Ludeon Forums

This is entirely and shamelessly a copy of UntrustedLife's previous thread (http://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=4062.0), but with new life breathed into it. It's got his blessing, we're all kosher, don't worry your little head.

So the succession game is back, and it's better than ever. Why's that?

We have a proper schedule now. (https://docs.google.com/document/d/12m66uOTyBA6STd87I9Uja6Fni1wLt37TtZ_86W_4ueE/edit)

GAME IS IN PROGRESS. YOU CAN STILL GET ON THE LIST TO PLAY, JUST EXPECT A BIT OF A WAIT.

---

After discussion and A6's release, these are the final rules:

• Joining: Comment in this thread to be added to the sheet. Now that the game is in progress, the sheet will be less reliable for noticing when new people are interested in joining. PMing me may also work if you're concerned about cluttering the thread, I'm not sure how well of a job these forums do of notifying about that.
  
  (When commenting, please give your availability/preference for when to play, I'll fill in the schedule myself with that.)
• Everybody should be as lore-consistent as possible in regard to rimworld's setting while writing (obviously no one cares if you flub a detail or two, just remember the basics from Ty's primer (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pIZyKif0bFbBWten4drrm7kfSSfvBoJPgG9-ywfN8j8/pub))
• Vanilla only (Future succession threads may use mods, but consensus is that the first one should be vanilla).
• The objective is to roleplay as your "leader" character, I'll leave the way you specifically do this up to you. First person, third person, whatever works for you. Just remember which dude is "you".
  
  
  • If you want to change the colony name "over the course of your reign", by all means do so � just be sure to back it up.
    • To edit the colony name, open the dev menu (hit escape, go to the options, check "development mode") and then edit the colony name in the debug menu.
    Changing colonist names is now supported in-game in A6. If there isn't a colonist available who isn't named after one of the previous leaders, you can spawn one using the dev menu in rather than rename (there's an option to trigger the "wanderer join" event, which may be best for flavor).
    
• The pawn you decided was "you" dies, your turn is over. Oh come on, don't look at me like that.
• Remote hosting is the way to pass on files. Dropbox (https://db.tt/uBhrRhyY) (yes that's a referral link, it gives me some extra free space don't judge me) is my recommendation, it's a convenient tool in general for backing things up. If you prefer not to use dropbox, mediafire or similar will work just as well. Archiving the save file in a zip/7z/rar/etc is up to you, the files are relatively small to begin with.
• World size is 350x262 (Closest to the "Large" we agreed on for A5).
• Turn time is 30 in-game days (two in-game months), with roughly a week budgeted per turn (if you have to go a day or two over, nobody will be torn up over it; if you can get your turn done early, that's just some extra time for the next person and we can go through things faster).
• Storyteller is Randy Random.
• If the colony dies, the next player in rotation starts the new one. All options for worldgen, deciding starting colonist traits, etc (basically anything these rules don't cover already) are up to that player. Ultra-coolguy mode: No "rerolling" the world save off camera to get a better start. That's on your honor, though.
• No-shows have 3 days to confirm they're taking their turn or need to be moved in the rotation before we move on. I'm sorry, but a week with no posts in the thread is a surefire way to make the game die, so if you can't take your turn, we'll move you later on in the rotation.

A friendly reminder to everyone playing: Remember to take screenshots while you play. You don't have to use each one you take, so don't be shy about pressing that button any time something interesting is going down. One of them might be the picture you decide you like the most to write about. Better to have ten pictures in your recycle bin that you didn't use than to realize while writing your post that you don't have as many pictures as you'd like! (If you need a place to upload images, dropbox can also serve as a host for those, or for ease of access, you can make an imgur album and either link images from it or just write the story there in the comments below each image!)

I'll try to keep a semi-updated tally of who all is playing here, roughly in order (maybe slap leader names next to them after we start), but the main thing is the schedule, so this might lag behind because it's less important:

• Me (surprising, I know) | Leader: "McLovin". Storytime: Here (http://imgur.com/a/lS9IA). Savefile: Here (https://www.dropbox.com/s/hvomks0j6n8lus0/Giha.rwm). World save: Here (https://www.dropbox.com/s/aj29moqgeoh2oob/RegulusKsora.rww).
• Rahjital (http://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?action=profile;u=1491) | Leader: "Rahjital" (Formerly known as "Doc"). Storytime: Here (http://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=5135.msg53082#msg53082). Savefile: Here. (https://db.tt/JKZ8W5ws)
• Milon (http://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?action=profile;u=8026) | [UP TO BAT]
• Lazarus (http://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?action=profile;u=4641) | [ON DECK/PINCH HITTER]
• Ender (http://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?action=profile;u=1741) | [IN THE HOLE]
• Telkir (http://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?action=profile;u=6691) |
• Tommonius (http://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?action=profile;u=2771) |
• Phazen (Can't find your username on the forums, but saw you wrote on the signup sheet. You're gonna need an account to post your story in the thread, bro :P)

Schedule currently has turns going up to Telkir, I'm going to shift it soon after I have confirmation from Milon regarding when his turn's end should be moved to.

If more people end up interested than the game's length can justify, that's not a problem: We'll just stick those guys on the priority list for the sequelcession(TM) game. I think we'll probably continue with this thread until the next alpha build, or the colony's death, whichever comes later. If we decide to throw some mods into the mix (if the next alpha's not out but we've finished a colony, for example), I think that may warrant its own thread as well.

Priority for scheduling will go as follows:

• People from the previous thread (as far as I'm concerned, this is me continuing UL's game in his absence, it'd be rude to kick the people who already joined)
• People whose posts read the most smoothly to me (we're in the stories subforum, don't give me shit for judging your writing ability based on your posts)
• People who are easiest to schedule
• People whose mods I like (flattery never hurts)
• People with the coolest looking avatars
• My dog
• My girlfriend, but don't tell her that. (Seriously, it just came up out of nowhere, work's been just absolute hell lately and babe, I just can't make it. I'll make it up to you Monday, promise. No. No, for real this time. Really.) (Not really.)

Alright, that's the crucial info down.

Focus of discussion ATM:

• Reading the currently posted stories, either for enjoyment or to prep yourself for your own turn in the hotseat.
• If you're interested in joining towards the end of the rotation, comment.
• What's everyone's preferred format for stories?
  • I'm thinking I'd gradually like to convert everything to a unified format for the sake of posterity and easy reading, but whether that's a master post in its own thread down the line, a series of imgur albums, or something else is pretty much up to the thread. I'll do the legwork, just tell me what's appealing to you.
• If milon's open to it (at time of editing this post, he hasn't replied just yet), is anyone available who can finish a turn before Friday?
  • Related to upcoming turns: Is Ender alive?
• Does it really make a difference who the leader is? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVXuqcceOv4)

Its all good. Im sorry for going "AWOL", you were right in assuming i got busy . Its encouraging  to see that you were willing to start your own succession game in my absense.

I didnt finish my turn and no longer have time to do so, Im sorry guys.

Im so sorry guys I feel bad please dont hate me...:(.

Good Luck anyhow. If you could at least reference the failed succession game somewhere in the course of this game that would be awesome. "add" my char from the original maybe?

Quote from: Untrustedlife on August 02, 2014, 02:05:03 AM
Its all good. Im sorry for going "AWOL", you were right in assuming i got busy . Its encouraging  to see that you were willing to start your own succession game in my absense.

I didnt finish my turn and no longer have time to do so, Im sorry guys.

Im so sorry guys I feel bad please dont hate me...:(.

Good Luck anyhow. If you could at least reference the failed succession game somewhere in the course of this game that would be awesome. "add" my char from the original maybe?

Glad to see you check in, makes me feel a lot better about it to have your blessing on the thing. No hate whatsoever, don't worry about that. Life happens, and you gave forewarning.

Should be plenty possible to reference your guy in here. Hell, if you still have the save, you could PM me the bit of the savefile describing him and I should be able to relatively easily overwrite one of the starters with him so he has all the same stats and everything.

Hopefully by the time we're on round 2 or 3, things'll have calmed down for you a bit and you'll get to join in on the fun again :P

I Rimworld succession game. I have always looked at Boatmurdered and the other saga with a mix of amazement from the great exploits they have done and envy from not being able to participate, as I have never been able to get myself comfortable with it's interface. And now there's a possibility to do so in Rimworld... you can count with me.

Excuse me for not being fluent with Google Docs, but how are comments added there? Nevermind, it was right in front of my nose the whole time. For anyone still searching, it's Ctrl-Alt-M or Right Click->Comment.

What happens if there are more players than pawns? For example, if half the colony dies in a particularly brutal raid, or if Randy decides not to give us colonists fast enough? We could use the dev tools to give ourselves a colonist, but that would be cheating and wouldn't really fit in this kind of succession game. On the other hand, without colonists, there is no roleplay and no losing when the leader dies. It's not really a problem in Dwarf Fortress due to the large migration waves it has, but Rimworld has a much smaller number of pawns.

15 day long turns seem to be a bit too short to me, and week long is just to sit at the computer, play for twenty minutes and then have to stop. The DF succession games traditionally have an entire year for each turn so that the player has enough time to leave their own, permanent trace on the fortress. I think it should be the same with this game - Rimworld years are much too long, but I would suggest either 30 or perhaps even 60 day turns. Of course, if somebody didn't have the time for that, they could end their time sooner, but I still think everyone should have plenty of time to leave a long lasting mark on the colony.

I would also like to propose another rule: Don't look at the previous players' turns until you are finished with your own. Part of the fun in the various DF successions is the "What the hell does lever even do?" situations, and while there are unfortunately no levers and magma channels in Rimworld, I still feel there could be a lot of fun to have with situations for which you can't make any plans in advance.

For the absentees, I think their turn should be skipped if they don't show up the day they are supposed to. Too many fledgeling successions were killed by being dragged out too much by waiting for the missing players. If they let you know in advance, you could ask somebody to switch their turns with them or do some shuffling. If they don't... to the end of the queue with them.

As for the start date, we should probably wait a few days after A6 comes out so that people have time to get used to it. Throwing people used to the xeric shrublands into an arctic snow covered wasteland with no time to acclimatize would be rather mean. :)

I hope to see more people in here, this appears to be very promising!

Just my tuppence-and-a-bit:

I think it would probably be best to keep the game as vanilla-flavoured as possible. Let's stick to using Randy as the storyteller so that we might savour all of life's little pleasures from his point of view - y'know, plagues of squirrels iguanas, malevolent AI cores, colonists going mad and deciding to drown themselves in the nearest pond - all that good stuff. ;)

Folks who seem to be inactive when their turn rolls around should be given, say, three days to show some sign of life, otherwise I suggest they get skipped and the player next in line after them can take over.

The turn length is a hard thing to pin down, but I can't help but agree that one in-game month per turn does seem a tad too short on the face of it, especially for the early game when not very much is happening. Personally I think we should consider having 2-month turns - that should allow each player to not only have a decent chance of both imprinting their grand design upon the game, but also to encounter some interesting events that are worthy of weaving a story around.

Regarding how our characters are handled in the game and how we manage our roleplay, I think Rahjital has a point, and we need to hammer something out that's easy to follow. Rimworld is dangerous; pawns are going to die despite (or perhaps because of?) our best efforts, and a lot of the time it's really quite tricky to replace them. :'(

I propose that each player should be allowed and indeed required to spawn one new colonist at the beginning of their turn using developer mode. If it is the player's first turn then this colonist can be their roleplay character if they so wish. Perhaps this artifical "migrant wave" could scale up as the game progresses - i.e. 2 colonists per turn after six months, 3 colonists after a year, and so on.

This doesn't solve the thorny question of what happens on a player's second turn, roleplay-wise, if their character has since been killed. Are there any tips we could pick up from DF?

EDIT: Oh lawks, how did I leave that typo in there for so long

@theapolaustic1, about uploading saves - even 7z compressed, a large map savefile will likely be too large to upload here.  We'll probably need to use some public upload service.

Quote from: milon on August 04, 2014, 05:10:03 AM
@theapolaustic1, about uploading saves - even 7z compressed, a large map savefile will likely be too large to upload here.  We'll probably need to use some public upload service.

I dont know about anyone else but ill use dropbox, simple, and free.

Quote from: Telkir on August 02, 2014, 03:33:35 PM
This doesn't solve the thorny question of what happens on a player's second turn, roleplay-wise, if their character has since been killed. Are there any tips we could pick up from DF?

http://gemclod.goondorfs.net/Update%2079/index.html (http://gemclod.goondorfs.net/Update%2079/index.html)
You can always play the I-didn't-actually-die card.  Not that this is the same scenario, but it's similar.

Just a quick update to confirm I'm alive and monitoring the thread, just been dealing with a lot of bullshit lately. Not the "keeps you busy" sort of bullshit, just the "keeps you from caring enough to type a long post in a game forum" kind of bullshit. When A6 hits I'll still certainly be here, but the actual decisions of what to do is up to you guys so I'm entrusting you to come to a form of consensus on everything while I'm out.

Sorry for not being more active lately. As I said. Dealing with bullshit. (In hindsight, shouldn't have put that line into the OP about girlfriends and "work being hell lately, babe, i swear").

I just had an interesting idea. In the event the colony is destroyed and there are still turns left to be taken, I suggest that we resume with the new colony in the ruins of the old one.

Here's how: the player whose turn it was continue to run the game, and even spawn a half dozen or so disasters. Let the game run for a bit, then upload that save for the next player. That player can then spawn 3 random colonists. Even if they're crappy pawns, you've still got the ruins of the last player, so that seems like a good trade off.

What are everyone's thoughts?

Alpha 6 is out!  Theapolaustic1, will you update the OP and the schedule?  Also, are there any outstanding issues to be addressed before we start?

Alpha 6 is a wonderful update for succession games. Colonists can be given nicknames directly in the game, the new health system gives a lot of depth to the storytelling possible, changing storytellers ingame is possible so that players of various skill levels can play, different biomes and so on.

There wasn't much talking about the various mechanics and not many people seem to have signed up for the game. Maybe we'll have to get it rolling first before people start wanting to participate...

Quote from: milon on August 10, 2014, 09:02:41 PM
I just had an interesting idea. In the event the colony is destroyed and there are still turns left to be taken, I suggest that we resume with the new colony in the ruins of the old one.

Here's how: the player whose turn it was continue to run the game, and even spawn a half dozen or so disasters. Let the game run for a bit, then upload that save for the next player. That player can then spawn 3 random colonists. Even if they're crappy pawns, you've still got the ruins of the last player, so that seems like a good trade off.

What are everyone's thoughts?

I think this might not be bad. Maybe that instead of 3 colonists being spawned, only one would be? (the current player whose turn it is, of course) We could let the storyteller spawn more.

I meant spawn 3 if the colony gets wiped out (ie. new colony in the ruins of the old).  But I think you're talking about each successive Colony Leader spawning a new pawn and playing as that pawn, correct?

And you're right - once this gets moving, and once there's actual storytelling posts, I bet more people will want in.  ;)

With the new changes to colonist health it seems to make it still more likely that our brave survivors will meet an untimely end from a variety of tragic, laughable, or improbable circumstances...  8)

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, what do folks think of the idea I mentioned in my earlier post?

