This.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/294100/

Don't bet on it being release is full any time soon, but apparently it's playable, balanced and relatively bug free. Very much like Prison Architects which I enjoyed greatly!

Unfortunate name. (yes, I know they are not referring to that)

So it's like PA but with survival elements and scifi stuff? No wonder you like it.

Looks good...gonna keep an eye on this!

Righto chaps, after having spent alot of release-day watching the timer go down, I very much insta-bought this game.

My immediate impressions were "wow. i wasn't expecting this to be so complex". Mainly because I was expecting interface options to have a different philosophy, so from that point of view it took an hour or two to get used to. I have to say, I cannot really fault the interface without really trying to analyse it, so I think it's effective.

The game itself seems very fun so far. Somewhat of the cross between Prison Architect and Dwarf Fortress. It appears to be fairly deep, so I suspect it will take a while to understand precisely where it falls between those two titles. It has hints of randomness and cuntish hardness, kinda like Men of War.

Oh, and Rinox, that last colony I lost. For the first time, not too long after you left, some pirates arrived, but it was a siege event, not a raid event. Difference is that as soon as they appear, they start to construct defenses and some kind of artillery unit to bomb you from afar. I thought it would have been a very bad idea to wait, so I attacked, but I kinda knew I wouldn't win the battle.

So i have to start again. Not sure how to deal with any such event again, aside from slide the difficulty down.

Status report on my new world, which is going far better than all my previous attempts:

Rinox
Specialties: Construction, Shooting
Gear: Light machine gun, Kevlar Helmet, Kevlar Jacket
Comments: Possibly the most useful character because Construction is a big part of the game, so it's good to have someone who's good at it and has a passion in it. He is also by far the best shooter, so i've given him a pretty good weapon (LMG) which allows him to have medium range and medium damage (so no massive tradeoffs). I have to say, seeing him use the LMG brings a great deal of pleasure. As the enemies in a raid creep forward toward our defensive lines, there's nothing quite so satisfying as hearing that 6 round burst watching the rounds go downrange whilst my other colonists have semi-automatic weapons and try to be more selective and slow with their shooting. It's very relieving. It's quite a beast up close too. If anyone closes in short distance, that thing is pretty much guaranteed to f*** someone up as most rounds are likely to hit. Rinox is good at a few other things like crafting, but i think he's incapable of Intellect and Caring. Despite that, he was a good roll for combat and construction. One thing i've recently noticed about his hapiness is that he's complaining about his room not being good enough, despite it being like everyone elses. I think this might be because he is the busiest colonist, so he thinks he's entitled to better. This is a little contrary to Ox's renound stoic-ness.

Derf
Specialties: Social
Gear: Assault rifle, Kevlar Jacket
Comments: Social wouldn't be my natural trait, but in the game its useful because i'm able to be an effective Warden, which helps alot with the prison mechanics which i'll explain later. Anyway, Derf is much more of an all-rounder with various others skills, able to be a backup Constructor. The assault rifle i've only recently acquired, but on paper it's better than what Derf had before which was a bolt action rifle. The AR gives less damage and slightly less range (i think), but it shoots in 3 round burst, so total damage output can be higher, and chance to hit is higher. Not as good a shooter as Rinox, but I was very happy with the roll because of the other skills Derf has. Nothing too negative or positive in terms of perks / traits too, so a fairly simple character to manage. He has an interesting "Jealous" trait, in that he gets unhappy if he doesn't have the best bedroom.

O'Cram
Specialties: Doctor, Research
Gear: Sniper Rifle, Kevlar Jacket
Comments: Now, O'cram is a little interesting for a couple of reasons. Firstly, one of his perks is that his happiness is boosted by a good amount if he is naked. Which means that during spring and summer, he literally spends all his time completely naked. I haven't seen any drawbacks to this, and the other colonists don't seem to have reacted negatively, so ... whatever. The curious thing is that in real life he has a reputation that as a kid he loved being naked, so this is curiously accurate. Anyway, in-game this means I can't rely on him keeping his kevlar jacket on, so I have to give him the sniper rifle so he stays out of danger. He's not a particularly good shooter, but I did impressively observe one very long shot his the target, so I guess that means he's not useless. He is a very useful Doctor, and that's important because injuries and illness is pretty much constant in Rimworld. He's saved the skin of the colonists many times. On top of that, he's good at research, which is also very important because via research you unlock a myriad of things one by one, which all add to your colony, whether it be the knowledge to brew beer, knowledge to build automatic doors, or knowledge to craft a workbench that allows you to build weapons.

