Rhadamant's New Official B18 Sea-Ice Challenge

[Dargaron]

I am confused by the doors along the outer wall of your Hallway of Death: Are those just so that you can re-arm the traps? Because I usually (in my noobish colonies that enjoy the luxury of being in a biome with actual soil) just send a colonist to the outside entrance to a Hallway of Death and reset the traps starting with the innermost first and working out. Am I missing something?

On an unrelated note, where'd you get that milk on the floor? Did you actually sustain tamed muffalos on an Ice Sheet? Because if so, Holy Moly! Kudos.

[mebe]

Ahh yes, I had several periods of owning animals (warm parkas wear out!) - both Muffalo and Alpaca at various times. The Muffalo were OK because they could withstand the cold of the enclosed inner area (very often below -50c) but the Alpacas were a pain as they needed their own properly heated room.

The doors allow access to 3 traps each (left, in front and right) which means multiple colonists can crack on with resetting the traps without danger.

[Naia]

It's not going well for Cross...

First attempt : I took a chance and went for electric smelting first. Did get a good number of slag from supply drops. But they we're all far from base and had terrible luck whit clothes.
Eventually had to try and get some of it back, but it was too far and poor Cross froze to death.

Second attempt : Went for comms console this time, but of course no traders showed up ( actually did get 2 combat suppliers and 1 slave trader, but none of those was helpful )
Not a single supply drop either.
Food ran out sometimes during winter. Cross survived another week by eating raw polar bear, when that was gone, all that was left was human corpses. I stopped that game after his first bite, unlikely to recover from the massive mood debuff.

Third attempt just ended. Early bulk goods trader, and a steel meteorite. Enough for 2 hydroponics and the heat / power. Everything was going quite good, until a scyther showed up and shot a leg off Cross.

Perhaps attempt 4 will go better.

[Naia]

Attempt number... well I lost count, but probably 20 or somewhere thereabout.

Started out building the small usual starting hut,  a research bench and comms console. Day 2 was used on getting the meals inside, so they would not get eaten and hauling the few remaining items to stockpiles.
Also build a roof around the base to keep items from decaying.

Cross managed to kill a snow rabbit that came close to the base and the polar bear, when it tried to attack him.
After a few more days, a Thrumbo walked onto the map. Although risky, since all Cross had was some flimsy wooded walls and door, he decided to take the chance and attack it.
A long battle followed. Cross would pop out and fire a few shots at the beast, then quickly dodge inside out of reach.
During this battle, some raiders showed up. Things was not looking good. But some unknown celestial god, must have watched over Cross, not only did he manage to slay the mighty beast, the two tribal raiders also lay lifeless in the snow.

Cross wanted to butcher the 3 dead animals. Only problem was, not enough wood for a butchers table. Perhaps if he dismantled his bed ? A decision was made, he would have to sleep on the ground for the next days.
After butchering, the meat got stored outside in the snow to keep fresh, and after disassembling the butchers table, a tailoring bench was constructed. Whit the hides, two hats was made of polar bear skin, and a jacket from Thrombo hide.
None of it was of good quality, but perhaps it could be traded for some much needed building materials later.

How things look after about 2 weeks




The next weeks was quite uneventful. Only for an hour or two in the evenings would Cross spend a little time outside, enjoying tossing horseshoes. The rest of the time he was inside researching.

More raiders came by, mostly they would try to steal the medicine or destroy the battery. Cross was able to defend himself and the base ( although one raider nearly made it off the map whit the glitter world medicine, and Cross had to chase him down )


Most of the survival meals was gone, when finally the comms console came alive. The long awaited beeping from a orbital trader broke the static. Nearly 700 steel and a little wood was purchased.

Over the next days, Cross expanded the base just enough to fit in 2 hydroponics, two new heaters ( 3 total ) one extra battery, a growing lamp and two new windmills to power it all ( 3 total )
He also made another door in front of the existing one, as an airlock to keep the heat inside, and a stove for cooking.

When all the construction was completed, the winter fully entombed him. The best piece of clothing he got, was a alpaca duster and a cotton toque ripped from the body of a dying raider.
While this was warmer then before, down to about -50 degree Celsius, the temperature during the long winter, was mostly below -100 degrees. Far too cold and dangerous to go anywhere far from the base.
The only small trip he could do was around Christmas, when some supply pods crashed  nearby and scattered 150 bear meat.

