Observations on Map Clues (Spoilers? Maybe?)

[MarrowStone]

I have a fun idea!

This topic will be of the clues and stories we observed in the current maps that you'd like to share.

This will emcompass what occured during the event, ranging all the way to stories for specific corpses'/fluffy/Riken.

This however is not going to be an debate on what we think the Aurora is, or what it was caused by.

It will be more about what we think the Aurora did in order to negate arguments on science and "realism", or otherwise negative posts. Only the devs can truly tell us

[MarrowStone]

Ok I'll start off with one. 

I think there was seismic activity of some sort, most likely as bad timing or related to Aurora, not sure how but theres many clues.

Crumbling Highway +Commuters Lament +End of the Road

Many large rocks have fallen onto the road that couldnt have formed by a simple rockslide, Could be just an artifact of the ways devs limit map size but Commuter's Lament wouldnt have had that function. My guess, An earthquake

 

Multiple Derailments + Trestle Bridge

The Mystery Lake derailment is a mystery to me, the tracks are very straight where the Car landed so its hard to imagine how it happened unless there was an earthquake or something

The second derailment in raven falls couldve been a natural one though, but maybe was caused by weakened supports after a tremor

Tunnel Collapses in mines

Some mines show people stuck behind the bars of cut off sections, and some people were crushed or fell into the mine through collapses, this could suggest it happened recently.

Damage to Stone Church

The damage to corner of this church is strange, I wonder what caused it? 

Riken Crash 

Resulting waves from a tremor couldve caused it, or it was there quite a while due to the abandoned state of the Hibernia Processing Plant

Lemme know what you guys think, some of these are pretty far fetched so remember these are just speculations.

[KD7BCH]

I think you are right about an earthquake occuring as well as the global stellar event. 

[MarrowStone]

1 hour ago, KD7BCH said:

I think you are right about an earthquake occuring as well as the global stellar event. 

Alright, anything interesting you notice about the game world? 

[KD7BCH]

Just that electricity doesn't work but there is a hydroelectric dam, a radio tower, and power lines, power conduit, and car batteries in every vehicle along with what might appear to be a functioning electrical component to the game in the story mode. There is too much focus on those things to be a coincidence in my opinion. The only place which was devoid of any electrical was the camp office originally, which only had a wood stove, but now it has conduit and outlets, a radio, and lights, overhead lights too. Most or all of that wasn't there in the original builds. 

[Frozen guy]

Now the only thing sure it's that plane crashed in Timberwolf Mountain around the 6th September (see the climber's journal). So we can suppoze that Electricity torn apart at this date.

The climber talk about his friends " Wondering if my friends got lost as they still haven't arrived ". They could the bad drivers at Desagreemment point who were stuck by the Event :there are near to the rope to Timberwolf. 

The climber (who had fix the ropes in TW " Going to set up a top rope and do some bouldering ") maybe the guy found inside the cavern at the summit because a rope spawn next to him.

Matt knew also the same car problems due to the event (see at "Matt's Truck")

The  trapper could be Max (Max's last stand) : it's one of the only corpse with a name, his proximity with Trapper homestead implies that it could be the previous owner of this lovely house

For Frank (in the dam) and katie (in katie's secluded corner), they clearly survive enougnt after the Event to use (and Craft ?) bows and butcherring like Mackenzie (see the deer's corpse near katie and the other in the ravine who could be shot by Frank.  

For frank my theorie is : after killed a dear in the ravine, he was surprised by a storm or by the night and return to the Dam (his base). But he was attack by a wolf (the dear fluffy) and try to take refuge in the first level of the dam. He wasn't enought fast to close the first door and fluffy came into the dam. Then Frank try to close the second door but fluffy break this door (this is why it is on the floor). Frank runaway in the turbines' room, but Fluffy bit him to death. Finally Frank succeed to close the door of the second level and tried  to threat himselves (sometimes bandages and pills spawn with him) but it was too late.

What do you think about my theories ?

[alone sniper]

6 minutes ago, Frozen guy said:

Now the only thing sure it's that plane crashed in Timberwolf Mountain around the 6th September (see the climber's journal). So we can suppoze that Electricity torn apart at this date.

The climber talk about his friends " Wondering if my friends got lost as they still haven't arrived ". They could the bad drivers at Desagreemment point who were stuck by the Event :there are near to the rope to Timberwolf. 

The climber (who had fix the ropes in TW " Going to set up a top rope and do some bouldering ") maybe the guy found inside the cavern at the summit because a rope spawn next to him.

