Progress

[wanne]

Does anybody has a proper list, what is accounting how much to the "progress", that determines the size of the animal waves?

Background: Sometime I find a sniper rifle which brings me through the first 1,5 years if I then start researching automated defences I usually get overwhelmed by the next wave before I can even build them. So I would like to know whats the difference to when I am researching that earlier.

[Flin Fredstone]

Size of the attack is determined by the number of resources you have, how many defenses you have, the size of your base, perhaps the number of survivors you have.

[wanne]

I was explicitly asking for specific numbers.
My base has no size. Its a few houses distributed over the map.

[Moyocoya]

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1324130/discussions/0/5514142341089162267/#c5514142341091436203

[Flin Fredstone]

Good intentions, Moyocoya. But he wants exact numbers it seems.

[Mnementh]

Hi, wanne!

The value we use is called EventProgress, or EP for short. It tracks the following factors in real time: the number of alive survivors, available resources, constructed buildings, and, in certain difficulties and moons, the time elapsed since the start of the scenario.

The EP value varies depending on the selected difficulty level and scenario. In terms of survivors, it's 10 EP per survivor on Easy difficulty, 15 EP on Medium, 25 EP on Hard, 30 EP on Very Hard, and 40 EP on Insane.

Every 10 EP corresponds to 1 minor skarabei in attacks. So, for example, having 10 survivors on Insane difficulty would mean an additional 20 skarabei in attacks. (It's 45 EP for shrierers, so 4-5 Shriekers, etc.)

Regarding turrets, the EP values are as follows: 25 EP for Easy, 37 EP for Medium, 62 EP for Hard, 87 EP for Very Hard, and 150 EP for Insane. (These values are for Concordia, they vary by +-20% between moons.)

Researching technologies does not directly increase the progress. The EP value of new resources produced and buildings constructed helps to balance this aspect.

In most cases, buildings have a slightly higher EP value than the construction resources they consume. However, active defenses such as traps and turrets have an increased EP value.

Each resource carries a different EP value, which is balanced based on the typical amount the player would stockpile. Therefore, excessive production leads to an increased threat level.

If resources are consumed, survivors are killed, or buildings are destroyed, the total EP value of the base immediately decreases. This results in weaker subsequent attacks, allowing time to recover from the damage.

[Moyocoya]

Thank you, very interesting informations.

[wanne]

> the time elapsed since the start of the scenario.
Will this stop at some point? I assume this is the crash landing scenario but not trade outpost?
> Regarding turrets,
15 Skarabei does not sound so much. So even stupidly placed are worth their coasts. But then definitively going for machine guns only is the best way... Just cleaning up hiding bugs by hand is annoying.
> Each resource carries a different EP value
Could you give a few examples? Just to have an order what magnitudes we are dealing with. (How expensive is stocking up food in comparison to building materials and electronics. And is it worth waiting producing fuel/fats... until you really need them.) I usually stockpile concrete before building the turrets. (For the foundations.) But nothing compared to the 1-2k grain I usually have laying around.
> available resources
What means available? Is it enough to have it on the fields? Or do I have to have them on a shelf.

Could it be that Buildings that are not finished already counting towards the the EP. So while constructing you have double the EP.

Last: Is there a Lua command showing my at the moment EventProgress?

[Mnementh]

Originally posted by wanne:

> the time elapsed since the start of the scenario.
Will this stop at some point? I assume this is the crash landing scenario but not trade outpost?

I don't think there's a cap; however, the increase is manageable and can be addressed by gradually expanding your defense capabilities. In the hardest case (Insane Chaos), there is a yearly increase of 200 EP.

Originally posted by wanne:

Each resource carries a different EP value
Could you give a few examples? Just to have an order what magnitudes we are dealing with. (How expensive is stocking up food in comparison to building materials and electronics. And is it worth waiting producing fuel/fats... until you really need them.) I usually stockpile concrete before building the turrets. (For the foundations.) But nothing compared to the 1-2k grain I usually have laying around.

