The Long Dark

[Red October1984]

Discovered this fun little game the other day.

Basically, an electromagnetic disaster has made all technology useless and your plane crashes in the northern Canadian wilderness. The only goal is to survive. It's actually, surprisingly, really really fun.

I've had time to play it twice...both ending in death from a wolf attack. It's an Early Access game but it actually shows promise. I've always hated the concept of Early Access (E..A....EA? Coincidence? I think not.), but this one stands out from the rest of the indie crap that's out there right now.

Anybody else play this? :arrgh!:

[Betonov]

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=215753 :O: (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=215753)

I love it. Altough I play pilgrim mode (no wolf attacks).
Those wolfs were giving me a headache rather than a challenge

[Red October1984]

I love it. Altough I play pilgrim mode (no wolf attacks).
Those wolfs were giving me a headache rather than a challenge


I just might have to do that. Last game i didn't make it 15 minutes... :hmmm:

[Betonov]

I just might have to do that. Last game i didn't make it 15 minutes... :hmmm:

I'll start a voyager mode as soon as I grow tired of the current happy camper game and just look for wolves and learn to fight them.

[Lionclaw]

I have yet to survive for a day in this game. Record so far is 11-12 hours. :)

Managed to kill a wolf unarmed, however I was in a bad state afterwards. :dead:

[Platapus]

It almost sounds like the game is not programmed with the proper balance.

[Betonov]

It almost sounds like the game is not programmed with the proper balance.

Nope. Unbalanced like a Slovene budget

Normal (voyageur) means that a pair of wolves waits at any point that might have booty and one beats you down to 10% condition and the other finishes the job 5 seconds later.

Easy (pilgrim) means that wolves run away when they see you but it get's boring after 2 days (in game) when you explored every nook and crany and gathered enough gear to survive a year.

[Red October1984]

Managed to kill a wolf unarmed, however I was in a bad state afterwards. :dead:

I was armed with a flare...but the wolf still killed me. :wah:

[Betonov]

Started playing voyageur mode (agresive animals, normal spawn, nature hates you) after the last update and I survived to day 5 :huh:
Will die of starvation soon. It seems I'm blind with a rifle :/\\!!

[Oberon]

Aye, you need to get damn close to an animal to have any luck getting it first time, or track it if you manage to wound it, it will leave a blood trail, which I think is very nice detail. Of course, if a snow storm comes in, then the blood trail is kaput.
Been watching a mate play it on twitch, no idea what his difficulty setting is, but he made it about 7 days before a wolf got him and he died of his wounds.

[Betonov]

If the indian word for bad hunter is vegetarian, then call me vegetarian.
8 shots fired, all missed. I would have died on day 6 if I hadn't found a dead wolf purely by chance.

@Red, if I ever go hunting in the US, you're going with me. I'll need some cover fire when I miss a squirrel and it tries to kill me.

[Betonov]

Morning on day 8.
400 calories, no food stored. Just watching the fire in the stove pondering should I ended it all. Find a wolf and just end it ??

[Schroeder]

@Red, if I ever go hunting in the US, you're going with me. I'll need some cover fire when I miss a squirrel and it tries to kill me.
But Eichhornchen is in England not the US.:hmmm:

[Betonov]

But Eichhornchen is in England not the US.:hmmm:

Red october 1984

[Schroeder]

Red october 1984
Eichhörnchen = Squirrel in German. You wanted to hunt squirrels in the USA but the forum member Eichhornchen is in England....
That's German humour, it's confusing.:smug:

[Betonov]

Eichhörnchen = Squirrel in German. You wanted to hunt squirrels in the USA but the forum member Eichhornchen is in England....
That's German humour, it's confusing.:smug:

Ohhh, now I get it.
I keep forgeting what Eichörnchen means.

[Red October1984]

@Red, if I ever go hunting in the US, you're going with me. I'll need some cover fire when I miss a squirrel and it tries to kill me.

I did that yesterday with a friend. :haha:

It's a deal. :03:

EDIT: I'll be sure to let you use the shotgun so you don't miss....and they won't try to kill you. :O:

[Betonov]

EDIT: I'll be sure to let you use the shotgun so you don't miss....and they won't try to kill you. :O:

We'll do some can shooting first. I was quite good with the air rifle, I may just need to adjust myself for the weight and kick.

Plus I'm planning to enlist myself in a local firing range to finally learn to use some real small arms.

[Betonov]

Finally died on day 8 crossing the ravine.
Froze to death trying to find a way trough, they expanded that part of the map.

