Dry Thunderstorms

[Dr. Z]

It's time for another RimWorld nature-phenomenon discussion threat. Tis episode: Dry thunderstorms.
I can't remember to see any dry thunderstorm on this planet in my life. Unfortunately I'm not smart enough to tell if/why thunderstorms need/alaways come with rain. So feel free to enlight me.

[AwesumnisRawr188]

They commonly happen in he desert, due to the static electricity or some crap in the air, so it might not rain, but there will be thunder and lightning.

I'm no meteorologist, so I have no clue why they need rain or why they happen. I've only heard and seen dry thunderstorms in books and TV.

[Architect]

Ohhh now I get the question... I'll delete my previous statement

[CountJeffrey]

They could be a part of the planet that Tynan has made up? Remember Rimworld isn't set on Earth so it doesn't have to follow the same rules as mother nature on Earth .

I am from Australia and I have had thunder storms where there has been no rain, but I have heard plenty of stories from people I know who go through the outback and it seems to be more common in barren/desert areas as earlier stated.

[DeltaV]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=dry+thunderstorms

[Nenvolk]

I think dry thunderstorms are waaayyy OP in this game. I often just load the latest gamesave if they occour, because they fuck everything up, and are completely uncontrollable.

I kind of like the idea that you need to get all you colonists out to try and fight the fires, but they don't do it automatically, and so it's a real minimanagement hell, which you will loose anyway because in this game each strike of lightning will burn down the entire planet...which is lame.

[JuicyPVP]

Because in this game each strike of lightning will burn down the entire planet...which is lame.

Yes... I lose all wildlife 3x a year lol. My bases are usually in the mountains and I pave stone tiles 4x wide around my base wall to stop the fires from reaching me, but the rest of the map is crispy all the time.

[Facepunch]

Build a buffer around your base. Make your colonists simply cut all the plants down in a circle around your base 3 cells thick. I rather like dry thunderstorms, keeps the game interesting.

[JuicyPVP]

Build a buffer around your base. Make your colonists simply cut all the plants down in a circle around your base 3 cells thick. I rather like dry thunderstorms, keeps the game interesting.

Add stone tiles. Fire will never hit you unless it actually strikes in your base, but your people will put that out quickly.

[Wex]

Or live in a desert.
Nothing to burn there.

[Stormfox]

I do not think the event itself is the problem - it's the way wildfires start with every lightning stroke and that one of those is enough to turn half your map into a wasteland - a dozen or two usually means your map is a desert from now on. This is not only a gameplay problem, but a fun problem as well - I for one choose biomes not only for their difficulties, but also for their environments.

Something should be done about the way fires spread and go out on themselves, similar to an overhaul of how grass regrows, for example.

Edit: I know the game usually gives a rain shower after a fire as a bandaid fix, but that does not help against the big mass fires at all.

[carbon]

I've often debated going around the entire map and building a bunch of fire breaks just to prevent the inevitable wastelanding via fire.