Thunder Plays: Rimworld
By: ThunderHeavyArm
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you became stranded on an alien planet? What things would you discover: new foods, animals, people? Better yet, how many different ways do you think you can die? Fear not, for Rimworld answers all of these questions. Well, actually it focuses mostly on the last one, but it gets to the others. Kind of. Brought to us by Ludeon Studios, Rimworld has entered the gaming scene for Early Access.The game plays similarly to a space based (tabletop?) RPG with the computer taking on the role of the storyteller. You have the option of three scenarios; three stranded castaways, an adventurer from a Glitter world- a highly advanced planet -or five tribesman. The objective of the game is to eventually construct a space ship and escape. Of course, the game doesn't make that easy. Depending on difficulty and which storyteller you choose, your survivors will have to weather attacks from natives, pirates, animals... pretty much anything that isn't you. And yes, that includes the little rabbits. The game does give you weapons to help with the initial defense of your new colony, but this is hampered by the skill level of your own colonists. Later on you can build defenses such as traps and machine gun turrets, but for the most part you'll need to arm your colonists and rely on them to do most of the fighting.
With the threat of something trying to kill you every second of the day addressed, or at least tabled for more immediate concerns, it's time to focus on shelter and food. Materials are randomly generated, and are affected by the terrain. If you choose a plain then you'll have an abundance of trees to build with, but you'll be lacking in metals. Choosing a mountainous area will give you plenty of metals, but the trade off is you're not likely to have grow able lands. So you'll need to find a balance between the two needs if you want to be able to survive. You will need to consider food as well, as the game only gives your colonist enough food to sustain themselves for about 10 days. Less if you should be lucky, or unlucky in some cases, to pick up a wanderer. There is the option to eat human meat, and sometimes it's your only choice, but that will anger or upset your colonists.Your colonist also have moods. Circumstances dictate your moods, the most common of which are your colonist hunger and rest levels. While these aren't the main reasons for a colonist to have a mental break- curse you low beauty -these are the most easy to control. The next easily controlled is joy, which boils down to fun or relaxing tasks that your colonist perform. Some activities that can be performed like watching the sun rise and watching the clouds. But the best are ones that you build such as horseshoes, chess and billiards. The next being how social they are. Your colonists are going to get to know each other over the years that they're trapped here. They'll argue, disagree, have a pleasant conversation and even fall in love. I even had a colonist that started dating another as soon as I unpaused the game. Of course this is a double edged sword, should someone that's in a relationship die, the survivor will suffer a massive penalty to their mood. I actually had a pair of my colonist that were father and son. The father became despondent when his son died in a raid. Requiring me to watch his mood for an entire game year.
The final aspect of the game I want to discuss briefly is the trade system. Let's say you've got a good source of metals, but you're unlucky and don't have any uranium. Which means no ship and no escape. Game over right? Thankfully, traders from other cities or space traders will enter communication range if you've built a comms hub. Their inventory is random, but be patient and you'll eventually find what you need to finish the game. I like this system because it doesn't make the randomness of the map generation an instant loss from the start. There is always a chance to progress. Which is nice given that some games can be punishing if you make a mistake early on.Overall I'd suggest this game if you enjoy RPG style of games or resource management games. RTS can also find some enjoyment in the combat system, but waiting for random encounters will likely bore you. All in all, a fun game that you can set challenges up for yourself. There isn't a tutorial system for this game yet, so before you dive in go find a few Let's Plays so you can learn the basics without frustrating yourself.[yasr_multiset setid=12]