Rimworld - Colony 1 - Part 1

Day 1

Current Objectives:

• Shelter: Can't have them sleeping on the ground in sleeping spots forever, makes people cranky. A wooden structure with a bed for everyone seems a good first choice; I can worry about a more permanent set-up with bricks later.

• Storage: Most resources decay when left out in the open, not just food, so securing them is a good idea.

• Food production: Obviously, the ready meals will suffice for a while, berry picking and hunting can supplement supplies, but planting crops and getting a kitchen set-up is essential early in my view.

Crashlanding in a cryopod likely wasn't how anyone wanted to wake up, a Monday morning from hell that had little to do with queues or traffic. A Rimworld, as far from the glitterworlds and comforts of civilisations as you could get. Only three pods survived whatever disaster caused their stricken ship to eject the pods in the first place; wreckage littered the surrounding area along with a smattering of supplies. The initial shock wore off as each of them rushed forward to check what they actually had to work with: a couple of basic weapons, some raw materials and enough food to last a while. Enough to assuage any early worries about starving, though far from enough to survive in the long run.

Hermine set about the task of constructing a basic wooden shelter first, as the two sets of ruins nearby barely constituted walls, much less a shield against the elements. She was the only one who had any experience at building anything at all though she warned the others it wouldn't be the most elaborate shelter to begin with. Ara and Bowman set about the equally important task of choosing where to place their first fields for crops to secure their food supplies for the long haul. It wasn't like another ship dropping by to rescue them was within the realms of possibility anytime soon, if ever. Bowman suggested hunting, though she was reluctant to draw too many attention to their location with gunfire; they had no idea who or what might be out there after all. The tales of the Rimworld's hardly even paint them as serene paradises.

They opted to sleep in one of the sturdier-looking ruins, hoping Hermine wouldn't take too long in constructing a crude wooden shelter and some actual beds for them to sleep in. The others set about chopping down trees and deciding what crops to grow, ultimately choosing a variety of things, including rice, potatoes, corn, and some medicinal herbs, when they realised their medical supplies were rather meagre. Yet neither Bowman or Ara could quite figure out how, causing them to decide against wasting the seeds until they were sure they could grow it safely. Healroot was a finicky plant after all.

Fox Note: Healroot takes 8 skill points to plant, meaning Ara needs at least one more skill level to be able to plant healroot. Something to keep in mind for future colonies, at least!

Initial work proved slow, all three of them periodically having to stop as the cryosleep sickness ensured their stomachs weren't exactly happy with them. Bowman at least managed to move all the wood they had into position, cutting down the time Hermine would need to actually build their wooden shelter. Ara, for her part, began clearing the designated growing areas, providing the extra wood that would be required to get them into a more reliable shelter rather than having to huddle against a ruined wall on the ground. A small side structure was planned as well, a small storage area to start with though they knew they'd need a more dedicated area later and likely some storage crates for good measure.

A large portion of the walls for their new home were in place by the time the sun began to set, and Ara had even fully planted the potato field and a good-sized chunk of the rice field. The roofing would have to wait; they all decided to sleep despite the sound of a prowling warg nearby, with Bowman making a mental note to keep an eye on it, if it got too close she'd have to shoot it.

And so the first day ended without incident, they all held some hope that they would make it through the early days and become a successful, if somewhat reluctant, colony. There were many more challenges ahead for the unlucky trio, however.

Day 2

Fox Note: It seems that for something to count as indoors, you need doorways, not just open gaps in the wall. Not sure if that was changed or if I just never noticed before. The more you know! So, make sure your store rooms have a roof and doors to stop your resources from deteriorating from being outside.

With the walls in place, the second day began with some extensive planning of bedrooms, a butcher's table and stove, plus a couple of storage crates for the vast amount of steel that seemed to have landed nearby. Also, a table and chairs were given consideration as Ara complained about having to eat breakfast standing up, which was all kinds of annoying and the other two couldn't help but agree, even if Hermine wasn't thrilled at having to build chairs. Apparently, they were not as easy as they might seem to the untrained eye to make yet she would make the attempt.

The three colonists began early, each of them rushing around and too busy to think about much beyond their tasks as planting and construction continued at a reasonable pace. Both Ara and Bowman were hoping that Hermine would be able to at the very least finish building the beds so they didn't have to sleep outside for a second night in a row. Ara for her part threw herself into planting with a kind of intimidating gusto that saw her almost entirely plant everything except the healroot (something they hoped they wouldn't need but wanted to have just in case.) Ara suggested they need someplace cold to store food, though Hermine suggested they wait until they had something less flammable to run any power cables through before they built it. Wood was easier to replace, sure, though a wooden structure of any kind would easily burn to the ground with a malfunction.

Hermine's construction ability seemed to show steady signs of improvemen,t though they all agreed she was far from the best and only compensated for it with her enthusiasm. A lot of the doors were botched or didn't shut right, meaning Hermine had to tear them down and build them from scratch more than once. Those setbacks meant she couldn't quite get the beds done, causing another reluctant night sleeping on the ground. Despite that, they were all still hopeful, despite the crash landing, nothing else had gone wrong by that point, and while they were far from safe or secure in the long run, they were alive and healthy at that moment.

