Let's play Rimworld: Part 12 - The End.

"Whilst we have been attacked directly at times, pirates, angry tribes and rabid animals.. They are the least of our foes. The constant threat of starvation looms over us and the icy winter prove to be far deadlier adversaries. We won't give up though."

Day 34

Sappy is the only one still awake right now, to her credit she is making sure the wood burning generators are fully fuelled. For my part I am pondering what my next research project should be, brewing seems a bit premature given the lack of success with farming. Tree sowing could be useful to ensure we always have wood which would be a good prerequisite for chemfuel production. So as a little bit of optimistic future proofing I opt for tree sowing as my next project.

A quick glance at Sappy's needs shows me she is recreation deprived so rather than relying on the single horseshoes pin outside I set a chess table to be built in the main colony room. A poker or billiards table would need cloth which I don't have but spring should take care of that (I hope.)

Angel as ever is the first to rise and after breakfast she tends to Sappy's frostbite, I almost wish I'd built an electric tailors bench to get warm clothes made faster. However, I feel it's a bit risky to put too much pressure on the power just in case the greenhouse has a brownout. Everyone at least gets a meal and there's enough meat in storage to cook a few more, the good news is the potatoes are almost grown. There are also two deer in the body stockpile to be butchered so I would cautiously call the food situation stable for now. However I realise something is amiss when for hours no-one goes to butcher them.

A brief check shows the toxic build-up from the fallout still raining on us from that chemical fire means they are rotting and inedible.. Well.. Crap. On the plus side Ash finishes making the first duster, clothing is going to be a goal for the spring I think alongside a large cornfield.

Some of the potatoes and even some of the rice finishes growing much to my relief after finding out that meat is off the menu for now. The harvest is fairly impressive and for the first time really since starting this colony the food stockpile is actually growing and the number of meals we have is stable! Largely due to everything including the potatoes finishing growing at the same time ensures the rest of the day sees the colonists harvesting, replanting and hauling the produce to cold-storage. I just hope this toxic fallout stops soon or people will be getting sick.

Finally some actual food being stockpiled, or at least soon to be!

Day 35

Disaster struck in the night again, a faulty power conduit shorted out setting fire to the greenhouse and also depleting all the batteries of charge.. Oh boy. The greenhouse fire is out of control..

Oh no, colonists collapse due to the superheated air burning them and every attempt to rescue them puts the rescuer out of action.. I think this is it folks.. The end of the colony..

The greenhouse had long been the only thing keeping the colony alive in the end however it killed the entire colony. All five colonists died in the fire turning the greenhouse into a tomb, as they had moved in to douse the flames the fire spread to cover both doors ensuring no-one could escape and those that tried just died collapsed in agony as well.

Well, I didn't expect that.. That electrical fault basically immolated the greenhouse in quick time and I almost feel I should have just let it burn. I am not sure if it's still a thing but stone flooring may have stopped it spreading but if the greenhouse had been destroyed they'd have died anyway but it spread faster than the colonists could deal with.

I do hope you enjoyed this written let's play, it's my first attempt and it won't be my last, stay tuned for more in the future! Whether it's Rimworld or another game well, that may well be up to you! Stay awesome people!

The fire that killed an entire colony, I drafted Nicole to try to get her out of the door but the fire spread before she reached it causing her to likewise perish.

Epilogue

It was some time later that the remains of the colony was found after the winter had passed and travel become possible a group of traders who had once sold medical supplies to the Fox Republic decided to stop by again.

There was an eerie feeling as they approached but it was still early in the morning so the lack of people outside wasn't initially unusual. Generators sat idle, empty, the main building was likewise deserted causing the traders to realise something was indeed amiss.

As they pushed open the doors to the greenhouse however they discovered the fate of the colony. Hydroponic basins lay in blackened heat-warped chunks, every surface from the walls to the ceiling was scorched black. In the center lay the charred remains of the colony, huddled together in their final moments before the flames had engulfed them.

Opting to do the decent thing the traders buried the colonists remains and moved on, wondering what terrible event must've transpired to cause such a horrific fire in such a small space.

If you missed the last part, read it here!

Let's Play Rimworld: Part 11 - Fallout

"The greenhouse provided it's first harvest, piles of rice but only enough to keep us going for a little while but it's better than nothing. Hunting opportunities are scarce now, most of the wildlife has migrated away from the arctic temperatures, meaning the greenhouse is the only thing keeping us alive. That and a lot of heaters."

Day 31

Nicole continues into the night wandering around in the snow sadly luckily she seems to stay close enough to the main building that she wanders in and our during the night so she doesn't freeze. Just as Angel and Ash rise to begin the days work an electrical fault causes the batteries to explode setting a fire. I set Angel and Ash to put out the fire before it spreads and destroys the greenhouse... Great start! It's at this point I realise I forgot to extend the roof over the batteries so they snow shorted them out.. Oops.

Once that morning drama is sorted Sappy builds the new roof over the batteries and everyone starts on their days tasks. Angel and Syd take turns cooking the small amount of rice we have left as I stare worriedly at how fast the rice is growing in the greenhouse. Angel then moves on to making bricks, Sappy starts tailoring until Ash takes over, that should start getting people some warm clothing at least.

I also set a large snow clear area between the three main buildings to ensure people can move a little faster without trudging through hip deap snow. I set trees to be chopped for fuel and now worry genuinely that Nicole may not snap out of her daze as she is starving and exhausted now. Until everyone has warm clothing I can't risk sending people off to see if there are any berries left in the cold or animals left to hunt.

Just as the day draws to a close Nicole snaps out of it and the colonists mostly eat before sleeping leaving me with only two meals in the stockpile. The rice is growing fast but I wonder if it is growing fast enough anymore, I may not be able to get this colony though the winter.

A fire starts as the snow shorts out the batteries, that'll teach me to forget roofing them.

Day 32

During the night a Thrumbo wandered onto the map, a massive animal that is largely peaceful unless attacked but they are as I recall pretty deadly when provoked so I won't hunt it unless the need is dire. However a quick scour of the map reveals a small herd of deer off to our east over the mountain, so I tag them all to be hunted, we need the meat as we are out of food now entirely. Sorry deer, but it is neccessary for the Fox Republic to survive.

