The Long Dark (Steam/X-Box Early Access)

[VolInNorthCack]

Timberwolves are spooky, they were a great addition to the game.

Quonset and that entire town in Coastal Highway is great for supplies, but good grief the 1000 wolves that hang out there lol.

I think Pleasant Valley is probably my favorite area, but the weather is brutal there. The blizzards can go on for several days. Timberwolf Mountain is really cool too. The Mountaineer's Hut at the base of the mountain is a cool spot to set up camp at before attempting to summit the peak.

I probably know Pleasant Valley the best out of any of the regions. i think i have spent more time at Pensive Pond and the Red Barn than anywhere else in Mystery Lake or Blackrock. Plenty of supplies and fuel in PLeasant Valley... Just yeah... the weather is brutal sometimes. Oh, and the 3 bears that inhabit Pleasant Valley... One of them is mean and nasty - Near the Red Barn and Molly's cabin. The other two that I have come across regularly there don't seem to give much of a care about me. Unless I am trying to harvest an animal and they are near.

 

[Matt2496]

How does this compare to Green Hell and The Forrest?

It's definitely more fleshed out than Green Hell considering it's a much older game. In The Long Dark you are completely alone except for wildlife (Excluding story mode). There are no cannibals or people so it's just you vs nature. Consequently, there is no multiplayer. Also, there isn't really any end goal other than to survive. You will die eventually in this game. The weather and temperatures are intentionally designed to get harsher as time goes on. Also, food becomes more and more of an issue.

There is no "base-building" per se in this game unlike those. Obviously you can make certain places as a make-shift "base", but you still have to constantly be active and move around because your food supply will dwindle.

The devs are extremely active even all these years later and there is still at least one new region that's going to be added. They also mentioned in the latest update about some visual upgrades coming in the near future so that's exciting.

 

[VolInNorthCack]

It's definitely more fleshed out than Green Hell considering it's a much older game. In The Long Dark you are completely alone except for wildlife (Excluding story mode). There are no cannibals or people so it's just you vs nature. Consequently, there is no multiplayer. Also, there isn't really any end goal other than to survive. You will die eventually in this game. The weather and temperatures are intentionally designed to get harsher as time goes on. Also, food becomes more and more of an issue.

There is no "base-building" per se in this game unlike those. Obviously you can make certain places as a make-shift "base", but you still have to constantly be active and move around because your food supply will dwindle.

The devs are extremely active even all these years later and there is still at least one new region that's going to be added. They also mentioned in the latest update about some visual upgrades coming in the near future so that's exciting.

I am so ready for the next chapter in the story too..

 

[VolInNorthCack]

17 days into my new Stalker survival. Longest so far. Made it to Coastal Highway and have stocked the quonset, Jackrabbit and a fishing camp house with supplies. Have killed two bears, two wolves and a deer so far. I am hoping to hang around Coastal for at least another 10-12 days. This is the best location so far I have to say. I may be able to stretch it out indefinitely if I can find enough ammunition or make enough arrows.

 

[VolInNorthCack]

I need a break from this game. It is consuming my life. Anytime I'm out walking or hiking or anything outside and i see a stick on the ground... It is hard as hell not to pick that sucker up "just in case"

 

[Matt2496]

I need a break from this game. It is consuming my life. Anytime I'm out walking or hiking or anything outside and i see a stick on the ground... It is hard as hell not to pick that sucker up "just in case"

I'm the same way lol.

Also, every time I hear crows I think of this game.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

Installed it tonight. Needing something different to play.

 

[VolInNorthCack]

I'm on day 47 of my Stalker run. I have been able to live at Coastal Highway for over 30 days! Took a weekend trip to Desolation Point and finally found a Revolver (2 actually). I have a hunting rifle, but I can never find bullets for it. I think i have 3 for it. But over the course of the run, I have accumulated over 100 revolver bullets. Just needed the revolver. Now, I feel confident that I can make it to 100 days, barring any stupid decisions.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

This game is fun but its pretty hard to explore being that it gives you no map and can't stay outside long. I find myself wandering around and ending up right back where I started.

 

[VolInNorthCack]

This game is fun but its pretty hard to explore being that it gives you no map and can't stay outside long. I find myself wandering around and ending up right back where I started.

Make sure to pick up charcoal after every fire and start surveying the area. This will open up the map small segments. It took me a while to figure that out too.

Also, you can play the campaign - Wintermute - to help to learn certain regions. The maps are all open in campaign.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

Make sure to pick up charcoal after every fire and start surveying the area. This will open up the map small segments.

Didn't know that, thanks.

 

[VolInNorthCack]

Day 60. I was on the ice harvesting a deer... Got busted by a bear. Luckily my condition was full and i was able to put a couple of bullets in him after the attack and he ran off. I took shelter in a fishing hut for a while. I hate that man. No warning when you are harvesting a limb or pallets or an animal that takes 2 hours. I mean, if I am harvesting something, I am still going to be able to look around and keep watch on my surroundings. That is my one pet peeve with this game so far. You are helpless to avert an animal attack when harvesting.

 

[Matt2496]

Installed it tonight. Needing something different to play.

I'd recommend starting off with Wintermute. It's kind of like a long tutorial with a story behind it. It'll teach you the maps and identifying certain landmarks so that you can figure out where you are relative to shelters.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

I started a pilgrim survival mode just to get used to things. I've survived 10 days so far. I think I will start the story to help learn the map and game mechanics.