A call came trough on the radio, a desperate refugee named Winnie called for help ! Cross offered to help and gave directions to find the base. But Winnie was old and not in good health, she could barely walk trough the masses of snow. The pirates chasing her, showed up shortly after and quickly brought her down.
Now her corpse is laying near the map edge, perhaps it will be possible to recover her body during summer and give a proper burial.


Not may raiders came during the winter, but of those who did,  the cold made sure not many made it close enough to the base.
Another Thrumbo came along, perhaps it was looking for it's mate ? But that night the temperature dropped below 120 degree Celsius, and in the morning it lay frozen dead outside.



Finally spring have arrived !




The temperature have slowly started to raise during daytime and another trader have just left orbit.
So today was a good day. While Cross did not have much to trade, he did get a few pieces of wood and made a stool and table. For the first time in nearly a year, he could sit down and eat his meal !

But trouble have also arrived. The first mechanoid have just attacked. While it did go well this time, I'm hoping a exotic goods trader will show up so the thrumbo horn and most of the glitter world medicine can be traded and drop colony wealth down.

Having no armour, not enough steel for defences and not quite ready to sustain another colonist yet, it's still very close to the edge and disaster can strike any moment.
There is some slag and weapons to smelt down, but lacking decent clothes to go get it. Doing well on food though.

[Vlad0mi3r]

Keep going and just a tip from me. When something happens a raid animals show up whatever. Pause and think of at least 2 ways you can deal with it. Also always check your comms console after a solar flare.

Don't know how many times I have gone why the hell did I do that after cross is bleeding out in the snow.

[mebe]

I love it when it is written as Naia has, it brings home the utter isolation and helplessness of the situation.

I've played a many scenarios but ultra cold sea ice feels the purest one. I think, however, the latest Beta version has spoilt things a bit - food is just too easy with manhunter packs providing all you need. On the A16 version I fought tooth and nail endlessly against starvation, we resorted to digging up graves, micro managing meal times to get the extra boost from the last few percent of the food bar, allowing wanderers to join for their 3 meals, using them to butcher a few corpses before they went mad and died wandering sadly in the snow. My memory may be wrong but on the original version I dont think I saw a single animal of any sort and it was better that way.

[Naia]

Spring and summer went by very fast. On the warmest days, the temperature would go as high as only -50 degrees Celsius. Warm enough to explorer all parts of the map.
Most days was spent doing day long expeditions to gather scrap metal.

It was also on one of the warmest days, Cross ventured all the way West, to the edge of the map, and located Winnies mutilated corpse. Giving her a hasty burial and a few quick words, was all he could do, but already on the way back, he started to feel better, knowing she was now laid properly to rest.

The most dramatic event of the summer, was a pack of man hunting Snow hares. They roamed around outside the base for a few days, eating some of the food and kept Cross stuck inside.
When they after a few days started to wander off, he quickly popped outside and managed to kill of a few.

Summer eventually became fall. The small amount of steel that had been reserved, was used to construct an electric smelting oven. For days Cross would stand in front of the furnace, breaking down weapons and metal slag.
The last days of fall, was spent on expanding the base walls whit another layer. And conducting trades with an exotic goods trader. While they had nothing for Cross to buy, they offered a good amount of silver coins for the two Thrumbo horns and one blade from a Scyther.

Apart from expanding the base and building the smelter. There was enough steel leftover for a defensive gun turret and a small "cannon mound" was constructed in front of the entrance.
This turned out to be needed soon. A 6 man strong pirate raiding band showed up. The first raiders in more than six months.
The combined fire from Cross and the turret, landed some lucky shots and soon sent the remaining ones running.

It is now the start of the second winter. The clothes situation have not improved, so for the next many months it will only be indoor activities.





Progress is going slow, but steady. Another 6 man pirate raid showed up in the middle of winter. But whit temperature well below 100, Cross didn't bother to get out of bed. They died before even getting halfway to the base.

