What does it take to develop Cabin Fever Risk?

[Shadow Guardian]

I'm playing in Survival / Stalker mode currently and i'm curious what it takes to develop the risk for cabin fever, which i would like to rather avoid. I would like to stay in my house for as long as possible currently, as i have fully harvested the meat of a moose. To clarify, as soon as i have the cabin fever risk, i can see the % to spend outside to let the % go down, so i really more would like to understand how much it takes, or if there is any trick to completely avoid getting the risk. Thanks!

[Lenny Rat]

There are many threads on this forum regarding CF. In general, the game keeps track of your indoor and outdoor time and considers it over a period of the past 6 days. When you spent too much time indoors, you get the warning.

You need to spend more time outdoors. The only way to completely avoid it is to live outdoors and in caves; never use indoor shelter. However; if you plan and consistently do most mundane functions outdoors, you will stay ahead of it. Always know of a nearby cave and keep it stocked. When you get a kill, cook it outdoors. Mend and read outdoors. Snow shelters are also great for this.

[Shadow Guardian]

I have read about the rule "Spend more time outdoors in the last 6 days then indoors". Which would mean that i need to stay outdoors for more than 12 hours a day or 72 hours in 6 days. But it feels to me that this number is too high and i actually doesnt need to stay half a day outdoors. Is it possible that for example 6 hours a day or 36 hours in 6 days is sufficient?

[Mauro4691]

In Stalker the rules are quite lenient.

[IFIYGD]

Originally posted by Dr. Dro:

Originally posted by Mauro_eletronica:

In Stalker the rules are quite lenient.

Other than the 25-day grace period at the beginning, the rules are the same, and this also applies to Voyageur (except the grace period is then 50 days).

This ^^^.

[Bill Nye The Laser Guy]

If you go indoors just to sleep, you'll be fine.

If you go inside to take shelter from blizzards, you should also be fine. Unless you're in Pleasant Valley, the land of the long blizzards.

If you go inside to cook or to use a workbench for crafting clothing, you'll probably run afoul of the risk, at least. Especially if you also sleep indoors.

Take note of your surroundings. Sleeping outdoors in a car is viable and will protect you from the wind and wildlife at least, though you'll still be susceptible to ambient cold temperature.

You can also build a snow shelter, which will protect you from the ambient cold and wind, but not from wildlife.

Caves are a conundrum. Caves have a "cold zone" and a "warm zone" deeper in. The cold zone shelters you from the wind but maintains the ambient cold temperature outside, whereas the "warm zone" has a bonus temperature increase to make it a safer place to sleep. However, because it's also possible to cure hides in the "warm zone" it may also be technically an "indoor" location, despite being outdoors. I've never experimented with it myself.

[Shadow Guardian]

Thanks for the answers so far. It looks to me there is some more "research" required to actually find out - i have now spent in over 10 days more time indoors than outdoors and didn't get the risk. I have only got it 15 days ago, when i was playing card inside when it was too cold outside and i had fully rested. So may be playing card inside increases the risk?

[IvantheFormidable]

Originally posted by Captain Ed:

So may be playing card inside increases the risk?

While it probably should, as far as I'm aware the 'timer', as it were, isn't affected by the type of activity, but rather a simple indoor/outdoor calculation.

[iwasa]

There is an initial grace period in Voyager and Stalker modes. I forget what they were maybe 50 and 25 days. Somebody should know. It is not explicitly clear whether the build up to getting cabin fever risk starts when the grace period ends or it is just that it always ebbs and flows but there is no impact until the grace period ends.

Because the premise for cabin fever is spending a majority of time indoors (nominally more than 12 hours based on a six-day moving average) what you do indoors does not affect that. It is a cumulative result of six days of being indoors and outdoors that matter.

The idea that certain activities should not contribute to cabin fever risk has been argued but, in the end, the devs seems to take the easier way out rather than trying to make a simple, if crude, solution more complex than they probably thought was needed.

[SBlack]

Generally when I get cabin fever risk I just sleep for a night in a cave. That fixes it.
A long fishing session and sleeping some in a fishing cabin also works. But it costs a lot of fuel. In CH I also like to sleep in the car behind Qonset Garage, but again needs a long fire.

Usually I only get it from crafting/forging. I just crafted the bear skin coat which takes ages. I always went to the Ravine cave to sleep for the night. No issues that way.

[Metro]

Only stay inside to sleep or craft stuff at the workbench. Do all of your cooking/prep/etc. on an outdoor fire as much as possible. It's one of the reasons why Trapper's Homestead is such a good base on Interloper. You can set up an outdoor fire in that nook behind the building which will block wind from two directions. Also, as no animals path around the immediate vicinity, you are safe to set up a snow shelter behind it if you need to spend the night outside.

[kamikazi21358]

I also have a side question, I am sure it’s been brought up before, but does interiors without loading screens count?
>Cars
>Caves without loading screens
>Cabin at Timberwolf mountain or the outlooks for example

Also, do caves with loading screens count?

[IvantheFormidable]

Originally posted by kamikazi21358:

I also have a side question, I am sure it’s been brought up before, but does interiors without loading screens count?
>Cars
>Caves without loading screens
>Cabin at Timberwolf mountain or the outlooks for example

Also, do caves with loading screens count?

Cars - no risk
Caves w/o loading screens - no risk
Cabin at Timber - risk (believe lookouts have risk too)
Not sure about caves with loading screens.

[IFIYGD]

Fishing huts, with or without doors also have no risk, and are great for "curing" risk or the actual affliction.

Caves with loading screens, I believe, do still have risk, and are considered interior spaces.

[Andy__K]

As already mentioned, it's a rolling average over your last 6x24hr periods. It's not a majority of your time that needs to be outdoors though (unless it's changed recently) I ran some tests on Interloper and it's between 5-6hr per day must be spent outdoors. That doesn't sound much, but without some form of shelter it's extremely difficult once the temperature drops, so you will need to plan for it - snow shelters, outdoor caves, etc

[I'll be the one]

Originally posted by IvantheFormidable:

Originally posted by kamikazi21358:

I also have a side question, I am sure it’s been brought up before, but does interiors without loading screens count?
>Cars
>Caves without loading screens
>Cabin at Timberwolf mountain or the outlooks for example

Also, do caves with loading screens count?

Cars - no risk
Caves w/o loading screens - no risk
Cabin at Timber - risk (believe lookouts have risk too)
Not sure about caves with loading screens.

Fact -You can get CF from The Mountaineer's hut in TWM.