Rimworld: A squirrel slaughter for the ages

With the arrival of Patch 1.5 (no, I didn’t get the Anomaly expansion yet), I wanted to do a fresh Rimworld run and blog series. Same rules apply: Crashland with three people (chosen from the roster with no random replacements), Cassandra “strive to survive” difficulty with commitment mode on, and randomized starting area.

I got pretty lucky in almost all areas. I crashlanded into a temperate zone with a road, and my starting crew of Salad, Andy, and Dubs have a really strong mix of skills along with an extra autopistol (one of the new features in 1.5 is that your paws might spawn with their own gear).

After a few days, the new colony of Jackson’s Hope was shaping up very nicely. A bit cramped, to be sure, but it’s got tons of storage, some production facilities, a good stretch of farmland on rich soil, and power. I’m loving the new wall lights, as they save much-needed room.

There are a lot of goals for the first year of any Rimworld colony. Mostly my focus is building up a big food stockpile for winter, making winter weather gear, getting enough power/heaters online, and trying to recruit a few more souls. I did increase the colony to five members with a tamed wild woman and a captured raider.

In my Rimworld playthroughs, I’ve been trying to get more comfortable with pursuing quests and sending out caravans. We got notice that Bowman’s boyfriend was stranded a few days away, so I sent a party to rescue him. We had to build a temporary camp until he recovered, during which I got a notice that I had to flee before 17 days were up, as an incoming group of mechanoids was on the way. Happily, we all made it back safe and our colony added Mr. Lolo to the mix.

In the spring, the colony faced its greatest threat yet — an event that I called the Battle of the Squirrels. A manhunter pack of about 10 squirrels streamed into the area, seeking human flesh. Fortunately, all of my colonists had guns by then, so it was a one-sided slaughter. But a slaughter to be remembered!

My base after the first year. It’s pretty solid with lots of food, comforts, power, and defense. I’ve only lost one colonist to date due to an infection from a megasloth attack.

Our next loss came when a psychic ship crash landed and started spewing these murderous mechanoids. Lolo got shot to death within the first few seconds, while Yumiko barely made out out alive. Fortunately, we fared better when a lethal wave of guinea pigs tried to storm the colony walls.

What Rimworld takes away, Rimworld gives. I cracked open the Ancient Danger on the map to find a lone mechanoid (easily dealt with) and six cryocaskets loaded with escaped slaves. Five of them were still alive but in bad shape, so we rescued all and started treating them immediately. All five quickly joined the colony, swelling our population and straining the amount of beds we had available. But I’m not complaining!

Bio Break Mix Tape: Material Issue, Maria Mena, and more!

It’s the start of the week, so why not start it off right with some great tunes? Enjoy your latest Bio Break Mix Tape, a random collection of awesome songs that I’ve discovered lately and want to pass on to you to enjoy too…

Snippets from Guild Wars 2, Fallout 76, Palia, Project Gorgon, and Star Trek Online

Every so often I like to go through my drafts folder and clear out a lot of half-formed posts that’ll probably not be finished any time soon. So here’s a weird hodge-podge of post starters that never took flight:

Now that I’m getting back into Guild Wars 2 properly, I’m taking my Mesmer through the world and story in the hopes of mastering this tricky but alluring class. At least I already have her exotics and ascended jewelry set from a while back, so she’s good to go — after I give her outfit a once-over!

Mapping early zones isn’t that mentally taxing, so I’m just playing the tourist, poking around for interesting vistas while checking off to-do items. I don’t think I ever recalled seeing this underwater statue before.

It also gives me much-needed time to get used to my Mesmer’s skills and the semi-chaotic nature of her fighting style. And there’s almost no chance of dying, as even packs of six or seven mobs don’t pose a threat.

Queensdale and Divinity’s Reach done, and I’m at 6% world completion. There’s a long way to go, a long long way. But that’s fine, because it also means plenty of stuff to do and to accomplish!

Next up is Kessex Hills. I do map completion much like how most people do puzzles: Start at the borders, get a full outline going, and then fill in the middle. It’s another quaint early Human zone, so no trouble there.