The most notable event in spring, was two exotic goods traders showing up just a few days apart.
Cross managed to disable some Sythers and sell their blades. He is amassing quite some silver now. But it's been more than a year since he last saw a bulks good trader. Hopefully one will show up soon !

He decided to start growing first a batch of herbal medicine, then some cotton. Sometime during the first winter, he learned how to make carpets, so now he have started laying some down when possible. It's just a small green patch for now, but for two years he have been staring at nothing but white snow, so already now it's improving his mood.

Summer just arrived on the calendar, and so did a pack of man hunting Wargs.
Luckily Cross had just replaced the old wooded doors, whit some brand new, and much stronger, plasteel auto doors a few days prior Tonight he will be dining on Warg steaks.

[Vlad0mi3r]

Naia,

Just a couple of things from looking at your base (Great job by the way getting as far as you have). You currently have the turret uninstalled. I am guessing this is to save energy. If you install an extra piece of conduit that is not connected to any other piece of conduit you can god mode the turret. This means you can toggle the turret to "Reconnect" what the turret will do is connect to the dead conduit and then reconnect to the live conduit on command. I usually build the spare piece of conduit under the sandbags for protection.

It seams you only have one battery having a second one but not directly connected (sitting next to) the other battery will save you freezing your but when that single battery has a component breakdown.

Carpet I was so happy when I started getting my carpet down in my game. Mood boost was super awesome was great to see cross not relying on his natural happiness to keep his mood up. Beware carpet burns and burns fast, real fast you will get sieges that come and the pirates will be equipped to deal with the cold as well. My base was completely destroyed by one incendiary mortar shell. 3 colonists and my pet alpaca killed in about 5 minutes of game time. I would suggest buying some stone blocks and laying floors with them and using sculptures to boost mood.

As a final note walls and dead fall traps are better for dealing with mechanoids than turrets. You will probably need your turrets for things like poison and psychic ships.

Good luck and keep going 

[Naia]

Thanks for the tips Vlad0mi3r. That is some good advice !


The reason I'm keeping the turret uninstalled, is so that raider and mechanoids do not "lock on" to that as target when they enter the map, and engage it from long range.

I do actually have a few pieces of unconnected conduit, but they are quite difficult to see on the screen shot. One is next to the turret, which the trade beacon also connect too. The other one is at the growing lamp, where the stove and oven are connected. The power I'm approaching a bit differently. I got two separate lines, one for the growing lamp and one for everything else. But they are close enough together, that if a bzzzt event or broken battery happens, I can just reconnect things.


Thanks for reminding me about traps though. I'm really not using them very often when playing normally. Perhaps I should.


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During summer the base got expanded whit another layer of wall on the North and West side. Eventually the plan is to complete this wall South and East also. Cross would have preferred to build in stone, but whit the lack of traders, he had to use plasteel instead.
At least that, seem to arrive in  a steady supply.

The centre of the base also saw some major redesigning. Another hydroponics basin, 2 more heaters and a wind turbine got added. The old research bench have been torn down. There is nothing left to research on that, more modern equipment will be needed from now on.

The summer have been quiet. 3 Polar bears wandered close to the base, and Cross had to defend himself, when they attacked. At least the meat supply is looking good before winter comes.

He also had to defend against another mechanoid attack. This time two of them came at once.

He is getting very worried that something bad could happen, and he could get ill or wounded. He is also starting to feel very lonely and isolated. Some company would be nice.
While he heard many calls for help during the first winter, where it was so cold outside, the radio have been silent for many months now.

It's halfway trough fall, Cross is busy making a warg fur parka, when suddenly he hears it.. a trader is approaching orbit...

[Naia]

As it turned out, the trader did not have many useful items to offer. Cross had hoped for some warm clothes, or perhaps some wool so he could make better clothing. Heck, even a living Muffalo cow or Alpaca would have been fine.  But all they had was some tiny dogs and a large stack of human meat... He did purchase some steel and wood though.