 

[Christian Lowe]

Just bought it on the PSN sale for $10. I’ve always been fascinated with arctic isolation and remote areas of the world as a geography nut.

Gonna play this on my day off today and pretend I’m Naomi Uemura

 

[VolInNorthCack]

Day 68... Got hit with Cabin Fever in the middle of the night... In a blizzard. So I just went walking around for about 12 hours hours. I was curious if it would work, so I went to one of the fishing huts and put down my bedroll to see if that would count as "outside." It does! So I was cured of Cabin Fever after one night lol. I really didn't think it would work and was just going to kill some time by fishing.

For you all just starting the game. In Survival mode, after about day 50 of survival, things start going downhill... The temps start to get colder day by day and blizzards become more and more frequent. Before day 50, I had survived 18 Blizzards. In just the 18 days after day 50, I have already survived 12. A new affliction that crops up is Cabin Fever. Caused, of course, by staying inside too long (which becomes increasingly more difficult not to do because of the deteriorating weather). To cure Cabin Fever, you must remain outside for at least 12 hours. Which can create a difficult scenario if there are no caves close by, which there is only one cave in Coastal Highway that is not a bear's den, and it is hard to access and it's also hard to find in the dark. So keep in mind that a fishing hut is considered being outdoors. That pretty much saved my run.

 

[BruiserVol]

Just bought it on the PSN sale for $10. I’ve always been fascinated with arctic isolation and remote areas of the world as a geography nut.

Gonna play this on my day off today and pretend I’m Naomi Uemura

Thanks for this. I have been itching to try it. For ten bucks I will definitely pick it up.

 

[VolInNorthCack]

75 days. Still living the good life in Coastal Highway.

 

[Matt2496]

At day 130 I just got my first moose. Over 40 kg of meat plus the moose hide that I plan on using to make a cloak when i need it (Already got the satchel from Hushed River Valley).

My Quonset base is getting really full of hides at this point. Got 5 survival bows, over 10 arrows, and plenty of arrowheads for when I run out of revolver and rifle ammunition.

 

[VolInNorthCack]

At day 130 I just got my first moose. Over 40 kg of meat plus the moose hide that I plan on using to make a cloak when i need it (Already got the satchel from Hushed River Valley).

My Quonset base is getting really full of hides at this point. Got 5 survival bows, over 10 arrows, and plenty of arrowheads for when I run out of revolver and rifle ammunition.

That's awesome!

I'm at day 82. My base is the Quonset as well, although I have also stocked Misanthrope and a fishing hut. There is one fishing hut that I can pretty much sprint all the way to. I'll just hang out there all day/night and fish and cook. Then haul it home encumbered to the Quonset or Misanthrope lol. I cannot find a bow for the life of me. Getting ready to make a couple though. Finally found some maple. Have plenty of birch for arrow shafts and need to make a run to desolation point to make more arrow heads. Still have plenty of revolver ammo left, but I haven't been able to find anymore recently.
The wildlife has really gotten scarce in Coastal the last few days. I haven't seen any bear, wolf or deer in several days. Hoping they migrate back to the bay area soon.

 

[VolInNorthCack]

RIP me. 87 days, 22 hours, 16 minutes. Got attacked by a bear out on the ice. I was encumbered with a lot of fresh fish and couldn't run, lol. I was already very fatigued from staying up all night cooking the fish. Was trying to make it home as night was falling and a blizzard was setting in. Because of the fog and snow falling, I could not see the bear until it was too late. He got me pretty good. When I came to, it was night and in a blizzard. I tried to make it to shelter but I just could not find land. I used two Go Energy drinks and two emergency stims. But I was just going in a big circle probably. I dropped almost everything except my gun and clothes, but I succumbed to Hypothermia on the ice somewhere in Coastal Highway.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

RIP me. 87 days, 22 hours, 16 minutes. Got attacked by a bear out on the ice. I was encumbered with a lot of fresh fish and couldn't run, lol. I was already very fatigued from staying up all night cooking the fish. Was trying to make it home as night was falling and a blizzard was setting in. Because of the fog and snow falling, I could not see the bear until it was too late. He got me pretty good. When I came to, it was night and in a blizzard. I tried to make it to shelter but I just could not find land. I used two Go Energy drinks and two emergency stims. But I was just going in a big circle probably. I dropped almost everything except my gun and clothes, but I succumbed to Hypothermia on the ice somewhere in Coastal Highway.

RIP. One thing that annoys me about this game, the amount of food you have to consume is unrealistic. In the wilderness a whole fish would keep you alive for multiple days, in this game its like 20 minutes.

 

[VolInNorthCack]

RIP. One thing that annoys me about this game, the amount of food you have to consume is unrealistic. In the wilderness a whole fish would keep you alive for multiple days, in this game its like 20 minutes.

Yeah, the calorie system is a bone of contention for many people. Luckily you can adjust it before you start your run. I like that you can customize just about everything.

 

[Matt2496]

RIP. One thing that annoys me about this game, the amount of food you have to consume is unrealistic. In the wilderness a whole fish would keep you alive for multiple days, in this game its like 20 minutes.

There is a strategy where you don't eat anything throughout the day, but you only eat a bunch right before you go to sleep. Any condition loss you incur as a result of being hungry will get healed while you're sleeping.

You won't get the well-fed bonus, but you will be able to conserve food.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

Thanks for the tips, I didnt even realize a lot of the things that piss me off about this game I could just change.