Interloper run (v364-365)


Hotzn

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It's 22:41 on a Sunday evening, I come home from the office, dead tired. Surely there is nothing that could keep me from falling right into bed. Right. Oh, wait... Steam has downloaded something... it's the update. Well, I can play tomorrow. No, wait! Tomorrow I have a lot of appointments and so much to do... better next weekend. Yes, I'll play next weekend. Not today, it's just too late. Just take a brief look... aha... there are badges now (haven't played Penitent Scholar due to RL reasons). Feats and challenges... interesting. Click sandbox... hmmm... INTERLOPER... new game mode. The true test... okay...

Day 1:

I spawn... somewhere. No idea where. Terrain seems unfamiliar. The sky is overcast, and it's snowing a bit, but I can see fairly well. It's a felt -10°C. Things could be worse. So where to go? Urgh... a wolf off some distance, veering over into my direction. Did it smell me? I run off in the other direction and come across a burnt down cabin with a corpse. Where is this place? The corpse yields nothing. I press on, collecting some sticks on the way. Then... a hunter's blind. This must be the blind which is off the beaten path in Pleasant Valley. Nothing but a bear's cave is near here, as far as I can remember. Nearest shelter? Hmmm... haven't been here in a while. Draft Dodger's? Where exactly was that now? I might be in trouble here...

The hunter's blind contains a book (no nerve to take a closer look now) and some beef jerkies. OK, think. The transition to TWM should not be too far off. Do I have matches on me? No. Damn. I'll try to go for Draft Dodger's, and if I miss it, I might hit the Farmstead. Let's see...

I walk a bit with the cliff to my right shoulder, finding another corpse... maybe the hunter from the blind. Nothing on him. Then I turn left towards where I hope Draft Dodger's to be and start running, because I already start freezing. I collect some sticks and pass by a deer carcass, but won't stop since I cannot harvest anything without fire or tools. Then I see two burnt down cabins. These seem familiar... yes, I know them from the challenge "The Hunted"! So that's where I am. The metal box in the snow next to one of the cabins is empty. I pick up two reclaimed wood (yay, snares!) and slip into the basement. In there it's a felt 2°C. Nice.

Ah, the loot... I find a new thin wool sweater at 95% condition in the dryer (who puts a wool sweater in the dryer and it comes out at 95%?). Which would be nice... if I wasn't already wearing the exact thing, only at 93% condition. Also a stale chocolate bar, dusty pork & beans, a Cedar and a Fir firewood, a bandage and 4 water purification tablets. Who knows, on Interloper they might be useful. Should I break up the cardboard or wooden boxes? No, better not get caught in here by the darkness or bad weather, since I don't have a bedroll, and there is no bed here. I should take a minute to warm up though (I've frozen down to 94%). So I take a closer look at the book... Field dressing your kill, volume 1. Aha. Further examination reveals I can read this book for a total of 10 hours, and it will increase a skill of field dressing I have. Hm. I decide to break down some cardboard for 2 tinder plugs. This takes 18 minutes and allows me to warm up just a little. Then it's back outside and over to the ropes.

At the bottom of the second rope I quickly find Draft Dodger's. I collect some Rose Hips and mushrooms around it and enter frozen down to 80% condition. To my dismay, it is a felt -1°C inside. The bed will be warm enough to rescue me, but what if I wake up at night and am not tired anymore. Due to the former logic of the sleep/rest system, I would be doomed to leave the bed and cabin at night (dangerous, dangerous, especially if the weather turns bad) or freeze to death next to the bed. If the system still works like that, I might be better off leaving now and trying to reach the Farmstead. Hmmm...

I decide to make a dash for the Farmstead. Oh-oh... it's getting dark. And it's starting to snow. I jog a little, but want to keep some stamina in reserve in case I need to escape the occasional wolf. It becomes really hard to see... what's that over there? Damn, a haystack! I have gone off too far towards the left, to the red barn. Turn right... urgh... a deer comes running towards me in the darkness from up ahead. With a wolf in its wake maybe? I turn right at 90° and run a bit, then hit the frozen river and turn left, hopefully towards the road. After some walking and frozen down to some 65%, I turn right and walk over the ridge and into an orchard. Which orchard is this? Heavy snow, can't see a thing... there, a barn to my right! I have walked past the Farmstead. I sneak close behind the fence, watching out for wolves... then make mad run for the door and get inside unhindered. It's warm here, 4°C. Phew!