Quote from: Telkir on August 02, 2014, 03:33:35 PMI propose that each player should be allowed and indeed required to spawn one new colonist at the beginning of their turn using developer mode. If it is the player's first turn then this colonist can be their roleplay character if they so wish. Perhaps this artifical "migrant wave" could scale up as the game progresses - i.e. 2 colonists per turn after six months, 3 colonists after a year, and so on.

EDIT: And do we have any final decision on the turn time?

OP said, "Turn time is 15 in-game days (one in-game month), with roughly a week budgeted per turn."  Works for me.

My vote is that each Colony Leader (other than the first one) should spawn a single pawn at the start of their turn, and should play as that pawn.  Remember, death of that pawn means your turn is over!

Quote from: milon on August 13, 2014, 04:01:01 PM
I meant spawn 3 if the colony gets wiped out (ie. new colony in the ruins of the old).  But I think you're talking about each successive Colony Leader spawning a new pawn and playing as that pawn, correct?

No, I meant the same thing you did, restarting the colony after it dies but with only one pawn. I'm starting to think we shouldn't do it at all, though, since if there's no way to kill off the colony, people won't try as much to keep it alive and we'll lose on a lot of fun stories with people desperately trying to keep the colony going.

Quote from: Telkir on August 02, 2014, 03:33:35 PMI propose that each player should be allowed and indeed required to spawn one new colonist at the beginning of their turn using developer mode. If it is the player's first turn then this colonist can be their roleplay character if they so wish. Perhaps this artifical "migrant wave" could scale up as the game progresses - i.e. 2 colonists per turn after six months, 3 colonists after a year, and so on.

Rimworld doesn't handle a lot of colonists nearly as well as DF does, though. Tynan himself stated that the number he's designing the game around is 10 colonists, which would be a starter fort for dwarves. I think people should only be allowed to spawn a new colonist for themselves when there are no others free for renaming. That will ensure we will care about all the colonists, even if they are weak and have terrible traits - they will still be people you can talk to here on the forums :)

Quote from: Telkir on August 02, 2014, 03:33:35 PM
EDIT: And do we have any final decision on the turn time?

Turn time as in in-game time, or real time? If you mean in-game, then I would support 30 days, which seems to be about equal to 1 year in DF in terms on how great mark can a person leave on the world.

A6 let's you generate a world map, choose a biome, choose specific landing site (note that you can zoom in and pan around on the map!), choose a difficulty, and storyteller.  I'm fine with it if the first player wants to choose everything.  Also of note is the fact that there's now an option in-game to rename your colonists.  :D

Quote from: milon on August 13, 2014, 01:31:29 PM
Alpha 6 is out!  Theapolaustic1, will you update the OP and the schedule?  Also, are there any outstanding issues to be addressed before we start?

Oh shit, I didn't even realize! I'm so sorry, I'll try to have the schedule ready soon, I'll start up my turn ASAP.

Quote from: Telkir on August 13, 2014, 04:22:47 PM
With the new changes to colonist health it seems to make it still more likely that our brave survivors will meet an untimely end from a variety of tragic, laughable, or improbable circumstances...  8)

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, what do folks think of the idea I mentioned in my earlier post?

Quote from: Telkir on August 02, 2014, 03:33:35 PM
EDIT: And do we have any final decision on the turn time?

The consensus seems to be 30 days, which I can support. Sounds like everyone agrees one week is fine for IRL time to do it, if anyone finishes early though, we could bump the next person up to get going faster, of course.

Quote from: Rahjital on August 13, 2014, 06:10:30 PM

Quote from: milon on August 13, 2014, 04:01:01 PM
I meant spawn 3 if the colony gets wiped out (ie. new colony in the ruins of the old).  But I think you're talking about each successive Colony Leader spawning a new pawn and playing as that pawn, correct?

No, I meant the same thing you did, restarting the colony after it dies but with only one pawn. I'm starting to think we shouldn't do it at all, though, since if there's no way to kill off the colony, people won't try as much to keep it alive and we'll lose on a lot of fun stories with people desperately trying to keep the colony going.

Quote from: Telkir on August 02, 2014, 03:33:35 PMI propose that each player should be allowed and indeed required to spawn one new colonist at the beginning of their turn using developer mode. If it is the player's first turn then this colonist can be their roleplay character if they so wish. Perhaps this artifical "migrant wave" could scale up as the game progresses - i.e. 2 colonists per turn after six months, 3 colonists after a year, and so on.

Rimworld doesn't handle a lot of colonists nearly as well as DF does, though. Tynan himself stated that the number he's designing the game around is 10 colonists, which would be a starter fort for dwarves. I think people should only be allowed to spawn a new colonist for themselves when there are no others free for renaming. That will ensure we will care about all the colonists, even if they are weak and have terrible traits - they will still be people you can talk to here on the forums :)

Quote from: Telkir on August 02, 2014, 03:33:35 PM
EDIT: And do we have any final decision on the turn time?

Turn time as in in-game time, or real time? If you mean in-game, then I would support 30 days, which seems to be about equal to 1 year in DF in terms on how great mark can a person leave on the world.

I agree on "only spawn in a colonist if there are none available to rename". If someone wants to end their turn saying their colonist left or got KIA or something (even if game events don't support this, it might work for your story), then that colonist could be renamed instead, too. I also think that "dead is dead" should be the rule, we can hold to the rotation and just have the next person in line start the new colony up, which sounds fine by my book. Might be more fun that way instead of having the OP of the succession thread always be the one to actually start, too (which also ties into Milon's comment; difficulty I'd say is fixed on Randy, but the other stuff could be up to the colony founder).

I'll edit the OP post to have final rulings so that everyone knows the consensus, then get started on my turn tonight. First story post should be up tonight or tomorrow, depending on how much I get around to playing.

As an FYI, A6 seems to have a bug in it that messed with the priorities for eating. Initial attempt at a colony just died out because someone decided she'd rather starve to death trying to heal the wounded rather than, y'know, shove a potato down her gullet before getting back to work.

Rerolled and trying again, thus the delay on my first post. The new health/injuries system is pretty fucking brutal, as a forewarning.

Good to hear things are beginning! I was getting a bit afraid something nasty happened to your free time. I see I am the second in schedule, so I should better get ready. Feel free to say something once you are done!

I would also like to (re-)propose a rule before the game really begins:

Quote from: Rahjital on August 02, 2014, 05:00:14 AM
I would also like to propose another rule: Don't look at the previous players' turns until you are finished with your own. Part of the fun in the various DF successions is the "What the hell does lever even do?" situations, and while there are unfortunately no levers and magma channels in Rimworld, I still feel there could be a lot of fun to have with situations for which you can't make any plans in advance.

Edit:

Quote from: theapolaustic1 on August 16, 2014, 07:22:43 AM
As an FYI, A6 seems to have a bug in it that messed with the priorities for eating. Initial attempt at a colony just died out because someone decided she'd rather starve to death trying to heal the wounded rather than, y'know, shove a potato down her gullet before getting back to work.

Rerolled and trying again, thus the delay on my first post. The new health/injuries system is pretty fucking brutal, as a forewarning.

Yeah, Doctoring has a greater priority than eating, much like Firefighting. Sometimes you don't want your doctor to run off from saving the wounded from bleeding to death, but at other times, you might want to turn the Doctoring job off in order to let the doctor take care of themselves.

The new wound system has pawns go down much quicker than before, but fortunately it applies to raiders as well. Cutting down half of the enemies before they even reach cover is nothing extraordinary now.

Quote from: Rahjital on August 16, 2014, 07:34:15 AM
Good to hear things are beginning! I was getting a bit afraid something nasty happened to your free time. I see I am the second in schedule, so I should better get ready. Feel free to say something once you are done!

I would also like to (re-)propose a rule before the game really begins:

Quote from: Rahjital on August 02, 2014, 05:00:14 AM
I would also like to propose another rule: Don't look at the previous players' turns until you are finished with your own. Part of the fun in the various DF successions is the "What the hell does lever even do?" situations, and while there are unfortunately no levers and magma channels in Rimworld, I still feel there could be a lot of fun to have with situations for which you can't make any plans in advance.

Edit:

Quote from: theapolaustic1 on August 16, 2014, 07:22:43 AM
As an FYI, A6 seems to have a bug in it that messed with the priorities for eating. Initial attempt at a colony just died out because someone decided she'd rather starve to death trying to heal the wounded rather than, y'know, shove a potato down her gullet before getting back to work.

Rerolled and trying again, thus the delay on my first post. The new health/injuries system is pretty fucking brutal, as a forewarning.

Yeah, Doctoring has a greater priority than eating, much like Firefighting. Sometimes you don't want your doctor to run off from saving the wounded from bleeding to death, but at other times, you might want to turn the Doctoring job off in order to let the doctor take care of themselves.

The new wound system has pawns go down much quicker than before, but fortunately it applies to raiders as well. Cutting down half of the enemies before they even reach cover is nothing extraordinary now.

The "no reading other stories" thing sounds cool, though maybe not so much a "rule" as much as a "suggestion". It might be worthwhile to let people at least skim them so they can have an idea for why some build orders are still in place before their turn (or should we just clear all build orders when we end? Might be a bit extreme lol).

And yeah, I noticed that I was able to get raiders down quite a bit faster. Though the fact that some wounds can be permanent (most notably, getting your goddamn eye shot out) seems like it might compound to go against long-term colonies. Guess we'll find out!

And yeah, my free time was sorta taken away for a bit. Nothing major or pressing, just drama in the love life. Polyamory has its upsides and its downsides, lol.

In regard to eating priority: Do you know how exactly it's weighted? Do I have to turn doctoring off entirely? I had it down as far as 4 and she was still doing it before, which was baffling given everything else was higher.

Personally I don't like the "no reading ahead" rule. I'm thinking about this from a story telling point of view. IMO, the story flows much better when you can build on what the previous players have written. That way you can have running jokes, common themes, stronger character development, etc.

EDIT - I haven't had much trouble with the new health system. I rather like it. And as long as an injured colonist gets prompt treatment (even if it's poor), the only thing you have to watch out for us an insta-permanent injury.

NOTE FOR THOSE SKIMMING: STORYTIME LINK CONTAINED BELOW.

Quote from: milon on August 16, 2014, 09:51:44 AM
Personally I don't like the "no reading ahead" rule. I'm thinking about this from a story telling point of view. IMO, the story flows much better when you can build on what the previous players have written. That way you can have running jokes, common themes, stronger character development, etc.

EDIT - I haven't had much trouble with the new health system. I rather like it. And as long as an injured colonist gets prompt treatment (even if it's poor), the only thing you have to watch out for us an insta-permanent injury.

Well, how's this for a compromise: If the previous colony leader is alive at the end of their "reign", then you can read because "in character" the guy is there to explain to you what he's been doing, if they die, then it's up to you to fit together the pieces of what's been going on. Reading the other peoples' stories is obviously fine, just hold off on the person directly ahead of you until you've confirmed they live through it.

Also makes it even more important to keep your leader alive throughout, because not only are you ending your turn early if he dies, but you might be screwing over the colony if the next person's going in blind.

So that you know, if that's what we're doing, Rahj, you're free to read the following, as is everyone else: Storytime (http://imgur.com/a/lS9IA).

And here's the save file: Link (https://www.dropbox.com/s/hvomks0j6n8lus0/Giha.rwm).

Updated the schedule and OP post to reflect that I've finished my turn. Rahj, you still have until the 28th to finish your turn, so don't feel any pressure, but you're welcome to start as soon as you want.

Story of my turn: Colony Giha, load... Wait, why did the screen turned into rainbow vomit? What is happeni- Oooh, I forgot to create the world first! *facedesk* Perhaps posting instructions

And just to make sure, posting the stories here in this topic instead of an imgur album is fine, right? I'd rather use imgur only for the pictures. You know what, don't mind this. Imgur album is actually a pretty good format for this (as your own story shows) and it will be better if we stuck to doing things the same way.

Quote from: milon on August 16, 2014, 09:51:44 AM
Personally I don't like the "no reading ahead" rule. I'm thinking about this from a story telling point of view. IMO, the story flows much better when you can build on what the previous players have written. That way you can have running jokes, common themes, stronger character development, etc.

That's a very good point. I suppose that there's no way to have both... although there's a compromise of playing out your Rimworld turn, reading others' stories and only then writing and roleplaying yourself. Doesn't allow roleplaying directly while playing, but the quality shouldn't suffer too much from that. The worst problem would be that the 20th or so player would have way too much to read.

Quote from: theapolaustic1 on August 16, 2014, 01:39:59 PMWell, how's this for a compromise: If the previous colony leader is alive at the end of their "reign", then you can read because "in character" the guy is there to explain to you what he's been doing, if they die, then it's up to you to fit together the pieces of what's been going on. Reading the other peoples' stories is obviously fine, just hold off on the person directly ahead of you until you've confirmed they live through it.

Also makes it even more important to keep your leader alive throughout, because not only are you ending your turn early if he dies, but you might be screwing over the colony if the next person's going in blind.

That doesn't sound like a bad idea either, I'll follow this and we'll see how it turns out. Maybe making a separate "blind" succesion game in the future is a better idea.

I'm ready for my turn, by the way, though I think I'll wait till tommorow so that I won't screw up too much. Although a sleep deprived play could be a lot of fun too... especially for those playing after me ;D

If you needed the link to the world save, it's here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/aj29moqgeoh2oob/RegulusKsora.rww

Wasn't aware that was necessary now, sorry!

Regarding format: It's entirely up to you, I just found the imgur album easiest because I was able to use Windows 7's Snipping Tool program to get screenshots as I went along, save them "01.png, 02.png, 03.png, etc" in a single folder, then upload them all at once. Then just had to edit in the comments.

Whatever works best for you is entirely good, though (unless it's some dickass shit like posting a link to your blog with ads all up and down the sides, that is, lol). I'll link to the posts, albums or whatever down the line, it shouldn't be too hard to compile them in the OP post.

Quote from: Rahjital on August 16, 2014, 03:21:19 PMAlthough a sleep deprived play could be a lot of fun too... especially for those playing after me ;D

"Sir? Sir? We're under attack! Sir, please!"

*gentle snoring sounds emanate from underneath the desk*

"Welp, he's got no orders for us. Guess we should just wander around the same as normal until we're actively being shot at."

And thus the colony comes to its inevitably glory-filled conclusion.

*Bounces around happily*

It's happening! It's actually happening!  ;D

Permission to switch Doc's and Boozer's childhood backstory? I've been playing the game writing the story as it went, and only now, 5 Rimworld days before my turn ends, I have noticed that I mixed it up... Oooops. Unfortunately, I've based the roleplaying very heavily on that, to the point where I'll have to delete the entire post and start from scratch if it's not allowed. :-[

Quote from: Rahjital on August 17, 2014, 12:59:13 PM
Permission to switch Doc's and Boozer's childhood backstory? I've been playing the game writing the story as it went, and only now, 5 Rimworld days before my turn ends, I have noticed that I mixed it up... Oooops. Unfortunately, I've based the roleplaying very heavily on that, to the point where I'll have to delete the entire post and start from scratch if it's not allowed. :-[

Swap mechanically, or just swap in terms of fluff?