Angel awakens and immediately wanders off into the dawn to hunt those dear, she is a bit too eager at times. However that entire herd just might supplement what I get from the greenhouse to see us through but I won't lie, things are bleak regardless. To survive the winter in biomes without a year round growing period means you need a food stockpile, the early cold snap prevented that entirely as it killed off the crops early. If another cold snap hits in the spring this colony is dead unless I massively expand the greenhouse.

The hunting proves risky, both Ash and Angel frequently have to return to warm up as mid-afternoon temperatures now sit at -21C, brrr! Luckily the rice finishes growing again once more giving us just enough food to get by with the meat from the deer. The harvest is almost double this time at over 160 units of rice, phew, this will be a big help in surviving, is it enough? Hard to say at this stage.

Oh.. Oh you have to be kidding, this game hates me, it really wants this colony to suffer and die. A distant chemical fire has released a plume of toxic fallout over the region meaning anyone not under a roof could get sick. I just.. I can't even.. Oh boy. Worst part is it says it can last a few days or a whole season. Good thing I have a stock of medicine.

Angel hunting a herd of deer that migrated onto the map.

Day 33

Again Angel is first to rise and stalks off on the hunt out into the slightly sickly green morning light, the toxic fallout continues in earnest. As the rest of the colony awakes and begins the days task of not dying horribly a visitor arrives with items to trade, food and medicine would be very welcome at this stage that is for sure. Sadly he has only a few herbal medicine packets and not a lot else, some trader he is!

As the day rolls on I keep a close eye on my colonists to try my best and keep them indoors as much as possible. A few small animals can be seen scurrying about between the bushes so I tag them to be hunted, beggars can't be choosers so rats and squirrels join the menu, along with an ibex who will likely wish he'd not wandered onto this map as he is now dinner.

Sappy suffers some serious frostbite however and ends up bed-ridden, Syd tends to her wounds as best she can just as yet another event makes me seriously think this run of Rimworld has a grudge against me.

A pirate raid, luckily it is only one pirate, unluckily this pirate is armed with a machine-pistol which makes him infinitely more dangerous than the clubs the previous raids were armed with. I send Angel and Nicole to head him off, ever wary of the toxic fallout still raining down on us but it's either that or potentially lose something or someone back at base. A battery, generator or even power cable loss in the greenhouse at this stage is effectively game over short of the AI director showing mercy (not likely.)

Angel once again proved her mastery of combat a single shot fired hit the pirates torso but also punched clean through his spine killing him instantly. Yikes, note to all other colonists, don't get on Angel's bad side.

Another roller-coast of a part to this run of Rimworld, between toxic fallout, a pirate raid and the ever present threats of freezing temperature and starvation, keeps things interesting at least. I do hope you enjoy this part, do please leave comments, constructive criticisms, ideas, tips etc on the tweet or comments on my blog I do read and will try to reply to all of them! Keep your eyes peeled for the next part!

Angel and Nicole returning the the colony amidst toxic fallout after taking out the pirate raider.

If you missed the last part, find it here!

Let's Play Rimworld: Part 10 - Perseverance

"Every hurdle overcome seems to throw two more in our path, every victory underscored by more defeats, can we actually win? We try not to think about it, focusing our attention instead on the tasks at hand rather than the empty storeroom or the freezing temperatures. We will fight for our survival all the same, we will not give up."

Day 28

The middle of the night proves to hold it's own little dramas as Angel's wounds get infected a few minutes before Syd managed to treat her, it's not a serious wound or infection but it does mean she is out of action. To make matters a little worse I forgot about building vents so the heat from the main room can enter the bedrooms meaning she suffered frostbite during the night, I did say I was rusty at this game I guess.

Everyone else scurries around mining, building and refuelling ensuring we have enough power to keep the heaters going is as critical now as keeping the greenhouse running. Daytime temperatures have plunged to -21C already, so I try and set set Sappy as an additional tailor to take some of the pressure of Syd, we need warm clothes and we need them fast now or frostbite will eat all of our medical supplies.

One of the huge advantages of a greenhouse aside from year round crop growing is that due to it's nature the growth rate is often double what it'd be on regular soil, let's hope it makes a difference. Most of the colonists bar Syd and Angel set about mining steel, given we are critically short of it and still need several hundred pieces of it it's for the best. On the plus side Angel recovers in the mid-afternoon and joins in the work efforts, she is one tough lady that is for sure.

The meat we stockpiled has all but been used up to make meals and the muffalo migrated off the map, so that greenhouse better start paying off soon or starvation is on the cards again. A quick scour of the map as everyone tucks in for the night reveales a turkey and an ibex dead due to the cold, so I order them picked up for butchering. Luckily they won't have rotted due to the sub-zero temperatures but there is little to no other wildlife left anymore, it's just too cold.

The entire map is now covered in snow and sub-zero temperatures are common day or night.

Day 29

Syd and Angel are first to rise for the day with Syd rushing off into the snow to retrieve those two animals for butchering whilst Angel cooks the remaining meat. Each colonist I believe eats two meals a day meaning once this meat is cooked we have enough food for a day or two left depending how much we get from the butchering today.

The greenhouse also seems to be unusually cold which is not helping so I order a second heater built in there as these crops are literally our last hope to survive at all. As before most of the day sees Angel and Syd cooking what little food we have left, giving us at least a little more time to get things stabilised.

An extra heater gets built in the main room as well as all the vents ensuring that that lovely heat goes into all the bedrooms now. Also the extra heater in the greenhouse seems to  have done the trick, here's hoping it's enough to get the rice and potato plants growing as fast as possible. If we can survive the winter, the next springs main crops should give us a large enough stockpile to not need to worry. I say hopefully, as Ash and Angel make their way back to base from mining a nice little pop-up warns me: Winter has begun.

Day 30

Everyone throws themselves into the days tasks with unusual gusto with everyone bar Ash flinging themselves out of bed at the crack of dawn to get things done. The growth rate on the basins crops now sits at 270% so we may get our first harvest by the end of the day, all queued generators and solar panels are done and Syd finishes off the last basin in the greenhouse.

