Closed vs. Open Colonies

Started by BasileusMaximos, November 01, 2017, 12:37:13 PM

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TheMeInTeam

Quote from: cyberian on December 12, 2017, 04:34:50 AM
I like a castle design:

with the extensions being filled with weapons and turrets and such and having overlapping fire.
I know its way less efficient than a big wall with only one direction where attackers come from but I like it this way and it fits with Medieval Times mod I am using I got many Ballista and Catapults in the towers :)

Even without mods, that design is useful because the corner squares allow you cross-fire on sappers + door peek/shooting them.  Normal raids will also split between sides, allowing you to concentrate fire on fewer enemies while still having cover.  You can also initiate melee on the split-up raiders without return fire even on extreme difficulty for > 1 year, assuming you don't have an enemy siege (try to club snipers specifically so you can defend those too, a couple snipers working around to avoid siege raid's snipers are one of the few ways to break a siege at low tech).

It's much stronger than normal sandbag perimeter stuff and actually has a few advantages over killboxes.

Hans Lemurson

I tend to build open designs because I am terrible at planning bases in advance, and since I always outgrow my static defenses, I decided not to bother with them.  Also building thick perimeter walls uses SOOO much stone!

I also think that "one stonecutting bench is plenty!"
I also got half my colony killed in a raid, then savescummed the battle until I won.

I'm a pro at this game.
Mental break: playing RimWorld
Hans Lemurson is hiding in his room playing computer games.
Final straw was: Overdue projects.

lancar

I pretty much always build closed designs in roughly the same layout every time.
I know I should vary things up a bit, but I keep falling back into the "make things more efficient" line of thought and end up doing it again anyway.
Tried playing the Cold Bog biome once just to see what I'd do, but it turns out it just delayed the inevitable. After I'd researched the ability to build moisture pumps my base filled in the empty gaps the swamp sections had caused, and the old design just popped back into view.

magicbush

#18
I prefer open when I play. But it basically slowly becomes closed as I narrow gaps with sandbags and turrets. I don't really plan anything out either though much. I use the terrain where I can, and my colonies end up pretty different each game. Some games I did wall it off if it was to hard to defend, and others I played open till I launched the ship. I just play it by ear do to speak, and build as I go. This has caused me to lose control of a few situations where I didn't plan, but it usually works out and is less boring than doing the same design over and over.

jamaicancastle

I generally build on a kind of "walled village" design: individual buildings with roads and squares between them, but also an unbroken perimeter wall. Every time I've tried playing without the wall, some bear or whatever eats one of my colonists. So, I'm not doing that again in a hurry. But I don't like just having a huge single building with everything crammed in any old how, either.

I don't do individual houses, though. I normally build dorms with 4-6 bedrooms that all open into a central dining/rec room, so I can heat the whole building centrally. Makes it easy for pawns to socialize, too.

magicbush

Quote from: jamaicancastle on December 15, 2017, 04:06:27 AM

I don't do individual houses, though. I normally build dorms with 4-6 bedrooms that all open into a central dining/rec room, so I can heat the whole building centrally. Makes it easy for pawns to socialize, too.

Oh nice I like that idea. I usually do individual house that are all attached with doors leading outside to a sidewalk. I think my next colony I may try this approach as it would use way less heating and air units.

sadpickle

There's literally no advantage to having things open beyond cute aesthetics.

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Canute

Similar to me, not so big like yours


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NiftyAxolotl

Quote from: jamaicancastle on December 15, 2017, 04:06:27 AM
I don't do individual houses, though. I normally build dorms with 4-6 bedrooms that all open into a central dining/rec room, so I can heat the whole building centrally. Makes it easy for pawns to socialize, too.
Yep, central heating is awesome. I like to start with a tiny everything-room that becomes the kitchen, build bedrooms for mood, then enclose it all before winter. The extra enclosed space becomes the dining room and rec room.

These tribals survived the winter of their first year in a cold biome. A captured geothermal vent (bottom left, covered by a stockpile) saved a ton of wood.

...but they were killed by a 15-man power-armor equipped raid before they could harvest the spring crops.

