Bleakbane plays Rimworld Part I (37-40; Finale)

Part Thirty-Seven

Day Three-Hundred and Seventy-Six.

Right, then let's actually look at Lightcaller.

...

So, what does it... Do...?

Okay, research. Needs to be put in reliquary in the throne room. They didn't have enough gold (though actually Stab thought excessive gold was kind of tacky, to be honest), nor Jade... They did have silver, so it was either that or marble.

Eh, they wouldn't be that much longer. Silver, because it was quickest.

And it was finally time to start building the ship...

...

Actually, they better finish rebuilding the insect trap first.

Screw it, make it a marble reliquary. They'd be here for a while yet.

Stab added a second chemfuel refinery to the new workshop.

((Yeah no game, we're not having anyone trigger incendiary traps. Reload.))

Black Empire visitors arrived.

Day Three-Hundred and Seventy-Seven.

Oh crap, all four freezers were ACTUALLY FULL.

Uh, right. Starting making chemfuel out of rice, Stab, guessed?

No, not with that being most of the supply.

Okay, infestation trap reset.

In fact they were so full of food, Stab order 160 lavish meals be made.

...

Wait, fine meals didn't take any more resources than simple meals, just a bit longer to make for a +5 moodlet.

MOTHERFRACKER. They could have been making those for... Nearly since the START!

Okay, Stab ordered up to 400 lavish meals to be made and cancelled further production of simple meals. If they started to run low, she'd switch to fine, but that seemed HIGLY unlikely. And even the lowest level person assigned to cooking (Trocur) was the minimum 8.

Day Three-Hundred and Seventy-Eight.

Industrial advent was due, but Stab was going to try and hold off until the reliquary was complete, it was mostly there.

((Yeah, the +12 (!) mood buff from lavish meals was kicking in already. Wow, that was a ridiculous buff. Really dropped the ball not checking on that for the last 200 hours...))

Some micro-management of Freezer Prime's storage was necessary to start clearing out some space for the meals to be located close by.

The lightcaller was installed!

Industrial Advent time!

Day Three-Hundred and Seventy-Nine.

Today, they'd actually start on the spacecraft.

Now, that was a nice gift!

*sigh*

No, they really needed to build freezer FIVE first. (Five would a designated rice store.)

Yeah, loosing as few bits of haygrass growing space was not going to be a problem.

And, to heck with it, add three doormats to freezers three through five as well.

Jenni was continuing to find various deposits, but Stab was really waiting for another sensibly-placed plasteel deposit.

This was why freezer five was needed. They had A LOT of rice.

Stab put in a standing order to make sure they had at least 200 simple meals left in stock (since Mantis, among others, preferred the aesthetic life) and to fill the bio sculptor pods, though whether they'd need them again was a matter of conjecture...

Day Three-Hundred and Eighty.

Right. TODAY spaceship?

Ship.

THERE, that was better plasteel.

The first part of their spacecraft was officially done!

Lenere visitors, including Money's mum, showed up.

Day Three-Hundred and Eighty-One.

The question would be would they be able to have the ceremony before they left the planet?

Well, they WERE going to need another load of advanced components. Stab ordered another 80 done (20 form each bench) and another 40 components first and 40 more after.

Day Three-Hundred and Eighty-Two.

Southeastern Alia visitors arrived.

Work was progressing well.

The big job would be getting enough components of both sorts to build at least 44 cryosleep pods (enough for the colonists and all the Named Animals).

The Lenere tribe visitors left some uranium. Not something Stab really needed - the one thing they'd never been short of was uranium. (It was a good job uranium wasn't radioactive or something, or the whole colony would be glowing green by now.)

Dusk, why are you building a roof over the spaceship. Don't. Oh crap, spaceship parts are not pass-throughable. Macy's stuck! Good job the wall was already two thick. Add an outer layer of granite, and build a blast vent around the engines, girls.

There, that's better!

PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Not a chance mate. Sun blocker? Not even for an archeotech leg or leg. (If it wasn't a sun blocker, it might have been a maybe. But no, Stab wasn't putting the base at risk for that.)

The first plasteel deposit was exhausted. On to the second!

All the engines were done, and the area around them kept weed-free by concrete.

Stab finally allowed the long-range scanner to be activated again, to look for more plasteel, for expediency. After that they'd likely have one more go at components. At while they were out, maybe take a crack at the treasure trove, too.

Day Three-Hundred and Eighty-Three.

Good job, Jenni!

No time like now, team! Dusk prepared to leave with Navarro, Espinoza, Beatriz, Euphemia, Maelan, Mike and Snow. Treasure trove first, mine second.

Stab authorised two cryosleep pods to be built, as much to test the speed as anything.

The Southeastern Alia visitors left, leaving some molotov cocktails. Stab wasn't sure what they were trying to say...

And we shall leave it there for today.

((I'm tempted to the Save Our Ships 2 mod, which would make the spacecraft thing a whole other thing, but I think after 234 hours - more than my first game of Europa Universalis IV - that it wouldn't hurt to bring this colony to a close at the starship launch, especially as I keep thinking about "what I'd do better next time."))

Part Thirty-Eight

Day Three-Hundred and Eighty-Three continued.

Dusk's team left at about midday.

Jenni spotted a component mine. Stab would let her do one more, and maybe another plasteel. She spotted a component lump even further away. Look for plasteel, then, Jenni.

Dusk arrived at the complex at eleven.