I get some water from the toilet, search a few drawers, go upstairs and into the bedroom. Now... should I start reading the book about field dressing? I'll do it, just for an hour and the sake of trying it out... ha! It tells me it's too dark to read! How cool is that? I like it, yeah - can't read in the dark. Makes sense. And since I have no means to make a fire and have no other light source either, I shoud, really go to bed. Because if I wander around the house now, I might get lost and die from exhaustion while not finding the bed again ;)

So yeah... some water and food and off to bed! I've survived a day!

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24 minutes ago, togg said:

interesting :)

Yes! :)

10 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

Welcome back :) You should be able to pass time in the bed while getting the bonus. No need for old Hotzn to freeze to death in that cabin.

Da man from the Dam, hi there. Feels good to be back. Seems we got our super-hard mode. Didn't find it too hard yet, though. We'll see how it goes on. And thanks for the tip concerning passing time in the bed. Don't need it right now, since I decided to move on. But might be a life-saver another day...

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Day 2:

I wake up after 9 hours of healthy sleep (healed back to 87% from 59% - healing slower now or what? - brilliant), quite thirsty, with an unknown time of darkness remaining (a blizzard is blowing outside). Drinking some water, I decide to explore the house while the light of day is slowly creeping in. Dang... a chore, it's still too dark. So can I read the book? Indeed I can! So I read for an hour, and the light is coming on. Looks nice actually. Now that there is some light, I take a closer look around... hmmm... it seems as if something has changed about the way the light is falling through the windows. The sunbeams seem more distinct now, and light and shadow behave more realistically when I'm moving around. Excellent.

So, what have we got in the house? A toque on the shelf near the front door... two books in the living room (one can be studied - Wilderness Kitchen)... a can opener, a bottle of antiseptic, a can of peaches and a tin of coffee (yay, I always love finding that!) in the kitchen area... there is more firewood next to the stove, which I leave there... on the other of the stove, a sewing kit (yeeha!)... and a decent insulated vest in the study.

Think. I still have no means to make fire. No matches, no firestriker, no magnifying glass, no flare. I would like to check the basement now, but a blizzard is raging outside (rattling on the doors and windowpanes, great atmosphere!) and I don't want to ruin my clothes even the tiniest bit. I'm starving now, by the way. So I repair the toque back to 100% and read a little bit of Wilderness Kitchen... or no, I don't. Seems I can't concentrate on reading this book (of all books, heh) while I'm starving. Cool. So I can only study diligently when I'm fed and I have enough light. I presume none of my bars may be empty. I like that.

Just for the fun of it, I eat some of my cans and study Wilderness Kitchen completely (5 hours). I get an icon telling me my cooking skill has increased. The book seems spent, it does not offer me the option "research" anymore. Guess I can use it as fuel for my fires now. Only 2 hours of daylight remain, so I go down to the basement... let's see what we can find... quality tools, okay... a box of 12 wood matches, yay! Worn ski gloves (welcome)... and another tin of coffee (why not).

Taking a detour to the car parked near the Farmstead (nothing), I find myself back inside at the stove with my newly-acquired matches... 80% fire chance if I use a book. I do it (burning Wilderness Kitchen in the process), make 5 litres of water and two cups of coffee, take a brand (to find my way back upstairs and to bed), put it in the drawer of the night table next to the bed and go to sleep (after eating my pork & beans and drinking plenty). Another day survived!

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I guess he means PV->ML->CH-DP.

Read on if you don't mind to get spoiled a tiny bit ;)

Thanks to Cabin Fever I don't think this is the best route anymore. Instead I chose in this run to go from PV straight to CH (beware of wolves up the hill near the Cave) after spending some time in PV, because hour long fishing does two things: provide you with food and you are outside and CH has enough cat tails to bridge the time you are waiting for guts to cure. Luckily this was my third run in a row where the basement had the Hacksaw and the Red Barn the Hammer, so I'm beginning to think that those are guaranteed spawns (like the Matches in the basement btw, in ~20 Interloper Runs I always found them there).

Also, the Cave between PV and ML has no coal - cave to CH does. The only reason to go to ML at all right now is to look for the Mag Glass and a Bedroll but I for one will make it a very short visit, I'd rather go to DP soon.

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On 26.9.2016 at 8:23 PM, ChillPlayer said:

I guess he means PV->ML->CH-DP.