Matt knew also the same car problems due to the event (see at "Matt's Truck")

The  trapper could be Max (Max's last stand) : it's one of the only corpse with a name, his proximity with Trapper homestead implies that it could be the previous owner of this lovely house

For Frank (in the dam) and katie (in katie's secluded corner), they clearly survive enougnt after the Event to use (and Craft ?) bows and butcherring like Mackenzie (see the deer's corpse near katie and the other in the ravine who could be shot by Frank.  

For frank my theorie is : after killed a dear in the ravine, he was surprised by a storm or by the night and return to the Dam (his base). But he was attack by a wolf (the dear fluffy) and try to take refuge in the first level of the dam. He wasn't enought fast to close the first door and fluffy came into the dam. Then Frank try to close the second door but fluffy break this door (this is why it is on the floor). Frank runaway in the turbines' room, but Fluffy bit him to death. Finally Frank succeed to close the door of the second level and tried  to threat himselves (sometimes bandages and pills spawn with him) but it was too late.

What do you think about my theories ?

Interesting !

[MarrowStone]

@Frozen guy woah, They totally make sense!

Your theories on Timberwolf mountain sound pretty solid!

However im not sure about Frank, there's an arrow in the door, suggesting he was shot? And fluffy most likely came in through the broken window.with cedar and fir logs.and whered you get the name frank lol. 

[MarrowStone]

@KD7BCH 

I think there might be a jerry rigger that will use the car batteries for something, and I think those power lines and stuff are mostly to have cool aurora stuff happen like lights flickering on and off n stuff.

[ElvisHunter]

There was also a short period in one of the builds when we could remove the car batteries  - i find this highly likely we will be able to use them to power the buildings (the addition of wiring as @KD7BCH pointed out) 

5 hours ago, MarrowStone said:

@KD7BCH 

I think there might be a jerry rigger that will use the car batteries for something, and I think those power lines and stuff are mostly to have cool aurora stuff happen like lights flickering on and off n stuff.

 

[KD7BCH]

Lots of speculation. It will be interesting to see what the story mode brings. 

[MarrowStone]

On 10/10/2016 at 4:03 PM, KD7BCH said:

Lots of speculation. It will be interesting to see what the story mode brings. 

Probably really cool stuff like the beginning of hunted, part 2, and pt 1...

[Wastelander]

People obviously tried to get away - abandoned cars galore, Quonset is ransacked as are other buildings. Since a lot of cars are found on roads as opposed to parking lots, maybe the event wasn't like flipping a light switch but rather grew in intensity. People were obviously scared and hurried since they left a lot of stuff behind one might find useful. Then there's signs of human-on-human violence. Apparently, there was no getting out.

So, why do people who have propane tanks on their houses (at least in CH) suddenly flee from what seems like a power outage? The latest trailer showed electrical fires during aurora-events, so there's that - if I was literally living right next to a propane tank, I'd try to get away from fire as well.

Now, here's the thing: At the likeside huts in ML, there are no propane tanks. But you can sometimes find a corpse with cedar firewood, a newspaper and a hatchet next to one of 'em. Maybe these people weren't as panicked as the people in CH and tried to stay? That's also where the earthquake theory comes back into play - there was, once again, no getting out, panic ensued and who knows what happened then.

The destroyed tracks in the ravine also support the earthquake theory.

[KD7BCH]

Some of these concepts maybe weren't fully fleshed out with specifics by the developers. Though the train derailments support the idea of an earthquake, there aren't too many other signs of an earthquake such as downed bridges which largely remain intact, the exception being The Old Island Connector which had many trees which have sustained trauma to the roads and bridges and almost look as if the impact site was very near here, perhaps in the water, but unknown. Desolation Point and Coastal Highway have some damage, but not really earthquake damage. Desolation Point hosts a few buildings which look like they have taken light earthquake damage but could be just as easily explained as disrepair by abandonment. 

The derailment in Mystery Lake looks as though it might have happened in real-time because of the distance between the rail cars from each other, hard to say. In any event, this all may just be "plot device" type crafting. The Caved in tunnels could just be that way because they need an endpoint to the maps. 

Some of the boarded up structures like at the Log Sort are weird though. Why so much boarding up? Game is still in Alpha and the primary idea though is the stellar event and that could trigger other natural effects as part of the story. 

[Felli]

These are all really great ideas, and I don't really have much to add that isn't already here, save for Desolation Point. Desolation point looks to have been abandoned for many years previous to the start of the game. The whaling plant is So old and dilapidated it's certainly more than a few months worth of damage. To be honest, I've actually been to places like the Hibernia Processing when I was young, only it was a fishery and processing plant. It had been closed since the late 50's and the rust/decay on the place was very much like this.

