BETA 52D I Am So Terribly Alone

Discussion in 'Clockwork Empires General' started by Alephred, Jul 13, 2016.

  1. Alephred

    Alephred Royal Archivist for Queen And Empire

    I fired up Beta 52D, curious to see what the new Experimental Loadout was. This was the result, the very first time I tried it. Let's see how long I last. I'm going to keep this updated with Alfred Brozecowl's (probably quite brief) diary.

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  2. Unforked

    Unforked Member

    Oh man, that's amazing. You can do it Alephred, you are part of the Woodsy Woodsfolk clan!
     
    Last edited: Jul 13, 2016
  3. Alephred

    Alephred Royal Archivist for Queen And Empire

    Narrator's Note: before the first day had even elapsed, the Ministry noticed that I had somehow killed all the 'other' Overseers. Though they disapproved, they immediately offered to send five more replacement Overseers. I declined on principle. I'm going to starve to death whether they want me to live or not. That'll teach them for sending me into exile.

    If this goofy loadout makes it Live, Devs might want to reconsider the Overseer replacement event.
     
  4. Nicholas

    Nicholas Technology Director Staff Member

    Derp. Yes.
     
  5. Alephred

    Alephred Royal Archivist for Queen And Empire

    Day 1

    I, Alfred Bronzecowl, have been exiled to patch of boreal forest overlooking the ocean, for the crime of unknowingly placing a fish fork where a dessert fork ought to go. I fear there has been some misunderstanding here, it is true, I belong to a club of nature enthusiasts named the 'Woodsy Woodsfolk', but I am not an experienced woodsman or hunter. The Woodsy Woodsfolk are a society of Naturalists and insect collectors. I fear the Ministry thinks I will be able to live off the land and fend for myself.

    I am stuck on a hilly ridge with nothing and nobody but my own two hands Oh Cog, I am going to die alone. Where can I get something to eat? There are Saskatoon berries here, I will live next to the berry bush. I hope they grow back quickly. I am going to need shelter from the elements, but I have no logs for a house, let alone planks. Therefore, I will have to cobble together a tiny Carpentry, and sleep in it for the time being. Construction begins.

    Day 2

    Inventory: half a Carpentry, and six bushels of Saskatoonberries. I fear I have killed the bush, my only source of food. I am tired, not having slept a wink last night, as there were no buildings and I am not yet desperate enough to sleep defenseless, under the open sky.

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    I have completed the ramshackle Carpentry, now to build a workbench. Damn, out of logs again. Hold everything while I chop down another tree. The Grass and Rocks are singing to me. Perhaps I am just hearing voices, but perhaps the countryside really is whispering eerie words while I toil on the plains. I have no time to clear brush and pull up stumps, I'm just one man, I'll ignore the whispers. A curious local deer keeps visiting my site, I am constantly afraid he will get into my small store of berries, and I will starve.

    shot120.jpg

    Success! I have constructed a workbench, and can now make a cot. Damn, I'm out of planks. Time to make some pla .. damn, out of logs. TIme to down down another tree. In a small ceremony, I appoint myself Head Carpenter for the colony. At least I can sleep indoors tonight.

    Day 3

    I had a dream the Ministry offered to send me five overseers to replace the ones I had killed, and then a different dream where 'a group of colonists' requested that I construct a Barracks for my Militia. These dreams are clearly hallucinations caused by sunstroke, and I ignore them. I am now hungry enough to eat raw berries, my pile dwindles worryingly. Sadness and Anger vie for supremacy in my heart. Happiness is a long-forgotten memory. I am melancholic, having been beset by eerie whispers, terrible sleeping conditions, and eating only what I can forage from the land. I think my next project will be a Kitchen, which should improve the quality of the food if nothing else.

    shot127.jpg

    Day 4

    I find I have a hundred things to do, all of which interrupt each other. A project will require more timber, so I must drop everything and chop down a tree, or quarry some stone for construction. It's really quite disorderly. The whispers of the Grass and Rocks, faded for a time, have returned to taunt me once again, I feel myself slipping toward despair. Will I never hear another human voice?