Read on if you don't mind to get spoiled a tiny bit ;)

 

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Hmmm... thanks for the info. Hotzn doesn't follow anyone's strategy though. Hotzn's improvisations are the strategies of tomorrow...

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Day 3:

Waking up with 13 hours of daylight left, I am starving again, but still at 100% and therefore not yet forced to eat. Now what do I have... 11 wood matches and 4 books, but only one tinder plug. Need a little more of the latter, then I can reliably make emergency fires. 4 litres of purified water, so no problem there. One can of dogfood at 82% left, which should carry me more or less until tomorrow. Need more food, but it's not pressing yet. More tinder is a priority, otherwise one failure to light a fire could make things difficult. So here's the plan: Go over to the road and get some sticks, maybe plunder a car, then depending on the degree of freezing either press on for Radio Control Hut or return to create tinder plugs and warm up a little. Let's go.

Ah, wonderful, windy and a felt -43°C outside. No wolves anywhere, but I likely don't have much time under these conditions. Forget the road, I just run to the green barn and over the ridge behind it, grab three sticks and run back. Hit the door again just as I'm starting to freeze. Back inside, I harvest the sticks and have 7 tinder plugs now. First problem solved. Now what? I need to warm up again before I can leave. Make a fire? That would waste a match and fuel. Sleep or rest? I check the bed upstairs, it appears as if I can only sleep there and not just slip in to warm up. Maybe that should become an option. Out of curiosity, I also check the drawer of the night table and lo - there is the icon of the burning brand which I put in there, well... burning. Would make sense to have that go out over night. Would make even more sense not being able to put it inside a container while burning. I take it out, and it still appears burning in my inventory. Equipping it shows it... in my hand (just realize I have hands now... nice), but extinguished. I try to put it back in my inventory by holstering it, but that makes it drop to the floor. And then the nagging indestructible burnt-out brand seems to have returned. I can left-click it, but can't pick it up. It's offering me an option to equip it, but that does not work. I can put it back, right-click and place it somewhere else. It seems this needs some work still. My suggestion would be to just make the brand disappear when it has burnt out or been extinguished. Interestingly, after I have moved it... there is another burnt-out brand on the floor in front of the bed. Now where does that come from? Has it somehow duplicated?

Well, I digress. I want to survive and not think too much about magical brands (maybe cabin fever is getting me without me noticing). So... warming up and then food. It has become quiet outside... the wind has died down, it seems. I light a fire in the stove with a book (80% chance, luckily it works), add a piece of Cedar firewood, melt & boil another litre of water (and warm up in the process), heat up a cup of coffee and drink it to get the temperature bonus, grab a brand and head out the back door. I want to check whether the deer carcass is by the broken barn half-way to Three Strikes Farmstead...

Careful, careful... okay, there is one lone wolf skulking around the orchard behind the house. I make my way to the left where the big rock formation is, then turn right there and walk around the wolf. Turning the corner, I see four deer walking around the area between the orchard and the broken barn. Hmmm... should I try and chase one of them into the wolf? That could give me plenty of meat. If... IF I manage to draw the wolf away from the kill. No, better stick to the plan. Always stick to the plan, Hotzn. My brand goes out. For a moment there, I was thinking about using it to light another little fire on the way to save matches. Hmmm... yes, that's what I should actually do in the future. Or will that take up too much time and consume too much material? Well, it's too late for this brand now.

Turning around the next rock, I see the broken barn and... the deer carcass is there! Gingerly, I light a fire next to it, fail once, but the second time it works. Hah! Hm... I put all my 10 sticks on the fire, and it's still a felt -12°C. Wut? I'm frozen down to 90% already, this fire needs to become WARMER! I run around a bit to collect seven more sticks, rush back and put them on the fire, and a Fir log on top. Aaaand... it's sufficient, feels like 9°C now. I wait a little for the carcass to thaw, make another cup of coffee in the meantime and drink it, as my fatigue is rising. Just as the carcass drops below 50% freezing, I realize the sky has turned darker, and it is beginning to snow. I don't like this, but I have invested too much resources into this adventure now, so I have to get something out of it. At least some venison and the guts...