It's been almost a full year now, it's hard to believe it's already 5503. There have been no human contact of any kind. But many times have the base been attacked by Mechanoids. The most scary one, was a Scyther that crashed right trough the roof and landed inside the base !
Cross reacted quickly and moved a gun turret inside, while he himself used the doorway for cover. The turret powered on, just as the drop pod opened up, and a fierce shootout at point blank range followed.
Thankfully things went well and the only casualty, was a wooded equipment rack that blocked a shot aimed at Cross.
After that experience, he decided to build another defensive gun turret. This one he made of plasteel.

He have been salvaging all the metal part from the Mechanoids, and this in turn allowed him to finish off the outer layer around the base. While this wall is very strong, it is also quite expensive. Let's hope it will not attract too much attention.
Completing the outer wall not only increases security, it have also made the inside temperature much more stable, and the crops are growing fantastic.


The interior of the base have once again been reconstructed. Carpet now covers the entire room, and Cross just loves to walk around barefooted all day. A new and modern research bench and a multi analyser to replace to old wooded one have been made.
And since he have been getting better at construction, he decided to build a new and better bed and a cotton armchair to sit in while researching.
At least for the moment he have forgotten just how lonely he is.

The last thing he have been working on, is a wall surrounding the wind turbines. He hopes this will make them less exposed to attacks.

[Dargaron]

That fully-prepared base layout with the planning tool makes me warm and fuzzy inside. I try to do that whenever I start a new colony, but always screw something up and it isn't aesthetically-pleasing enough (or I get killed by a rampaging squirrel).

[Naia]

Another Christmas was rapidly approaching, the fourth one since Cross crash landed here. All he really wanted for Christmas, was some company. And Santa must have heard his plea.
An unfamiliar trade signal came trough on the radio.

When Cross was a child, his old grandmother would tell stories of how the slavers would come and grab him, if he did not clean his room or eat up all the vegetables. But growing older, he figured it was just crazy talk from the old woman to make him behave properly. He had surely never seen any.
But now, here they were. A real slave trader offering captured  humans for sale. This truly was the outer rim of known space, far from any government or laws.

Mustering as much silver as he could afford, he made a deal whit the captain to free a young woman from captivity. This year there would be two sets of presents under the makeshift Christmas tree.

Welcome Saylin !



While she is terrible whit guns, Cross had just learned how to make charge rifles. So he got started on making one for her, while Saylin made herself some cloth pants and a shirt.
She got the old bed to sleep in. They will have to share the room for now. Perhaps next summer it will be warm enough outside to work on some constructions

It was just a few days later, when suddenly another Scyther came crashing trough the roof and landed right on top of Cross, inflicting a massive head wound.
Although barely able to see from blood running down his face, he wasted no time. Shouted to Saylin she should take cover in the doorway, while he quickly ran to pick up a gun turret like the first time.
What followed was brutal. Bullets and plasma got discharged and ricocheting off the walls in all directions. The turret, the Scyther, the research bench and the furniture, everything got hit !
Seconds felt like hours, while round after round got exchanged. A few precise shot from the turret ended the struggle. It was a miracle no one got killed !
Cross had to spend a few days in bed to recover, and there was quite a lot of cleaning to do, but all in all, things could have gone much worse.


Now it is almost summer again. Cross and Saylin have been getting along nicely. Cross have become quite fond of Saylin, and tried to ask her out on a date. She thinks that's silly and refuse since they have no where to go, "it would just be like any other day" she says.

Another bulk good trader came by a few weeks ago. A large amount of granite and slate stone was purchased. They also had a toque for sale made of warm muffalo wool. Whit this new toque, Cross can stay outside longer without getting cold, and the last few days he have been really busy constructing a layer of solid granite walls on the outer edges of the base.
The inside rooms will be made out of beautiful black slate stones.

The trader also brought along some hens and roosters. Saylin insisted they brought one of each.
Soon some new baby chickens were running around, whit their proud avian parents.
They have no corn to feed them, but they seem to like rice just fine.

This many new mounts to feed, is quite a problem though. Another 3 hydroponics have been constructed, but they are barely able to keep up whit demand.
Cross decided they needed to butcher the rooster. Even though Saylin argued wildly and tried to hide it under her parka, it did not help. She refused speaking to Cross for the rest of that day !
The colony now consists of 2 humans and 3 hens.

The comms console have been moved outside to make more room for growing, and so have the cooking stove. One day this space might become a real kitchen.
Some small changes have also been made to the entrance, so there is now two defensive positions to shoot from.