I'd say avoid swapping mechanically, but if you just clarify in some parenthesis what's going on in terms of the story, I don't think anyone will get too torn up over a mismatch with the screenshots :P

Quote from: Telkir on August 17, 2014, 10:43:12 AM
*Bounces around happily*

It's happening! It's actually happening!  ;D

(http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Gwlhw4RX--/qtr9wvgsujidg5zri4im.gif)

It's late and I haven't read all the recent posts, but I am in favor of both compromises suggested.  I will only read the story posts after my turn, and only from leaders that are still alive. :)

(Edit for clarification.)

Quote from: theapolaustic1 on August 17, 2014, 06:34:05 PM
Swap mechanically, or just swap in terms of fluff?

I'd say avoid swapping mechanically, but if you just clarify in some parenthesis what's going on in terms of the story, I don't think anyone will get too torn up over a mismatch with the screenshots :P

I'm not really sure what you mean here. Swapping the backstories will have no effect on gameplay because pawn skills are set firmly, the only thing that will change is the childhood of the characters... so it's pretty much just fluff?

Quote from: Rahjital on August 18, 2014, 02:33:25 AM

Quote from: theapolaustic1 on August 17, 2014, 06:34:05 PM
Swap mechanically, or just swap in terms of fluff?

I'd say avoid swapping mechanically, but if you just clarify in some parenthesis what's going on in terms of the story, I don't think anyone will get too torn up over a mismatch with the screenshots :P

I'm not really sure what you mean here. Swapping the backstories will have no effect on gameplay because pawn skills are set firmly, the only thing that will change is the childhood of the characters... so it's pretty much just fluff?

Oh, really? I completely misinterpretted, then. I was under the impression that changing the backstories automatically changed the skills. If not, by all means go ahead lol.

Only one way to find out.  ;)

24th of February: While searching through the possesions of one of the dead raiders, I have found this diary and a set of ornamented pens, antique but unused. It appears The Bears of Death have raided a museum sometime in the past... Who knows if that barbarian could write at all! It would be a great loss if this treasure was not saved from him.

On a second look, there are some blood stains on the paper. I'll ask Boozer on how to get them off, maybe I can bribe him with some of the potato vodka I wanted to use as disinfectant.


29th of February: This is too much. How many times do I have to tell that dumb farm boy that my name is NOT 'Doc'? I am Rahjital de Fusilier, thirdborn of the Duke of Savarrah! I will not stand being called 'Doc' like I was some pitiful servant!

Action needs to be taken. That butcher seems to trust me, so perhaps if I can convince him to hand me his PDA for a while, I could make some changes here and there...


1st of March: It worked, I can't believe it worked! McLovin just handed me his PDA today while mumbling something about hoping I'll make a better mayor. If only I knew it would be so easy as to make the computer warn him of megalomania, I would have done it a long time ago!

Oh, the PDA has an 'Overhead Visualisation' function and can even print images! Let's see how the colony looks from above:

(http://i.imgur.com/fsjdM87.png?1)

Oh god. This looks so much worse from a birds eye view. It seems McLovin was clever enough build a wall in the south and plan another in the northwest, but left us open in the direction we are the most vulnerable from, east! Well, I cannot blame him. Not everyone has the luck reside in a castle in their childhood, I suppose he is better fit to tending to agricultural products than to devising grand defensive structures.

What I cannot forgive him is how little crops he has sown. A peasant who does not farm? Blasphemous! Now that the colony has a rational and wise ruler, this is going to change.

Wait a minute, what is that over there? Why is there a rifle lying abandoned in a pile of rocks when we all have meager pistols? This is giving me a headache. I need to sleep on it...

* * *

Okay, let's look at things with a clear head. Now, let's see what do people do here. Who's the hunter, who's the miner, and who's the farmer here? Wait, what do you mean, "Everyone does everything"? Do you mean nobody knows what their craft is? We can't build a prosperous keep if work isn't divided! Good gracious, my rule there is going to be harder than I thought... Here's your new work schedule, people:

(http://i.imgur.com/frW6ePj.png?1)

If Boozer is right, we also have literally a ton of metal lying around but barely a sack of potatoes in our stockpile. Time to expand our fields and send the farm boy over there to tend to the crops, as his social status would have it.


2nd of March: Boozer has been crying out for a new kitchen since I became the new ruler. Like a true benevolent king, I went there to take a look and see what the fuss was about:

(http://i.imgur.com/gplA3SK.png)

Oh god, he was right, he was so right. The place is so filthy I was afraid to go there! McLovin and Lawson don't seem to mind, but Boozer puts a generous dose of alcohol in every meal. He says it's "to kill the bacteria" but I am not sure how much can I trust him on that.

I was shocked when I found out nobody here knew how to make stone bricks. That was a great problem, so I sat at the research bench, made myself some tiny bricks and built a model castle out of them. That was fun! But I think I've got it now. I told McLovin to build a stonecutting table, but he said there's not enough wood. I asked "What do you mean, there's plenty of wooden tables, chairs and doors." and he answered that there's no wood left for building.

Sigh, peasants... I told Lawson to chop down some cacti for him, hopefully he'll believe me when I tell him it's lichen-covered oak wood.


5th of March: Ring the bells, it's an ambush! Everyone to arms, the Bears of Death want to avenge their dead comrades! ...wait a moment, what's happening over there, why are there so many explosions and why are they shooting at each other? Is that an iguana?

(http://i.imgur.com/AVq19ll.png?1)

Well, I suppose when they are occupied with setting the desert on fire, we can still improve our defenses. Get up, McLovin, it's time to finish that wall.

Or perhaps not, they are already here! But that silly farm boy didn't connect one of the turrets! I tell Boozer and Lawson to take positions and myself, like every great and wise leader, take a well protected place that is still on the frontlines. Move it, peasant, the turret is not going to power itself!

(http://i.imgur.com/TpItuGp.png)

McLovin managed to plug in the turret just in time, and the infernal machine began spewing fire, fortunately at the raiders. The Bears were evidently surprised, but one of them tried to flank us. You can't outsmart Rahjital de Fusilier, fools, my ancestor Katen the Sinister won the great Battle of Riverford! I sent Lawson to deal with the threat. McLovin managed to kill one of them, me another and Boozer incapacitated third, leaving three more to deal with. I sent McLovin forward to attack the enemy in melee, which proved to be a brilliant move worthy of my name. When the pirates saw the angry butcher charging at them they lost all their will to fight and decided to run for it. Bad idea - they ran right in front of me and Boozer and we managed to incapacitate one raider each. Unfortunately, the last one ran away, but there must always be somebody to spread the story, I suppose.

A quick check shows that the only serious wound is the farm boy's shot off toe. Nothing important, it's not like he needs toes for growing crops...


6th of March: An ambush! To arms, to arms!

(http://i.imgur.com/wfSidBN.png)

I was just tending to Lawson's wounds when they came, so naturally I dragged her out of the bed and dropped her in the doorway to take potshots at the raiders. I yelled at McLovin to weld some spare metal to the damaged turret and told Boozer to flank them. It worked surpisingly well, two of the three pirates immediately fled in panic and the third I shot in the back when the farm boy grabbed his attention.

This cannot be a coincidence. Two raids, both coming at almost the same time, both aimed at the unfinished part of our defenses! We must have a traitor in our midst. Boozer? He's dependant on the supply of alcohol I make. McLovin? He's a peasant. The raiders are still unconscious... Lawson! It appears that I have underestimated her. Well well, dear Lawson, you might have managed to fool that silly butcher, but you could not escape my attention! I'll keep an eye on you.


9th of March: It seems the second week of this month is much less eventful than the first. Apart from a mad iguana (what is it with the local wildlife throwing itself suicidally at the nearest humans?) there weren't any hostile situations so far and nobody has tried to backstab me yet. I think that's a good sign, people are starting to accept me as their beloved ruler.

Except the captured raiders, not a single of them wants to become my serf. I don't understand that, I am such an exemplary ruler and they still refuse to serve me!


10th of March: Ha, I knew they would understand! Prisoner Lu has decided to live under my rule and I am sure the rest will follow soon.


13th of March: Alice is mine! She didn't want to hear about it at first, but when I told her she can be the head of my personal guard and will be allowed to loot anything she wants, she mellowed out and almost hugged me. I still tremble only thinking about it! I think I'll have her take Lawson's rifle, hopefully that will send the appropriate signal.


1st of April: Damn that Burns! Whenever I try to make him come to our side, he always almost cracks, almost agrees... but then he remembers something and says no. Always, every single time! I suspect it's Lawson's plotting that makes it so. To prevent it, I confined her to the stonecutting workshop and told my guard Alice to keep an eye on her at all times:

(http://i.imgur.com/FavDwd2.png)

In other news, it's been suspiciously quiet. I believe that is because of Lawson's plans as well, by now she must realise I suspect her, so she wants to let my guard down. What she doesn't realize is that every day, we get closer and closer to finishing the defensive wall in the east. Just a few more days and all her plans will be in vain!


3rd of April: This must be a gesture of goodwill from the heavens themselves! A military trader has come to our colony:

(http://i.imgur.com/bgKztVR.png?1)

We exchanged half a dozen pistols and a belt of EMP grenades for the sniper rifles. Naturally I gave one of the rifles to Alice, but everyone said Lawson should get the second. Awful choice, but if I want to appear as a good and benevolent leader, what else can I do? They could accuse me of not wanting the best for the keep and start a revolution! I suppose I will have to be extra careful about that pirate spy from now on.


5th of April: The defensive wall is finished! Too late, Lawson! Your evil machinations were too slow, we are impervious to any of your attacks! And we don't even need any of that silly butcher's infernal fire-spitting machines! Speaking of him, it seems he's more of a builder than a farmer, actually. Not that it's a bad thing, skilled architects are always in need when building a kindgom.


8th of April: Burns the prisoner finally broke. He denied Lawson was helping him almost to the end, but when I put the muzzle of my rifle to his forehead and began yelling and acting crazy, he almost began crying and told me everything - how Lawson gave him secret Morse code messages by the rhythm of her stone-cutting chisel and her mining pick, how she told him to murder me with his restraint chains to get rid of the great leader and make the colony plunge into chaos... everything I thought she did, Burns confirmed. Unfortunately, I still need more evidence to arrest her!

At least the granary is done now and the mess hall will follow soon:

(http://i.imgur.com/dRydVFg.png)


9th of April: Boozer found out a way to make alcohol on his own! I bet Lawson did that to rid me of my most stalwart ally. Alice is growing impatient and disloyal since there have been no raids to loot ever since she joined us... Is there really nobody who I can trust? McLovin maybe... but he is still a peasant at heart. No, I am all alone in this.

Nothing is happening otherwise, apart from plenty of strangers visiting the colony. I wonder if that is her doing too?


13th of April: I can see her following me. Even though I told her to go mine for metal far away from the colony, she always finds an excuse to go and be near me, like 'I am hungry' or 'I need to haul the metal I mined to the stockpile'. Absolute nonsense that is, of course, but I cannot prove it! I started going away from the colony and hunt. "Hunting is a highborn's way of easing the soul," papa always said, but I don't think it's working here. Hunting megascarabs just isn't the same, and the iguanas have such beautiful eyes... And I can't run from Lawson like this anyway. No! I can't let her take the keep from me like this! That's why is she doing this all, to strip me of my rule! Just wait, Lawson. I won't make it so easy for you!


14th of April: A slave trader is passing by, but we have no way to pay them - unless we give them Lawson! Unfortunately, I don't see a way to do that without others noticing...

Nothing else is happening. Why are there no more raids? Why is nothing happening? The suspense is slowly destroying me...


15th of April: Maybe I was too quick in my judgement. I saw a group of tribesmen nearby on one of my hunts, and it looks like they want to assault the keep! That must be Lawson finally acting, sensing how much influence she has over me. Nevertheless, I have got my own brilliant plan! There is a group of visitors inside the keep. If we erect wooden barricades at the entrances and say it's a defensive measure against the tribals, they won't be able to leave until we unblock the gates, at which point they will run straight into the tribals!

McLovins quickly built the walls as per my order and just in time, too! The enemies began running at us mere seconds after he put up the last barricade, and the visitors decided to leave at roughly the same time. Once the barbarians were sufficiently close, I told the butcher to remove the barricade and he did so. The visitors quickly poured into the way of the raiders and... nothing happened?

(http://i.imgur.com/ga3vnxS.png)

There was a minor detail that eluded me, which is that the Struggle's Ridge town is not hostile to the Black Yak Barra tribe. The two merely slipped by each other... Unfortunately, I was so confident the plan would work I did not order people to arms. Fortunately, Boozer and Alice were close and responded immediately when I called. Unfortunately, Lawson heard the call too. The hellish machines McLovin constructed drawn the tribals' attention well, though they didn't last long and then the fight turned into a stalemate.

Until Andy came, that is. A group of visitors from Burg-at-the-Forest loitered outside the keep, keeping themseles busy until the fighting ended, but Andy was not one to wait.

(http://i.imgur.com/YiHxdYP.png)

He dodged Combarro's arrow and ran at him to deliver a punt that pushed the tribesman straight into the way of Lawson's sniper rifle (I can only imagine her furious face when that happened!) He peeked in and got punched by Crica. He retreated at a rather relaxed pace, for which he was rewarded by an arrow cut from Crica's bow, but that did not prompt him to go faster at all.

The distraction was a great opportunity for us, though, and I made sure to use it. Thanks to my superior tactical skill (characteristic of every highborn) the enemies began panicking and fled... straight into the warm embrace of Burg-at-the-Forest's guns:

(http://i.imgur.com/FwELn04.png)

Unfortunately, the outlanders are not quite outlandish at marksmanship and only one of the running tribals was killed and another wounded, but if it weren't for Andy, who knows who of us could have been wounded or even killed by the tribal savages. Andy is a hero; if he stays a few days, I will promote him to knighthood.


1st of May: This is it. She won. I have been thinking about it the entire day, but only now it began making sense to me. The visitors from Struggle's Ridge, me walling them in and releasing them at the raiders... she planned it all, she had predicted every single step I have taken! I fought valiantly, but she won a long time ago. I was fighting a lost battle. For now, Andy and his Burg-at-the-Forest gang have saved us from a nasty lesson, but if I remain in charge, much worse incidents are bound to happen. Tommorow, I will find somebody... no, tommorow might already be too late, it might be midnight but I know Lawson is still plotting! I need to find somebody, anybody, right now. Somebody to lead the colony instead of me. Losing such a great and wise leader is a small thing in comparsion to what Lawson could do to us... I need to hand them this diary, so that they know what happened and why. But to whom? Who of this ragtag party of serfs is trustworthy enough?


Notes to the next ruler: Due to my great and selfless effort, we now have a full-fledged stone wall protecting us from the north-east, complete with a gate. Please, do not blame me for the terrible conditions of our living quarters - the construction of the wall took a large amount of both time and resources, and after that, our food production had to be sanitized to protect us from possible disease epidemics. There should be enough of all kind of materials and enough space in the walled area to begin any project you wish; and although there's barely a sack of potatoes left for eating, an entire field of potatoes ready for harvest is at your disposal. I would be greatly indebted to you if you could entrust me with royal quarters worthy of my contributions to the keep.

