Playing "The Wilderness" from Zorkaz again

[363rdChemicalCompany]

And it captivates me anew.

The Wilderness - Now with four anomalies at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com)

The music totally creates this eerie fearful atmosphere in this beautiful landscape.

Even though I solved it before, even though I am in quality power armor  and armed with heavy automatic weapons, am probably the most dangerous creature walking the Commonwealth right now.

But the hair at the back of my neck still rises up again when I hear that eerie music and I know it follows me...

[Karna5]

Oh wow, that looks so cool. I never heard of that mod. And dang, I just started a new playthrough with Commonwealth Slavers (it had a big update today), so it'll probably be a few weeks before I can try The Wilderness. But that looks awesome. Thanks a ton for sharing that suggestion, 363rd!

[363rdChemicalCompany]

14 hours ago, Karna5 said:

Oh wow, that looks so cool. I never heard of that mod. And dang, I just started a new playthrough with Commonwealth Slavers (it had a big update today), so it'll probably be a few weeks before I can try The Wilderness. But that looks awesome. Thanks a ton for sharing that suggestion, 363rd!

It is so beautiful , about the size of the Commonwealth.

I realize this even more now. First time I played it was on a first fallout rig a Potato compared to this and all settings were on low or medium. Now (nearly) all my settings are on ultra and the landscape is breathtaking!

The music depending on location fills you with such tenson, or longing..

Its a almost hitckcockian experience until you solved it.  Not a playthrough for a character designed as  an erotic plaything , but a character with agency, good gear and some levels. I'd say Level 25 minimum. I am playing it at level 45-48 and T51F PA and heavy automatic weaponry and the fights are easy even on hard setting.

But at level 25 in say T45D equipped with a minimum of say Overseers friend , well there would be some tough fights. But still doable without save scumming.

But I dont want to misrepresent, this is not about fighting the local beastiary, such as it is, but solving the curse and traveling alone (important I think for atmosphere!) through this empty wilderness, settlements devoid of any people..

 

[Karna5]

You definitely sold me on the Wilderness mod. I'll be sure to try it after I finish this playthrough of Commonwealth Slavers. I am guessing I'll be at least level 48 (maybe 90, hard to remember) when I finish that. But if I feel not strong enough I'll make a trip through The Tunnel of Death which is always good for several dozen levels. To date the Tunnel of Death is the hardest zone I've experienced in Fallout 4, so I very much look forward to The Wilderness not just for the challenge but for exploration (something I love most of all).

[363rdChemicalCompany]

On 4/8/2024 at 8:44 AM, Karna5 said:

You definitely sold me on the Wilderness mod. I'll be sure to try it after I finish this playthrough of Commonwealth Slavers. I am guessing I'll be at least level 48 (maybe 90, hard to remember) when I finish that. But if I feel not strong enough I'll make a trip through The Tunnel of Death which is always good for several dozen levels. To date the Tunnel of Death is the hardest zone I've experienced in Fallout 4, so I very much look forward to The Wilderness not just for the challenge but for exploration (something I love most of all).

Dont overlevel yourself either.

part of the experience is that there will be some risk in exploration.

I think I was about level 20 ish first time I went through. T45C or D, plus a decent weapon (not OP weapon though) 

I dont do save scumming but I play it careful, I dont force fights with OP enemies to level up. I like to play it real as if I am that actual person so if I see say a half dozen mirelurks and I am level 18, I will try to withdraw and go around.

The bestiary is about Far harbor ish and is (other than the curse) your primary kinetic threat.

Its all about exploration and to find out what happend and theen liberate the land from the curse. Dont read the mods question and answer sessions as spoilers abound.

Zorkaz has another one called "The Forest" which shares many features but this is IMHO the better one. (plus i never actually solved "The Forest")

Dont ruin it by going in over powered...

[Karna5]

1 hour ago, 363rdChemicalCompany said:

part of the experience is that there will be some risk in exploration.

*Nods* Even if I were 200th level, that won't be a problem for me because I never wear any armor at all and because I modified my game so that I receive 10x inbound damage (20x versus my head). Some play throughs I don't even use weapons (bare fists only), but I'll be sure to take some slow-loading hard hitting firearms to the Wilderness (I've been a .357 revolver person in real life for most of my life, though I do also like suppressed 9mm pistols which have some decent equivalents in Fallout 4).

In truth, you're seriously tempting me to put my current play through on hold and try out The Wilderness this week instead of waiting until my character gets free in her current playthrough

P.S. I created a save position on this current character when she was still level 1. I'm tempted to load that save and do wilderness with maybe just a knife, a walther ppk pistol (personal mod) [No, sounds like a Colt Double Eagle might be better for Wilderness] and a high caliber revolver and nothing else. She can level up naturally in The Wilderness. Is ammo a problem? If she takes 100 bullets for each weapon, is that enough, or will she need thousands and thousands like she would in The Tunnel of Death?

