Post your best tips

[Bobylein]

Boomalopes are a GREAT source for Chemfuel.

Have a bunker for your Boomalopes during a siege, a whole herd can go off pretty fast and badly.

Store your chemfuel seperately, best under overhead mountain because sieges and other stuff.

If you have batteries, don't place any cable near those chemfuel storages except if you like FUN.

[Dargaron]

One thing I figured out after way too many bases:

If you have a large, enclosed structure, make sure that there's a corridor running around the perimeter. Also, if you have the space, it saves a lot of travel time if you have each/most rooms separated from one another by an access corridor. I'm currently experimenting with having my bedrooms constructed as two-bedroom compartments (so they can share heat via vents) separated by a short corridor.

Also, instead of having a cooler on the outer wall of your freezer, you can have a chimney of sorts: wall off a one-square section of your freezer, unroof it, then place your coolers so that they vent into that space. This takes up, like, three-ish spaces in your freezer (more if it's really big), but means you don't have to worry about the exhaust heating your base during summer. (naturally, when/if it's cold on your map, you don't need your coolers on in the first place, so you can save power for proper heaters instead.)

[h1tmanc]

One thing I figured out after way too many bases:

If you have a large, enclosed structure, make sure that there's a corridor running around the perimeter. Also, if you have the space, it saves a lot of travel time if you have each/most rooms separated from one another by an access corridor. I'm currently experimenting with having my bedrooms constructed as two-bedroom compartments (so they can share heat via vents) separated by a short corridor.

Also, instead of having a cooler on the outer wall of your freezer, you can have a chimney of sorts: wall off a one-square section of your freezer, unroof it, then place your coolers so that they vent into that space. This takes up, like, three-ish spaces in your freezer (more if it's really big), but means you don't have to worry about the exhaust heating your base during summer. (naturally, when/if it's cold on your map, you don't need your coolers on in the first place, so you can save power for proper heaters instead.)

Corridors are a must for me for any base I make now.

[Dashthechinchilla]

Batteries don't matter for zzzt anymore.

Enemy turrets need power too, and when they power down you can claim them even if the power will come back later. Like say when the sun rises.

They added eject shell to mortars, in case you don't like the current choice. It does not reset the ready timer.

Boars are grazing animals for your caravan animal army needs. They won't eat your caravan food during growing season.

[Kirby23590]

If you got a alphabeavers event. It's actually a good thing in my IHO.

To hunt the alphabeavers easily, try using frag grenades or any explosive and controlling the hunter
manually by drafting them.

Just wait for one of them to eat a tree and manually target the tree what the alphabeaver is eating.
You can also target multiple beavers if you're lucky or when they are asleep.

This is how i have made that beaverskin duster for my favorite colonist and have meat for the wargs coming from two beaver events.

This also works for other wild animals grazing grass or plants.

[h1tmanc]

Here's one, to counter the zzttt event, make some extra batteries, fill em up then disconnect them from your main power grid with a power switch, then when zzttt happens, or any emergency that messes up your power reserve, switch the emergency batteries on.

[Euzio]

Once you reach the mid-game, get Mortars up asap to fight against siege events. Aim the mortars directly at the raider's own mortar. I have 2 motars set up and they've so far managed to destroy the mortar and kill off the guy building it. Which sparks the raiders to attack directly and become cannon fodder for my turrets.

In early game, to minimise zzzzt events, extend your roof out by 1 or 2 tiles from your wall, build your batteries there (so that it remains sheltered) and have it connected directly to your solar panels or wind turbines. Don't build any conduits. Just have any power consuming machines connect directly to the battery if you can (the connect range can be pretty good).

Enemy corpses can make pretty good food stockpiles for your animals (especially the carnivores).... that and dumping corpses just outside your base (be sure to keep them out of line of sight for your pawns if possible) can actually help prevent wild animals from hunting your pawns....

Installing deadfall traps at your freezer exhaust can help mitigate a little of its defensive weak point.

[Dashthechinchilla]

Emp mortars will trigger the mortars in the enemy seige base. The downside is the massive damage to the base from the triggered shells, and you don't get the leftover shells.

Incendiary shells ignore personal shields. Probably because fire is not a projectile.

[SpaceDorf]

Ascetic Pawns are awesome in Caravans.

No need for prepared food, just load up on raw veggies.

[Pipotin]

If you have many animals, you'll need a safe zone for some of them :
- babies
- untrained adults, so your handler won't have to walk too far to train them.
- Some pregnant females if they tend to starve.
- During a raid, most animals who won't fight should be sent here too.

This zone should be filled with hay and human corpses or meat. Almost all animals will eat that, and it's cheap food. If you have many predators, a specific cold room for human corpses is often useful.
Drug storage near this zone must be avoided. Puppies tend to sometime wander a few tiles away from their zone and eat your drugs.

Here is my own safe animal zone, built around the core of my colony :

[Sbilko]

An important thing you should prioritize putting in your first room as soon as possible is the research bench. You want to research automated turrets, so you must research microelectronics first.

A18 made turrets really slow to get- you now have to research 5 (Smithing, Machining, Gunsmithing, Blowback Operation and MicroElectronics) pre-req researches before you can get to turrets!!

Oh damn, that's true. I've played B18, but the only thing I did was start a colony with myself searching for a wife, playing on paceful without needing any turrets.

[Dargaron]

Emp mortars will trigger the mortars in the enemy seige base. The downside is the massive damage to the base from the triggered shells, and you don't get the leftover shells.

Incendiary shells ignore personal shields. Probably because fire is not a projectile.

Not sure if bug, but I found that if you shoot at the besiegers before they actually build the mortar, they'll fallback  to "storm the colony" mode. I used that for my solo fortress, so that I can shoot at them, then run away behind some prepared defenses. I rationalize it as using harassing tactics to make them realize they need to deal with me while I'm in the open.

Of course, it could also be because they realize they outnumber me seven-to-one...

[h1tmanc]

Emp mortars will trigger the mortars in the enemy seige base. The downside is the massive damage to the base from the triggered shells, and you don't get the leftover shells.

Incendiary shells ignore personal shields. Probably because fire is not a projectile.

Not sure if bug, but I found that if you shoot at the besiegers before they actually build the mortar, they'll fallback  to "storm the colony" mode. I used that for my solo fortress, so that I can shoot at them, then run away behind some prepared defenses. I rationalize it as using harassing tactics to make them realize they need to deal with me while I'm in the open.

Of course, it could also be because they realize they outnumber me seven-to-one...

I once got a siege event, my sharp shooter that I always had equipped with a sniper by default was nearby when it happened, drafted him and he put a couple of bullets in the raiders that was constructing the mortars and they commenced assault, so pretty sure they assault after taking a certain amount of damage.

[Joel_Harding]

Tip: During a siege, let the raiders build a mortar, and then defeat them. After they are gone, claim and uninstall the mortar. You can take it and the shells back to your base for your own use, even without having the proper research.

[Shurp]

I'm somewhat baffled by siege behavior.  It seems like all that is necessary is to interrupt the pawn who is building the mortars to provoke the squad to abandon and attack.  A single shell which injures one pawn is sometimes enough to do the job. 

Total damage can also provoke an attack, but I've mutilated half the squad at times and they keep on building.  It's definitely keyed to something specific.