Timberwolf Mountain run II (v325-332)

[Hotzn]

So I died in my last TWM run. It's been a long time that I died. Thinking back, it was not only my disorientation that got me killed - I also made mistakes. One of them was collecting more firewood outside because the fire just brought my temperature up to -1°C. Instead, I could have slipped into the bedroll right away, since that would have given me the extra degrees I needed to get out of the freezing department. Well, well... I need to get back into training. And what better way could there be but to throw myself once more into the fray... Timberwolf Mountain... stalker... play the girl...

[Hotzn]

Day 1:

Spawning at the the entrance to TWM from PV, it's a felt -11°C, the weather is clear, but with a stiff breeze blowing. 5 hours of daylight remain. I know my way from here - passing by the wheel and the metal parts, I make my way towards the Mountaineer's Hut. Before the v321 update, there were no predators to be encountered on this route, but now I am not so sure, so I am quite careful, watching around as good as I can given the hilly topography, and picking up some sticks on the way. When the hut comes into view, I even take the time to scrutinize the new footprints. They really are an improvement.

Before entering the hut, I look over the frozen lake - a deer is there to the right, but no wolf in sight. Inside the hut it is a felt 6°C. Is this a sauna or what? This is too warm for me, I won't stay here for long. But I'll take this hacksaw. And these two boxes of wooden matches. The insulated vest, the flare, the bandage, accelerant, storm lantern, book (examine, examine, can I read it... no). I leave the rifle cleaning kit, the rope, the firewood and another box of matches. Hmmm... two arrows... I'll take them, maybe I'll stumble on an unexpected bow somewhere. The texture of the brick walls looks different somehow... hmmm... the texture is of better quality, it seems, but it looks a bit bland... less artsy. And the snow is still drifting through the hut as if I was standing outside. This might be worthy of a fix. OK, off I go - wait! What's that? A sewing kit on the chimney sill. Almost overlooked that. It goes with me.

Now I head over to the ice fishing hut for a hatchet (yay!), a bullet, another flare and some minor goodies. The textures inside also seem... well... clearer than before, but also somehow a bit... cooler? I'm a bit on the fence about this, not sure if it's an improvement. The ice on the lake looks beautiful though. Very nice. Still no wolves to be seen, where are they? Ah, as soon as I move towards the rope a little to my right, two of them come over the next crest, barking happily on seeing their old friend Hotzn. I run back behind the big boulders and, breaking the line of sight, manage to shake them off and get unhindered to where the rope hangs suspended. But I don't want to venture up there yet, so I cut across towards the bear cave. One of the wolves comes back over the crest and barks me up, so I run a couple of meters and then go down the snow drift directly to where one of the engines is lying (where you end up passing through echo ravine). Jumping down a bit here and there, I damage my clothing a little and get a "minor bruise" - a new affliction? Maybe I can get an inflammation from it? Exciting.

Now there are two wolves skulking around here. Do I see a pattern? Do wolves now come in pairs? Exciting, exciting. I manage to get around them unnoticed, but unfortunately can't get to the crates. Already numb, I walk on to the cave. The warm cave. The cave where I don't need good clothes. Inside, my numbness still increases... aha, just 0°C. Has the temperature been lowered here? Would be cool, as I welcome everything that makes this more dangerous. Well, I should warm up, and there are only two possibilities - make a fire or slip into the bedroll. I do the latter and rest for two hours.

When I wake up, darkness has fallen. I am warmer, but not quite there yet. OK, let's make a fire now... wooden matches and a book gives a 90% chance, and it works right away even in total darkness. When the dancing flames illuminate the scene, I realize I lighted the fire right on my bedroll. Better pick that up. Now I have about 15 sticks or so and am able to melt & boil me some 3 litres of water. I then pull a brand from the fire and watch it go out slowly and the fire dying down to embers. Cozy. Then it's off to sleep...

But soon I wake up again in the darkness, fully rested. 

[hauteecolerider]

No bear in this cave? 

[Hotzn]

6 minutes ago, hauteecolerider said:

No bear in this cave? 