Everything explodes, insects and raids. Dusk demolished the wall as they crept out.

Meanwhile, Lenere Tribe visitors arrived at Voidsteel base.

((And the new map encounter simply decided that, after hacking an enemy terminal and getting a raid despite all the enemies being killed, it wouldn't let Dusk leave the area. So having gotten FRACK all from this supposed treasure vault (four advanced components and some chocolate and nothing thereafter), I went back to an earlier save before I hacked the terminal and just left.))

Day Three-Hundred and Eighty-Four.

A component mining site was detected nearby but had a large population of 14. Stab wasn't sure it was worth the effort at this late stage.

*sigh*

Eclipse.

Dusk arrived at the plasteel mine at midday,

ANNOYING.

More plasteel, though further away. Keep searching, Jenni.

Barracuda decided to throw a party to keep up morale.

Dusk elected to take the miners to the nearest lump of components. It would mean Stab and co would have to handle the mechanoids themselves, though.

Stab was considering the doomsday rocket launcher. She had been considering saving it for the last siege rush when the built the reactor, but...

Day Three-Hundred and Eighty-Five.

Autumn.

((No the doomsday rocket launcher was disappointingly ineffective. Triple rocket launcher it was.))

Macy dropped the last explosive IED not far from the east gate and went to man the mortars.

Shame they didn't have an animal pulsar about now.

((Okay, NO, game, you don't get to magically decide to attack the door an avoid the killbox, Stab was WAY ahead of those things. RELOAD.))

Disappointing.

The triple rocket launcher did very little.

And Dusk was ambushed simultaneously, because of COURSE. Not that the enemy lasted long.

At least the mortars nailed the enemy mortar.

Battle stations.

((Okay how the FRACK were they out of power considering they had a whole extra geothermal plant AND they'd opened one of the battery rooms.

I am SO disabling "zzzt" and "solar flare" events next playthrough. Events which do nothing but screw you over are bad game design, I'm sorry. It doesn't make an interesting decision point.))

Fortunately the eclipse ended.

Having mopped up most of the enemy, there were just a couple of larger turrets left, Flacon and Stab grabbed a couple of sniper rifles from the armoury to finish up.

Dusk arrived at the machinery mining site.

Okay Stab and Falcon had knobbled the last turrets. Clean-up time.

Jenni found some more plasteel, this time guarded. Fine. They'd deal with that later.

Eh, not worth it.

Dusk still had plenty of food, and plenty of space, so she went to the other component mine in the area.

Day Three-Hundred and Eighty-Six.

The Lenere tribe left a chain shotgun as they left.

Stab ordered a dozen bluefur armchairs be made - just to get rid of some to make space. (They REALLY needed a bulk trader who wanted furniture, even that was running out of room to be stored...)

((Oh FRACK OFF game, you're not having a bloody mechanoid sapper raid now.))

Eight manhunting elephants.

Woo.

Dusk arrived at the mining site.

((So does the game DELIBERATELY ensure you have encounters explicitly when someone arrives on a new map? Because it seems to happen more often than not.))

Three elephants downed. The male had a bullet in the brain. Stab didn't think that the one three hours from bleeding out was likely to make it, but had Sawbones try without medicine. Trocur rushed to get medicine to try the other one, which had another hour on that.

Huh. Actually both elephants were not too bad. Trocur and Sawbones stopped the bleeding, carried them to the secondary wood store to medical sleeping spots, and then went to operate to remove the scaria.

They'd be tamed, so fine, they'd be rolling in elephants soon too, since they were both females.

((Unfortunately, the inevitable happened and I'd forgotten all about Dusk and mining, so they were all wandering about.))

Guess late night forced mining is the right place for love or something.

At midnight, Dusk team staggered off a few steps towards home.

Day Three-Hundred and Eighty-Seven.

Seems to be a lot going round. But that WAS why they'd had the boys all handsomed up.

They were totally out of steel now. Stab had moved the deep drill onto the steel deposit by the pen, but they needed the mining team back to do really anything else!

Day Three-Hundred and Eighty-Eight.

Dusk's team encountered a trader, but the trader didn't have anything they wanted.

Black Empire visitors arrived.

Dusk got back at ten in the morning.

Yeah, no.

((Why does the last game have SO many persona weapons as loot?))

They now had 350 components, so that really ought to sort them!

The next critical job was get rid of some junk for space. If no bulk traders showed up soon, they might ACTUALLY have to send a trade caravan out, just to get rid of stuff.

In the meantime, though, the barn was filled to capacity AGAIN - so next time, the first job will be more building...

Part Thirty-Nine

Day Three-Hundred and Eighty-Nine.

Barn expansion. It would also serve as a good way to dump tons of leather into animal beds.

'Course now everything was due for a slaughter, but nevermind.

As evening drew in, a psychic sooth affected the base's females.

2560 camelhide and bluefur used... And the store was still full.

The first elephant was tamed!

Day Three-Hundred and Ninety.

Stab authorised the construction of a third deep drill, to speed steel production.

The Black Empire visitors left, leaving silver.

Sam got an inspired training, so the other elephant would be tamed soon!

Five more spaceship cryosleep caskets were now able to be built. Stab had the reactor put down, too.

Uh, sure, whatever.

Elephant 2 was now tamed! Good job, Sam!

NICE job Euphemia!

Frack, that could go in the throne room.

(It wasn't like they actually had SPACE to store it anyway...)