Day 3

While the third day began much as the previous two had, with a rush of activity as the unlikely trio tried to ensure their survival, Bowman had noticed something which made them all a little anxious. Smoke in the distance, which meant survivors from other crashes or just outlaws evading the law in a place where there were none. It made them all check their weapons, and Hermine and Bowman opted to divvy out the small amount of armour they had between the two of them. Given that Hermine had no combat skills at all, they felt it might be best to ensure she had some protection. While assuming any other people were hostile felt pessimistic, all of them knew they couldn't afford to think everyone there had opted to coexist peacefully.

Bowman suggested that they construct some sandbags for cover at various points to ensure they could defend their new home should the neighbours prove to be less friendly than they hoped. With only three of them, their options for defence were limited; all they had was a couple of firearms and a knife between them. Any dedicated or sufficiently numerous attacker would likely prove to be the end of them before they had even begun. It was this fact that ensured they opted to build a research table; they needed a lot of things from batteries for power storage to a means to craft their own weapons. Though Hermine also suggested they simply find something they could make or find that would give them something to trade with friendlier settlements until then.

Barricades were set up at key points around the main structure. There was plenty of steel for them to use all while Ara and Bowman made sure to cut down enough trees to finish off the beds and furniture, ensuring that as the day progressed, their wooden cabin began to look more and more like a home rather than a crate with a door on the side. That and they all had beds with a roof over their head, which was a significant improvement compared to sleeping on the ground, huddled in the ruins of whoever had come before them.

Fox Note: Chairs take a long time to make compared to most other types of furniture, so don't overdo the number of chairs early on, or your builder might fall behind on more important things!

As the daylight began to fade, a visitor arrived, a bodyguard from a nearby settlement who seemed friendly enough and appeared to be just passing through. All three of them were relieved that at least one nearby settlement appeared to be friendly or, at the very least, not actively hostile toward them.

Objectives Completed: Basic Shelter Constructed. Basic Storage Area Constructed. Fields sown.

New Objectives:

• Cold Storage: Fridges for storing food long-term to stop it from going bad were essential for long-term survival, though this objective alone meant others were needed to see it realised.

• Power & Power Storage: Options for power would be needed, though the colony had limited components to make use of, meaning a wood-fire generator, solar panels or a wind generator were needed for the time being, if not several. Batteries to store excess power would also need to be researched.

• Begin Research Projects: While a lot of them would be needed, batteries were the priority, followed by beer production to improve people's moods and tree sowing to ensure a steady supply of wood for the planned generators.

Day 4

Another day began, eating breakfast around a table with chairs was a novelty they all appreciated after days of having to eat standing up or propped up against a wall. Ara herself gushed that she had finally figured out how to grow healroot reliably, meaning that they would at least have some basic medical supplies coming in to supplement their limited stock. Another small hurdle was overcome and one less issue they had to deal with.

The relatively peaceful routine the three of them had settled into was thrown out quite promptly, just as midday arrived, a Lynx, seemingly agitated by all the noise from the trio, barreled out of the trees toward Ara. While Ara did the only thing most people would do and began to run, Bowman took up a position nearby to take it out once Ara was out of the line of fire. While her first two shots whizzed past the scrambling ball of angry fur and claws to little effect, the third struck it in the neck, ending it instantly. Much to the relief of everyone present.

While things went back to normal for a few hours, a frenzied rat seemingly launched itself at Bowman, causing several painful injuries, including a cracked jaw and a bruised eye. They opted to make the 4th bed a medical bed to let Ara treat any such injuries in the future, it seemed their good luck was starting to wane.

With Bowman recovering, Ara and Hermine set about cutting down trees and stockpiling the wood they'd need for the stove and generators, plus they had no idea how bad the winters would be. Heating and clothing were things they'd have to worry about in the future yet surviving until winter in the first place was still far from assured.

Day 5

Bowman was first up, recovered from her close encounter with rodent-kind, and she set about turning their animal attackers into meals for the next few days. Opting to conserve the survival meals as long as possible, she just lamented the lack of vegetables to put with it. Though Ara had done quite a job ensuring that they had a variety of crops to look forward to, from the humble potato to corn and strawberries.

Hermine had wanted to start building a couple of wood-fuelled generators but Bowman convinced her to wait until she'd figured out how to build batteries to store the excess power. That led their resident builder to begin working on a more long-term project in the interim, a stonecutters' bench to begin making bricks so they could build far sturdier (and fire-resistant) structures.

While a productive day, nothing truly of note happened until later in the evening when a seemingly feral man wandered into the colony buck naked. It was clear he didn't have a clue what any of them were saying, meaning they very much had to treat him like an animal or at the very least a threat until they could figure out how to help him. Was he another survivor? Perhaps the shock had completely erased his memory or something else had driven the poor soul completely out of his mind? They opted to try and help him if they could rather than driving him off or simply putting him out of his misery.

Given their progress the three of them decide to call themselves the Survivors Alliance while naming their fledgling colony Resilience. Whether that was a premature declaration or simply an attempt at manifesting their goals, they all decided that was the best choice. It was surely something they'd need to brave the dangers of the world around them, whether it was annoyed Lynx or crazed projectile rats to the face, something told them that they had only just truly begun their journey of surviving on the Rimworld.

Fox Note: I'll keep it to about 5 game days per post for the time being, increasing or decreasing it depending on what happens. I suspect days will have a lot more going on as the colony grows and the AI Director decides to throw some events our way. Thanks for reading. Feedback is always welcome, just be constructive!