Phil
Specialties: Animal handling, Mining
Gear: Knife
Comments: This is a newer arrival. As far as I recall he appeared seeking to join the colony. With this game it seems that in terms of manpower, the more the merrier. This guy is a bit old (in his 50's) and he's not the most useful, but he's classified as a "vet" and so he's not bad at animal handling, which will help with rearing livestock. He isn't too bad with melee too, so i've given him a half-decent knife to wield, because he's pretty nooby with guns. He's not too bad in combat. I generally keep him hidden behind something, and have him bumrush or intercept someone if needs be. It is a bit slow, but the impression i get is that he's an old timer that's pretty strong. Oh, and he's gay. He's got a fancy for the guy below, but he's been rejected a few times so he's not dealing with happiness very well. His breakdowns aren't bad, but recently he's gone "berserk" and couldn't contain his rage. Luckily he didn't do anything stupid.

Pyro
Specialties: None really
Gear: Steel Spear
Comments: His name isn't really "Pyro" but I intend to name him that. This guy is a psycholical mess. When he gets in a bad mood, he starts fires randomly until he chills out, which means that my other colonists need to rush around the place putting the fires out before they become a problem. It's a manic 5 minutes when that happens. I wish there was a way to punish or arrest him, but there isn't. This guy is another "arrival". He was part of an enemy raiding party that I defeated. I killed a few, incapacitated him, and the rest fled. So, I imprisoned him, and then convinced him to join, so he became a fully fledged colonist. He isn't massively good at anything in particular, but his melee skill is ok, and his doctor skill is good enough to be a backup. He can do some other jobs here and there, so he's useful, but his Pyromaniac trait causes me to consider whether I should make him have an "accident". This is the guy who Phil is hitting on, but he's having none of it. Luckily this consists of just rebuffs at the moment, so i hope it's not going to degrade into something more volatile.

Doc
Specialties: Doctor, Research
Gear: None
Comments: This is the very newest addition. He came via another crashed pod. He's an old timer (ex starship doctor) and can't fight, but he's now the best doctor we have, as well as being pretty good at research. This kind of makes O'Cram less crucial, but it's very handy having someone DECENT as backup doctor, and someone else who can research. This guy won't be participating in fights, but he can keep the place tidy and be on standby for first aid.

Some other points, which are more like "learnings":

Research: Very important to the game. I neglected this in my first few worlds, but not it's pretty central. Basically, because it unlocks things like knowledge and crafting ability, and tech. The tricky thing about it, is that your colonist will only prioritise a useful amount of time toward it if he's somewhat dedicated to it. So you need to use the Work manager to allocate jobs between your colonists with a bit of strategy. So far i've reseached: Stonesmithing (for statues improve desirablility of area, and thus happiness), Brewing (yet to brew anything), Smithing (some tools and weapons).

Defenses: The difficulty is rough. I'm playing on medium settings, and the first few worlds i've played were vicious. So far, this world has lasted a while and I think I understand the mechanics more. However, I have seen some crazy stuff that makes me feel immensely insecure. Like raids where some enemy dudes have personal forcefields, molotovs, uzi's, sniper rifles, etc, but even one instance where a robot spawned. As a result, arranging defenses is crucial. In this world I tried building a stone wall so that I can limit the direction where enemies come from, but I found out that if they have explosive weapons, they can blow a hole through it. So that's not exactly a reliable option. What I have arranged now, is some carefully placed sandbag positions. I now have a better idea of where the perimiter of my colony is, as well as where i'm likely to expand, so i've build a "C" shaped sandbag position on each corner of the colony, so that i'm able to direct a defence regardless of where it comes from. So far it's proven effective. Having 1 guy on an assault rifle, Ox on the LMG, O'Cram on a sniper rifle, and 2 melee dudes has sometimes resulted in the enemy being routed, while me having taken no damage. However, the issue i'm now facing is that some enemies have personal force fields, which means they're mostly invulnerable to ranged weapons until they enter melee combat. It's not so bad because if you use a personal force field, you can't shoot out of it, but this usually means that any enemy with a force field is a competent melee fighter. I'm not sure what the solution here is apart from maybe swamping with 2 fighters while Ox tries to use the LMG at close quarters. Another word about defenses, and Ox pointed this out when he was watching, is that the enemy can use rubble and trees as partial cover to fight behind. So I need to make sure i've cleared all the crap directly in front of the sandbag positions so that any shooting downrange will hit meat as opposed to granite blocks or crap lying around.

