ago, BareSkin said:

I thought you were still in snowball impatience

Which basically is exactly that point. I agree. It's not really impatience, but I try to check boxes too fast, I guess, and actually while trying to prevent damage at any cost I actually achieve the opposite.

17 minutes ago, BareSkin said:

Also, due to Snowballing, you underestimate the power of Clothes. That's the main hunt of early game when you can change maps. I'm also impressed by how much you don't fear wolves, I'd like to be less paranoid myself.

Oh I hunted for clothes and even spend the time I could afford into mending them. I probably, like I said, pounced on the chance for an early knife much too soon. Basically the grand plan was go DP, get knife plus a few arrows, transition via PV SH&Farm to TWM, go Summit, be golden. So basically I think the problem wasn't the lack of a grand plan. The problem was that between the grand plan and the permanent troubleshooting the day-to-day planning was just plain awful at times.

In any case... valuable feedback. Thank you.

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1 hour ago, jeffpeng said:

permanent troubleshooting the day-to-day planning

The world is warmer than you think :D. I think once you have some water and ignition, the trade-off between running everywhere and waiting a bit more changes side. Got water, got matches? Slow down, Grandma's waiting for you in the afternoon for long travels, and you won't actually heal if you run (it consumes calories and creates Fatigue, doubly punished)

Every time I see the topic title, I can't help myself to imagine your survivor with a cowboy hat, too much childhood TV:

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Walker 3 / Day 1 - Astrid! Oh, wait...

Alright. That's a new one for me.

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Playing some Story Mode, are we?

I didn't even know this starting point existed. And no, it's not Story Mode. Actually I'm not particularly sure if that's a good or a bad start. But the more I think about it: probably bad. Long wait for the first shelter. I loot the place, take lantern fuel and rose hips plus a bit of fire wood and go. The bed provides just +2°C in a cave that is already sub zero.

Up near the plane the wolf sits right in the middle. I manage to circumvent him half, and once he sees me make a run for it. A poor bunny pays the price for my sins. The massive amount of cattails I leave behind pains me greatly. I reach the cave at 92%. I actually haven't formulated a plan further than this yet. But as much as I despise the place, I won't make it far without entering the urban warfare zone aka Milton. Unarmed, of course.

I traverse the cave. Sadly the wolf carcass won't be of any help to me. I would love to wait an hour to warm up, but that would mean going in the dark - or wait until next morning. Either prospect sounds unsatisfying, dangerous and cold.

I get out and start freezing again, immediately. Guess who's blocking the bridge.

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Nope, not a bear shaped car. More like a car shaped bear.

I could wait and take the way under the bridge. Maybe. But before I reach Milton I'll be sub 70% already. Meh. Well, I see no other play. I get going, fast, and don't look back. Cattails taunt me as I go, so do rose hips and rabbits. No time. I reach Grey Mother's without contest - but down to 65%. Matches, 2 peaches, crackers and 2 pots in the kitchen. At least this time I have something to start a fire with before day 4.

I find the latern in the house, along with a sewing kit and the elusive combat pants at 33%. So much for bad spawn, ey! I drink my toilet water and sleep as much as I can, probably 7-ish hours.

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Walker 3 / Day 2 - No Alarms

This house is just always bright, right? Not that I'm complaining. Getting up at 5 am, 65% like yesterday, of course, I have some crackers and toilet water for breakfast and then get a few pieces of cloth. Fixing my combat pants should be first priority. I even find a third pot at the fireplace. 0600 sharp I repair my combat pants two times - and succeed at both tries. 93% and shiny they are the pride of my outfit...

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... which isn't that hard, to be fair.

With the abundance of cloth I am surrounded by fixing even the least-worth parts of my attire is probably worth my time and resources. We're not living on the mountain anymore. We're a member of a one-man civilization now. At 9 I take a short exploratory stroll to some of the adjacent houses. My notable finds are a 79% hoodie, a whetstone, 2 nuts'n'stuff, a soda, a (c)old cup of bitter coffee, 20 Canadian Dollars and 43% work boots. And lots of toilet water.

All the while serious Milton induced PTSD keeps me crawling. For good reasons.

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The locals.

I have died so many times on these streets. Mostly on Stalker, I admit, but still. This neighborhood is toxic. I get home and fix my new boots with my old boots. +7°C are almost twice as much as I had yesterday. At 4 pm I decide to make a tour to the pond at the radio tower. Plenty of cattails up there and maybe some loot. I return with 13 cattails ... and a dead bunny, even without freezing. I park the bunny on the porch and warm up in bed for an hour.

After that I manage to make another trip in warm weathers, and this time actually visit both the cave up there and the radio tower - to no avail, but a second rabbit crosses my path, and regrets it instantly. I return home without losing anything to the cold, again, and only sprinting the very last meters - not to flee the cold, but to don't give wolves any wrong ideas. Then it's time to turn in for sleep.

No surprises.

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I feel Walker 3 will go far, despite the very harsh start that was proposed to him. I have the same PTSD in Milton, I started playing TLD in Hard Story mode, can you imagine how many times I died before entering the Grey's? hint: there are less atoms in the Universe

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Guest jeffpeng
11 hours ago, BareSkin said:

I feel Walker 3 will go far, despite the very harsh start that was proposed to him. I have the same PTSD in Milton, I started playing TLD in Hard Story mode, can you imagine how many times I died before entering the Grey's? hint: there are less atoms in the Universe

Since basically atoms are just excitations in different fields, and also the size of the universe can be estimated but not known for sure (maybe negative vacuum pressure is expanding space faster than the speed of light?) knowing the exact number of atoms in the Universe at any given moment is only possible if it were possible to observe the entire universe at the same time. So the correct hint would have been: There are less atoms anticipated in the observable Universe.

But in any case I'm pretty sure Milton itself is an anomaly to Schrödinger's Cat: In Milton, the cat is just dead, no matter if you look or not.

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19 hours ago, jeffpeng said:

I get out and start freezing again, immediately. Guess who's blocking the bridge.

That bear on the bridge is such a pain. I swear he is prescient; knowing which direction you are coming from and where you want to go and  how desperate you are!

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