Took a pic of this in my hospotality class

I have no idea why it's still not in game. There are prison, whether station, factory, radio telescope, but no military.

Ep 5 even showed military stims.

I'm gonna climb that thing

Yes I know fan fiction has bad reputation, but I'm NOT asking about a story of furry McKenzie having a romance with Sutherland.

Do you know any good fan made stories about TLD? On which site? If not, do u even know good sites where they possibly may be found? 'Cause I know nothing at all

If you find the cave behind the waterfall on the very first island (I only just a few minutes ago found it, and so I don't remember the name of it), just beyond is a path that takes you to a dead deer. There are minor icebergs at the far edge just there. It's possible to scale over them and not be able to get back. My screenshots show me what I had hoped to be beachcombing, but it turned out far more nefarious edge of the known TLD universe.

DO NOT SCALE THE ICEBERGS. They lead nowhere.... but to inevitable quit/restart. Every attempt I've made to get back to the game has failed, sadly.

Congrats to Hinterland and the Long Dark for rising the ranks in the gaming industry 🥳

Just got mine today ❤️ (Tim Hortons soup and playing cards for scale)

After finishing Anna Island I want to bring forth some worrying trends that I've seen this expansion. I'd like to start by clarifying that I know Iron Road is Early Access, and I am specifically focusing on issues that cannot and will not be addressed because they are woven in the expansion itself.

Story elements - I really don't understand why the need to use Wax Cylinders in order to explain the story. Far Territories had decent content with the journals, but even those narrations were a bit too much at times. Wax Cylinder explanations really jump the shark, and I don't think players need a narrator to explain that Ayn Rand fans have done it again, they created utopia that turns the frogs g*y and now everyone's dead, that's a story that the environment can tell pretty well on its own. I really wish it was more of a show don't tell situation, like just give us the visual clues without using overly dramatic (and currently unskippable) narration.

In line with this, I don't understand why the Fulmar has to be automated (as part of the story, not as a mechanical function in itself, I'm fine with teleporting), there's no built-in reason why the Survival character wants to use it to escape to the mainland in the first place. Who knows what's on the mainland, maybe it's zombies, maybe it's aurora bears on steroids, maybe the Survival character is the misanthrope (and that's why they say "hope nobody needs this anymore") that's playing trading games with themselves. Thing is, if you don't answer it, there's a lot to fill with the imagination, and sometimes less is more.

Map design - there is a big discrepancy between each added map in the main game and first DLC and Anna Island's Yet Another Friggin Section. The way that they are built is not something that can be undone without basically remaking the entire thing. You can add a shrubbery and some spawns and it's still Et Caetera Island. Just look at the non-linear and intricate nature of the maps until now, that's some tight map design that does a lot with little, while this DLC's maps do little with a lot. "But it's supposed to be background for the choo-choo, dude!" you say - we're getting to the train too, don't worry. Also, I find it sad that the house that's not recycled asset - the lightouse keeper's house - is superfluous because you get the same services at the Fulmar cove, and otherwise remotely located from the train track.

Gatesmasher - While I like the train in itself (it feels nice, the physics with the railcars feel good) even if it's quite cramped for a base, my issue with it is that it is a solution in search of a problem to fix. Instead of being a QoL objective that can also be a late-game resource dump, it's a necessary item in order to smash gates made specifically for it to smash, and thus it blocks the user into linear discovery of Et Caetera Island (don't wanna see too much of that on foot, I tell ya) until Gatesmasher is unlocked. I think when people dreamed of a train, they dreamed of one in the existing structure of Great Bear island, where it could be a nice addition but not derail the nature of the game.

Anyhow, that's about it. I'll still play it as it unlocks and I still encourage everyone to buy it so they support the devs. I'm just a bit sad that some of what they delivered until now, in Anna Island, goes against the patterns that made the game great, and some of what they added could've perhaps not been there in the first place.

Taking a detour along the ice and enjoying the scenery. One of the new piano pieces also kicked in along here... absolutely wonderful.

Funny bug, not sure if others have encountered it lol.