There.

...

Blind-drunk dog. Ace.

Day Three-Hundred and Ninety-One.

Southeastern Alia visitors arrived.

Okay. In a far corner of the base, it was time to start making tons of IEDs. Stab intended to litter the outside of the base with IEDs once the reactor start-up was initiated. Before the IEDs, they would want a nice store of high explosive shells, though. Stab ordered 48 to be made to start with. (And a MAXIUM crafting of 14, so the component and advance component crafting could continue apace.)

Stab facepalmed. They couldn't GET to the reactor to build it, they'd blocked it with structural components. Whoops.

((NO. We are not having infestations on the drill. Reload, I don't care if I have to go back 2/3 of a day.))

Day Three-Hundred and Ninety-Two.

Time for a second plasteel expedition. This time, Dusk would just take six out - herself, Espinoza, Beatriz, Snow, Maelan and Euphemia. A quick round-trip and then, likely, out to the second mining site. They'd take all three elephants and the donkeys, but not bother with anything else.

Okay, reactor was done.

Not started yet, obviously.

The visitors left, leaving a smoke launcher.

Dusk arrived at the site at one in the afternoon.

Ambushed by a single poor fool.

By six, they were heading back towards base.

Day Three-Hundred and Ninety-Three.

It was no good. They were going to have to build a second textile storage, just to clear the
place up even a little.

A combat supplier arrived. Who of course didn't want to take anything useful. Stab contemplated buying armour of them and then shrugged, figuring why bother at this point for the expense involved, especially since they couldn't mitigate it with the wealth they actually HAD. Still five more mortar barrels for some statues and sundry weapons seemed like a good idea.

As Falcon dealt with that, visitors from the Lenere tribe arrived.

Half full already, but at least it took some pressure off the other storage rooms.

At ten in the morning, Dusk arrived back.

Work was interrupted by a horde of panthers. Semi-interrupted, anyway, Stab didn't mobilise everyone.

That was a lot of downed panthers. Now if Stab wasn't nearly done, she'd be very tempted to have a mass de-scaria-ing and tame them all for hauling duty. But... No. It would be a little redundant at this point, really.

Heck, they probably would struggle to store all the corpses.

Day Three-Hundred and Ninety-Four.

Grr. Solar flare. That was just tiresome.

Okay, no sense in wasting time. Dusk re-formed her previous caravan to head towards the other plasteel site.

The solar flare ended about nine in the morning a short one for a change. Ah well, nevermind, Dusk was off now anyway.

Ooh, better build an orbital trade beacon in the textile storage just in CASE a fraggin; trader arrived.

Day Three-Hundred and Ninety-Five.

The Lenere tribe visitors left some... Odd gear, despite being amazed. A torture crown and a hyperweave broadwrap. The hell those were.

Okay, mining time.

By three, they were on their way back with another 562 plasteel. One more site's worth and they should have sufficient for all the pods, plus a little spare.

Ahahahaha, no.

A moment's pause to patch up Dusk and Elephant 2, who got a stray bullet each, and then off again.

Day Three-Hundred and Ninety-Six.

Couple of shelves near the ship to house components and uranium, to make the eventual cryosleep pod making go faster.

Still no, assholes.

Nope. Moving on...

They arrived back at six.

And there we shall leave once more.

Part Forty.

Day Three-Hundred and Ninety-Seven.

Lenere tribe visitors. including Monkey's grandniece arrived.

Jenni found another plasteel mining site, not too far away. They'd give it a day or two before they set out again, give some chance to get some steel up.

((And mechanoid cluster. No. No, I just REALLY can't be arsed to be dealing with those, I REALLY can't. Reload.))

Lenere visitors, with Monkey's dad instead.

Jenni found relatively close plasteel.

((No. No mechanoid siege raids, either, game. I'm sick of having to deal with this crap at this point. Or defoliators. I don't particularly want to have to deal with re-setting the infester trap, either, frankly.))

Psychic wave sending seven wild board mad.

((Fine, whatever.))

Dry thunder storm. For frack's sake.

((Don't START with me game, I am NOT in the mood.))

Day Three-Hundred and Ninety-Eight.

IED store room. They could be built and stored there, with no chance of anyone tripping them off by accident.

36, all they had shells for at the moment, since Stab didn't want to make more until they'd got a lot more of the cryosleep caskets done.

Day Three-Hundred and Ninety-Nine.

Twelve more bluefur armchairs. They'd didn't have anywhere to PUT any, but the secondary textile storage was already full.

The visitors left, leaving guinea pigfur tribalware.

Well, they wouldn't say no to free components.

Day Four-Hundred.

Winter.

Right, everyone except Trocur, Espinoza, Worm and Macy into the pods.

As there was now enough steel, Macy prepared to build the next ten cryosleep pods.

Black empire visitors arrived.

Day Four-Hundred and One.

Macy decided to throw a party. Why, when it was just the four of them, was anybody’s guess. Especially as she didn't even bother to attend it herself...

In any case, she'd ferried enough to make four of the ten today, so that was good.

Day Four-Hundred and Two.

Macy continued to blitz through the cryosleep pods. In fact, she finished them all.

Espinoza and Worm were mining nice and fast too, managing to pretty much keep the steel up as fast as Macy was laying it out. So there was enough to start laying out the next eleven.

The visitors left, leaving a pilum. Woot.

Day Four-Hundred and Three.