I logged into Fallout 76 today to a pleasant surprise: Outside of a nearby train station, someone had stuffed a suitcase full of goodies for the taking. I got about 12 treasure maps, a really nice chest piece, and a three-star legendary machine gun. I can’t use the latter two until I’m 50, but still, that’s pretty cool.

I’m moving into the quest series that has me make contact with the Raiders and Settlers factions. But to get to the Top of the World for the next quest will be quite the journey that I haven’t made yet. So once again, I’ll be hopping from discoverable waypoint to waypoint doing a bunch of stuff along the way. Such as finding out about this secret cadre of crime fighters in a manor!

After messing around on the starter island for what felt like an abnormally long time, I finally teleported off to the mainland. Time to start my adventure all proper-like! An old crone nearby informed me that I used to be a demon hunter, but I got caught, tortured, and my memories ultimately erased.

The first thing I did was to run up a hill to get a bird’s eye view of this area. Nice hands you got there, zone.

When it comes to new games, there’s this barrier that has to be passed in order to make them a mainstay. Think of it as a bubble. If I’m going to invest any serious amount of time into a title or get through it all or whatever, I need to push past the barrier and into the bubble. But the bubble wants to push back for a while, which is why I may dip into a game and then bounce right off of it back into a comforting older title. The more complicated or time-involving a game is, the more resistant that bubble is to being popped.

I’ve found that — again, for me — enthusiasm isn’t often enough. Sometimes I have to make several running attempts at making it through the barrier. And I’m feeling that with Palia. The barrier here is that it’s certainly a time vampire in the best of ways but also that it was really rough around the edges in early launch. So I bounced after a couple of promising weeks. Yet this is a game I do want to become comfortable playing, and so I need to get enough time in it to transition into my crop of familiar titles.

To work on this, I’m going to dedicate at least one play session every day for a month to get to know Palia better. They don’t have to be super-long sessions, just enough to do a few things and continue to get a feel for it. And besides, I like the roadmap this studio has for the game and its potential. I don’t think it belly-flopped past the point of viability, especially with some of the projects on the horizon and the Switch launch.

About all I have a handle on is the fishing, which I like to spend 10 minutes here and there to do. This time I fished up a homemade bookshelf to add to my house! That was the good news. The bad was that both my smelter and my sawmill weren’t processing anything — in fact, they hadn’t finished the tasks I assigned them weeks ago. I’d fill the hoppers and then it would just… do nothing. Yet I couldn’t scrap them, because I’d get this “crafting in progress” notice. So I’m not sure what the issue is here, but it’s going to be a serious one if I can’t figure it out.

So long story short, I went back and forth with the support team at Singularity Six over this, only to be told that they couldn’t do jack squat. There was a fix in the works, apparently, but either their GM powers couldn’t manually fix these stuck producers or they didn’t have the manpower for it. The only thing to be done, then, was to shove the malfunctioning units into the far corner of my plot and head out to gather enough resources to make a new smelter and sawmill. Which I did.

My teenage daughter and I have been bonding through watching Star Trek: The Next Generation this year. I haven’t seen these episodes in decades and am finding that many of them hold up surprisingly well, while she’s delighting in some optimistic space opera with geeky elements. When the Star Trek Online team sent me a poster from the game, I made her day by gifting it to her. We both play the game off and on, and it’s given us another conversational topic for breakfast or car rides.

LOTRO: Finger bones and free horses

Right now in LOTRO I’m lightly bouncing between my Minstrel and Lore-master, alternating high-level and low-level content. Fortunately for me, both are in relatively pretty areas, so it’s not as though I’m visually suffering at the moment.

The weekend of unexpected server downtime over Easter wasn’t particularly disruptive to me, but that’s mostly because I was exhausted and too busy to actually play much that weekend anyway. I am glad they got the worlds back up after that, though, and resumed my adventures as if nothing happened.

Even with a new character slowly making her way up through levels and zones, I can’t help but speculate on what I might roll if/when a new legendary server comes out. There are plenty of classes I’ve either never touched or only played to 30 or so. Right now at the top of that list of hypotheticals is a Rune-keeper, Beorning, and Brawler. Maybe Mariner and Warden to round out that top five. All have pros and cons, but there’s no rush to decide.

That doesn’t mean I’m dissatisfied with my Lore-master. In fact, I’m cautiously excited about what SSG is doing to bring downscaling to the game. That might make this journey even more interesting.