Don't make me nervous.

[Hotzn]

Day 2:

Still 4 hours of darkness left, but let's pretend this is already day 2. What's the situation? Hotzn the Fey stands in the Cave of Engines, looking East. The Ice Fear is mild. Hotzn is utterly bold. He has with him the hatchet Hackmoril. Wolves are abroad and Hotzn must fight or hide. He thinks again... (rep to anyone who recognizes this)

I could stay here and gather more resources. Or try to find another base. Or make a dash for the mountain top. Hmmm... the mountain top awakens bad memories of my last run. Also the game will immediately become very easy if I make it. Actually, I want to find out whether my current cave is a valid base. I'll try to stay here for a while. Now what do I need most? I have enough water for now. I am not very hungry yet, but I will soon need food. And I will definitely need firewood. I also want to loot the container near the engine. According to my memory there is tea and coffee in one of the departments. But what was in the other? Clothes? That might come in handy as well...

At dawn, I venture outside at a felt -19°C. Taking a peek around the corner, I see the wolves hanging around the container. I won't be able to make that. I turn back and am already near freezing, so it's back to the cave and into the bedroll to warm up. One hour later a nasty wind has picked up - -32°C in the ravine. I decide to explore the cave instead. Luckily I have the lantern...

The cave yields quite some wood and 4 pieces of coal. I also find a dead guy with an energy bar and some jerkies, losing a total of 0.22l of kerosene from the lamp while crossing the cave to the upper entrance. Let's take a peek outside here... alright... there's the other engine to the left... some rabbits ahead which I can't catch yet... no wolves... and a lot of wind. I collect some sticks, mushrooms and lichen, but the cold forces me back inside the cave pretty soon. By now I am ravenous, with only an energy bar and beef jerkies to sustain me. I save them for later. How to get food? Some might be obtained from containers, but I must hunt soon. Preferably deer, considering the new parasite worms. But I have no weapon. Does the deer-wolf combo still work? And where could it be obtained? My best bet is on the frozen lake.

I peek out again... it is snowing now. I see a wolf approaching and catching one of the two rabbits. Hmmm... is this worth it? I decide to protect my clothes and use a flare. Waving it around makes the growling wolf run off. I harvest the rabbit, pelt, guts, 0.9kg of meat and all. And freeze down to some 75% in the process. Calculated risk - I return to the cave, light a fire, cook and eat the rabbit, make 2 more litres of water and rest until fully rested. This brings me back to 77% condition (I lost some more from 75% until I had the fire going). No more healthy sleep to be gotten now. I also understand the hypothermia mechanic now causes a risk of contracting it when body temperature is low, and the body needs to heat up fully for the risk to slowly decrease until it hits 0%. Seems good like this. Would be cool if one could catch a fever this way.

The day is over by now, so I spend the rest of the night resting and sleeping until dawn.

[Hotzn]

Day 3:

A blizzard is raging outside. Great. I am starving - healed back to 80% during the night and starved back down to 76%. Make a little water over a fire and drop the rabbit skin & gut on the floor here to cure, then grab a brand and make my way back down to the lower end of the cave. Damn, can't see a thing... drop the brand and light the lantern. I won't be able to do this many times...

Back down at the lower end, I exit the cave and turn right. I must loot that container next to the engine, but get barked up by a wolf which pursues me right back to the cave. I sleep for an hour and peek back outside... wolf has returned to the engine, but is patrolling close to the container... no chance. I have starved down to 68% by now. Turning around, I walk up the Ravine and come across a frozen corpse. There is a scarf lying on the floor next to the guy, and it's still in good condition! Another hatchet... okay... a tin of sardines (tears of joy). Then I move on to the "Cave". Ah, there is another bedroll here, good to know. I leave it for the time being, as well as the firewood. But I take that hunting knife lying around (yay!) and the Granola bar & tomato soup from the plastic container. I will have something to eat and heal a bit overnight... phew.

