Stuart Posted August 2, 2014 Meets Campo Santo video. Source: http://blog.camposanto.com/post/93498673956/it-turns-out-olly-has-never-actually-left-his Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
syntheticgerbil Posted August 3, 2014 That last shot is so creepy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Merus Posted August 3, 2014 Is that Dominion they're talking about in the last minute or so? Did they actually pull out Pirate Ship with Dominion? That card is super, super broken. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dosed Posted August 3, 2014 Videos of people I have convinced are just detached voices are weird. I know what they all look like, but it's weird to see them still. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neonrev Posted August 3, 2014 Its pretty weird to me, as a guy who's listened to Idle thumbs for years and the KOL guys on podcasts for (grossly) most of my life, to see a video of them camping together. The people I listen to as I go to sleep are joining forces, going to secret retreats in the woods to plan their nefarious aural implanting, and also play netrunner. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrHoatzin Posted August 3, 2014 Breaks my heart to hear Jake badmouth shitty nature a while back (it's just in nature's nature to burn down sometimes, it's fine, shh) and then see this camping thing with tables and chairs and board games... Lately, surrendering to nature is the closest thing I've had to a reliably fulfilling religious experience. I should really go on a lengthier road trip through state and national parks one of these days. All that said, game looks orgasmic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
singlespace Posted August 4, 2014 Breaks my heart to hear Jake badmouth shitty nature a while back (it's just in nature's nature to burn down sometimes, it's fine, shh) and then see this camping thing with tables and chairs and board games... Lately, surrendering to nature is the closest thing I've had to a reliably fulfilling religious experience. I should really go on a lengthier road trip through state and national parks one of these days. I don't think you can expect everyone to appreciate nature in the same way. There's a wealth of experiences out there and what one person finds liberating another may find utterly oppressing. It takes a certain degree of commitment to do something like the John Muir that not everyone has the disposition or chance to enjoy. The same could be said about the entire gamut of the outdoors, so why look down on car camping? In the end, they're all about experiencing nature in a respectful manner. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrHoatzin Posted August 5, 2014 I am probably a complete camping pansy with my host of 20th century materials, devices and chemicals that ease my stay among prickly pears. I have never camped more than a dozen miles from where I parked. So I am not damning them for their choice not to weekend-hike the Appalachian trail like real mans do or whatever. They can bring board games, whatever, it is all moot! I wasn't there and my opinion as to what was done wrong has no bearing whatsoever on the success of their camping trip. Still, I'm with Nels, Yosemite Netrunner is kinda gross. Why drive for hours into the boonies, if you're gonna take your man cave with you? Nature is badass on its own. It is fantastic. Any nature anywhere is. You had super limited time, why not commune with it more? You can play board games wherever. We live such sterile lives in the west, we're just not required to even notice the real world around us for our survival. When you go to a sanctuary where the real world is not thoroughly overfucked by man's hand, why ignore it? Just personally, I would've been all the more FNA about all of these Firewatch-tangential investigative chatterings and videos if they featured a little more awe in the face of nature, which I took to be the point of exploring real outdoors for the game in the first place. To make it real. But what do I know? I know nothing! It's just a random slim video and a few stray comments pertaining to a complex creative endeavor the nature and themes of which are still largely vague. Dude on the internet doesn't get content he thought he would. Has an emo. Spends words. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Posted August 5, 2014 I am probably a complete camping pansy with my host of 20th century materials, devices and chemicals that ease my stay among prickly pears. I have never camped more than a dozen miles from where I parked. So I am not damning them for their choice not to weekend-hike the Appalachian trail like real mans do or whatever. They can bring board games, whatever, it is all moot! I wasn't there and my opinion as to what was done wrong has no bearing whatsoever on the success of their camping trip. Still, I'm with Nels, Yosemite Netrunner is kinda gross. Why drive for hours into the boonies, if you're gonna take your man cave with you? Nature is badass on its own. It is fantastic. Any nature anywhere is. You had super limited time, why not commune with it more? You can play board games wherever. We live such sterile lives in the west, we're just not required to even notice the real world around us for our survival. When you go to a sanctuary where the real world is not thoroughly overfucked by man's hand, why ignore it? Just personally, I would've been all the more FNA about all of these Firewatch-tangential investigative chatterings and videos if they featured a little more awe in the face of nature, which I took to be the point of exploring real outdoors for the game in the first place. To make it real. But what do I know? I know nothing! It's just a random slim video and a few stray comments pertaining to a complex creative endeavor the nature and themes of which are still largely vague. Dude on the internet doesn't get content he thought he would. Has an emo. Spends words. Basically an entire day of the trip was spent on what amounted to a 12-mile hike that involved more vertical footage than I have ever covered with my own feet in one continuous streak. The only thing the video covers is the part when we were just goofing around eating and unwinding at the end of the