[Red October1984]

We'll do some can shooting first. I was quite good with the air rifle, I may just need to adjust myself for the weight and kick.

Don't bother worrying about recoil. It'll surprise you maybe when you're learning to shoot but out in the woods you never feel it. And unless you're fighting zombies, communists, or angry cannibal tribes, you rarely need a very quick follow up shot.

Plus I'm planning to enlist myself in a local firing range to finally learn to use some real small arms.

:rock::rock::rock::rock:

Could just use my back yard...but....it'd be expensive to fly back and forth every weekend.

---

Been a LONG time since I was able to do any gaming. But since summer break is here now, looking forward to getting back into the loop on things. I haven't played SH since October, flight sims since August, etc.

Excited to finally get to sit down and play TLD for a while. :sunny:

[Oberon]

zombies, communists, or angry cannibal tribes

What about Zombie Cannibal Communists? :hmmm:

http://media.giphy.com/media/KESfG6KmWrBss/giphy.gif

[Red October1984]

What about Zombie Cannibal Communists? :hmmm:

In that situation, you might want something stronger like a Nokia phone, handgrenade or napalm.

[Betonov]

Could just use my back yard...but....it'd be expensive to fly back and forth every weekend.


Not to mention putting me for 20 hours straight into those metal coffins and idiot filled airports and then handing me a weapon might not be such a good idea :dead:

[Oberon]

Not to mention putting me for 20 hours straight into those metal coffins and idiot filled airports and then handing me a weapon might not be such a good idea :dead:

Take a Canberra, you'll be fine. :03: :up:

In that situation, you might want something stronger like a Nokia phone

Are those allowed under the Second Amendment? :o

[Red October1984]

Are those allowed under the Second Amendment? :o

I had one without a permit years ago. They're not restricted by any laws. They're also great to keep with survival gear. :up:

[Betonov]

They're also great to keep with survival gear. :up:

Shield, projectile, spearpoint or reliable communication device :hmmm:

[Oberon]

Chap I'm watching on twitch has just made 14 days.
http://www.twitch.tv/cantwearhats

[Betonov]

OK, I'm going in for another one.
Won't do an AAR but I'll make reports and findings here.

Okay, started in a small valley between the clear cut and forestry lookout. Decided to go up the hilll to the lookout, hopefully it wasn't a mistake. Avoided a bear :o by using the hillside to avoid the clearcut. Found some food, a can opener and a prybar. Went to sleep with 3 hours of daylight remaining and woke up to a beautiful sunrise.

I'll make a move to the trappers homestead. The morning is cold and I'll probably arrive with 50% condition or worse but the homestead should have a hatchet and a rifle.

[Red October1984]

My game crashed when I tried to start it earlier today. I think one of the updates may have upped the system requirements and I doubt I can play this anymore. I'll try tomorrow. :hmmm:

[Betonov]

Day 1:

Let's pretend our character is a pilot that has flown over the map several times and knows which way to the trappers homestead from the forrestry lookout.
I started early and the cold was absurd. I came across a frozen pond and a deer carcass, but was unable to harvest it because I lacked a knife. I came to the bottom of the last small hill before the homestead and just under the top I came face to face with a wolf. No chance of evading, we spotted eachother at 10 metres.
Here's what I did, I lit up a flare and RAN TOWARDS IT. It startles the wolf and it stops. At that moment I threw the flare and the beast made a run for it :smug:.
Made a hasty retreat towards the homestead, picking up the lit flare. Didn't take long I heard growling behind me. Turned around and same drill, it worked again, the wolf ran away.
Made it safely to the house with 75% condition. All loss was due to cold.

Well, the homestead was a dissapoitment :/\\!!
No rifle, no knife, no hatchet.
On day 2 I'll make my way to the camp office.

Day 2:

Started towards the camp office at daybreak. The weather was clear and no wolves anywhere. At the tunnel collapse I saw one beast and made a longer route trying to outmaneouver him. It failed but a flare saved me again. The camp office was devoid of anything usefull and because I still had 10 hours of daylight I checked the lake cabins. Finally found a knife and a hatchet, some food and fishing gear, returned back to the office at the last moment as a blizzard started.
Harvested extra stuff and repaired anything below 70%.
I'll most likely go fishing for day 3.

Day 3:

The gods have blessed me, no wolf near the lake. I went fishing. Fired up the small stove in the hut and caught 4 fish.
Went to sleep nicely fed.
Day 4, don't know. If the weather is good I'll make my way to the clearcut to pillage the 3 trailers, if the wether is bad I'll make another fishing trip.