Exiting the Cave to the left, I find a dead end (devs could place a Rosehip bush here maybe), return and exit straight ahead. There are some lichen and Rosehips to collect here, then it gets too cold. Returning to the Cave, I fail twice at making fire (skill 73%), but then discover that it is a felt +2°C here. So I break down one of the fir limbs lying around here and leave the firewood in the Cave for cases of emergency, as well as some tinder plugs.

Then it's back down to my cave as night falls. I make it there without incidents, light a fire, make some water and reishi tea, eat all I have (tomato soup, sardines, Granola bar), drink and slip into my bedroll, tired as a dog...

[Hotzn]

Day 4:

I wake up fully rested, back at 100%, with 13 daylight hours ahead. It's likely to be still very cold outside, but maybe the wolves by the engine are not active yet... let's check... sun's not even up yet, freezing cold... damn.. both wolves there. But... not too close. Hmmm... I dare approach and quickly open the upper compartment with my hacksaw, grab a loooot of herbal tea and coffee and - as the first wolf barks - run off and back to the cave. Phew. Well, things are certainly looking better with all that tea & coffee...

To warm up again I slip back into my bedroll for another hour, then check the loot. Hmmm... it seems coffee and tea now have a condition. Did they have this before? I'm not sure whether I like that, especially since they don't stack anymore because of it and fill up many investory slots. Also makes it more difficult to see how much they weigh. Thinking about it, I would advocate for coffee and tea not having a condition (or being always 100% condition) and stacking all the time.

Now what? I can't resist giving the container another try... one wolf is off to the other side of the engine, but where is the second one? Jumps right out from behind the engine as I want to lay hands on the container. I run back to the cave and rest for another hour. Another try? No, I decide to explore the ravine further upwards. Stepping outside, however, I see a nasty blizzard is picking up. I sleep it off in the cave, though I'm already starving (again). When it subsides, a mere 3 daylight hours remain. Grrr. I sneak to the engine and container again and see an opportunity... it's really nerve-wrecking to turn my back to the wolves while sawing away at the lower compartment... then emptying it, argh, takes so loooong... I hear wolf steps... then a bark, but I'm done, run for it and make it back to the cave. Ha!

So lessee... four energy bars and eight boxes of salty crackers. Not bad, this will sustain me for a little while. Less than one hour of daylight remains. I make a fire to prepare more water and, late at night, go to sleep...

[Hotzn]

Day 5:

I've got enough water and food for now, so my thoughts turn to clothes and weapons. Go back to the upper exit of the cave and continue there? Or return into the ravine on this (lower) end and continue up the mountain? Or bypass the wolves at the engine and walk back up Echo Ravine to the Mountaineer's Hut? I am short on kerosene, so it's back to the ravine and... hmmm... upwards (I still don't know this map very well).

Better make a little stop in the "Cave" where the second bedroll lies. I put some food, water, coffee and tea in the plastic container there as an emergency cache, make a fire to warm up (it was a felt -32°C in the ravine) and drink some hot tea, then continue upwards through the right exit. I keep the mountain on my left shoulder and soon come upon another rope leading further up. The air is clear, but it's very cold, I will soon start freezing. Hmmm... where was this rope leading to? I think it was Deer Clearing. OK, let's go for it. At the top, I see it is indeed Deer Clearing. The cave there holds another bedroll (which stays of course), another hatchet (my third, stays there as well), some food and firewood and - useful, useful - a metal container. I deposit some tea, coffee and food here, then make a fire to warm up and cook some tea. Now what? Back down? I presume it can get pretty cold up here, and there is not much firewood in the cave. Outside it is freezing cold with a nasty wind blowing, so I'll likely not be able to light a fire to harvest wood. Could get tricky spending the night here. But I like tricky. So I gather some sticks, harvest two Green Maple spalings (lucky find, can make two bows now) and make it to one of the two containers (the one on top of the rock), which yields me heaps of socks, trousers and shoes. One pair of workboots among them, the only real improvement, but I'm happy nonetheless. Start freezing and don't dare go to the other container, since a wolf is eating away on a deer carcass near it, so it's back to the cave at Deer Clearing. There I light a fire, do some harvesting and repairing of clothes, stuff any excess clothes into the metal box and prepare for the night...