At the tail end of the Corsairs of Umbar epic, it was pretty cool to get an interlude quest that sent me back to Enedwaith to reunite with Nona and find out what she’s been up to since we parted ways. It’s one of the little charms of this game, that the ongoing time frame allows for developments like this. She’s a mite bit pregnant now!

It was nice (and unexpected!) to get a choice of free mount from the two-day downtime a few weekends back. The ironic part is that I don’t really need another mount on any character. My Lore-master is really happy with her honey goat, and my Minstrel’s been rocking her fancy goat for a while. So I just stashed it in shared storage for a rainy day.

Another totally normal day in Middle-earth. Those elves, man… they want weird stuff sometimes. I miss the days of “please collect me some flowers so I can write a poem about them.”

Battle Bards Episode 232: Wayfinder

A small online RPG proves to have a big musical heart with Wayfinder, as Syp, Steff, and Syl discover! These consummate professionals chew through this soundtrack and ask for seconds, only to be denied because they made such a mess along the way. Also, we are the only people in the world who dislike Baldur’s Gate 3.

Episode 232 show notes (show page, direct download)

• Intro (feat. “Call of the Void,” “Echoes of the Fallen,” and “Skylight”)
• “Awakening”
• “Wayfinder”
• “Deepwood Holt”
• “In the Beacon’s Light”
• “Kragan Highlands”
• “Blood in the Wood”
• Which one did we like best?
• Jukebox Picks: “Fillmore” from ActRaiser, “The Apostle Myrkul” from Baldur’s Gate 3, and “Death’s Door” from Death’s Door
• Outro (feat. “Raven’s Shadow”)

• Talk to the Battle Bards on Twitter!
• Follow Battle Bards on iTunes, Stitcher, Player.FM, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Pocket Casts!
• This podcast is produced using copyrighted material according to Fair Use practices as stated under Section 107 of the 1976 Copyright Act.

SWTOR: The light side of the dark side

Thinking about a new “nostalgia tour” of SWTOR this spring — and not something I’ve done a million times in this game already. I actually spend a fair bit researching class stories, alignment factors, and companions… and ended up with the Sith Warrior, a class I’ve never once played. So yeah, everything with her is new — new story, new companions, new approach. Let’s do this.

Historically, I’ve not had the best of luck sticking with a Force user in this game, mostly because I like things that go pew-pew more than bzzzphwaorrrr. But I’ll give it an honest try, especially if I get to hang out with Vette.

Dear Mom and Dad, I’m having a great time at Sith School. Everyone is totally friendly and not trying to kill me at every turn. My teachers are all paranoid to the Nth degree, but that makes it fun to mess with their heads. Sincerely, your imaginary progeny.

Vette may be one of the absolute best starting companions, which is great because you don’t tend to get another one for a while. *glares at Kaliyo*

Even though I’m playing this character super-nice, it doesn’t mean that she’s not occasionally ruthless, especially to jerks who keep trying to kill her.

Yeahhhh bring that rave stick to your new master!

Bio Break Mix Tape: Jade, Artemas, and more!

It’s the start of the week, so why not start it off right with some great tunes? Enjoy your latest Bio Break Mix Tape, a random collection of awesome songs that I’ve discovered lately and want to pass on to you to enjoy too…

World of Warcraft: Rockets and pirate ships

Now that it’s been around for a while, I have to say that the Trader’s Post is a great way to welcome back players to World of Warcraft. It’s quite nice to have something exciting to check out the day you return. I didn’t get much this month, just the rocket mount (never had one of those) and a little bug pet. I still have over 5800 tender in the bank, so I’m not running low quite yet.

From there, I hopped right back into time-traveling weirdness as part of a zone campaign quest. Even though I am completely lost in the lore of this world, I did appreciate glimpses into (alternate) pasts. Maybe if I sneeze and step on a butterfly, it’ll wipe out all the future dragons? One can hope.

I fell in with a guild that immediately pulled me into my first mythic dungeon run in this game. At level 8, whatever that is. It was a little stressful but not impossible, although I suspect I was being carried pretty hard.

With the help of everyone’s favorite time-traveling dragon-slash-Gnome Chromie, I finished up the Thaldraszus campaign. Only two to go and I unlock normal flying again!

