I see now why commitment mode is superior.

[Eredaemus]

I have finished the game several times now using reload along the way. I like to have a perfect colony you see and I don't enjoy chaos... at least I thought I didn't.

Anyway I started a Randy Random commitment mode on medium difficulty and oh.. my.. god - I had no idea how much of this game I was missing out on by reloading! I'm sure many of you have survived these things already, but I've had to resettle about 3 times, watched my crops burn to raiders, die to volcanic winters and toxic fallout. I didn't know how to build a kill zone and I was a sitting duck until I wised up. Somehow my original colonists are alive but I've lost a few new recruits to bad choices on my part. And I'm starving. Always starving... First time I've been forced to resort to hydroponics.

It was enjoying to watch something as simple as taming Muffalo go wrong at the start and despite having so many hours played how little I knew how to deal with it. I was recording things as an extra incentive to commit to the game mode. I made so many mistakes - see how many you can spot. I particularly love the sound of panic in my voice - this is the sound of a Utopian-building perfectionist losing his sh*t. But for those of you out there reloading - don't do it!

edit: for those unable to see the embeded video you'll have to try and search the title in youtube I guess :(

https://youtu.be/0kxX_kkrmPs

[Bozobub]

Nice! (No sarcasm.)

It's perfectly OK to savescum as you like but yes, like many games, RW is MUCH better played as a "roguelike", of sorts. It adds, immediacy, tension, drama, and more; what used to be a minor annoyance all of a sudden *matters* ^^' .

[Eredaemus]

Originally posted by Bozobub:

Nice! (No sarcasm.)

It's perfectly OK to savescum as you like but yes, like many games, RW is MUCH better played as a "roguelike", of sorts. It adds, immediacy, tension, drama, and more; what used to be a minor annoyance all of a sudden *matters* ^^' .

Totally. It was always things like dry thunderstorms and cold snaps / heat waves that had my tutting and reaching for the load button. I'd even reload until I got the perfect beds or weapons built. Every playthrough was the same base build, same cheesy trading, same cyborg soldiers. I guess it was fun to see those mechanics in their full flourish. But for now, I am learning how to deal with pawns having major breakdowns in my unlit caves jammed with the last of the rice as every animal flees the plummeting temperature. I've never even considered nutrient paste until now!!!

[Stormsong]

I admit, I skipped to a random point in the video just to see if this was some meme filled mess that I'd then skip over. Went right to 2:30ish when you insulted the muffalo horde and promptly laughed my ass off.

[Bozobub]

Note: "Wanderer joins" is a common event for every Storyteller, although Randy will do it all the way up to the 50-colonist "hard cap", unlike the other Storytellers ^^'.

Even after your last colonist dies, if you wait long enough a wanderer WILL eventually join, if you're very, very patient =x.

[Eredaemus]

Originally posted by Stormsong the Fallen:

I admit, I skipped to a random point in the video just to see if this was some meme filled mess that I'd then skip over. Went right to 2:30ish when you insulted the muffalo horde and promptly laughed my ass off.

I'm glad I got a laugh! Obviously I wasn't laughing as it happened but after reviewing the footage it raised a smile - hence the upload. I've gotten rather salty as the games progressed... muffalo stomping a colonists is the least of my problems lately.

[Eredaemus]

Originally posted by Bozobub:

Note: "Wanderer joins" is a common event for every Storyteller, although Randy will do it all the way up to the 50-colonist "hard cap", unlike the other Storytellers ^^'.

Even after your last colonist dies, if you wait long enough a wanderer WILL eventually join, if you're very, very patient =x.

Oh wow really? I've never had this once lol. Mind you I tend to use Phoebe Chillax all the time. This was also the first time I lost everyone and I like the idea of the game not ending if you're prepared to soldier on somehow.

[Bozobub]

Phoebe and Cass are actually more likely than Randy to have this event, at least when you're under the colonist soft cap (15 for Phoebe and 12 for Cass, IIRC, unmodded); both Storytellers actively try to get you to the soft cap. Randy is, of course, fully random, plus has NO soft cap, so he's less likely (no weighting for when under soft cap) at first, but can have the event fire all the way up to 50 colonists. Over a long game with Randy, you're quite likely to see it at least once.

Note, however, that "Wanderer joins" is simply one way for the Storyteller to add (or give you the opportunity to acquire) a pawn. So even if you get an opportunity, it may not be THIS event, as RNGeebus wills it; "common" is a somewhat misleading term, thought of that way ^^' .

By the way, if a colonist joins a dead colony, there is zero guarantee they will have useful skills. RNGeebus doth abide...

