Down Time


WildGPS

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So, how do people fill their down time in The Long Dark.  For instance, there is still about 8 hours of daylight left, I have plenty of food, plenty of firewood, my clothes are in good shape, no more research books left.... I would love to do something more productive than just pass the time, but I'm not sure what.  What do you do?

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19 minutes ago, WildGPS said:

 What do you do?

If I have completely run out of things to do, then I like to go out and watch the wildlife and look for places to take nice screenshots.  In my earlier days of playing, I would use the spare time to explore nooks and crannies in the maps.

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Same as @Timber Wolf. Sometimes I fish if I have not maxxed that out or start setting up a second camp for cabinfever protection. Like if my base has a fishing hut not too far I put a bed roll in it with some line and hooks and a prybar then there is extra water and food as well as loads and loads of wood. That way when cabin fever strikes I can live in the hut. 

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If I have nothing else to do, I usually walk around, pick up tons of sticks, wait for the sun to shine and start a whole lot of extremely pointless 1-stick-campfires with my magnifying lens. Guess that's the only way for me to ever get the firemaster badge.^^

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On 16 April 2017 at 0:59 PM, cekivi said:

Gather sticks and firewood. You'll never know when the weather will turn ;) 

And then, when there's only 1 or 2 hours of light left, start running around and around my campsite (or even inside the cabin, if necessary to avoid a wolf), to tire myself out as much as possible before sleeping.. so that I don't wake up fully rested, several hours before daylight arrives.

(not to mention, it gets me closer to earning my Free Runner badge!)

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16 minutes ago, JAFO said:

And then, when there's only 1 or 2 hours of light left, start running around and around my campsite (or even inside the cabin, if necessary to avoid a wolf), to tire myself out as much as possible before sleeping.. so that I don't wake up fully rested, several hours before daylight arrives.

(not to mention, it gets me closer to earning my Free Runner badge!)

Yes, the inability to sleep in the dark was one of the sillier consequences of trying to fix the hibernation exploit...

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On 15-4-2017 at 6:32 PM, Scyzara said:

If I have nothing else to do, I usually walk around, pick up tons of sticks, wait for the sun to shine and start a whole lot of extremely pointless 1-stick-campfires with my magnifying lens. Guess that's the only way for me to ever get the firemaster badge.^^

Same here :)

4 hours ago, JAFO said:

And then, when there's only 1 or 2 hours of light left, start running around and around my campsite (or even inside the cabin, if necessary to avoid a wolf), to tire myself out as much as possible before sleeping.. so that I don't wake up fully rested, several hours before daylight arrives.

(not to mention, it gets me closer to earning my Free Runner badge!)

Once it's dark and I'm not tired enough yet, I will usually "rest" until I will be able to sleep until daylight.

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Lots of great suggestions here, thank you!  I like the idea of exploring, @Timber Wolf but I also typically play on at least Voyager difficulty, so I am also a bit paranoid every time I crest an unexplored ridge.  Am I going to run face first into a wolf? A bear? Someday soon... a moose??

Gathering sticks is also a great suggestion, @cekivi.  When I first starting playing I thought sticks were almost worthless and only focused on getting cedar and fir logs.  Then I gave interloper a try and realized just how much of a lifesaver 30 sticks can be. Also, thank you for welcoming me to these forums.  I have to admit I'm a bit surprised at the lack of significant trolls.  Everyone here seems legitimately interested in the game and respectful of other's opinions.  On the internet! Weird, right?

@Ruruwawa, I haven't really gotten into beach combing yet.  Does stuff start washing up on Day 1, or is it awhile before you start seeing random stuff along the coast?

On 4/15/2017 at 8:27 AM, AZHockeyNut said:

Sometimes I fish if I have not maxxed that out

On 4/15/2017 at 10:32 AM, Scyzara said:

Guess that's the only way for me to ever get the firemaster badge.^^

5 hours ago, JAFO said:

(not to mention, it gets me closer to earning my Free Runner badge!)

It seems like some of the best things to do revolve around maxing out skills or earning badges.  Those badges have been a lot of fun to get, and the only one I have yet to unlock is the firemaster badge.  That being said, I hope they introduce more.  I would love to see badges as a unique method for character creation.  If we have some more badges that are more focused on learning skills like the "books smarts" then maybe the character is more of an academic.  If we have more badges like "cold fusion" and "firemaster" then maybe our character is more of an arctic survivalist.  If we have more like "efficient machine" and "free runner", then our character could be more of an athlete.  I would love to see some badges around hunting or perhaps sneaking...?

Anyway, thank you all for the great suggestions and keep them coming.  Stay warm!

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28 minutes ago, WildGPS said:

I have to admit I'm a bit surprised at the lack of significant trolls.  Everyone here seems legitimately interested in the game and respectful of other's opinions.  On the internet! Weird, right?

It's a rare phenomenom, all right.. but I'm actually kinda spoiled.. TLD is one of 3 gaming forums I'm on where this is the case.

(The others are Kerbal Space Program and Oolite.)