A red fox attacks a racoon right outside the front door. The fox shall be tamed. Also more importantly the first harvest of rice begins just as Ash finishes off the last of our meals, talk about cutting it close but I am starting to once again feel that faint glimmer of hope. In total all the rice basins we have give us about 60 units of rice to work with, it would have been more but Sappy decided to botch a few harvests, I am sure Angel will have a few choice words for her mother about that later.

A red fox appears, it shall be tamed.

Now that food is coming in again and it maybe just maybe might be enough to save the colony from literally eating itself I start organising work priorities again. Nicole moves hauling down the list and sets research back to the top where it belongs and I ensure Ash and Angel are the crop handlers to make sure we don't botch any harvests as we need every last scrap of food from that greenhouse.

Nicole again gets moody however and as the night draws in and the snow begins hammering down she wanders off in a depressed daze. So much for things going well, so long as she doesn't wander too far she can at least be rescued safely. Syd begins to craft patch leather and hopefully that'll mean everyone gets a duster to keep themselves warm, I can worry about fancier clothes later right now I just want them to not all freeze if they step outside.

Just as I fear Nicole will wander off into the snow and freeze she at least wanders back indoors that's something at least. I am by far still not out of the woods, the rice we harvested only provided a handful of meals and starvation is still a factor. The rice plants grow about 15-20% per day but the few basins of potato plants are much slower, I'll have to hope some animals wander onto the map soon or a trader arrives as this is still dicey.

Hope you are all still enjoying reading this as much as I am enjoying writing it! See you in the next part!

Most of the construction is now finished, the greenhouse is producing but the food stockpile remains non-existent. Have we done enough to survive?

If you missed the last part, find it here!

Let's Play: Rimworld Part 9 - Sometimes You Eat The Bear

"Despite barely surviving, the constant struggle and now the ever encroaching cold we haven't lost our compassion or ability to care. To help someone who needs it whether it is wise or not. Winter is nearly here and we wouldn't want to leave anyone out in the cold.. Plus, we need all the help we can get."

Day 25

As the night rolls on it occurs to me that this base is looking very messy, given that multiple cases of food poisoning have lead to vomit being everywhere, ick. Angel starts the day hunting which is going to be crucial I feel, she takes out the cougar roaming the east of the map, which means I don't have to worry about someone getting mauled for wandering too close to it's hunting ground.

However things take a turn for the worse when Angel succumbs to the cold and literally hides in her room, refusing to work or do anything at all. Then Nicole also due to a low mood (again the cold) goes into a daze, oh boy, rough start to the day. Sappy at least gets to work finishing another hydroponic basin... And then an electrical fault causes the batteries attached to the solar panels to discharge and starts a fire in the greenhouse. Ash rushes from her mining job to douse the flames before it gets too far thankfully but the damage is done.

Seriously the game hates me today I think or at the very least hates my colonists. Whilst a group of travelers happen by our little dwelling in the evening yet another pair of unfortunate events adds to the woes the colony faces. First due to there now being no power in the batteries to keep the hydroponics running, the plants are dying. Second, hard snow becomes the weather of choice meaning it's going to be touch and go to even survive long enough to hunt and I can feel this colony starting to slip away from me already. The hunting opportunities on the map are drying up fast so unless I can sort out the greenhouse promptly, people are going to starve.

A power fault causes the greenhouse batteries to lose all their charge, killing off the plants in the the basins.

Day 26

Nicole is wandering around outside in the small hours of the morning in the dark and driving snow, if she doesn't snap out of it soon she will need a rescue. Food reserves are dwindling as the last simple meals form the colonies breakfast whilst Angel goes to hunt the few remaining animals still roaming the map. The solar panels aren't kicking out enough juice to keep the greenhouse going now so in an attempt to remedy that I have ordered a pair of wood-fire generators to be built to help run the greenhouse.

At this stage I am really stumped as to how to ensure this colony survives until winter much less through it. Again a lack of steel slows down construction, I seem to be using a lot of it so I set some mining orders to try and stockpile it even if I am worried that Sappy and Ash may suffer due to the plunging temperatures and the snow now turning the map white.

I also opt to link both the power systems together rather than have them separate, so I lay some conduit's hoping that may help things at least for a little while. Angel and Syd butcher and cook late into the night ensuring the colony should survive another day or two as I scour the map for more animals to hunt. A war merchant arrives, but he has no food for sale and I have no need of weapons right now so they just wander around the colony for a while.

To put it simply, things have gone from bad to worse so far, I fear this colony may not make it to day 30. I had planned to start crafting winter clothing as a priority to combat the cold and ensure outdoor work isn't dangerous but the ever present specter of starvation seems determined to keep stopping my plans.

Syd and Angel butchering and cooking as the hunting prospects on the map dwindle due to the cold.

Day 27

Angel tends to Ash who suffered frostbite during the night, warm clothes are sorely needed but I am having to make do without simply due to how short of food the colony is. Ash was simply too persistent in mining that last piece of steel, luckily she got home before it got too serious. Now with the greenhouse being on a brownout most of the day crops are struggling or just dying.

Sappy tries to build one of the solar generators and promptly botches it wasting precious resources, I just.. I don't even.. Come on Sappy, work with me here! Most everyone else spends a good deal of time mining or cooking, we need steel and lots of it. Not to mention power to keep the greenhouse juiced up 24/7, which feels like the last hope for this colony.

A grizzly bear also then decides that Angel looks particularly delicious and decides to try and hunt her down. It very nearly succeeded but luckily between Angel and Nicole they manage to bring it down before Angel gets turned into lunch, losing Angel would be catastrophic at this stage. Instead the bear ends up on the colonists dinner plates, bear steak anyone? It likely won't surprise anyone that there was a lot of meat on that bear, easily a couple of days worth of meals by itself.

On the plus side linking the two power circuits has stabilised the power and the greenhouse for now appears to be functioning. Ash who had been bedridden recovering from her frostbite spends the night planting rice and potatoes in the greenhouse, which maybe just maybe might stop people from starving over the winter.