At eleven, everyone completed their cycle. Okay, you four, your turn! Macy, in particular, had done a grand job.

Day Four-Hundred and Four.

They were now more or less out of plasteel. But two of the mining team were now in the pods, so it would have to wait, Stab and Dusk felt, but at least it would give them a couple more days to catch up on the steel.

32 cryosleep pods. Technically, they could now leave anytime they wanted to (or at least start the 15-day count down).

After the last time, and all the rubbish it gave them?

No! Not worth it.

Stab started a big chunk of wood gathering. Once they'd got enough materials in and were ready to start the count-down, Stab intended to litter the area with traps, plus a few out-side wall strongpoints, all sacrificial. (And it would serve to clear some lines of fires!) She'd build an additional outdoor (but roofed) wood storage near the Graveyard too.

And eclipse started out and five in the afternoon. Well, that could be worse?

Day Four-Hundred and Five.

Stab planned out a more elaborate trap maze at the south gate, since the alternative was to block it off.

The visitors left a flak jacket and a mask. Again, woot.

((Yah, again game no, I'm not in the mood to frack about with mechanoids or "clever raiders." I saved a few seconds ago too, so you're not getting ANYTHING today. No, especially no mad animals near where everyone is cutting trees. Or sappers, you're not having sappers, or mechanoids that have an EMP base. Or a siege.))

Infestation. Fine whatever, it won't get in anyone's way right now.

Contained.

Day Four-Hundred and Six.

Thrumbos.

Hmm.

They might be worth getting, if they got suckered past the traps...

Well, two of them were...

And the other two were coming in the other way. Trocur and co got out just in time to help.

One down and rescued but bled out before it could be saved. Stab maddened the second to follow her. That got downed.

Repeat at the Graveyard.

((Are you fracking serious, game. 38 arctic wolves.))

Two thrumbos rescued.

Day Four-Hundred and Seven.

At least everyone was already in position...

Fantastic. They'd shot that much, they'd actually destroyed the first couple of plasteel walls.

Pahahahha, they were extracting the urine at this point.

The rest of the day was spent clearing up and working on the current backlog.

Dusk would be setting out, too. now they needed plasteel and had a fair build-up and stuff; she'd hit both plasteel mines, taking with her Beatriz, Mike, Euphemia, Espinoza and Maelan.

It was close, but they almost certainly wouldn't bother with the treasure site.

Pity, Beatriz had had an inspired taming, if the thrumbos had only been awake...

There was enough thrumbofur for another couple of dusters when Stab had a moment.

At least the south trap maze extension was done. That shouldn't need to be touched, since it was past the turrets, but it was a little extra insurance for the south gate. Now just all the main traps to rebuild, and then the floor of the infester trap and THEN maybe they could look at replacing the incendiary IEDs...

A bulk goods trader. Oh thank frack. Please let them buy furniture. They did, but they didn't have a lot to sell, and not much cash. Frack dammit. So they bought all the steel, components, chemfuel, reinforced barrels and neutroamine they could, selling off textile and about a dozen of the armchairs.

Day Four-Hundred and Eight.

When will they learn? Splortch.

AH! A bulk trading SHIP! Even better.

They bought a TON of stuff, just to get shot of all the textiles. They did at least get almost all the armchairs cleared, too. (It might have been all, but a few were still in transit to the warehouse now there was space for them, and Falcon had already cleaned the traders out...)

And yet, both textile stores were still quite full...

BUT, they had plasteel again, and loads more steel. Lots of chemfuel, too, which meant they could at least start on rebuilding the infestation trap properly.

Day Four-Hundred and Nine.

Black Empire visitors arrived.

Oh, hey, they'd finally had enough tortoises bred (wow, they were slow), that tortoise 1 and finally been slaughtered. THAT was a long frickin' wait.

Dusk arrived at five; they shot two squirrels and got to work. By ten, they were setting out for the second site, now nearly three day's hike away. But... In theory, this would be pretty much the last trip out they'd need.

Trocur and Beatriz finished their assigned advanced component load, and Stab and Mantis were nearly done. That would mean they would actually have enough to complete the ship!

Day Four-Hundred and Ten.

The imperial tribute collector arrived. Yeah, whatever.

AH! Now you were talking! That was quite handleable and a useful reward. They give it a little more to time-out though, before taking it.

Infester trap was re-set!

Okay!

Next 14 cryosleep pods!

Some pilgrims to see the lightcaller arrived.

Day Four-Hundred and Eleven.

The Black Empire visitors left, apparently annoyed. Go figure.

Grizzlies inbound for about ten. Worth it for an antigrain warhead and orbital targeted (plus some recon armour...)

Here they come!

Boom. Nice and neat.

Orbital bombardment doofer for Sawbones.

Stab decided she wanted the armour.

((I actually just let it alone to see who picked it up and it was Stab. But that was fine, that long-reserved psychic shock lance was going to get used in the raids when the reactor charge started.))

Day Four-Hundred and Twelve.

They keep trying.

They keep dying. Albeit getting a lucky hit on Maelan while doing so.

Last six. That would give the 52 pods, enough for them, the Named Animals, and some random livestock.

Black Empire visitors. ~Well, they were back quick, for saying they weren't impressed.

The starship was finished!

Stab planned the defensive embrasure. She wasn't sure how effective it would be but... The point was it might damage or delay a single raid.

Dusk arrived and the mining began.

