Kenshi - A Sandbox RPG
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Zapatta
Krugman's Fax Machine
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I saw a buncha homeless wandering around with oversized jackets and towels wrapped around their heads carrying broomsticks and pvc pipes to protect themselves from Corona, seeing that made me wanna play Kenshi when I got home so I am.
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spun this up again. Really can't wait for these guys to release Kenshi 2. Still unbelievable how they made this crazy, buggy, mess so engrossing. Started a new Freedom Seekers game and got plopped down in almost the same place that I'd started up before near a plateau in the southern tip of the Border Zone that I can manage to barely squeeze out 24% wells on. Just finished my killbox and got through the first raid I didn't have to run off to the nearby waystation for, so satisfying seeing a bunch of dust bandits get turned into pincushions while having an epic sword fight at the gate
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Kirun
Buzzfeed Editor
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Yeah, this is probably my favorite single-player game of the last 5-10 years or so. Amazing what pretty much one dude was able to do.
Caliane
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Its almost frustrating how much in a league of its own, it is.
Most base builders, or survival builders totally lack the A.I. element. it'd be even better if they were more Rimworld/oxygen not included/gnomoria independent skill/job priority system. but even kenshi's more robotic, give exact command priorities, is lightyears ahead of most.
I was going to finish up that last Bannerlord run, then do a kenshi one. but, starsector patch came out, so that got put right on top.
Most base builders, or survival builders totally lack the A.I. element. it'd be even better if they were more Rimworld/oxygen not included/gnomoria independent skill/job priority system. but even kenshi's more robotic, give exact command priorities, is lightyears ahead of most.
I was going to finish up that last Bannerlord run, then do a kenshi one. but, starsector patch came out, so that got put right on top.
Bobbybick
Trakanon Raider
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Yeah it's wild how you can basically setup anywhere and unlike a game like Rimworld the place you choose has a much larger impact on your game than just temperatures/wildlife. Leads to a lot of replayability. The only thing that got annoying for me were just how frequent raids on the base become, I want to take my big muscley guys out to see the world but if I do then 100 bandits are gonna overwhelm my 5 farmers left behind to tend the crops.
Tuco
I got Tuco'd!
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If ive lost months of my life to kenshi, mount n blade and dyson sphere program, is starsector the game for me????
Caliane
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yes? its is a bit different, as its sci fi. pilot ships, with A.I. control of the fleet in combat. you personally can control one of them. (and swap control to another if you want)
its closer to space bannerlord. you can trade, hunt pirates, be a pirate, take exploratory missions, etc. theres a map, then when you enter combat, it swaps to a combat map. can start colonies, to have a "base". base is just menus with building slots.
nexerlin mod adds a number of 4x elements not in the base game. such as factions colonizing new planets, and/or swapping ownership of others.
its closer to space bannerlord. you can trade, hunt pirates, be a pirate, take exploratory missions, etc. theres a map, then when you enter combat, it swaps to a combat map. can start colonies, to have a "base". base is just menus with building slots.
nexerlin mod adds a number of 4x elements not in the base game. such as factions colonizing new planets, and/or swapping ownership of others.
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Tuco
I got Tuco'd!
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Will put it on the list. Need to finish up dyson sphere program and finish my legendary in guild wars 2....
Should I start out with that mod or run vanilla and add mods after playing it for a bit?
Caliane
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I think play first. hit maybe the colony starting stage, then consider restarting with nexerlin. Nexerlin adds a good deal. but, also, just hammers the player with way too much information, for a new player, the moment you start up.
Tuco
I got Tuco'd!
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It takes quite a while but if you get about 6 or 8 guys that you can just devote to sitting on harpoon or crossbow turrets as their job you can take your main guys out into the world almost indefinitely and have your outpost basically on autopilot. Green in the big swamp town and a bunch of random hiver and shek drifter recruits spawn with 10 in turrets and precision shooting, if you have the spare power to put then all on harpoon turrets they essentially one shot body parts when they hit and they always hit when the raids clump up at your gate.
Even if they beat down your gate basic farmers and cooks can handle what's left when nobody has 4 functional limbs and they are quickly bleeding to death from severe head and torso wounds.