My only question is where I’m going to get a mount that seats 15.

Of course, I’m going to do my weekly superbloom and world boss quests in Emerald Dream to see if I can’t keep upgrading the rest of my gear.

Flying through pastel land! Cotton candy forest! Charmin vale! I’m tired as I write this!

Well. I mean. I *had* to get it. It’s a floating pirate ship with a throne and a kraken on it. I can only wish I had this for real life.

I am in a very strange place — a strange relationship — with World of Warcraft in 2024. I’m standing here surveying so many options and willing to get sucked back in… but finding myself directionless. I want to do all and none of it at the same time.

I suppose this tension comes from several factors working against each other. It certainly looks like a formative year for the MMO, perhaps one of the most important since, oh, 2019. There’s a whole lot happening, especially with Cataclysm Classic and The War Within releases this year. There are plenty of patches and versions of the game to consider. And if there’s ever a time to get back on board, as per Chris Metzen’s invitation last BlizzCon, it’s kind of right now. Or at least sometime prior to the fall.

The problem isn’t choices and development. The problem is that what I truly want doesn’t really exist right now. I want retail WoW to have that same feel, that same addictive format, that Classic did/does. I want a little of Column A and B mushed together, but it’s an either/or thing. Having my feet in both Classic and Retail feels counter-productive, somehow. I should pick a lane and go for it. Instead, I dither.

I’ve been doing a lot of dithering in MMOs this year. It’s not just WoW. But WoW might be the greatest battleground for my affections, so it’s interesting to see how this plays out.

The Sims 4: Cookdance!

I’ve decided that for the month of April, at least, I’m going to make a big push to getting back into The Sims 4. New family, new house, no cheats other than the ability to fine-tune object placement.

Meet my new family, the Pepperwoods. Skip up there is loosely modeled after 2023’s Haunted Mansion’s Ben, who I thought had a pretty cool look to him. Skip wants to be an expert chef but is a tad clumsy.

Then we have Tiffany, a girl who’s punk to her core. Of course she wants to be a great musician and write her own songs. I had my daughter help me choose different outfits that fit her personality, since I’m not always the best at dressing girls.

The Pepperwoods also have a dog, Blooey. We spent SO MUCH TIME painting this Australian Cattle Dog to mimic a certain copyrighted character. I think she came out pretty well.

Next it was time to design their home. I went with a 32-square microhome for all the bonuses (and the fun of the challenge). Here it is without all of the extra decorations, but you get the idea. I think it came out pretty well. There’s a (very tiny) foyer, a main room, and a 3×2 bathroom. The Murphy bed/sofa combo is clutch for this setup.

The Pepperwoods were quite happy to move in here and made themselves right at home. Tiffany started working on her guitar skill, while Skip made a meal and watched the cooking channel for inspiration. Oh, also I got rid of Blooey and replaced him with a smaller black pug named Starry. I like the concept but he just clashed with everything.

Microhomes are amazing for leveling skills. Tiffany’s guitar skill shot up to level 4 in a couple days, while Skip started down his road to becoming a master chef. I really love that Sims can have conversations while they’re performing activities like this, by the way.

Elder Scrolls Online: Prologue? I hardly knew her!

I have a good feeling that this’ll be the week I’ll finish up Wrothgar in ESO. Heck, it might only take me a day or two — there’s not too much left. Into the last public dungeon I go, though! And Old Orsinium was a doozy, really long with some involved quest objectives. Glad to be done with that.

The only thing I didn’t finish was the Maelstrom Arena. I like the idea of a multi-phase gauntlet, but this sucker goes on and on for way too long. I spent a half-hour going through the first three (of nine!) maps and then said, “Forget this, it’s not worth it.”

Before diving into another zone, I’m going to take a month to clean up the seven prologue quest chains that are littering up my quest journal. I’m sure we’ll be getting another one of these soon, too.

One little detail about ESO I appreciate — often recurring NPCs will mention your past adventures with them, even if you do quests out of sequential order. It’s a nice touch.

After a quick jaunt to Oblivion and a fight with a total pushover of a boss, the Blackwood prologue quest was done. I appreciate getting a memento, but they’re annoying to use so I hardly ever do.