I will make sure the two extra wood-fire generators and the two solar panels go up though so I can place more heaters as well as start putting electric lighting in to cheer the colonists up. If I can also remedy the food situation I may be able to start working on other things.

I do hope you are continuing to enjoy this, do please leave comments, constructive criticism either on the twitter post about this or the blog itself. Thank you very much for reading, watch this space for the next part!

Sometimes the bear eats you, but in this case we eat the bear instead.

If you missed the last part, find it here!

Let's Play Rimworld: Part 8 - Expect the Unexpected

"The cold has thus far been our greatest adversary, constantly destroying our crops and fields leaving us to hunt and scavenge, to scrape by for our food. Building a greenhouse is our only hope but such a feat will not be easy to accomplish and even that may not save us in the end as winter is coming. And with it may come our end."

Day 22

Well, I can't say I didn't expect this given how things were going in the last part, during the night most of the remaining crops outside died. At best one or two may finish growing but that greenhouse needs to be up and running soon or the colony will just outright starve. Angel at least seems to realise this and starts to cook the berries remaining on the map into meals as soon as she awakes. Syd is the next to rise and she continues laying down power conduits and working on the greenhouse, which is going to be the one thing that might save us at this stage.

Both Ash and Nicole are suffering heavily from food poisoning, which feels borderline ironic given how little food the colony even has, need to make sure only skilled cooks do the cooking from now on. Food poisoning is seldom fatal but it does really really slow down anyone suffering from it and at this point I can't really afford anyone to be slow as there's a lot that needs to get done.

A lack of steel means Syd and Ash are now mining rather than building which is going to slow things down further, I think it's high time Angel went hunting again to stockpile meat until the greenhouse is up and running. However things are at least moving forwards enough for me to have a slim hope of surviving the winter, if a trading caravan arrives with survival meals that'd be supremely helpful but no guarantees of that.

It takes pool ill Ash a whole day to mine just a single tile of steel whilst Nicole runs around hauling things to the stockpile and refueling the generators and campfires. Syd opts to go pray in her room in the afternoon, I can't say I blame her at this point as I think we may need a little divine intervention at this rate!

Components now join the list of things the colony is lacking so avoiding the ancient danger to the south I set as many compacted machinery tiles to be mined out. Three hydroponic basins are now complete so that is progress. As the day draws to a close we get offered a quest to take on a bandit camp, yeah, think we'll pass on that one shall we? We barely have enough to eat much less the ability to go kicking ass and taking names. Nicole however is suddenly inspired and enters a work frenzy for the next eight days! This means she will work faster than usual, I'll take it!

The rest of the outdoor crops die off, meaning the greenhouse is our only hope for sustained food supplies.

Day 23

As expected with the temperature dropping further and further every night the remaining outdoor plants bar the healroot have all died off so now hunting is our only source of food. At least until the greenhouse is finished, I just hope four solar panels are enough to keep it powered. Syd starts the day by mining more steel and putting the sunlamp up and getting another hydroponic basin finished, if she keeps this up we may actually get that thing finished soon.

Things plod along relatively well until the mid-afternoon when we suddenly get a message, a refugee is being chased by an angry tribe and is requesting to stay here. Ordinarily I'd have probably felt it a bad idea at this stage but it turns out this is Angel's mother.. So against my better judgement and every fiber of my gaming experience I opt to help her and try to fight off the tribe chasing her.

Luckily it's only a single tribal attacker so I draft Angel and Nicole to go educate them as to the error of their ways as Angel's mother... Sappy.. Ahem, flees to the colony. A brief exchange of bullets and arrows from the sandbags sees the tribal dropping like a sack of potatoes from a shot to the head, Nicole was quite pleased with herself about that.

Sappy quickly makes herself useful mining out some compacted machinery, building her room and even being able to grab our second rifle to make her our second half decent hunter. I think I may now juggle some work priorities around and get Angel and Sappy hunting to bulk out our food stockpile. The greenhouse is a long-way from finished but it's getting there it's just a lack of materials holding us back now. However there are enough basins up for plants to at least start being sown in them so that is a huge success so far.

Sappy, Angel's mother flees into the base whilst Angel and Nicole make short work of her pursuer.

Day 24

Sappy flies out of bed at 3AM and gets to work (seriously I'd be a zombie at 3AM so more power to her!) Also one of the Ibex rams roaming the map self-tames itself, any other time I might keep it but I think this just goes to slaughter, food is too low right now so apologies but you are lunch. Rabbits, rats, raccoons, hares, lynx and cougars all find themselves in Angel's sights as she set's about the noble goal of refilling our cold-storage area with meat to survive. Even Sappy aids the hunting, I guess it must run in the family?

Hypothermia is now becoming a critical problem but I still need to push on and hunt to gather materials enough to make everyone dusters or parka's to keep them warm during the winter. If all goes to plan then they won't need to venture outside beyond moving between buildings during the winter.

As if to punctuate how much of an issue the cold is becoming Sappy collapses from the freezing temperature causing Ash to have to run off and rescue her. I think sending her hunting without adequate clothing is no longer an option for now. Yikes, let's hope she survives lest Angel get upset and given her violent tendencies I would rather not find out what that would look like. Luckily Ash is quick and rescues her meaning her condition recovers pretty quickly but still, this run seems determined to be a roller-coaster of a time.

Hope you are all still enjoying it so far, I certainly am enjoying writing about it!

The cold takes it toll on Sappy causing her to collapse, winter is coming.

If you missed the last part, find it here!

Let's Play Rimworld Part 7 - Food for Thought

"It's a strange thing to be constantly teetering on the edge of disaster, much like walking a tight-rope. The slightest mishap or unexpected nudge could plunge our fledgling colony into the abyss at any moment. Yet we struggle on, living in hope as the alternative is to surrender to despair. That will not be us. We will survive."

Day 19

Nicole is still wandering around in a daze in the cold as the rest of the colony sleeps, if she comes to her senses she is likely going to be out of action for at least a day. So I think once the hydroponic greenhouse is built I am going to actually build a separate medical area, I have a feeling it may be needed during the winter to treat frostbite.