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glob

#24
I prefer castle-like superstructure, with corners preferable in rocks. And enclosed garden for some necessary green stuff and wind turbines. A lot of doors in the mountain parts for managing the infestations - doors and smart "keep open" allow me to make crossfire zones with long hallways inside of the base.


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Foefaller

If I drop in a mountainous region or even just some good-sized hills with natural chokepoints, my inner dorf sets in and I tunnel a vast closed mountain complex.

Otherwise it's usually open. Buildings are separate with paths open to the sky and there is rarely a wall surrounding it, mainly because my haphazard playstyle of insufficient planning means I'm constantly expanding outward in almost every direction, making sandbags and most other defensive emplacements feel like they are constricting me, not protecting me.

mrm

#26
Quote from: TheMeInTeam on December 13, 2017, 10:27:39 AM
Quote from: cyberian on December 12, 2017, 04:34:50 AM
I like a castle design:

with the extensions being filled with weapons and turrets and such and having overlapping fire.
I know its way less efficient than a big wall with only one direction where attackers come from but I like it this way and it fits with Medieval Times mod I am using I got many Ballista and Catapults in the towers :)

Even without mods, that design is useful because the corner squares allow you cross-fire on sappers + door peek/shooting them.  Normal raids will also split between sides, allowing you to concentrate fire on fewer enemies while still having cover.  You can also initiate melee on the split-up raiders without return fire even on extreme difficulty for > 1 year, assuming you don't have an enemy siege (try to club snipers specifically so you can defend those too, a couple snipers working around to avoid siege raid's snipers are one of the few ways to break a siege at low tech).

It's much stronger than normal sandbag perimeter stuff and actually has a few advantages over killboxes.
I am using something similar on corners. 3 turrets can fire along the wall at the same time, and 3 turrets from the other side, its fully sapper-proof. All turrets can fire at the same time if enemy is coming from north-west (for this particular defense point). It can fit 10 colonists, unfortunately they can not fire along the wall and have limited gunfire coverage, but they are well protected and this is important. Firefoam popper for incendiary launchers, they really can save your ass. Double doors and turrets switch behind them, this is good for dealing with manhunting animals. If enemy comes from north, then i split my people into two defense points north-west and north-east so enemy splits also and can be covered by more turrets. Before i enable the turrets i wait till they come closer (they ignore disabled turrets). Having entrances at corners helps to send snipers or brawlers and attack the enemy from other side.

Any tips to make it better?



And this is how it looks from a side. I used the "plan tool" to mark the range of my turrets. Line on the left is the 45 tile distance for snipers - mine or enemy's. All rocks in that region removed, or mined, no place to hide except few trees and bushes which gives only 20-25% of cover.


Shurp

So tribals with great bows can plink your turrets to death?  Ditto for scythers.
If you give an annoying colonist a parka before banishing him to the ice sheet you'll only get a -3 penalty instead of -5.

And don't forget that the pirates chasing a refugee are often better recruits than the refugee is.

Bozobub

If you put granite blocks between those turrets, there will be MUCH less "fratricide" if/when they blow.
Thanks, belgord!

mrm

#29
Quote from: Shurp on December 31, 2017, 11:03:31 AM
So tribals with great bows can plink your turrets to death?  Ditto for scythers.
Tribals won't attack me, i have goodwill with them. Pirates with long range weapons are not a problem since i activate my turrets when they are close. For those a bit far away i send two snipers from the other side. And on top of that i have a bunch of chickens walking around my base so pirate's snipers somehow chose to target them instead.

Scythers are always a bit problematic, they attack disabled turrets, but again, two snipers for distraction, EMP mortar, and i deal with them with no serious injuries. Even if EMP hits my turrets I am still able to fight them with regular weapons.

Quote from: Bozobub on December 31, 2017, 11:26:19 AM
If you put granite blocks between those turrets, there will be MUCH less "fratricide" if/when they blow.

I had that earlier. It greatly blocks turrets gunfire coverage. Plasteel turrets are durable so they wont blow in a chain reaction. Firefoam popper helps with fires, i already dealt with inferno cannon centipedes, they have destroyed only one of my turrets. But they brought plasteel, so no problem with rebuilding those :)