So, I've played RimWorld for a pretty long time now, so I would call myself an experienced player, but there is still something I just don't get. Everywhere on the forums I read something like "I'm in year 2", "well in year 1.5" and so on. So I'm wondering how you can survive that long, with me, there's always a large raid (tribals in most cases) which wipes out my base around june till august, this time it was in june. I'm playing on randy random most times, don't actually remember what challege I play, but I think it's ether rough or challanging.
It's quite frustrating to play for a long time without any progress in the game (I experienced similar things in FTL) so I wonder if anyone can help me.
Think Tynan is doing something with the raider numbers for A7. Other than that turtle up or play with some mods to ease your pain a little. Until we dont have 50+ enemies attacking at once on a RIMWORLD i dont see a solution bar turtle up with killboxes (which i personally dont find fun)
at randy random, it sometimes depend on luck. so try to keep multiple saves if you get really bad luck.
other than that, try out some of the killbox designs in the other threads. effective use of killboxes can usually turn losing odds into a win.
the rest is a matter of sustainability management, scavenging good weapons/armor, and recruitment policies..
too much useless colonists recruited increases raid difficulty (try to avoid people that are too high-maintenance, it's better to sell them). while too many turrets too soon, usually takes it's toll on your power supply. it's basically a balancing act.
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also, if you feel like it, you can try out some of those defense-type mods, like embrasures , energy shields, advanced turrets, etc...
though i think it's a bit OP (which is why i tend to stick to vanilla). the option is still there if you feel like it.
Quote from: skullywag on September 17, 2014, 05:34:41 AMsolution bar turtle up with killboxes
This. Actually, having 50+ turrets doesn't help as long as you don't build a special "entrance" for you enemies.
Here is a example of kill box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWhRTEw_TCs&t=2m10s
This video is from an old build but it is still the way to deal with big raids.
EDIT : A topic just for it. :3
http://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=5936.0
Most people think that you have to fight the raiders, and that you have to build elaborate death traps to deal with large raids. If a too strong raid comes, you can just run away from the colony and hide, the raiders will trash it for a while and then get bored and leave. And if your colony is built out of stone walls, the raiders won't even be able to do much damage.
It's also completely possible to fight back much larger raids, all you have to do is split them up and only fight a few of the raiders at once.
I agree with the first answeres that killboxes and things like turret spam or sandbag waffles aren't a thing I would like to use, because it's not really funny in my opinion. I also tried out embrasures and better turrets in the past, but they felt way to overpowered (especially the twelve-shot energy turret...).
My standard defense is a two-tile-strong stone wall with secured entrances. But since Alpha 6 I have the feeling that raiders do much more damage against walls and while they wren't a problem in past Alphas, now I'm in a constant repiaring-damaging marathon.
I've played with sealed escape routes for a while, but stopped it (I don't actually remember why), I think I will try them again and leave my colony in emergencys.
As far as the recruitment goes, I have a strict roster: 2 farmers, 2 miners, 2 really good fighters, 1 scientist, 1 cook and maybe a social guy (with this I also get one or two good crafters most times so I don't need one seperately).
I also build mortars as early as possible to kill some raiders before they reache my base.
Is it true that depending on your colony's 'worth' it influences on numbers/strength of invasions? Or is it a simple 'harder over time' thing?
In my own experiences it really does seem that the storyteller is actually trying to give me a story (though I will admit other times it just seems random even on Cassandra). One time I was attacked by nothing but tribals, which made me smile as I imagined crash landing on a barely developed world.
Also, Dr. Z why do you limit yourself to that recruitment plan? On my Tribal world I'd still recruit the odd one even after I had a fully functional colony just because it never hurts to have another one wandering around doing dumb labour.
I also agree that kill boxes can get a little tedious, especially because they're eventually mandatory to stand a chance.
Quote from: Spectre on September 17, 2014, 07:51:54 AM
Is it true that depending on your colony's 'worth' it influences on numbers/strength of invasions? Or is it a simple 'harder over time' thing?
In my own experiences it really does seem that the storyteller is actually trying to give me a story (though I will admit other times it just seems random even on Cassandra). One time I was attacked by nothing but tribals, which made me smile as I imagined crash landing on a barely developed world.
Also, Dr. Z why do you limit yourself to that recruitment plan? On my Tribal world I'd still recruit the odd one even after I had a fully functional colony just because it never hurts to have another one wandering around doing dumb labour.
I also agree that kill boxes can get a little tedious, especially because they're eventually mandatory to stand a chance.
The AI Storyteller also scales attacks with how much your colony is worth. A lot of resources, buildings, turrets and people means that you get larger attacks, and I think it also influences how long it takes before you start fighting mechanoids.
I think it's a mix of ramping up and looking at your colonys worth.