Rrr. They were bit low of food, for some reason, so Dusk had them harvest a load of berry bushed before they left. That did it.

Back at base, a muffalo self-tamed.

Stab was planning, rather than build the traps and turrets (bat the uranium slug turret) in situ, to build them behind the walls, and then when they were ready, deploy them enmasse, using the disallowed blueprints as placeholders.

Day Four-Hundred and Thirteen.

Frantic construction work!

Day Four-Hundred and Fourteen.

Traps pre-set and forbidden, so that they only needed to be rushed out. The (uranium, since that had tons spare) turrets would be done the same, as would the incendiary IEDs.

The theory would be that the uranium slug turret would open up, drawing a raid into the miniturrets - and potentially into the incendiary IEDs on the wood flooring (to catch fire). This would generally hopefully draw the enemy into get burnated and/or all blowed up when the turrets exploded.

Stab wasn’t confined it would work, but it was there just as a distraction and maybe to absorb a raid.

At ten in the morning, Dusk's caravan returned to base.

Well, that's tedious.

Day Four-Hundred and Fifteen.

Spring again.

Okay. They would build up a load more spike traps ready for deployment, and then (with 45 regular IEDs in reserve), they'd be about as ready for this as they were going to get. As Stab realised laying too many traps around was just going to get animals setting them off too early. Wait, no animals were supposed to be able to avoid them. Lay out the mines! Or at least a bunch of them.

Wait. If Stab was mean, if she put sandbags between the mines, the enemy might be more inclined to path through them Hell, worth a shot, right?

By nightfall, those defences were readied. Stab wanted to stock up ten steel trap too before they started - she realised it much be MUCH better to do the whole "stock and then just deploy" traps for the killboxes too.

((NO, game, you are not having a deep drill infestation now. No, I don't care if I have to redo most of the day FRACK. OFF.))

Ahem.

IN THE MORNING, the reactor would be engaged and the defence system brought online. (Actually, screw it, Macy could get on that now.)

Southeastern Alia visitors were coming.

Day Four-Hundred and Sixteen.

Okay!

HIT IT!

From this point forwards, all entrances would be locked, save for the Graveyard gate, so Stab could keep an eye on everyone. But for the next fifteen days, she expected the base to rely on what was within the walls only.

Ten more wooden spike traps, an another dozen uranium mini turrets (storage, for emergencies).

That done, Stab got to work on those cataphract helmet she'd stopped work on. Trocur and Balgucha would work on half-dozen charge rifles each.

But, first... Before the storm, Euphemia and Maelan's marriage!

And this is where we shall leave it.

Tomorrow will be what is likely the final part!

Part Forty-One.

Day Four-Hundred and Seventeen.

Well, that was a hell of a start! Good job, Beatriz!

((As most of this was now just waiting, I actually set up to max speed, something I normally only have done over nights when everyone was asleep, or re-doing a day.))

The day was spent just crafting, general operations and mining.

Day Four-Hundred and Eighteen.

The visitors left, unimpressed. Well, they would have the place to themselves next time...

((Yeah, no sappers, game especially no mechanoid ones.))

Okay, this they could likely handle.

One shot was apparently good enough to destroy their mortars and make them charge.

Everyone, battle stations. Yes, even you Christian and Macy, go stand... Actually, go grab the minguns.

A lot of dead. At this point, Stab wasn't going to bother de-skulling or stripping them.

DAMMIT, biocoded.

Four prisoners (might as well), the rest picked off.

One minor would to Reille, couple to some of the animals.

Lovely.
Day Four-Hundred and Nineteen.

The prisoners were getting infected. Eh.

Still, another minigun, an incendiary launcher and a triple rocket launcher. Not a bad haul.

Darn it. Cutie hit a trap in the south wall, because the trap corridor wasn't forbidden, like it should have been.

You know what, time to start organ harvesting the prisoners, keeping them is just going to be more work.

Day Four-Hundred and Twenty.

Another raid like that, and they might need more graves!

They'd maybe consider it. But probably not. Especially since "breechers" were involved.

Secondary trap zone set up here.

Day Four-Hundred and Twenty-One.

A war merchant arrived, none too soon, as it allowed them to get shot of a lot of excess weapons.

More traps.

Just as they were finishing another ten steel traps, a cold wave set in.

Well, most everywhere was nice and heated, so with them mostly being inside...

Day Four-Hundred and Twenty-Two.

High female drone. Annoying.

Yeah, that seemed unlikely to be happening, either.

Build some more armchairs for space.

Day Four-Hundred and Twenty-Three.

Still no, guys. Hell, they'd be GONE before the quest was done.

More Black empire visitors.

The cold snap ended at midday.

Ten steel spike traps deployed, and other ten made.

Mike got inspired taming. Maybe he could tame the other thrumbo...?

The psychic drone ended. Fortunately, between the food and the wedding, neither it nor the cold snap had really interfered.

Day Four-Hundred and Twenty-Four.

Dangit, Mike's animals skill was slightly too low to tame the thrumbo.

Ten more laid, ten more built.

And again.

Day Four-Hundred and Twenty-Five.

Five days to go.

The Black Empire was delighted, left a bolt-action rifle (woo) and became allied.

A combat suppler arrived. They sold off some SMGs - since nearly everyone not now with a high quality chain shot gun or sniper rifles had a charger file, thanks to Trocur and Balgucha - and Stab bought some cataphract armour because the hell not.