If you manage to capture a hostile wandering skeleton, have skeleton repair bed tech and have made it out to the far east of the map and kidnapped Savant from the skin bandits to get his transformation bible you can also quickly train up a few guys in martial arts and they will just punch the remaining limbs off of the bandits that make it through
You just need to spend a ton to get the manpower, probably need about16 recruits to have a fully functional outpost that is completely automated and needs minimal interaction
Kirun
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"Automating" your base and then sending out war parties to ravage the land is without a doubt the best part of this game. Kenshi is just so unique in that aspect of gaming and it amazes me nobody has really tried trying similar systems.
I really wish I had setup a super small, "functional" base at the start though. I died so many times trying to find a "perfect" base location right away.
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Caliane
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getting a base started is super variable depending on location.
like, a base in the howlers maze? no raids. occasional UC tribute stop.
base up in far north cannibal area? no UC. occasional cannibal raid. Cannibals are weak. but attack in high numbers. And, if they do beat you down.. grab your downed people, take them back home, and skin them alive, and eat them.
Current run in the swamp/borderlands.
every 10 Fking seconds. swamp ninja, band of bones, dust bandits, red sabres, black dragongenin raids. just nonfucking stop. often 2 or 3 together. And swamp raptors also on the same timer, charging in and eating my crops.
"small" bases can not be viable depending on location. Although ,thats what buying buildings in town is for of course.
yeah, min base? 3-4 turret operators. 2-4 farmers. 1-2cooks. 3 iron miners 2iron plate,3 stone mine, 3 stone craft. 1 weapon smith. 1 engineer, 1 researcher. 1 trader/thief.+garru.
as time goes on, can reduce miners.+1 copper mine/elec craft. +1 armor smith. +1 medic+robotics craft
Can double up on some jobs. like melee fighters. consider putting them on jobs near the gate, to get to it faster, on combat.
Close the gates when you leave. shop counters don't really work.
Turrets do have 360 aim, despite looking more static. you can tower defense a bit, to make getting TO the turrets hard.
like, a base in the howlers maze? no raids. occasional UC tribute stop.
base up in far north cannibal area? no UC. occasional cannibal raid. Cannibals are weak. but attack in high numbers. And, if they do beat you down.. grab your downed people, take them back home, and skin them alive, and eat them.
Current run in the swamp/borderlands.
every 10 Fking seconds. swamp ninja, band of bones, dust bandits, red sabres, black dragongenin raids. just nonfucking stop. often 2 or 3 together. And swamp raptors also on the same timer, charging in and eating my crops.
"small" bases can not be viable depending on location. Although ,thats what buying buildings in town is for of course.
yeah, min base? 3-4 turret operators. 2-4 farmers. 1-2cooks. 3 iron miners 2iron plate,3 stone mine, 3 stone craft. 1 weapon smith. 1 engineer, 1 researcher. 1 trader/thief.+garru.
as time goes on, can reduce miners.+1 copper mine/elec craft. +1 armor smith. +1 medic+robotics craft
Can double up on some jobs. like melee fighters. consider putting them on jobs near the gate, to get to it faster, on combat.
Close the gates when you leave. shop counters don't really work.
Turrets do have 360 aim, despite looking more static. you can tower defense a bit, to make getting TO the turrets hard.
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I don't know which is the best Portland simulator, Kenshi or Rimworld, but they both come close in their own way.
It's been ages since I played it, but this reminds me a bit of Fallout Tactics, with more features, ability to actually affect world, and base/empire building. Not a bad thing at all.
I just got outpost going a bit outside a waystation, iron mining going faster now. I haven't been attacked really aside from dudes wanting 3k out of the blue, they vanished after I ran away a bit. Previous saves the waystations/towns got attacked regularly, I've just had traders and some religious nutbar I played along with since he had a bunch of friends. Not sure if I'm kinda safe, or it's some eye of the hurricane type deal, and Im gonna get swarmed soon.
So later on, you can basically conquer everything if you choose? Or just build your own faction empire? I assume if you have a bunch of people/bases stuff gets laggy eventually.
