About the Author

My usual playthroughs usually involve me grabbing what I can early on and building a base full of defences and traps, I last about 3 or so days before the base gets overrun by Mutants! So this time with a fresh cup of hot chocolate and a clear head I have decided to do a study on the behavior of the AI that involve stealth mechanics and how well they work.
This guide will re-tell the tales of my playthrough so far with maximum effort to defer attention from myself. If you follow the guide, you should be able to recreate the same level of stealth and keep under the radar for some time.


The Plane Crash

As soon as I got control of the protagonist I stocked up on food/medicine/drinks and opened all the suitcases nearby. While actively doing that I thought about the best place to set up a nice small camp that wouldnt be visible or in the path of Cannibals when they patrol. The AI (while being advanced) are able to clip through objects sometimes or climb/drop from cliff faces (part of the EA experience) so I chose somewhere that was high up, as they cannot scale large cliffs. Another good spot would be one where they can only come from one direction, so you can stress less over encountering them from different locations. So with that in mind, I set off to find a nice spot.

The perfect Location.

I had a good idea of where to set up camp as I had previously set up a camp nearby in a previous playthrough. On my way I collected as much sticks, stones, leaves and lizzards as I could so as to stockpile my findings. I suddenly find myself in the midst of two ferral cannibals. The ones that aren't in tribes and covered in blood. I did not attack them, they tried to attack me, so I fled from them and eventually got to where I wanted. It was always my aim to be spotted by cannibals so they would be aware of my presence so luckily it happened sooner than later, with me being outnumbered.

Home Sweet Home


This is the place I decided to set up camp. It is a small cliff above sea level that the cannibals won't be able to climb. There is also a cannibal base nearby, (It's actually the main base where you find the passesngers tied up with the fireplace.) If you removed the trees from the picture, some huts would be visible. Why did I set up this location? Because left right and behind it has tall cliff faces that (due to the games programming) I can climb up (like horses in Skyrim) but cannibals can't. They also won't be able to spot you from the ground if you crouch and have stealth armor. Why is this also a good spot? Well I'll tell you.



Lets call this area The Grass Lands.
The land from the left of this picture to the right is the only way Cannibals can reach me. On both sides are steep cliffs that stretch all the way to the back of the photo. Thats a long way for cannibals to stray off patrol areas to search for someone who hasn't even made noise to attract attention. There is also a lake by the first row of trees in the photo, full of fish for food and water to drink.





Building my base


OKAY! This is my base! Quite simple with the hunters hut to sleep and save, a fire pit for warmth and food, stick holders and a drying rack (really helpful). If you choose stealth, a drying rack is a must have as It cooks your food without the risk of fires drawing the Cannibals attention.

So I have a good energy source, a good defendable place to set up camp and a Cannibal base nearby to search for supplies. The night approaches. Lets see what happens.


Nothing Happens

In previous playthroughs I attracted attention to myself by cutting down trees. By nightfall I had one or two teams of Cannibals and Ferals coming to my base to either survey it or attack me. This time nothing happened, not a single sighting of cannibals from the ground or the single plane of grass that leads to my base. So far so good right? Not really, I had to light a fire the first night as I was cold and needed to warm up. Luckily there were no cannibals around.

ON TO DAY 2!!

Overcoming the chill

As soon as it was daytime I decided to kit myself up with armor. I killed some deer and lizzards and crafted fur armour (20%) and Stealth Armour (90%) That makes 110% (percentages taken from survival guide) I don't know if the numbers are a bug/glitch but as you can see from the previous screenshots in the HUD the yellow is my stealth armor and the red is fur armor which supposedly protects you from the cold. I havn't needed to light the fire since I equipped the fur armor to keep warm but it has not rained in the night yet so unsure if its affected.


