# Rimworld: old west meets sci-fi **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** video-games-e-games\ **Created:** [September 7, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244 "2015-09-07T16:17:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/1 "2015-09-07T16:17:13Z")
I’ve been playing [Rimworld](http://rimworldgame.com/) recently. It’s currently in alpha but very playable. The concept of the game is you’re in charge of colonists who crash land on a planet. You give them tasks, such a growing plants, taming animals, hunting, etc. There’s a lot of options. If someone raids your base you can harvest their organs and sell them on the black market or you can resort to cannibalism. The RNG gods are angry, sometimes, so you can get royally screwed. I lost a game because a hare went rabid, took out my doctor, he went rabid and took out my best hunter, then I got raided and a fire spread. I get tinges of FTL. I found the game after watching Quill18’s [playthrough](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4u8HCbDYZM). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/2 "2015-09-07T17:31:57Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > I lost a game because a hare went rabid, took out my doctor, he went rabid and took out my best hunter, then I got raided and a fire spread. I get tinges of FTL. Definitely sounds like a bad hare day. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/3 "2015-09-07T17:45:33Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Definitely sounds like a bad hare day. … ---
**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/4 "2015-09-08T00:42:59Z")
Yeah I’ve been enjoying Quill18’s playthrough too. Haven’t got the game yet. > [@Colibri](#): > > Definitely sounds like a bad hare day. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/5 "2015-09-08T09:30:20Z")
Looks awesome. Wonder why I haven’t heard of it before. ---
**Author:** ![tonyfop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/85f322/32.png) [@tonyfop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tonyfop)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/6 "2015-09-08T13:29:59Z")
I have been playing for a few months. It is still in Alpha, but extremely playable, and it keeps getting better. I got attacked by a hoard of rabid warthogs yesterday. Like 40 of them. Luckily my base is almost entirely inside a mountain(protection from acid rain, and flash storms). I just hung out indoors until my automatic gun emplacements took them out, but they destroyed several guns. I have also been out hunting deer, and the deer get pissed and chase me back to my base. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/7 "2016-07-16T23:35:51Z")
Bump The game has just been [released on Steam](http://store.steampowered.com/). It’s still in Early Access but it’s immensely playable, has tons of mods (which the develop supports), and only keeps getting better. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/8 "2016-07-18T13:02:38Z")
I bought Rimworld on Friday. I’m now about 30 hours of playtime on it. It is a great big pile o’fun. The game, as is, feels pretty complete. I do wish there was a multi-generational aspect to the colony but this is a pretty minor quibble. The game is very challenging on the higher difficulties levels, but it never feels unfair. Perhaps a bit random in some cases, e.g. the rabid rabbit mentioned above, but I always feel like I have the tools to handle a problem and failure happens because I either didn’t plan for it, or I mismanage it. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/9 "2016-08-01T00:49:05Z")
I just started playing. Had a rabid turtle and now an immigrant picked a fight with one of the original three then tended to her wounds. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/10 "2016-08-01T12:39:58Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Had a rabid turtle and now an immigrant picked a fight with one of the original three then tended to her wounds. You should build a wall. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/11 "2016-08-01T14:44:03Z")
Had to abandon that colony due to poor food planning. New colony won’t need to worry about food for a good while but is short on building materials. On the plus side, they recently dismantled some sterling silver walls. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/12 "2016-08-01T15:46:50Z")
I’ve found it impossible to get a reliable food situation worked out when i start with the lost tribe scenario. The 200+ pemmicans they give you actually only last a meal or two, they are gone way before i can set up a good hunting/butchering/ cooking system or any growth operations. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/13 "2016-08-01T15:56:57Z")
Yeah, tried a tribe once. They’d be more viable if there were production options for their tech level (e.g.: cooking and butchering stations that are 100% wood). ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/14 "2016-08-01T16:05:48Z")
The mod called CorePanda adds a furnace that can be constructed from any metal or rock. I wonder if it can used to bake potatoes. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/15 "2016-08-02T02:28:19Z")
Conduits can explode! Good thing it was under grass rather than a wood floor. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/16 "2016-08-02T07:05:40Z")
Found a nice mod in the Steam Workshop that should help with the vanilla tribe start. It adds a quarry to the Production menu and only needs (IIRC) 70 units of wood. My colonists have built one; the output is pretty random but it can put out small quantities of steel. Also gold, quartz, plasteel, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/17 "2016-08-02T07:23:20Z")
Looks a bit like Dwarf Fortress. True? ---
**Author:** ![Mekhazzio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b38774/32.png) [@Mekhazzio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mekhazzio)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/18 "2016-08-02T08:01:24Z")
It’s very much a Dwarf Fortress Lite. Except with some actual game design. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/19 "2016-08-02T14:57:27Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Looks a bit like Dwarf Fortress. True? The developer describes it as _Dwarf Fortress_ meets “Firefly”. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244/20 "2016-08-03T02:22:55Z")
I have been playing the hell outof this, its quite challenging even at basic levels. The most annoying thing in my opinion is that colonists will happily kill each other trying to shoot a raider or animal moving between them. Lost one of my best all around colonists to a not so friendly fire incident that left her permanently brain damaged and no longer able to do anything but lay in bed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rimworld-old-west-meets-sci-fi/730244.md?page=2)