Also, there hasn't been whaling operations in that region of Canada since the late 60's. That would also explain the abandoned Riken, since it wouldn't have been needed since the plant was closed. My suspicions lean towards it having been abandoned way before the event.

The same goes for the Lighthouse. Desolation Point is was possibly a 'ghost town' in the fact that no one had lived or worked there in decades, Yet when the Event happened it was likely that anyone caught on the highway going through might have sought out shelter there, which is why we see modern items left behind.

The Stone church was probably abandoned as well, for the same reasons.

A little off topic but, I've been doing a ton of poking around the history of Vancouver Island, for my writing project here on the forums and I've discovered that some of these places are actually inspired by real locations on Vancouver Island. The Old stone church is most likely inspired by the old 'Butter Stone Church' in the region. The waling plant as well, along with the old lighthouse. Not in Desolation point but the Raven Fall trestle is also inspired by a real one on the island. This translation of real life to game is fascinating to me. They bear resemblance to the places in real life, but are at the same time completely unique to The Long Dark.

For those interested:

http://toadhollowphoto.com/2013/02/07/old-stone-butter-church/ - The Old Stone Butter Church

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinsol_Trestle - The trestle in Raven Falls

 

Edit: Would anyone know off the top of their head what type of Hydro dam the Carter is?

 

[Wastelander]

Good catch @Felli!

As for Carter, that's one of the most puzzling locations for me, simply because of the fact that dams don't work that way - there is no reservoir and the water streams seem to go downhill on both sides, which is weird. Could be that it was never finished though.

That Desolation Point is a ghost town of sorts seems to be implied in the small fluff text you get when you choose your starting region, and it would make sense since, as you pointed out, whaling's long gone in the region. 

What's also puzzling me are the hay bales in Pleasant Valley. Usually, they're used for something, I guess, so why are they still out there in the middle of winter? Or rather, just how long has the Pleasant Valley Farm been abandoned? The house and the fields speak of two different tales here, though I could be wrong. Maybe the farming operation was abandoned but the family still lived there for some reason? Maybe the farmer got too old and had to leave the hay behind as he lived his last years in his house, lovingly caring for the room he built for his grandchildren? It's such a beautiful, yet haunting place that deserves a LOT of good backstory 

[Mikhail_Reign]

Pleasant Valley as some very interesting points. As for the hay/farm - I've always thought that winter came on rather suddenly, much more then normal, and kind of surprised people. Like it came 4 weeks early, much colder then normal.

 

Im of the impression that the damage done at Sketters Ridge (a wild fire) was started by the people at The Point of Disagreement. If you walk from Skeeters to the point you can see that the fire intensified as it climbed the hill. The basement of the house on the ridge looks like it was in use until recently, so I believe the fire was also part of the event.

 

Maybe it ties in with the electrical fires?

[alone sniper]

So, what do you think about Matt's Truck ?

Does something happened for his brake pedal or he just lost his trucks' control ??
Where does he wanted to go?

[Felli]

8 hours ago, alone sniper said:

So, what do you think about Matt's Truck ?

Does something happened for his brake pedal or he just lost his trucks' control ??
Where does he wanted to go?

It's possible that Matt was driving when the event occured. If the event fried anything electronic, that could possibly have sent him out of control and careening over the guardrail. Especially if the roads were any bit icy or slippery.

[Mikhail_Reign]

1 hour ago, Felli said:

It's possible that Matt was driving when the event occured. If the event fried anything electronic, that could possibly have sent him out of control and careening over the guardrail. Especially if the roads were any bit icy or slippery.

loosing power in a car doesn't really do anything tho. You just slowly stop. Brakes still work. Steering still works (bit harder without power steering but still 100% serviceable) besides the truck looks old enough to just have regular steering.  It would just be like running out of gas

 

maybe he ran off the road trying to avoid an animal due to the increase in wildlife activity?

[alone sniper]

30 minutes ago, Mikhail_Reign said:

loosing power in a car doesn't really do anything tho. You just slowly stop. Brakes still work. Steering still works (bit harder without power steering but still 100% serviceable) besides the truck looks old enough to just have regular steering.  It would just be like running out of gas

 

maybe he ran off the road trying to avoid an animal due to the increase in wildlife activity?

Maybe he tried to avoid bear.

[MarrowStone]

I agree with @Mikhail_Reign , it seems the Event caused a change in weather patterns, and there seems to be a bit of proof.

It was probably October-Very early November when the event started.

The cattails dont look dried out enough since the stalks are still edible. And the "Heads" are still intact.