Farming
Farming too much can cause an issue for storage, and if you leave food lying around it will just rot. My previous colony was producing ridiculous amounts of food causing an unmanageable hauling and storage problem, so it's crucial to strike a balance. At the moment i'm farming potatoes and corn, and this will produce simple meals. Adding meat will make a medium quality meal, but I need to be clever about how to get it, as I can't just butcher and exterminate all the sources of animals on the colony. I did try to rear chickens, but I failed with comical results (they all starved), and the remaining few were eaten by a timberwolf. Needless to say that i now need to wait for some tribal traders to visit to i can buy roosters and hens, so that I can retry. Other than that, there isn't a problem getting meat. I can always hunt the occasional squirrel or boar, but i need to be careful I do it sustainably.

Capturing
The most crucial of all learnings. Manpower = defense and building capability. So the more men, the merrier. The only mechanism I see to control the intake of new colonists (aside from hoping for visitors, and crashed pods) is to incapacitate enemies while they raid you (which is total luck as to whether they survive the gunshot wounds). You "capture" them, as opposed to "rescue" them. Rescuiing merely gets one of your doctors to take them in, heal them, and once they're able to walk, they're released. "Capturing" them makes someone carry them into a pre-made bedroom (allocated as a prison cell). They're healed over time, and if they survive you have a few diplo options (Release, Execute, Chat, Convince to join). I've seen someone who has 99% chance of being convinced to join, so in that instance I was merciful and released him (or her). The others i've seen have 50% chance, so this way it is possible to expand your colony. The only thing to check beforehand is their injuries. If Ox has emptied his LMG into someone and punctured every organ, or severed fingers or limbs, it's probably best to euthanaise. Even if they're healed, they will probably be useless due to traits. Similarly, you need to check their psycholocial traits. If they're psychopaths, or are messed up in some other way, they're going to be too difficult to manage, so, again, release or execute.

Happiness
This is quite deep. Your colonists have needs. Each colonist will have a unique set of needs and perks (just like real life), so you need to prioritise work, time off, items accordingly. Colonists that arent happy, will (at best) confine themselves to their bedroom in a sulk for a day (causing you production problems). In other cases they might randomly start fires (if they're a pyromanic) or go berserk and smash shit up. Thus, making leisure stuff is important, just like it's important not to overwork them. There are about 3 levels of "mental breakdown" each manifesting itself in mental instability, and i've experienced all three. Not pretty to see. O'cram is the least susceptible it seems. Then it's me and Ox, then it's Gay Phil, then it's the pyromaniac, who is actually quite annoying.

Hahaha, the Rimworld is pretty brutal man! Ot at least is sounds like it.

I think Pyro is a definite risk. I'd say you arrange and accident next time he starts fires. Before you know it he's doing it during a raid or a siege, when you'll have your hands full as it is. No mercy. Lock him in a room with Phil, the homksexual berserker in love with him. Outcome should be clear.

How does research advance? I mean, what sort of investment does it require? Just people 'researching', or physical materials too?

Interesting comment about the lack of justice system. I'm guessing it's a feature that will be implemented later but is low the priority list. Dwarf Fortress has one ( of course ), but it's hardly perfect. For one, after being arrested, prisoners need to be fed, so if your guys are too busy doing god knows what - usually drinking - there's a real chance of all your prisoners starving. Another amusing side effect of the DF justice system is that if your arresting officer is very strong or skilled with his weapon he may seriously fuck up dwarves for minor criminal charges. I'm talking breaking every bond in their body and often rendering them useless to society. The solution? Giving them a Warhammer of the lightest material in the game, the equivalent of hitting them with a papier mache weapon. All the more crucial since the ones demanding swift justice are usually disgruntled nobles, after a dwarf failed to deliver on their insane and unrealistic demand of an adamantine throne studded with diamonds. Yeah, it's tough being a craftsdwarf!

