Field Kitchen. Do you even use it?

[Red]

I want to see if there is something major that I'm overlooking here.

You start your game with Crude Workstation / Makeshift Post, unless you have better rolls available. Both buildings are viable otherwise.

Field kitchen though - planks/fabric to build. Production value is so bad/slow, that you're wasting people's time. They could probably just harvest raw resource nodes in the mean time. I've only found myself using that building in a late struggle bus game, when I need an extra "oompf" for a meal that I cannot make, and had bodies to spare on top of that.

Am I completely missing out on a strategy here? Do you use that building as an "opener" to your game. I am curious.

[kory]

Field kitchen will never see the use that crude workstation sees, but you basically have the right of it, you use it if you are in a situation where nothing else is coming together and it can fix a few problems. Probably I build it in about 1/3 or 1/4 or my games.

[arjensmit79]

Rarely, espescially rarely in early game.

In early game i am looking for efficiency with my limited amount of people and the field kitchen doesn't fit in there. I never really need special foods for resolve to get trough the storm. And that 0.04 rep per minute you get from bringing some race over 15 isn't worth the effort.

In late game, when i have a strong economy, 600 food in store, a drizzle geyser and good blight fighting capacity, and im at that point where you just open the flood gates, buy all goods and services from a trader, thats where i figure "might as well add 2 field kitchens and water them to complete the collection of special foods even more".

Of course in early game it does have its use for fullfilling those orders that require an x amount of resolve on some race. You could just produce 20-30 advanced food for them in the field kitchen to get that done. I just don't do that very often either, usually i'm too busy with other priorities and without a doubt that order will be done a little later anyway. If you are strapped for blueprints because you cant complete many orders, this could help out though.

[Sins]

i would say its useful about one in three games. sometimes you don't need efficient production of some complex foods, you just need something, and its a guarantee that you can get what you need.

usually i'm using it for pickled goods or porridge, rarely for jerky, and basically never for biscuits.

[KD.AltQQ]

I always use them for one thing or another... it's very rare to get the "efficient" blueprints for every type of food one wants to make.

They are good enough--some games I just plop down 4+ field kitchens once I'm ready to go for complex foods. The build cost is only 3 planks and 3 fabric--compared to something that costs 12 planks+ (such as the cookhouse) it is quite cheap, and they can be moved for free.

Making complex foods early when your town is small however is a bad idea UNLESS you are forced to survive on porridge as the only things you have are grain and herbs. Or you need 30 jerky early to bribe the fishmen...

[arjensmit79]

"I always use them for one thing or another... it's very rare to get the "efficient" blueprints for every type of food one wants to make."

I usually just make 1 type of food and everyone has to eat it, like it or not. Espescially *** jerky is super awesome. A trappers camp and a few small nodes can go a long way feeding your town like that.

[Tam]

I use it when I need to multiply my food ressources in the beginning. When I have not enough people to really get going but enough to place two into the kitchen.
Only if I have trouble aquiring other food ressources though.
It is especially helpfull when I somehow got grain or herb from somewhere as these cannot be turned into food before processing and the field kitchen can make porridge out of them.

[Spacesuit Spiff]

I needed to use it in a seal map. Nasty forest mystery that needed complex food combined with no recipes showing up for most of the game. It's a good release valve against that kind of RNG. Never my first plan though, people who build it year 1 and rainpunk it haven't crunched the numbers enough imo.

[Voidmonger]

it's an emergency building just like the makeshift station

[Red]

Originally posted by arjensmit79:

I usually just make 1 type of food and everyone has to eat it, like it or not.

That's how I start as well. Let's say you get a cookhouse, or bakery.
In the early stage I do not care that they can make 2 foods. People just need 1 to survive.

This cuts down on raw material and workers, which are basically the bottleneck for 3-4 years.

Later I transition to more foods, as I start thinking about resolve. Sometimes I start cooking more food earlier, if someone decides to be problematic (usually harpies, or lizards).

Edit: And that's actually where my field kitchen use kicks in. One problematic race, and no food recipe for them. I use field kitchens as a crutch in that case.

[Aquablast]

I have started using Field Kitchen-- but usually when early on, if I picked my blueprints poorly (or have bad luck) and couldn't rush complex food for a race. Gaining access to Porridge, Pickled Food, and Biscuit can be a godsend too, since they all convert (some) inedible stuff into food (rainwater+herbs/grain, pottery/waterskin/barrels, and flour+herbs respectively)-- that's extremely helpful if you've got a lot of grains/herb (perhaps from having a small farm/herb garden early on) and/or only have buildings that produce containers and flour early on.

We should definitely switch over to something more efficient later on, but I find it great to always have access to some complex food recipe right from the start, even when I pick my blueprints poorly (or have bad luck with it).

[Lil brekky]

Sometimes I think good ATS players on here focus too much on platonic perfection and not on the grit and grime of getting through tough maps... to call FK "1/3 useful" or "emergency building," though objectively correct, seems odd to me, since just about every good thing in ATS is "1/3 useful" due to variance, and you tend to run into "emergencies" every few mins.

Failed Kitchen is good because it has the "essential" tag (so you have access to it in every single run from the word "go" which is an absolutely exceptional feature) and FOUR recipes (also quite exceptional) that can improve resolve, extend resources, solve events, and complete orders. In such a RNG-heavy game with very limited draft options on higher difficulties, the amount of outs such a building can provide cannot really be overstated.

To answer the question I start each map on the assumption that I'm going to build a FK to make porridge, possibly jerky, unless I am presented a reason not to. I have consumption control set to autoban all foods from the start so I can squeeze more mileage out of the raw starter foods, and FK is a primary reason for that

[Ragnaman]

FK is better than eating foods raw so theres that.

[bluemonkey]

P15 -- For me, FK is basically always built and basically always used.

Originally posted by Lil brekky:

I start each map on the assumption that I'm going to build a FK to make porridge, possibly jerky, unless I am presented a reason not to. I have consumption control set to autoban all foods from the start so I can squeeze more mileage out of the raw starter foods, and FK is a primary reason for that

This completely!! Also if starting with containers, FK is a quick way to make canned goods without committing early to a building/chain that isn't otherwise immediately useful.

[Stevie Nyx]

I have only ever built it once because the first glade I popped needed jerky for the event.

I cant imagine ever justifying the time spent early game in this building. The recipes are so slow. I would rather have my worker spamming roads.

If you know you need a resolve boost to get through year 1 storm, I guess it could have some use, but I have always found other options.

I see people mentioning porridge which requires the rain building which requires parts and another worker. Where is everyone getting these spare workers early game?

[Samseng Yik]

Consider build only if I really have abundance of uneatable stuff that can convert into food