Caravans

[BeastNips]

Can some give me a breakdown of what caravans are for, exactly? I can find guides on how they work and how to use them, but I can't seem to work out their purpose?

• Is it just to go to a new area if you don't like the old one or have depleted it of resources?
• Is it to start another colony where I can flick between the two? What would be the purpose of this?
• I read somewhere that I can start a mining colony to get more metal - would I need to micro-manage this or would it work autonomously providing me with metal?
• I get the message near the beginning about the AI ship; is this just an alternate way to flee the planet?

I haven't played much since the release of the round world and caravans so I'm not sure about their potential.

Thanks guys!

[MajorMonotone]

It's all of the reasons you stated plus more.

The point is to be able to expand your faction further so that you no longer have to stay within your respected tile, you can now move out and settle somewhere else or just set up a second colony. Hell you can even raid or trade with other factions for loot/profit.

Creating another colony will play just like the normal game does except you can switch between the colonies by double clicking on the colonists stationed there and they both run simultaneously, so if you get raided at the same time (I'm not sure if it's possible) then you're gonna have a problem on your hand.

You'll have to manage your other colonies as you would your main one, if you wanted to create a colony with the sole purpose of food production you'll have to create the zones and assign the work and make sure everything is set up just like normal.

And yes the ship AI is another way of the planet but it'll spawn far away and to get there you'll need to travel for a long while.

Hope my answer helps a bit.

[b0rsuk]

A good use of caravans is for trade. You can send someone to trade at a friendly outpost, and don't have to rely on chance or pay them to arrive. Faction bases also have very good stock.

Message from the AI ship - it's currently the only way to take ALL your *animals* off planet.

You can use transport pods to quickly reinforce one of your bases, or jump through hard terrain (especially in winter).

[marginoferror]

A good use of caravans is for trade. You can send someone to trade at a friendly outpost, and don't have to rely on chance or pay them to arrive. Faction bases also have very good stock.

Also critical, faction bases usually buy (almost!) anything, unlike traders who are often very choosy. If you really need to move goods in a hurry, caravans are a great way. Just make sure you can keep your caravaneers fed and safe.

[Jeimss]

Yes it is possible to be raided in both colony at the same time.

[Jimyoda]

Yes it is possible to be raided in both colony at the same time.

Do you know if that applies to all AI storytellers? I'm sure it applies to Randy at least - I recall Ty saying Randy allows multiple simultaneous events.

[Ruisuki]

Anyone know if inventory changes between factions if you are the one visiting them? Since if you take the initiative the faction holds more items for sale/wealth, im assuming tribals are worse traders even still. Unfortunately in my world there are only 2 tribals and 1 outlander faction, all vastly separated. So I have to choose my caravans destination wisely.

I might have to look into mod factions for more trading/interaction as I find it lacking atm. Just as long as they are human.