[363rdChemicalCompany]

4 hours ago, Karna5 said:

*Nods* Even if I were 200th level, that won't be a problem for me because I never wear any armor at all and because I modified my game so that I receive 10x inbound damage (20x versus my head). Some play throughs I don't even use weapons (bare fists only), but I'll be sure to take some slow-loading hard hitting firearms to the Wilderness (I've been a .357 revolver person in real life for most of my life, though I do also like suppressed 9mm pistols which have some decent equivalents in Fallout 4).

In truth, you're seriously tempting me to put my current play through on hold and try out The Wilderness this week instead of waiting until my character gets free in her current playthrough

P.S. I created a save position on this current character when she was still level 1. I'm tempted to load that save and do wilderness with maybe just a knife, a walther ppk pistol (personal mod) [No, sounds like a Colt Double Eagle might be better for Wilderness] and a high caliber revolver and nothing else. She can level up naturally in The Wilderness. Is ammo a problem? If she takes 100 bullets for each weapon, is that enough, or will she need thousands and thousands like she would in The Tunnel of Death?

There is no need for thousands on thousands of rounds.

I nev r played tunnel of death but this is no slaughterfest just about exploring the wilderness and staying ahead of the curse and eventually finding out stuff about that.

There are some beasts but in a pinch you might be able to sneak around some, but with your damage mods I see no way at all to do it w/o savescumming.

For me when I die I usually start a new game (unless it was due to a game glitch or a non game distraction like a phone call.). So as a result I dont enter kinetic environments unless well armed and armored.

[Karna5]

14 minutes ago, 363rdChemicalCompany said:

I see no way at all to do it w/o savescumming

Have you ever heard of demi-god mode? As you know, god mode can take all fun from a game because you take no damage, so there's no sense of tactics or strategy required.

However, the first time I encountered demigod mode was with Serious Sam 3 many years ago. Dunno if you played that game, but it's insanely hard, practically impossible not to die. However, it had a mode in which you take damage but only to zero hit points, not to death. So you could do your best to avoid and survive damage without the game ending and requiring a new save when you die.

Well, Fallout 4 has had demigod mode for at least a year or so. It's a feature which was added with AAF Violate a while back. You can set (in MCM) the mod to put you into a bleed out state when you die instead of actually killing you. I enjoy that very much because it's all the risk and intensity of a battle where you try not to die, but your game doesn't end if you lose a fight.

I linked this film a couple of weeks ago but can't remember the context of the link, so I'm sorry if I already linked this to you. But you can see an example of dying, going into a bleed out state and then getting up after a bit at the 2 minute 22 second mark (killed by a bomb from an aggressive UFO) and the 48 second mark (killed by a mirelurk).

Mist Fires by Guglielmo Earthbound, on Flickr

So I like to play Fallout 4 with extreme caution, and when things hit the fan, with extreme fury trying to kill things before I get hit (and to that end I also try to use slow weapons so that there's the stress of reloading between shots). But if I fail, I get the fun of failing without having to start over.

[Karna5]

I just wanna say thanks for recommending the Wilderness mod, 363rd. I've been exploring it for a while now, and it's one of my favorite types of mods. I'm going to add it to my keep-installed forever list of mods where you can simply explore gorgeous lands and unlock workbenches for settlements, just like the Genesis Raintree Island mod I've kept installed the last few years.

It's totally super enjoyable just to explore gorgeous lands and see what you run into and from time to time build settlements in the middle of nowhere

[363rdChemicalCompany]

On 4/11/2024 at 12:46 AM, Karna5 said:

I just wanna say thanks for recommending the Wilderness mod, 363rd. I've been exploring it for a while now, and it's one of my favorite types of mods. I'm going to add it to my keep-installed forever list of mods where you can simply explore gorgeous lands and unlock workbenches for settlements, just like the Genesis Raintree Island mod I've kept installed the last few years.

It's totally super enjoyable just to explore gorgeous lands and see what you run into and from time to time build settlements in the middle of nowhere

You are very welcome and I am glad this thread has gotten someone into this work of art.

Zorkaz also has The Forest (which again I never solved but the threat level seems a lot less which is fine. I once played it inadvertently with Commonwealth Captives active and rescued a girl at one spot. Then I felt responsible for her and following my principle of playing as I would act real life, gave her the regular armor I wore under my power armor and then  did my best to get her out of the dangerous worldspace in an expedient fashion) and there is also The Marshlands. Very different but quite good in its own right.

But take your time and slowly finish the Wilderness first.

Its a work of art, reminds me of some movies based on Jack London novels.

PS: Building settlements i the middle of nowhere is also a thing I like to do. Seeding bastions of humanity wherever possible, so if a human being is lost and alone fleeing through a desolate landscape they will be amazed and elated when they find one of my settlements as a haven of security and relative, pioneer style, plenty.