    Day 5

    Another human being! I observed a Stahlmarkian Rogue fleeing across the countryside, from a pursuer I could not see. He had a proposal for me - he offered to hang about and eat my food, in return for hanging about. Not a great deal, admittedly, but I was desperate for human company. If I had any military men present, he assures me, he could repay my generosity by drilling them in the latest military techniques.

    In the meantime, I have completed construction of the Kitchen building. In a cruel twist of irony, the only thing I can cook out of the collected berries is a dish I call Fruit Medley, a dish that provides exactly as many meals as raw berries. I have not managed to postpone starvation after all.

    Day 6

    I produce exactly one Fruit Medley, which Stahlmarkian Rogue Jakob Carotte eats. Jakob is quickly wearing out his welcome. There are no more berries, I must make a cabbage farm work before I starve. That seems unlikely. That crafty deer devours some of my foraged berries before I notice. I wish I had a gun. There is no time for farming, my two buildings are going to need six upkeep chests by the end of the week.

    shot130.jpg

    (I stopped playing at this point, due to the slowness of the game. Having run out of berries, I would likely have starved in short order.)
     
    Last edited: Jul 13, 2016
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  6. Alephred

    Alephred Royal Archivist for Queen And Empire

    Thoughts on the Alone loadout:

    Having one Overseer means that you'll be babysitting him constantly; nothing can be accomplished in parallel, since one man must do absolutely everything. If you try this, you'll find yourself manually switching your one colonists between tasks and workshops, constantly.

    You'll also never use standing orders. Everything you build will be for immediate use elsewhere (planks, food, stone blocks); there is no planning for the future, because every second you spend making things for the future is another second you're not making something you need right now. You'll tend to make very small batches of everything. One meal, two planks, one tree at a time.

    For all the above reasons, pacing is extremely slow. Painfully slow. There is no advantage to playing Alone, and plenty of additional challenges. For masochists only.
     
  7. Tikigod

    Tikigod Member

    Have they mashed up fungi into paste and painted a face on a rock to create a companion yet?

    This loadout seems right up my street. Will be interesting to see how various event arcs behave when there's a pool of 1 colonist to pick from.

    Of course now that Immigration is easy to directly control, there's always the temptation to just rush building 3x3 homes by day 2 or so.
     
  8. Unforked

    Unforked Member

    Hey Alephred, your journaling prowess would be great for the community colony.:)
     
  9. Tikigod

    Tikigod Member

    Going to throw my attempt with the loadout in here as well rather than flood with additional threads.

    Day 1 - Morning.

    [​IMG]

    Miss BrazenWhistle isn't quite sure why but the empire has sent her on an all expense paid trip to an remote desert region which is where she has always dreamed of living, away from all the hustle and bustle of so called civilisation. They could have provided some basic provisions, but she's not one to grumble when everything she has ever wanted is handed to her on a plate.

    Day 1 - Night

    [​IMG]

    Has been a busy day for Miss BrazenWhistle, but she has managed to find some sources of wood and stone in this barren desert for use as raw construction materials for her first workshop.
    She also stumbled across a few foxes that were being a bit too friendly and so shot them with a gun she can't remember having when she first arrived, but it will certainly come in handy to procure more meat.

    Before starting construction on her first building she decides to call it a day but not before climbing the nearest hill to admire the fruits of the days labour.


    Day 2 - Morning.

    [​IMG]

    Before starting the days labours, Miss BrazenWhistle notices something had visited during the night and taken off with the meat she had gathered the day before. In the distance she notices a strange shelled miniature cow slowly waddling away. Clearly the culprit of this theft she follows it for a bit before deciding to shoot it and harvest it for meat as a kind of justice for the crimes it committed against her.

    The armoured desert cow brought to justice she returns to her new home to complete construction of her new carpentry workshop and first workbench and begins plans for a small adjacent lodge where she will be able to keep one or two beds for some extra comfort.


    Day 2 - Afternoon.

    The desert heat is starting to get to Miss BrazenWhistle and she no longer feels the happy optimism that filled her the day before. To avoid the worst of the heat she has now opted to spend most of the day indoors or wandering idly, and only exerting herself in the early morning and evenings when the desert sun isn't so unforgiving.