((FRACK OFF GAME.)) You do NOT get to have a siege raid that appears exactly where there are no traps an INSTANTLY smash through the walls. Reload, start day again, except lay some traps pout down on that bit.))

This time the Black Empire only left some components.

Bulk trader this time, which allowed the colony to get shot of tons of excess textiles, in return for more useful stuff like steel and plasteel.

((NO. Game, you are not having multiple sappers. Reload. Nor are you having drop pods inside the base. Game, let me make this clear. You WILL deploy outside and you WILL deal with the traps, not continuously try to avoid them. Next playthrough, I have more than half a mind to disable sappers unless I'm explicitly playing on a mountain map that can be sensibly defended.))

A raid milling around before attacking. Better.

((ARE YOU FRACKING KIDDING JUMP PACKS CAN'T JUMP OVER WALLS WHAT'S THE BLOODY POINT THEN.))

And the doomsday rocket was rubbish, too. And Stab got shot for good measure.

Fine. Incendiary shells and the antigrain warhead.

Better.

Navarro, why did you walk through the fire and get burned when there was literally anywhere else you could have gone?

Day Four-Hundred and Twenty-Six.

More internal fortifications.

Better.

Navarro had to beat a retreat, since the enemy took longer to start the assault this time.

Elephant 1 took some damage. The few people left got into the southern defences, but to get further in, they'd have to run the extended trap gauntlet, with Navarro waiting at the end.

The mortars HAD destroyed the enemy ones, though.

Breaking after five seconds, no you are not smashing the doors down this time.

Urrgh. That was messy, but they did it.

There were a couple of downed raiders, but this time, they would be left to just die.

Day Four-Hundred and Twenty-Seven.

Fix everything fast everyone! In the pouring rain.

Stab finished the last of the cataphract helmets she was going to bother with. Nearly everyone had one, and aside from Sawbones and Jenni, who had role-based gear, everyone that didn't had a marine helmet.

Day Four-Hundred and Twenty-Eight.

They were running out of lavish meals, since ASTONISHINLY, they had run out of vegetables, yet the freezers were full of meat. Literally, freezers two through four were completely full. Eh, they were only two days away now. They had plenty of simple food, so it was fine.

More raiders.

And of course, they could easily reach the walls.

Still, Stab's psychic insanity lane brought them a little confusion.

Macy burned hers as well, and they deal with the raid easily enough, with only Stab mildly injured.

Day Four-Hundred and Twenty-Nine.

Time to start anesthetising the animals to put in the cryosleep pods.

((NO, game, we're not having a sodding mechanoid siege raid attacking from the south. I REALLY hate that the majority of these raids are ALWAYS siege raids. It's just crap. You can't build a defence, because the game is specifically designed to play "gotcha" with your anything you build and it's just TIRESOME SHIT.))

More raiders, but at least they'd mill about first. And actually even at the point the mortars had last fired.

Hahahahahahahahah!

They weren't hitting much, but at least the enemy was staying sort of still.

Okay, it was raining. Switch to high-explosive, mortar team!

LITTLE late, minute Mike!

Got ONE.

That's better!

The assault was beginning.

There was a second group? Well, good job they had defences in place then!

And a third?!

Well, at least some of the mines worked...

Well, at the 11th hour, it was damned working!

One lot broke.

Then two.

It's stupid that they do MORE DAMAGE when they flee.

Last raid broken.

Right. Sixteen hours to go. Grab last meals everyone. Stab was going to start sending everyone to the cryosleep caskets.

The Named Animals were in.

They would take the thrumbos, the elephants (though not the new baby) and four muffalos (three female, one male).

Monkey, Snow, Mantis, Maelan, Alligator, Balgucha, Reille, Euphemia, Kasil, Beatriz, Hallie, Barracuda - go!

Justina, Jenni, Christian, Dan, you next.

Mike, Oscura, enough stuff has been rebuilt - you too.

Day Four-Hundred and Thirty.

Summer began, but they would not see it.

Macy, Trocur, Sam, Navarro, Falcon, Espinoza, go.

Six hours left.

So it was as it began. Stab, Sawbones and Dusk, in the now-relatively quiet Voidsteel Base.

WORM, what are you doing out, silly girl! Get muffalo 66 out and get in!

Goodbye, Voidsteel Base.

It was time to go.

And off they went, back to Aotrs space, a successful survival!

Post-playthrough Analysis

Time 257 hours.

Does it deserve its near-universal accolades?

I think so, yeah. While the dev seems not to want people to play like I play it, his bending over backwards for modding makes it a non-issue. Anything I don't like, I did (or can, for next time) mod out. There is a LOT to be said for that approach and I 100% approve of it, even if I don't necessarily agree with the RNG-emphasis that base approach itself takes.

So. What did we learn?

First of all, larger map next time. Voidsteel Base ended up covering most of the map, and I didn't have THAT much spare space in the end, and that left the walls WAAAAY too close to any sapping units.

Two, and this may be a little understated at this point I HAAAATE the sapper mechanic. It happens WAY, WAY, WAAAY too often (if you recall, I started before I'd even gotten the walls UP). You can't rely on passive defences, really, except very early on, which is annoying, and trying to put down enough turrets to path sappers sensibly (since they avoid those).