Syd is the first one out of the starting blocks for the day and she continues building the greenhouse, this building will likely be the one that ensures whether this colony lives or dies through the winter. I desperately need at least one good harvest from the main farms to give me a reserve of food soon as the temperatures are already getting low meaning the crops are growing more slowly as it is. Angel hunts down berries to cook a few more meals, this is getting tense already. Ash proves her worth by further supplementing our dwindling food supplies by harvesting more berries.

However there is a huge problem right now, the plants aren't growing, its -2C which is not good so time to test something for science. I am going to build a series of campfires near the crops hopefully enough to keep them growing. Whilst it does get warmer closer to lunch-time I am not going to take chances at this stage.

By the end of the day Nicole finally recovers from her daze and promptly devours a simple meal before collapsing into bed. At least she didn't collapse in the middle of no-where and starve though I think starving is going to become a common theme soon.

The greenhouse is taking shape at least that's something!

Day 20

Whilst a Ash hauls back more berries from the wilderness and Angel vomits in the cold-storage due to food poisoning things are still not looking great so far. A lot of maintenance tasks are being overlooked for more critical things, both wood generators are out of fuel, the crops only seem to grow for a few hours a day at reduced speed, this is getting dicey.

Then just as the day dawns and everyone except Nicole clambers out of bed some cargo pods land containing Pemmican. Now pemmican is most importantly food, it's a long-lasting if bland food item you can create when you want to send your colonists travelling however beggars can't be choosers and this may have just saved my colony for a while longer, maybe even long enough to get the greenhouse up and running.

A caravan arrives mid-morning, a combat supplier so I opt to spend some of my silver ensuring Ash has a rifle to hunt with and to get some more medicine whilst I can afford it. Sadly no food on offer but small victories at this stage will help.

The meals are almost spent so I prioritise Ash to start hauling that Pemmican to the stockpile whilst Syd finishes off the main structure of the greenhouse as well it's batteries and solar panels. It's going to be touch and go whether I get crops up soon enough or not.

Gifts from above, in the form of Pemmican. A bland travelling ration designed to not spoil. Better than nothing.

Day 21

Most of the crops died during the night due to the dropping temperature.. Well.. Damn. That's a snag but at this stage I am getting used to it, so I set Angel and Ash some hunting targets whilst Syd gets mining in the morning in order to get enough steel to construct the hydroponic basins. Also for the sake of being sure I set another two solar panels to be built so the sunlamp in the greenhouse can hopefully run all day.

To say this is one of the craziest runs of Rimworld I have played in terms of random events screwing me over would be an understatement. That drop of pemmican may only last a few days at best meaning I am going to have to set Angel to maximum priority hunting to stock us up on meat and hopefully get enough to get the greenhouse through a few harvests.

Other than that not much happened as Angel hurried back and forth cooking the handfuls of berries still scattered about whilst Ash proved she needs to seriously work on her shooting skill. I also decide to drop research priority for now and have Nicole start hauling and cleaning up so I know just how much food I can scrounge from the map.

Another herd of deer seems to have wandered onto the map as well so sadly for them they are now firmly on my hungry colonists menu. I also need to mind a whole pile of steel and components in order to finish the greenhouse properly, let's hope nothing else goes wrong.

Hope you all enjoyed this part of the Rimworld written let's play, when I first started this I expected a fairly run of the mill Rimworld run.. Boy was I wrong!

Food storage expanded, greenhouse well on the way to being operational.

If you missed the last part, find it here!

Let's Play: Rimworld Part 6 - Silver Linings Have Clouds

"When even the smallest of scratches can fell the strongest of us it puts things into perspective. We were not the masters of this world and we would have to fight to survive it in every sense of the word."

Day 16

Well the last part ended on quite the cliffhanger with Nicole having to rush out in the middle of the night to carry Angel back to base. She spends the night recovering whilst Syd patched up some of her infected wounds, hopefully she'll recover given she is the strongest character we have in our intrepid crew. On the plus side at least in the morning whilst Angel recuperated Nicole finally broke the resistance of Ash meaning there's a good chance to get her recruited now, and she is going to be sorely needed.

The rest of the day passed with little else happening as people just ticked over with their usual tasks with Angel being out of action it's hurting my chances of surviving until winter much less through it. Never a dull moment in this run of Rimworld and I am only one season in! I genuinely don't think I've had a colony go this nuts this early before for a long long time. I get the feeling I am a bit rusty given I think I last played when the game was at.. Alpha 16 build or something? Ah well live and learn.. Or well.. Fail and learn in this case!

Angel recovering in bed, let's hope she makes it!

Day 17

Angel started off the day sleeping still and I was getting a bit worried she'd be bed-ridden for yet another day but she hauled her injured backside out of bed and set about her usual plethora of tasks. Nicole is really going crazy on the research so I think I am going to have to start reworking my work assignment priorities as it seems the only one who does more than one job a day is Angel so far.

She does at least manage to cook a handful of simple meals to stop my colonists from eating raw meat at least (though not before Syd helped herself to raw venison and got food poisoning despite their being berries to eat..) I swear I think my colonists are working against my best efforts to keep them alive at times.

Success! Nicole finally brought Ash around to the idea of joining the motley settlers of the Fox Republic. Then she.. Took off all her clothes and started working, I.. Don't even.. I think my colonists are mildly insane.. I better make her some clothes. Every silver lining has a cloud it seems!

Nicole was seemingly so pleased with herself she actually threw a party in the main room of the base. Don't eat too much people, we don't have a lot of food! Solar panels also finished researching meaning I won't have to rely entirely on fuel based electricity should the need arise, not a bad end to the day all said and done.

Party time... With Syd throwing up on the floor. Ick.

Day 18

New research project to start things off will be the recurve bow, at least that way I can arm Ash with a ranged weapon giving us a second hunter and arm any future colonists (optimism!) Angel throws herself into cooking with a fury putting the last of our meat stocks to use, it's also getting colder slowing down crop growth, oh boy. We are still going to need one massive harvest or two from all the plants to survive the winter, I don't recall how many meals people need per day but I am fairly sure it's two.

