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The Long Dark: Tales From Across The Divide

Part 5: Port of Polaris

Pictures in Order: Principle Passage, Frozen Harbor, FH Locations, Port of Polaris Network Tunnels, FH Concept Art, Map Legend, Topographical Legend

New Transition Area: Principle Passage

A narrow multi-tiered canyon between the Mountainous Spine of Little Bear and a river valley, with ruinous road and rail infrastructure connecting Hollow Heartland to Frozen Harbor. Beware travel here requires several switchbacks and climbs to navigate the nest of collapsed and failed tunnels.

Key Item: Freight Keycard

The car hanging off the cliffside on the lowest tier of Principle Passage contains a Key item, inside the trunk of the perilous wreck you can locate the Freight Keycard which can be used to enter the Freight Warehouse in Frozen Harbor.

Locations:

1. To Hollow Heartland

2. Southwest Passage

3. Gorgeous Valley View

4. Duchess Falls

5. Unburdened Tunnel

6. Hunter's Pass

7. Decayed Tunnel

8. To Frozen Harbor

New Regional Area: Frozen Harbor

An Industrial region in a natural harbor, home to the Port of Polaris. Frozen and accosted by the sea in an endless drudgery of Icy Waves. The region is the most Industrial area of the Project, home to several warehousing buildings, the main Port offices, and the Railyard at the end of the line, splintering out into sidings for the Islands Coal, Lumber, and Freight industries. The Port also hosts a passenger Terminal and a number of half frozen ships. The southern area of the Region is home to a more natural environment, a marina, and the Overlook church where wives and family would pray over the Sailors leaving port.

Locations:

1. To Principle Passage

2. Matte Cargo

3. Northern Supply Co. (Bootleggers)

4. Railyard

5. Engine Shed

6. Port of Polaris (Main Office, Shipping Control Tower, Freight Warehouse)

7. The Albatross Freighter

8. Port Warehouses

9. Longshoreman Housing

10. Passenger Terminal

11. Ferry No. 4

12. Blue Moon Marina

13. Overlook Church

14. Harbormaster's Cabin (Contains Harbormaster’s Revolver)

15. Backwater Cave

16. Lumineer Lake

17. Vista Tower (Vista Location)

18. To Northern Collapse

New Unique Revolver Variant: Harbormaster’s Revolver:

An arctic themed revolver used by the Harbormaster to scare off the occasional Polar Bear that used to wander too close to the Port. Built for the miserable conditions of Harbor life, this variant is Louder than the standard revolver and its condition decays 50% slower.

New Underground Area: Port of Polaris Network Tunnels

Inspired by the Steam Tunnels in Blackrock, the Network Tunnels underneath the Port area are a series of interconnected tunnels and underground warehouses that were designed for the safe transport and storage of goods and materials away from the wintery conditions above ground. Or at least they were before the Earthquakes and the abandonment of Polaris. Some of the tunnels have since collapsed and the area can now only be first accessed through the Freight Warehouse, which in turn can only be entered with the Freight Keycard during an Aurora. From Inside the tunnels, one can open alternate access points in the Rail Terminal and in the Northern Supply Co. Warehouse.

New Game Mechanic: Bootlegger Stashes

Inside the Network Tunnels, one can discover a now exposed secret tunnel that connects a utility room to the basement of the Northern Supply Co. Warehouse. Turns out back when the Port was operational there was a smuggling ring running in the shadows. Notably this Warehouse can only be first entered and unlocked from underground. Inside the warehouse you’ll discover the Bootlegger’s Key and a note describing a series of Stash locations hidden around Little Bear and Great Bear. These can be opened with the Key and contain some unique loot, there are a Total of 8 Stashes with 5 being located throughout Little Bear Island, and 3 being hidden behind Ice Climbing Wall locations added to Coastal Highway, Desolation Point and Pleasant Valley.

Bootlegger Stashes:

Each of the 8 Stash locations would contain some randomized High level clothing items and ammunition for the Revolver and Rifle. In addition, each Stash would contain 1 Gold Bar, and between 1-4 bottles of Canadian Whiskey. 1 of the 8 Stashes selected at random would also contain the Bootleggers Jacket and Bootleggers Pants unique clothing items.

New Items:

Gold Bar - A decorative item to be placed at your Base to show off your achievements, and/or possibly an extremely valuable trade item.

Canadian Whiskey - A food item that contains a fair amount of calories and decreases hydration, provides a Warming Up buff. Can also be used as an accelerant for firestarting. Also, Tastes good.

Bootleggers Outfit - Two pieces of clothing that have the same stats as Military clothing equivalents, with the added bonus of having extra pockets. Individually the clothing items each increase your carry weight by 2kg, and when worn together increase total carry weight by 5kg.

