The only nitpick I have is you could've put the "Class 5" as a "Class 5e - Environmental"
I thought about that but in the end I thought that "environmental" is for levels that, for example, have massively polluted air, or wildfires, or thunderstorms, and things like that.
In Level 7.7 the main danger tends to come from the wanderer itself so I opted for going with the good ol' class 5.
Appreciate the +1 by the way!
Edit: upon further consideration, yes, I've decided that the Class 5E - Environmental category is more fitting.
This is not a class 5 difficulty level IMO. It takes a lot more than just puzzle solving, lack of food/water, and hazardous pipes for that classification.
Level 2 is only a Class 2 survival difficulty with all of the above plus a few entities.
If anyone hasn't read this entry, this reply presents heavy spoilers.
What you said is true except you don't have to literally jump 47 metres down in Level 2 and traverse a whole ocean for hours without any kind of proper equipment (this is referenced in the Discovery section) to get out of the level, which results in death more often than not unless you are an experienced, heck even expert diver.
Do you know how high 47 metres is? Imagine the size of the Statue of Liberty. For reference, it's only one meter less tall. Would you just recklessly jump down without second though even if there is water below? Of course not. Human instincts will tend to play it safe, it is extremely hard to take a decission in that situation. Humans are afraid of death by height by nature.
Another good reference for the height is the world's highest dive world record collected in the Guiness World Records book. The highest considered dive without any equipment known to date is no less than 52 metres tall. So you have to pull off a jump 5 metres less tall from the world record. No pressure, pun intended, heh.
That's the main message I tried to convey here. Humans are afraid of death, so will remain trapped on the rock until the fire or hunger and thirst force a decision, and by then they will most likely fuck it up than not, since rushed decisions most likely end up bad.
All in all, mental traumatic hazards + 47 metres + traverse ocean for hours (till the rock vanishes from sight, good luck with your stamina since it is a normal ocean that doesn't share the properties of Level 7 (referenced in ocean section too)) + haphazard sea currents that can strike you against the rock with you having nothing to do about it + wind currents that are dangerous if you get caught off guard; + toxic gas + pressure, explosion and fire, of course all of the above without any help from others and without any useful items / equipment / provisions / resources of any kind deem this level worthy of a class 5 difficulty imo.
It's funny cuz when my critter was reviewing this entry, they compared the place to a literal purgatory, haha.
My point here is that the survival rate seems way too low based on the levels difficulty and the wanderers who would end up on this sub level in the first place. Neither Level 6, 8, or 9 have an attrition rate this high, yet they are an order of magnitude more difficult that this level.
Samantha made the urgency much worse for herself by messing around with the pipe link source with unknown contents. You can gauge whether or not gas or fluid is flowing through a pipe based on how the contents sounds when you put your ear on the pipe and by feeling the vibrations. Or even by tapping it if there is no flow.
You can also estimate the current flow of the water below by dropping something from the lighthouse over the edge and see where the water takes it. There should be two points where the current flows almost parallel but slightly away from the rock. Those would be the safest point to land in. The difficulty from this point on would depend on the details of the ocean temperature and waves.
It would be much more plausible that a wanderer wastes a bunch of time or hurts themselves trying to no clip. Deducing that the lighthouse and rock is devoid of anything sustainable should take about a day.
Either way, based on wanderers which are capable enough to swim that far into Level 7 or crafty enough to build a boat out scrap, this level shouldn’t only have two survivors. I would say 85% would survive. Keep in mind we are not no-clipping people straight out of some privileged urban neighborhood in the frontrooms here.
I see. Appreciate the feedback.
I agree with the plan to throw things out, so I see that the water currents can be taken care of.
However, 2 things. Samantha didn't make it worse for herself. I state in the second log that her touching the control panels did essentially nothing. The gas will come out whether or not the wanderer interacts with them because the pressure activates them. So only wanderers who have knowledge of what the hidden valve really does can avoid the issue, really.
Imo, supposedly the average wanderer does not know that, hence I still count it as an almost unavoidable threat. Whether or not you know there is gas on them, eventually the lighthouse explodes and catches on fire.
Also, it's as you said. Wanderers will try to noclip and waste a bunch of time. It is in that frame of time that the pressure stuff begins to happen, so they can get intoxicated to death, caught face-in in the middle of the explosion or catch on fire. It's up to luck if they decide to rotate the valve or not.
Then, I still think you underestimate how high 47 metres is. The mere act of surviving a fall of those proportions is wild on itself, no matter how trained you are or if there is water below. A lot of professional divers have died making jumps even a couple of metres less tall than that. It's almost a lost bet. And even if you are one of those people that survive going through level 7, there is still another group of people that can noclip from essentially anywhere from the Backrooms.
I however agree with your point on the survival rate. Maybe I could have specified a bit more, but getting to this level in the first place is supposed to be hard. Notice how in the entrance section, for both entrances, I state that there is a slim or slight chance of entering. My idea was that not a lot of people go in, and those who actually do struggle not only to get out, but also to survive level 7 on its own as well and making it to safety after that. Keep in mind that not everyone has the luck of finding people in an expedition through level 7.
But if there was much more traffic of wanderer exploration in the level, I'd have to agree that there would be more than two survivors. Not to the extent of 85%, but definitely higher than 2, you're right.
I'll keep the SD as is for now, but thanks for letting me know your thoughts. I absolutely love talking to people who've taken the time to read my content. I sincerely hope that, even in spite of your opinion on the SD class, it was an enjoyable read. I made my best effort to accomplish that.
PD: Sorry again for the wall of text. It looks a bit agressive on a first glance but I promise it is not my intention.
Looks like I misread. I thought the "only do in one occasion" referred to activation and that the following conversation between Sally/Matt/Carl was specific to Samantha's case.
If the valve was by default in the open position, that changes a lot of things. Normally when pressure builds up to critical levels you will get both auditory and thermal cues that something is building up and stressing out the pipes. I don't know if that applies here.
I am aware of the dangers involved in diving 47 meters into the ocean and that the temperature and waves also make a big impact. However, the 47 meter dive is an inevitability for escape. Even if a wanderer somehow disengaged the valve so that he/she can stay longer, it would only make them more dehydrated for the upcoming several hour swim back to Level 7. If the gas leak and fire never happens, there a good chance most wanderers would stay on the lighthouse until they lose the energy required to dive off the cliff and swim back to Level 7.
This level is basically a high diving and swimming endurance test. The more you overthink the harder you make it for yourself. I presume this is the nature of the level.
Btw +1
Exactly! You got it all right, no worries about the misread. Yes, the valve is always in the open position by default. I suppose the pipe's stressing could be sensed yeah, but good luck figuring out that the valve is the reason. And even so, it's what you said. The real nature of the level is making things harder the more you overthink stuff.
Thank you a lot for the +1! I'm glad you liked it, and that I was able to help you understand it all properly.
If I could somehow get enough rations there and a way to desalinate the water, 7.7 would be my pick for permanent residency in the backrooms.