The password to the command PDA is as follows: https://db.tt/JKZ8W5ws (https://db.tt/JKZ8W5ws)

Until you familiarize yourself with the ovearhead view function of the computer, you might want to use this map of the keep:

(http://i.imgur.com/bMlujiN.png)

But whatever you do, beware of Lawson. Don't let her read your mind like she did to me, else we are all lost...

Wow, it's my turn already!  I only read the Notes to the Next Ruler bit.  I most likely won't have time until late this week.  My turn should be done and posted by Saturday.  :D

No need to rush. According to the schedule, you have time until the 5th of September! :P

I decided to read TheApolaustic1's story before my turn and I have to say it helped a lot. I also wrote while still playing, usually letting two or three days pass before writing a block of text, sometimes less when a raid came. It definitely made it easier, though, sometimes there is so much happening it's easy to forget when it's not written down all at once.

Also, don't be afraid of making it too long. I decided to leave away some of the less interesting parts in order to make it shorter, and only after I posted it I found out I only had it half as long as TheApolaustic... ::)

Quote from: Rahjital on August 18, 2014, 06:16:26 PM
No need to rush. According to the schedule, you have time until the 5th of September! :P

I decided to read TheApolaustic1's story before my turn and I have to say it helped a lot. I also wrote while still playing, usually letting two or three days pass before writing a block of text, sometimes less when a raid came. It definitely made it easier, though, sometimes there is so much happening it's easy to forget when it's not written down all at once.

Also, don't be afraid of making it too long. I decided to leave away some of the less interesting parts in order to make it shorter, and only after I posted it I found out I only had it half as long as TheApolaustic... ::)

I wouldn't compare your writing to mine, lol. Writing's kinda literally what I do, both by trade and hobby. I have a tendency to drone on :P

I have to say, your story's style has firmly cemented Rahj/Doc in my head as being Jonah Hill (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg6Brw9EFyM). Which I guess makes Lawson Michael Cera?

Loved reading the whole thing, btw, laughed quite a few times. My favorite line, though, was definitely

Quote from: Rahjital on August 18, 2014, 08:08:42 AMThere was a minor detail that eluded me, which is that the Struggle's Ridge town is not hostile to the Black Yak Barra tribe. The two merely slipped by each other... Unfortunately, I was so confident the plan would work I did not order people to arms.

I can only imagine your expression as you were doing this while playing, and every time I imagine it, I crack up laughing. That stuff definitely belongs in the "funniest things while playing" thread :P

Quote from: milon on August 18, 2014, 09:44:25 AM
Wow, it's my turn already!  I only read the Notes to the Next Ruler bit.  I most likely won't have time until late this week.  My turn should be done and posted by Saturday.  :D

Yeah, it's definitely looking like as long as we've got an order in place that we can move along pretty quick. If you're confident you can be done this weekend, would you be opposed to me adjusting the schedule so that your turn ends on the 24th, and then I can begin filling out the rest of the schedule from then on?

EDIT: Just reread your post. If you're busy, would you be opposed to me sliding someone else in between now and the weekend, assuming anyone whose turn is remaining is able to get it done quickly? If you want to pick up from where Rahj left off, by all means veto that possibility, of course. Five days isn't very long to wait, but it's also potentially long enough for a turn, so I figured I'd interject with the chance.

Also, don't worry about reading the rest of it. Rahj didn't die, actually, the last entry said specifically that he was giving the "diary" (story) to the next person, so you've got exactly that post in your possession when your turn starts.

---

On the note of the schedule (because I'll be putting more names on it soon either way): Ender, are you still monitoring this thread? You're currently slotted in after milon. The order of names in the OP post is my intended order, so after telkin/tom (and assuming phazen doesn't post in the thread at some point), we'll be repeating. At this rate, we might have a complete circle before the end of the month (or at least very soon into the beginning of the next one)!

Going to go edit the OP post now to link to Rahj's post, I edited the schedule to indicate Rahj finished today. Also going to change the thread topic to something that says we're currently going, maybe get a few people in to read along if they're interested (or join up if they want).

BTW, as an aside: Rahj, when you posted that pic of the priorities in your story, you mentioned below it something about "everyone does everything", the way it was phrased worried me for a second. Did it not preserve the priority list I'd had, and defaulted to the normal checklist one, or was it more of an in-character jab at how most people were sharing tasks? If the savefile doesn't preserve priorities, might be a bit annoying for new leaders to keep having to adjust things to find homeostasis.

I assumed it was the jab one, but figured I should ask just in case, so that we could come up with a solution if not.

Also, absoLUTEly off-topic, but do any of the people in this collective use skype? Y'all seem like cool cats, and I'm on it a lot of the time. Even outside of this thread, kinda would be interested in getting a chat group or something set up just to shoot the shit or whatever.

While working on editing the OP, I noticed a couple of posts that my spurt of inactivity earlier led to me neglecting. Namely:

Quote from: Rahjital on August 13, 2014, 01:59:14 PM
Alpha 6 is a wonderful update for succession games. Colonists can be given nicknames directly in the game, the new health system gives a lot of depth to the storytelling possible, changing storytellers ingame is possible so that players of various skill levels can play, different biomes and so on.

There wasn't much talking about the various mechanics and not many people seem to have signed up for the game. Maybe we'll have to get it rolling first before people start wanting to participate...

To be fair to the lack of discussion about the mechanics, I outlined things in the original unedited OP so that most things were pretty set in stone, it was just some stuff that could be finagled over. The storyteller comment is worth highlighting now that the game is starting to get traction, though: Is anyone dead set on Randy-100%-challenge-no-alterations, or would changing it be acceptable? If so, what guidelines should be in place (after all, reducing challenge below a certain point will probably make for a boring 30 days, both to read and to write; similarly, I don't think any of us like the idea of someone ramping things up too much and deathspiraling the colony frivolously)?

Quote from: Rahjital on August 13, 2014, 01:59:14 PM

Quote from: milon on August 10, 2014, 09:02:41 PM
I just had an interesting idea. In the event the colony is destroyed and there are still turns left to be taken, I suggest that we resume with the new colony in the ruins of the old one.

Here's how: the player whose turn it was continue to run the game, and even spawn a half dozen or so disasters. Let the game run for a bit, then upload that save for the next player. That player can then spawn 3 random colonists. Even if they're crappy pawns, you've still got the ruins of the last player, so that seems like a good trade off.

What are everyone's thoughts?

I think this might not be bad. Maybe that instead of 3 colonists being spawned, only one would be? (the current player whose turn it is, of course) We could let the storyteller spawn more.

Quote from: Telkir on August 13, 2014, 04:22:47 PMAt the risk of sounding like a broken record, what do folks think of the idea I mentioned in my earlier post?

Quote from: Telkir on August 02, 2014, 03:33:35 PMI propose that each player should be allowed and indeed required to spawn one new colonist at the beginning of their turn using developer mode. If it is the player's first turn then this colonist can be their roleplay character if they so wish. Perhaps this artifical "migrant wave" could scale up as the game progresses - i.e. 2 colonists per turn after six months, 3 colonists after a year, and so on.

My weighing in on this: I think that spawning a colonist in each turn would be a bit much, the game tends to do a good job of replacing your population over time, and I think there's as much potential for fun in repeated attempts at succession games as there is in attempting to make a single colony last long.

The "make a colony in the ruins of the old one" idea, I feel, depends on what works well for a story. In most cases, I think a colony dying is a good note to end on, overriding that ending would probably cheapen the eventual ending, be it a victory or a second/third/etc colony death (we could allow for the potential next-leader to make the judgement, though; it is also worth noting that because we're using the 'if your leader dies, your turn ends' rule, it's relatively likely that the population will not all be wiped out at the same time).

The concept did give me an idea for a possibility for another style of succession game, which may be better run in parallel rather than after this one. In essence, the idea would be: One person starts a colony. Plays that colony and tells its story from Day 1 until the day everyone in it dies. They then pass the save on to the next person, that person spawns 3-5 colonists in dev mode, then begins telling the story of this group taking over the ruins. In this sense, it would be less of a "succession" game and more of a "dynasty" setup. I'm not planning on trying to run two threads like this at a time right now, but would anyone be interested in something akin to that in the future?

@theapolaustic1, my projection of this finishing by this weekend was a conservative one.  I actually think that I can finish by Thursday.  Either way, I'm starting today.  No need to try squeeze one in, but definitely update the schedule and get more players in the rotation!

This sounds like a good deal of fun, I would be happy to jump in on this if possible I think I played about a years worth (in game) on vanilla with Alpha6 and would think I have a good grasp on the ins and outs now.

If you guys need another to join let me know! Just please bear in mind though I'll be away from most things electronic from the 6th September till the 20th

So, I just realized that my game calendar says May. Raj, is that right?  I've been watching the clock and I don't think I've overshot.  (Sorry, no spoilers!)

Quote from: milon on August 19, 2014, 06:12:25 AM
@theapolaustic1, my projection of this finishing by this weekend was a conservative one.  I actually think that I can finish by Thursday.  Either way, I'm starting today.  No need to try squeeze one in, but definitely update the schedule and get more players in the rotation!

Alright, awesome! Figured I'd check just in case c:
Also thank you for using the 1 in my username. I don't know why but on the ludeon forums and no other ones, people drop it all the time.
It's probably silly to get worked up over it, but damn it, it's a third person singular pronoun, not a number. I just didn't have the room for the full thing the first time I used it somewhere, I swear!

Quote from: milon on August 19, 2014, 07:44:50 PM
So, I just realized that my game calendar says May. Raj, is that right?  I've been watching the clock and I don't think I've overshot.  (Sorry, no spoilers!)

Remember that an in game month is 15 days, not 30. Two months each.

So Jan/Feb were me, March/April was Rahj, May 1st should be the beginning of your turn. July 1st should be when you pass the save along, assuming your pawn doesn't die, naturally.

I'll update schedule and stuff for tomorrow, right now I am frankly too tired to be fucked for it.

Quote from: Lazarus on August 19, 2014, 07:39:59 AM
This sounds like a good deal of fun, I would be happy to jump in on this if possible I think I played about a years worth (in game) on vanilla with Alpha6 and would think I have a good grasp on the ins and outs now.

If you guys need another to join let me know! Just please bear in mind though I'll be away from most things electronic from the 6th September till the 20th

Shouldn't be an issue to add you. To be clear with your experience: Have you played on Randy before, or just Cassie? There is a fair bit of difference between the two, though admittedly not too much.

Depending on how the schedule's looking after I've finally got it in front of me, I'll try to get you either in before the 6th, or else you'll have to wait until after the 20th. I think either way should work nicely, depends a twinge on how active everyone else is (if ender doesn't check in, might swap you in for him instead so that you can go before you're away from electronics, for example). Continuing the baseball analogy I've been using in the OP for turn order for some reason (I don't even like baseball), you'll be the pinch hitter, lol.

This is completely unrelated to this post, but I like including music in each OP edit for shits and giggles, but this didn't make the cut because it is about twenty times too offensive for me to feel comfortable just sticking it there. So if you have spotify and a very thick skin, click this (http://open.spotify.com/track/7dppTFKnjJV6UxYKtCuyiE). Horrorcore isn't dead.

I'm from the UK so the idea of baseball is a mystery to me anyway!

I have played with Randy yet but I'll get some practise in before hand so I know what's coming at me, though I sorta get what he's about. Never know I might have a easy time or I may know what its like to be bent over....

I'll check the forums each day anyway and if you want me to take a spot just send me a PM or leave a message on here and I'll snag the save file from who ever is before me :)

Thanks, theapolaustic1.  I misread things earlier. It's definitely going to take me longer than this weekend to complete my turn (lots of IRL stuff going on). I'm about halfway through May now. I should finish sometime next week. Is that okay with everyone?  I have lots of IRL responsibilities.

Also, I read your intro post and remember you asking people to keep the 1. ;)

Quote from: theapolaustic1 on August 18, 2014, 08:58:12 PM
I have to say, your story's style has firmly cemented Rahj/Doc in my head as being Jonah Hill (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg6Brw9EFyM). Which I guess makes Lawson Michael Cera?

Whoa, now that's a connection I didn't make! I suppose it's a good thing, even if it isn't precisely the thing I was aiming for :D

Quote from: theapolaustic1 on August 18, 2014, 08:58:12 PMLoved reading the whole thing, btw, laughed quite a few times. My favorite line, though, was definitely

Quote from: Rahjital on August 18, 2014, 08:08:42 AMThere was a minor detail that eluded me, which is that the Struggle's Ridge town is not hostile to the Black Yak Barra tribe. The two merely slipped by each other... Unfortunately, I was so confident the plan would work I did not order people to arms.

I can only imagine your expression as you were doing this while playing, and every time I imagine it, I crack up laughing. That stuff definitely belongs in the "funniest things while playing" thread :P

I thought I was so clever to think of that, and the "Oh CRAP!" moment came ;D I honestly thought I was screwed for a moment, but fortunately the turrets there held long enough to bring the snipers there. It wouldn't be the same if it weren't for Andy's group, though. I didn't even know they were there until I saw him punch Combarro and (possibly) save the colony, and his mates just stood outside waiting for the fleeing tribesmen to run by. I really hope Milon will treat him like a proper hero.

Quote from: theapolaustic1 on August 18, 2014, 08:58:12 PMAlso, don't worry about reading the rest of it. Rahj didn't die, actually, the last entry said specifically that he was giving the "diary" (story) to the next person, so you've got exactly that post in your possession when your turn starts.

Yeah, that's precisely why I did that. I found my roleplaying would be quite a bit more shallow if I didn't read Apo's (may I call you that?) notes first... and unlike in DF, there's not that much to reveal anyway.

Quote from: theapolaustic1 on August 18, 2014, 08:58:12 PMBTW, as an aside: Rahj, when you posted that pic of the priorities in your story, you mentioned below it something about "everyone does everything", the way it was phrased worried me for a second. Did it not preserve the priority list I'd had, and defaulted to the normal checklist one, or was it more of an in-character jab at how most people were sharing tasks? If the savefile doesn't preserve priorities, might be a bit annoying for new leaders to keep having to adjust things to find homeostasis.

I assumed it was the jab one, but figured I should ask just in case, so that we could come up with a solution if not.

Don't worry, it all works fine. It was the in-character jab combined with a silly remark about different playstyles, since I tend to make people specialised in their trade to train their skills instead of making them share work.

Quote from: theapolaustic1 on August 18, 2014, 08:58:12 PMAlso, absoLUTEly off-topic, but do any of the people in this collective use skype? Y'all seem like cool cats, and I'm on it a lot of the time. Even outside of this thread, kinda would be interested in getting a chat group or something set up just to shoot the shit or whatever.

I'm not online nearly enough for Skype, sorry. You can always shoot me a PM should you want.