Erh, sorry for the sidebar. Back to Rimworld! Loving Ox' building + violence lord without any social skills. The demands for better treatment are a bit out of character though yeah. And LOL @ Ocram and his nakedness. Why is it always him? At least it seems to protect him from adverse mental states I guess!

What's with all the men though? Bit of a sausage fest. If you want loyal footsoldiers you may need to start breeding. Do children take their parents' traits to some extent? Potential for eugenics there.

Very happy to hear the millions ( is open clear area around base) is working out ok. now you have a while rifle you can give it to ox or derf and pick off sieging enemies from a distance too.

Looks interesting. I dropped in on my wishlist so I can keep an eye on the price and stuff. I won't drop $30 on a game like this, but if it gets (significantly) lower I'd definitely give it a shot.

Yeah, it's brutal, and sometimes consuming in mildly bleak way. But not as bleak as Banner Saga. Played it last year and still suffering from post-traumatic-Banner-Saga.

Research is very simple. Unless a colonist in incapable of "intellectual", anyone can research at a "Research Table". The better your skill, the quicker the research completes. No resources are needed. It is a very simplistic system, so i'd like to see some enhancements made.

Agreed with the justice system. Who knows, one day it might be developed.

lol @ sausagefest. In a sexist way, I just see men as more reliable in an extremely hostile survival situation.

Pyro ended up getting crushed underneath rocks while mining. I didn't do it on purpose, or at least on a conscious level. Unsurprisingly, i was pretty "meh" about it. I'm sure Phil would have preferred to "see him off" but, alas, he died soon after in an identical accident. Again, I didn't do this on purpose. I like to think that he was so laden with grief at Rinox's constant rejections. That, or I was irresponsibly ordering him to mine the same area of hazardous stone.

The loss of two guys was a good chance for me to start a new world. I'd learned a lot, so I wanted to implement those learnings in a new game.

I started with the usual character format. 3 players. An Ox, Derf and O'cram. Again, Ox was good for Construction and Shooting, but useless with Social. Derf remained a good Cook, and decent all-rounder, but not as good at Shooting as before, and not Socially skilled at all. O'Cram is Researcher and Medic again.

This world is tricky in different ways, so i'm a bit surprised as to the variation of challenges that the game offers. I thought i'd learn most of what there was to learn after a few games, but i'm seeing different circumstances still. As a result, i'm not convinced that this new colony will do better than the previous. It's tough. I'm still on fairly basic weapons, which is causing me a slight problem in combat (Pistols, Shotguns, Melee, Bolt action rifle, and only 1 assault rifle - which Ox uses). The events feel more difficult too, and I do find myself thinking very hard what the best strategy and tactics are. Nevertheless i'm unlocking some tech that I didn't before. I'm just not quite there with my in-game projects enough to feel the benefit. I've had food production issues. I've had a harsh winter. I've had a "cold snap" in Spring, causing me crop issues. I've not had great medical supplies. I've had a beaver infestation causing a great loss of trees. I've had less than impressive weapons. While I have in total 7 colonists, only Ox and maybe someone else is an impressive shooter. I've picked up a few colonists that don't have very useful skills, so I delegate them to mundate duties like mining, hauling, and cleaning. As a result, my crafting takes a long time for things like body armour, which I desperately need. I just feel like i'm still battling the curve in this world. I hope there's some relief around the corner, otherwise I may start a new world in hope of applying my strategy a little differently.

In other news, i've hacked my savegame file to remove the line that allow Firestorms to happen. They happen far too regularly (guaranteed one or two each summer). They burn down about a quarter or half of the map, before the AI decides you've had enough and sends a raincloud to quench the inferno. They definitely need nerfing.

New colony is going well. No Derf and O'cram in this one, because I rolled two good female characters, and decided to keep them. So, Ox is living it up to the extent that he married one very early on. They share the same bed (aww, how sweet) and every now and then they "get down" and enjoy a nice hapiness boost (eww).

I'm gonna start just posting screenshots because it's all a fairly complex thing to describe.

Where are our screenshots bitch? =D

I know, I know! I'm pouring so many hours into this game, I never get it to steady enough state to report my status anymore. It constantly changes.

It's so damn fun, in an OCD way that appeals to me greatly.

My current colony is 10-strong, and doing ok. Much better than the previous, which I abandoned, because it very much felt like a consistent uphill struggle to keep things working

Still learning. Still making mistakes. Still getting things seriously wrong.