Poor Nicole however couldn't wait for Angel to finish cooking and entered a psychotic daze.. Not the worst thing in the world. Just have to hope she snaps out of it quickly and that she doesn't wander off too far if she passes out. Luckily Ash is busily cutting down trees to help Syd extend our cold-storage area, only thing I really need to do now is hope that I can fill it before winter entombs us.

Also my new plan is to build a hydroponic greenhouse on a separate power grid using solar panels, it may be the only way this colony survives the winter at this stage. That early cold-snap has thrown every plan I initially had into disarray. So I lay down the plans for a greenhouse made of some of the slate bricks Syd has been making.

This Rimworld play-through has been quite the roller-coaster so far but things are tentatively looking up. Once the new greenhouse is up and running I am hoping it'll get me enough food to supplement the first and seemingly only harvest I might get. As that would maybe get me through winter but we'll have to see in the next part!

The plans are laid down for the hydroponic greenhouse and it's solar-panels and batteries.

If you missed part 5, find it here!

Let's Play: Rimworld - Part 5 Cliffhanger

"Nerves are still frayed even as the cold receded and once more allowed us to attempt to grow some food. Our food stores had never been anywhere close to full but getting so close to starvation had put everyone on edge. Now all we can do is hope we can scavenge enough berries and hunt enough meat to keep us alive until our crops grow..."

Day 13

And back we are again, let's hope some New Years luck rubs off on my colony otherwise this may be one of my shortest ever games of Rimworld. First things first, I am going to order an extension built to the cold storage area so we can cram as much food as possible into it, also I'll start looking into cutting stones and hopefully getting things rebuilt as stone instead of wood.

As if by some curious miracle the AI director has shown me a little mercy it would appear as during the night some cargo pods dropped containing rice, that is going to help a lot to stave off hunger. Angel starts the day off getting food poisoning before finishing planting our strawberries, yuck, hopefully Syd's cooking will improve soon to avoid that. Nicole goes off to try and convince Ash to join us again, I hope she does, one more person would really help right now.

Angel resumes her hunting of the deer herd, I have a feeling the meat from these deer will be what keeps us going along with that windfall from the rice we are definitely not out of the woods yet though. Nicole after twice more failing to recruit Ash goes back to researching which at least gets finished ensuring I can now construct hydroponic basins, things are looking up at least so I set the next research goal to be solar panels just to ensure I am not solely reliant on wood generators. Part of me is pondering where to go next but I think weapons are next after that.

As the evening rolls in another pirate raid enters the map luckily it's only a single pirate so I draft Nicole and Angel and move them into a defensive position at the south of the colony. Though this time Angel and Nicole kill the pirate with two shots to the pelvis before they even got into range. Angel has some serious food poisoning though meaning it takes her a long time to do anything and she is moving slowly, hopefully a good nights sleep will see her recover as this day draws to an end.

A Gift of Rice from above!

Day 14

After that food poisoning incident I make sure that for now only Angel does the cooking as it's bad enough we are close to starving without what little food we do have being awful. Syd I assign to making stone blocks so we can build our future structures out of something non-flammable, at least with rocks she won't be doing much harm.

It seems most of my colonists are content to relax today with Nicole cloud watching just as a huge group of visitors arrive lead by a slaver from the Confederacy of Boo. If my food stockpile wasn't so critically low I'd even consider trading to get an extra colonist but there's a long way to go before I feel safe enough getting anyone else unless they wander in on their own.

Not the most eventful of days all said and done as Angel mostly hunted to fill our food stockpile with meat and Syd spent the day essentially making bricks. Nicole again tried to recruit Ash only to yet again fail, I begin to wonder if she really is any good as a warden.

A large group of visitors, just glad they are friendly...

Day 15

The day starts off with Angel mostly hunting anything that moves including a doe that went mad and tried to bust it's way into the makeshift prison with Ash inside. However despite Angel's proficiency she took some wounds as it closed into melee range, giving her some bites and bruises that need tending to sooner rather than later.

A mild disaster however as another raid arrives with Angel far from the main colony harvesting berries, the AI director really has it out for me it seems. Before Nicole can get out of the building and Angel can get back the raider makes a bee-line for the generators and starts pummeling them with his club causing more than a few problems.

Nicole for her part was likely more than a little annoyed someone interrupted her research and kills the pirate raider before putting out the fires. Syd whom was cowering inside at the time then moves outside again and repairs the damage done, think I need to really start looking into some serious defences and soon if these raids keep up. Luckily it's only one melee armed person at a time so far but the moment firearms come into play, this could get ugly and fast.

Apparently the scratches and bites from the deer were more severe than I first thought, Angel whom had been off gathering berries collapses in pain. So I send Nicole off to rescue her before she perishes, this is really not good. If we lose Angel to infection then this colony may well not survive it.

Talk about a cliff hanger of an ending for today's blog post! I really should have ordered Angel to rest so, that was likely on me but bites and scratches are rarely much of a worry I guess that'll teach me. Will Angel survive her injuries? Will the colony even make it to winter? Only way to find out is to keep reading! Hope you enjoyed this one and make sure to keep an eye out for the next part!

Nicole has to rescue Angel whom collapsed in pain from earlier injury. Uh oh.

Part 4 can be found here!

Let's Play: Rimworld Part 4 - A Slim Hope

"We knew it looked like some kind of alpine forest where we landed so we expected it to get cold eventually but mother nature was having the last laugh. The cold snap that hit us killed off most of our fledgling crops and made working outside a battle against frostbite. All we can do now is hope it clears and we can grow more food before it's too late."

Day 10

And back we are again Fox-fans, in the now slightly frozen Fox Republic, running out of food and freezing our collective bits off thanks to the AI director deciding they didn't like us. At the start of this particular day Syd seems to be trying to haul things up to our stockpile whilst Angel continues hunting some of the deer herd to try and bulk out our dwindling food supply. I also order two campfires built outside so they have somewhere closer to run to for warming up.

