Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[SpaceEatingTrex]

One interesting element of RimWorld is instead of a traditional difficulty system, the game uses different storytellers to affect the level gameplay challenge. Since this isn't just a linear increase in difficultly, there are a lot more possibilities for different settings than just easy->medium->hard.

Right now there are 3 different Storytellers (quotes from the Kickstarter):

• Cassandra Classic aims to create a rising curve of tension over the course of the game. Early on, the most dangerous thing she'll do is send a psychotic squirrel after you. Later on, bands of scavengers will arrive. In the late game, look forward to combined-arms attacks from mercenaries mixed with lightning storms and crop blights. If you want a traditional tension and difficulty curve, go with Cassandra.
• Phoebe Friendly is for the player who just wants to build and watch a colony grow. She'll occasionally create minor disasters, but nothing that would threaten the existence of the colony. If you want a more relaxing game about growth and success, choose Phoebe.
• Randy Random follows no rules. He may give you some amazing stroke of luck, like a trader selling an advanced weapon for a low price or a group of helpful immigrants, followed by a near-unbeatable pirate attack combined with an electrical fire. If you think losing is fun, you might want to try Randy.

What other kind of storytellers do you want to see?

One of the common ideas on the forums is a challenging storyteller, the opposite of Phoebe Friendly ("Tynan Tyrannical?"). I think this would be a good addition for experienced players. A challenge with implementing this is that being too difficult could make it impossible to survive the first day, but not being difficult enough would defeat the purpose. I believe a good way to address this would be giving the play consistent challenges of increasing difficulty rather than game-ending events. In other words, the difficulty curve starting higher than Cassandra Classic and increasing a bit more sharply, but still being a curve instead of a wall.

Another storyteller could be non-raider focused ("Diane Disaster?"), providing challenge to players primarily through the environment and events. This storyteller becomes more viable as more animals and plants and other environmental events are added. Rather than being directly more or less challenging than the other storytellers, this is focused on providing a unique experience like Randy Random.

Finally, as more potential enemies are added we could include certain storytellers that focused on a specific type or types of enemies. The feasibility of that depends a lot on the specifics of the enemies though, so I don't think we could get more in-depth with this idea until some time in the future.

Those are just a few ideas though, I'm sure there are many more. What ideas do you think would make a good storyteller?

[GC13]

Bob the Builder wants to see you make a big base. Now, once you have one, he'll put it to the test, but he just loves to see construction.

So maybe we'll need a new name, but he and Phoebe Friendly would be my two favorite storytellers.

[Happerry]

I'd like to see Cindy Cyclical, who rotates between periods of high and low stress, giving you some easiness after a big disaster, but some big disasters after you've had it easy for a while.

[miah999]

I wouldn't mind an isometric storyteller (lets call him Igor Equal) he would only respond with threats equal to your current status. For example in the early days you have three survivors and one gun, so the raider would have three guys, two of whom are unarmed.

The only question here is determining how much firepower a turret is worth, but that's where someone's suggestion of vehicles for raiders might help, but that's another conversation all together.

[AspenShadow]

I'd very much like to see a storyteller with no raiders whatsoever, no off-world contact, you have quite unfortunately found yourselves on the furthest reaches of the Outer Rim and it's only your wits against the harsh weather, strange blights and odd happenings on this hostile new world. This would be best introduced when we have some predators in game, would become even better with the much later addition of Biomes.

Note: We need more storyteller incidents/threats native to the planet as opposed to people visiting seeing as the whole feel of Rimworld is about being far off from civilization and aid, if raiders and traders are coming frequently (ofc they should still come every so often) then I won't feel very isolated. Atm the tester builds make me feel like my rimworld is next to some sort of hyperspace highway.

[British]

So only 3 colonists from start to end ?

That may or may not be a challenge, depending on the events/modules that will be added...

[AspenShadow]

So only 3 colonists from start to end ?

I was thinking a planet-side faction (so yes, module-required) would be the gain for new colonists. And there might be travellers who've drifted into this part of space and crash-landed from time to time, but the idea is no military or serious space factions for an isolationist playthrough based mainly on surviving the world around you, e.g. weather, tribes, predators, disease. Always pictured it more for a jungle-based rimworld however so the much-later addition of Biomes would add to the fun.