One feels this is a point where you are coming into a mature meta where there is clearly a battle between the devs and the community (in that the dev doesn't want actual defensive tactics to work (i.e. killboxes)) and so you end up with virtually every other thing being a "ignore your effort." Note that, in that last stage - despite ALL the extra defences I put down, the AI only even vaguely came close to triggering ANY of them with the last raid, and only then because it came in three directions. It was clearly metagaming (in that it was deliberately avoiding moving raid into where I laid traps, despite me putting them where, for the entire previous 250 hours, it has been deploying them from. That is NOT something I want to see.

This problem was compounded by my poor choice of map. I should not have picked what was essentially an open stretch of woodland. There was neither mountains, nor, critically, a river, which meant I was really struggling with power sources, especially early on. The wind turbines were also totally useless, though that might have been the location. With no moving water, I was denied watermills, which would have helped a lot.

With all the border open, it was, as you saw, pretty much impossible to defend the base without simply reloading away the endless stream of sappers. Next time, larger map, mountain base and running water. Easier to defend from raids (by at least reducing the approach points), more resource to hand, more time for enemy to reach the base. More infestations, but that's likely manageable. That would help the temperature issues a lot too, I think.

The base was also really inefficient. I did my best as fix it as I went along, but my inexperience showed. It wasn't absolutely awful, but it was definitely poorly optimised. Only discovering the planning tool until much later didn't help. (Indeed, I think I saw a mod which looked like it let you have coloured plans, which I might look at next time, to be able to plan out a base much better before I start.) Make sure there were always at least two of every workbench from the start as well. Bigger room all round, I think, since despite sprawling over the map, I still felt cramped.

The psychic powers were, I think an overall detriment. I used them only a handful of times, and any gain was taken out by Stab being taken out of action for meditation for a chunk of each day. That was the reason, in the end, I gave up progressing on the royal side, didn't bother with the gaurainian pods, the psychic sensitizers or even the anima tree in the end; it never seemed like it was a worthwhile trade-off.

Next time, I will also do a much more thorough job on the ideology. I didn't realise how much else there was to customise, which is why Sawbones spent the whole game frolicking around in a veil, for instance, and there was a stricter policy than I would have liked on the whole spouse and marriage thing.

The skull spikes were a nice idea, but really, they didn't contribute much. Once I started getting visitors, it was obvious that would just make the situation worse, which is why I only made, what five?

Next time, too, I would not bother with de-skulling, burying and stripping the dead, just dumping them in an electric cremator.

I would also move over to improved meals much earlier. Not QUITE sure how I managed to run OUT of vegetables at the end there, but that would have been easily fixed by setting simple meals to carnivore only, for one.

Which brings us to animals. Next time, if it doesn't haul or go in a pen, it gets slaughters. Stabbunny, Barghest and Deathsnarl contributed really nothing to the base except drain medical resources in the case of the latter two. I'd also put chickens in a separate barn/pen of their own forbidden from animal haulers and I'd lose less eggs. That said, it was at least easy to way over-produce hay to the point I wasn't ever going to have too many problems. Heck, my animal problems were mainly storage based - I got so many it was hard to dump all the wool and fur. Also, don't name the pack animals, better to keep them disposable.

Muffalo were clearly the best animal to breed. Pack animal, wool, meat and skin, and they seemed to breed really fast. (Though it may be because I set them to two male adults and six female adults (discounting pregnant) - but that worked astonishingly well.

Traders are extremely infrequent, especially the ship ones, which is annoying. (Being settled way too far from anyone else didn't help, though since it was a chore to get anyone out there.)

Transport pods were a lot of effort for really no gain I could see. I was never in a position where they would be useful in a pinch. I understand why there are reusable vehicle mods, since as they stand, they are a huge amount of faff to use.

Wall lights were a lichemaster-send. Way less faff than standing lamps, since they didn't get in the way. Ditto for autocleaners, which seemed to be the only way of reliably keeping a base with lots of animals clean.

Pyromanic = BAD, because it makes me micro-manage. Kind is also detrimental, as it happens, since it turns out being shallow leads to a much more harmonious base. (Note how the social fights disappeared save for one instance, after I made everyone Be Hot.)

The zzzt and solar flare events were just really tiresome. They didn't add anything to the game other than micromanagement and being randomly screwed. I could see how easily you would only need the twain to coincide to make a game over. And I really don't like losing something (or having effort wasted) because RNG Said so. (As you will notice, the reloading got more frequent as the game went on, because I got tired of it.)

I could have gone lots of ways at the end. I could have shot everyone off, sold the base off and moved onto the archeonexus ending, or install the Save or Ship 2 mod - but frankly, the initial shortcomings of the set-up made me elect to call it there. And, after 250 hours, better to stop as it was starting to get to be a little bit of a pull to get to the end game.

But, with that playtime, even if I never played Rimworld again, it doesn't owe me anything. (I have had 330 out of Stardew Valley, but I've pretty much seen everything it has, as even with Stardew Expanded, I got Perfection on my second play-through.)

Rimworld, however, definitely has at least a second go in it. A mountain base, made more efficient, a more controlled set-up (not least with Prepare Carefully mod to kill the RNG on my starting characters for one.) More mods (possible some better defence mods, for one), but yeah.

In the meantime, though I'm going to do something different. Imperator, most likely.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

So, this was about as worth putting up as I expected, i.e., it means I can look back at it as long as Fimfiction exists with the pictures outside of my text file. Since - apparently like anything else I do now, literally no-one else will ever read it. (Time of writing: 3 views on 1st part, 0 views on anything else.)