This really isn't looking good for the colony so far if this cold snap doesn't end soon the food supply will run out. Even if it does end soon we may not have enough to get us through the winter either so it's now going to be key for Nicole to research hydroponics so I can grow food year round. I also order a hand tailor bench and a heater constructed, just hope the wood generators have enough juice to keep us running.

All I can really do at this point is hope the cold-snap ends in time for me to get another set of crops planted and at least one or two good harvests to stockpile food. If we can convince Ash to join our intrepid crew her growing skills will be very helpful, for now we'll just have to see. Nicole for her part researches late into the night whilst Angel thinks playing horse-shoes in the driving snow is just the fun she needs right now (she does have the psycho trait but who am I to judge.)

Snow everywhere!

Day 11

Another day, yet the cold-snap is still persisting and has done for three days now as Syd cooks some of our meager meat supply into a couple of meals and Angel goes hunting for more deer. I've genuinely never had a cold snap happen in the middle of summer so this is looking a little bleak for the three colonists, Syd opts to meditate on it in her room for some reason.

As if by some bizarre miracle the cold snap ended about an hour after that meaning I can see light at the end of the tunnel, time to start planting ladies! Or at least that is what I tried to nudge them into doing but such is the nature of Rimworld. For now I start looking at where I am going to build this greenhouse for the hydroponics, I am thinking to the south below the fields. I don't really want to build it out of wood so a stone-cutter's table also gets placed in the main colony building so I can turn these chunks into usable materials.

Things are at least looking up for now, we were six meals away from starvation or worse. If only Angel would stop being so stubborn and actually start planting the fields rather than doing everything but, I think she's annoyed with me for some reason.

Nicole once again tries to convince Ash to join our little crew and I am seriously hoping she can do that soon. Ash has some seriously good growing skills meaning between her and Angel I may not only be able to get all the fields planted fast but I may even get more than one harvest from each which will keep us going through winter when it hits.

Just when I thought things were looking up Nicole decided to hurl insults at Syd as she went to bed and the two now class as rivals. Just my luck.

Ash still needs a lot of convincing to join it would appear, can't say I blame her.

Day 12

Well, at least this day starts off relatively well with Angel getting up bright and early and finally getting to work planting the fields rather than ignoring my gentle nudging. Not quite out of the woods yet mind you as we are still critically short of meals meaning at least one deer a day has to keep us going until the crops start growing. Angel for her part actually quite smartly planted the whole corn field first, as that will take longest to grow but give the highest yield, a full harvest of that may well see us through the winter.

Ash seems to be slowly coming around to the idea of joining my motley band of misfits but Nicole has thus far been unable to convince her completely, whilst she will be an extra mouth to feed I really really need her growing and animal skills right now. I also set the remainder of the deer herd to be hunted as well as every small animal on the map I can find, until these crops grow meat is the only kind of food I have access to aside from berries.

Scouring the map one final time just in case there are one or two survival meals laying about I also set about designating every single berry bush I can find to be harvested. Every last scrap of food is now going to be needed or this colony won't survive til winter much less last through it.

Looking at my options I think it's going to be critical to get a hydroponics area set-up to supplement the food supply during non-growing months. I think I am also going to consider planting yet another field even if just temporarily, rice being the best bet as it's fast growing if I can even get one or two harvests from it then it will be worth it.

Hunting options are thinning out fast, the deer herd is all but gone on there are only a handful of other animals on the map not counting the Muffalo herd, they however are my reserve option. The main idea for them is to eventually tame them for their wool and milk but as I'd need to be able to feed them too, well, I can barely feed my colonists at the moment. Animal's do migrate onto the map but I can't really rely on it, if needs be they'll need to be hunted for food.

As if reading my mind Angel ends her day praying in her room, not something I expected her to be doing but there you have it.

It's rarely been this much of a roller coaster this early on in most of my Rimworld games to date so I hope you are all enjoying it thus far. Will the Fox Republic manage to prepare for winter successfully? You'll just have to keep reading but for now that ends part four, thank you to everyone for reading!

Things have finally thawed out but is the damage already done?

If you missed part 3, find it here!

Let's Play: Rimworld Part 3 - Things Were Going Too Well..

"Had they once been like us? Victims of circumstance simply trying to survive as we were? All we knew for certain was this small patch of forest we now called home was no-where near as safe as we had hoped. We would have to be ready to defend ourselves from more than just the flora and fauna."

Day 7

With most of the basics now in place it's time to start considering what to do next. I am definitely going to need batteries researched before winter as well as heating, lighting and some defences. I am also genuinely leaning toward planting a fourth field and laying down some sandbags in case of another pirate raid or worse.

The day starts with Angel feeding our prisoner Ash whom I have decided to try and recruit given her skills with growing and animals it could really help build up a food stockpile and free Angel up to do some hunting. For now I set up three small 2 by 9 fields for growing some more advanced things like healroot and cotton plants warm clothes are going to also be something I need to consider sooner rather than later.

Nicole attempts to convince Ash to join us whilst also researching, if I can get batteries I can look toward either researching weapons of some kind or perhaps look into alternatives for power generation but we'll get to that later. For now I set Syd off to build some sandbags to the north and south to give my shooters some cover from approaching enemies.

Food is starting to get low now and our starting resources are largely spent so at the end of day seven I designate a wide area of berry bushes to be harvested, steel and compacted machinery to be mined and trees to be chopped.

It really is starting to take shape, it's going well!

Day 8

Well I had a feeling this was going a bit too well now a cold snap hits, meaning it may well kill off my growing crops which puts even more pressure on my low food stores. Not to mention making every single one of my colonists complain about having to wander about in sub zero temperatures!

This could sow the seeds of ending this run earlier than I would like by far if my crops start dying off it's unlikely I'll get enough food stockpiled to survive the winter. There isn't a great abundance of berry bushes so I am going to have to be a bit risky with Angel for now hunting some of the dear herd roaming to the north of me, squirrel and rabbit meat alone won't come in enough quantity to help with my ailing food supplies. There is also another herd to my south and even a muffalo herd to my east but I'd rather wait and see if I can preserve them for the milk and wool later on.

If Nicole can convince Ash to join us sooner rather than later her growing skills may just arrive soon enough to avert at least this minor disaster. Welcome to Rimworld indeed, when the AI story-teller just suddenly decides things are going far too well for you!