For now though I just want a story-teller that gives challenge to the player without swarms of raiders. That's purely a military challenge.

[Kelfka]

So only 3 colonists from start to end ?

Reality Sophie:
It's a reality show! The people are locked inside the base and you must manage them and keep them sane and alive a long as possible.
Love triangle, accidents, murder, food and power management.

Towery Tom:
Tower defence mode. Pre-determined waves of animals and raiders. Survive as long as you can. 

[nnescio]

Urist Unleashed
(Tagline: Perdere ludus est!)

Turns the FUN factor up to eleven. Notably:

- A deeper, if arbitrary relationship system.

- Colonists suffer a huge penalty to happiness if bad things happen to their friends.

- Mental breaks occur more easily.

- In addition to the usual mental breaks. colonists on the verge of mental breaks may randomly throw a tantrum. You temporarily lose control over a tantruming colonist as they break stuff, set fires, and get into fistfights with other colonists. Tantruming colonists recover if their mood improves.

- Colonists may suffer from strange moods other mental illnesses such as depression if their fear value is high enough, regardless of their actual loyalty.

- Nobles may make demands (e.g. bigger bedrooms). If their demands are not met within a given timeframe, they suffer a huge penalty to happiness and may pick another colonist to "punish" (i.e. arrest). The chosen colonist is randomly picked from colonists who have the relevant work job enabled. If no colonist have the job enabled, then any of the colonists can be picked, except for other nobles.

- Travelers have a low chance of having a hidden 'traitor/spy' trait. When recruited, traitors act as normal colonists, but they have a random chance of sabotaging power or causing harm to sleeping colonists. Traitors will never initiate such actions when directly selected.

- Traitors will betray the colony and join raiders if it's more advantageous to do so (there are more raiders than colonists in a given radius around them), taking their weapons with them.

- Dropped items are no longer automatically forbidden.

- Chances for Hidden FUN Stuff at the undiscovered, underground edges of the map.

(Disclaimer: The above is not meant to be taken entirely seriously.)

[Kharn]

Warhammer 40k Death Worlds have given me some ideas.

Not sure if this is going to be implimented but different Tiles sets for Winter, Jungle, Desert, Volcanic, Eternal Night, Alien crystal.

You can keep the ecosystems simple but each would bring its own flair.

Winter world - Colonist freeze outside faster, (can research winter gear to help but not negate).  Food is scarce,  animals few.  Blizzards prevent going outside.  Small grow cycle.  Longer nights.

Desert world - Basically same as winter world but opposite with heat and day length.  But far less food available.

Jungle world - Colonist can be poisoned by animals, (can research local medicine).  Food is abundant but all will try to kill your colonist.  Weather strikes more violently.  Higher risk of large animal spawns.

Volcanic world - Barren, lava flows, heat, dragons you get the picture  

Eternal night - can't use solar power.

Alien Crystal World - anything and everything is possible!

[Darthaidan]

I have an Idea for a You story teller. A mode were you play the storyteller and thus kind of a DM or God like thing. This could be a multiplayer mode with some one the story teller and one the colonists, single player for a free-roaming creative mode, or a single player mod with AI colonists.

[todofwar]

Definitely like the idea of no raiders in a story. I was thinking perhaps raiders could be a sort of final boss, where you have plenty of time to set up a base and then a huge raid happens. Perhaps it can be timed with you finishing your ship, so in the end you might have to flee.

[todofwar]

I have an Idea for a You story teller. A mode were you play the storyteller and thus kind of a DM or God like thing. This could be a multiplayer mode with some one the story teller and one the colonists, single player for a free-roaming creative mode, or a single player mod with AI colonists.

This would definitely be fun, in a sadistic sort of way

[Darthaidan]

I have an Idea for a You story teller. A mode were you play the storyteller and thus kind of a DM or God like thing. This could be a multiplayer mode with some one the story teller and one the colonists, single player for a free-roaming creative mode, or a single player mod with AI colonists.

This would definitely be fun, in a sadistic sort of way

Yes I aways enjoy having the ability to do something of the sort, I actually only got Dungeon Land because of the DM mode that let you kill other players. http://www.dungeonlandgame.com