I like to keep my colony clear arranged. Although I might recruit one or two more to do some work, but I never wanted a huge colony with 30 or 50 colonists, I like to have my little town of people I know about.
Well, like it's been said, you don't have to fight the raiders. You can block up the entrances to your base with stone wall (even a log wall will do in a pinch) and wait it out. You can also get on the comm, throw some of your silver at a faction which is willing to fight the raiders, and ask them for military assistance.
Quote from: Rahjital on September 17, 2014, 06:40:50 AM
Most people think that you have to fight the raiders, and that you have to build elaborate death traps to deal with large raids. If a too strong raid comes, you can just run away from the colony and hide, the raiders will trash it for a while and then get bored and leave. And if your colony is built out of stone walls, the raiders won't even be able to do much damage.
It's also completely possible to fight back much larger raids, all you have to do is split them up and only fight a few of the raiders at once.
running away from siege mortar raiders tends to just wreck your base. they usually bring enough supplies to last for several days.
running away from mechs isn't a good option either. they'll just send psychic waves to drive you insane.
basically, running away isn't a very good option in the end game, since large groups of siege raiders and mechs will usually just outlast you if you decide to abandon your base.
you can probably live a nomadic lifestyle in the endgame. running around eating raw food, taking shelter in natural caves. building nothing so that enemies can't destroy it sleeping on the floor beds, etc.. some people might actually enjoy that experience.. lol.
yay! bear grylls! ;D
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i think it's also fun when a squirrel apocalypse triggers while you're outside the base.
fun times..
Quote from: marvinkosh on September 17, 2014, 10:09:48 AM
Well, like it's been said, you don't have to fight the raiders. You can block up the entrances to your base with stone wall (even a log wall will do in a pinch) and wait it out. You can also get on the comm, throw some of your silver at a faction which is willing to fight the raiders, and ask them for military assistance.
So if you completely wall yourself in they'll eventually leave? Or do they just hang around?
They will attack the walls. Fortunately the AI isn't (yet) smart enough to concentrate on a specific section in the wall but chooses the wall segment a raider attacks randomly for each of them, so with a two or three tile strong stone wall and a repair team on the other site, you should be save.
As for the comms concsole: Do the size of the support troops depend on how much the faction likes you? Because I always get like 4 or 5 supporters against 20 raiders.
I don't know. But you can call in multiple groups so long as you have silver.
Quote from: keylocke on September 17, 2014, 10:19:12 AM
running away from siege mortar raiders tends to just wreck your base. they usually bring enough supplies to last for several days.
running away from mechs isn't a good option either. they'll just send psychic waves to drive you insane.
basically, running away isn't a very good option in the end game, since large groups of siege raiders and mechs will usually just outlast you if you decide to abandon your base.
That would be because when a siege or ship part lands,
you should be the one going on the offensive. If it's a siege, build mortars or send a sniper team to wear them down. If it's a ship part, shoot it from afar, use the speed difference between mechanoid types to lure away and kill scythers, and then kite the centipedes with snipers until they die.
I don't really see why couldn't you outlast any raiders either. Unless you live in a desert, you can always scavenge. Hell, even in a desert, you could just kill some of the infinitely-respawning animals, chop down some cacti (or if there aren't enough, leave a forbidden pile of wood prepared in advance) to build a butcher table and eat the meat raw. Plant some roses to make sure your colonists don't go psychotic and you're set.
Quote from: Spectre on September 17, 2014, 11:21:41 AMSo if you completely wall yourself in they'll eventually leave? Or do they just hang around?
Raiders leave if they do enough damage to be satisfied, or they give up after a certain amount of time. They can still deal a lot of damage, but if you have stone walls, all you'll have to rebuild are a few stone walls and power generators.
For siege enemies, I tend to let them bomb me, treating it like a lightning storm, getitng my people inside when they fire and then just wait for them to fall asleep on the floor, then I'll go out and take the fight to them, getting the jump on them.
Quote from: Rahjital on September 17, 2014, 01:52:42 PM
That would be because when a siege or ship part lands, you should be the one going on the offensive. If it's a siege, build mortars or send a sniper team to wear them down. If it's a ship part, shoot it from afar, use the speed difference between mechanoid types to lure away and kill scythers, and then kite the centipedes with snipers until they die.