Quote from: Lazarus on August 19, 2014, 07:39:59 AM
This sounds like a good deal of fun, I would be happy to jump in on this if possible I think I played about a years worth (in game) on vanilla with Alpha6 and would think I have a good grasp on the ins and outs now.

Welcome aboard, Lazarus! Glad to see you are interested in playing. A year with Cassandra should definitely be enough experience, if Cassie did't kill you, Randy will have a hard time doing it as well.

She did try... and tried hard for some reason they don't like the idea of you building a spaceship to leave, I had a raid of 15+ tribesmen and a mechanoid attack (of which decided to walk slow due to catapillers) several injured two near to break and a doctor who just won't quit!

Need to carry on with it really alas I'm not near my PC just this crappy laptop that won't show me the cursor!

Sorry for disappearing for a bit. As I mentioned elsewhere, writing's my thing outside of this stuff, not just when being silly for games. Actually have been productive lately, fuck yeah!

On topic:

Quote from: milon on August 20, 2014, 06:54:39 AM
Thanks, theapolaustic1.  I misread things earlier. It's definitely going to take me longer than this weekend to complete my turn (lots of IRL stuff going on). I'm about halfway through May now. I should finish sometime next week. Is that okay with everyone?  I have lots of IRL responsibilities.

Also, I read your intro post and remember you asking people to keep the 1. ;)

Should be perfectly fine, remember, your slot in the schedule originally wasn't intended to end until the 5th. I'll hesitantly put the end of your turn at the 28th, if you need to go a bit over that, don't worry whatsoever. If you can finish before then, awesome. But no pressure either way.

Regarding the 1: <3

Quote from: Rahjital on August 20, 2014, 04:04:24 PMI found my roleplaying would be quite a bit more shallow if I didn't read Apo's (may I call you that?) notes first... and unlike in DF, there's not that much to reveal anyway.

I could definitely tell you were making a point of calling back to my post, which was very satisfying to read. Made it feel like even though I wasn't playing anymore, I was still there, in a way.

And of course you can call me Apo :P It's just the dropping of the "1" with nothing else that's a peeve of mine, because it's meant to be a pronoun. Same classification of peeve that makes the phrase "La Brea Tar Pits" cause my skin to crawl, though it's the inverse.

Quote from: Rahjital on August 20, 2014, 04:04:24 PM

Quote from: theapolaustic1 on August 18, 2014, 08:58:12 PMBTW, as an aside: Rahj, when you posted that pic of the priorities in your story, you mentioned below it something about "everyone does everything", the way it was phrased worried me for a second. Did it not preserve the priority list I'd had, and defaulted to the normal checklist one, or was it more of an in-character jab at how most people were sharing tasks? If the savefile doesn't preserve priorities, might be a bit annoying for new leaders to keep having to adjust things to find homeostasis.

I assumed it was the jab one, but figured I should ask just in case, so that we could come up with a solution if not.

Don't worry, it all works fine. It was the in-character jab combined with a silly remark about different playstyles, since I tend to make people specialised in their trade to train their skills instead of making them share work.

That's good to know, I had a momentary pang of fear. :P Yeah, I've always preferred to generally go with a bit of split priorities for the opening months, until I have a few more colonists, because sometimes you'll get a person with a high skill but no passion for it, and then later on you'll recruit someone with less skill, but great passion. I try to get the opening guys a bit more varied so that I can specialize them down the line after I know what I've got to work with. Different strokes, as they say.

Quote from: Rahjital on August 20, 2014, 04:04:24 PM

Quote from: theapolaustic1 on August 18, 2014, 08:58:12 PMAlso, absoLUTEly off-topic, but do any of the people in this collective use skype? Y'all seem like cool cats, and I'm on it a lot of the time. Even outside of this thread, kinda would be interested in getting a chat group or something set up just to shoot the shit or whatever.

I'm not online nearly enough for Skype, sorry. You can always shoot me a PM should you want.

Lame, but fair. I have a dual monitor setup and just use my secondary monitor for skype + spotify 99% of the time, so I'm pretty much on it constantly, even when I'm not actually at my computer :P

@Lazarus: As I said to milon, I'm pegging his turn as ending roughly on the 28th, which would give you from the 29th to the 5th, if possible, then we can move to Ender (who I've PMed and he is around, though a bit busy, thus part of why I'm thinking of slotting you in ahead of him). Do you think that'd work well, or would you be a bit pressed for time? Ideally I'd like to let you get your turn in before you have to go, but if you're going camping or something and need to pack in the days preceding, it's not an issue to put your turn down for after you get back. It's up to you.

Thanks, Apo!  I'm halfway through June now.  Fingers crossed for Monday, but the 28th for certain!  (Sorry it's taking a long time - I don't get a lot of game time, and combat runs at 1x. ;) )  Also, I'm not a Skype user or I'd join you.  You seem like a cool guy too.

EDIT - I'm finished!!  Yay for fun Saturdays!  I've got over 140 screenshots (a LOT happened!!), and putting together the story will take me some time.  I PM'd the save link to Ender in case he wants to start before I'm done writing.

Quote from: milon on August 23, 2014, 09:00:27 AM
Thanks, Apo!  I'm halfway through June now.  Fingers crossed for Monday, but the 28th for certain!  (Sorry it's taking a long time - I don't get a lot of game time, and combat runs at 1x. ;) )  Also, I'm not a Skype user or I'd join you.  You seem like a cool guy too.

EDIT - I'm finished!!  Yay for fun Saturdays!  I've got over 140 screenshots (a LOT happened!!), and putting together the story will take me some time.  I PM'd the save link to Ender in case he wants to start before I'm done writing.

Wa-wait what

"Before I'm done writing"... Are you saying...

Succession thread has had its first leader to be KIA? *gasp*

(don't tell me tho, spoilers are bad mmk)

EDIT: Also, would you mind putting the save link in the post when you put up the storytime? Been adding them to the OP on the chance anyone's interested in seeing the colonies for themselves as it progresses (may end up backing them up in a folder on my own dropbox for legacy purposes down the line, too; it's not like they're big or I don't have space to spare).

@theapolaustic1 I can do the 29th to the 5th I don't fly out till the 6th anyway but will be driving down to a friends on the 5th but if all goes well _{(But lets face I might well die and make it a quick succession...)} I'll have it done on the weekend with the following day to post up... unless something drastic happens :)

The Journal of Giha According to Milon: Part 1

Hey diary, it's Boozer here.  Or, rather, Milon as I now remember.  I suppose I should start at the beginning since I'm now sober enough to do so.

May 1 (Recorded on May 2)
(http://s29.postimg.org/n5paybtbn/Giha_01.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/n5paybtbn/)
I woke up with a hideous headache, the kind that feels like an axe and a hammer got into a fight with your head in between them.  Yup, hangover.  I knew right away I had drunk way too much the day before.  Happens on occasion.  Luckily for me I know a great cure for hangovers: alcohol!  I crawled out of bed (well, collapsed was more like it), and went to my secret stash.  All the bottles were empty!  Not a single drop of liquid relief remained to me.  I sighed heavily.  I knew I had hit the bottle hard, but didn't realize I'd hit it THAT hard.  Even the potato vodka I'd scored from Rahj was gone.  Rahj!  Something in the back of my mind told me he was involved in this.  I'd confront him later, but my first task was to nab some potatoes my still (thanks Lawson!).

I moved toward the door of my room, and found a note taped to the inside of the door.  The note was from Rahj.  A cold shiver went down my spine.  Rahj's note explained that I was now the colony's leader.  He used a lot of politically correct terms and reasoning, but he was basically afraid of Lawson, didn't think Alice would make a very good leader for the colony, didn't know the intentions of Lu, and wouldn't trust Burns after the Lawson incident.  He'd tried asking McLovin, but had been turned down.  He wasn't giving me that option.  The note concluded that Rahj would publicly give me the Command PDA at breakfast that day, and the password for accessing it.  I thought it was all a stupid joke, and decided to punch Rahj's pointy nose the next time I saw it.

I left my room.  The sunlight struck me full in the face, stabbing through my eyes and into my skull. In agony, I slowly made my way to the potato garden.  And saw the worst sight I have ever seen: brown, wilted, dead plants everywhere.  A blight had struck, and nearly the entire crop had been destroyed.  Which meant no potatos.  Which meant an empty still.  Which meant no alcohol for a VERY long time.

I was so depressed I completely forgot to punch Rahj.  Before I realized what was happening, he had summoned the entire colony.  Rahj made a speech about new leadership bringing new life into the colony, and two things were pressed into my hands: this journal and the Command PDA.  Rahj had written the password in his last entry and had give full control of our colony to me.

Full control.  Of this colony.  To me.  So it wasn't a joke.

I looked around, dazed.  Rahj was cheering.  McLovin was scratching his neck.  Lawson was grinning like a maniac.  Alice was frowning, but then Alice always frowns.  Lu had her inscrutable blank face on, which is typical for Lu.  Burns was looking at his toes, and scuffing the dirt a bit.

"Well, crap," I thought.  "We're screwed.  Ah well, let's make the best of this."  I decided then and there that I would lead.  I would make sure we had a stable supply of crops, and once the potatoes were ready to harvest, I would pass on the journal and the Command PDA, and go back to the life I've chosen.

"Ahem."  Everyone looked at Rahjital.  "Milon, your first task is upon you.  It seems we have visitors.  How shall we greet them?"

It was our friends from Burg-at-the-Forest.  Andy and some others were visiting again.  They chatted with us for a bit, admired our base, then left.  That was when I realized they had eaten most of our remaining potatoes.  "I'm not going to like being the leader," I thought to myself.   
But then I brightened up a bit.  "Maybe it's all just a bad dream."


May 2
Obviously, it wasn't a bad dream.  I still have this journal and the Command PDA.  And I'm rather sober.  I haven't been this sober since - no.  I won't go there.  I mean, that's why I took up drinking in the first place.  Anyway, I've recorded yesterday's events.  Time to have a look at this place while I'm sober, and see what we can do about the alcohol situation.

(http://s29.postimg.org/xbxwhbdpv/Giha_02.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/xbxwhbdpv/)
Well, we've still got some food here.

(http://s29.postimg.org/vchapwjeb/Giha_03.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/vchapwjeb/)
Building plans are scattered all over the place, many of them unexplained.

(http://s29.postimg.org/k1en1jcj7/Giha_04.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/k1en1jcj7/)
Wow, this place is nasty.  And it's all desert.  We're in a desert!  We're in a desert and our crops are all dead!!  That's just great!
And what's that nasty - oh God, it's alive!!

(http://s29.postimg.org/9niem1h6b/Giha_05.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/9niem1h6b/)
Damn, Lawson.  You got beat up.  Who did the crappy patch job?

(http://s29.postimg.org/dilsom0c3/Giha_06.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/dilsom0c3/)
Oh.  Right.  Rahj.

Wait a second.  A base this size, and we've got ONE doctor, ONE cook, ONE builder, ONE miner, and three housemaids?  That doesn't make any sense.  Sigh.  I'm going to regret being leader.  I issued a couple orders to balance things out a bit, and also cancelled a number of the building plans. They were of no use to us, and only wasted our builder's (now builders') time.  The PDA beeped again to inform me that we had more guests.

This time, it was the useless Struggle's Ridge.  They left as quickly as they came, and our food supply was the lighter for it.  Our potatoes and berries were totally gone now.  That's worrying.  We still have some meat, but not enough to carry us through until the potato crop grows again.


May 3
The PDA woke me up this morning, screaming an alarm that a hostile animal had been detected nearby.  It turned out to be a really pissed off bug.  Stupid thing, waking me up to cold sobriety because of an insect.  I told Rahj to go take care of it.  Moments later, I heard his gun fire.  Twice.  And then Rahj came back to report his success at defending the colony.  That gave me an idea.  We may have crash landed in a desert, but there's still food to be had here.  I grabbed the binoculars, scanned the horizon, and made an announcement.  "Grab your guns, everyone.  It's breakfast time!"

It turns out that, cooked properly, megascarab and iguana doesn't taste too bad.  Rahj had some good ideas about how to properly season them.  Then he told me that we've already done this, before I was sober.  He quit sounding smug when I punched him in the nose.  It was a reflex, I didn't mean to do it, and I didn't really hurt him.  I wonder if he regrets making me the leader?


May 4
I am growing tired of the prisoners.  They refuse over and over again to join us.  They eat our food, they consume our medicine, they waste our warden's time.  If this doesn't change soon, I'll have to take drastic measures.


May 6
The PDA woke me again!  Stupid thing.  I tried blearily to dismiss the alarm, but it wouldn't go away.  "ERROR - Combat tactics have not been confirmed"  It took a moment for that to register with me.  Combat tactics!  We were under attack!  I assessed the situation.

(http://s29.postimg.org/p1gon87jn/Giha_07.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/p1gon87jn/)
There were tribals Yak Barra attacking.  I only saw 12 at first, but there turned out to be 15 of them.  They had 1 Chief, and a number of Warriors and Fighters.  We didn't have the manpower or the firepower or the defensive positions to hold them off.  There was no time to think - I just had to act.  "Everyone up!  Grab your guns!  We're under attack!  Use the rocks as cover, concentrate your fire, and watch your backs!  Nobody dies!  That's an order!"  I did a quick head count.  Someone was unaccounted for.

I found her in her quarters.  She tried to make an excuse about her weapon not working.  I made a promise that mine worked just fine, and offered to demonstrate it.  Lawson suddenly realized that she'd only had the safety on, and ran out to her position.  By the time I got out there, the tribals had already broken down a door at the north end, and were streaming in the compound.

"Why aren't the turrets firing?!" I shouted.

"They're turned off!  We had to do it to save power!" answered McLovin.

"WHAT?!  Turn them on!  Turn them on NOW!!" I roared.

Seconds later, autogun fire filled the air.  That helped, but those tribals are FAST.  I glanced at Lawson.  She'd taken a defensive position, but didn't seem to be firing.  I crawled over and whispered to her.  "It's kill or be killed, Lawson.  What's your choice?"  Her face twitched in anger, nostrils flared, and made a gutteral noise in her throat, something between a growl and an angry sigh.  Then, with a sharp report from her rifle, one of the Yak Bara tribals dropped dead.  "Excellent choice," I said.

The fighting was intense.  In the end, half of the tribals lay dead, their belongings scattered across the courtyard.  The rest were fleeing for their lives.  We weren't unscathed, however.  Most of us had minor injuries. I had lost an eye to an arrow.  That hurt.  It really didn't bleed that bad - missed every artery, but the eye itself was destroyed.  Lu told me that shouldn't have been possible and she says it's a miracle.  Rahj said it's a miracle that any of us are still alive.  I wonder if he's hinting at something...