nature-filled days, because those were the only bits where we had a video camera out and in frequent usage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrHoatzin Posted August 5, 2014 Basically an entire day of the trip was spent on what amounted to a 12-mile hike that involved more vertical footage than I have ever covered with my own feet in one continuous streak. The only thing the video covers is the part when we were just goofing around eating and unwinding at the end of the nature-filled days, because those were the only bits where we had a video camera out and in frequent usage. Yes! I was sure those other things happened too, and I just wished I had more of a view of that part of it from where I'm sitting here in the audience, an eager consumer of your documentary and promotional material. I'm sorry if I came off as judging your camping experience. I'm just offering stupid unsolicited critique about this as if it were a personal thing, when it is in fact not. I've just been thinking about this sort of thing a lot and it was on my mind polluting my thoughts. The video has nothing to do with me, I didn't mean for it to become a thing, my intention was not to call anyone a nature hater, and I'm sorry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
singlespace Posted August 5, 2014 Basically an entire day of the trip was spent on what amounted to a 12-mile hike that involved more vertical footage than I have ever covered with my own feet in one continuous streak. The only thing the video covers is the part when we were just goofing around eating and unwinding at the end of the nature-filled days, because those were the only bits where we had a video camera out and in frequent usage. Did you happen to climb up the backside of Half Dome? The vertical drop is somewhat mind boggling. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jake Posted August 5, 2014 Did you happen to climb up the backside of Half Dome? The vertical drop is somewhat mind boggling.Nah that would have been too extreme for the time / prep we had. We did the vernal falls / mist trail to the top of the first falls, then went back down a different way. We also went up to one of the lookout towers in the park, which was fantastic for the views and reference photos, and hiked a sequoia grove for the folks who had never seen big California redwoods before. We also did some local loops by our campsite of a meadow there on the evening before our one full day. Just personally, I would've been all the more FNA about all of these Firewatch-tangential investigative chatterings and videos if they featured a little more awe in the face of nature, which I took to be the point of exploring real outdoors for the game in the first place. To make it real.We have more materials from that trip that we should probably share. And for whatever it's worth, my favorite visual moments in the game are when you come to a bend in a trail and think that through the trees there is probably some amazing majestic shit going on but you can't quite get a view of all of it, due to trees or underbrush or whatever just not quite being thin enough, because it tracks so clearly to how it feels to me to actually be out hiking and get a glimpse of something that is probably beautiful but isn't manufactured for a postcard. Of course there are also just great views that are fully revealed, too, since that's also a big part of the point (and real life), but there are already moments here and there that make my brain momentarily flash into a mode that's only used when outdoors and I'm happy. Hopefully that happens occasionally for others too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
singlespace Posted August 5, 2014 Still, I'm with Nels, Yosemite Netrunner is kinda gross. Why drive for hours into the boonies, if you're gonna take your man cave with you? Nature is badass on its own. It is fantastic. Any nature anywhere is. You had super limited time, why not commune with it more? You can play board games wherever. We live such sterile lives in the west, we're just not required to even notice the real world around us for our survival. When you go to a sanctuary where the real world is not thoroughly overfucked by man's hand, why ignore it? Just personally, I would've been all the more FNA about all of these Firewatch-tangential investigative chatterings and videos if they featured a little more awe in the face of nature, which I took to be the point of exploring real outdoors for the game in the first place. To make it real. I'm all for the leave no traces philosophy, even in terms of things like light and sound. I think that the further we go into wilderness the more respect and reverence we should have for our surrounding, especially since the world is a crowded place and it is very rare to have moments where you are really alone. It would be a terrible thing if nature preserves and wilderness parks like Yosemite became more a kin to Everest where it's next to impossible to escape the civilization, but what I'm not sure of is what's more or less artificial: is ignoring all the trappings of civilization more or less honest than bring some small tokens off who you are for the majority of your life. If it affects no one else, if it doesn't leave a trace, is it better or worse to bring a bit of your real life with you? Some of my happiest memories of the outdoors have been the stupidest of civilization fuelled things. I remember meeting up with climbing friends who had been away from home for months and how happy they were to eat something that wasn't from a bag or can, or how happy I was finding this grocery store that might have come straight out of the 80s in a tiny village in Spain after having spent two weeks in the Pyrenees. There are so many little things that bring you so much joy after being away from civilization. Just seeing different faces feels like a strange novelty. There also gaps in the day that you never knew existed. Technology has effectively erased them from existence, but out in the wild they still exist. There's this awkward moment between evening and night where it's too dark to see, but too early to sleep. This moment just before dawn where the dim morning light catches in your tent like a thousand Watt lightbulb. Or when the