Having harvested one gut, I see the weather unchanged... maybe this works out... but no, it doesn't. While harvesting the second gut, I see my fire go out shortly before I finish. I know this must be wind picking up, a bad foreboding, but since I am almost finished with the second gut, I don't interrupt the process. Aaaand... look up into the friendly face of a starting blizzard. Uh-oh. There are only two possibilities I see here - press on towards Three Strikes and try to sit it out (might find a little wood and maybe something else, but if the blizzard lasts I'm done over there) or rush back to the Farmstead. Not a choice really. Now since I want to survive, I do something "gamey" and take off all my clothes to see if I can prevent damage to them. Then I walk head-on into the fray, naked like... well... a naked girl (just remembered I'm playing the girl)... wish me luck.

Well... it doesn't go as badly as I thought. I reach the front porch frozen down to 76% without any wolf encounters, and having slipped back inside I see the damage to my clothes is minimal. And that damage probably was taken while finishing my gut-harvesting when the blizzard started. So this whole thing didn't go as planned, I invested quite a bit into the trip and only got back two guts (which I drop on the floor to cure right away). But guts are guts, and I might be able to go rabbit-trapping soon.

With the blizzard raging outside, I walk around the house (it dawns on me how people could get cabin fever under such conditions) and notice something curious: I can break down a few chairs with my hands, but for most of the others I need a hatchet. Is this by design? Also the chairs take considerably longer to break down and consume more calories per reclaimed wood than the crates by the stove. Since I'm running low on fire fuel, I break down the two crates, then go upstairs to the bedroom and break down a chair that is there. Since I'm already starving, I am saving the calorie cost. All the time, the blizzard is rattling on the windowpanes, and the light shining in through the windows is slowly dying. Clicking around with the bed some more, I find out that I CAN actually slip in to just pass time in it. Just need to activate a button on top. Hmmm... would be better to see text for this.

So after what feels like a long day, I eat a can of dog food (apart from coffee and mushrooms the only food I have left), satiate my thirst and go to sleep for 9 hours. My condition is 68%. But I have survived another day.

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On 29.9.2016 at 6:41 AM, RossBondReturns said:

This is a great Hotzn. As a novelist/screenwriter myself I love your attention to detail! As for myself, I just started experimenting in Voyageur...thus far things have been fast- deaths that is. I'll have to upload the videos. I keep coming back for more punishment. :)

Keep going.

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Day 4:

I wake up with ??? hours of daylight left. Since it's quiet outside, I presume it'll be foggy. I've healed back to 79%, but I'm starving and my food is gone. Could make some reishi tea and coffee for a couple of calories, but I'd rather save that for its real purpose. So food is now a top priority. Other than that, I have eight wood matches and two books left to make fire, but I've used up most of my firewood yesterday while trying to harvest the deer. Now where to get food...

I could...

a) return to the deer carcass and give it another try. There's 1.1 kg of venison on it and a hide. It would likely cost me a day to get it, with procuring firewood beforehand and all, and I'd probably lose some condition due to freezing. I could recover that if I get the venison. IF I get the venison. Or I could...

b) try to reach the Radio Control Hut on Signal Hill. A little food should be there, and maybe some other useful loot. I still need a number of basics - the knife, the hatchet, the storm lantern to name a few. And more matches. Or I could...

c) go over to the outbuildings and check the red barn. Something useful might be there as well. But somehow I feel the chances of finding food are slimmer than in the Radio Control Hut. Hmmm... decisions, decisions...

I finally decide I want to finish what I started and return to the deer carcass. I know this is probably the most dangerous choice. But I love danger. To avoid travelling in the fog, I first run outside, to the green barn, over the next ridge and collect some sticks. Then back inside and break apart a chair to warm up and gain additional firewood. When I'm done the fog has cleared, 10 hours of the day remain. Next decision... light a fire indoors again to have a hot drink and a brand on the way? No, I need to save matches and books. So off I go, ready to freeze a little on the way...

No wolf in the orchard behind the house to be seen... I take the same route as yesterday, feeling uneasy as I turn the corner of the bis rock formation... WOOF, WOOF! Arrrgh, a wolf has spotted me! I run back towards the Farmstead, the fiend hot on my heels. Running out of stamina, I turn around and walk backwards, banning the enemy with Hotzn's Imposing Gaze. Hhhhhhnnngg... both wolf and the rescuing door are getting closerrr... and I'm inside! Phew!

That deer carcass is cursed. Better not risk a third try. Now I'm numb again and a half-tired already, with still 10 hours of daytime left. After sleeping for an hour, I've warmed up again and shaken off just a little tiredness. Out via the covered porch I go and off towards Signal Hill...

