Trade Scenario: When do you recruit your first few survivors?

[A boy named Sue]

I am nearing the end of my first year and I have nowhere near enough fuel production to be able to sell much of anything. Cost of 50 fuel and no bug meat breakthrough and rough. Being stuck with 3 survivors is concerning.

I did start with 60k credits but that will only last me a year. So couple of questions/request for tips:

1. Is this normal? What year do you guys typically recruit your first 2-3 survivors?
2. If I recruit a survivor and then let them leave, can I recruit them again with the same skill progress? Or is it RNG with each posting?
3.Any general tips for the first couple of years?

[Flin Fredstone]

Well since my current rig can't handle the large spawns at higher difficulty i had good coins to start with so i recruit someone right away ( after i secured the coins in a safe, learned that the hard way haha)
So in my case it was rare that i had to let someone go, i only recruit for minimum contract duration and hope to make enough coins to extend the contract.
Can't say if the skills reset sorry.

Good coin makers are cloth and, if you are able to plunder them, the carbon from the nests.
Also planting bushes or grass to make trade boxes whenever works too.

[A boy named Sue]

What did you "learn the hard way" about safes? Can stuff steal your money?

[A boy named Sue]

I'm playing right now and immediately switched research to safes. I'm scurrrrrrred.

[Flin Fredstone]

Yeah, new recruits can have sticky fingers if you keep your coins in the open.
The trader scenario has some fun extra events :-D

edit: make sure no other storage area accepts coins after you have build the safe.

[Seelander]

Originally posted by A boy named Sue:

I am nearing the end of my first year and I have nowhere near enough fuel production to be able to sell much of anything. Cost of 50 fuel and no bug meat breakthrough and rough. Being stuck with 3 survivors is concerning.

I did start with 60k credits but that will only last me a year. So couple of questions/request for tips:

1. Is this normal? What year do you guys typically recruit your first 2-3 survivors?
2. If I recruit a survivor and then let them leave, can I recruit them again with the same skill progress? Or is it RNG with each posting?
3.Any general tips for the first couple of years?

You just craft it, observe tall grass preferly or tall plant for grain, harvest 1 plant and the oil science will open craft one oil and fuel science will be available. can be traded for later on ships...

[A boy named Sue]

Maybe i just waited too long to start on fuel. So much to do to prepare for the first winter though, idk how you guys get it all done to hire someone in year 1!

[Flin Fredstone]

Contracts can be like 28k for half a year so not that bad. Also there is the chance someone takes the offer for free because they try to hide from one of the trade factions ( which can have fun decisions to make too )

For fuel you can also observe some manure from the drommies near your camp. And if you're not ready, or willing, to domesticate them, you can collect the manure in the wild and craft fuel on the craft bench right away without research. And it's faster then the grain-oil-fuel. Just have to walk the walk with the poop. Granted, without a stable supply it's not a secure resource.

[A boy named Sue]

I had no idea I could use manure. Totally blind. Thank you! This changes everything. Manure is freakin everywhere! I tame Ulfens every playthrough anyway.

[Flin Fredstone]

If you want to domesticate the Drommies on the desert map, this is the taming food to look for.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2971483534

[msor]

You do not need recruits to complete Trade scenario at all, tbh.
For fuel making you do not need any breakthrough.
Research "Making oil" from regular grain, then "Making fuel" from oil.
Grain is all what you need to win. Making antibiotics from grain - is the most efficient source of money. Very little labor time required, which is the most precious resource in this game. You can grow and sell cloth, before getting antibiotics research. Do not bother with anything else.
Just let your people works on surviving and let Tall Grass and Fermentation Barrels makes you rich.

[A boy named Sue]

Originally posted by msor:

You do not need recruits to complete Trade scenario at all, tbh.
For fuel making you do not need any breakthrough.
Research "Making oil" from regular grain, then "Making fuel" from oil.
Grain is all what you need to win. Making antibiotics from grain - is the most efficient source of money. Very little labor time required, which is the most precious resource in this game. You can grow and sell cloth, before getting antibiotics research. Do not bother with anything else.
Just let your people works on surviving and let Tall Grass and Fermentation Barrels makes you rich.

Problem with grain>oil and grain>antibiotics is that the crafting priority seems to be the lowest. Same for smelting. There is no separate labor or anything AFAIK that allows me to automate oil/antibs/smelting. I have to keep forcing them to do it manually.

If there is a trick to it I'd love to know it.

Thanks!

[Flin Fredstone]

I think the grain-oil and grain-antibiotics falls under Handling, not crafting.
You handle the barrel/press.

[A boy named Sue]

I don't think so. I tried turning off handling, right click on oil press and it should say "Not assigned to activity" but it doesn't. Same for smelting. But it does say "not assigned" for the refuel option on the furnace.

[Flin Fredstone]

When you select a barrel or smelter and then hover over a recipe you will see it says Experience gain: none, at the bottom.

[msor]

Originally posted by A boy named Sue:

I don't think so. I tried turning off handling, right click on oil press and it should say "Not assigned to activity" but it doesn't. Same for smelting. But it does say "not assigned" for the refuel option on the furnace.

Barrels and smelting definitely are Handling.
Oil press is Crafting and it has higher priority than Working bench. Which is a good idea to limit amount of oil you want to have, for preventing infinite oil production without converting it to fuel.
The same story with fuel. Put it at top of a queue on Working bench but limit it to certain amount. So people could work with something else after making enough fuel.