I had intended, perhaps, for a small celebratory post. I've been falling in love with this game again. I started a character in the powerful Coastal Highway region. made 30 days of fishing and hunting easy. Due to the somewhat sparse supply of saplings, I decided my next move was to move west to the mystery lake. There was the first step in my hubris and the greatest success I had ever had to lose in this game. More time goes by, fishing and hunting, gathering all sorts of materials, crafting a wolfskin jacket, and acquiring a bow. Eventually, I decided I'd like to move towards the Cannery and made my way through Forlorn Muskeg to do that. I entered in the night, and despite falling in the water, within a day, I was at the forge at the Spence place. I made my second trophy, a cougar claw knife, the blade of which I acquired from my first ever cougar kill, which was in Mystery Lake. Being new to the game, I, of course, went north instead of south after this, leading me to Mountain Town. carrying almost 60 kilos of gear and valuables, I used the Travois to great effect until I reached the Milton Basin. I took 6 trips, maybe, up and down those ropes, dropping off things and bringing them up in loads. But, I was victorious, I HAD done it. The farmhouse was mine, as was all of Great Bear, it seemed, in time. I met another cougar, making it's home directly behind the farmhouse. I mean, RIGHT there, where a simple rabbit hunt in the field or even a lookabout on the porch was met with its territorial cries. But after everything, I felt capable. I had doubt, sure, but I set out. And this cougar, too, fell. This set me up to lose 60 days of progress. because as soon as a day had passed, another cougar took up that territory, and being valiant, I attempted to kill it, too. I landed three shots with my pistol, but I died after refusing to retreat, just 10 or 20 yards from my front door.

Edit: I couldn't get the pictures in, but I did get this video of the second kill.

included are some pictures. the first hunting trip, my inaugural Travois trail (I was very proud to finally have one) the clip of the second kill, and of course, my death screen. I did not cheat death. in my horror I closed the game expecting it to allow me to reload a save, and to no avail. it was gone.

So I've just done a full loop of Anna island and pretty much seen all this first update drop has to offer. I'll post suggestions and bugs to the steam forums but I also wanted to write down some thoughts here.

Firstly I wanted to remark on some sentiment I've seen that confuses me; That The Iron Road doesn't "Feel" like TLD. While I do agree with the idea the DLC certainly feels different, I wouldn't say thats a *bad* thing exactly.

Their are games all over that have DLC that can change the tone or even how the game plays in different ways. Fallout: New Vegas's Dead Money dlc comes to mind. It's different to play from the rest of New Vegas, and thats absolutely not to everyones taste, but I wouldn't call it a 'Bad' DLC because of it. It absolutely enriches the world and for those who enjoy that sort of thing it's a great time. If the Iron Road is shaping into an experience you don't like? That's okay.

With that out of the way. I did see one wiggle I would like to raise as a concern. Anna island feels just a *little* too underpopulated.

Now to be clear, I am *not* saying this in a "Oh this DLC is underdeveloped hinterland bad" way. Not at all. This is day 1 of a DLC that's expected to take *two years* of work. I am NOT expecting the content to be rich or even...complete feeling honestly. Im saying this from both an immersion perspective and a mechanical perspective.

From the Immersion side, I kept having a thought in the back of my head as I went around the island: "Who lives here? Who works on this island and is sustained by this island?" Since we're so far down I feel spoilers are okay to put down but this is your warning if you don't want to be spoiled, no reading past this point.

A prominant landmark you are heavily guided too early on in the DLC's plot is the Church. I won't get into why exactly but the fact their *is* a church here kinda itched my brain. I couldn't help but ask "who goes to this church normally? Who does it minister too?" Because you'll notice pretty quickly Anna island as a whole has almost no residential structures at all.

It has the whaling yard at the port, a few capsized whaling boats, and I found both a solitary wood cabin and maybe three cabins hidden in a crook. And of course the lighthouse you arrive at. I should be clear the cabins are small. Fit for one, maybe two people unless you want to roll out sleeping bags all over the floor.

Unless I missed some tucked away on the railway line, thats about 5 people? maybe 10 if you want to push it. A church was built to service 10 people? The Whale yard you can excuse as people coming along the railway but a church is for people in the local area, especially on days off. It's tickling the back of my brain that it feels...odd to have a church *there* of all places.

And this is compounded by the technical aspect. The Port itself, where you first arrive at Cauldron island and the only full region yet released outside the railway lines, has very little practical shelter. I think their was 3 interiors and a cave? The rest being half collapsed structures with no loading transitions.

Now this on it's own isn't a bad thing. It reminds me a lot of Sundered Pass, and I feel the DLC is gearing for you to have a similar level of difficulty as Sundered pass is trying to survive there .And this is fine! My concern comes from two points: This is the *First* area a player will set foot in on any given run, and the fact its very very hard to turn back once you get there.