Hmmm... in this cave it's a felt +1°C given my current clothing, so am I all good? No, I'm not - as soon as it gets dark, temperatures inside the cave drop. I sleep in intervals of 2-3 hours in my bedroll, but at some point the bedroll isn't keeping me warm anymore. Interestingly, I start freezing but do not get a warning that I am running a risk of hypothermia. Can't I get hypothermia if I freeze in my bedroll? That would be weird. Anyway, I have to light a fire with... my two sticks. Argh, is that all I have left? Poor planning. I light them nevertheless, because I remember there were two pieces of cedar wood lying around further back in the cave. I get them and am good... for two hours or so...

[Hotzn]

Day 6:

Things are looking a little bleak on the morning of day 6 - two hours before dawn, my fire in the cave will last for another hour or so, and there is no firewood left. When it has burned down, it will likely get very cold. I presume I won't have the time to gather substantial amounts of firewood outside before freezing. What to do? Hurry up to the top? I know the way more or less from here, but there may be wolves and bears in my way. And it will be very cold, as I would be travelling in the early morning. And the weather might turn bad. The other option is to climb back down and return to the lower "Cave" (the location is actually called "Cave" - maybe it could get a less generic name, eg "Nick's Base Camp Cave" or some such). But then what? Cure my saplings, travel to the Mountaineer's hut and make a bow? That will all take ages, and I'll need food before that. Hmmm... ach, dammit, I'll make a dash for the summit! Hotzn likes danger, oh yes he does! And we have a wild card here - the second container at Deer Clearing I couldn't loot yesterday. Maybe there is something cool in it. Well, what could be cool in this case? Hm... just clothes I presume. Anyways, I watch my fire burn down...

When the fire has burnt down to embers (and, fittingly, a dramatic music cue has played), old Hotzn steps out of the cave into Deer Clearing. The first hint of a new dawn is in the sky. Hotzn braces himself and looks up to the summit of the mountain. The old, old mountain... unforgiving... unyielding... merciless... Timberwolf Mountain. Hotzn's ass starts freezing like nothing good in his pants, storm lantern lit or not. It feels as if it was around -30°C. Fear creeps into Hotzn's heart. He turns around and runs back down, like a dog with its tail between its legs. Poor old Hotzn...

Back down in Nick's Cave, I light a fire, frozen down to 75%. I lost my pride, but I kept my life. For today.

[cekivi]

Sounds like poor cold @Hotzn

You may want to record video of your playthroughs. Sounds like quite the adventure so far

 

[Wasteland Watcher]

 I love this story! Looking forward to the next episode

 Kind of off topic sidenote but I kind of like "Daves Cave" as a pseudo name as opposed to "Nick's Cave" because it just kind of has a nice ring to it  

[Drifter Man]

I'm an avid reader of Hotzn's TWM runs, too. I haven't even tried to replicate his exploits - I would freeze to death in TWM before I could calculate with my spreadsheets how much time I have until I freeze

[Scyzara]

Great read as always.

However, the next time you need to get to the summit asap, you might try not to store your tea and coffee in various emergency caches, but to boil and drink it instead. Some 2-stick fire every 500m to briefly heat up a (preboiled) cup of coffee and no temperature on this (or any other planet) could have stopped good old Hotzn. 

[Hotzn]

5 hours ago, Wasteland Watcher said:

 I love this story! Looking forward to the next episode

 Kind of off topic sidenote but I kind of like "Daves Cave" as a pseudo name as opposed to "Nick's Cave" because it just kind of has a nice ring to it  

Actually, you are right. Dave's Cave sounds better. But haven't we already got Dave's Quiet Clearing in ML? That would implicate Dave made it from tere to TWM or vice versa. Interesting...

Anyway, I'll stick to Nick for purposes of this run so as not to confuse readers too much...