Anyway, the two heroes of our colony were worse off than me.  Not dead, but not far from it.  The first, unsurprisingly, was Alice.  She was a ferocious fighter, and the tribals had focused on her out of the action.
(http://s29.postimg.org/4h79b02er/Giha_08.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/4h79b02er/)

While Lu was patching her up, Rahj was patching up our other hero - Lawson.  At first I was concerned for Lawson's safety, but as he was carrying her to her room for treatment, I heard Rahj say "I saw what you did for us."  Not only had she killed more than her share of tribals, but she had intentionally taken the hit that would have killed Alice for sure.
(http://s29.postimg.org/j6wot8u2b/Giha_09.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/j6wot8u2b/)

While we were cleaning up the mess, we discovered that one of the tribals still lived.  From the look of it, a stray rock or a bullet ricochet had got him in the back of the head and he was out cold.  He was pretty well built, and from the look of it he seemed used to hard labor.  We brought him back to the colony.  If he could be persuaded to join, he would make for a skilled ally.  But he did just try to kill us, so we dumped Herring (as he later called himself) on the floor.
(http://s29.postimg.org/9tw3p4qb7/Giha_10.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/9tw3p4qb7/)


May 7
Lawson is on her feet again.  Rahj actually did a good job putting her back together.  She's not completely recovered - that will take some time, but she'll mend just fine.  Alice is still in shock.  She lost a lot of blood, and no one knows if or when she'll regain consciousness.


May 8
Alice woke up!  She's still in rough shape, but Lu and Rahj both assure me she'll pull through.  Our prisoners still refuse to join us, but they always try to be polite about it.  After all, they are still dependant on us for food.


May 9
A Sylvester Shipping slave trader ship has appeared.  We don't have much money on hand, but we do need more manpower.  I solved the problem by purchasing Bren, a Lore Keeper, and selling the 3 prisoners.  This seems to have been an excellent choice.  He loves shooting, doesn't mind the sight of death, and is a hard worker.
(http://s29.postimg.org/pbo76km5v/Giha_11.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/pbo76km5v/)

I think he's trying to prove his worth to us so we don't sell him back too.  Everyone seems to be shook up over the selling of prisoners.  It had to be done, though.  Food is still low, and animals to hunt are scarce.  The others will get over it, and someday may even thank me.


May 10
I reviewed some colony data today.  The results were not encouraging.  Morale is at an all-time low, with a very obvious downward trend.
(http://s29.postimg.org/z3vgpymgj/Giha_12.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/z3vgpymgj/)

This could turn very ugly very quickly.  I reinstated some of the old building plans.  People need something to work on, they need a home they can be proud of, and they need tangible results for their hard work.  And besides, I want a bigger bed.  And a nicer floor.  Is that wrong?


May 11
I was thinking about the low-power situation that caused the turrets to be disabled when we were attacked.  There's a steam vent nearby, so I created another construction project.  The plan is to build a stone wall out from the base, around the vent, and back, and also to mine through the exposed mineral in the wall of the base.  This gives protected access to the geothermal vent, increases our power output (so turrets can always be functional), and increases our access to metal.  And it gives the builders & miners more constructive outlets.  It's win-win-win!

I stepped back to have a look over things at the colony, and I noticed that there's lots of other steam vents nearby.  As long as we have sufficient stone, power production shouldn't ever be a problem for us.


May 12
Apparently there's more of our wrecked ship up there.  A bunch of broken bits fell out of orbit and landed nearby.  Most of the pods contained stone blocks (like we aren't surrounded by enough rock here!), but one of them contained a survivor.  When we got to him, he was in shock, injured in the crash.  It looked like his pod had been badly damaged before it even entered the planet's atmosphere.  He was lucky to be alive.  We brought him back to base and put him in the old prison room.  As we were moving him to the bed, I noticed his ID badge.  It said 'Levin' on it.  I vaguely remembered him.  He was a chemist.  Kept mostly quiet and to himself in the hour or so the passengers had all been together before we went into the cryosleep tubes.  He looked like hell now, and his glasses were missing.
(http://s29.postimg.org/wsxelsboz/Giha_13.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/wsxelsboz/)

The only other thing of note today was the combat supplier, Ludeon Lubricant, that visited.  We picked up a couple automatic fire weapons and distributed them according to need and skill.


May 13
Janisen Industries came into comm range today.  They're a food trading vessel.  By this point, our garden has begun producing potatoes.  Not enough to be called "stable" and not enough that any could conveniently go missing.  But enough that we don't need to buy any.

I'd dealt with food traders fairly extensively before the � specific chain of events that led me to seek passage on the ship of the damned.  They were a polite bunch, but pushy.  And very picky about their regulations.  I don't blame them - with the amount of scrutiny their cargo is subjected to, I'd be stiff about rules too.  Anyway, I thanked them for their time and shut down the comm, having successfully purchased nothing.  And that's when I had a thought.  "They're a cargo ship...  with more than enough room on it for everyone here..."  But Janisen Industries was already out of range.  Damn!

I also expanded our defensive plans.  Our current metal wall is insufficient.  Everyone knows that metal walls burn easily, and is no true protection at all.  We will have stone armor for our base!  I also ordered some fortifications built within the compound to give better cover in the event of an attack.
(http://s29.postimg.org/d78xpl99v/Giha_14.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/d78xpl99v/)


May 14
I should have ordered mortars to be built instead of stone walls.  Our mortal enemy, the Bears of Death, dropped by, but they're keeping their distance.  There's 12 of them, if my binocular count is correct.  They seem to have brought a lot of food and metal with them.  And, of course, the first thing they did was build mortars.  I ordered construction of 2 mortars of our own and got Burns working on them.

Before long, we heard distant muffled explosions.  The sound of enemy mortars firing.  Half a minute later, we again heard distant muffled explosions.  The sound of enemy mortars pummeling unfortunate mountains and sand dunes.  What the heck were they aiming at?

The intercom crackled.  "This is NB Shipping to Giha Colony.  Giha Colony, are you there?  Over."

Remembering yesterday, I felt a surge of hope.  Maybe there was a way off this damn planet after all!  I picked up my mic.  "This is Giha Colony."  Another round of distant muffled explosions.

"Giha Colony, we heard you are having some trouble and we've come to offer assistance."

I was stunned.  I'd never heard of a food trader - or ANY trader - going out of their way to help anyone.  It was always about the bottom line with them.  "Yes!  We need assistance immediately!  Please help us!"

"No problem.  That's why we're here.  We'll-"  A sudden round of explosions interrupted the transmission.  The ground shook, the power flickered.  The Bears of Death seemed to be improving their aim.  That last volley landed in our courtyard, but thankfully hadn't damaged anything.

"NB Shipping, please repeat.  That last transmission got cut off." 

"Wow, there's a lot of disturbance in your atmosphere.  Is that normal for the weather there?  Hell of a planet you've picked for yourselves."

"That's no atmospheric disturbance!  That's gunfire!  We're under attack and we need your help!  Get us out of here!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa.  We came to sell you food.  We were even going to give you a good deal.  But we're not a passenger ship.  Haven't got a license for it, and we're not about to violate the Galactic Shipping Charter.  Look, did you want to buy anything or not?"

I retorted with some travel destination advice and terminated the comm link.  Useless food traders!

----

Out of Character:
I didn't want to leave everyone hanging, so here's the first month!  (I'm a perfectionist with little time and too many ideas.)  What will happen?  Does Milon live?  How does Giha Colony fare during the siege?  Tune in next time for Part 2!

Haven't gotten around to reading, but:

Quote from: Lazarus on August 26, 2014, 04:00:33 AM
@theapolaustic1 I can do the 29th to the 5th I don't fly out till the 6th anyway but will be driving down to a friends on the 5th but if all goes well _{(But lets face I might well die and make it a quick succession...)} I'll have it done on the weekend with the following day to post up... unless something drastic happens :)

Alright, you're up to bat then, I'll put Ender's turn as after yours. Read up on Mine/Rahj's/Milon's  chapters and then get the save file to begin your turn (remember that you'll need the world file from my post too, I linked to it in the OP).

Looks like Milon's still got a second post coming soon, so might not be able to start quite yet, but I'll change the schedule later today under the assumption you can start by the 29th.

And now to unchivalrously double post because I'm going to go back and read milon's post and have to yell at him for getting me killed or something.

So I'm halfway through the first month's story, and I'm enjoying it so far, but there's just one thing...

(http://i.imgur.com/LqV5uIb.png)

Miloooooooooon. Do I have to have some words with youuuuuuu?

LOL, yeah, I forgot that was on.  I swear it didn't get used at all.  It was actually late June before I even realized it was on.

EDIT - That wasn't the only thing I forgot.  I totally forgot to rename Boozer for a bit too.  ;)

Laz sent me a PM saying that he's having issues with the save. Not sure if it's because he forgot to DL the world save, or what.

Milon, could you post the dropbox/mediafire/whatever link in this thread for me to check out and confirm it's working?

Also, quick aside question for you guys since I'm guessing Ty's going to post A7 in the next week or so: Assuming A7 is compatible with A6 saves, should we transition the game over to that when it comes out, or hold onto A6 until this colony has run its course? I'm leaning towards transitioning if possible, the prosthetics and artificial organs seem like a pretty necessary addition in the current alpha from my solo play, but if you guys are opposed, that's completely alright.

Obviously if A7 is incompatible with A6 saves, we stick with it until we run it into the dirt, because if we restart with every alpha, we'll just be playing catchup for all of eternity :P

All is well with the world... since I hadn't dl'ed it lol will work on it soon!

You can also generate the world yourself if you make it with the same parameters as Apo used (http://i.imgur.com/Tt7VfyQ.png). I did it that was and it worked just fine.

Quote from: theapolaustic1 on August 30, 2014, 11:02:43 PMAlso, quick aside question for you guys since I'm guessing Ty's going to post A7 in the next week or so: Assuming A7 is compatible with A6 saves, should we transition the game over to that when it comes out, or hold onto A6 until this colony has run its course? I'm leaning towards transitioning if possible, the prosthetics and artificial organs seem like a pretty necessary addition in the current alpha from my solo play, but if you guys are opposed, that's completely alright.

There's not even anything for testers to test so far, so the earliest date for release seems to be at least two weeks away, probably still later. I'm not sure how far along the progress to A7 is, but Tynan is still refactoring the base code. While Tynan has a tendency to hide some things from the changelog, the next Alpha is still most likely quite far away.

Also, the next Alpha is pretty much guaranteed to break save compatibility. Remember that every built thing has to have its own material, walls are no longer split into stone/metal/wood but powered and unpowered instead, the base systems themselves got a rewrite... I suppose that with some heavy save editing and using the developer mode a bit, you could transplant the colonists and buildings to the new version... maybe.

I guess this also shows that a faster schedule would be useful. DF succession games have years to finish, we have only a month.

While a faster schedule might with better with the release cycle, it wouldn't necessarily work better for players.  I think the current schedule is good - just don't mix up your save files if you're going to have 2 alphas installed.  (If we really want to keep to the current alpha, one of us could rebuild the colony in the new alpha. The map can be regenerated easily, God Mode can rebuild everythin, and the colonists are text file copy/paste blocks.  Shouldn't be too hard if we're not too anal.)

On the topic of what works well in DF, I like the way they structure things.  When new dwarfs arrive, they're named for interested forum members (whether or not they'll play as Overseer), and everyone posts. The Overseer doesn't play out the whole turn at once - they play a bit and post an update, then play a little more, etc.  It makes the story much more collaborative and integrated, and gives rise to so many more in-jokes and better character development, etc.  I think we should consider adopting this approach in the future.  Rimworld is all about the story after all.

Edit - we're on chapter 3 now, and it'll soon be 4.  I'm not sure how to make the subject lines automatically correct, but we should keep an eye on that.

Quote from: milon on September 02, 2014, 07:05:04 AM
While a faster schedule might with better with the release cycle, it wouldn't necessarily work better for players.  I think the current schedule is good - just don't mix up your save files if you're going to have 2 alphas installed.  (If we really want to keep to the current alpha, one of us could rebuild the colony in the new alpha. The map can be regenerated easily, God Mode can rebuild everythin, and the colonists are text file copy/paste blocks.  Shouldn't be too hard if we're not too anal.)

On the topic of what works well in DF, I like the way they structure things.  When new dwarfs arrive, they're named for interested forum members (whether or not they'll play as Overseer), and everyone posts. The Overseer doesn't play out the whole turn at once - they play a bit and post an update, then play a little more, etc.  It makes the story much more collaborative and integrated, and gives rise to so many more in-jokes and better character development, etc.  I think we should consider adopting this approach in the future.  Rimworld is all about the story after all.

Edit - we're on chapter 3 now, and it'll soon be 4.  I'm not sure how to make the subject lines automatically correct, but we should keep an eye on that.

I agree that, despite not working great with the fast release cycle (never thought I'd describe a fast release cycle as bad), one week per player is probably best for scheduling. I mean, shit, I'm having trouble remembering to keep up to date the schedule on the godcs page lately (considering making it publicly editable, but afraid of someone coming through just to be a dickhead) as it is. :P

Also, that approach sounds cool for future playthroughs, though I think it'll have to wait until games last longer (which I presume is the goal) and turns can last longer.

To change the subject title I just have to change it by editing the OP post. I fixed it to Chapter 3 for you, didn't think to update it there, sorry.

I have finished up my go... just wondering when you'll be posting your next bit Milon! I have to tweek my story here and there but its done and sorta short so I have fill it in with screen shots :D

Will post it latest tomorrow night (4th - Thursday) since I wont have time on friday

OOC: Sorry for the delay.  Real life was insane, but I've got it finished now.  Also, I somehow left out the May 11 entry.  I've edited it into my original post for continuity, and I also included it here since no one else has read it yet:

----

May 11
I was thinking about the low-power situation that caused the turrets to be disabled when we were attacked.  There's a steam vent nearby, so I created another construction project.  The plan is to build a stone wall out from the base, around the vent, and back, and also to mine through the exposed mineral in the wall of the base.  This gives protected access to the geothermal vent, increases our power output (so turrets can always be functional), and increases our access to metal.  And it gives the builders & miners more constructive outlets.  It's win-win-win!

I stepped back to have a look over things at the colony, and I noticed that there's lots of other steam vents nearby.  As long as we have sufficient stone, power production shouldn't ever be a problem for us.

----

May 15
Today was a really good day!  First, Burns finished constructing our mortars!  Lu and Burns volunteered to be the first to use.  I was hesitant to allow Lu to work a mortar, seeing as she only has one eye, but she really had it out for the raiders and Burns assured me it shouldn't affect the mortar's accuracy.  I consented, and while they were setting up I went to inspect the potato food production status.

Things were coming along really well.  Lawson and some others were doing a great job of growing our food crops.  I ordered roses to be planted in the middle of a couple potato gardens, which should help the overall morale (people seem to really like roses, go figure).  I'm really considering handing control over to Lawson once things are a little more stable.

I was talking with Rahj about the garden, and how to improve it further.  You see, plants grow much better with the help of a sunlamp, but sunlamps are notoriously difficult to protect from the rain the plants need.  A roof would fix that, but would interfere with the growth of the plants.  So the solution was to put a roof over a sunlamp, but walls would get in the way of the gardeners and the light from the sunlamp itself.  This was when McLovin walked by.  He overheard the end of our conversation and said "so use a door instead."  He was right!  A doorframe can support a roof, and the door can easily be opened at need.  I ordered some door-sheltered sunlamps built, then wandered back to the mortars to see how things were coming.