End of Tale: Distress Signal

The tale previously introduced in Part 2 of this project is concluded in the Frozen Harbor region upon the player successfully locating the Crashed Helicopter from the HMS Solstice. Eagle eyed viewers may have spotted three unique markers on the Locations of Frozen Harbor, labeled A, B, and C. These represent the three possible locations the Helo can spawn. Having eventually lost power when the Aurora ended, the Helicopter spilled out into the inhospitable tundra around the Harbor. There were no survivors. However you can obtain the research journal which details Project Luminary. A scientific experiment that resulted in a new device called the Maglectroscope, which can be salvaged from the wreck. And ends the Tale.

New Item/Mechanic: Maglectroscope

So this is by far the most unrealistic aspect of this project, but hey that’s what creative liberties are for. The maglectroscope is a made up device that resembles a handheld telescope connected to a barometer. It uses a chemical agitator element to predict the likelihood of an Aurora happening when pointed at the sky, shown to the player as a percentage on a 20% scale. I.e. as 20, 40, 60, 80, or 100 percent. This would be helpful for determining when to head for Aurora sealed locations like the Cannery Workshop or Freight Warehouse, as well as when to best search for Computer messages.

That concludes the lengthy details of Part 5 of this project, the next and final part of Tales From Across The Divide will focus on the final and most interesting Region: Northern Collapse and the final Tale: Polaris Lost.

The Long Dark: Tales From Across The Divide

Part 4: Glacial Edge

Pictures in Order: Glacial Edge v2, Glacial Cave Network Overlay, GE Locations, GE v1, Concept Art, Map Legend, Topographical Legend

New Regional Area: Glacial Edge

A region of wilderness tundra situated between the center of Little Bear Island and the Eros Glacier. A wild and remote valley territory with little shelter, Hiding a relic of the World Wars.

Design Note - This Region was heavily inspired by mixing ideas present in Hushed River Valley and Ash Canyon regions of the main game, it features a weather climate similar to both of these regions as well, with particularly freezing temperatures, maybe some of the worst in the game. There are several bears present here and few deer. There are however some Arctic Hares here, which are just normal rabbits with a little extra size and meat to them compared to rabbits found elsewhere. The large Glacial Cave Network that can be accessed through multiple caves at the foot of the Glacier is my take on the Ice Caves from HRV, inside is divided into a lower and upper areas with the threshold being crossed by a couple of Ice Climbing walls that require the Climbing Picks to access. The Upper Cave Network exits onto one of two elevated areas in GE, this one only accessible through climbing inside the Glacier and home to the Coastal Battery.

Locations:

1. To Hollow Heartland

2. Root Cellar (One of Two manmade Shelters)

3. Lake Ilsa

4. Lake Ilsa Cave

5. Ruined Cabins

6. Teardrop Pond

7. Bitter's Cave

8. Bitter Valley

9. Parliament Lake

10. Lyon's Cave

11. Glacial Falls

12. Glacial Cave Network (4 Entrances)

13. Icy Shore

14. Ranger's Cabin (Contains the Rangers Key)

15. Broken Gates

16. Southpaw Ridge Lookout (One of Two Manmade Shelters)

17. Coastal Battery (Contains Great War Rifle and Medal of Valor)

18. Highrise Point

19. Ash Cave

20. Little Plateau

End of Tale: Coastal History

The Tale previously introduced in part 3 of this Project is concluded here in Glacial Edge when the player first discovers the Coastal Battery location, and then explores the Ruins. Inside the forgotten and decaying concrete Bunker shell, the player would eventually come across a sheltered room at the bottom of the structure. Prying your way into this area would reward the player with two new items and complete the Tale. The first item and the functional one is the Great War Rifle, a unique variant of the Rifle. The second item would be a Medal of Valor, a unique decorative item one could place around their base to show off their completion of this Tale.

New Unique Rifle Variant: Great War Rifle

This unique variant of the Rifle would be an old reliable Lee Enfield. It may have seen better days but it still fires, And it carries with it a storied history. This Rifle decays at a faster rate than normal , but has a 50% crit rate on Wolves and Deer, and a 25% crit rate on Bears.

New Animal and Clothes: Arctic Fox (Fur Socks)

The Arctic Fox is an ever elusive creature rarely found roaming around this specific region of Little Bear, it is most easily found directly after an Intense blizzard when it can be seen running to some new found cover. It is quick and easy to spook, it holds slightly more meat than the Arctic Hares described above, however its main prize is its Arctic Fox Pelt. Two of these dried out furs could be used to craft up some Fur Socks. Since the socks slot was missing a craftable clothing piece I felt this was a natural and welcome addition to the clothing availability in TLD. They are slightly warmer than the warmest traditional socks, and once crafted can be repaired using regular cloth. (Since the Fox is specific to only one region.)

In Part 5 I will be going over the next pair of Regions, the transition area Principle Passage, and the regional area Frozen Harbor. The Most industrial region and where we meet the end of the first Tale in TFATD, Distress Signal.