Cosmonaut Mode

Do you play like a little girl?
Or a grown hero of the republic and the entire planet Earth?

A woman that was the first woman in space
Not just space, but goes to space, and comes back to earth and lives to tell you about ii

Learn how to play on COSMONAUT MODE

And crash and burn many, many times, because you are weak and your tactics are stupid.

Who is that woman on the cover?

Who is that woman on the cover?
That is no mere woman, that is Valentina Tereshkova.

Who is Valentina Tereshkova?
You don't know because you were educated in inferior western schools.

Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman to go into space. In 1963, she spent almost three days in space and orbited Earth 48 times in her space capsule, Vostok 6. That was her only trip into space. Tereshkova later toured the world to promote Soviet science and became involved in Soviet politics.

What is COSMONAUT MODE?

What is Cosmonaut Mode?
First, it is not Cosmonaut Mode, with lower case letters said like a whisper to a lover. You SHOUT it!
You wrestle with it like a bear in a Russian Circus
And you can never tame it

What is COSMONAUT MODE?
Ahh, now you ask the right question.

COSMONAUT MODE means no Deus Ex Machina

That is it, very simple, all wrapped in a present with a bow for you to open.

What is Deus Ex Machina?
There are no gods in the real world and there are no gods in Workers & Resources Soviet Republic. You do not pray to a god and have the hand of god -> Deus Ex Machina <- bring you magic resources.

0.8.1.9 Update and direct border purchases

0.8.1.9 gave us new features including the ability to purchase directly from customs

Here is how COSMONAUT MODE is changed
Two areas to discuss

1 - the initial setup
2 - ongoing

After the patch - SETTING UP THE IMPORTS AREA

SETTING UP THE IMPORTS AREA
There are no changes at all.


You still need a starter town
You need a Construction Office (CY)
You will need to purchase this

From there you can:
A - purchase the buildings to set up your IMPORTS starter area
B - send the vehicles to the border to make those purchases

A is better in the long run. You need those structures to expand outwards from IMPORTS to your own Republic

B is easy and cheaper, but what is the first thing you will be building? The same area you were going to purchase in setting up your IMPORTS location

After the patch - resupplying IMPORTS

After IMPORTS is established, this patch brings with it a change

We never purchase anything
That means we need more trucks at IMPORTS to make those trips to the border to get materials

Yes, we will be running trucks from our initial structures to the border

This is a change
We all knew it was coming
And we embrace it

Here is how

Go to each structure, see what it was purchasing
Cancel that purchase
Assign a truck to go to the border, buy that item, then bring it back to that warehouse or other storage structure

Nothing changes except we remain the same - NO DEUS EX MACHINA

The hand of god does not come down and deliver resources to the middle of our Republic.
No angels descend and build roads, tracks or buildings

The beauty and challenge of COSMONAUT MODE is that once you do it, it is the easiest way to play.

This patch just helps us minimize some items at the border to get started. No need to construct a bitumen tank to supply our first asphalt tank. Just remember, sooner or later you will be making bitumen and fuel yourself. If you already have a hub and spoke system in place, it is easier to expand

The expansion now? We go backwards from our IMPORTS initial area, to the border

But wait, what if you are self-sufficient on bricks? Then what?
Nothing - don't make a run to purchase them
The more along your Republic, the less this patch makes any difference to your game

The simple beauty of COSMONAUT MODE :)

Startup screen options

• Custom map - sure if you want, but no free population
  
• Money amount - Hard
  
• Unsatisfied citizens reaction - Great (Hard)
  
• Energy management Buildings + vehicles
  
• Night/Day cycle - Enable
  
• Building fires - Frequent
  
• Global events - Enable it when they come out
  
• Pollution - Enable
  
• Year of start - 1960
  
• Vehicles availabillty - Lock according year
  
• Education simulation - Complex

Why Enable the Night/Day cycle?
Because just when you need to see something, WRSR will know, and make it dark. Good luck seeing in the dark while your economy crumbles.

Building fires - Frequent
See my posts on Kindergarten arsonists and FIRE FIRE FIRE. They happen so often you will never build without a fire station first

How do I get resources in the game?

How do I get resources in the game?

• You mine it - granite, coal, iron, oil
  
• You make it - factories
  
• You grow it - crops on farms
  
• You buy it at the border - power
  
• You buy AT the border - everything else

How do I NOT get resources in the game?

• Going into a factory and selecting Auto purchases
  
• Going into ANY building besides the border town and selecting manual purchase
  
• Using cash to build or finish any construction

In short, No Deus Ex Machina
Fairies do not float down from the sky and bring your remote community food, electronics, clothing or alcohol. When they run out, it is YOUR fault comrade leader of the Republic. And they will let you know in unhappiness and escapes.

How do I get resources from the border IMPORT area?