Hell, I could say anything I like at this point, couldn't I? No-one's gonna see this, that's clear. Might as well have a little rant then, eh? Not like I can do it anywhere else.

Kinda of obvious why I didn't post this as I played, innit? Even more so not trying to do it on GitP, where I'd have had to keep chasing for permission to post and it's increasingly obvious I'm just shouting into the void when I do this stuff. I mean, I knew I was already, which is why I've basically stopped talking to anyone at all (since the only time people talk to me is if they a) want something or b) argue) aside from what I have to do for the Shipyards or direct questions about topics devoid of opinions, but I clearly still need to convince myself more.

So, this might not be the last Bleakbane Plays ever, but it will be for the known future, such that it is.

(I may possibly do one if X-Com 3 ever materialises; but that's mostly just for continuity with the previous two. Whether I will POST it to anywhere...)

Otherwise, I think I have finally managed to convince myself to really just STOP trying to engage with humans, since there is clearly ultimately just no common ground there. Lockdown taught me that. No-one ever wants to REALLY engage with me on stuff I want to engage on, only what they like; no-one likes stuff in the same way I like it, even when there is a theorhetically common interest.

I am just so VERY tired of spending every waking moment having to chase after, chase up or sort something out for any single thing I want or need to do. And knowing, that, as time goes on, I can look forward to things Only Getting Worse as the years go by. Obligations on top of obligations. On top of which, as had been made apparent recently, I am tacitly personally responsible for fixing all the problems of all 7.9 billion humans on this wretched world, since no-one (mortal, lich, alien, or extraplanar of any stripe) fricking else is ever going to do it BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T. And of course, I will never be given the power to do it, because, well, gosh, I might actually DO IT. And wouldn't that be the most terrible thing ever?

So. Very. Tired.

And yet, I don't know if, come to it, I will not just delete this whole rant after I write it. (As I have done so many times in the past couple of years.) If I'm right, it will just drive my point in. And, at this point, I think maybe I'm just tired enough, just angry at Reality enough, just aha, bleak enough to do it just to dare Reality to prove me right again. I can't even realistically hope (actually, I can't hope anymore at all) for another outcome, and yet... It still makes me feel slightly sick to try to imagine that someone would see this, because then... But what could anyone even do of they did? Feel bad? Feel horrified or disturbed? (Them or me?) Tell me to Get Help (sic)? (Oh look, another thing I'M supposed to do.) As there isn't a "make humans not suck forever" button lying around, nothing is going to get fixed; nothing short of that is going to work. And no-one can make themselves Be Interested in anything I do; it's clear that either what I do is just straight boring, or demands more time than anyone can be arsed to spend; I'm just too alien.

But dare I? Dare I speak up, even in an obscure part of the internet, because the most likelihood is if it ever IS found and read, it'll be by someone who will use it to damage what passes for my so-called day-job. (Which is, of course, so niche it would never be possible if I wasn't in the exact circumstances I am. Fricking fanfiction authors, let alone youtubers, make more money than I do. Yes, I'm jealous and frustrated.) Ah, frack it. It's fimfiction, there's that extra layer of plausible deniability here, in't there? Always in character, of course. But I always am; masks on masks on masks. Oh, speaking of, let's cover that angle while we're at it. Yeah, the wormhole permenantly collapsed with me stuck on this side. Months and months ago. No more Bleak Despair (which will be in the process or already have been dismantled, since it isn't needed anymore). No Hopereaver or Derpy or Darkspark. The Aotrs can't come and get me, so I'm stuck here. Yup.

But Other People Have It Worse, of course. Which means that on top of everything else, I am utterly and totally irrelevant, in't I? I'm not in an actively oppressed group. Because of all plausible deniability I have to exude at all times forever, I would even appear to be in what passes for the least oppressed faction. Thus never a priority; and if I were to ever speak up, outnumbered 7.9 billion inherent factionalists to one, I'd be Making It Up, right? Poor little entity that claims it is not human that may or may not be a lich pretending to be a human or may or may not be something else, never spoken, pretending to be a lich pretending to be a human, you aren't really a thing. You're just [insert faction I don't like here] playing for sympathy, aren't you? You're not claiming to be part a Real, Proscribed Faction, so you're either mentally disturbed/ill or lying, because you could not POSSIBILY be what you said you were because I have decided that the truth is always what I say it is and I am a human and am therefore always right. Also, you're culpable for everything that's wrong "Bleakbane," since you're not slaving away to make what I want be happening and what I don't want not be happening. You could - should - be working yourself to death doing all the things I wouldn't do (you have the capability), but you're not. No, I will never hold myself to that standard, that's for me, "Bleakbane" and you're not me.

So, to sum up, stuck on an alien world, surrounded by a hostile species that I am not, was never (even when alive) and most certainly WILL NOT be part of (I will NOT be assimilated into humanity's hegemonising swarm); one which I hate a little more each day; increasingly invisible and irrelevant and forced to pretend (with layers on layers on layers) to be a good little human (since I'm not in ANY human's little faction); and no way out but the one I wouldn't give humans the satisifaction of me taking.

So, yeah, Bleakbane, you might as either well sit down and shut up or scream pointlessly into the silence; it's all of a muchness. The net effect will be the same.

But I think I have just enough left to try clicking that button. Maybe just out of spite. Maybe to escalate to the point something breaks. Mostly likely me, of course.

Stab, at least, could ESCAPE.

I can't.