weather has decided that it's a good time for 24 hours of downpour. Setting up camp, and taking care of all the evening routine only takes so long, then you're left with these unreasonable hours. It's too dark, or too wet, or too cold, or all sort of things that conspire to keep in pinned to single point on a map. In those empty hours you need to interact with something. Usually that something is your hiking partner because they make better conversational partners than titanium spoons or tent poles. So you talk, and talk inevitably turns to life, then to those things you miss, and eventually to food. I feel like socialization becomes almost a necessity after awhile. Whether that come in the form of idle chatter or playing card games seems a bit irrelevant to me. Whether you're talking, or playing cards, or reading a book, or just dreaming of somewhere else, you're bring a bit of civilization with you. I feel like being alone in the outdoor breeds a certain kind of introspection, and the only things that can be found there are the things you left behind in the real world. You look at your life much differently, but none the less it's still your life and not nature you're thinking about. Not sure where I'm going with this, but I just feel as though it might not be a bad thing to be playing Netrunner in Yosemite. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
feelthedarkness Posted August 5, 2014 Sweet! Also, I'm currently reading The Big Burn, about Teddy Roosevelt establishing national parks, and starting the forest service, and John Muir figures prominently into that! I definitely didn't get that when I played Sam & Max back in the day. Related: It's always a wild reminder that this country has been having the same argument for over 100 years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
singlespace Posted August 5, 2014 Nah that would have been too extreme for the time / prep we had. We did the vernal falls / mist trail to the top of the first falls, then went back down a different way. We also went up to one of the lookout towers in the park, which was fantastic for the views and reference photos, and hiked a sequoia grove for the folks who had never seen big California redwoods before. We also did some local loops by our campsite of a meadow there on the evening before our one full day. Cool, I've wanted to check out Vernal Falls, but the last few times I've been out west have been for climbing and backcountry in the mountains, which didn't leave much time for detours unfortunately. How did you find the sites? Was the spacing between groups pretty good? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jake Posted August 5, 2014 Cool, I've wanted to check out Vernal Falls, but the last few times I've been out west have been for climbing and backcountry in the mountains, which didn't leave much time for detours unfortunately. How did you find the sites? Was the spacing between groups pretty good? My friend hiked the PCT and I am jealous of him (and you) for doing backcountry hiking in Yosemite. We actually did a fair amount of research to try and pick the most out of the way and spaced campsites we could find. We ended up at the edge of the campground, backed against a trail that wound out to a huge meadow which looked exactly like we wanted one piece of the game to look, so that was pretty sweet. We had two larger adjacent sites, so we dragged the picnic tables together to have a central food/fire/sitting area and filled the rest with tents, and it worked out well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
singlespace Posted August 5, 2014 My friend hiked the PCT and I am jealous of him (and you) for doing backcountry hiking in Yosemite. We actually did a fair amount of research to try and pick the most out of the way and spaced campsites we could find. We ended up at the edge of the campground, backed against a trail that wound out to a huge meadow which looked exactly like we wanted one piece of the game to look, so that was pretty sweet. We had two larger adjacent sites, so we dragged the picnic tables together to have a central food/fire/sitting area and filled the rest with tents, and it worked out well. Sounds like the campgrounds at Yosemite are well setup! Some of the parks up here in Canada are pretty tightly packed from a severe lack of budgets. PCT is definitely on my todo list! I had a shorter distance permit for PCT and went from somewhere around King's Canyon down to Mount Whitney -- was a really beautiful hike. If you get a chance, definitely check out backcountry anywhere around Yosemite/Sierra/Inyo, outside of being amazing places, it's really wonder for their rules on where you can camp and how few people per a square kilometre they allow into the backcountry. I found places like Colorado and the parks out east to be a bit crowded -- you'll bump into people in the backcountry -- but out in California I went days without seeing a sign of anyone else. Maybe I was lucky, but I prefer to think that it was good planning on the part of the park rangers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
syntheticgerbil Posted August 5, 2014 12 miles at once? How the fuck? Did you guys train up for that? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Posted August 5, 2014 12 miles at once? How the fuck? Did you guys train up for that? Well, we stopped a fair number of times and weren't going particularly fast or anything. When I say "at once" I don't mean like a marathon. Most of us (including me) were pretty exhausted after the vertical parts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miffy495 Posted August 5, 2014 I'm all for the leave no traces philosophy, even in terms of things like light and sound. I think that the further we go into wilderness the more respect and reverence we should have for our surrounding, especially since the world is a crowded place and it is very rare to have moments where you are really alone. It would be a terrible thing if nature preserves and wilderness parks like Yosemite became more a kin to Everest where it's next to impossible to escape the civilization, but what I'm not sure of is what's more or less artificial: is ignoring all the trappings of civilization more or less honest than bring some small tokens