Clock, daylight hours, map, etc.

[Ed]

Hi Guys,

Just bought this alpha game today. Liking it so far, atmosphere is really good. Some thoughts and questions:

- Can you find a compass or some way of telling what general direction you are heading in?
- Is there any way to make a map?
- All the "people" I have met so far have been corpses. There is really no one else alive out here, despite there being evidence of human habitation?
- Dehydration is a real problem - but I am surrounded by snow I could melt for water!!
- Clock - how can I display the time of day in-game - this is a must-have feature
- Daylight hours left - it would be REALLY useful to have this displayed on-screen so we knew when we needed to find shelter by
- Red cross at bottom left-hand of screen - does this indicate general health level?
- "coldness" symbol in bottom left of screen - does this tick up or down the colder you get?
- How long do you need to survive for until you have "done" a location?
- How can you treat/recover from hypothermia?

I think that's all the questions/comments I have for now - thanks for any help with the above! :)

[joefitts63]

Originally posted by Ed:

Hi Guys,

Just bought this alpha game today. Liking it so far, atmosphere is really good. Some thoughts and questions:

- Can you find a compass or some way of telling what general direction you are heading in?
Nope. Sun only.

- Is there any way to make a map?
Nope. Not in-game.

- All the "people" I have met so far have been corpses. There is really no one else alive out here, despite there being evidence of human habitation?
Nope. Deaders everywhere, at least until story mode releases.

- Dehydration is a real problem - but I am surrounded by snow I could melt for water!!
You can. Build a fire. Click on the fire. First tab is add fuel, second tab is cook stuff, third tab is melt and boil water.

- Clock - how can I display the time of day in-game - this is a must-have feature
No can do.

- Daylight hours left - it would be REALLY useful to have this displayed on-screen so we knew when we needed to find shelter by
Just hit tab and you will see it. Hit tab again to clear it away. They have gone with a minimalist UI design.

- Red cross at bottom left-hand of screen - does this indicate general health level?
No, it means you have a medical condition that needs attention. Tab, then the button on the lower right to access first aid screen.

- "coldness" symbol in bottom left of screen - does this tick up or down the colder you get?
No, it appears when you are cold enough it is about to be a serious problem. As in you are getting close to starting to take freezing damage.

- How long do you need to survive for until you have "done" a location?
However long you choose. You can spend 1 day in a location, or 100 days. Totally up to you.

- How can you treat/recover from hypothermia?
You have to stay at a temperature above freezing for 24 hours. Even one second under freezing resets the timer.

I think that's all the questions/comments I have for now - thanks for any help with the above! :)

[Wario]

Hi!

- There's no compass, as far as I know.
- There's no way to make a map either, but you can find fan-made maps on the Wiki[thelongdark.wikia.com].
- No people alive in sandbox mode, no.
- You can make a fire and melt snow then boil the water to make it clean, or melt snow and use water tablets to purify it instead. I prefer to just boil it.
- Just bring up the Status screen to see how many hours of daylight. Also, if it shows "???" instead on a number for the hours, it means that weather conditions are bad and you should either find shelter or not leave the building you're in.
- Yes, red cross means you are either injured or have some other issue like food poisoniong, etc. There are medicines to remedy that, also natural alternatives that you have to craft.
- If you are talking about map completion, you have to discover all the marked areas on a map in order to explore it all. The Wiki maps an be useful.
- You have to warm yourself up by a fire then stay indoors for 24 hours.

Good luck!

[Factualious]

Originally posted by Ed:

Hi Guys,

Just bought this alpha game today. Liking it so far, atmosphere is really good. Some thoughts and questions:

- How long do you need to survive for until you have "done" a location?

You are "done" when you die, or get bored.

[NotReally]

Originally posted by Ed:

"--- All the "people" I have met so far have been corpses. There is really no one else alive out here, despite there being evidence of human habitation?---"

Found a dead corpse in house, named him james, james is a good guy, he does not talk much but keeps me good company, he is a good listener.

[cybadrian]

Hello! I feel stupid, but I have to ask... How to get some snow for melting? I know it is everywhere ;-) - but how to "put" it to my backpack?

[Liduska77]

You dont; you just get the option to melt snow anytime you make a fire, even if it is indoors. You cannot "pick up" snow, only click on the option to melt it - it will then turn into unclean water (which you can put in your pack if so desired), which you have to boil to drink, or use a water purifying tablet on.

[NotReally]

Originally posted by cybadrian:

Hello! I feel stupid, but I have to ask... How to get some snow for melting? I know it is everywhere ;-) - but how to "put" it to my backpack?

You start a fire, may it be inside fireplace or outside campfire, you then click on fire and menu opens, in menu you can heat food, add more logs or stuff to fire to make it last and smelt snow and then boil water to make it pure to drink.'

Edit: NOO! Linduska :(

[Kris Reddish]

You will learn most of the maps after some time, I hope. I am slowly getting the hang of it, and once you do that, you can navigate by terrain assotiation. Like I know were the frozen lake is in Mystery Lake map, becuase of the mountain peaks in the background, and there is the Sun too. It should be able to be used as a compass of sorts.

[TouriStarr]

you have to select the amount of snow/water to melt/boil, too ;-)

[cybadrian]

Thank you very much for your answers! :-)

[Ed]

Thanks VERY MUCH guys!! :)) You have been extremely helpful. Only thing I find strange is that you don't have a watch...

[dasebastian]

Yes, that's kinda weird for a bush pilot, but it could be broken.

[Liduska77]

A watch is supposed to be useless in the situation, affected by the magnetic thing (accident or blast, or whatever it is) so the player has to go back to basics. But the game does tell you how many hours of light and dark are left: kinda like a watch already, no? :) Plus, the Sun can be tracked across the sky, with the player checking how many hours of light are left by pressing the Tab button. This means that after a while, and a little comparing, you will know roughly how many hours of light are left by simply and quickly looking up to see the position of the Sun in the sky.

On a side issue. how amazing would it be to be able to use the Stars to track your location? Like using Polaris or the like as a reference. Would really take the game back to basics :)

[dasebastian]

I am not 100% sure about it BUT I think I have seen in a broadcast the Big Bear. That would make sense, with Big Bear we always could now which direction North. I was too slow for screenshot, but I am about 80% sure. Any words from Bethany?

[Liduska77]

Ah, excellent. Will have to check that out. Cheers, friend! :D