[LYNX Scout]

I have my savescum games, and then commitment games. 99% of the time though I'm scumming. I've reduced myself though to only scumming if one of the 4 original colonists I started with dies. A scummier move than savescumming is switching between Cassandra snd Phoebe if I get tired of being beaten up. Also in current map I have infestations, poison ships, and psychic ships disabled which is imo more scummy than just reloading old saves ;) not that I actually care about scum levels, obviously. This is the joy of a single player game, especially with no public "achievements" lists.

[Bozobub]

I wasn't throwing shade at the practice, just noting that the game has far more "oomph* when not doing so =).

[Eredaemus]

Originally posted by LYNX Scout:

I have my savescum games, and then commitment games. 99% of the time though I'm scumming. I've reduced myself though to only scumming if one of the 4 original colonists I started with dies. A scummier move than savescumming is switching between Cassandra snd Phoebe if I get tired of being beaten up. Also in current map I have infestations, poison ships, and psychic ships disabled which is imo more scummy than just reloading old saves ;) not that I actually care about scum levels, obviously. This is the joy of a single player game, especially with no public "achievements" lists.

Over the years I've gotten so much enjoyment out of RimWorld and they were all savescum games. I think RW is the pinnacle of simulation base-building that we have all been waiting for over the decades. Nothing comes this close to perfection. It gives you the opportunity to build a "perfect" base and still deal with day-to-day issues that keep the game rewarding. There's no question that I'll return to savescum soon. If anything it's a nod to the dev for providing both game-types - they are practically different games entirely.

I got back in the RW saddle after playing 10 minutes of Dawn of Man lol.

[Bozobub]

I totally get it! In fact, I play committed and savecummed games about 40/60, very roughly. But if you haven't tried commitment games at least a few times, there's a very good chance you're denying yourself some very enjoyable gameplay.

I enjoy both frantic scrabbles for survival and the smooth ticking of a luxury resort staffed with druggie cannibal bear tamer artists/artisans, while I read ebooks and comics =) .

[TwoTonGamer]

Whoa! What a great video, Eredaemus! Whoa!
I am so glad you powered through it and didn't give up. What a game and now that colony has some real history behind it!

I can tell by your base layout plan you have many, many hours.

You mentioned at one point that you got greedy with taming. A full herd is risky business to mess with! Taming or even hunting.

I wouldn't be too hard on RNG, a revenge was bound to happen at some point 'cause you probably wouldn't have stopped at three tames anyway. If you do three muffalo, might as well do four and then five and then all...

Man, oh man. I wish you hadn't opened that kitchen door with all those manhunters out there! I'm glad you did because it made a good video, though!
You mentioned you should have just holed up in the base. You should have! The muffalo would have gone to sleep eventually and you'd've been fine as long as they didn't see you.

Nah, it's better just the way it happened, actually. Re-loading, don't do it!

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by Eredaemus:

I have finished the game several times now using reload along the way. ....

There's nothing wrong with reloading/save-scumming. Nothing at all.

For myself, I've done it sparingly, but usually only to preserve the current playthrough because I have "bigger plans." The other times I've reloaded are usually because something stupid happened or some such, creating a mess.

In general, I don't reload when a pawn dies or disaster strikes or any of that kind of "normal, expected, gameplay." The reason I describe all this is pretty simple - I don't quite get "hardcore" modes... There are few games I trust deeply enough to grant them that sort of ultimate power over my play experience. :)

PS - Can't see the vid... I've noticed that issue lately cropping up with several youtube embeds and am not quite sure what causes it yet. (Unavailable :( )

[ÆTHELCHAD]

I had to stop using commitment mode because I've had 2 saves now that completely bit the dust due to corrupted files. I think it has something to do with mods, but now I just pretend i'm playing commitment mode and rest easy that in the event of a corrupted save I'll have an auto backup.

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by 6 Gorillion:

I had to stop using commitment mode because I've had 2 saves now that completely bit the dust due to corrupted files. I think it has something to do with mods, but now I just pretend i'm playing commitment mode and rest easy that in the event of a corrupted save I'll have an auto backup.

^--- This. This is why I'd rarely use a hardcore/ironman/committment mode and would, instead, just opt to play my own "hardcore" play.

The thing is - It's "A Thing" for some populations of gamers. And, it always has been since the idea was first adopted outside of the Roguelike game genre. I dunno... I guess the player feels an extra element of enforced risk or something that spices things up.

To me, the risk of something happening outside of my control is greater than the pleasure derived from an enforced hardcore play mode.

But, each to their own! For a game that makes it profitable to sell forcibly extracted organs from prisoners, game "modes" aren't worth arguing about. :)