I just got outpost going a bit outside a waystation, iron mining going faster now. I haven't been attacked really aside from dudes wanting 3k out of the blue, they vanished after I ran away a bit. Previous saves the waystations/towns got attacked regularly, I've just had traders and some religious nutbar I played along with since he had a bunch of friends. Not sure if I'm kinda safe, or it's some eye of the hurricane type deal, and Im gonna get swarmed soon.
So later on, you can basically conquer everything if you choose? Or just build your own faction empire? I assume if you have a bunch of people/bases stuff gets laggy eventually.
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Yeah, there are world state changes that occur as you kidnap/kill town and faction leaders that make the world pretty chaotic. Taking out the big factions creates a power vacuum that usually gets filled by worse things. There's a mod called Reactive World, I think, that makes things even more impactful.
I also am running a mod that removes the squad capacity so you can have up to 256 guys. Never even got close to reaching that cap but I have a game with around 40 and have been attacked by giant Southern Hive raids that have over 50 units and I've never experienced an lagging. Only time the game slows down is when I have a really athletic character sprinting across the world and have fast forward set to full. Having a ton of stuff happen in one area seems to run efficiently but the engine bogs down when you are constantly loading in new terrain.
My favorite aspect is the same as Kirun, get a really good squad and go out treasure hunting and looking for bounties and hunting down all of the Meitou weapons and named characters. Probably one of my favorite video game moments ever was stumbling across Bugmaster and realizing there are insanely powerful beings out there in the Kenshi world.
If you go out wandering there is some really crazy world building built into everything
I also am running a mod that removes the squad capacity so you can have up to 256 guys. Never even got close to reaching that cap but I have a game with around 40 and have been attacked by giant Southern Hive raids that have over 50 units and I've never experienced an lagging. Only time the game slows down is when I have a really athletic character sprinting across the world and have fast forward set to full. Having a ton of stuff happen in one area seems to run efficiently but the engine bogs down when you are constantly loading in new terrain.
My favorite aspect is the same as Kirun, get a really good squad and go out treasure hunting and looking for bounties and hunting down all of the Meitou weapons and named characters. Probably one of my favorite video game moments ever was stumbling across Bugmaster and realizing there are insanely powerful beings out there in the Kenshi world.
If you go out wandering there is some really crazy world building built into everything
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Caliane
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iirc, default you can't really take over towns or anything. you can kill leaders. but don't remember exactly what that does.
reactive world mod as mentioned, adds some consequences to that. rival factions take over said town.
usually you can just hide from raids. stealth, etc. wait them out. Some raiders will actually "take over" your town though. and you will need to forcefully remove them.
use xbows, or assassination to "pull" them out 1-2 at a time if that happens, and you can't take on the 10-20 at once.
yeah, many of the named recruits in towns have special dialogue, and will chat with each other, while out and about, and in relation to various triggers.
combat is pretty interesting. Animations matter. this is not a game where raw stats are king, and animations are just window dressing. Dodges, actually dodge. blocks, actually block. if you swing your plank wide, it will hit everyone in its swing. This can be abused to some extent(animation cancel). but is also important when picking weapons, and skilling up.
weapon weight matters alot. you need double weapon weight in STR, in order to use a weapon at 100% speed. a large penalty is applied if you don't. super important for things like fragment axes. dex is attack speed as well. and again, since animations matter, fast attack can give stunlock.
reactive world mod as mentioned, adds some consequences to that. rival factions take over said town.
usually you can just hide from raids. stealth, etc. wait them out. Some raiders will actually "take over" your town though. and you will need to forcefully remove them.
use xbows, or assassination to "pull" them out 1-2 at a time if that happens, and you can't take on the 10-20 at once.
yeah, many of the named recruits in towns have special dialogue, and will chat with each other, while out and about, and in relation to various triggers.
combat is pretty interesting. Animations matter. this is not a game where raw stats are king, and animations are just window dressing. Dodges, actually dodge. blocks, actually block. if you swing your plank wide, it will hit everyone in its swing. This can be abused to some extent(animation cancel). but is also important when picking weapons, and skilling up.
weapon weight matters alot. you need double weapon weight in STR, in order to use a weapon at 100% speed. a large penalty is applied if you don't. super important for things like fragment axes. dex is attack speed as well. and again, since animations matter, fast attack can give stunlock.