off who you are for the majority of your life. If it affects no one else, if it doesn't leave a trace, is it better or worse to bring a bit of your real life with you? I would never camp without a guitar. Night-time fire music is an essential part of the camping experience as far as I'm concerned. In fact, I have a shitty little beat-up one that I pretty much only keep around because it's in such condition that I don't mind taking it into the woods. Even during my long lapse of playing seriously, I kept up with the basics of folk songs just so I could be ready to go if I needed to. Just spent my anniversary with my girlfriend in the woods at Banff national park near here and it was a great time. Elevation change from mountains to prairies on the way home gave me a killer migraine, but otherwise it was rad. Honestly, bringing along a board game may have been fun. I may pack one next time. I see no problem with it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nappi Posted August 5, 2014 I'm all for the leave no traces philosophy, even in terms of things like light and sound. I think that the further we go into wilderness the more respect and reverence we should have for our surrounding, especially since the world is a crowded place and it is very rare to have moments where you are really alone. It would be a terrible thing if nature preserves and wilderness parks like Yosemite became more a kin to Everest where it's next to impossible to escape the civilization, but what I'm not sure of is what's more or less artificial: is ignoring all the trappings of civilization more or less honest than bring some small tokens off who you are for the majority of your life. If it affects no one else, if it doesn't leave a trace, is it better or worse to bring a bit of your real life with you? Some of my happiest memories of the outdoors have been the stupidest of civilization fuelled things. I remember meeting up with climbing friends who had been away from home for months and how happy they were to eat something that wasn't from a bag or can, or how happy I was finding this grocery store that might have come straight out of the 80s in a tiny village in Spain after having spent two weeks in the Pyrenees. There are so many little things that bring you so much joy after being away from civilization. Just seeing different faces feels like a strange novelty. There also gaps in the day that you never knew existed. Technology has effectively erased them from existence, but out in the wild they still exist. There's this awkward moment between evening and night where it's too dark to see, but too early to sleep. This moment just before dawn where the dim morning light catches in your tent like a thousand Watt lightbulb. Or when the weather has decided that it's a good time for 24 hours of downpour. Setting up camp, and taking care of all the evening routine only takes so long, then you're left with these unreasonable hours. It's too dark, or too wet, or too cold, or all sort of things that conspire to keep in pinned to single point on a map. In those empty hours you need to interact with something. Usually that something is your hiking partner because they make better conversational partners than titanium spoons or tent poles. So you talk, and talk inevitably turns to life, then to those things you miss, and eventually to food. I feel like socialization becomes almost a necessity after awhile. Whether that come in the form of idle chatter or playing card games seems a bit irrelevant to me. Whether you're talking, or playing cards, or reading a book, or just dreaming of somewhere else, you're bring a bit of civilization with you. I feel like being alone in the outdoor breeds a certain kind of introspection, and the only things that can be found there are the things you left behind in the real world. You look at your life much differently, but none the less it's still your life and not nature you're thinking about. Not sure where I'm going with this, but I just feel as though it might not be a bad thing to be playing Netrunner in Yosemite. I'm with this. I don't go camping very often but I like to spent time at bare bones summer cottages with my friends. We hike, swim, row and so on but we also play card and board games and listen to music when we are done with the activities for the day. It's not like the nature around you suddenly disappears when you do something like that - far from it. It blows your cards and tokens from the table, sends waves of mosquitoes at your location, and dims the lights until you can't distinguish colors anymore. And it is the best. In other news, the frame for my Firewatch posters should arrive soon! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
syntheticgerbil Posted August 5, 2014 Well, we stopped a fair number of times and weren't going particularly fast or anything. When I say "at once" I don't mean like a marathon. Most of us (including me) were pretty exhausted after the vertical parts. Still impressive! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RubixsQube Posted August 5, 2014 Olly Moss posted a screenshot and the game is looking beautiful but TeenPartyZoneEventData.ass is my new favorite thing about this video game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
feelthedarkness Posted August 5, 2014 I don't doubt quality and thorough research was done, as you dudes are thoughtful, but I would really recommend the book I mentioned before The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America. It's about the creation of the national parks, and forestry service, through the narrative of the people who tried to protect what they considered American's birthright, and the huge fire that eventually consumed much of it. The various psychology of the people who flocked to the early west would also be useful, as some were hard working, the first foresters were all from the Yale school established for forestry, but many were desperate or criminal, and towns were grim. Taft, Montana had 1 prostitute for ever 5 people. I learned about a "paloosa" and Native term for a wind that tore through western Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, in the context at 80mph carrying pure flame and debris. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites