Rules: Act I

Act I: Survival and Repairs

To get back home, the crew must repair the rocket engines and the communications modules. This will require not only skill and resources, but the crew must also try to survive in the meantime.

These rules are part of the "Crash Site Colony" challenge. If you haven't already, please read Rules: Starting Out before continuing.

Earning Money:

Building and upgrading the Rocket Ship in order to get back home will cost money, as does simply staying alive (food isn't free!). Unfortunately, without careers (or any established economy to speak of), managing and justifying incomes and expenditures is somewhat tricky. The following list outlines the allowed sources of income along with their in-story justification.

  • the NanoCan Touchless trash can: gives money each time you throw away trash. This represents "recycling" of the crew's "food resources", and therefore the money it gives counts as part of the overall "food supply".
  • Gardening: Raw produce can be eaten, but can also be used in meals to lower the cost. Excess produce can be sold, with the proceeds counting as part of the overall "food supply".
    Recommended mods: 
  • Collecting: 
    • Minerals, metals, and crystals are all valuable resources that can be used in rocket ship construction. Since these can't be directly used in-game to help repair the engines, you may sell these in order to use the proceeds for rocket ship building. 
    • Insects and frogs are an efficient (though somewhat disgusting) source of protein that can be used to feed the crew, so these may also be sold (or bred and then sold, in the case of frogs) to supplement the food supply. 
    • You may uncover strange fossils and figurines, lost or buried by some ancient unknown civilization. Unfortunately, without a functioning economy, there's nobody to sell these to, so just hang onto them for now.
  • Salvaged Parts from repairing: can be used to upgrade appliances and electronics, or can be used in the rocket ship construction (i.e., sell them). Note that some upgrade parts will be REQUIRED for the "Repair the Communications module" goal (see below).
  • Other found/crafted items: Anything not explicitly mentioned above can't be sold, since without a functioning economy, there's nobody to sell to. This includes paintings, sculptures/furniture, books, photographs, microscope prints, licensing songs, etc. (You can and should hang on to any of these items to sell if you decide to move to Act II of the challenge, however.) 

GOALS for Act I:

  1. Survive! Don't starve. You'll very likely need to use the Gardening and Fishing skills, heavily, in order to provide adequate sustenance for the entire crew. You'll start with the seeds you brought along and the planter boxes in the science lab to grow your initial crop, with more produce possible via exploration. Be sure to keep an eye out for other food sources when out exploring (fish, frogs, insects). Once a reliable source of water is located (either a fishing hole or another body of water), you are allowed to plant more crops in addition to the initial planter boxes.
  2. Repair the Communications module. This is done in two stages:
    • Stage 1 requires one or more crew members to have max-level Handiness and max-level Logic, and to Repair (if necessary) and fully Upgrade the Computer in the flight control room. The Upgrades will require you to have salvaged (and kept!) the necessary upgrade parts, so keep this in mind as you are playing! Once this is done, the Computer may be used for developing the Programming skill ONLY (you may not use Programming actions that make money). This represents the SysOp's task of studying the internal software and programming specs and manuals in order to fully repair the Communications satellite link.
    • Stage 2 requires a crew member (usually the SysOp) to have max-level Programming. Once this is done, the Sim homeworld may be contacted! Now that the satellite link has been re-established, this enables all Web- and Social-based Computer activities. This also enables the use of TVs since the satellite link has been re-established.
      Recommended mods: 
  3. Get home! This requires a working Rocket Ship to be built AND fully upgraded (along with the Communications module to be repaired and programmed). The Rocket Ship can be "tested" (by using it) before it is fully upgraded, but note that you run the risk of crashes and costly repairs.
  4. Once the Rocket Ship is Fully Upgraded, you may consider yourself to have "won" this part of the challenge! You may stop here and move your crew into a new Neighborhood for them to begin "normal" Sim lives -- you may sell any/everything of value from the crash site and personal property and divvy up the funds, or simply use a money cheat to get them started.

Alternatively, you may choose, at any time before or after completing the Act I goals, to continue with Act II: Colonization.


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