The Hay still out in the fields is a tricky indicator due to differing practices. But some inside storage such as the barn and the outer sheds suggests they'd have extra and were either going to sell it or move it to the edge of the field where they'd cover it up and leave it sit over winter. I know in July 1888 a blizzard hit the Midwest that killed hundereds of children, one girl survived 78 hours in a haystack in a field so there must be some people who leave them out. She died after they amputated her frostbitten legs though. So some people must leave them out in the weather.

Off subject, she fared better than most though, a lot died literally meters from their houses. And some failed to travel from one shelter to the next (a schoolhouse was 82 meters from a boarding house and every child died on the way there but the teacher survived but lost her feet) the cold is deadly, friends....

[Wastelander]

1 minute ago, MarrowStone said:

The Hay still out in the fields is a tricky indicator due to differing practices. But some inside storage such as the barn and the outer sheds suggests they'd have extra and were either going to sell it or move it to the edge of the field where they'd cover it up and leave it sit over winter. I know in July 1888 a blizzard hit the Midwest that killed hundereds of children, one girl survived 78 hours in a haystack in a field so there must be some people who leave them out. She died after they amputated her frostbitten legs though. she fared better than most though, a lot died litterally meters from their houses. And some failed to travel from one shelter to the next (a schoolhouse was 82 meters from a better shelter and every child died on the way there but the teacher survived but lost her feet) the cold is deadly, friends....

Christ almighty, that's horrifying. 

Good catch on the cattails! Had to look that one up, and it seems you're right about that. It being cold at that time of the year isn't that weird, but yeah, the sheer aggressiveness of the storms seems to indicate a change in weather patterns.

That brings us to the oft-discussed question of the nature of the event, or, in laymans terms: What the hell happened?

My personal hypothesis is (and this is not 100% grounded in science or anything) a series of freakishly large energy bursts by our sun combined with something that somehow managed to screw up the Earth's magnetic field - I have no idea what could cause something like that to happen, I'm a teacher in training not a physicist  Anyway, such outbursts could possibly (at least I think so) kill most electric devices, mess with our weather and possibly freak out animals to the extent of TLD.

Please note though that this is a largely unfounded hypothesis on my part and there is literally nothing I can back this up with, so please don't tear me apart y'all. We'll know what happened once story mode rolls out.

Back to the topic of maps and hints they give to us, DP doesn't seem to be that uninhabited considering the fact that there's plenty of relatively fresh food to be found - I wonder where that came from. The whole whaling operation is most likely abandoned as others in this thread have pointed out, also rendering the lighthouse useless. However, considering that there are ice fishing huts, there's at least some tourists and/or professional fishermen there. The other structures could well be inhabited by the homeless or other 'travelling folks', though in a region such as Great Bear Island, there's probably not many of them. I originally suspected teenage children of tourists throwing a couple of partys in abandoned places, but the lack of crushed beer cans, booze bottles and used-up joints implies otherwise.

Man, speculating about all this stuff is fun, even though I probably get everything wrong right now  

[MarrowStone]

 @Wastelander , It seems that you may be right about the fresh food laying around DP but I always took it as just a Gamey Implement to prevent players from starving there. Your explanation through Tourism and Travelers may be right though! However, there arent fishing huts in DP :P.

Also dont worry about if you have "the Event" wrong, we all have it wrong in the Dev's eyes and and this topic isnt about the event anyways. 

And yes, all of these is actually making me see that the devs made stories for every corpse, for every building, and for everything, other than for things implemented for gameness's sake

[Wastelander]

1 minute ago, MarrowStone said:

 @Wastelander , It seems that you may be right about the fresh food laying around DP but I always took it as just a Gamey Implement to prevent players from starving there. Your explanation through Tourism and Travelers may be right though! However, there arent fishing huts in DP :P.

Also dont worry about if you have "the Event" wrong, we all have it wrong in the Dev's eyes and and this topic isnt about the event anyways. 

And yes, all of these is actually making me see that the devs made stories for every corpse, for every building, and for everything, other than for things implemented for gameness's sake

Well, I'm not in DP that often so that was an easy mistake to make

As for corpses, yeah, they all have a story - it just isn't written down and some are hard to catch, but they're deliberately placed alongside the items around them. The hatchet-guy in ML? Froze to death during his last, desperate attempt to get a fire going. Now, the dead dude in the Camp Office is something I can't really get behind - how did he die? Why was he there?

Also, another thing I can't quite wrap my head around: How did Fluffy get into the dam in the first place? Canines aren't exactly renowned for their ability to open doors, so is there a broken window somewhere or something? And then, why did he go in there when all the deer and rabbits are outside, not to mention stuff like water and his pack?