KABOOM!!  A deafening explosion shook the ground, and Lu's mortar lurched back half a step.  Lu was smirking to herself.  The trajectory looked good.  We watched.  It was headed straight for an enemy mortar!  That's when Rahj ran up with his own good news.  "Levin decided to join us!"
(http://s29.postimg.org/w76x552yr/Giha_16.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/w76x552yr/)

The explosive shell overshot the mortar.  Burns' first shot fell short.  No damage had been inflicted to the Bears, but the shots were in the right direction.  Which is more than I can say of the Bears' mortar operators.  Lu's next shot found a target, and an hour later this was the result:
(http://s29.postimg.org/lyefzbewz/Giha_17.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/lyefzbewz/)

Lu and Burns were tiring, so I gave them a break and had Rahj and his new friend Levin take over.  The Bears were still scoring occasional minor hits to the colony, but they only hit walls or the occasional power line.  Nothing critical as of yet.  Rahj, however, was proving to be as good a mortar operator as Lu.  The shrapnel from one of his shots turned one of the Bears into a walking dead man -- at least, I assume so.  It looks like they have neither the battery nor the surgical ability to save him.
(http://s18.postimg.org/u9j52q9bp/Giha_18.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/u9j52q9bp/)

Late at night, Levin scored a hit of his own.  He nailed the Bears' mortar operator, who unfortunately shielded the mortar itself from the hit.
(http://s29.postimg.org/bls5d8ldv/Giha_19.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/bls5d8ldv/)



June 1
The mortaring continued through the night.  I didn't sleep well, but we're still in good shape. 

The raiders are looking pretty beat up.  They're running low on food, and they haven't done anything about their dead.  A number of their living won't be for much longer either.  They must be feeling pretty hopeless by now, but they're stubborn and continue the fight.  Once this is wrapped up, I'll hand control over to Lawson and go back to my still.  I can hardly wait!!
(http://s29.postimg.org/tsjmygc3n/Giha_20.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/tsjmygc3n/)(http://s29.postimg.org/6yqop7ner/Giha_21.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/6yqop7ner/)(http://s29.postimg.org/d8lyc7mtf/Giha_22.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/d8lyc7mtf/)(http://s29.postimg.org/kedpenvwj/Giha_23.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/kedpenvwj/)

This evening
Disaster struck in the form of a mortar shell.  It landed square on our crops.  Many potatoes, both harvested and unharvested, were destroyed.  I again feel the cold tendrils of despair closing upon me.

Late at night
Friends from Struggle's Ridge showed up tonight.  The last enemy mortar has been destroyed.  Who cares.


June 2
I was woken by the sound of gunfire.  Or rather, guns and fire.  Outside.  The clock says 1AM.  I rubbed my eyes and looked out.  Struggle's Ridge hates the Bears of Death, and made a sneak attack.
(http://s29.postimg.org/dqh3s2ceb/Giha_24.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/dqh3s2ceb/)

Sadly, their most skilled doctor was the first to take a hit.
(http://s29.postimg.org/i0vrnnhhf/Giha_25.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/i0vrnnhhf/)(http://s29.postimg.org/wlcuihcg3/Giha_26.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/wlcuihcg3/)

We're not going out there to help.  It's literally a war zone, and I'm pretty sure that neither side would be happy with having us in the middle.

An hour later, the battle was still going on.  It wasn't exactly raging anymore, and the Bears of Death were becoming the Bears are Dead.
(http://s29.postimg.org/4mna5d077/Giha_27.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/4mna5d077/)

It's 3am, and the Bears have been routed.  One Bear (who we later learned was named Belcourt) was having a particularly bad day.  Makes me feel not so bad now.
(http://s29.postimg.org/jxx35yxj7/Giha_28.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/jxx35yxj7/)

4AM
Apparently Struggle's Ridge has given up on the idea of medical treatment.  Rahjital called out offering help, Struggle's Ridge was still in a battle frenzy and couldn't understand.  They just yelled and brandished their weapons.  I told Rahj to stay inside.  No point in getting killed for nothing.
(http://s29.postimg.org/e235iki83/Giha_29.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/e235iki83/)

Damn, Belcourt.  I feel a laugh coming back.
(http://s29.postimg.org/oxujdx35v/Giha_30.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/oxujdx35v/)(http://s29.postimg.org/u6pkbslkz/Giha_31.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/u6pkbslkz/)

Poor Alli.  She won't last much longer.
(http://s29.postimg.org/j5z0kiipv/Giha_32.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/j5z0kiipv/)

7AM
Belcourt, you're a full-on human torch!  You've been burning for 4 hours and you're STILL on fire!  Burn baby burn!!
(http://s29.postimg.org/l45oiib7n/Giha_33.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/l45oiib7n/)

Also, you can see Bren from here.  He had a crappy gun, so I told him to take one off a dead body.  Struggle's Ridge got really agitated when he got near Alli, so he kept his distance and no one got trigger happy.  Lawson and Lu have been busy, and our crops are starting to make a recovery.  Thank God!

8AM
This is not good.  Five mechanoids just dropped in and immediately began moving towards our base.  We coutned 3 Scythers and 2 Centipedes. 
(http://s29.postimg.org/64dbunubn/Giha_34.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/64dbunubn/)

Even worse, Struggle's Ridge finally came out of their battle frenzy.  I had hoped for their help, but instead they ran away from the threat.  I issued some last-minute orders, and we all grabbed our guns and took positions.

11AM
Brace yourselves!  The mechs have broken through the north entrance!
(http://s29.postimg.org/6fus7farn/Giha_35.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/6fus7farn/)

I'm hit!  It was just my left arm, but it felt like it was nearly blown off.  I think I can still shoot using my right arm.
(http://s29.postimg.org/6jolnog8z/Giha_36.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/6jolnog8z/)

Levin, NOOO!!
(http://s29.postimg.org/w50tnj3gj/Giha_37.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/w50tnj3gj/)

McLovin, not you too!!!  Bren, get him out of there!!
(http://s29.postimg.org/kv83skyf7/Giha_38.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/kv83skyf7/)

Take that, you filthy bastards!!!
(http://s29.postimg.org/tsxf3og8z/Giha_39.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/tsxf3og8z/)

Lawson?  Lawson!!  Oh God, no, Lawson, NO!  DON'T LEAVE US!!!
EVIL FILTH!! WHY WON'T YOU BURN?!
(http://s29.postimg.org/dta66dutf/Giha_40.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/dta66dutf/)

Bren, you're okay.  Keep moving, get to a flanking position, AND DON'T YOU DARE DIE!!
(http://s29.postimg.org/8kjqm91s3/Giha_41.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/8kjqm91s3/)

It's Struggle's Ridge! They came back!!  We're saved!!!
(http://s29.postimg.org/j0zuol0sj/Giha_42.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/j0zuol0sj/)

CUURRRRSE YOOOOUUU!!!
(http://s29.postimg.org/vok7eu537/Giha_43.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/vok7eu537/)

8PM
We are lost.  The Scythers are down, but the Centipedes are still rampaging in the base.  One of them has a minigun, and the other has a damned inferno cannon.  We've lost a power plant, our north entrance is a smoldering fire, we have been abandoned by our allies.  There is no hope for us.  We are doomed.  Giha, I raise to you my empty flask and drink deeply of despair.

11PM
Only superficial damage has been done to the invaders.
(http://s29.postimg.org/sx0xo86kj/Giha_44.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/sx0xo86kj/)

June 3, 1AM
The only thing standing between us and swift death is a turret built by Burns.  Sadly, it is burning, and its time is short.
(http://s29.postimg.org/4kcla0bb7/Giha_45.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/4kcla0bb7/)

2AM
McLovin is in the hospital being cared for by Rahj.  The others are alternately resting, eating, avoiding the mechs, and taking pot-shots from around corners.  It's the best we can do.  We won't win, but we won't give them an easy victory either.  Hell, we may even take one of them with us.
(http://s29.postimg.org/kdhjqgy83/Giha_46.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/kdhjqgy83/)

The fire begins to spread dangerously near the hospital.  We can't risk moving McLovin, but he's stable for now.  Rahj and I keep a close watch on the fire while we play peek-a-boo-of-death with the mechs.  Bren took one hit too many, so I sent him to the hospital.
(http://s29.postimg.org/gu07eekw3/Giha_47.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/gu07eekw3/)

3AM
Alice got some really good shots off.  The mech knows it's in trouble.
(http://s29.postimg.org/fvf8ydi6b/Giha_48.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/fvf8ydi6b/)

Burns' Turret is still burning, but also still working.
(http://s29.postimg.org/ahl24khtv/Giha_49.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/ahl24khtv/)

4AM
Burns' Turret still operates!  It's on fire, it's nearly destroyed, and it's being fired upon by both mechs.  But it still operates!  If any of us live through this, Burns is getting a medal!
(http://s29.postimg.org/qxoxak1mr/Giha_50.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/qxoxak1mr/)

5AM
The fire continues to spread.  I begin considering emergency evacuation options for the hospital.  Burns' Turret finally succumbs to fire and bullets.
(http://s29.postimg.org/qmc2bjakj/Giha_51.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/qmc2bjakj/)

But Burns' Turret was faithful to the end.  We prioritized the inferno cannon mech, and I think we'll get it after all!
(http://s29.postimg.org/6ca5ink1v/Giha_52.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/6ca5ink1v/)

7AM
Rahj continues working on McLovin and Bren.  Bren should be out soon.  Alice and I are keeping the mechs busy.  Lu keeps everyone fed.

4PM
YEEEESSS!!  One down, and one to go!
(http://s29.postimg.org/3pz8fgi83/Giha_53.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/3pz8fgi83/)


June 4
DON'T.  MESS.  WITH.  GIHA!
(http://s29.postimg.org/5t9nn4i0z/Giha_54.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/5t9nn4i0z/)
The mechanoid threat has been terminated.  Repairs are underway.  To celebrate, I ordered the construction of mechanoid refinery.  We'll met 'em down and use their metal to rebuild Giha.  Things are looking -

...

Me and my stupid mouth.  God Damn Bears of Death!  God damn sieges!  FML!


June 5
We've got one mortar up, and we're working on the second.  The Bears set up their camp further away than last time.  I tell Lu to send them Giha's best.  Her grinned scared even me.
(http://s29.postimg.org/ruzxx62ir/Giha_55.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/ruzxx62ir/)(http://s29.postimg.org/xfcf7t1dv/Giha_56.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/xfcf7t1dv/)(http://s29.postimg.org/9zui2ghmr/Giha_57.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/9zui2ghmr/)


10PM
Guess who made another visit?  Struggle's Ridge.  Seriously guys?  We're not exactly friends right now.  Especially since you seem to be a homing beacon for the Bears' mortars!  Get out!  Get out now!!
(http://s29.postimg.org/l73cakj0j/Giha_58.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/l73cakj0j/)

June 6
The welcoming party led by Lu continues.  Alice, Rahj, and Burns also make their contributions.
(http://s29.postimg.org/w5elsr7lv/Giha_59.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/w5elsr7lv/)(http://s29.postimg.org/lz609rn7n/Giha_60.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/lz609rn7n/)(http://s29.postimg.org/a8s2sduf7/Giha_61.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/a8s2sduf7/)(http://s29.postimg.org/bqe1auslf/Giha_62.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/bqe1auslf/)

The Bear called Red seems to be the look out man, and he seems to be saying "Oh, sh*!"  He says that a lot.
(http://s29.postimg.org/4e8l5badf/Giha_63.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/4e8l5badf/)(http://s29.postimg.org/96iegr51f/Giha_64.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/96iegr51f/)

I finally had enough of Struggle's Ridge.  I loudly ordered McLovin to shell our west entrance.  They got the hint and fled in all directions.  I quietly told McLovin to stand down.
(http://s29.postimg.org/es4tkt5qb/Giha_65.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/es4tkt5qb/)

Some of them went straight towards the Bears.  Finally!
(http://s29.postimg.org/4w3ql5zyb/Giha_67.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/4w3ql5zyb/)
That didn't work out so well.  I guess it's up to us again.  As usual.

June 8, 4AM
Hey Bears!  How about a little pre-dawn wake up call?
(http://s29.postimg.org/9qxfjfy9v/Giha_67.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/9qxfjfy9v/)(http://s29.postimg.org/53vyvf0ar/Giha_68.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/53vyvf0ar/)(http://s29.postimg.org/vz60abhab/Giha_69.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/vz60abhab/)

After we shelled the heck out of them, they quit being campers and decided to try a frontal assault.  After a quick burst or two from the auto-turrets, they ran off.  Half of them dropped dead from blood loss before they got away.  They others shiver in fear at the name of Giha.

DON'T.  MESS.  WITH.  GIHA!!


June 12
Considering how previous journal entries have gone, I'll just say that repairs and garden work are quite acceptable, but not yet finished.  I am currently feeling positive.

June 14, 11PM
THIEF!!  THIEVES!!!  Struggle's Ridge, seriously?  Were you all dropped on your heads at birth?!  I've got half a mind to...  Nah, I'm not going to do anything.  Take all you want.  Help yourselves!  Revenge is a dish best served cold.
(http://s29.postimg.org/4nar8zcjn/Giha_70.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/4nar8zcjn/)


June 15, 10PM
Today was the best day of my life.  The garden is finished, the potatoes are ready for the harvest, the sunlamps are going full force, and they're protected from rain.  I've decided that Struggle's Ridge can be somebody else's problem.  I have only to decide whose problem that will be.  After that, my only problem will be finding my still again...
(http://s29.postimg.org/pzi96nwhv/Giha_71.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/pzi96nwhv/)

Have to say... the way you ended this (as I did mine last night) is perfect to the beginning of mine! :D

Hope the OOC is sorted for you now! I shall post up in a little while just making sure it seems cohesive enough to not look like a madman wrote it... >:)

Hehe, yeah, I know that feeling.  ;)

Make sure to update the subject line when you post yours!  :D

Your changes to the mess hall, and the butcher's and mason's shops make Rahjital's sense of architectural beauty weep :'( I was the only one foolish enough to try make Giha architecturally nice, wasn't I? ;D

Jokes aside, this was a great reading! Between all the raids, sieges and mechanoids, you have had a lot on your plate but you handled it well! The second part had a lot more pictures too and that made it even better than the first. Makes me wish I uploaded everything I had too.

By the way, when the centipedes were in the base, did the situation really look so grim or was that just some roleplaying flavour?

Oh, and what about Lawson? Should I start celebrating? :D

@Lazarus: Can't wait to see your turn!

The architectural changes were partly functional (a few rooms had too many doors/walls in what could have been 1 room, and the colonists felt cramped) and partly inflicted (mech/mortar induced, and never got rebuilt or got built differently).

And yeah, it looked pretty grim to me, but that was because I haven't ever had mechs in my base before.  Guess I've been lucky.  That, and the hospital was on fire with a couple guys incap inside it.  That was a little disconcerting, but Rahj did a good job handling simultaneous doctoring & firefighting, so it worked out.  (I actually deconstructed a block of hospital wall so there'd be an escape route if needed.)