[Hotzn]

On 5.5.2016 at 0:57 AM, cekivi said:

Sounds like poor cold @Hotzn

You may want to record video of your playthroughs. Sounds like quite the adventure so far

 

Hmmm...I guess I would need to work my way into this. And I don't have as much gaming time currently as I would like to have. I presume a video would need to be cut and arranged after recording, would it not? That would cost extra time... hmmm...

[Hotzn]

5 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

I'm an avid reader of Hotzn's TWM runs, too. I haven't even tried to replicate his exploits - I would freeze to death in TWM before I could calculate with my spreadsheets how much time I have until I freeze

This made me laugh.  Good to know people are having fun reading my stuff. That's the main point. The second is to provide the devs with some feedback in a different format.

[Hotzn]

1 hour ago, Scyzara said:

Great read as always.

However, the next time you need to get to the summit asap, you might try not to store your tea and coffee in various emergency caches, but to boil and drink it instead. Some 2-stick fire every 500m to briefly heat up a (preboiled) cup of coffee and no temperature on this (or any other planet) could have stopped good old Hotzn. 

Very good advice as always. My problem is that I am still not too familiar with the topography in TWM. I actually had 4 pre-boiled coffee cups in my backpack at the time. But still I chickened out, haha!  You probably would have been more courageous because you gathered more TWM summit racing experience during the Sea to Summit challenge. I didn't for lack of time . But anyway, the mountain taught me respect in the previous run, this time I want to survive... come back for victory another day! 

[Drifter Man]

1 hour ago, Hotzn said:

This made me laugh.  Good to know people are having fun reading my stuff. That's the main point. The second is to provide the devs with some feedback in a different format.

That's right, and I always like to read how very different games can be played in TLD.

[cekivi]

11 hours ago, Hotzn said:

Hmmm...I guess I would need to work my way into this. And I don't have as much gaming time currently as I would like to have. I presume a video would need to be cut and arranged after recording, would it not? That would cost extra time... hmmm...

I never bother! At the moment it's just two of my friends who watch my videos anyways! 

The funny thing is, my most viewed and commented on video I've ever done was how to play the first three turns of Paths of Glory! For some reason, I'm like the only person on YouTube who's ever uploaded a Paths of Glory Let's Play

[Wasteland Watcher]

On May 7, 2016 at 10:31 PM, Hotzn said:

Actually, you are right. Dave's Cave sounds better. But haven't we already got Dave's Quiet Clearing in ML? That would implicate Dave made it from tere to TWM or vice versa. Interesting...

Anyway, I'll stick to Nick for purposes of this run so as not to confuse readers too much...

But I *have* made it from ML to here

On May 7, 2016 at 10:37 PM, Hotzn said:

On May 7, 2016 at 10:37 PM, Hotzn said:

Hmmm...I guess I would need to work my way into this. And I don't have as much gaming time currently as I would like to have. I presume a video would need to be cut and arranged after recording, would it not? That would cost extra time... hmmm...

 

Exactly the reason I never make "let's play" videos.

I'd rather just play!

[Hotzn]

Day 6 (continued):

After sleeping for an hour by the fireside and with 11 daylight hours left, I decide to leave Nick's Cave again via the upper exit/entrance and explore the vicinity a bit more (without going up the rope to Deer Clearing). I find a deer carcass, 4 Birch saplings (yay!), lots of sticks, lichen, mushrooms, rose hips and another cave with two pieces of Cedar wood in it (which are magically levitating some 30 cm above the ground). Harvesting everything, I return to Nick's Cave at nightfall, freezing and at risk for hypothermia (luckily, I don't get it), with a sprained wrist and ankle. I have burnt all the sticks I gathered on the way to warm up here and there, but my luggage is full of blessings from mother nature, including a very important piece of deerskin and two guts. Also got me 1.6 kg of tasty deer venison. Starting on TWM in stalker mode, the pre-existing deer carcasses are very welcome. Do they decay? I think they should at least not decay as fast as the "regular" carcasses. Or - even better - new carcasses should occasionally spawn in random places. This should be a rare thing, of course. But it would be cooler and - at least to me - more interesting and immersive if the deer carcasses were not always in the same places. It would be awesome if we had to rely on finding these (especially early in the game) and had to go looking for them by following the circling crows. So we would need good weather to see where they are circling, and then we would have to try and get there (which isn't always easy on the TWM map. And it would be even cooler if sometimes they would just circle over a dead rabbit or an already fully ravaged carcass, and we would thus be disappointed. Or if sometimes we would find a carcass with wolves around it, and we would have to battle or distract them to get hold of a piece of deerskin and/or venison.

