Similar games that are better than (vanilla) Rimworld?

[meow]

I know Rimworld has an incredibly active modding community that is extremely dedicated to fixing the many glaring flaws in vanilla Rimworld, but I can't help but feel like I could be having a better time playing something else entirely.

I'm not saying rimworld is a bad game by any means, but you'd have to be deaf in both eyes and blind in both ears to be able to deny that it's not the BEST in its subgenre either.

[Jigain]

I mean, if you are asking for people to tell you what games are better than Rimworld, doesn't that imply you don't know any games that are better?

I'm not sayin', I'm jus' sayin'.

[gussmed]

What's the genre? Because if you're talking Dwarf Fortress-like, really Dwarf Fortress like, there are really just two entries: Dwarf Fortress and Rimworld. If you think Rimworld's rough around the edges, you've never played DF.

Most games aren't even close to being in the same category. Oxygen Not Included is about as close as it gets, and that's not very close at all.

ONI is a great game, but it differs as much as it overlaps. There's no crafting, artwork, clothing, trade, traps, combat, or external threats. Or rather, there's very rudimentary combat, and only if you deliberately attack the peaceful critters inhabiting the asteroid. It does, however, have a much more elaborate physics system, industry, and things like plumbing. Not to mention the necessity of generating your own air and managing gasses. As I said, it's not very close to Rimworld / Dwarf Fortress at all, despite being closer to DF than anything else before it.

It really depends on what you want out of a game. One of the things I loved about Dwarf Fortress was the elaborate production lines, from raw ore to pig iron to steel, and Factorio very much fulfilled the same sort of thing, even though it's a completely different game in just about every respect otherwise.

[The Knowledge Seeker]

Maybe kenshi will interest you. It is the closest game I can think of.

[Cormac]

@gussmed
there are a few 'DF-like' sandbox-builder simulators....whatever... out there, most of them share a similar fate. unfinished no longer in development and partly unplayable
i remember a scifi themed one, not nearly finished
Gnomoria is another very promising game, but again, didn't live long enough to developed to its full potential (and i don't think its worth buying as long as you are not starved for this kind of game)
keeperRL is "somewhat" similar, basicly a love child of dungeinkeeper and dwarf fortress, i think that is one of the very few still in active development
prison architect can be put into the same genre, but it plays very different and is not as deep (and i don't own it, so take my words with a grain of salt)

some "somewhat" similar colonysim games:
the spatials galactology (i hope the spelling was right), where you build a scifi colony. not as much fun longterm as rimworld, but worth keeping an eye out for a sale, if the asking price is to much for you (it's not an expansive game to begin with)
judgment apocalypse survival simulator, again, only "somewhat" similar, postapocalyptic colony builder game, fun, but again, not as good as rimworld and by far not the same.

some other colony sim games that are not even close to the rimworld/dwarf fortress like gameplay:
craft the world (more similar to oni than DF, while still very different)
rise to ruins (very fun, but somewhat more nieche and even less beginner friendly)
Thea 2 (and thea) extremly fun, but again, not even close to the same.
oh, and as the poser above me said: kenshi (extrem great, somewhat unpolished, but it is an unpolished gem and still extremly great)


but if you truly truly want a game extremly similar to rimworld that is truly better?
Dwarf fortress + wiki + 3 guides.... no, make it 4, and lots of "fun"(tm)

[gussmed]

I've played a lot of the games you mention (The Spacials, Craft the World, Thea / Thea 2) and feel they're all fairly distant from Rimworld / Dwarf Fortress. "Colony builder" is a pretty broad category, and those games aren't really all that similar to each other, even though you can kinda-sorta class them as being in one genre.

Which doesn't mean they're bad games, or that Nurupo (our thread starter) might not enjoy them more than Rimworld. They're just not DF-likes. Which is why I was trying to ask him "what is it you're looking for in a replacement?" Maybe what he wants isn't really what makes DF and Rimworld so much themselves.

I'd forgotten Gnomoria. I took a stab at it once, and didn't get very far into it. I seem to recall it was lacking a lot of the systems that made Dwarf Fortress stand apart.

Is it a DF like if maintaining colonist mood isn't critical? Is it DF like if you're not showering your colonists with luxurious bedrooms and dining halls to keep them happy? Is DF like if you aren't worried about defending against periodic invasions?

It's hard to say what's core to being DF like. Rimworld and DF share a combat system with absurd levels of detailed simulation instead of simple hit points. Eyes get cut out, fingers get cut off, and kidneys get bruised. But even though I can't think of any other games that treat combat quite this way, I don't think it's a defining aspect of what makes them similar experiences.