    With a handful of repair chests produced in case anything succumbs to the harsh desert climate, Miss BrazenWhistle returns to gathering some raw materials for her next project.


    Day 2 - Dusk

    [​IMG]

    Whist taking a short nap in the afternoon, strange noises are heard off in the near distance unsettling Miss BrazenWhistle. After waking up and gathering a few more raw resources she decides to turn in for the day increasingly thankful for her new construction as she settles down on the floor whilst praying whatever is making those dreadful noises doesn't stray too close.


    Day 2 - Night

    [​IMG]

    Just as the disturbing noises subsides something strange passes close overhead waking up Miss BrazenWhistle. She's quite sure that whatever it was crashed near by, but she's no fool and has read many books about such things and knows that strange objects falling from the sky are best left alone.


    Day 3 - Morning

    [​IMG]

    Somewhat annoyed now about her lack of real sleep and it being 3 days now since her last real meal, Miss BrazenWhistle is adamant that she will get her new sleeping quarters built before the day is out. After bringing the rest of her raw food to her crude stockpile and assuring herself she has enough food to last her at least a week, she returns to gathering the raw materials needed to build her new home.


    Day 3 - Afternoon

    [​IMG]

    Upon returning to the colony with her raw stone, Miss BrazenWhistle notices a strange object has appeared seemingly from nowhere whilst she was away working. Like any sane person would do, her immediate reaction is to run in the opposite direction as fast as possible and hope it goes away by itself.


    Day 3 - Evening

    [​IMG]

    Things are getting worse for Miss BrazenWhistle, whilst attempting to bring stone to her new construction by skirting around the strange object that had taken root in her home, a even stranger glow worm made its way toward her. Again being the sane individual that she is, she dropped everything she was holding and runs in the opposite direction, whilst quiet voices whisper to her that she has just bore witness to an Selenian.


    Day 3 - Dusk

    [​IMG]

    The strange object that has taken root in her home is apparently nocturnal, and has woken up as dusk arrived, to expel strange balls of light that then probe the surrounding area.

    Miss BrazenWhistle has abandoned all hope of ever getting any work done now, and will consider herself lucky if she's still alive to see the next sunrise.


    Additional Entries Part 1

    Day 5 - Dusk

    [​IMG]

    Miss BrazenWhistle has now spent the last 2 days in a crazed state running aimlessly around the desert. Forever stumbling on these strange creatures and fleeing in never ending circles.

    A stray Novorus solider arrived in the afternoon offering to train the troops stationed. But was told quite abruptly that there weren't any troops to train but if he wanted to be helpful he could shoot some of these damn creatures being a nuisance. He took the answer as a polite declining of his offer and wandered away again oblivious to what was going on around him.... bloody blind Novorus fools.


    [More to be edited in if things develop further... which probably won't happen as my colonist is now stuck in a constant flee loop]
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2016
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  10. Unforked

    Unforked Member

    I have faith in you Miss BrazenWhistle!
    Selenians are no match for elbow grease and grit.

    Tikigod, you'd also be awesome in the community colony!

    (Sorry to ask like this, bit the player list is sparse. :(Understand if either of you don't have time... but they can be small entries and we can work around schedules.)

    No biggy if not. I will now stop being the annoying recruitment guy.:confused:
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2016
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  11. Samut

    Samut Member

    Didn't Gaslamp write something a couple of years back mentioning that, yeah, they could start a colony with just one person, but there would be no point, since it would be boring and awful?
     
  12. dbaumgart

    dbaumgart Art Director Staff Member

    Logged to fix as OC-5147! (Hotfixed.)
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2016
  13. Noratoxin

    Noratoxin Member

    I played a game kind of like that awhile ago by editing loadouts with some kind of a backstory that an executioner, upon failing to execute the condemned prisoners, was sent to the colonies with them as punishment. Starting with an aristocrat (the executioner) and the two overseers (condemned prisoners) was actually pretty viable and fun to play with, since it offers more time to get to know your colonists. So low population starts are definitely not a bad idea. In fact, I would love to see more zany starts instead of the extra materials/weapons/foodstuff starts.