This deer herd is now on the menu.

Day 9

With a worrying chunk of my crops dying overnight Angel starts off day nine with some hunting I also decide that rather than researching weapons next I may make a beeline for hydroponics. Also with some visitors arriving I am thinking I try and trade some of my starting silver for any food or meals they may have, every piece of food is crucial now.

It's so cold that I have had to build a campfire in my main building just to give my colonists somewhere to warm up, hypothermia is now becoming an issue, with all my colonists getting frostbite I am not even sure how much further this run can go if things continue on this downward spiral.

At least I managed to get three batteries up and running to store excess power a small victory. I am now definitely going to have the next research be hydroponics and then try and set-up a greenhouse of some kind, it may be the only way my colonists have a chance of surviving the winter at this point.

Just when I thought I was perhaps getting ahead of the curve, it starts to snow two seasons early and kills off the rest of my crops. Hunting is going to be the only way I can survive for now so first things first, I need to chop more wood and strategically place campfire so my colonists don't have to travel far to warm up.

Also I am going to need a tailors bench and put some of the leather I have been gathering to use making some poncho's to help keep people warm. I think my biggest hope right now is that the cold snap ends soon enough that I can replant the fields and get at least one decent harvest before winter properly hits, if I can't manage that, well, we'll just have to see what happens in the next part!

For now though I hope you are still enjoying this written let's play, watch this space for the next part soon!

Driving snow, low food, dying crops.. Welcome to Rimworld!

If you missed Part 2, Click Here!

Let's Play: Rimworld - Part 2 A Shaky Start

"What we had assumed was a relatively peaceful section of forest quickly proved too good to be true for our husky, Isis. We only saw the first of the two cougars, a pair of silent killing machines that saw us as little more than food. The sense of elation and triumph as the first beast fell was cut short as the angry barks of Isis were the only warning her had before we knew there was even a second one. Whilst she fought bravely we could not save her from its jaws, rest in peace Isis."

Day 4

Before my colonists even awake on day four the visitor decided to leave a gift of four pieces of gold, that goes some way to make up for Isis being munched on by a cougar. I also decide to put a roof over the stone building my colonists are currently sleeping in, I feel that may make a good prison area but that's to worry about later. Naming the settlement and faction was easy enough so from now on we shall be 'The Republic of Fox' and our settlement will be called 'The Foxhole' names that likely won't surprise anyone but still!

The dining area is starting to take shape at last and just as Angel and Syd begin working on some wood-fired generators yet more visitors arrive from another settlement, a good eight of them. Luckily they are friendly but I won't be interacting with them much this time.

Visitors, lots of visitors.. Good thing they are friendly.

With a pair of generators now up and the freezers coolers being built it means I can more easily stockpile food ahead of the brutal winters in though not starting with the battery technology unlocked was a little jarring, we shall adapt.

Whoops, after sending Syd and Angel to deconstruct some ship parts for more components a mad squirrel attacked and wounded Syd taking several bites and scratches on her arms and legs. Ouch. Those visitors proved more fortuitous than I thought as they rushed to Syd's aid and took care of the squirrel. I'm sure that'll give them plenty to joke about when they get back home, poor Syd.  The end of day four sees Angel patching Syd up and taking her a meal to aid in her recovery whilst Nicole opts to begin research on getting us batteries to store excess power which is going to be vital.

Day 5

I start off this day by throwing down another nine by nine growing zone for corn whilst a recovering Syd heads to the south to break down the ship part she was chased off from yesterday (yes I know it was a squirrel.) She does however sense and ancient danger when she moves past a structure built into the mountain to the south so I am not going anywhere near that place. Hopefully someone will decide to finish the actual beds today as sleeping on the floor is making Nicole particularly grouchy.

Angel opts to finish planting the rice field and begin on the cornfield which is good as I think we may even get two harvests out of each field before the temperature drops. Though I am not sure how much more will happen today due to Syd having to stop to rest so often due to her wounds from the previous day however she does finish healing near the end so that is good, if she'd died to a squirrel that'd have been humiliating.

Not the most eventful of days but that in itself can be a good thing in Rimworld at times, I feel perhaps I have piled too many work orders on which is why the beds still are not finished. I also need to start considering defences, as it's usually at about this point an angry pirate with a stick shows up. Warm clothes are also going to be very much needed but one step at a time for now.

Things are slowly taking shape.

Day 6

And with day six rolling around Syd is actually first to rise likely due to all the extra sleeping she did yesterday, she will be chopping down trees to ensure we have enough wood to keep our generators going and to finish the basics of our first building. With all three colonists now up and about there are many trees being felled whilst Syd busies herself finally building the beds, Angel opts to try her hand at researching over Nicole for some reason but so long as it gets done.

Well, I saw that coming a pirate raid a single pirate called Ash armed with a club seems to have taken offence to all the noise we are making. I briefly considered bashing her over the head and taking her prisoner in an attempt to convince him to join us but a brief look at her bio and skills I am not so sure. Good with animals and plants, we'll have to see how this goes I am not really in a position to risk my colonists too much at this stage.

A pirate armed with a club named Ash. Brave or foolhardy? 

I draft Angel and Nicole and begin moving them toward Ash's position to intercept her, so long as she doesn't get too badly wounded or outright killed I think I may try and convince her to join the Republic of Fox.

She took a few shots but Ash collapsed in pain rather than die outright, with Angel taking a bruise to the shoulder in the process so I opt to capture her after assigning the spare fourth bedroom as a prisoner room for the time being. We'll have to see if we can convince Ash joining us is in her best interests.

That is of course if she survives and recovers from her wounds and Nicole our resident warden can sway her. The end of day six was a lot more eventful, it would appear as both the stove and butchers table were constructed, all the beds are up so the next day it'll likely be sprucing things up, placing defences and starting to work toward building up a health food stockpile to survive the winter.

I hope you are all enjoying this so far, watch this space for the next part!

With Ash in custody and everyone happily sleeping in their own rooms, things are going well!

If you missed Part 1 you can read it Here!