[The Knowledge Seeker]

Originally posted by gussmed:

It's hard to say what's core to being DF like. Rimworld and DF share a combat system with absurd levels of detailed simulation instead of simple hit points. Eyes get cut out, fingers get cut off, and kidneys get bruised. But even though I can't think of any other games that treat combat quite this way, I don't think it's a defining aspect of what makes them similar experiences.

Yeah, Kenshi is very much like this. I bought it in early release, and back then, it was really awesome! I haven't played it since then, but it looks even better.

[BurlsoL]

Not much I would put in the 'better' category. Rimworld has a great deal of things going for it that other DF-like games lack, including DF. Frankly, Rimworld is probably the easiest to approach and most polished game of the genre. I know that may seem like a disrespectful thing to say about DF, but while DF has a large degree of depth and potentially be amazing due to the way things interact; the learning curve is a steep cliff with several narrow plateaus while being visually obtuse. Compared to most everything else I've seen, Rimworld simply takes the cake for being both a colony sim and a story generator, if only because most other games try to force progression or game elements down your throat instead of letting game mechanics and randomization seed to develop each playthrough differently.

In addition to those mentioned above... Maybe check out Odd Realms. It's still in early development, but is showing some promise at being a sort of DF light with its own slant on things.

[Cormac]

@gussmed yeah, thats way i listed those in "somewhat" similar (not the same)
but yeah, most of them which are much more comparable to DF/rimworld, are neither that great nore finished (and will most likly never be finished).
but to be honest, this whole genre is somewhat niche, the "DF-lik" even more so, i don't believe many developer want to risk getting into this genre because it is extremly easy to mess it up
(i mean, make an ARC like game, and the worsed you can to is to underestimate the gamehoppers who are just waiting for the next early access clone to jump on....)

[Leg Day]

Been searching a long time and the only thing that scratched the same itch was Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead, which is not the same genre.
Kenshi was cool but it's too tempting to farm the skills. What else are you gonna do? Try not to die and get strong. Then you become godlike and what's the point? Dwarf Fortress is amazing but I feel like it got too complex without fixing the bugs. Not okay with travelers/warbands randomly not existing anymore.
Feeling your pain. So many gems but developers not providing the next steps in gaming evolution. I'd love an expanded sequel to games like Faster Than Light and Dungeon of the Endless.

[meow]

what about that Frostpunk thing? Or Oxygen Not Included?

[Jigain]

Originally posted by nurupo:

what about that Frostpunk thing? Or Oxygen Not Included?

Originally posted by gussmed:

ONI is a great game, but it differs as much as it overlaps. There's no crafting, artwork, clothing, trade, traps, combat, or external threats. Or rather, there's very rudimentary combat, and only if you deliberately attack the peaceful critters inhabiting the asteroid. It does, however, have a much more elaborate physics system, industry, and things like plumbing. Not to mention the necessity of generating your own air and managing gasses. As I said, it's not very close to Rimworld / Dwarf Fortress at all, despite being closer to DF than anything else before it.

[Gentlest Giant]

I think one of the most defining traits of DF and Rimworld is the utter misery. The people you lead live in a crapsack world where everything can hurt them, including their friends and their food; only if you play at a difficulty too low for you will they get consistently comfortable. Death is unpredictable and final.

Frostpunk has the macro-misery going in that you see the sick and dying in large numbers but aside from some scripted text events, you don't experience their suffering in the same detail. It's a game that deals with dozens to hundreds of individuals after all, rather than one to ten.
Frostpunk does not have the same variety of suffering either. Individuals can freeze, starve or be sick. The population as a whole can feel raging disobedience or utter hopelessness, and text events can describe some goings at both individual and population level.
I don't find that I ever bother to care about any particular individual in frostpunk.

[pepermunt genderbread]

bf5

[meow]

The idea that Rimworld is a unique game beyond comparison is absolutely laughable. I see this about every game in every fandom, people are UPSET by the idea that their beloved game could be even VAGUELY SIMILAR to another.

Rimworld has games that are like it. The way I've been describing it to friends is "it's The Sims meets Conan: Exiles" and I've also drawn comparisons to Space Station 13.

To say that any of the games mentioned in this thread are "nothing like" Rimworld is absolutely head-up-ass idiotic.

[Pizzarugi]

Ignomia and Dwarf Fortress are colony sims. Ignomia is an attempt to succeed where Gnomoria failed, and Dwarf Fortress is the grandfather of all colony sims. Problem with the latter game is that the UI is beyond unfriendly and even once you get the hang of it, the difficulty is oppressive.

You will fail and lose your dwarves. A lot. However, the clunky UI and extreme difficulty makes for a very open game with limitless potential for fun and chaos. The Randy Random storyteller of Rimworld is based on Dwarf Fortress's system.