• You BUY a road vehicle at the border depot
  
• You assign it a route from IMPORTS across your map

Can I use a train? Sure, just follow these simple and easy steps

• You build a Construction Office
  
• You use trucks to supply all of its materials
  
• Assign it to build a Rail Construction Office
  
• You build a Rail Construction Office
  
• You use trucks to supply all of its materials
  
• You build track
  
• You use a Construction Office to build a Rail Depot at the border
  
• You purchase a train at the border
  
• You assign it a route from IMPORTS across your map

What about Asphalt?
No problem
Build it, then buy an oil truck, haul in materials
Then remember that it needs workers, so go build housing
Then you get it from a truck at IMPORTS
But every standard Housing needs Asphalt
Ahh, so now you have to buy it at the border and make it part of IMPORTS

I will go broke buying all of these stuff at IMPORTS
No, you just use it to make your first area in your Republic. Then expand out, until you can make your own. It isn't that different from a regular start. Once you know it, do it a few times, fail every time, then it clicks. It's just NO DEUS EX MACHINA
We have to use our funds at the border to establish IMPORTS and a foot hold.
It is what you do after that first step

You will never see your Financial Screen spinning with numbers. Because you authorize each and every purchase that goes into IMPORTS. And then you distribute from there.

What about crops to make alcohol?
See that silo?
Buy it at IMPORTS in that silo, manually
Buy a covered hull, at IMPORTS
Assign it to haul those crops it to your Distillery to make Alcohol
Oh this is easy.
No, no it isn't
All those trucks cost funds
And fuel
And roads
and traffic
it adds up

Now remember your people also need clothing. How are you going to get them clothing while trying to build out your housing areas? And use them as workers on the housing construction?


This isn't a stone age game where your first structures are built just from sticks on the ground. You have starting funds - a lot of them - if used very carefully

This is what will make your game play awesome. Your mastery of everything on your map.

How do I build structures and roads?

Construction Office

And it takes Workers and Resources.
Planning
And it causes traffic jams, confusion, problems and difficulties. - Yes bring it on

How do I build railroad tracks?

Rail Construction Offices

Requires planning, learning how the build, and trying to navigate the game

You want to click click click and have railroad track? This mode is not for you

You want to watch a Rail Construction Train, block a train, that messes up a crossing, causes a traffic jam, so no workers get to your power plant, and the lights go out, and your republic losses all its workers? - This comrade is the mode for you

My republic failed, what next?

When your republic crashes and burns

I said when, not IF

When your republic crashes and burns, you start over from scratch

What about saved games?
Nope, those are just to log off and come back on later

What about a bug in the game that doesn't reload, can I go back to a prior save?
You submit the bug to the devs
You follow the instructions to upload a saved game file to help the devs
You cry a single tear. No more, just one
And you start over from scratch

Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov

A true hero Cosmonaut, giving everything to push forward
By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60645370


Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov (Russian: Влади́мир Миха́йлович Комаро́в, IPA: [vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr mʲɪˈxaɪləvʲɪtɕ kəmɐˈrof]; 16 March 1927 – 24 April 1967) was a Soviet test pilot, aerospace engineer, and cosmonaut. In October 1964, he commanded Voskhod 1, the first spaceflight to carry more than one crew member. He became the first cosmonaut to fly in space twice when he was selected as the solo pilot of Soyuz 1, its first crewed test flight. A parachute failure caused his Soyuz capsule to crash into the ground after re-entry on 24 April 1967, making him the first human to die in a space flight.

Komarov was one of the most highly experienced and qualified candidates accepted into the first squad of cosmonauts selected in 1960. He was declared medically unfit for training or spaceflight twice while he was in the program, but his perseverance, superior skills, and engineering knowledge allowed him to continue playing an active role. During his time at the cosmonaut training center, he contributed to space vehicle design, cosmonaut training, and evaluation and public relations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Komarov

Isn't this too difficult?

Yes, yes it is

If it is too difficult for you, don't try it. But now that you know about it, no matter what you do on easy or hard mode, it won't feel the same. Because now you know, you didn't do it on COSMONAUT MODE

What about Loans?

Can I take out loans on COSMONAUT MODE?
It is a game mechanic
You pay interest on it
The game takes it from you constantly
And it can make you go broke

Sounds like a yes to me.

Do I suggest you actually take one out?
No, especially on such tight reigns, you will spend a lot on interest without a return to cover.

Example,
You see that Oil is backing up. Lets take out a loan to add another refinery
Refinery 500,000
Tanks 100,000
Housing for 1,500 workers
Support people of another 200-500
Roads
Trains or trolleys or oh my gosh, buses

A train 200,000
tanker cars 100,000

So now, 1,000,000₽ borrowed
Immediately Государственный банк СССР starts collecting on the loan
You buy the train at IMPORTS
You buy the trains, trolleys or buses at IMPORTS
You buy raw materials at IMPORTS
And you start assigning CO's to building tasks
And wait for materials to get brought in
then wait for workers to be free from other asks to do the tasks.

Now it becomes a matter of survival, you vs Gosbank, as you watch your workers slowly make progress on the ground work.

The click to buy player has a way easier task. And within a few minutes watches a train fill with Fuel and drive off to the border to sell. Your game play experience is vastly more complex, rich and rewarding.

How about this? Take out a loan for 100,000₽

Updates and thanks

Thank you to everyone who is playing and contributed to this awesome guide
There are many ways to play, and it is your game, your Republic, and your workers.
Have fun


Edit suggestions and comments
That guy who wrote that tl;dr love letter about Cosmonaut Mode
The helpful edit notes from kromgart Apr 11 @ 8:52am
The WR:SR Discord people
The WR:SR Discord mod people
The WR:SR facebook people