What an ordeal... I'm already freezing as I reach the road. Have to look for a somewhat sheltered place near a boulder and make a fire... luckily it works first try. Then I need to put all my gathered sticks on it to get a +20°C fire, so I stop freezing at least. Damn, this is resource-intensive. Make & drink some hot coffee and then make further water to pass time by the fire to warm up. With 6 hours of the day remaining, I am - at last - warm again. Leave one hour of fire burning go to waste. I have enough water and do not want to get caught in bad weather. My brand is extinguished by wind soon, and on the way up (around the right side, my favourite way) I twist an ankle. But I make it to the hut just as I start freezing again and a risk of hypothermia is indicated. Well, I'm safe for now... let's pray there is food here...

...indeed there is. A can of sardines and a can of peaches. Sufficient to get a little healing out of overnight. Also a flare... a sewing kit... another tin of coffee... and - work boots! Only at 33%, but still way better than the sneakers I'm wearing. Harvesting the latter, I get two cured leather and try to repair the former... it works! My work boots are now at 83%! Doing this has me warmed up almost fully, and there are two hours of daytime left to use. So back outside to harvest some Rose Hips. Unfortunately, a wind is blowing at a felt -28°C, so I can't do much more before I'm forced back inside.

Placing myself in front of the bed to avoid getting lost in the dark, I repair my jeans back to 77% and break down the chair next to me just to tire myself out completely. Then I eat the sardines and peaches, drink and go to sleep for 9 hours at 60% condition. Another day survived.

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Day 5:

Healed back to 87% overnight. I really love that condition cannot be regained so quickly now, one really has to be careful not to lose too much due to poor planning. I make a little experiment, since I am on the brink of starting to starve again: I start reading my book on field dressing for one hour... but the reading is interrupted as I go into starving mode. No tricks to be played here

So what to do next? Maybe I should return back to the road around the other side of Signal Hill and head for the red barn. The question is: Can I sleep there in the truck in case of emergency? I have a clothing bonus of +7°C... will that suffice? Otherwise I would have to make a fire in the barn, warm up and then either head over to rural crossroads or back to the Farmstead. Anyway, I'll head out for the red barn. Will need to make at least one fire on the way...

Grrr... I am freezing so fast... have to make the fire already as I'm reaching the top of the rope near the bear cave. Fair enough, as the bear is snooping around just where the rope comes down. I squat down by the fire, boil and drink a cup of coffee, make some water and finally mend my gloves. When I have fully warmed up, fog has fallen. I go back to the rope and listen for the bear... nothing. Climbing down, I check the cave (nothing), then head out to the road, collecting some sticks on the way. On the road, I turn right and start freezing again as I reach the purple car at the bridge. I press on, sometimes running and sometimes walking. There is a green barn between the trees on my right I know, but I don't want to spend too much time freezing and head straight for the red barn. See three deer on the way, but have nothing to hunt them. The barn, at last.

Inside it's a felt -1°C, which means it's -8°C in absolute numbers. Bad luck. Is it warmer inside the truck? It is, a felt +4°C, which means -3°C without clothes. It takes me a while going through the different menus to find the sleeping option, which is strangely displayed as a bedroll icon. Anyway, I can sleep here in case of emergency and do so for an hour to warm up. Now let's search the place... a stim and a can of soda in the truck, nice... a crowbar and the heavy hammer upstairs... a little lamp oil (damn, no lamp!) and a candy bar. Using the crowbar to open two locked lockers yields a box of stale salty crackers. I like those.

I peek outside the back and check the target practice thingy for used or broken arrows, but nothing. The cold and an approaching bear drive me back inside. I sit down in the truck to warm up and think... where to go from here? Rural crossroads could be interesting. But at some point I should return to the Farmstead - at least to collect the guts, but maybe also to take another shot at that elusive deer carcass... hmmm... check matches... 6 remain... and a flare, which could ignite another fire, if necessary...  but no more books... 4 daylight hours remain...