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Pancreas
Vyemm Raider
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I got a new computer and decided to give Kenshi another run. It's been twoish years since the last time I played it.
I went with cannibal hunters start. I figured that would force me to remember how to do things quick.
It was a mess. Both of my characters get knocked out, one is dying from a serious gut wound. Both get locked into cages.
One character wakes up, watching their friend bleed out two cages over.
I frantically try and remember commands, realize right click does everything, and start picking the lock to my cage... except I suck at it.
While I am trying to free myself more people are getting thrown into cages. The guy next to me starts screaming as a cannibal proceeds to beat him to death while still locked in his cage. Then the cannibal takes the body over to the roasting pit.
I realize I am next up on the menu. Friend is still dying from a gut wound. A large Cannibal approaches me with a hungry glint in their eye... I figure this is it, I am going to get knocked out and eaten alive and friend will bleed out never knowing their fate, the lucky bastard..
Just then a huge shadow looms over the cannibal and comes crashing down with a horrifying screech, ripping the cannibals arm off. A beak thing had attacked the camp.
Chaos ensued. I didn't waste any time and finally managed to pick the lock to my cage. I rush over to my friend and bandaged them up, moments from them dying.
I thought about getting out of there right then but my leg was shot and friend needed to heal. I saw some beds in a nearby shelter and decided it would be better to hide and heal then limp to an uncertain fate.
While resting another beak thing, screaming bandits, berserkers, and cannibal hunters all show up creating pockets of combat all over the place. I decide to start healing the enemies of my enemy, freeing people from cages and looting what treasures might be found in the camp.
I find some high end blackened chainmail and duster coat, a decent guardless katana, a bunch of bandages and some dried meat. I try not to think about what exactly the meat might be and proceed to leave. On my way out I notice three people following me, a shek named berserker, an ashlander cannibal hunter named stitch and crawling through the sand, a cannibal hunter named Zepp who was missing a leg. The berserker offers to join and the hunter runs off towards what appears to be the closest town, some place called Dead Cat. Zepp just laid there. I picked up my crippled friend and headed out, this was going to be great.
Couldn't have asked for a better reintroduction to Kenshi.
I went with cannibal hunters start. I figured that would force me to remember how to do things quick.
It was a mess. Both of my characters get knocked out, one is dying from a serious gut wound. Both get locked into cages.
One character wakes up, watching their friend bleed out two cages over.
I frantically try and remember commands, realize right click does everything, and start picking the lock to my cage... except I suck at it.
While I am trying to free myself more people are getting thrown into cages. The guy next to me starts screaming as a cannibal proceeds to beat him to death while still locked in his cage. Then the cannibal takes the body over to the roasting pit.
I realize I am next up on the menu. Friend is still dying from a gut wound. A large Cannibal approaches me with a hungry glint in their eye... I figure this is it, I am going to get knocked out and eaten alive and friend will bleed out never knowing their fate, the lucky bastard..
Just then a huge shadow looms over the cannibal and comes crashing down with a horrifying screech, ripping the cannibals arm off. A beak thing had attacked the camp.
Chaos ensued. I didn't waste any time and finally managed to pick the lock to my cage. I rush over to my friend and bandaged them up, moments from them dying.
I thought about getting out of there right then but my leg was shot and friend needed to heal. I saw some beds in a nearby shelter and decided it would be better to hide and heal then limp to an uncertain fate.
While resting another beak thing, screaming bandits, berserkers, and cannibal hunters all show up creating pockets of combat all over the place. I decide to start healing the enemies of my enemy, freeing people from cages and looting what treasures might be found in the camp.
I find some high end blackened chainmail and duster coat, a decent guardless katana, a bunch of bandages and some dried meat. I try not to think about what exactly the meat might be and proceed to leave. On my way out I notice three people following me, a shek named berserker, an ashlander cannibal hunter named stitch and crawling through the sand, a cannibal hunter named Zepp who was missing a leg. The berserker offers to join and the hunter runs off towards what appears to be the closest town, some place called Dead Cat. Zepp just laid there. I picked up my crippled friend and headed out, this was going to be great.
Couldn't have asked for a better reintroduction to Kenshi.
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