[Naia]

Summer of 5504 and disaster hits the small community !

Once again a Scyther dropped right into the base, this time while everyone was asleep. It landed next to the chickens, and brutally started stabbing them to death.
Cross and Saylin did managed to kill it, but the price was high. The chickens lay in a large pool of blood, two of them lifeless, the last one barely alive with one leg ripped off.

Just a  few night later, the small colony got alarmed by a huge explosion. When daylight came they saw a strange alien vessel South of the base. Although the colony did possess one sniper rifle and Cross was confident he could hit at long range, it was decided a more careful approach would be needed.
He spent the next days building some makeshift defences. The two gun turrets got moved South, along whit a battery and some power cables.
On the fourth morning, just after daybreak, they got in position behind the sandbags. The turrets powered on. Both Cross and Saylin said a silent prayer. Would this be their last day ?

Rushing out from the wreckage, came a Scyther. Shoot ! yelled Cross. As the one whit most combat experience, it was only natural he was in charge. Saylin promptly followed order, and discharged a salvo, hitting 2 shoots out of three. She was getting better at using the gun. Cross was yelling again, but both turrets unloaded a salvo at the same time, whatever he wanted, was lost in the noise. Instead she fired her weapon again, scoring another hit. The Scyther slowly starting falling over. She could hardly believe it, she had killed that thing !

For a brief moment all was silent, then a deep rumbling noise could be hard from within the belly of the ship. Out came a huge mechanical monster none of them had seen before. Saylin thought it looked like a giant white maggot.
It was equipped whit a fast firing mini gun and engaged the nearest turret. Luckily it seemed to not be very accurate at close range. From behind the protective sandbag wall, our brave colonists fired round after round. Finally, after many hours,  the large monstrosity fell silent.

That evening they celebrated still being alive. Even the chicken was feeling better, and could now wobble around on a tiny peg leg


The rest of  summer have also been very busy. First another group of Scythers attacked, this time there was three of them. It was a tough battle and one of the turrets got hit multiple times. Luckily it was the one made of plasteel, and all the damage could be repaired afterwards.

And like that wasn't enough, while still busy repairing and cleaning up from the first battle, once again the bases alarm systems goes off.. A refugee named Cantu comes running towards the base, followed by a large group of well equipped pirates.
The refugee passes out just on the outskirts of the base, and the pirates having now lost their pray, decided to descend on the base itself instead.
A few of the pirates got started on knocking down walls, while their main force did a direct assault.
Cross and Saylin was waiting in their defensive positions. The turrets fully reloaded. Whenever a pirate came around the corner, they would be meet whit a devastating salvo

It was soon over. While going trough the equipment from the fallen, an advanced type of helmet and a thick parka made of Alpaca wool is discovered. While neither of the colonists wants to wear clothes from a dead enemy, at last it will now, 5 summers after Cross first arrived here, be possible to work outside even on the coldest days.



Fall and winter of 5504 was full of daily chores. Cleaning, cooking and rearranging stockpiles, it all had to be done.
A Scyther attack was quickly fended off, it's almost routine now. A large scale attack from some local pirates, was also no match for our small colony. While they did come well armed, only their commanding officer had decent clothing. A muffalo parka which Saylin is now wearing.

The bulk goods trader from last spring, passed by again on it's way back. They hailed the colony from long distance. Saylin was very pleased to find out they still had one rooster left. It arrived together whit some wood and steel.
The first eggs are expected to hatch in a week !

A distress call came trough on the radio, a refugee named John being chased by pirates. It was quickly agreed upon that he would be welcome in the colony,. He had extensive experience working as a medical officer on a large modern hospital, and many other useful talents.

Unfortunately he had been in a sauna when, the pirates found him and had to flee in a hurry. He showed up completely naked.
The cold made it very difficult for him to run, and the pirates was right on his tail. A skilled  pirate sniper shoot his leg clean off, and he passed out from pain.
Still unconscious, he was then picked up and kidnapped by the pirates. Perhaps he can be ransomed later ?



