Ancient structure corroborations please

[Yoshida Keiji]

Does the opening of an Ancient structure determine the spawning outcome within?

As in if I open a room earlier in game for example in tribal mode, hostiles inside will come out with basic weaponry. And if I open a room later in game from crashlanded, hostiles will come out with Charge rifles and Centipedes?

Can this happen vise-versa?
Like late game in crash-landed and hostiles within coming out with clubs?

[Edixo]

Nope, it's determined when the map is created.

[milon]

FYI, previous to A16 (haven't tested recently), it seems that mech spawns from these structures will scale just like raids. Open early = weaker/fewer, open later = tougher/more.

[Yoshida Keiji]

Okay...four months later and the right answer was Edixo's, Lost Tribe 11th day opening and I get 2 Scythes.

My only shooter was a level 3 and upgraded to level 5 at the expense of an eye shot off... even with firing wall cover and more than a dozen of wooden deadfall traps using a salvaged bolt-action rifle (shoddy 59%).

Now, how long until I get her a Bionic Eye?

[b0rsuk]

I think I last tried it in Alpha16, but there does seem to be some sort of relation. I used to open those in late game, and get barely any survivors. Then, once i get more experienced and curious, I started opening earlier.

Early on, you can get several people alive, some dressed in power armor and with bionics. And yes some of them may be hostile.

Also, I think it's best to fight Scythers with overwhelming firepower, even if it means pistols and bows. You can't outrange them with bolt action rifles, which have slightly worse damage per second. So bring more people and overwhelm them, placing most exposable guys closer, naturally in cover.

[Yoshida Keiji]

That's an interesting observation you made there. I will be taking notes on that as I continue playing. Also for wiki documentations.

We have two different instances, first when we open the room itself and the second when we open the crypto sleep caskets.

Since I only play Lost Tribe, I get more scared to find mechanoid guardians than insectoid guardians. With all the variables this game offers, this time I only had a single shooter out of 6... with of course, one who is Incapable of Violence. This time the problem was that the shooter's level was 3 and missed a lot. My shooter got hit a total of 4 times separately. One shot and sent to recover, another shot again to be doctored, third shot to hospital again and fourth shot was the eye off. While you can't outrange the Scythes, it's easy to hit them when they are returning back to the inside as they won't be seeing me aiming at them. Problem was that this was taking me several days. Then I noticed something else:

I'm not sure because its the first time I noticed the following but because destroying both Scythes was taking me days, I had to change the zones of the pets as I locked them in a room before opening the ancient structure for safety. Then they started to starve, so I changed their zones to unrestricted...and the first thing these three pets did...was to go straight inside the ancient structure....So now my new wander is: "Do pets have a "curiosity" behavior that they have to explore new areas immediately after discovery or was just a one time thing"? I lost a pet and another got wounded. It was awkward that they went straight to eat shots... from all the places they could have gone...why there in the whole ludeonicrous map (currently in 350x350)...

By the 3rd full recovery is when my patience run out and just let the best win instead of micromanaging it like before due to player exhaustion (and didn't want to delay everything else mostly at the start of a new game). Fourth round cost me an eye but finished the in and outs.

Back to topic, then there is the second threat of what's inside. I like to prepare individual rooms before I open the caskets and I currently have half my colony in the initial barrack, but now considering your input, maybe I shouldn't wait much. I'm currently pissed at the pets.

But in this game I got two consecutive drop pods, one already recruited and the other has a 95% chance which is unexpectedly high for a spacer. Both didn't join after rescue and started to leave so I had to capture them. The second one is a good shooter. My current ancient structure has only two caskets, and since I'm playing in 350x350, I may likely find another one.

I just like to play in two phases, one just to open the structure and then the second stage opening the caskets.

For me this game was pretty fast because I have 4 Constructors/Plant cutter/Haulers (first five pawns without randomizing for cheesy set-up), other games it can take me a full year to open. So this time its very early. If your observation that the occupants life status decreases over time is right, then we shall rush to free them.

I will be loading screenshots to my wiki page for documentation purposes and see the outcome in another four months...maybe?

[cultist]

Also, I think it's best to fight Scythers with overwhelming firepower, even if it means pistols and bows. You can't outrange them with bolt action rifles, which have slightly worse damage per second. So bring more people and overwhelm them, placing most exposable guys closer, naturally in cover.

Yup, close-medium range focus fire is the way to go if you don't have turrets/killboxes set up. Scythers are at their strongest at maximum range, don't let them use it to their advantage. They're strong in melee as well, but you're more likely to lose a pawn to a charge rifle shot than a cut from a scyther blade.

[Canute]

When you build a door before the wall you are making a hole you can try the hit and hide tactic.
Weapons with faster warmup then scyther weapon right and left of the door, and one pawn just step at the door, let the other 2 shoot, and he step back.
In the best case the scyther don't shoot back.

[SpaceDorf]

Yep .. this is the time and place for a killbox ..
build defenses where you want to open the danger room .. preferably for two seperate entrances ( backstabbing ftw )
built doors into your defense and for opening the danger room instead of removing the wall. ..
draw them out of the room and shoot them down with everything you got ...
take cover or retreat when you get to much fire, they wont follow you.

[b0rsuk]

Opening the caskets early is not as bad as it sounds, although you might want a door to cover your retreat. Early is certainly the most EXCITING time to open them. If there are multiple people dying from wounds, first thing you should do is PUT THEM BACK in caskets. Retrieve as many as your doctors can handle, put the rest back.

Some other tactics for opening:

- spam EMP grenades at the breach, they're infinite.
- smash&grab: ignore the guardians, get away with the loot. Open the room, toss an EMP grenade at a casket, this ejects people inside. Hopefully they start fighting. People who run inside and run away with loot / best recruits should wear shields and/or smokepop belts. Often humans who come out of caskets wear some belts. Yes, I mean grabbing loot under fire. Bad luck if they're of the "run to your base" variety instead of the usual area guardians.
- bring non-bonded animals you don't mind slaughtering to act as decoys.
- if you need to destroy mechanoids in a hurry, handgrenades are golden.
- a kevlar vest and a helmet protect against majority of fatal charge lance hits: brain, pelvis (bedridden), heart, neck, liver etc.
- tribals may kill a small number of scythers by ganging up in melee, preferably with animals for decoy.