RimWorld change log

[Dr. Z]

As for the world generation, it's just a skeleton feature for now. I just want it in there structurally so we can have the code look a bit more like its final format instead of querying into a fake world that doesn't even exist. Hopefully in A6 you'll be able to choose a landing site with some basic mountainoutness/fertility/rainfall variation, that's all.

Choose a landing site? Wasn't there something aout crashing?

[TankaaKumawani]

Limited crossrange capability on the reentry vehicles (drop pods) is reasonable, the landing is still a controlled crash.  An uncontrolled crash would leave your colonists looking like Vladimir Komarov (very dead.)  Think of it as being a snap decision made to land in an area where there is some possibility of surviving long enough to be rescued.  (Such as not landing on steep slopes or mountains where the pod would tumble downhill, or in dense forest where the pod could be torn apart on impact, a steaming volcano caldera, etc.)

[milon]

See the change log. Basic re-entry site selection is working. Scheduled for alpha 6.

[Tynan]

Limited crossrange capability on the reentry vehicles (drop pods) is reasonable, the landing is still a controlled crash.  An uncontrolled crash would leave your colonists looking like Vladimir Komarov (very dead.)  Think of it as being a snap decision made to land in an area where there is some possibility of surviving long enough to be rescued.  (Such as not landing on steep slopes or mountains where the pod would tumble downhill, or in dense forest where the pod could be torn apart on impact, a steaming volcano caldera, etc.)

I actually imagine that these pods could fall for months or years (with the occupant in cryptosleep most of the time). If you're willing to take a lot of time and you have a decent starting trajectory you can get quite far on a small amount of fuel in space. It's not like bailing out of an airplane; in space travel you usually have all the time in the world. If you ever played Kerbal Space Program you know what I mean.

[StorymasterQ]

Tynan, are you implying that the ship broke apart in deep space? I thought it broke apart in orbit or something (as the menu image showed).

If the former then I can see the pods 'falling' for months and years, though if so I can't really imagine three of them staying together enough to fall mere meters from each other (instead of diverging and landing like in another map).

[Tynan]

Maybe the pods move in clusters in space and land individually? Or maybe they just navigated together? Why not?

You are right about the opening image, though the pods could still orbit as long as they wanted before pushing themselves into a landing trajectory. This is how I imagine it, at least.

[Gabriel_Braun]

Maybe the pods move in clusters in space and land individually? Or maybe they just navigated together?

This makes a lot of sense in reality if you want to read far enough into it:
As an aerospace student I'm possibly somewhat too critical about technical aspects of lore I come across but if I were designing a rescue/escape pod for any spacecraft then the first consideration would always be the survivability of the occupant to maximise the chances of viable recovery



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Insurance that by assuring the highest chance of customer safety against any predictable or possible disaster. In return a legal waiver of any and all corporate responsibility avoids any liability to provide financial remuneration resulting from personal or professional damage that might otherwise be implied in the eventuality of loss.  By giving the best possible outcome for the user litigation would be impossible regardless of the fate of the occupant...)
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Okay if you've read this far then your probably wondering exactly how the above explains why the pods might land together in the actual game?  There's no mention at all either regarding how long it might take before all the conditions of the health and safety risk assessment are met.  Assurance to maximum survivability is a promise but the chance of actual survival is impossible to predict,


Given the inconceivably huge and varied criteria implied by this, the primary conditional requirements would probably require any and all pods that contain a surviving occupant head towards the closest planet that supports a breathable atmosphere.  Begin broadcasting a mayday/SOS detailing the destination and estimated time to arrival which could be several decades or even longer!  The pod would remain in a stable high orbit to wait until all criteria meet the required standard.


Perhaps the standard minimum is at least two other active pods are detected within communications range as well as at least one emergency survival supply pod?   An optimal landing site is determined before a terminal braking burn that's been calculated to put them all down within a specific landing area...






Good god that was a damn long rant hahaha

[milon]

So if pods have their occupants in cryosleep, why would they land on an uncharted/dangerous rimworld?  Wouldn't the occupants be safer in space?  If we're going into the technical details, then there has to be a compelling reason why the pods wouldn't just wait in orbit for a rescue ship.  Some reasons could be a depleting power supply (would mean no life support), hostile ships nearby, mini meteorite storm, solar flare danger (we already know that's an issue in this system!), or no response to SOS (rescue is therefore not assumed so there's nothing to wait for).  What else could it be?

And I agree that escape pods should always travel together for maximum survivability.

[Gabriel_Braun]

Yeah Milon I meant to specify the landing is another layer in risk reduction

There are always numerous levels of hazard avoidance measures that eventually get overridden by other factors to create the critical path markers that change the priority of any project outcome through the diminishing returns in a cascade effect where the optimal outcome might become impossible due to the  linear function where the probability increases over time in unpredictable situations.  You have to determine the probable point in an unknown system that gives both the highest favourable outcome but stays within the projected estimate for any critical failure.

In English;  There are 70 pods jettisoned from a starship that's luckily only 38AU from a planet that meets the survivability criteria.  For simplicities sake assume that space is 2 dimensional and that 35 of them are emergency survival pods.  Under these circumstances they would all be in coordinated communication and eventually there would be three colonists and a couple of disaster pods that can perform a landing...

The chances of survival would never be as high for the occupants of those first three pods than they are at that moment.  Delay might increase the odds on the ground but as you say the environment and power situation is not only unsustainable but the dangers of stalling very quickly overtake the possible benefits since once they are on the ground with a care package and each other their odds of survival (and those still on the way) are impossible to increase.

[Garen]

Looking forward to the world generation and site selection.

what if different mechanoids spawned in different sites.

so a shark-looking mechanoid appears if theres an ocean. Snake -looking mecha appears in jungle etc etc

[absentminded]

Looking forward to the world generation and site selection.

what if different mechanoids spawned in different sites.

so a shark-looking mechanoid appears if theres an ocean. Snake -looking mecha appears in jungle etc etc

wild animal diversity would work better than mechanoid diversity. Presumably the mechanoids are made off world anyway, set up where they crash same as you.

[Dr. Z]

Worlds are now generated separately from individual maps, so you can now play multiple games in the same world.

Awesome
This maybe one step to visiting old colonys.

[forsaken1111]

I would sell 2/3 starting colonists as slaves in order to get a 'hunting zone' which marked any animal inside it for hunting.

Or the ability to set turrets to autofire on all animals.

Or just a scarecrow or something.

Need a way to protect my crops. The squirrel population is going nuts.

[Tynan]

Plant dandelions around them; the squirrels will eat those instead.

[StorymasterQ]

Worlds are now generated separately from individual maps, so you can now play multiple games in the same world.

Awesome
This maybe one step to visiting old colonys.

I'm not sure. Generation seeds wouldn't generate buildings made afterwards, though, would they?

Plant dandelions around them; the squirrels will eat those instead.

Well, that's the best sounding idea for a fence I've ever heard.