Cross had to spend days in bed to recover from plague, but otherwise he 's been busy expanding the base with some bedrooms. Saylin have already moved into one, but he still need to work on a better heating system. He also had to rewire many of the power cables.
Some of them dates all the way back to when the base was initially constructed. Several times now, these old faulty cables have been short-circuiting the whole power system.

More changes have been made around the base. A small room have been added on the East side and the two smelters relocated there.
The research bench have been moved to the Southeast corner. This in turn have made more space for growing, something that is badly needed, since rice stocks are getting low.

[Vlad0mi3r]

So good to see things progressing. Please make a trap corridor It will make a huge difference in the future when the raids get bigger and harder.


[attachment deleted due to age]

[Naia]

Just after new years eve of 5505. Cross again had to spend days in bed.
During another Scyther attack, he took a hit to the knee ! Luckily no permanent damage was done.

Just as he was getting up and preparing cooking some fine meals, a call came trough the comms console. A negotiator claming to work for Violence Unit, the pirate band who kidnapped John.
They offered to return him, in exchange for a ransom of nearly 3000 silver !
Although this would severely drains the small colony's coffers , they agreed to the demand and placed an unmarked suitcase with the money at a prearranged location.
A few hours later, John came happily humping trough the front door, still completely naked and missing a leg.

The returning of John have lifted the spirit and put everyone in a good mood.

Finally some luck also gets bestowed on the small colony. An exotic goods trader hail from orbit, not only do they have an advanced bionic leg for sale, they also have a bionic eye, a heart and a lung to trade.
While the colony is almost out of money, they do however have 3 horns from Thrumboes and a number of broken Scythers that can be salvaged for spare parts. A large trade deal is agreed upon, and they buy it all. They even get a few extra silver coins.

Johns surgery goes well. Tomorrow he will up and start learning how to use the new leg.

And just as the exotic good trader leaves orbit, a bulk goods trader takes it's place. This one carries wood and steel. They buy what little they can afford. Then another one comes !
Not only do they have a lovely muffalo parka to trade, they also have a live Muffalo. The situation is desperate ! How can our colonists afford this ?
They are completely out of money, then Saylin remembers they have a large stack of raw Thrumboe fur laying around.
The trader agrees, they get both the parka and Muffalo..

The food stocks are getting dangerously low though. Any accidents now could turn fatal. More hydroponics is ordered for construction and even Saylin thinks it's a good idea to slaughter the rooster. Whit two hens, a small female chick and two more eggs about to hatch, it have done it's duty

Our small community is thriving and now consists of 3 colonists, 1 Muffalo and the chickens.



On the last day of spring. Both good and bad things happened. A pirate merchant and a mechanoid battleship engaged each other in orbit. The pirate vessel wins the battle, although they sustained heavy damage and have to stay in orbit for several days doing repairs. What remains of the mechanoid ship, come crashing down far East of the base.


The pirate captain needs money for repairs, and therefore offers a 20 % discount on the two slaves they have left.
The colony can only afford to free one of them. They have to draw straws. The lucky one is named Pumpkin and she is thrilled to join.



She is only greeted by John at the base. Her orders is to get equipment and prepare for battle, then rendezvous with the rest of the crew on the Eastern borders.
At the forward outpost, her position will be furthest South, where she is to support the team whit precision fire.



She barely gets behind the sandbags before all hell break loose. Cross is firing off tracer rounds, and the two other follows his lead. First one Scyther, then the other. They fall quickly under the concentrated firing.
Soon only the Centipede remains. It's a tough enemy and many shoot penetrate it's armour, before finally a direct hit to the processor unit shuts it down.



Next morning at the breakfast table Saylin and John reveal they have started a romantic relationship, and from now on will be sharing the same bedroom. There is an awkward silence, as Cross tries to hide his disappointment. But before the situation escalates further, the sirens sounds and everyone rushes off towards battle stations. A large herd of  starving Muffalo is outside. They can smell the piles of rice and are trying to break down the base doors.

For two days the battle rages. Finally the last moo'ing stops. It's been a massacre !



It was however perfect timing. They had used up the last meat just a few days before, and for the first time since arrival, Cross only had simple rice cakes to eat.
Most of them could also use some new clothes made out of tough muffalo hide.