Testing the Stealth Mechanic

As you know I have 90% stealth armor equipped. Using the stealth meter I decided to enter the cannibal camp nearby to collect dynomite and sodas. I came across a few Ferals so I crouched and entered some bushes to get maximum stealth. I also tried crouching in plain areas with not much bushes or trees and that also worked when the Ferals were at a distance. So far so good still! I got the items I needed and went back to base. Still no Cannibals in the immediate area surrounding my base, just their camp.


Spotted a Cannibal on the Cliff

Remember how I said my base was protected by two cliffsides stretching far beyond view? (see Day 1's screenshots) We will call that long stretch of grass The Grass Lands. It's really the only way Cannibals can access to get to my base without some game glitches aiding them. I decided to walk along it to see how far the cliffs go before leveling off into an access point for cannibals. Well I saw a Feral cannibal not too far from the entrance wandering around. It couldn't see me so I stalked it for a bit. It never came close to my base and wandered back out into the wilderness.


Night Approaches

Tonight there was a bit more activity. Two Ferals ran past the forest area below my map. I remained under stealth until dawn. Things are boring so far for my test, so tomorrow I will up the ante.

A quiet day


Not much happened this day. I'll keep it short. I walked around a bit, trying to find some Cannibals and continued to survey my position up on the cliffs. Exit routes are a must if things go more sour than a Granny Smith apple. I made a rain collecter for safer drinking water and hunted for more food.


Night Approaches

A dissapointing night. For someone studing the behavior of Cannibal AI under stealth environments this study has proven to be too good! They havn't happened upon my base once. I am also able to sustain myself and stay healthy by collecting food and water from multiple sources without having to light fires to cook food. The fireplace was lit once.

Upping the Ante

The first thing I did when I woke was throw dynamite at the trees below me. This noise should attract them. I waited for a few in-game hours but nothing happened! So I decided to walk up to their camp to collect more dynamite and soda. Using the crouch mechanic to enter the base I stood up and....



Sprung

There were three different clans of tribal Cannibals looking at me, with Feral ones running in the background. The tree test definitly drew them to me. As quickly as I could (ignoring the screeching and cries behind me) I hightailed it back to my camp. They hadn't followed me but now there are active patrols on the ground below me. Mainly Tribal Cannibals are there but one or two Ferals will run across the area and go again. The Grass Lands remain empty of cannibals which is a good sign as its the only way they can get in. If I see them there some defenses may have to be put up.


This is the longest day I have played without being spotted in my camp. It's a good sign that the stealth mechanics really do work if you use them correctly and play it safe.


Night Approaches

Night patrols have increased below on the ground, I see the lights flickering in the trees and they appear into sight. There is no bush coverage on the edge of the cliff that I watch them from crouched. The Stealth Meter never drops as they walk by indicating that they havn't taken an intrest into that moving bush holding an axe.


So far so good!
I'll keep you posted as each day progresses.

Kudos to the devs for such an amazing game where you have multiple branches of options about how you survive. My other playthroughs were brute force defend and die, being quiet is definitely the better option to go about being unnoticed.

So To help people with where I set up my base there is this:


The top of that cliff is my base.




THEY ARE STUPID BRO!

Let me just mention. I went back to their base today and on my way there I got the fright of my life when THEY ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ CAME UP BESIDE ME AND DIDN'T SEE ME. At this point I MUST be a walking bush or something as I wasn't hidden, only crouched. They were about 5 steps away from me and were coming towards me, but didn't see me. So that worked!


I then tried it again on another group, this time standing, and standing by a bush.


The stealth mechanics are really OP, it seems. I spent most of the day stalking them, they never spotted me once.



Night TIMEEEEE



Only had one group today, as seen in the screenshots. Can hear more cries in the distance but none other appeared.

*UPDATE* The newest update has arrived for The Forest so from now the guide will be observed with new AI updates



The Sixth Day



Today I decided to try something new. I walked a few hundred meters away to a foresty spot away from my base and let off a few dynomite as seen in the picture. I did this to see if they would move away from my area and direct them to investigate elsewhere. I was not spotted during the walk to and from the detonation area but quite a few trees fell so I'm assuming there was a lot of noise.