Anyway, I digress. Having returned to Nick's Cave, I don't want to run any further risk of hypothermia (which would probably hit me quite hard at this stage), so I make a stop, light a fire (good thing I deposited some firewood and tinder here), have some hot tea and warm up and make 3 litres of water before grabbing a brand and continuing further down the ravine to my cave (the one with a loading screen, just above the engine in Echo Ravine). I arrive safely in the darkness, quite exhausted and hungry like a bear. I eat 1 kg of venison, drop everything that needs to cure on the floor (4 Birch and 2 Maple saplings, 1 deerskin & 2 guts), drink as usual and go to sleep for 9 hours...

[Hotzn]

Day 7:

I wake up fully rested and back at 100%, but don't know the time of day. Since I am near the cave entrance and don't hear any wind, I presume it must be foggy outside. So what's the plan? Food and water is there for the next days, no problem at the moment. My current clothing only gives me a +7°C temperature bonus, so it would be really nice to get some decent clothing. I would certainly find some on the summit. But I'm still reluctant to go there - firstly because I died trying in my last run and that left a mark on me. And secondly, because the summit has so much loot that the run would become very easy immediately. So if I don't go to the summit now, how else can I get decent clothes? By crafting them, of course. I consider doing some naked wolf fighting by the engine in Echo Ravine, but that would only give me 2 wolf skins and 4 guts. I wouldn't eat the meat, since I'm not sure whether or not I have enough medication in case the parasites should hit. Seems like a waste and the naked fighting is a bit of an exploit, so no wolves for the time being. After some more thinking, I decide I want to return to Deer Clearing today to deposit some firewood in the cave there and try to loot the second cargo container...

Great - not fog outside, but a blizzard. Going back into the cave, I can now hear it inside as well. The fact that I could not hear it before is a bug, I guess. Anyway, I spend some time harvesting socks from the container I looted at Deer Clearing, rest a little in my bedroll, then return outside with 9 daylight hours remaining.

Passing through Nick's Cave on the way back up towards Deer Clearing, I notice two things: First, there seems to be something wrong with the cave - I see long shadows on the floor as if the cave had no roof. But it has one. This seems to be a bug which deserves fixing. I also notice that burnt-out campfires no longer disappear. This also seems to be a bug which apparently was introduced with the Tireless Menace update or around that time.

Leaving Nick's Cave through the upper entrance, I am confronted with a stiff breeze, a felt -24°C. Collecting wood turns out to be a chore, and when I turn back I am suddenly confronted with a strong headwind and risk of hypothermia. I look for the other cave I found yesterday, but somehow miss it and am forced to hide in a small crack in the cliff to my left to get out of the wind and light a fire. At least I manage to warm up and battle premature fatigue with a cup of coffee, but when I return to Nick's Cave with 5 hours of daylight left, I have just wasted some firewood, coffee and calories (starving by now) and attained nothing. Grrr. I descend further down to the lower cave so I don't have to light another fire and on arriving there grab an hour of sleep, just to warm up again. Waking up with 4 daylight hours left and at 81% condition, I think again. The mountain isn't exactly being friendly with me.

[Drifter Man]

1 hour ago, Hotzn said:

Starting on TWM in stalker mode, the pre-existing deer carcasses are very welcome. Do they decay? I think they should at least not decay as fast as the "regular" carcasses

Recently I dug into a very, very old carcass indeed. The meat was at 39%. I don't think they decay at all, at least not until you touch them.