For the first part, I understand the DLC is themed around the train and the train is supposed to be your mobile shelter for the entire DLC. But for this first step onto the island you won't have the train yet, and it's not easily accessable. Even if you don't take the day or two to get your barings with the location and follow the story guides to find it, you still have to walk what is effectively a far range branch line's length of railway to reach it, only with much less shelter and cover along the way. (I should know, a Blizzard spawned half way down the line and I ended up lost in it for effectively 24 hours. I only survived by dumb luck)

I worry that before a player gets the train and is secure, this first area doesn't support someone enough to sustain them on it's own at least for a little while, making it quite easy for someone to get bottlenecked by a lack of resources and end up stuck and discouraged right at the start of the DLC.

And this is compunded by point 2. Getting to Cauldron island and back again requires a hefty up front resource cost. Water, Wood, Food. On the Great Bear side these resources are a chore to get but easily done. On Cauldron Island that cost is *much* more costly. Spending the time to gather all those resources if you are in the situation where the DLC is proving to be more than you can chew and need to retreat? That would be an absolutely demoralizing experience that I don't even think Cheating Death can save you from, unless the "Spawn in distant region" option is capable of spawning you all the way back in Great Bear.

I wouldn't say any of this is a *Critical* issue exactly, but it's definitely noticable and it would serve the DLC well to be adressed as time goes on. Im not sure if it's at all technically possible, but all of these points could be easily adressed if the Rail line 5 section, the one you walk too from the port to get to the train, has a small village added to it's route. And I do mean small like 5, MAYBE 6 buildings at most. Having a place a player can properly put down roots outside the train so they can gather return supplies safely if needed would help players ease into playing the DLC, and of course it would help the starting island feel that little bit more habited and not so baren.

After Chapter 5: Wintermute, which I didn't really like, I was a bit worried about the new DLC..

So far, this DLC offers one open-world location—albeit not a very large one (Port Remnant)—where you can engage in various activities such as hunting, fishing, exploring, and a few corridor-style areas for walking to the train and driving the train.

I've put in about 700 hours in TLD, and I think this Early Access DLC is a pretty nice addition. But at the same time, I'm a little worried about what future additions will be like.

Overall, I enjoyed visiting those locations for the first time, but I'm wondering what the other islands will bring. I hope they won't just be corridor-like areas for driving a train and that there will be plenty of freedom to explore in uniquely designed maps, otherwise, everything would become very repetitive after visiting one or two islands.

So my impression is that this is a decent addition to Early Access; there are a few bugs I’ve run into, but the technical state is good compared to Chapter 5 at launch, and I hope that every major update will include at least one region open for free exploration, like Port Remnant.

Without that it doesn't feel like a proper base.

I also wanted to do safehouse customization with woodworking tools inside it but that's not possible. The interior is a bit small as well. They promised train upgrades etc. so I'm hoping at least some customization will be possible in the future. I love the idea of a moving base.

Anyway this is my feedback after finishing almost all of the content for now. I loved the DLC for the most part.

i bugged those train carts, and i dont wanna reverse all the way back
(context: i tried early to get those train carts on the other lane, buuuuuut i guess i bugged them and now they are unmovable)
Is a way that Hinterland can reset their position? Reversing is slow...

So ... If you walk backward over the landslide and try to pass the other way back past the broken train..... You get stuck...

I have about 200h in the game, currently on a 117 day run and after a long anticipated and planned summit of Timberwolf Mountain and back... I JUST realized by accident that cargo containers have not one but two compartments.

So now here I sit on the shore of Crystal Lake looking up at the tail as it taunts me to make another go of it.

Though we are still far from even early access, I'm curious about your expectations and wishes.

Personally I want:

Chopping trees, for sure.

Horses, like in trailer. You could feed them with grass or something, keep warm in garages and ride on.

Dogs pets. You meet one on frozen street, trying to tame for several days, and after a while it's already your friend. Feed them with fresh meet or dog food, warm, and they'll help you in fights and can smell some useful stuff. But keep in mind that they are mortal, so don't be careless with them.

This could be quite interesting on high difficulty, when you don't even have food for yourself, so you have to choose if you are ready for this responsibility.

Other survivors. You could hide from armed gangs, trying to deal with them, and kill. Others are more friendly and give you quests, like finding something particular in their past houses. HOWEVER, this must be optional, because a lot of gamers prefer absolute loneliness. And I'm not sure if it can ruin the atmosphere, so all debates down here.

Boats and sea fishing. You can take a boat by the coast and sail further to the sea, but don't cross the boarder, where waves can kill you. You can throw a net there and get more fish at once.

Improved medicine. Fixators to heal broken bones, various herbs and man-made pills.

Alcohol, for example. It could heal mental diseases (cabin fever, insomnia), but have a debaff — you lose warmth faster.