I don't really see why couldn't you outlast any raiders either. Unless you live in a desert, you can always scavenge. Hell, even in a desert, you could just kill some of the infinitely-respawning animals, chop down some cacti (or if there aren't enough, leave a forbidden pile of wood prepared in advance) to build a butcher table and eat the meat raw. Plant some roses to make sure your colonists don't go psychotic and you're set.
are we talking about early game, mid game, or late game? 'coz like i said, bugging out in the late game tends to be suicidal.
have you tried a sniping battle against about a dozen of scythers/sniper raiders with high shooting skills on open ground with hardly any cover? lol.. a single bullet can get your troop incapacitated in alpha 6 unlike the much older alphas..
add to the fact that scyther ships will slowly cause your troops to go insane.. where are you gonna place prisoners without a prison cell?
you can probably get away with those tactics from early to mid game, but in the late game (or if you have high population / lots of turrets) sniper battles tend to be suicidal..
as for nomadically living off on the wild like bear grylls.. i said yep that's certainly possible.
especially if you only have a few colonists.. however, the moment you build something that can aggro enemies (butcher table, doors, solar panels, cooking stove, etc..) raiders will eventually charge towards you.. (they may try attacking your main base first, but given a long enough timeline.. raider pods are gonna drop near your makeshift base.. and then what?)
also if you're planning on building a ship (which you definitely need to defend), and the bad luck possibility of triggering a squirrel/animal apocalypse..
it's better to defend than running away..
i really don't get why people choose to run away.. it's so much easier to defend a cleverly designed base.. ;)
I don't build ships since I think they go against the sandboxy nature of the game ("Congrats, you built a nice and well working colony! Now throw it all away to win."), so I don't really have an idea of what constitutes late game to you. If two year old colonies are late game, then yeah, we are talking about the same thing :)
It's interesting to see the difference in strategies. Myself, I'd say that running away only becomes more useful the larger the raids are and that's it's better to see the colony burn that if half your colonists lay dead or crippled after a fight. I suppose it depends mostly on one's playstyle? I usually build town-like outside colonies, with walls and multiple entrances; it makes building killboxes harder, but provides much greater tactical opportunities. I suppose that it's pretty much the opposite for colonies dug into mountains.
Yeah, sniper duels are a thing of past. That's why you should use your snipers to pick off those who wander to the edges of the siege camp and potentially a mortar or two if you get the chance, and withdraw them once their snipers notice you. Same with Scythers - you can never match their accuracy, but you can overwhelm them in close quarters. Use their lack of taking cover against them and they'll fall before they can take a shot.
I completely agree. Living Bear Grylls-style is something that can be done, but I wouldn't recommend it either :P In a forest, you can pretty much live forever on berries, though it's risky because of mechs and psychotic waves (even if they are rare). Deserts would be highly dangerous because you would have to eat raw meat in addition to sleeping outside and "sharing bedrooms", so the smallest thing could make your colonists go crazy. It would be an interesting challenge, I guess, but it's not a very good idea for normal play.
It's indeed possible and not even that hard to fend off raids for an experienced players, but I wouldn't say that it's easier than running. Drafting everyone, sending them into the opposite corner and watching Troy burn is definitely less trouble than actually fighting. Granted, I never had to run in a long time, but I still remember how much it helped when I was still learning the ropes. People here aren't terribly great at playing tactically, so I think it might be useful to them as well.
Quote from: Rahjital on September 18, 2014, 09:18:06 AM
I don't build ships since I think they go against the sandboxy nature of the game ("Congrats, you built a nice and well working colony! Now throw it all away to win."), so I don't really have an idea of what constitutes late game to you. If two year old colonies are late game, then yeah, we are talking about the same thing :)
the term "late game" is indeed arbitrary. lol..
there's this thread where i asked about the wealth calculation (which also affects the threat level), which includes the number of colonists and turrets (i'm not sure if mortars also add to that equation), and time.. anyways.. this is why i think the "years" isn't the sole basis for what to call late game, since the threat level is affected by population/wealth/defense..
so perhaps i should stop calling it "late game" and just call it "high-threat level stage"? (to avoid confusion) i dunno..
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anyways, i have this tendency of building my base as fast as i can by micromanaging construction and trading for building materials..
i think that's the "meta" game that i play with myself in rimworld. i want to build things faster and more efficient. i think of my base as a finely-tuned machine, and each iteration after each new colony after each new alpha and new features added, i try to adopt my designs to deal with those new challenges, and then i try to figure out how to build things faster..
i also try to look around the forums for new inspiration. there's plenty of folks here posting good base designs tactics/strategies.. (props to you guys)
anyways, i suppose strategies often depends on the player's play-styles..
i also think that given a long enough timeline, the threat level will be so high, that the only real option is to just flee into space. which is why i try to make sure that my colony is always ready for such an eventuality..
so i suppose i concede that running away is a good strategy..
except that when i finally do run away, i tend to run away into space.. ;D
This happens to me a ton, took me 8 tries to get a successful colony, It was all based on luck, i got 3 randomers that just joined for the hell of it, then i imprisoned a load of people in my base that just got finished after metal fell from the skies in a crash land, Then i got a ton of silver from selling old weapons to black market dealers, then i bought OP weapons.