On the default setting, 1K Grain would be 20 EP, while 1K Concrete would be 60 EP. To find specific information about individual resources, you can use the Mod Editor. Create a copy of the resource you're interested in and look for the "Progress for 10 resource" property.

Originally posted by wanne:

>> available resources
What means available? Is it enough to have it on the fields? Or do I have to have them on a shelf.

All resources displayed on your HUD are taken into account, which includes resources on the ground but does not include resources dropped by wild animals.

Originally posted by wanne:

>Could it be that Buildings that are not finished already counting towards the the EP. So while constructing you have double the EP.

No, there was such a bug once, but we addressed and fixed it before the release into early access,

Originally posted by wanne:

>Last: Is there a Lua command showing my at the moment EventProgress?

You can write EventProgress in the Mod Editor's console. It's a global number variable.

[wanne]

> Create a copy of the resource you're interested in and look for the "Progress for 10 resource" property.
Cant find it. Have to have an other look.
> All resources displayed on your HUD are taken into account,
This seems not to be fully true. Cheated resources appear in the HUD but do not increase the EP.
> No, there was such a bug once, but we addressed and fixed it before the release into early access,
I think you are not fully right. If I build a big wooden floor, While my EP did not go up immediately, I still see a short spike. (Maybe when the resources are delivered but not actually build.) Maybe it is just strange rounding errors if you distribute a resource over multiple stacks.
Btw: concrete floors seem to give no EP, while the EP for concrete it self is huge.
> You can write EventProgress in the Mod Editor's console. It's a global number variable. Thanks. I started compiling a list.
Maybe I add it to the wiki.
Btw: https://stranded-alien-dawn.fandom.com/wiki/Stranded:_Alien_Dawn_Wiki
states to be an "official" wiki. Does that mean it is recognized by the developers? Or just by fandom?

[carnie2]

It almost sound like it is better not to build defense and buildings, and just to work outside, and have 1 single room for beds to stay inside when weather requires it.

[Klarum]

Originally posted by Mnementh:

Hi, wanne!

The value we use is called EventProgress, or EP for short. It tracks the following factors in real time: the number of alive survivors, available resources, constructed buildings, and, in certain difficulties and moons, the time elapsed since the start of the scenario.

The scalling is completely flawed and you really need to revisit it. You designed the game with an element of base defense, however building base defenses like walls, traps, turrets exponentially increases the size of the waves. To ridiculous sizes.

You made it so that, the best strategy to handle attacks is to not build defenses and keep base to a minimal functional setup. Plenty of games do this were they build a mechanic for which the optimal solution for the player is not to interact with the mechanic.

Back to the drawing board and make it more a factor of time passed (setting a minimal progression for the player) and take another element from Rimworld and use an overall 'richness' factor that accounts for tech progress, resources, survivor skills, etc. Then adjust it to the different levels of difficulty.

A minimal setup base to fulfill the scenario objective is the easiest way to beat the game. And at the same time not a fun one because everyone loves big bases.

[Jaggid Edje]

That's a pretty accurate assessment, @Klarum. In my playthrough to get the "True Solo" achievement, I just kept my base relatively small and I was able to handle all of the attacks by marking the attacking force for hunting and never drafting my sole survivor at all.

They had the "Master Hunter" trait, so by keeping the waves manageable by keeping the base small I was able to just leverage that trait for all defenses.

The only time the handful of turrets that I built ever fired in that game is when the attacking force was hummingfly's.

[wcbarney]

Originally posted by Mnementh:

Hi, wanne!

The value we use is called EventProgress, or EP for short. It tracks the following factors in real time: the number of alive survivors, available resources, constructed buildings, and, in certain difficulties and moons, the time elapsed since the start of the scenario. ...

Would you and your dev colleagues consider pinning this thread? Such information is too valuable to be lost because of the continuous crush of new posts which will result in this "Progress Thread" to end up on forum page 77 (i.e., way down the stack of posts) eventually.

[wcbarney]

bump. Please, devs, could you put this valuable information in a pinned post?

[Tacticat]

Is there an update with all the patch changes for this?