In the end, I decide matches are a priority right now, because 6 of them are not exactly much, conidering that without further books I will waste some of them due to reduced fire starting chances. So Rural Crossroads is next. I make a little stopover at the green barn among the Outbuildings and - yay! - discover a box of wooden matches in one of the crates inside! Four deer are grazing between the green barn and the road, they run away as I approach. Hitting the road, I turn left towards Rural Crossroads. On the snowfield to my left, I see a deer carcass lying around. Interesting, maybe something for the way back. Now I'm starting to become exhausted (the heavy hammer and lots of firewood are slowing me down). I reach the first building freezing and dead tired. Can't find anything inside, I'm missing the lantern a bit, it's hard to see. In the next building - Rural Store - I find another box of wooden matches while I'm groping around in a dark corner. Yesss! Got 30 matches now and feel better. Before crossing the bridge, I drop some firewood in the middle of the street. Then I slowly crawl to the other side, wary of wolves... nothing to see... the house to the right is a burnt ruin, but two houses remain on the left... I make a dash into the first one. Searching it yields a couple of painkillers and a book. The former will likely not be essential, but the book will help me light my next fire (I have realized that lighting fires does not raise the fire skill directly anymore. Instead it seems some kind of skill bar starts rising, and I presume my skill will rise when the bar is full. We'll see...

At long lat, I am standing in front of the bed. I'm absolutely exhausted, encumbered (of course), starving and at 55% condition. One hour of daylight remains, so I eat the salty crackers, drink water and go to sleep for 9 hours. Another day survived.

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Day 6:

I wake up at 75%, with ??? hours of darkness remaining and a blizzard blowing outside. What's the plan for today? I want to loot the rest of Rural Crossroads and go down to the river to check if there are cattails to be had. I have a candy bar and a can of soda left. If complemented with one or two cattails, this could take me through another night of healing. The further plan is to warm up again in the house where I'm right now and then travel back to the red barn, harvesting the deer carcass next to the road on the way. If that is successful, I should have some venison and thus food for two nights. And maybe more guts...

When the blizzard dies down, there are 9 hours of daylight left. I deposit some stuff in the kitchen (the heavy hammer, a sewing kit, water purification tablets, lots of mushrooms and cloth) and peek outside... all clear... I run over to the other house... not a house really, but a hut... nothing there... then over to the red car... beef jerkies. Nice. I almost forget that I can open the trunk now that I have a crowbar... nothing. It's snowing, and a hefty wind is blowing, it's a felt -28°C. I already need to get back inside to warm up in bed for an hour. Then the wind has stopped. I manage to find 4 cattails by the river, and on the way back to the house some lichen, more mushrooms and a couple of sticks. Checking my stats, I see a curious phenomenon - my fatigue has a red minus sign at the right, apparently I am getting tired quicker than usual. Now why is this? Hmmm... Maybe because I'm starving too much during the day? That would be tricky.

Anyway, after one hour of rest I am warmed up, step outside again, turn right, cross the bridge and make my way towards the deer carcass. On the way I eat my candy bar, and really the smal red bar which has formed on the right of my fatigue-o-meter seems to dwindle. When I have reached the carcass, the sky has turned grey. I have not gathered too much experience with the weather system, but I have a feeling the weather could be worsening. Grrr... I light a fire anyway, I have to try this out. Waiting for the carcass to thaw, I drink a hot cup of coffee and make some water. Then I inspect the carcass. There is 1.9 kg of juicy venison on it, and that is what I am here for. I take the chance and select all of it for harvesting. And of course a blizzard starts while I do so, blowing out my fire first and then letting my freezing bar plummet. I don't interrupt the process though, I'll rather take a little blizzard damage than lose the meat now. Then I run back towards the road, take off all my clothes (I know this is gamey), turn to the left and run for Rural Crossroads. When I reach the house (which has become a little base at this point), I have frozen down to 55%. I drop the venison (which is at 25%) on the road and slip into the house.

Not much to be done now. I rest a little until darkness has fallen, then I eat almost everything I have left (2 cattails, beef jerkies and the soda can), drink and go to sleep for 9 hours. Another day survived, but not gained much.