I then went back up to the Cannibals camp to gather more Sodas and dynomite, I was not spotted there either, nor did I see any cannibals.



The Grass Land

Those who followed my guide will know what the Grass Lands are. They are the long stretch of land that is surrounded by cliffs on the left and right which means its the only way for the cannibals to get to my base without glitching up the cliffs. This area remains barren of cannibals so i have not bothered to set up defences, thus keeping my profile low, and my stealth high.


Nightfall

After the last few days of cannibal activity surrounding the areas of my base, the explosions I tested away from the area seemed to have drawn the tribal cannibals away. Not a single peep from them at all. I did however find two ferral cannibals at the base of the cliffs wandering by the sea. I was not spotted.


All is well so far.

The day

Today I went back to the Cannibal base beyond the trees and got some supplies, then went into the cave system to hunt around. Goodies there too. I also wandered to the area I threw the dynomite and got swarmed by at least 10 tribal cannibals. I had to get the hell out of there.

I refilled my armour and stocked up on more food.


Night approaches


It thunderstormed this night and the 20% cold armour didn't help here, I had to light a fire but luckily I hadnt seen a cannibal group around the base in a while, although they do frequent there.

Thats all for today folks. I may wrap this up soon, its getting repetitive and the AI behaviour is the same every day.

On this day


I decided to go and collect the flare gun that is in the cockpit of the plane. It's not far from the base if you follow the river inland from the ocean, tonight was the night I was going to try make some noise!

The rest of the day was as normal, collecting supplies. Its the night that is the good juicy part.


the most active night yet

NOTE: THINK ABOUT THIS FROM A HUMAN PERSPECTIVE NOT A GAME ENGINE DATA PERSPECTIVE.

So I started by lighting my fireplace, its theoretically hidden from the ground level of land around me, If they cant see a fire they have no reason to suspect anything right? Even the glow of the fire cant make it past the edge of the cliff. I also fired FLARES into the woods below at the same area to attract attention. BOY!!! Did I get it.


There was loads of activity below the cliff as the night progressed, and I myself frequently posted a hiding spot overlooking The Grass Lands to see if they would walk into my base, I heard the cries but no Cannibals.. Until.



Roughly where I am looking a cannibal was standing so close to my base's entrance (its got a small entrance way before a cliff spans out above it) that I thought it was all over. He didn't appear to see me (judging via the stealth meter) but I did notice the glow of the fire clips through the cliff face to the rocks above, so theoretically the game engine may identify this as "seen" by the AI. But instead the cannibals turned around so I followed them.


AS IT TURNS OUT

The cannibals managed to scale a smallish cliff that leads to The Grass Lands. This is however a game engine issue (bug) as cannibals wouldn't normally be able to scale the cliff. just like the player can scale large cliffs.

So I was looking at my Steam profile and I found this guide THAT I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT. GOOD JOB ME. I've advanced my save to Day 11 now, not much has changed at all. There have been a few game updates which may have changed the behaviour of the AI or fixed bugs but my guy is still safe and I'm probably going to do a staggered release of updates now detailing the events of every 5 days. There just doesn't seem to be much happening with the game currently that I haven't experienced on the previous days. So HERE'S WHATS HAPPENING YALL.

Every time the I hit 5 days in-game I will add another update to this guide. In each post I will:

-List the events that happened per day in short paragraphs e.g.
=======================================================
Day 11
bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla

Day 12
bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla BLAAAA

Day 13
bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla BLARGH

And So on.

-Add pictures to acompany each day. Maybe something the enemy did or something I did
-Below the days post observations of each day in one neat paragraph.


SO let me know what you think about this new format. If you don't like the grouped days I'll just have to discontinue this guide. It has been a while and doing each day just seems overkill now we have seen most of what the AI can do regarding steath.