Day 4:

A blizzzard raged outside so I went back to bed. Started at noon when the weather cleared. Got to the logging camp without incident and in a nice sunny day. The 3 trailers provided one hatchet and a tool box. In adition to some dry food and soda.
Decided to start towards the nearby forestry lookout to spend the night and as soon as I made 20m from the trailer a heard footsteps. Sprinted back to the trailer and amnaged to hide inside maybe a second away from being attacked. :o
Being under siege I harvested and repaired clothes.

[Betonov]

Remember when you needed wood and you stepped outside, chose forage wood from the menu and then chopped away for hours without fear of being attacked....

Not any more. Now you forage wood by aproaching sticks, branches and furniture and chop it up to pickable items. Which means going outside, far from your shelters door, look for wood and chop it on site always scanning your surrounding for wolves. And then running back to home like a madman.
Which is also nerfed now that a stamina system has been implemented and you can no longer sprint across the map.
And blizzards spawn wood. Makes sense [not sarcasm]

And destroying a couch yields firewood, cloth and scrap metal :)

[darius359au]

Remember when you needed wood and you stepped outside, chose forage wood from the menu and then chopped away for hours without fear of being attacked....

Not any more. Now you forage wood by aproaching sticks, branches and furniture and chop it up to pickable items. Which means going outside, far from your shelters door, look for wood and chop it on site always scanning your surrounding for wolves. And then running back to home like a madman.
Which is also nerfed now that a stamina system has been implemented and you can no longer sprint across the map.
And blizzards spawn wood. Makes sense [not sarcasm]

And destroying a couch yields firewood, cloth and scrap metal :)

Came back to the game after awhile not playing and gotta say I love the new gathering system ,got stuck in a barn in a blizzard ,no wood but plenty of crates to chop up:up: ,(i'm not so worried by wolves ,I still have nightmares about the getting eaten by wolves simulator days of the game so turn down the agro now:03::))

[Betonov]

Right now I'm day 8 in game and wasn't once attacked by a wolf.
Managed to either avoid or used a flare to chase them off.
Next game is going to be a pilgrim though. My nerves need to rest.

[Betonov]

Whoa, reached the coastal highway on the 8th day. The new transition (ravine) is loooong. No wolves though. Just a strange cave I dared not to explore. Reached the train unloading area shack with 32% and with hypothermia.


OK, I just stared down a wolf :o
Really, just look at it and back away without loosing eye contact. When you're far away the wolf will continue on it's path.

[Betonov]

19 days alive.

The wolves, they're not scary anymore. I got used to the beasts throwing wrenches into my plans. Sometimes there will be a clear bee line to a non-explored house and sometimes a patrol will show up.
I managed to raid the coastal town until I could hardly walk back to Jackrabbit island and it is patroled by 3 wolves. I sent one bleeding back the the forest.

Maybe I'll start working on that wolfskin coat one day :hmmm:

[Betonov]

30 days alive.
A whole month. I can't belive it.
I even managed to get to Pleasant valley on day 24. It's pleasant. the huge open valley means you can spot animals at a fair distance to avoid. It aslo means you'll freeze half to death everytime you'll move locations.

Game mechanics changed somewhat. Axes and knives are no longer repaired with scrap metal but sharpened with a whetstone and a rifle is maintained with a rifle cleaning kit. Good luck finding it.

I'll try to head up Timberwolf mountain soon. As if surviving wasn't enough, they added a map where you take a little hikking trip to a mountain summit :dead:


Plus, Story mode to be released in march/april
http://cdn.pcgamesn.com/sites/default/files/the%20long%20dark%20story%20mode.jpg

[Nippelspanner]

Uh nice, rifle cleaning kit?
Haven't played in a while, I think my save game is around 36 days, I haven't cracked the 40 days achievement yet.

Great game, very, very immersive, I lost myself in it for days straight and developed a very unreasonable fear of bears.
Got mauled once after a botched shot and bearly (hrr hrr) survived, had to heal for days using up all my supplies and the advantage I worked for so hard.
My handcrafted superior clothing was ripped to bits as well, basically everything really sucked hard after that grizzly got me...
http://i.imgur.com/Vr1EpCw.png

[Betonov]

This game has a challenging early game, strong mid game and a boring late game... until a bear sets you back to early game :)

Yeah, you can no longer maintain your rifle with scrap metal and tools.
You need a cleaning kit. And you need to find it.

[Nippelspanner]

Absolutely AWESOME update arrived for TLD!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNMJ86U4oiA&index=4&list=PLzp35YPWKwnm24FmrHtVrugJLD3IcHP-A

Wohever wasn't convinced to buy it, shall be now! :D