You can celebrate about Lawson if you want to, but in my mind she was a hero.  She was a hard worker and she gave her life for the colony (one-shot-killed by a Scyther, like Levin).  I think the only roleplaying flavor I added to her story was about her taking a bullet for someone else.

EDIT - I'm pretty sure I read in the Events log that Giha lost a colony member during McLovin's turn, but I didn't read that in McLovin's account.  Might be a fun roleplaying bit to add in later - someone's ghost/diary/etc could play a role.  ;)

Quote from: milon on September 06, 2014, 05:37:54 PM
The architectural changes were partly functional (a few rooms had too many doors/walls in what could have been 1 room, and the colonists felt cramped) and partly inflicted (mech/mortar induced, and never got rebuilt or got built differently).

And yeah, it looked pretty grim to me, but that was because I haven't ever had mechs in my base before.  Guess I've been lucky.  That, and the hospital was on fire with a couple guys incap inside it.  That was a little disconcerting, but Rahj did a good job handling simultaneous doctoring & firefighting, so it worked out.  (I actually deconstructed a block of hospital wall so there'd be an escape route if needed.)

You can celebrate about Lawson if you want to, but in my mind she was a hero.  She was a hard worker and she gave her life for the colony (one-shot-killed by a Scyther, like Levin).  I think the only roleplaying flavor I added to her story was about her taking a bullet for someone else.

EDIT - I'm pretty sure I read in the Events log that Giha lost a colony member during McLovin's turn, but I didn't read that in McLovin's account.  Might be a fun roleplaying bit to add in later - someone's ghost/diary/etc could play a role.  ;)

I'm assuming the colonist you're referring to is the one I mentioned here:

QuoteHe was an assassin. He told us himself, while he was laid up in bed with a half-dozen injuries. We watched him line up shots, from both sides of the barrel, the fact that he was missing an eye never seemed to make a difference. He grew up fighting for every scrap, killing muggers and thugs just to hold onto what he had.

And he got killed by a gorram bug. I don't even know how. Bad luck? Maybe he was lying? I can't even begin to imagine.

A visitor from Struggle's Ridge saw it happen and pegged the bug in his first shot, dropping it. But he noticed too late. We lost a good man today. I guess. He did shoot at us before.

Unless there's someone I was forgetting.

Sorry I've been mostly away, less an issue of busy and more that my sleep schedule is shot to hell. Going to sleep at 7 AM lately, don't even have a goddamn reason for it. Trying to correct it, will fix OP post and whatnot when I can.

By my understanding, we should be on Ender next. Laz sent me his save file, but I'm waiting on a post from him. Which is a bit concerning, because I'm pretty sure he's gone until the 20th now, and we don't have that post. Not really sure what we should do in the meantime if that post doesn't show up...

Hehe, oops.  I forgot about that part Apo.  Well, there goes that!

So uh.

Just so everyone knows, I may be gone a few days.

I don't know exactly what's going on and it's kinda gross but all I'mma say is blood. Stool. Passing out and seizing in the middle of leaving a voicemail.

Might be some health concerns. Hopefully it passes and is temporary.

Darn, maybe that was too much potato vodka the other night!   :o

Anyway, I hope you're okay!  That sounds really unpleasant.  :(

* pokes Laz *

Hey guys, I would like to apologise I forgot to post my story before leaving and I won't be able to post it until Sunday next week. I have asked a friend of mine to post it for me but as I see he hasn't done it as of yet and not sure if he has remembered.

I can only say sorry and hope you bear with me!

@Laz: No need to worry, we can wait. There's nothing stopping us from continuing to play Alpha 6 even if the next version came out tommorow. If we get really bored, we could up the challenge rating to 160% and see how long it takes before everybody dies.

@Apo: Hope you are doing better now, it sounded pretty serious. We'll keep our fingers crossed for you.

Actual DF veterans making a succession game thread on rimworld!

Squee.

just commenting so I get the updates easier. Enjoying the show everyone!

June 1st Year 1

Not sure what happened... I was just given this thing called a "PDA" and a command code and that was it... he walked off saying something about vodka? What is this vodka? Of the time I have spent here I wasn't sure but looking at this thing he muttered about something clicked then it beamed to life and I could see the whole of the tribes home, I think they called it a "Settlement"? I'm not sure, but if my time has come to lead them I shall try my best...

I shall have to ask more about this "PDA" when I have a chance but I think I don't have much time with it and shall try to work it out as I go.

It seems that this "PDA" records the day? This is fancinating but I need to get the others to work everyone is asleep but we don't have time... I know their tired from the constant fighting but we have to work so much will fall on us soon I suspect.

We were building to the south but I had put a stop to that to start with. Everyone looked a bit dazed whn I told them what we should be doing but when they noticed that Milon had given me the "PDA" not only did they sigh but nodded with a gimmimice one even muttering "Stupid drunk" I think she was called "Rahjital"? I'm not sure what they'll do or say but hopefully my time with them shall be quiet but they seem weary at the other gift that Milon gave me, he called it a "Minigun" maybe this is a item of stauts? Time will see.

Everyone set off to do their work most of it I think will be repairs due to the last few attacks but my idea of building a new set to the tribe seem to help people here, sleeping close together will help us withstand new attacks if they come while we all sleep.

I had to stop the gap in the south though seems that it would be a good target to come though if they were determind.

We shall see what comes to us in time.

June 2 Year 1

This "PDA" was beeping at me this morning... saying "Trade ship in range. Designation Jennifer Rutabag" I just shook my head and rolled over, those "Tradeships" are worthless they don't help us when we need help and just want our things... They used to come to our tribe before.. though they took our females when we were away... They can go to hell.

June 4 Year 1

The building is nearly complete though... the sun has been taken from us the others call it an "Ecplise" the last time something like this happened we lost many of my old tribe to men made of metal... I just hope that it doesn't happen again here...

Someone keeps mentioning that we need more space and they don't want to live with us "Pleeds"? I think she called us that... I don't understand we need to be together if we wish to live what does she mean?

I can't get any information out of Milon he keeps to himself mostly and smells horribly.. he bearly stands up straight most days.

This "PDA" said something about low food! Low food with so many crops? I'll have to have a word with Milon it is his duty to harvest those this time and I think this "Vodka" is keeping from doing so. I'll have to see if I can find this "Vodka" and make sure it stays away from him but what is in that bottle he holds on too like his world will end?
Either way he shall work those feilds.


June 5 Year 1

I kicked Milon hard this morning he was asleep in bed happy with that damn bottle. I took it away and kicked him again he muttered and then woke up wide eyed looking for it, seeing me with it he looked panicked but as I spoke to him about the harvest he only watched the bottle I lifted it higher then he tried to placate me with open palms like a child. I think I noticed then that this was his "Vodka" and I lowered it down so he understood I wasn't going to break it.
I told him if he didn't work I would break it and find any of the other bottles and break those too if he did not go out and havest the food I even gave him help with the man called "Burns" to make it quicker it seems to work.

June 7 Year 1

This "PDA" was making noise again something about a pod hitting the ground? I didn't care honestly I was too busy trying to keep the food in order no one seemed to care but when it said "Life sign detected" I was curious and asked Lu what it mean. He looked at me in disbeilf and said that a person just landed from space, looking at him gone out must of helped as he pointed to the sky. He ment the stars! Ah I nodded and set about going to find this person from "space"

It turns out it was a she... called "Shaper" just have to see if we can keep her fed.. if not I'll have to see to it she doesnt trouble us no more...

BLAST IT... soon as we picked her up a tride showed up with this "PDA" blearing away like its the end of the world... we've killed enough of them off to show them whos boss why do they keep coming back?

14... 14 of them and they just ran in... no time we don't have time to get everyone there, those spinning things just twitched on and started to fire at them... turrets I think their called...
one of them has already ran away.. I'll say more when we've delt with them!

We did it! We killed off 12 of them and two ran away... wait... one of them is still alive? We... we could see about interograting him... see if he will turn to our side but better yet tell us why they've attacked us... we will make him talk but first he needs to recover..

June 10 Year 1

I have set Rahjital the task on finding out what they can out of our new prisoner and to try and recruit Shaper to our cause, she seems... friendly enough but we have a lot of mouths to feed and very little food.. what can I do?

In our last battle we had our turrets taken away from us, so I have set the motion forward that we build more of them, six of them at the point they came though hopefully this will stop them from trying again

I... I can't beleive it that... Milon of all people... he brought Shaper to our side with just one.. ONE chat.. I don't know how he did it... but hopefully he can do it again with the other getting him to talk he has to make him talk.


June 14 Year 1

The new defences are build up... and we need them too, the lights seem to flicker a little bit so we brought down the old building we're not using anymore... should save us some power I hope may need to look into those batteries Alice keeps talking about. But Rahjital is saying we need to hook up more our "Plants" so we have more power... I guess I should listen? They know whats best with their things. It was so much simpler hunting scarbs...

We found it... another place for a "Geo plant" as I'll call it not so far away from the last one! I think we may extend the walls that we have currently so we have more of an area to grow! Its a great idea... nothing could go wrong could it??

August 2 Year 1

It felt like we were invaded! People from Struggles Reach just marched in via our south door! Just shows me that we have yet another weakness that we have to fill in... maybe I should just use my previous idea... but the materials are no were to be found... just metal at the moment it will have to do!
Those greedy bastards our eating our food... but what can I do? There are so many of them!

On brighter news... Alice finished our Gen Plant so we now have more than enough power to keep us running for a long time to come.. just have to make the batteries she was complaining about.

August 6 Year 1

Began on the construction of our new southern wall its going well so far nothing has cropped up yet but.. on a personnel note.. I.. I grow tired of this.. all of it. But they need me at the moment.. I have to keep up...

We have a new member to our tribe. Redfeilds. Strange man.. not sure what to make of him but when he was brought under presure by Rahjital he broke.. he told us that the his old tribe was forced by raiders to attack us otherwise they would just massicare them all so they did as they were told.. this does not bode well for us they must be coming soon.. surely?

This "PDA" does not stop.. its one thing this one thing that! But.. the red light flashing made me look more than once... so many coming at us.. their staying away at the moment but... whats to stop them from crushing us all?! I can only hope htey don't attack so soon.

Thankfully they didn't come quickly it gaave us time to wall off the two points into our home from the south making them hopefully go to our turret to kill them with ease!

I say let them come!

August 7 Year 1

24... I think 24 of them came... 18 dead or so badly wounded that they are now our prisoners.. or should they be? We must send a message. We'll take in one of them and put bullets though the others those that have ran can tell the others that we are not so easy to kill!

Three of the turrets needed to be replaced after that something we must do as soon as we can

August 8 Year 1

We found one... a little way away from our camp left for dead it looks so they brought her back to the tribe. I wasn't pleased but they held me back by stepping infront of me when I tried to put an end to her misrible exsitance so I backed off.. whats wrong with me?


August 9 Year 1

We found out why our power was so low, something or someone blew up our new Gen Plant. It was built with my name on it since I found the spot someone did this.. someone must of done this I don't know who but... it.. no.. it couldn't be Alice.. I know she stepped infront of me but.. surely not?

August 14 Year 1

The new southern wall is finished, and the Gen Plant is being reconstructed but I am keeping my eye on Alice.. she isn't to be trusted but... I think she watches me too

August 19 Year 1

The... the old plant no one beleives me though it was brought down! Destroyed but.. no one belives me when I said it was Alice..

I managed to get them to finish the new building for a new source of food but that was it.. they don't want to follow me any more I can feel it what did I do wrong?

I'll leave this for the next person who they force into the fray or.. I know I'll give it to him.. yes he should do well for the next leader! Well.. I hope he does I'll lock this now and leave it in their room they should find it they wont be able to open it I'll leave the password under his pillow that way he should find it and lead us..

OOC: Sorry again for the length of time it took to get this up, Just back from holiday and will edit it a little more tomorrow after work! (Add pictures and such)

I'm glad you've got pictures to add!  :D
And that was a nice touch with the tribals attacking because of the raiders.  Wonder how that will develop...

I do apologize... been so busy with work I haven't had time to sort out those pictures...

I have sent Ender the file but I guess hes busy!  :o

Cool

Sorry for lack of activity lately. Busy like a bumblebee or whatever. For those who were worried, the medical thing wasn't anything too troublesome.

I think I might have to bow out of the rotation for a bit, I'm clearly not paying attention to this as much as I should be. I'm not sure if there's a way to make the OP editable by others (maybe Ty can do it somehow if someone PMs him? No idea), but if someone PMs me their google account thing, I can add them as an editor for the schedule sheet and hand the reigns over. Milon or Rahj would prolly be the best option for someone to take over, if either of you are up for it?

I'm busy enough with IRL stuff that I'd rather not take on more responsibilities just now.  I really hope Rahj can, though.

I'm currently back to college fairly far from home and with spotty internet connection, so I will be here mostly on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. I can still try to take it up if nobody else wants to, though.

What do you people think we should do once Alpha 7 comes out? Do we switch immediately? Do we ramp up the difficulty? Or do we simply let the colony live on Alpha 6?

phew I am now up to date, was a great read and loved the progress of the colony.. except at times the colony was teetering on the knife edge of destruction but damn if I was not hooked reading through it all  ;D When does the next alpha come out and is this playthrough going to be abandoned and a new one made or is it going to be god modded into the new alpha so the story continues?

The next alpha is already out.  We're waiting on photos from Lazarus (poke, poke!) and it's currently Ender's turn.  The community hasn't decided whether to proceed with Alpha 6, or to jump to Alpha 7 and try to remake the colony there, or to simply abandon this one.  It looks like people IRL (myself included) are quite busy right now.

I do apologise, I have been busy with work and life seems to get in the way let alone trying to log on here was a pain something about "You've been banned till 12th October" not sure why.

Will get those photos up as soon as I can.

I don't think it would be bad idea to try to play this with Alpha 6 and let it come to an "End" as it were then move it over to Alpha 7!

I agree with Lazarus.  I recognize I may be biased (since I've already had my turn), but I'd like to see it "end" before jumping to Alpha 7.

It is a shame though, since the colony is going great... (In my opinion anyway.. :P)

I agree that having a conclusion to the story would the the best. Playing it like wedid before could take way too long, though, the colony could still live for years. Should we should crank up the difficulty to 160% and go out the dwarven way?

I'm good with that.  And I hope it's not too soon to say this, but I've got an idea for how a future succession game could move along much faster.

Hey Guys! , so, i see the story hasn't progressed much.


switching to alpha 7?

Can I join? I'm free anytime, and if anything comes up I'll tell you so my turn can be rescheduled to a later date. I could also make a new colony in Alpha 8 if all of you are too busy to make one.

P.S: How do I install custom colonies? I couldn't find anywhere in the gamefiles.

This was an Alpha 6 game.  The save will certainly not be compatible with Alpha 8.  If you have RW Alpha 6, you can download the file and play, but I think it's old enough to be "dead", sadly.

Quote from: milon on January 08, 2015, 12:56:12 PM
This was an Alpha 6 game.  The save will certainly not be compatible with Alpha 8.  If you have RW Alpha 6, you can download the file and play, but I think it's old enough to be "dead", sadly.

Ok, I just joined your community colony. Btw, we need more people to play that.