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Day 7:

I wake up with less than one hour of darkness left and at 80%. It's quiet outside. And... still quite dark. A little adventure, old Hotzn? A little walk in the dark? Not seeing whether wolves see you? Why not... let's go. I turn right again at the road, collect the two pieces of venison and the woodpile I left there and venture over to the deer carcass again. It's still very cold, and I start freezing before I reach it. Without any books left, I still manage to light a fire on my first attempt, and I have to put all my remaining wood on it to keep me from freezing. Then I boil a little more water as the carcass starts thawing and the daylight comes along. Now before the carcass becomes harvestable, a nasty wind picks up. I start freezing again. Dang, no more wood. Is the wind blowing out my fire? Apparently not, it still indicates over 4 hours. I need more wood, so I leave the warmth of my fire to get some sticks from nearby. Unfortunately, turning the corner of a large boulder, I am suddenly confronted with a wolf. Intense. I race back to the carcass and bring the fire between me and the fiend. The wolf approaches, growling, then yelps when it realizes I am master over the licking flames which it fears like nothing else, and runs off. Bounces off a boulder, and another, then calms down and decides to return for more. Again it comes, growling. Now why is the fire suddenly so small, I wonder. Pointing my cursor tells me the reason - it is down to embers and will only glow for another 9 minutes! The only reason I can imagine is that either the wind has changed direction or become stronger, blowing out the fire. Since I have no idea whether embers still impress an approaching wolf, I equip my flare (holding it with my new hand) and run off towards Rural Crossroads. The wolf either loses interest or my trail, and I arrive safely at the first building.

I have lost another fire, all my firewood is gone now, and I'm down to 53% condition. I still have the 1.9 kg of venison though. Think... did I make a mistake? Probably a dozen so far, but wasting my remaining firewood at the deer carcass likely was not one of them. I just didn't see that wind coming, and there wasn't any wind-protected spot next to the carcass if my judgement is correct. It dawns on me that I am losing a lot of resources to weather changes as long as I don't have any tools to harvest carcasses. Should I transfer to Mystery Lake or Coastal Highway for better weather conditions until I am geared up? Or go the hard way and master the conditions here in Pleasant Valley? Think again... I have never actually used snow shelters so far. Check, check... takes 15 cloth and 5 sticks. I have a lot of cloth, and sticks are easy to come by. Now if I built a snow shelter next to a carcass that might allow me to reduce the resources I need for my fires, would it not? I could just build a fire warm enough to thaw the carcass and slip into the snow shelter, actually warming up while I wait. When the carcass has thawed, I could come out and harvest if the weather conditions allow it. Hmmm... must check how long it takes to build a snow shelter. Anyway, right now I need to focus on the task at hand, and that's getting my raw venison cooked and my condition back up. So I peek outside (no wolf) and drop the venison into the snow, then slip back inside and dismantle a crate to get 4 reclaimed wood as firewood.

Now it's calm and sunny outside, but still a felt -31°C. Well, it's still early morning, so it may get warmer (if the weather remains stable). My fatigue is already half down, so I run across the bridge to my temporary base (the little house with the bed) and take a nap (1 hour). Being warmed up, I collect some sticks behind the house, return and take another nap (1 hour). 8 hours of the day remain. Cross the street and collect some sticks on the other side, return, harvest two curtains for 4 cloth, 1 hour nap. 6 hours remain. I now have enough material to build a snow shelter. Ha!

Outside it`s windy, but a mere felt -10°C if I'm out of the wind. I check the snow shelter thing... aha, takes 45 minutes to build. Make a mental note for later. Then I run across the bridge, collect my venison out of the snow on the other side, run back across the bridge and make a fire next to my little base. 60% chance only since I'm without books now (I'm not burning my book on field dressing), but it works on the first attempt. I cook my two pieces of venison, which are rancid by now. Afterwards, they are "gamey" (72%), and I walk around the house to drop them on the little veranda, then collect more sticks behind the house, return to the fire and make Reishi and Rose Hip tea as well as more water until the sun goes down. Taking a brand from the dying fire, I walk around the house again to collect a piece of my hard-earned venison from the veranda... what the heck? Where are they? No venison to be seen! Has it been stolen while I was cooking on the other side of the house?? In disbelief, I run my cursor over the snow covering the veranda, and lo and behold - the venison is under the snow! I doubt that this is intended, likely a bug. So I take one of my two invisible pieces of venison, go inside, eat heartily for 800 calories (a feast!) - luckily no food poisoning - drink and go to sleep for 9 hours. Another day survived.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Day 8:

Getting up with the sun, I am back at 68% condition (and starving again). Outside it’s windy and a felt -40°C. I decide to cross the mine and move over to Coastal Highway, since I really need some tools - at least the hatchet. I remember an old, old run in which I was unable to find neither knife nor hatchet in Pleasant Valley at the start. They probably were there somewhere, but I didn't dare venture to its more out-of-the-way places since I was overall ill-equipped. Transfered to CH instead to get better equipment. So that's what I will do now as well. The weather is just nasty in PV, and without tools... nah.

