The Long Dark DLC Update: Signal Void

The Hinterland studio has delivered just as promised and the second part of their new DLC package was released in the last days of March. Under the unearthly aurora sky, we are heading back to the Far Territory lured by mysterious radio signals, trying to uncover the mystery of hidden survival bunkers. On the way, we will find some new, really cool pieces of clothing and taste the delicious (?) acorn coffee.

All screenshots are mine. You can read my review of the first DLC update here.

This first section contains some mild spoilers.

While a large portion of the new content is only available to the people who paid for the DLC Season Pass, some minor additions appear even if you own the base game only. One of them is available right from the start. The Fire-Hardened Arrows are not hard to make, since all you need is to make a fire, grab a couple of sticks and a few feathers. While they are mostly useless against larger animals and only able to scare some of them off, they are quite handy when hunting rabbits. This makes the new type of arrow particularly useful when you want to practice your archery skill because they are much cheaper to make than ordinary arrows.

A new tree has appeared on Bear Island. You'll easily recognise the oaks by their powerful trunks and dark patches lying on the snow around them. As it turns out, they are acorns fallen down to the ground. After picking them up, you can cook them in boiling water to make a delicious snack, but they can be even more useful. Cooked acorns can be smashed into powder using a large hammer in order to make acorn coffee. Every seasoned TLD player knows that regular, canned coffee found in various places is a strategic resource, as it helps to halt fatigue drain and makes exploration both easier and more effective. Getting tired in the middle of frozen tundra is really a bad idea, as it slows you down and makes it easier to twist your ankle, but thanks to the power of the mighty acorn we have another remedy for that. The only problem is finding a large hammer to turn cooked acorns into quasi-coffee grounds, but maybe the luxury of having caffeine coursing through your veins should be costly.

There are a couple of new clothes to be found around Bear Island, too, but I had little luck in finding them. It appears that they randomly appear in a few selected locations and at this point of my Survival, I've already searched most containers in the game and didn't feel like doing that again. Still, I managed to get the Aviator Jacket in the big airfield hangar. After some mending, it turned out to be really solid, warm, sturdy and not too heavy. More importantly, it looks badass and fits my character, a seasoned explorer, way more than some boring ski jackets or coats (still less badass than the bear fursuit, though).

There isn't much to say about another new item, the Technical Balaclava, but certainly does look better and more pro than all those scarves and beanie caps you find lying everywhere.

Signals in the mist

Some serious spoilers below!

The most important addition is the new story mode named Signal Void. While visiting the control tower in the Forgotten Airport, one of the new areas added by the DLC, you discover a handheld radio with a note attached to it. As it turns out, a Canadian military unit was running a network of radio transmitters for the purpose of receiving distress signals in case somebody in the area got into trouble. During their work, they stumbled upon mysterious radio transmissions in certain regions of Bear Island. Obviously, this sounds both curious and promising, so a new quest appears in your logbook. We'll try to get the radio towers working and find out the source of the interference.

The first transmitter stands right there in the airfield, but it's obviously broken. To get it running, we'll need some unique spare parts, a few pieces of metal junk and a car battery. Luckily for us, all the necessary items are right at hand and soon it's in working again. The problem is that electricity stopped working after the Silent Apocalypse and we'll have to wait for an aurora night, or the strange shimmering for, to make the device work and receive any signals. Time for a nap.

Don't quote on that, but I think that the update made aurora appearances more frequent, so it's only a few hours of sleep and we wake up under strange lights. After pulling out the handheld radio, it turns out that it has two modes with two different colour displays. The blue mode is for tracking the mysterious signals, but it's dead now. The other, orange mode however has caught onto something. Now just have to find the proper direction, and walk towards it while the radio is beeping when we're closing to the target. Finally, it seems we are zeroed in. In the middle of nothing, digging in the snow reveals a large metal tube. It is a hidden supply container with some useful stuff inside. Right, so this thing really works!

After switching the device into the other mode, I begin patrolling the area in search of any mysterious signals. Nothing, not a single beep. Well, the note I found earlier clearly mentioned three other regions where I'm supposed to track the unknown transmissions. It's time for a long trip east. I make sure to visit abandoned facilities like the cannery and especially the dam, collecting the unique parts, fuses and wires, necessary to get the other radio towers running. The first stop is the Radio Tower in a region called the Pleasant Valley. The quest turns into a chore because I need to find a car battery and some pieces of junk, and that means lots of walking and searching abandoned houses and barns. At last, the second tower is repaired and I take a long nap in the nearby radio shack, waiting for an aurora night. Then it turns out that searching for those signals is a dangerous job — the sky anomaly turns a local bear into a frenzied killing machine. After a hasty retreat, I spend a few days waiting for another opportunity. This time the berserker bear is nowhere to be seen and after some shuffling in the snow, I finally discover the first bunker in the northern corner of the map.

If I were condemned to spend the rest of my life in the frozen Canadian wasteland, I'd probably choose this underground shelter to live in. Unlike the Prepper Stashes already known to TLD fans, this bunker is really spacious, made of a few large rooms connected with wide corridors. The kitchen reveals some new foodstuffs previously unseen on Bear Island—which makes me absolutely happy as a hopeless vidya foody. While exploring another room, I find some written recordings with disturbing details about secret government experiments which were apparently carried out in the area. It appears that one can get the full picture of the mystery after finding more evidence in other secret locations, so it's time to move on and find the other two bunkers.

Now begins the dangerous part of my little investigation. While repairing the remaining transmitter towers is trivial, I have to search for the hidden shelters in two distant regions I've never explored despite playing The Long Dark for six years. Judging by comments from other players I found online, they have a reputation for being particularly unfriendly towards human interlopers, offering little shelter and resources. What's even worse, the local wildlife is particularly nasty there. The rumours turn out to be true, and I have to deal with a pack of angry timberwolves which forces me to spend valuable marine flares and revolver ammunition. There's a high cliff to climb down and up again, and I get ambushed by a nasty bear while resting inside a cave, but I manage to avoid getting eaten (and get some delicious bear steaks in return). Since I'm trying to be really careful, the exploration goes slowly, but eventually, I manage to find the two remaining bunkers. Inside, I find more unique supplies and some other crumbs of information about the secret government project. After reading them, I decide that the Bear Island locals were right to distrust Ottawa and its ruthless bureaucrats.

The search reveals that another, central research bunker exists on Bear Island, and it's located somewhere near the Forsaken Airfield, an area where the whole investigation started. Reaching it isn't all that difficult, and its depths reveal not just the final piece of information concerning the whole mystery, but also the ultimate prize for finishing the quest. Without any doubt, the new Rifle Holster is a top-tier piece of equipment, significantly reducing the weight of everyone's favourite firearm.

But is it really good?

The second DLC installment should be viewed positively, even though it has not delivered any major changes to the general gameplay. The main quest involving the search for the mysterious signals is a bit underwhelming in comparison with the Story Mode, it still brings some refreshing changes to the gameplay of the Survival mode and gives the player a reason to explore different areas in detail, which is a particularly nice novelty for TLD veterans who know each map like the back of their hand. Other, lesser additions like the new food, arrows and clothes also are a change for the better.

Writing a post-action report on your own, without referring to fan wikis or dedicated TLD fora, takes some time and while I'm publishing this post, the third episode of Tales from The Far Territory is already available. Stay tuned for another post!