Right now, i'm trying rearing chickens. Suffice to say that it's difficult to get the provisions correct, such as a barn for them to shelter in, temperature control, and most importantly feed. The first two factors I've now learned (after failing badly, and losing all of them to frostbite). The latter is my current issue. I'm a bit ashamed to say this, but i'm editing the save file to boost my Haygrass crops, because I didn't designate enough crops for growing Hay at a rate that the chickens needed to survive on. You might think that's a bit drastic, but I don't fancy losing all my chickens again after so much work. Firstly, they are hard to come by. You don't start with any on the map, so the only way to acquire them is to purchase them when the right trader comes to visit the colony, and they're expensive. The trader will sell either fertilised eggs, or Hens and Roosters, so you really have to rear them from the very beginning. The buggers eat so much food. I had to feed them potatoes for an extended period because of my Hay situation, so I now have no food stocks for my colonists (I've increased crop areas, so this should be manageable before starvation kicks in). Secondly, the meat and eggs chicken produce are the most plentiful source of meat/protein in the game (for cooking meals). Every other type of livestock / animal rears way too slowly. Chickens reproduce at crazy rates, so it's very much worth rearing them so that you can have a somewhat stable supply of meat to make medium quality meals (which provide hapiness boost).

Other than that, i'm slowly learning better base defense layouts and building layouts in terms of efficiency. I have made a full perimiter around my colony, which works well against the raids i'm facing now, though, sometimes I have major issues if the raids consist of enemies with a mix of weapons (grenades, melee and guns). The melee guys often have personal force fields, so they tank-in and cause big problems.

Oh, and since I thought the vanilla game was getting a bit stale, I installed about a dozen mods, and they've extended the dynamics of the game greatly. Very impressed.

Some nights i'm up until 3 am playing this. The gf has even recently started complaining.

What kind of mods are you using exactly? Cosmetic or mechanichs?

Lol @ potentially starving your human colonists to save your chickens. I guess it makes sense though, if there is a sudden famine you can always slaughter the chickens for food. And so, animal husbandry was born.

Are you using the individual commands now, and does it make a big difference?

Can you make two lines of defense, one ranged and one melee, so the melee guys can step forward and receive the impact of the charge? Roman style. Although I guess there is a very real danger of your more incompetent shooters shooting your own troops in the back that way.

I've been watching a Let's Play of this game recently, actually. Looks like a lot of fun. I'll definitely pick it up if/when the price hits a more reasonable level. I'd probably drop $15 for it, but $30 is excessive to me.

Mechanical mods Oxy:

1. Doormats - Dirt dragged in by colonists into rooms, is more likely to deposit on the doormat, as opposed to the room within (making cleaning a little more efficient).
2. Hospitality - More frequent visits by passing tribes/colonies. They use your colony as a hotel for a day or two (but they eat their own food!). This is a very pleasant touch to the game. If they enjoy their stay (determined by cleanliness, decorativeness, bed quality, dining table, etc) they leave you some token goods as a thanks (and these are often much needed). Sometimes the visitors are willing to trade a little, which also helps. There are diplo boosts / penalties against the faction if they enjoy / dislike their stay. It makes you very much willing to accept visitors and even build out a dedicated dorm for them.
3. Weapons - Addition of a bunch of weapons (modern day). This is pretty good. The vanilla game has a range of weapons, but only about 1 type for each. This spices things up a little. For example, one of my colonists has a FAMAS AR, another has a SCAR. The characterists vary, such as cooldown, aim time, burst count, accuracy and different ranges, damage, etc.
4. Enbattlements - This is the more "cheaty" type of mod, though, it's perfectly realistic. It allows you to contruct walls with holes in, so your colonists can poke guns through them and shoot at enemies while being protected from melee damage. Enemies raiding my walls head on now get very badly fucked up, with about 7 of my colonists armed with guns shooting downrange, as you'd expect.
5. Extended turret types - I'm yet to construct a turret, even in vanilla.

Some other stuff I can't recall.

Satis - You cheapskate! Reward these guys for their excellent work!

Ox - The risk of your colonists shooting a "front line" in the back are way too high (and likely). I've had to reload several battles having learned that, because someone like O'Cram would be standing beside Rinox, and then Rinox would suddenly turn to shoot someone to the right, only for a Blue on Blue to occur (severed limbs and so on).