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31 minutes ago, WildGPS said:

I have to admit I'm a bit surprised at the lack of significant trolls.  Everyone here seems legitimately interested in the game and respectful of other's opinions.  On the internet! Weird, right?

Submitted for your approval: a place on the internet where people respect each other and their opinions. Welcome to... the Long Dark Forums

If you get that reference, you're at least as old as I am and probably older :P

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Just now, elloco999 said:

Submitted for your approval: a place on the internet where people respect each other and their opinions. Welcome to... the Long Dark Forums

If you get that reference, you're at least as old as I am and probably older :P

Haha, I definitely get it, although I never saw the series when it was new. Born about 20-30 years too late. :$  But boy did the TZ stand the test of time....

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Stock pile firewood in the fishing huts. Snare rabbits. Make spare snares and fishing gear. Maintain your snow shelter in case of cabin fever. Prepare for a bear hunt. Take out all the wolves in your area with the bow. Gather coal. Make spare knives, arrow heads and hatchets. Clean your rifle and practice shooting the bow. Climb Timberwolf mountain. Glacade down the ice/snow slopes!

It would be nice to be able to make beads and decorate the jackets and pants and boots. Weaving is a good thing to do to make baskets, fish traps, animal traps. It would be nice to make dead fall traps. Digging a latrine. Repairing buildings. Maintaining the bridges on DP. Rigging ropes. These are just blue sky ideas.

 

 

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I was born 20 years after the start of the series myself @WildGPS But that didn't stop me from enjoying them when my older nephews were watching :)

Strange thing, I just did some googling and it turns out the phrase was only used in 3 eppisodes, but somehow lot's of people associate the 2. I could have sworn every episode I saw started out that way. The tricks the mind plays on us...

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49 minutes ago, WildGPS said:

Also, thank you for welcoming me to these forums.  I have to admit I'm a bit surprised at the lack of significant trolls.  Everyone here seems legitimately interested in the game and respectful of other's opinions.  On the internet! Weird, right?

Like yeah, eh! We're Canadians, eh? So have a beer! G'day eh! ;-)

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2 hours ago, WildGPS said:

@Ruruwawa, I haven't really gotten into beach combing yet.  Does stuff start washing up on Day 1, or is it awhile before you start seeing random stuff along the coast?

The beach is mostly, but not completely, clear on day 1.  More stuff washes up after every blizzard.

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2 hours ago, elloco999 said:

I was born 20 years after the start of the series myself @WildGPS But that didn't stop me from enjoying them when my older nephews were watching :)

Strange thing, I just did some googling and it turns out the phrase was only used in 3 eppisodes, but somehow lot's of people associate the 2. I could have sworn every episode I saw started out that way. The tricks the mind plays on us...

I still have no idea what show you two are talking about :D 

And yes @WildGPS, we've got a good group of folks here ^_^

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Hi @cekivi!  @elloco999 and I are talking about The Twilight Zone. It's an old television series that explored the "what if's" of the universe. It was a great show, and very progressive for it's time.  I didn't realize that they only used that phrase 3 times, it seems so synonymous with the show...

Thanks for the heads up, @Ruruwawa.  That makes sense that things wash up after a big storm... Another well thought out part of the game. Kudos, Hinterland!

Careful, @JAFO, I hardly have enough time to balance work and TLD.  Telling me about other good games is definitely going to make my work suffer! ;)

@SteveP, my Grandma was actually Canadian, and I swear there's nothing better than grabbing a Molson with some Canucks and getting to know each other. So, cheers, eh!

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On 4/15/2017 at 10:13 PM, WildGPS said:

So, how do people fill their down time in The Long Dark.  For instance, there is still about 8 hours of daylight left, I have plenty of food, plenty of firewood, my clothes are in good shape, no more research books left.... I would love to do something more productive than just pass the time, but I'm not sure what.  What do you do?

you sharpen tools, craft bows and arrows. fish, hunt deer, craft clothing, or repair it, so much more. Survive!

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9 hours ago, WildGPS said:

Hi @cekivi!  @elloco999 and I are talking about The Twilight Zone. It's an old television series that explored the "what if's" of the universe. It was a great show, and very progressive for it's time.  I didn't realize that they only used that phrase 3 times, it seems so synonymous with the show...!

Yeah, I did not make the connection to the Twilight Zone :D

Although I have seen re-runs of the reboot ;) 

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All of these suggestions are great - the beachcombing and prepping is what I do (and picture taking!)  when weather is decent. 

I'd like to add one thought though.... if you ever find yourself a bit bored or without anything to do - it is most possibly time to move on!  Time to explore unknown regions.    Try walking away with barely anything and challenging yourself to start over :)    

 

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On 4/21/2017 at 9:03 AM, elloco999 said:

Submitted for your approval: a place on the internet where people respect each other and their opinions. Welcome to... the Long Dark Forums

If you get that reference, you're at least as old as I am and probably older :P

Brilliant. :)

I'm old too.

I love this place.

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