First, I go back to bed for another hour in hopes of slightly better weather. Then it's a felt -27°C with 11 daylight hours remaining. Not really cozy, but I want to move. Turning left, I follow the road towards the mine to CH. Damn, I'm getting colld fast. Run a bit, but leave enough stamina for a little emergency sprint in case I meet a wolf. And I do. A little before I would turn right to the mine, a mean wolf is waiting for me to the left of the road. Sees me and barks heavily. I do not want to use my only flare, since I need that if I want to cross the mine. Damn! I run back to Rural Crossroads and into shelter. I'm half-exhausted, my condition is down to 59%. This is getting ugly. I still have one piece of venison and three Cat Tails, also enough water. Could heal back a little over the next night. But I really need food after that. Think, Hotzn, think!

I sleep an hour in bed to warm up, go outside to collect some sticks and sleep another hour, again to warm up and to wait out a thick fog that has fallen. When it has cleared up, it is a felt -16°C, with 8 hours of the day remaining. Is Spring coming at last? I get back on the road, determined to reach the mine. I might sacrifice my venison as decoy if I must. Let's go.

Somewhere up the road, I see that wolf again. Crouching, I light a fire while the fiend is walking straight towards me (hasn't seen me yet). Luckily, the fire works right away. I grab a brand and stand up. Wolf sees me, barks, growls, approaches. Then yelps and runs off. Doesn't like the fire, it seems. Brand in hand, I press on. And then it happens... I  miss the mine. Arriving at the abandoned car, I know I have gone too far. But walking back and turning left, I find the terrain strangely different than I remember it. There is a bear cave here with a corpse in front of it... can't remember ever having seen that before... cave really is a cave, not a new entrance to the mine. I trot around a bit, terrain is unfamiliar. Where did the mine go? I go back to the abandoned car... maybe I have to go past it now... no, the ravine behind it is a dead end. Hotzn, you're fucked. 35% condition. Do we have a plan B? Errr... okay, try to reach... whatever... the picnic area & cave, drink some coffee there and go for the bunker at the transit to TWM. Gogogo! First, I reach the broken buildings. Another corpse here, a dark foreboding... need to make a fire here, condition is 23%... fail... fail... fail... do I have enough tinder plugs left? Then hypothermia kicks in. At 13% condition, I have a fire going and freezing has stopped. Hotzn, this is not going to end well for you...

Since I am already dead tired and without a bedroll, I cook and drink all the coffee I have while warming up at the fire, then grab a brand and get moving uphill. I pass the bear cave without the bear being around, which is good. And the weather is clear. Things could still be worse, but not by much. When I reach the little bridge, I turn right and follow the frozen river. My pack is getting heavy, I drop the hammer and some other stuff and press on. Finally, the picnic area. Another corpse, nothing on him. His pack is empty. The box is empty. The cave is dark, and I'n freezing again. And tired as hell. And encumbered. 11%.

Last resort - I pop the stim. First time ever I use this item. Impressive, I feel great. Run up to the rope and into the bunker. Phew. Unfortunately, all the bunker yields is a can of soda. When the stim wears off, I'm exhausted, numb and at 15%. 2 hours of daylight remain, but certainly I can't make any use of them. I drink the soda, eat a cat tail and go to sleep for 9 hours. Another day survived, but likely the last one.

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On 23/10/2016 at 5:27 PM, Hotzn said:

And then it happens... I  miss the mine. Arriving at the abandoned car, I know I have gone too far. But walking back and turning left, I find the terrain strangely different than I remember it. There is a bear cave here with a corpse in front of it... can't remember ever having seen that before... cave really is a cave, not a new entrance to the mine. I trot around a bit, terrain is unfamiliar. Where did the mine go?

Oh man, I felt this one! That change in the map also turn me crazy the first time I saw it... but I was not playing on Interloper so had time to find the new route to the mine :D  

Good luck man, you are going to need it!

Read below only if you are in for some advice

Spoiler

 

Going to TWM could be suicidal, you'd probably find some matches and food on the mountaneers hut but without the hacksaw not really worth the giant effort, it get really cold up there on Interloper.

Your best bet is still CH. You could try to hike down the frozen river looking for cat tails and turn left before the crossroad. The mine is still up there somewhere :) 

 

 

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